DISCLAIMER: If you recognize it, I don't own it.


"Sir, put the spyglass away."

"But Number Two — "

"It's too dark to see anything," the Pirate With A Scarf said, gesturing to the circle of light from the campfire. "We'll keep going in the morning."

The Pirate Captain sat down next to him. "Oh, alright. Marvin, stand guard!"

Marvin snorted and trotted off.

"I think he's close by, you know," the captain told his crew. "I can feel it! So, how about a shanty? Or whatever Americans sing, perhaps..."

As the pirates got to talking, they failed to notice what lay outside the campfire. Out of the grass crept several dark shapes, accompanied by the quiet clicking of revolvers. "We gonna get 'em right here, Jackson?" one of them whispered.

"Not fer these ones. There's too many."

"But I wanna make 'em scream!" another said.

"Shut up!" Jackson snapped. "We's gonna make 'em scream, awright..."

Charles looked around. "Did you hear that?" he asked, silencing his friends.

"Hear what?"

"Voices."

They listened, but the only noise to be heard was the faint rustling of the grass. "It's probably nothing, Charlie."

"But I could have sworn I heard someone."

"Maybe it's a ghost!" the Pirate With Gout said cheerfully.

"Don't be silly," said the captain. "If it was a ghost, it would pop up dramatically and try to scare us out of our skins!"

"I think we ought to go back to the boat," said the Pirate With A Scarf. "Just to be safe — "

THWAP!

They barely had time to realize that they'd even heard a noise before a large net flew out of the darkness and pinned them to the ground. "We ain't ghosts," a voice shouted as the bandits surrounded them, "but y'all are gonna be!"


"Poseidon's pimples, did you keep dead rats in these bags? This is no way to treat your prisoners!"

Jackson poked the Pirate Captain in the back with his revolver. "Shut yer trap."

After a moment, the captain leaned over to the Pirate With A Scarf. "It's not that bad, actually. They ought to go all the way with prisoner torturing or just not bother at all."

"Boss!" one of the bandits shouted. "Hey, boss! We're back!"

The bags came off, and the pirates blinked in surprise as their eyes adjusted to the lack of light. They stood in the center of a large, wet stone cavern lit only by a few lanterns. Lines of thin, rusty railroad tracks snaked across the ground, and upon them sat mine carts loaded with rocks.

"Who are they supposed to be?" a voice asked disdainfully. Standing in an alcove carved from the rock and looking at the group was a tall, shadowy figure. "I thought I told you to prepare for the next raid!"

"These is the folks that beat us up the other day, boss!" said one of the bandits. "I think they's educated types."

"I suppose everyone sounds like that to you."

Jackson stepped forward. "We ain't stupid, mister. We heard y'all talkin' 'bout what yer gonna do. Yer gonna turn us in an' have us hangin' soon as y'all get what you want, ain't you?" Raising his revolver, he aimed it at the figure and cocked it. "At least that's what y'all think."

The figure backed away for a moment, but he quickly regained his ground. "Gentlemen, the only reason you haven't hanged already is because I own the law. And I can assure you that you and your men will be hunted down like Indians if you pull that trigger."

Jackson glared at him, but he slipped his gun into his holster.

"Good choice," said the figure. "Now, I want you all ready by tomorrow morning."

"It ain't gonna work no more, boss!" said a bandit. "They's gotten all educated, too. That funny-lookin' boy's been helpin' 'em."

The Pirate Captain looked up. "What boy?"

"They'll listen to me," the figure said, "and the boy can be dealt with. Now off you go!"

"What about these?" a bandit asked as he pointed to the pirates, who were now struggling to get their hands untied.

"Do whatever you want with them," the figure answered as he disappeared into his alcove.

The bandits smirked as they surrounded their prey. "Ya know," said Jackson, "we don't take kindly to folks who make fools outta us. 'Course, we don't have to teach that to all of ya. Isn't that right, little lady?" His eyes were fixed on Emma's chest as he cornered her, failing to notice that she was reaching for the handle of his revolver.

A shot echoed through the cavern, and Jackson's scream reached a most unmanly pitch as he fell to the ground clutching his bleeding foot. "What're you idiots doin'?" he yelled as his men crowded around him. "Git 'em!"

They turned their guns on the pirates and let loose a hail of bullets — bullets that would have hit their targets if said targets had been there.

"Do you even know where we're going, sir?" the Pirate With A Scarf asked as the crew hurried into a tunnel, tripping on railroad ties as they went.

"Planning it out ahead never works, anyway."

Charles spoke up. "Can't we at least have some — AAAHHH!" He was cut off as he stumbled and fell face first into an empty mine cart left on the tracks.

The Pirate Who Likes Sunsets And Kittens could hear the bandits close behind them. "Everyone get in!" The rest of the crew piled into the cart, and he began to push it along the track. Before long, the cries of their pursuers were fading away and the track was sloping downwards. The cart picked up speed, and the pirate leapt aboard.

"You know, I think I'll miss those coves somewhat," the captain said with a laugh. "Once you get past the whole 'trying to kill us' bit, it's rather charming how they think they're clever."

The Pirate With A Scarf was looking ahead, straining to see through the darkness. "Sir? Sir, I think we might be about to — "

CRASH!

The cart sped into another cavern, slammed into a pair of bumpers, flipped over and spilled its occupants out onto a ground of rocks and mud.

"...Well, there you go," the first mate sputtered.

As the pirates picked themselves up, a voice rang out from the tunnel. "I can hear 'em! They went this-a way!"

"...On second thought, a plan is quite a valuable investment..."

"Up there, Cap'n!" said the Pirate With Gout as he pointed at the cavern ceiling, where a shred of moonlight was poking through a crack in the rock.

Charles, meanwhile, was on his knees examining the mud. "Interesting..."

"Not now, Chuck!" the captain shouted. He and the others were climbing up to the ceiling and clawing at the crack with all their might. The ray of moonlight grew larger until they had poked out a hole through which they could see stars. The captain went up first, looking and listening. "Coast is clear!" he whispered.

The others quickly followed him. "We need to cover the hole," the Pirate With A Scarf said.

"Where are we?" Emma asked as the captain pulled several boards out of his beard and lay them down. The moon was mostly covered by clouds, but the faint outlines of buildings were visible through what little light there was.

"What matters is where we ought to be, which isn't here," said the captain. "Let's try getting back to the boat."

"We don't know where it is!"

"I did say we'd try, didn't I?" He started as a woolly lump nudged his back. "Marvin? Oh, Marvin, where on earth have you been?"

"Captain, I think that mud was saturated with — "

"I said not now, Chuck!" The captain hopped on Marvin's back, and the crew hurried out of Blue Mud as fast as they could.


So that happened. Kind of interesting, I guess.

We've got four chapters left, so stick around!

~ A. Kingsleigh