Chapter 2 The Legend of Captain William Paine

Velma was startled by Fred's sudden motion. He sprang away from the window and began running toward the door.

"Fred, what's going on? What was that scream?" Velma asked anxiously.

"Daphne, we've got to save Daphne," came his breathless reply. Before she could question him further, Fred had sprinted out into the hallway. He flew down the stairs and busted through the front door.

"Hey there, Freddy," Clarissa said, smiling suggestively. She seemed to be completely unaware of what was going on. "Do you want to come up to my room for a little while?" She draped her arms over him. How could she be so clueless? Hadn't she heard Daphne scream? Couldn't she tell that Fred was terribly worried?

Without so much as glancing at her, Fred pushed Clarissa away and said, "Leave me alone."

Clarissa was stunned into silence, allowing Fred time to hurry over to the lighthouse. Shaggy and Scooby had heard Daphne's scream and ran to Velma, who informed them of Fred's strange actions. Now these three were tailing Fred, seeing where he was headed.

As Fred reached the spot where Daphne had been snatched, he heard a sound that directed his attention upward. There he found Daphne. She had been tied to a chair. This was fastened on the outside of the railing that guarded the very tip of the lighthouse, leaving Daphne dangling over the edge. If anything happened to the rope that was holding her in place... Fred shuddered at the mere thought of something so terrible and terrifying.

"Don't worry, Daph, I'm coming!" he shouted up to her, trying his best to smile reassuringly, though he wasn't sure if it worked.

Fred wasted no time in barging through the door and taking the winding stairs two at a time. He soon became aware of footsteps behind him and looked back to see his close friends following. This made him smile, though only for a moment.

In no time the whole gang was at the top of the lighthouse. They all ran over to Daphne, who looked to be on the verge of tears.

"We need to untie the chair," Velma told the others.

"But, like, if we do that, she'll fall," Shaggy pointed out.

"Velma, you and Scoob untie the chair while Shaggy and I hold on to it," Fred instructed. "As soon as you get the knots loose, we'll lift her over the railing and everything will be okay." He addressed the last few words to the damsel in distress.

Everyone nodded and immediately filled their roles. A minute passed, though it seemed like an hour, but Daphne was still dangling over the edge.

"Hurry up, guys!" Fred shouted. "She's afraid of heights!"

Another minute flew by and they were finally able to bring Daphne and the chair safely over the railing. By now, there were a few tears threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes.

Fred pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. He breathed a sigh of relief as he held her in his arms, thanking God that they were able to save her. He allowed his hand to gently stroke the back of her soft hair.

"Don't ever do that to me again," he whispered softly.

"I really wish someone else would get kidnapped for a change," Daphne said. Her voice seemed a little hoarse.

"Jinkies!" Velma cried. "Get a load of this."

Fred released Daphne, though he would've kept holding her forever, and all eyes turned to Velma as she held out a slip of paper. On it, in small, neat writing, was a note.

Let this be a warning to you all.

Leave now and you will be spared, but if you don't heed this,

I'll make sure that next time, you won't be so lucky.

-W. Paine

"Zoinks," Shaggy whimpered. "Like, I don't like the sound of that."

"Me r'either," Scooby said.

Soon, the teenagers and their dog were secure back at Sharon and Donald's house. They quickly explained all that had happened at the lighthouse and showed them the threatening letter.

"Oh my," Sharon whispered. "I can't believe it's actually true."

"What do you mean, Aunt Sharon?" Velma asked.

"The legends," the older woman explained. "Do you know why this town is called Pirate's Cove? It's because centuries ago, that lighthouse and all the surrounding area was the hideout for a famous pirate named William Paine."

"That would explain the name signed on the note we found," Fred mused.

"Yes," Sharon said in an ominous tone. "He built that lighthouse for his ships. Anyway, the stories say that Paine once had a huge treasure that he trusted with no one. He could tell that some of his crew was growing greedy and he feared they would try to steal his wealth, so he hid it somewhere in the lighthouse. Then, he locked himself away in there to guard it. Eventually, his crew decided they wanted the treasure for themselves, so they killed Paine, but not before he vowed to protect his riches, even after death."

Shaggy gulped. "Like, did they ever find it?" he asked.

"No, because only William Paine knew its location. Eventually people gave up searching, but over the past few years, some folks have shown an interest in finding it. They've all run away, claiming that the old pirate is still guarding his treasure, just as he said he would." Sharon sighed and shook her head. "I never believed any of those rumors that Paine's ghost haunts the place, but now it seems like they're true."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Velma said skeptically. "So the claims of seeing Pain's ghost have been recent? Only over the past few years?"

"Yes," Donald answered. "But the legend was around long before that."

Velma mulled over this for a moment. "There's something mighty fishy about all of this," she said slowly, her brain still analyzing all that had happened.

"Well, gang," Fred addressed his friends, "it looks like we've got another mystery on our hands."

Clarissa inched closer to him. "Wow, Fred, it's so brave of you to step up and investigate like that." She batted her eyelashes in what was meant to be a flirtatious manner, though it looked like she had something in her eye.

Daphne smirked as Fred squirmed. At least there was no possibility of him falling for Clarissa. A smile spread across Daphne's face as she watched Fred mouth the word, "Help!"