Chapter five
Pirates in Town
It was night, and there was a thick fog in Port Royal. Through the fog came a ship — a tall, black ship. It carried the skull and crossbones.
In her bed in the Governor’s House, Elizabeth tried to read. She couldn’t sleep. She saw the fog, and she thought about the pirates and the ghost story.
Down in the town, Will left the store and stood in the street. Everything was quiet — too quiet.
In his cell, Jack sat and thought. What could he do? How could he get out of this place? He looked out at the harbor and at the fog, but he wasn’t afraid.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from guns.
«I know those guns,» Jack thought. «It’s the Pearl!»
He heard the guns again. And again. Jack looked down at the town. It was on fire! Smoke came from the houses and the stores. People ran out into the streets.
And then, out of the smoke and the fog, the pirates came. They ran through the town, with their guns and their swords and their knives. They started more fires, and carried things away from the houses.
Will ran back into the store and took a sword and a knife. Then he went outside again.
«Elizabeth,» he thought. «I have to help Elizabeth.»
He started to run to the governor’s house. But he didn’t see the man behind him. The pirate hit him, hard, on the head, and Will fell to the ground.
Upstairs in her room, Elizabeth looked out her window and saw the fire and the smoke in the town. Then she looked down and saw two pirates at the door of the house. What could she do? Where could she go?
One of the pirates looked up. Ragetti was very dirty, and he only had one good eye. With it, he saw Elizabeth.
«Look, Pintel,» he said. «Up there!» Pintel looked up and smiled.
The pirates ran up the stairs. Elizabeth was afraid and quickly closed her bedroom door. The pirates hit the door, again and again. After some time, they broke the door and went into the room. But they couldn’t see Elizabeth. Suddenly, Elizabeth ran past them and out of the room. She ran down the stairs and into the dining-room. The pirates ran after her. She looked for a gun, for a sword, but there was nothing there. She heard the pirates on the stairs. Where could she go?
There was a small closet at the back of the room. She went in and closed the door, very quietly. The pirates came into the room.
«Come out, little girl,» called Pintel. «You have something, and we want it.»
«The gold is calling to us,» said Ragetti. «Come out.» In the closet, Elizabeth didn’t move. She had the gold medallion in her hand.
And then, suddenly, the door opened, and there was Ragetti. His one eye looked at her. «Hello, little girl…»
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