Chapter 3 - Amazon Pirates

After supper that evening Ruth and Peggy sat discussing their new boat and making new plans for things to do during the holidays.

"We can sail to Wild Cat Island when we camp there this year," said Ruth. "Much better than rowing, and I think there's more room in the new boat. We ought to decide where else we can go, there is still a lot of the lake we haven't explored."

Suddenly Peggy asked, "What are we going to call it?"

"Her," replied Ruth sharply.

"Pardon?"

"Her," repeated Ruth more patiently. "You know that boats are always female. So we should always use her or she."

"Alright then. What are we going to call her?"

I hadn't really thought about that," replied her sister, "Of course she's got to have a name."

"Lots of boats are named after birds, like kingfisher or dabchick," continued Peggy.

"No! They don't sound nearly exciting enough. You couldn't have an adventure in a boat called dabchick," declared Ruth decisively.

"Well, what are good names for a boat to have adventures in then?"

"Oh there are loads of good names. I've been reading Treasure Island and the ship in that is called Hispaniola."

"Hispaniola, that doesn't seem right for us. What is a Hispaniola any way?"

"Peggy! Don't be such a donkey! Hispaniola is an island in the Caribbean, the Spanish Main. You know, where pirates like Blackbeard and Captain Kidd captured ships and buried their treasure!"

"How should I know that? I've not read the book."

"Well, what ships do you know?"

Peggy thought for a moment before replying, "Titanic of course, and Mauritania, Iron Duke and Nelson's Victory."

"Those don't sound right, and you're a double donkey if you want to call a boat Titanic!"

"Well you asked what ships I knew, not what names I wanted!"

"Get some paper and pencils we'll write down all the names we can think of and see if one of those is good enough."

Peggy rummaged around and found some paper and two pencils that were not too blunt. For several minutes there was no sound other than occasional scribbling, sometimes followed by frantic crossing out.

Suddenly Ruth tossed aside her piece of paper and looked up, "I've got it! We're a right pair of galoots! Amazon!"

"What?" asked Peggy.

"Amazon. We call the river Amazon, why shouldn't our boat be called Amazon as well?"

"Amazon… Amazon" Peggy repeated the name several times. "It sounds good."

"Can you think of anything better?" demanded Ruth.

"No. Why do we call the river the Amazon anyway?"

"Surely you know. When I was very little the river seemed very wide and Uncle Jim said it must be like the Amazon to me. That was when he'd just got back from one of his trips to South America. The name just sort of stuck. It's much better than the real name anyway. We can be the Amazon sailors."

"The Amazon sailors?"

"Why not? It sounds good to me."

"I suppose it's alright."

"Alright, of course it's alright! Have you got any other ideas?"

"Are there any other ships in that book you were reading?"

"The only other one I can remember is a pirate ship called Walrus, and I don't think that sounds such a good name for our boat." Ruth paused, then continued with a rush, "I've got another idea! We can be pirates as well!"

"Pirates? We can't go around capturing other boats. There would be no end of trouble with Mother and Uncle Jim if we did that."

"Galoot! We wouldn't go capturing others, though that would be fun, but we can search for buried treasure and have a pirate feast on Wild Cat Island. Uncle Jim's got that old starting cannon on the houseboat. He might even let us fire it. We can have tons of fun."

o – o – O – o - o

Next morning Uncle Jim again rowed over from the houseboat to give Ruth and Peggy another sailing lesson, but before he had a chance to say anything he was pounced on by the girls.

"We've got a name for the boat," said Ruth.

"Can we paint it on?" added Peggy.

"Whoa, steady on! One at a time!" warned their uncle, "Now what is it you want?"

"We want to call our new boat Amazon," said Ruth impatiently, "and we're going to paint it on the stern."

"That's a good idea. All ships should have a name. But I'm not sure about you doing the painting yourself. It can be quite tricky getting the writing evenly spaced. You'll want it to look good."

"Will you do it then?"

"Hang on a moment! I don't know if I'm up to it either. Something like that needs a steady hand and a good eye. I'll think about it and find someone who can do it for us. We don't want to spoil her by rushing"

"And we're going to be pirates!" added Peggy. "We can look for buried treasure."

Ruth shot her sister a warning look. Although she had not said anything about it she was not ready to start sharing all their plans with the grown-ups.

"Pirates? Treasure?" asked their uncle, "I don't think you will find much treasure around here, and don't go upsetting the farmers by digging holes in their land."

"Of course we won't," insisted Ruth, "But we can have a pirate feast and use the barrel to carry our grog."

"Well, I don't see why not. But there is one thing Ruth, you'll have to change your name."

"Why? What's wrong with my name?"

"Pirates are ruthless," Uncle Jim chuckled at his own joke. "They'll attack anyone weaker than themselves and don't care a fig for those for oppose them. Look at how old Captain Flint bumped off everyone who knew where he had buried his treasure."

Ruth thought for a moment, "I've never really liked Ruth as a name anyway. It sounds too prim and proper. The sort of name that Great Aunt Maria likes. You know how she never says Peggy, it's always Margaret, and said in the kind of voice that makes you feel small."

"You can't just stop being Ruth!" exclaimed her sister, "And what would you be called?"

"Well, Nancy is my middle name. I suppose I could use that. I think it sounds better than Ruth. Perhaps I should take one of the pirate names, Billy Bones or Israel Hands."

Uncle Jim was surprised at the reaction produced by his little joke. "You don't have to change anything Ruth, if you don't want to. Though I do admit it was your Great Aunt Maria's idea, she was very insistent, but Nancy was your father's preference."

"That's decided then!" announced Ruth firmly. "From now on I want to be called Nancy. Especially if it's what father would have wanted!" She turned her head to watch a pair of ducks landing on the river so the others would not see how her eyes were watering.