Pirate's Promise Read Online Free PDF

England?”
    â€œCaptain Land will help me,” said Tom. “He will put me ashore where I can find a ship to take me back.”
    â€œHe cannot sail until his ship is ready,” said Captain Red, “and that will not be soon. I passed by the Sea Bird an hour ago, and no man was working. They were all in town or sleeping in the shade. But my ship sails tomorrow. You shall sail with me, English boy.”
    â€œCaptain Land will help me find a way back to England,” Tom told him. “He has said so.”
    â€œAnd so do I,” said Captain Red. “Do you think I would turn a boy into a pirate against his will? One week from today I’ll have you on a ship to England. Is that good enough for you?”
    â€œYes, sir!” said Tom. “I thank you kindly.”
    â€œI want no thanks,” said Captain Red. “Come. We’ll go to my ship.”
    â€œFirst I must see Captain Land,” said Tom.
    â€œWhy?” asked Captain Red.
    â€œI must say good-by,” said Tom.
    Already he was on his way, running across the beach toward Captain Land’s house.

12. A Boy in Carolina
    Benjy had built a small fire in front of the house. There was a kettle on the fire, and he was bending over it. He smiled when Tom came running up.
    â€œThe medicine I make is good,” said Benjy. “Today our captain is nearly well.”
    â€œIs he inside?” asked Tom. “I want to say good-by.”
    Benjy stopped smiling. “Good-by?”
    â€œA ship is sailing from here tomorrow,” said Tom. “The captain is going to put me ashore where I can—”
    Benjy asked quickly, “What captain?”
    â€œCaptain Red,” answered Tom.
    â€œNo, no!” cried Benjy. “You will not go with Captain Red!”
    â€œBut why?” asked Tom.
    â€œHe is bad,” said Benjy. “You would not believe how bad he is.”
    â€œHe is a pirate, I know,” said Tom, “but he promised to help me find a ship back to England.”
    â€œYou must not trust him,” said Benjy. “Do you know why he is here now? He was in a battle at sea. Many of his men were killed or wounded. He is here to find men to take their places. His cabin boy was killed. If you sail with him, you will never go back to England. You will be the cabin boy of Captain Red.”
    â€œWhy should he want me for his cabin boy?” asked Tom.
    â€œI do not know,” said Benjy. “It may please him that your hair is the color of his beard. Or he may wish to make our captain angry by taking you away. He has long been an enemy of our captain. Surely you knew that.”
    â€œHow could I know it?” said Tom. “No one told me.”
    â€œOur captain once took a prize from under Captain Red’s very nose,” said Benjy. “The prize was a Spanish ship that carried gold and silver. Captain Red will never forget.”
    Captain Land had come to the doorway. He called Tom into the house.
    â€œIt’s time I talked to you,” he said. “All that Benjy has told you is true. Captain Red is a friend to no one. He is cruel. He does not keep his word. I am a pirate, yet I can speak the truth. Do you believe me?”
    â€œYes, sir,” said Tom.
    â€œListen,” said Captain Land. “I’ll tell you a story.”
    The story was about a boy in America. He was born near the city of Charlestown in a place called Carolina. His name was Davy Tanner.
    His home was a plantation where rice and sugar cane were grown. His mother and father were good to him. They gave him a pony cart and a pony. They sent him to England where he lived with his uncle and went to school.
    When Davy came home he was a man. “Now I need you here,” said his father. “I need you to help me on the plantation.”
    But Davy was not ready to stay. He wanted to see more of the world. He and his father quarreled, and Davy left home.
    He fell in with a band of