Jeff Wysaski
Davy and Jesse, frightened by the gunshot, put their heads down and ran. They ran and ran, and ran some more. They ran until their legs ached and their brows were mottled with sweat. And just before those little legs gave out, they lunged past the big rock, collapsed in a heap and cautiously looked backward. To their surprise, the pirates were still back there, hot on their trail. “I don’t believe it,” Davy said as he sprang to his feet in disbelief. “We did it! No one’s ever beaten the dreaded Captain Lance in a 3-legged race before!”
Big Mike drew his sword and pushed Davy to safety. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size,” he shouted. “Aye, good advice” Captain Lance bellowed. “Tis a proper fight Captain Lance be seeking!” And with that, the captain abruptly turned and ran sword-first into the crowded pub, leaving the boy and the midget alone as quickly as he’d arrived.
To Davy’s dismay, the room of pirates howled and cheered, raising their mugs of grog to signal unanimous approval for the captain’s unsavory proposition. “Then it’s a agreed,” Captain Lance exclaimed, with more than a hint of twisted anticipation. “The evening’s festivities shall consist of charades AND show tunes!”
The pirate ship appeared as if out of nowhere, and was gaining fast. “That’s odd,” Jesse said. “Has this freckle on my arm always been here?”
Davy allowed his thoughts to leap skyward as he dug deeper into the ground. The minutes ticked by as images of gold doubloons and glinting necklaces filled his head. Then, all of a sudden the repetition of shovel hitting sand was disrupted by a surprising THUD! Davy cried out, causing Big Mike and Jesse to come running. “Is it the treasure,” Jesse exclaimed. “No,” Davy murmured. “It’s my foot. Guess I should stop daydreaming and start watching where I’m digging.”
He cracked the door to the captain’s room and quietly gasped at the sight laid out before him. For as long as Davy could remember, everyone had just assumed the one-eyed pirate with the parrot on his shoulder was running the ship. As it turns out, Captain Lance was just the messenger. The real captain was the parrot himself!!