“Okay,” Joe said, cracking a smile. “What do pirates pay for corn on the cob?”
“You got me,” Mr. Hardy said as he fired up the grill. “What do pirates pay for corn on the cob?”
“Yes, what?” Mrs. Hardy asked, walking by with a platter of hamburger patties and veggie kebobs.
“A buck an ear!” Joe laughed. “Buccaneer . . . get it?”
“Corny!” Frank teased. “But that joke did help Jason win the Talk Like a Pirate Contest.”
“And speaking of Jason, boys,” their mom said with a smile, “I got some information on the Wang house and the land it was built on.”
The brothers turned to stare at their mom.
“You did?” said Joe.
“What was it, Mom?” Frank asked.
“I wrote it down somewhere,” Mrs. Hardy replied. “The building that once stood on that spot did have something to do with pirates.”
Pirates? Frank and Joe froze. Was it the Peg-Leg Inn?
Chapter 8
GOLLY ROGER
“Mom?” Joe asked slowly. “Was the building a place where pirates used to stay?”
“When they sailed into Bayport?” Frank added.
“I think I wrote it down here,” Mrs. Hardy said. She reached into her jacket pocket, pulled out a note, and read it. “The place was called Pirate Pretzels. It was built in 1952 and torn down in 1978 to make room for more houses.”
“Pretzels?” Frank said.
“1952?” Joe asked.
“Hey, I remember Pirate Pretzels!” Mr. Hardy said with a grin. “When I was a kid, I loved the chocolate-covered ones with nuts!”
“Unless that old pirate inn served pretzels, boys,” Mrs. Hardy teased, “Jason has no ghosts in his house to worry about.”
“Thanks, Mom, but how do we explain this?” Frank asked. He showed the pirate coin to his parents. “Jason found a bunch of these on his windowsill last night.”
“May I see that?” Mr. Hardy asked. He took the coin from Frank and examined it.
“What do you think, Dad?” Joe asked.
“It looks like a pirate doubloon, but I’m not an expert,” Mr. Hardy said. “Why don’t you go to the Bayport Museum tomorrow? I’ll bet the museum curators can tell you if the coin is authentic.”
“And the museum is open on Sundays,” Mrs. Hardy added.
“Great idea,” Frank said.
“Yeah,” Joe said. “But I hope it’s not a real pirate coin.”
“Why?” Mrs. Hardy asked.
“That would mean it was left by a real pirate ghost!” Joe replied with a gulp.
The next morning Frank and Joe rode their bikes to the Bayport Museum, which celebrated the town’s seaport history.
“Wow, Frank,” Joe said after walking through the door into the museum. “The last time I was here was on a class trip.”
After getting their museum tickets, the brothers stopped to gaze at tall figureheads from ships, whale tusk carvings, a miniature model of Bayport from the 1700s, and a glass case filled with captains’ logbooks.
“Look, Joe,” Frank said, turning toward a large room filled with more glass cases. “That room has ancient coins inside. I saw it on my last class trip.”
“Cool,” Joe said. “Maybe we can find a coin like the ones Jason found.”
Before the brothers could enter the coin room, a man wearing a dark suit walked over. His name badge read LEONARD TUTTLE, MUSEUM DIRECTOR.
“Hello, boys,” Mr. Tuttle said. “I wanted to let you know that we have a special program for kids today in the auditorium. Would you like to attend? It’s not too late!”
“Sounds great, but no, thank you,” Frank replied. “My brother and I are here to find out where this came from.”
Mr. Tuttle’s mustache twitched as he studied the coin Frank showed him.
“We think it’s an ancient pirate coin,” Joe said with a smile. “What do you think, Mr. Tuttle?”
“Oh, it’s a pirate coin, all right,” Mr. Tuttle said. “A fake pirate coin.”
“Fake?” Joe asked.
“Are you sure?” Frank added.
“This coin isn’t made of gold,” Mr. Tuttle said, bending the coin just a bit. “It’s made out of inexpensive metal.”
The museum director smiled as he handed Frank the coin. “But it is an impressive replica,” he said. “Bring it to school for show-and-tell.”
“Show-and-tell?” Joe repeated as Mr. Tuttle walked away.
“He is the expert,” Frank said. “And at least we know the coin didn’t come from a pirate ghost.”
“The coin may not be real,” Joe explained, “but what about that creepy message in the blue bottle? And that pirate song someone taught Crackers—”
“Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,” a deep singing voice cut in. “When the wind blows, we’re all together, boys!”
“You mean that song?” Frank asked slowly.
“That’s the same song Crackers sang!” Joe said excitedly. He looked around. “But where’s it coming from?”
Frank pointed down the hall. “It sounds like it’s coming from down there!”
He and Joe followed the sound to a closed door marked AUDITORIUM. Joe opened the door a crack, and they peeked inside.
Sitting on the edge of the stage and singing to a bunch of kids was a man wearing a pirate hat and a black eye patch. An easel on the stage held a sign that read SALTY SEA SHANTIES BY PLUNDERIN’ PETE!
“That pirate looks familiar!” Joe hissed to Frank. “It’s Plunderin’ Pete from the Pirate Palooza!”
“He’s singing that song someone taught Crackers,” Frank whispered.
“Maybe that someone,” Joe whispered back, “was Plunderin’ Pete!”
Chapter 9
ALL HANDS ON DECK!
Plunderin’ Pete led the kids in a chorus of the song as Frank quietly shut the door.
“Do you think a singing pirate would scare Jason into believing in a ghost?” Frank asked.
“He did look disappointed after Jason told him he didn’t believe in Captain Scurvydog’s ghost,” Joe said. “Maybe Plunderin’ Pete wanted to make it look like his story was true.”
All singing stopped. After a few seconds the auditorium door swung open, backing the brothers against the wall. Peeking around the door, Frank and Joe saw kids filing out, each holding a bag. The bag was red with a Jolly Roger design on it.
“Jason got the same
