Then their captain roared out the order to his crew. “Drop the anchor!”
“We’ll hang ye by the gibbet!” The threat sounded impotent in contrast to the menacing howl of the pirate’s heckling.
Mortimer wrenched and kicked. He had to get free! The evening air picked up speed as the breeze chilled Mortimer’s damp frame. His bountiful mound of hair blew about his face and his mustache trembled.
“Light the cannon!”
“NO!” Mortimer shrieked above the banter. He could take it no more! “I demand to speak to the captain first!”
The pirates laughed, their voices like a hundred deranged clowns. A yard or so across the way, Mortimer could see Sid and Cowlick on the deck, a look of shock across their faces. The pirate captain stormed across the deck toward him.
“Shall I put a bullet in is’ head?”
