Hope you enjoy it, and have a great week! :)
 |
| Welcome Summer!! :D |
Chapter Two
They appeared to be on a ship
of some kind. The children were behind a pile of rope, so they could watch the
crew of men rushing about without getting stepped on. Luke had been reading
about ships recently, so he knew which parts were which, and who everyone was.
“That must be the captain.” He
whispered, pointing to a tall, thin man standing on a higher deck and bellowing
orders to the scurrying sailors. Emily looked worriedly around her.
“Are you sure this is safe?”
she asked.
Luke nodded. “Oh yeah, these
guys are probably safe. Look up there. Do you see the flag?” Emily nodded, so
Luke went on. “They’re flying the Union Jack, which means that this is an
English ship.”
Emily gave a sigh of relief. “Alright,
should we show ourselves to the captain then?”
Luke thought for a moment. “Well,
he might think we’re stowaways, which may get us into trouble.” John looked up
from where he had been being quietly standing.
“What if we promise to work
for it?” he asked suddenly.
Luke chewed on his lip
thoughtfully. “Well, I guess it’s worth a try. Let me sneak around to the
captain’s cabin and figure out where we’re headed.” Emily nodded in agreement to his plan.
“You do that, and I’ll stay
here where we’re hidden with John.” Quickly, Luke took off, weaving his way
through the ship. He crawled in behind some barrels just in time, as two crew
members walked by. Taking a deep breath after his close call, Luke went on to
the cabin. The door opened easily, and he made a speedy check to make sure no
one saw him before ducking into it.
He found the map of the ship’s
journey easily; it was already lying on a table. He looked over the charts
carefully. There didn’t seem to be any indication that the ship was a pirate’s
ship, for the route only went from England to France, and then back again.
Pirates, he was sure, would have made detours to possible islands that might
hold treasure.
Now reassured, he slipped out
of the cabin again, leaving everything as it had been before he arrived. He saw
the captain coming his way, so he quickly ducked out of sight behind a few
handy sacks.
The captain passed him by, so
Luke followed him at a safe distance. Before entering his cabin, the captain
turned around once more, and his eyes fell on Luke before he had time to hide
again. The captain’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“What’s this!” he exclaimed.
Luke swallowed, and his words
came out in a tumble. “P-please sir, my siblings and I would like to work on
your ship for a while. We don’t need any pay but food and a place to sleep. I
promise we won’t be any trouble.”
The captain frowned. “But
you’re only a child; I cannot take a child onto my ship.”
Luke bit his lip, his mind
racing. “My sister is a very good cook, and she can help care for your wounded
men. John and I could make your cabin cleaner than it’s ever been since it was
built. Please sir, we don’t have any home right now, and we need the food to
survive!”
The captain seemed to weaken. “Very
well, but you must earn your keep, or you leave at the next port.”
Luke’s eyes brightened. “Aye,
aye sir! I’ll go get my siblings next!” and he ran off quickly, before the
captain had a chance to change his mind. Darting around curious crew members
and piles of goods, Luke found Emily and John still behind the ropes. He pulled
them out, explaining the news as he did. “Come on, we need to report to the
captain right now if we want our food and beds!”
Emily and John followed Luke
back across the deck, and in no time at all they stood panting for breath in
front of the captain, awaiting their first duties on board the HMS Golden Eagle.
Oh! I love your story so far! :D
ReplyDeleteCould you baby-sit me so I could have a story too? ;)
Love love love it! :D
There IS more isn't there?
:P Yes, there's more...coming up today in fact! :D
Delete