The Not-so-Jolly Roger Read Online Free

Navy, and these guys are doing their laundry.”
    “That’s the powder magazine they’re wetting down, lad. If that gunpowder catches fire and blows, none of us ever needs do our laundry again.”
    Mr. Hands laughed, opened a hatch in the deck, and shoved us in. The three of us tumbled down some narrow steps and landed in a heap.
    “Ow,” said Sam.

    “We are definitely in trouble now,” I said.
    “Yeah, thanks to Fred, Time-Traveling Treasure Hunter, here,” said Sam, “we’re trapped in Blackbeard’s hold with a British warship about to blast us out of time and space.”
    “Blackbeard won’t get caught. He’s a famous historical person,” said Fred.
    “Great,” said Sam. “If we don’t get blasted out of the water or hanged for being pirates, we’ll get to walk the plank.”
    “So?” said Fred.
    “So?” yelled Sam. “You got us into this whole buried treasure mess and all you can say is ‘So?’ ”
    “Guys, guys,” I said. “Our only hope is to find The Book. We have to think. Where would it be?”
    We sat quietly in the smelly, dark hold and tried to think.
    Cannons rolled and men shouted overhead. The ship rocked.
    “I’ve got it,” said Sam. “The captain’s quarters. That’s where they always keep the ship’s log and maps and things.”
    “That’s got to be it,” I said.
    “Let’s go,” said Fred.
    “I think you’re forgetting a few things,” I said.
    “Like: our hands are tied, the hold is locked, the ship is covered with pirates, and we don’t even know where the captain’s quarters are.”
    We could feel the ship roll and pick up speed.
    “Well, it’s a good thing some of us came prepared.” Sam held up two pieces of rope in one hand and his Swiss army knife in the other.
    “All right!” said Fred. “We’re out of here.”
    Fred jumped up the stairs and pushed his back against the hatch. “Come on and push, you guys. I think we can spring it.”
    Cannons boomed above us and rocked the ship sideways.
    “If we get out of this alive, Fred,” said Sam, “I’m going to kill you.”
    We were halfway up the steps when we heard the return cannonfire from the British ship. Three seconds later, everything exploded.
    Light and smoke and noise poured in. Up above, men were screaming, yelling, and groaning. I sat up and threw a splintered board off my leg. “Are you guys okay?”
    “Ow,” said Sam.
    Fred, stretched out face down at the foot of the steps, didn’t say anything.

SEVEN
    Sam stared at Fred’s motionless form.
    Guns and cannons fired. The ship rolled.
    “Fred, I didn’t mean it,” said Sam. “Fred, are you okay? Speak to us. I promise I’ll never say anything mean to you ever again.”
    Sam lifted a board off Fred’s back.
    “Ow,” said Fred.
    Sam punched him. “You moron. We thought you were dead.”
    Fred sat up and rubbed the back of his head. “Nah. It takes more than a cannonball to knock off a time-traveling magician.”
    Up where the hatch used to be, now there was a jagged hole. We could see smoke, sails, and sky.
    “Let’s get out of here and go find The Book,” I said.
    Sam looked up and gave his glasses a push up his nose. “On second thought, maybe we should just wait it out down here.”
    Fred and I pushed him up the stairs.
    The hold was noisy, but up on deck was like a scene from hell. The smoke and smell of gunpowder was everywhere. The full crew of some two hundred pirates swarmed all over the ship. Some were throwing buckets of water to put out small fires on the deck and in the sails. Others rolled the cannons back to load them. Still others were up in the rigging, cutting free damaged lines and sails. Guys with muskets lined the rail on one side and kept up a steady stream of fire at the British ship blasting through the sea alongside. Bullets and metal pieces zinged by, ripping holes in the sails, shredding rope, and splintering wood.
    Sam’s idea to wait out the battle in the hold suddenly seemed like a great