Read Online The Mystery of the Pirate's Treasure by Penny Warner - Free Book Online Page B

aboard ship. The phrase ‘blow the man down’ really means ‘give me strength to do the work.’ Who knows the song ‘Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest’?”
    Most of the hands went up.
    Mr. Pike continued, “If you’ve read
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, you might already know that Dead Man’s Chest is actually a small island in the Caribbean Sea. The story goes that Blackbeard the Pirate left fifteen of his men on the island to punish them for breaking the Pirate Code of Conduct. The worst thing a pirate could do was mutiny, which means to rebel against the captain or to leave the ship without permission. If he did, he could be marooned.”
    Quinn raised his hand. “That happened in
Pirates of the Caribbean
. Captain Jack Sparrow was marooned after his men mutinied.”
    Cody heard a couple of students say, “I loved that movie!”
    â€œWhat’s the Pirate Code of Conduct?” asked a student named Thomas.
    â€œBelieve it or not, pirates did have rules,” said Mr. Pike. “Many of them covered things like how to share the loot and how the crew was paid. They even had a rule for turning out the lights and candles by eight o’clock. Every pirate had to sign a contract—ormark it with an
X
if he couldn’t read or write. And most of them couldn’t do either.”
    Unable to read or write?
Cody thought.
How did they get along in life without being able to do that?
    â€œWe have to check out that Pirate Code of Conduct. It sounds awesome,” Quinn whispered to the others.
    â€œI doubt it’s anything like our Code Buster rules,” M.E. said, grinning.
    â€œShall we sing ‘Blow the Man Down’ again?” Mr. Pike asked.
    Once they’d sung the shanty three more times, the teacher announced, “Well, it’s eight thirty. According to the Pirates Code of Conduct, it’s past time for lights out.”
    Cody heard groans from the other students, but she was tired from the day and ready to curl up in her sleeping bag. The girls took showers in the cinder-block latrine, dressed in their pajamas, and brushed their teeth—all while watching out for spiders.
    Once they were snuggled in their sleeping bags, Cody found she couldn’t get to sleep. Maybe it was allthose pirate stories that kept her awake. Or maybe it was the mystery of that strange couple arguing with Chad. Then again, maybe she was just excited about the possibility of a treasure hidden somewhere at the mission.
    Rolling over on her stomach, she propped herself up on her elbows and peered out the mesh door of the small tent. Most of the other tents were dark, except for a few flashlights moving around inside.
    Suddenly, Cody saw a flash of eerie light, coming from somewhere in the dark woods that surrounded the campsite.
    The light began to flash on and off.
    Cody began to recognize letters.

    Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page , this page
.
    Someone was sending a message in Morse code …

M .E.!” Cody whispered urgently, shaking her sleeping friend’s arm.
    â€œHuh?” M.E. mumbled, then rubbed her eyes and sat up. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œLook! Outside the mosquito flap! I saw something …”
    M.E.’s eyes widened, and she scrambled forward. “What is it? A bear? A wolf—”
    â€œNo!” Cody said, cutting her off before she scaredboth of them with her wild guesses. “Lights. Flashing on and off. I think someone is sending a Morse code message. Something about finding a map!”
    M.E. peered through the mesh for a few seconds. “I don’t see anything. But I’m never going to be able to sleep tonight.”
    â€œKeep watching! Over there.” Cody pointed in the direction where she’d seen the flashing light.
    â€œIt was probably just one of the teachers or parents, checking on the—” M.E. gasped. “I saw it!