Captain Foster’s back!”
Lucy ran outside to see if her brother was imagining things. But he was not: for there, coming into the harbour, was the unmistakable shape of the popcorn ship. Captain Foster had returned already!
Lucy ran down to the harbour, to find Hermione waiting for her. Then, when the ship had been tied up, she and herfriend rushed aboard to find out what was wrong. They found Captain Foster on the front deck, and they could tell immediately that there was something very seriously wrong. Even Biscuit, who normally barked a welcome to the girls, was silent, his head lowered, his tail drooping sadly between his legs.
“We’ve been robbed,” said Captain Foster miserably. “Every last sack has been taken.”
Lucy glanced towards the hold. The hatches were wide open, and there was clearly nothing at all inside.
“Who robbed you?” she asked. “How did it happen?”
Captain Foster sighed. “Pirates,” he said. “They found me just about four hours off the island and they came aboard. They took everything, even Biscuit’s dog food.”
Lucy and Hermione gasped. Pirates! They had heard of pirates, of course, as everybody had, but were there still pirates on the prowl, even today? Somehow they seemed to belong to the history books, when people really feared the Jolly Roger flying from the mast. Surely that sort of thing didn’t happen any longer?
It was as if Captain Foster could read their thoughts.
“Yes,” he said. “I know that everybody thinks that pirates are a thing of the past, but they still exist, believe me! They aren’t quite so bad as they used to be, I suppose, but they’re still pretty wicked. In the old days they would have made me and Biscuit walk the plank – at least they didn’t do that!”
Later, in the kitchen of Lucy’s house, over a bowl of soup which Lucy’s mother had prepared for him, Captain Foster told everybody what had happened.
“The first I knew of it,” he said, “was when I saw a ship in the distance. I didn’t think much of it, as there are quite a few ships sailing about out there, but therewas something about this one which soon made me take notice. She was sailing straight towards me, you see.
“I thought at first that she might be in trouble. We sailors help one another out, you know, and so I stopped my engine and stayed where I was. In a few minutes they were up alongside me and I saw that she was a large sailing ship, with great white sails and a long pole at the prow. She was a beautiful ship, really, and I suppose that is why I didn’t notice at first that there was a black flag fluttering from the foremast.
“They came up beside me and threw a rope across. Then, when they were closeenough, a couple of men jumped aboard. I was beginning to worry a little bit now, because these men did not look in the slightest bit friendly, and I could tell that they clearly needed no help from me.
“Biscuit didn’t like the look of them either, because he gave a growl and then a loud bark. One of the men looked at him, and then gave him a good kick, sending him shooting across the deck.
“‘Don’t you treat my dog like that!’ I shouted angrily.
“‘You keep quiet!’ said one of the men fiercely, drawing a knife from his belt. ‘You just open your hatch for us.’
“I realised that I had no choice but to do what they ordered, and so I opened the hatch and had to stand and watch while they unloaded every single sack of popcorn and tossed it over into their own ship. Then, when they had finished, they got a piece of rope and tied me to the mast. They thought this was very funny, and they laughed as they jumped back on to their own ship and sailed away.
“I was in a spot of bother. As you know, my ship is a single-handed one and there was nobody there to help me. We could drift for days like that, and even run into rocks somewhere. So I more or less gave up any hope of being saved.
“I had forgotten about Biscuit – as had the
Lucy ran outside to see if her brother was imagining things. But he was not: for there, coming into the harbour, was the unmistakable shape of the popcorn ship. Captain Foster had returned already!
Lucy ran down to the harbour, to find Hermione waiting for her. Then, when the ship had been tied up, she and herfriend rushed aboard to find out what was wrong. They found Captain Foster on the front deck, and they could tell immediately that there was something very seriously wrong. Even Biscuit, who normally barked a welcome to the girls, was silent, his head lowered, his tail drooping sadly between his legs.
“We’ve been robbed,” said Captain Foster miserably. “Every last sack has been taken.”
Lucy glanced towards the hold. The hatches were wide open, and there was clearly nothing at all inside.
“Who robbed you?” she asked. “How did it happen?”
Captain Foster sighed. “Pirates,” he said. “They found me just about four hours off the island and they came aboard. They took everything, even Biscuit’s dog food.”
Lucy and Hermione gasped. Pirates! They had heard of pirates, of course, as everybody had, but were there still pirates on the prowl, even today? Somehow they seemed to belong to the history books, when people really feared the Jolly Roger flying from the mast. Surely that sort of thing didn’t happen any longer?
It was as if Captain Foster could read their thoughts.
“Yes,” he said. “I know that everybody thinks that pirates are a thing of the past, but they still exist, believe me! They aren’t quite so bad as they used to be, I suppose, but they’re still pretty wicked. In the old days they would have made me and Biscuit walk the plank – at least they didn’t do that!”
Later, in the kitchen of Lucy’s house, over a bowl of soup which Lucy’s mother had prepared for him, Captain Foster told everybody what had happened.
“The first I knew of it,” he said, “was when I saw a ship in the distance. I didn’t think much of it, as there are quite a few ships sailing about out there, but therewas something about this one which soon made me take notice. She was sailing straight towards me, you see.
“I thought at first that she might be in trouble. We sailors help one another out, you know, and so I stopped my engine and stayed where I was. In a few minutes they were up alongside me and I saw that she was a large sailing ship, with great white sails and a long pole at the prow. She was a beautiful ship, really, and I suppose that is why I didn’t notice at first that there was a black flag fluttering from the foremast.
“They came up beside me and threw a rope across. Then, when they were closeenough, a couple of men jumped aboard. I was beginning to worry a little bit now, because these men did not look in the slightest bit friendly, and I could tell that they clearly needed no help from me.
“Biscuit didn’t like the look of them either, because he gave a growl and then a loud bark. One of the men looked at him, and then gave him a good kick, sending him shooting across the deck.
“‘Don’t you treat my dog like that!’ I shouted angrily.
“‘You keep quiet!’ said one of the men fiercely, drawing a knife from his belt. ‘You just open your hatch for us.’
“I realised that I had no choice but to do what they ordered, and so I opened the hatch and had to stand and watch while they unloaded every single sack of popcorn and tossed it over into their own ship. Then, when they had finished, they got a piece of rope and tied me to the mast. They thought this was very funny, and they laughed as they jumped back on to their own ship and sailed away.
“I was in a spot of bother. As you know, my ship is a single-handed one and there was nobody there to help me. We could drift for days like that, and even run into rocks somewhere. So I more or less gave up any hope of being saved.
“I had forgotten about Biscuit – as had the
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