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his head.
    “You were right to raise the alarm,” he said to Sam, patting him on the head. “Even if it’s been a false one. You’s got the making of a pirate, so you have. You work hard and one day you’ll get a full-time job in the pirate trade, won’t he, Stinger?”
    Stinger tried to smile, but it came out all wrong. “Yes,” he said. “As long as no sharks eat you before then, you’ll probably grow up into a good pirate.”
    With these encouraging words, the two pirates returned to their game of cards, and life on the pirate ship went back to normal. The children, though, were all thinking of one thing. If Biscuit was on board, then Captain Foster would have had nobody to help him. And that meant that he could still be tied to his chair, with his boat drifting hopelessly at sea. They would have to do something soon, as there was not much time.

7
    Lucy’s Great Idea
    The pirates were so pleased with all the hard work which the children had done that day that Bert agreed to let them stop early and have some time together on the deck before dinner. This was a mistake on Bert’s part, because this was theirchance to discuss what they could possibly do to get out of their terrible plight.
    “We could try to take one of the rowing boats,” said Sam. “We could lower it over the side and row away in the dead of night.”
    Lucy shook her head. “Not a good idea,” she said. “We’re too far from land by now and we wouldn’t stand a chance of getting anywhere.”
    “We could put a bottle over the side with a message in it,” ventured Hermione. “Somebody might pick it up and come to our rescue.”
    Again Lucy had to pour cold water on the idea. “It could be years before anybodyfound it,” she said. “That would be far too late.”
    They were silent for a moment. Then Lucy smiled. “I’m beginning to get an idea,” she said. “If you want to get the better of somebody, what do you do?”
    She looked around for an answer, but nobody could think of anything to say.
    “You think of their weak points,” said Lucy. “And what are the weak points of these pirates?”
    “They’re greedy,” said Sam. “Especially Tommy.”
    “Yes,” said Lucy. “And did you see how those two with earrings ate – just like pigs? It’s disgusting.”
    “And they’re lazy too,” said Hermione. “That’s why they’re pirates, rather than having an honest job.”
    “Precisely,” said Lucy. “So we have a group of greedy, lazy pirates. At the moment, they’re in control of the ship, but we want to take over. So what do we do?”
    Again, neither of the others could think of an answer. So Lucy had to explain her idea to them. When she had done so, nobody spoke for a few moments. Then Hermione stood up and clapped her hands together.
    “That is a brilliant idea,” she exclaimed. “A wonderful, brilliant idea that is bound to work.”
    “Yes,” said Sam, a little more hesitantly. “Very clever.”

    That evening, while the pirates were having their dinner, Lucy went up to their table and said that she had an announcement to make.
    “Oh yes?” sneered Stinger. “What could you have to say that would possibly interest us?”
    “Maybe they’re going on strike,” said Tommy. “Maybe they’ve had enough.”
    “Oh aye?” said Ed. “Well, if you don’t like your job, you can always leave the ship. And we’ll even provide a plank to help you on your way!”
    The pirates all laughed at this joke, but Lucy did not mind.
    “We wanted to do something for you,” she said.
    The pirates became silent.
    “Do something for us?” said Bert. “Well, that’s more like it, isn’t it? What would this thing be?”
    “We want to cook you some popcorn,” said Lucy. “You see, this boat is full of popcorn, and we would like you to try just a little bit of it. We come from the Popcorn Islands, as you know, and nobody knows how to cook popcorn as well as a Popcorn Islander.”
    The pirates looked at one