The Curse of Snake Island (3 page)

“I can't believe it,” I said. “We're really going to learn how to swashbuckle!”

“Aye,” Rotten Tooth said again. Then he reached behind him and grabbed five mops. “And here be ye swords!”

Our hearts sank. We weren't going to be learning anything after all.

“I want this deck spotless,” Rotten Tooth said. “I don't want to be seeing a speck of dirt, ye savvy?”

“Maybe he should get off of it, then,” Aaron whispered in my ear. But Rotten Tooth had better hearing than a whale.

He turned to Aaron and showed his famously green teeth. “One more peep out of you,” he warned, “and it's back in the fish tank!”

Aaron quickly closed his mouth.

“Aye, that's what I thought,” Rotten Tooth said. “Now get to work, ye barnacles!” he snapped as he walked away.

Vicky groaned. “Pirate School? This is more like Chore School.”

“Aye,” everyone agreed.

I didn't complain, though. Cleaning the deck was the best chore Rotten Tooth could have given us in order for my plan to work.

“Ahoy, guys, listen up!” I gathered my friends into a huddle. “I came up with a plan last night.”

“I hope this one doesn't stink,” Aaron said.

I shot Aaron a look. “No, this is a good plan. Captain Stinky Beard keeps all the treasure maps in his quarters, right?”

“Right,” Vicky said.

“And his quarters are in the main cabin, which is over there,” I said, pointing to the cabin door behind us.

“So?” Aaron said.

“So, we sneak in and make a copy of the map,” I told them.

“Aye! Good thinking,” Gary said.

“Aaron and Vicky, you stay outside and keep watch. If Rotten Tooth comes back, distract him.”

“Aye! I'll take care of Ol' Rotten Head,” Aaron said, pretending his mop was a sword.

“Gary, you'll wait outside Captain Stinky Beard's room in case anyone gets past Aaron and Vicky,” I said.

“Aye aye, Pete!”

“Inna, you'll come inside with me,” I said. “You have the neatest handwriting, and the map might have a lot of words to copy.”

Then we all put our hands together in the circle and gave a pirate cheer:

“SWASHBUCKLING, SAILING, FINDING TREASURE, TOO!

“BECOMING PIRATES IS WHAT WE WANT TO DO!”

After we finished our cheer, Vicky and Aaron started mopping the deck. They kept their eyes open for anyone heading toward us. Then they gave us the thumbs-up. So Gary, Inna, and I snuck into the main cabin.

The main cabin of the
Sea Rat
was filled with all kinds of cool things like telescopes, model ships, ocean maps, and, of course, treasure! We wanted to stop and look through everything, but we were on a mission.

“If anyone comes, give us a shout,” I told Gary as I pushed open the creaky door to Captain Stinky Beard's room.

“Aye!”

As soon as the door shut behind us, I heard Gary shout. I rushed back out, but no one was there.

“Just practicing,” Gary said.

I shook my head and went back in.

Inside, the room was a mess. I would never be allowed to keep my room that messy!

I looked at all the piles on top of Captain Stinky Beard's desk. There must have been a hundred maps. “It's going to be impossible to find the map we need.”

“No it won't,” Inna said.

“Sure it will,” I said.

“No it won't. Look, I've found it!” And Inna was already copying the map of Snake Island onto a blank piece of paper.

“How did you find it so quickly?” I asked.

“Easy,” she said. “Since that's where we're going right now, I just looked on the top of the pile.”

I had to admit, Inna was one clever pirate! Maybe a little too clean, but clever!

Just as Inna finished copying the map, we heard Gary shout. Then we heard a thundering
CRASH
!

I cracked open the door. There was Gary. And Captain Stinky Beard! They were under a pile of junk! I slapped my forehead.

We were doomed.

“What are you kids doing in here?” the captain asked once he was back on his feet.

One wrong answer and he'd be as mad as Rotten Tooth!

Inna stepped up in front of him.

“Sir, we just came here to ask you if we could have a sleepover on the beach,” she said politely. It was brilliant! It was the perfect cover. It was also the second part of my plan.
And
it was going to get us out of trouble.

“You mean at Snake Island?” Captain Stinky Beard asked.

We all nodded.

He scratched his beard. “I don't see the harm in it,” he said. We all clapped our hands and thanked him. “But aren't you afraid of snakes?” he asked Inna.

Even the
thought
of snakes made Inna feel sick. But she put on her bravest face. “Not at all,” she lied.

Captain Stinky Beard smiled. “I guess Rotten Tooth's teaching is paying off. You'll be fine pirates before you know it.”

If he only knew!

After our chores were done, Rotten Tooth told us to scram. “I don't want to be seeing your faces until the sun comes up tomorrow. And even then will be too soon,” he said.

That was fine with us. We didn't want to smell him anymore, either!

“Let's climb up to the crow's nest,” I suggested.

The crow's nest is our secret spot on the ship. That's because we're the only ones that love to climb up there. Don't tell anyone, but most pirates don't really like to climb. They're afraid of heights. They only do it because it's part of the job. But
shhhh
! That's a pirate secret!

“Let's look at the map,” Vicky said once we were at the top.

“Aye, let's! I see why they call it Snake Island,” I said, unrolling the map. The whole island was all twisty and shaped like a snake.

Besides copying the picture of the island, Inna had copied down lots of words.

“What's that say?” Vicky asked. She pointed to some words written on the top of the map.

“ ‘To break the snake's curse, use the curse in reverse,' ” Inna read.

“What does that mean?” Aaron asked.

“Maybe it means you need to walk backward when you see the giant snake,” Gary suggested.

“Don't be silly,” Vicky said. “It means you have to go back in time to
before
you got cursed.”

“That's sillier than walking backward,” Aaron said with a laugh.

“Is not!” Vicky shouted.

“Is too!”

I waved my arms in the air for them to stop. “Guys, we don't even know what the curse is,” I said. “We have to find that out before we know how to break it.”

Aaron and Vicky both folded their arms and turned their backs to each other. That's what they always did when they were trying really hard to stop arguing.

Inna put her finger up to her mouth. That meant she was thinking. Then she pointed her finger up in the air real fast. That meant she had thought of something good.

“Clegg could help us!” she shouted.

Clegg was the oldest pirate on the
Sea Rat
. He knew
everything
! Plus, he didn't mind us asking him questions.

“Aye! I bet he knows all about Snake Island,” I said.

“Arrr!” everyone agreed. If anyone could tell us about the curse, it was Clegg.

So we grabbed onto the ropes hanging from the crow's nest and swung down to the deck. We all landed on our feet. Well, everyone except Gary. He always landed on his butt. He said it was a softer landing that way.

Clegg was easy to find. He was the only pirate with a gray beard and an eye patch. And he was always in the same place, fishing off the back of the boat.

He turned his one good eye toward us as we ran up to him. “Ahoy there, little shipmates!” he called out with a smile.

“Ahoy, right back!” I said.

“Come here for a story, have ye?” Clegg asked.

I shook my head.

“Not today,” I told him. Then, in my most serious voice, I told Clegg that we had some very, very, very important things to ask him.

“Aye?” he asked.

“Aye!” we all answered.

I looked all around to make sure no one was spying. Then I leaned in close and whispered in Clegg's ear. “We need to know everything you know about the curse of Snake Island.”

Clegg took a good look at us.

“Do ye think you're old enough for a scary story like that?” Clegg asked.

I stood up as straight and tall as I could. So did all of my friends. “Aye,” I said.

Then Clegg nodded his head and began to tell us the secrets of that spooky place.