The closest island was just a big rock. It had only one town, Turtle. That town was the roughest, loudest place you could imagine. All the sailors went there on the days when they weren’t at sea. Sometimes you could even find a pirate or two, when you were lookin hard enough.
After Captain Mammosa and Scum rowed back to their ship, they sailed to Turtle. The captain let the men go to the city to do whatever they wanted with their money they earned. (We can probably make a very accurate guess that they all wasted their little bit of money on rum) Captain Mammosa stayed on board the White Coal to do somthin very important. He had to locate someone very important. Someone who was worth a diamond in the rough. So, what the Captain did, he got out his new medallion and his old golden pig head. How he got these two things, no one will ever know, nor do they even know he had them. Well, his golden pig head had big eyes with which he could see many things. Put with the medallion, Mammosa could see anywhere he wanted to. But he could not see into the future. So he looked into those pig eyes and sang,
“We’re really bad eggs
Drink up me hearties yo ho
Yo ho yo ho a pirate’s life for me”
Right away he saw many, many things, many of which he could not even distinguish. He said, “Show me that chum who has the worth of a diamond in the rough!” The eyes first focused on a sign that said, “Master Brown’s Blacksmith snop,” the top part of the “h” had worn away, then zoomed in through the window to focus on Ross, banging on a bright orange piece of steel. Ross had a parrot sitting on his shoulder squawking something Captain Mammosa couldn’t hear; for the eyes only let you see, not hear. “Aaah. Look at this Scum. This is the boy we need. Ha, ha, ha!”
As Jasmine ran through the streets, she bumped into one of her friends. “Hey Jasmine! How are you today? Lovely day isn’t it?” said Mary.
“Yes, quite lovely. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to be on my way,” replied Jasmine. “Hey! Will you take one minute please? About ten minutes ago, Mr. Morris came down these streets whistling like a blue jay. So, I asked him what he was so happy about, and do you know what he said? He said he proposed to you and that he was sure you were going to say yes. Is that true? If it is, you really should say yes you know. He is so smart. They say he might be promoted. So, where are you going?”
“Just, um, taking a walk,” said Jasmine slipping away.
She slipped away and was lost in the crowds. It seemed as if the world was spinning around her. She almost thought she would be sick. To escape, she chose a door and slipped in. This was the blacksmith’s shop where Ross worked, but Jasmine didn’t know it. It was all quiet, except for Master Brown’s snoring, for Ross had just left to get himself some lunch. Jasmine was glad for some peace and quiet, so she lay down on the donkey’s pile of hay and fell asleep. For what felt like two minutes, but was really almost an hour, she lay asleep. Then, Ross came in and woke her. “I’m sorry,” said Ross.
“Oh, no. It is quite alright. Where am I anyway?” replied Jasmine quickly.
“You are in Master Brown’s blacksmith shop.”
“Oh I’m sorry. Well, I should be going.”
“Wait, Miss Goose. Why were you in here, a blacksmith’s shop?”
“Well, see, it all happened when Thomas Morris proposed and I ran away. Then, I got caught with my friend, and I wanted to get away from it all or I might have been sick. So, I slipped quietly in here and fell asleep.”
“Oh, so that’s why everyone is looking for you out there. Well, I probably would have done the same thing if Mr. Morris proposed to me,” said Ross laughing at the thought of Mr. Morris proposing to him.
Right then, an ugly pirate, pistol in hand, burst through the door.
“You’re comin with me chum! NOW!” said the nasty pirate, grabbing Ross.
