کاپیتان پایک

Chapter one

Capitan Pike

It was a dark and quiet night near the port, where all of the pirate ships stay before they sail. There were no lights on the street, and the only sounds were the laughing and singing behind the closed door of a bar called The Blue Dolphin. A man wearing a black pirate hat opened the door of the Blue Dolphin. He had a black patch over one eye and a scar on one side of his face. Everyone suddenly became quiet. A sailor at the bar asked the barman: “Who’s that?”

“That is Captain Pike, the greatest pirate in all the world. They say he’s stolen from the Queen of England, the King of France and the King of Spain.”

Captain Pike walked slowly around the tables looking closely at each man with his cold, grey eye. He had a very serious and cold way of talking.

“I’m looking for sailors and I need the best there are around.”

A big man in a white and blue shirt with a blue scarf around his neck stood up in front of Captain Pike.

“You won’t find anyone stronger than I am, Captain. Tell me where to put my name and I’m ready to sail.”

Captain Pike looked into the man’s eyes. His eyes were blue like the sea. Captain Pike’s eye became narrower as he talked to the man.

“I’m sailing to the Bermuda Triangle to get Blackbeard’s treasure.”

The man in front of him slowly sat down. Others began to whisper. The barman said to the sailor:

“Nobody has ever found Blackbeard’s treasure. They say it was lost somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle. All those who have tried to find it have never returned.”

Captain Pike continued to walk among the men. He knew it would be difficult to find men to go with him, so he talked about the treasure to excite them.

“They say there are diamonds as big as your nose; rubies, gold, pearls. Blackbeard was a pirate like us. It’s in our blood. I’m sure he would want other pirates to have it.”

Suddenly a loud scream came from a dark corner near the stairs. A very old man with thin white hair and a shining gold tooth walked out from the darkness to talk to the men. A large white bird sat on his shoulder.

“You don’t know what you’re saying! That treasure must always stay with Blackbeard’s ghost, on his ship. It is his punishment for hurting the natives of the islands. Go to Rum Island. The natives there will tell you the story.”

Captain Pike looked down at the man, angry because he was trying to start trouble. He wanted to kill the man with his knife, but instead he reached into his coat and took a bag full of gold coins out of his pocket. He put it on one of the tables next to a long white piece of paper he had.

“I’ve got one hundred gold coins here. I’ll give one to every man that puts his name on this piece of paper and sails with me tomorrow, at midnight.”

The men forgot what the old man said when they saw the gold coins. They ran to sign their names. Captain Pike stared at the old man once more. The old man looked at him too, and left the bar with his bird. Captain Pike yelled to the bartender: “Bartender, Drinks for everyone!

We sail tomorrow.”