CHAPTER V
REAL LIVE PIRATES
After neatly and carefully turning up the bottoms of his trousers sothat they should not get wet, the False Hare bounded on a rock thatrose out of the water a few feet from shore, and stood ready to directthe landing of the boat. There was some sense in this, for certainlyneither of the two mice was what could be called good oarsmen. One ofthem had just unshipped the little sail, and--not seeming to know whatelse to do with it--had cut it loose from the oar that served as amast and wrapped it round and round his body, tying himself tightlywith a piece of string.
Rudolf thought he had never in his life seen people in a boat do somany queer and unnecessary things in so short a time as those twomice did. They would stop rowing every few minutes and begin sweepingout the floor of their boat with a small broom, dusting seats,cushions, and oar-locks with a little feather duster tied with a pinkribbon. Then, after a few, rapid, nervous strokes at the oars, one orthe other of them would pull his blade out of the water and polish itanxiously with his handkerchief, as if the important thing was to keepit dry. They would probably never have reached land that day if thishad depended on their own efforts, but luckily the breeze was blowingthem in the right direction.
All this time the False Hare had been waiting on the rock, and now asthe boat was almost within reach, he began leaping up and down,clapping his paws and calling out in the heartiest tones: "Go it, mydear old Salts! Hurrah, my fine Jack Tars! You're a pair of swell oldsea-dogs, you are. Only don't _hurt_ yourselves, you know. We wouldn'tlike to see you _work_!"
It seemed as if the white mice knew the False Hare and the value ofhis remarks, for they made no attempt to answer him, but only lookedmore and more frightened and uncomfortable. When their boat was atlast beached, they jumped out of it, turned their backs to the rest ofthe party, and standing as close together as they could get, gazedanxiously out over the water. Seen close by there was somethingfamiliar about the look of these mice to the three children, yes, eventhough they _had_ grown a great deal, and had disguised themselves bythe simple method of licking the chocolate off each other! Rudolf andAnn hoped Peter would not notice it, but nothing of the sort everescaped him. He walked around in front of the two mice, who triedvainly not to meet his eye, looked at them long and earnestly, andsaid:
"I say, Mr. Mouses, was you always white?"
The mice turned a pale greenish color in their embarrassment andlooked nervously at each other, but answered never a word.
"I thought," continued Peter, staring steadily at them, "that lasttime I saw you you was choc'late. Did you wash it off--on purpose?" headded sternly.
"Excuse me, sir, we don't believe in washing," muttered one of thepoor things hastily.
Ann shook her head at Peter. "Hush!" she whispered. "You mustn't berude to them when they are going to lend us their boat so kindly."Then she asked in a loud voice, hoping to change the subject: "Who isgoing to row? Will you, Mr. False Hare?"
"Why certainly, dearie, I adore rowing," said the False Hare sweetly.
"Then you will have to, Rudolf, and I will look after Peter. 'He isalways _so_ apt to fall out of a boat. I dare say the mice will beglad of a rest."
They all got into the boat, Rudolf took the oars, Ann sat in the bowwith Peter beside her, and the False Hare settled himself comfortablyin the stern with a mouse squeezed on either side of him. He wanted topet them a little, so he said, but from the strained expressions ontheir faces and the startled squeaks they gave from time to time, itseemed as if they were hardly enjoying his attentions. The childrenloved being on the water better than anything else, and they wouldhave been perfectly happy now, if the False Hare had not had quite somany nice compliments to make to Rudolf on his rowing, and if thewhite mice had not complained so bitterly of them all for "sitting allover the boat cushions," and "wetting the nice dry oars!" They wereenjoying themselves very much, in spite of this, when suddenly Ann,who had very sharp eyes, called out:
"Sail ahead!"
At first Rudolf thought she had said this just because it soundedwell, but on turning his head he saw for himself a small boat headingtoward them as fast as it could come. A moment more and the childrencould see the black flag floating at its masthead.
"Oh, oh!" screamed Ann, "that's a skull and cross-bones. It's a pirateship!"
"Hurrah!" Rudolf shouted. "How awfully jolly! Just like a book."
"Dee-lightful!" the False Hare exclaimed, shuddering all over to thetips of his whiskers. "If there's one thing I do dote on it ispirates--dear old things!"
As for the two white mice, after one glance at the ship, they gavetwo little shrieks and hid their faces in their paws.
Rudolf shipped his oars while he loosened his sword. "I shall beprepared to fight," said he, "though I am afraid we must make up ourminds to being captured. Our enemy's boat is not so large--it's notmuch more than a catboat--but there are only four of us, as the micedon't count, and I suppose there must be at least a dozen of thepirates."
The False Hare smiled a sickly sort of smile. "And such nice ones," hemurmured. "Such gentle, well-behaved, well-brought-up, _polite_pirates! Just the sort your dear parents would like to have you meet._Those_ fellows don't know anything about shooting, stabbing,mast-heading or plank-walking; _oh_, no! _They_ don't do such things."
