the deck of the
Barbary Hen
they both waved at the pirates anxiously waiting on the
Lovely Emma
.
âHeâs going to help!â she said, hugging Black Bellamy. She ignored the immature pirates who went âwoooooo!â when they saw the hug.
âThanks, Black Bellamy!â said the scarf-wearing pirate, helping Jennifer back across the plank. âWe wonât forget this in a hurry!â
âItâs nothing,â shouted Black Bellamy, as the
Barbary Hen
began to sail off. âItâs just so awful to hear that the Pirate Captain has gone a bit mental. When I think of his poor little mad face, I feel quite emotional.â
The pirates barely had time to get even halfway through an exciting game of Scrabble before the
Barbary Hen
sailed back into view. They all crowded around the boatâs telescope and fought to see what was going on.
âHeâs back already!â said the albino pirate.
âHe canât be!â said the pirate in red.
âHe is! I donât believe it! And heâs got the whale!â exclaimed the pirate with a scarf.
As the
Barbary Hen
came closer they could see Black Bellamy leaning nonchalantly on the shipâs wheel, steering with one hand and examining the nails of his other. And there behind him, sat right in the middle of the deck, was a gigantic white whale strapped down by hefty nautical ropes. The whale flapped its tail and a steaming jet of spray erupted from its blowhole, catching the sunlight in a rainbow haze. It was an impressive-looking creature, thought the pirate with a scarf. He remembered how Charles Darwin, the young naturalist they had encountered on their previous adventure, had told him that if you got yourself twelve sets of pirate lungs and then stitched them all together, disgusting though it would be, they would still have just half the lung capacity of one of a whaleâs lungs. That wasnât the kind of statistic to be taken lightly.
âThat Black Bellamy,â said the pirate with a hook for a hand. âYouâve got to hand it to him, heâs pretty good at stuff.â
Jennifer clapped her hands. âSomebody go and get the Captain! Heâll be over the moon!â
The pirate with a scarf ran down the stairs and came back a few moments later, followed by what the crew at first glance thought must be a dirty old tramp. The pirates all gasped when they realised that the shuffling, shabby mess wasnât a tramp â it was the Pirate Captain, wearing only a pair of grubby pyjama bottoms. His eyes were wild and staring, his face was anything but pleasant or open, and his beard was ratty and unmanageable. Blinking at the light, the Pirate Captain stared uncomprehendingly about. But as the
Barbary Hen
pulled up alongside the
Lovely Emma
, he spotted the whale and his mouth fell open.
âThe white whale!â he croaked. Then he saw Black Bellamy. âAnd you, you scoundrel!â
âPirate Captain!â said Jennifer crossly. âIâm so sorry, Mister Bellamy. He doesnât know what heâs saying.â She turned back to the Pirate Captain. âYouâre being very rude to Mister Bellamy.â
âNo, no,â said Black Bellamy. âItâs quite understandable.â He looked sadly at his shoes. âI knowweâve had our ups and downs, Pirate Captain. And I know that Iâve not been entirely honest with you in the past. But Iâd just like you to think of this as a favour from an old friend. Your men told me that you were having a tough time of it and this seemed the least I could do.â
The Pirate Captain was really very touched. It was all he could do to try to stop his voice sounding too emotional. âI donât know what to say,â he said.
âThen donât say anything at all, Pirate Captain,â said Black Bellamy, putting a finger to his lips. âExcept,â he added, âthere is just one small matter.â Black
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