Ann turned pale at the False Hare's words, but Rudolf only laughed."What luck!" he exclaimed. "I'm nine years old and I've never seen areal live pirate, and goodness knows when I ever will again--Iwouldn't miss this for anything." Then, as he saw how really worriedhis little sister looked, he added cheerfully. "They may sail rightpast without speaking to us, you know."
But this was not to be the case. Nearer and nearer came the piratecraft until at last the children could see, painted in black letterson her side, her name, _The Merry Mouser_. A group of pirates wasgathered at the rail, staring at the rowboat through their glasses.There was no mistake about these fellows being pirates--that was easyenough to see from their queer bright-colored clothes and the numberof weapons they carried, even if the ugly black flag had not beenfloating over their heads. At the bow stood he who was evidently thePirate Chief. He was dressed in some kind of tight gray and whitestriped suit with a red sash tied round his waist stuck full ofshiny-barreled pistols and long bright-bladed knives. A red turbandecorated his head and under it his brows met in the fiercest kind offrown. His arms were folded on his breast. As Rudolf looked at thisfellow, he began to have the queerest feeling that somewhere--somehow--under very different conditions--he had seen the PirateChief before!
Just at that instant he heard the sound of a struggle behind him, andturning round he saw that Peter had become terribly excited. "Mittens!Mittens!" he screamed, and breaking loose from Ann's hold, he stood upand leaned so far over the side of the boat that he lost his balanceand fell into the water. Ann screamed, the False Hare--I am ashamed tosay--merely yawned and kept his paws in his pockets. Rudolf had kickedoff his shoes and was ready to jump in after Peter, when he saw thatquick as a flash, on an order from their Chief, the pirates hadlowered a long rope with something bobbing at the end of it. Peterwhen he came to the surface, seized this rope and was rapidly hauledon board the pirate ship.
Ann came near falling overboard herself in her excitement. "Oh, Ruddy,Ruddy!" she begged, "let's surrender right away quick. We can't leavepoor darling Peter to be carried off by those terrible cats."
"Cats?" said Rudolf, staring stupidly at the pirates. "Why so they arecats, Ann! Somehow I hadn't noticed that before. But, look, they aresending a boat to us now."
In a small boat which had been towed behind the catboat, a couple ofpirates--big, rough-looking fellows--were sculling rapidly toward thechildren. Cats indeed they were, but such cats as Ann and Rudolf hadnever seen before, so big and black and bold were they, their teeth sosharp and white, their eyes so round and yellow! One had a red sashand one a green, and each carried knives and pistols enough to set upa shop.
"Surrender!" they crie
d in a businesslike kind of way as they laidhold of the bow of the rowboat, "or have your throats cut--just as youlike, you know."
Of course the children didn't like, and then, as Ann said, they had toremember Peter. Much against his will, Rudolf was now forcedto surrender his beloved sword. The False Hare handed over allhis belongings--his jewelry, his suit case, and his littleumbrella--without the slightest hesitation, humming a tune as he didso, but his voice cracked, and Ann and Rudolf noticed that the tip ofhis nose had turned quite pale. The prisoners were quicklytransferred to the other boat, and the pirate with the green sash tookthe oars. Just as all was ready for the start the cat in red cried:
"Hold on a minute, Growler! I'll just jump back into their old tub tosee if we've left any vallybles behind!"
"All right, Prowler."
It was then and only then that Rudolf and Ann remembered the two whitemice! The last time they had noticed them was at the moment of Peter'sducking when in their excitement, the foolish creatures had hiddentheir faces on each other's shoulders, rolled themselves into a kindof ball, and stowed themselves under a seat. Prowler leaped into thelittle boat which the pirates had fastened by a tow-rope to their own,and during his search he kept his back turned to his companions. Hewas gone but a moment, and when he returned his whiskers were veryshiny, and he was looking extremely jolly as he hummed a snatch of apirate song.
"Find anything?" asked Growler, eying him suspiciously. "If you did,and don't fork it out before the Chief, _you'll_ catch it. 'Twill beas much as your nine lives are worth!"
"Oh, 'twas nothing--nothing of any importance," answered Prowlerairily.
Rudolf and Ann looked at each other, but neither of them spoke. Boththe pirate cats now settled to the oars and the boat skimmed along thewater in the direction of the _Merry Mouser_. As they drew alongside,Growler muttered in a not unfriendly whisper:
"Look here, youngsters, here's a word of advice that may save you yourskins. Don't show any cheek--not to me or Prowler, we're themates--and above all, not to the Chief!"
"What is your Chief's name, Mr. Growler, dear sir?" asked Anntimidly.
Growler flashed his white teeth at her. Then he looked at Prowler andboth mates repeated together as if they were saying a lesson: "Thename of our illustrious Chief is Captain Mittens--Mittens, thePitiless Pirate--Mittens, the Monster of the Main!"
"Why--why--my Aunt Jane had a tiger cat once with white paws--" Annbegan, but then she stopped suddenly, for Rudolf had given her a sharppinch. A terrible frown had spread over the faces of both Growler andProwler. "Above _all_," whispered the mate in low and earnest tones,"none of that! If you don't want to be keel-hauled, don't recall hisshameful past!"