Pirates Past Noon

by Mary Pope Osborne

  Here’s what kids have to say to

  Mary Pope Osborne, author of

  the Magic Tree House series:

  WOW! You have an imagination like no other.—Adam W.

  I love your books. If you stop writing books, it will be like losing a best friend.—Ben M.

  I think you are the real Morgan le Fay. There is always magic in your books.—Erica Y.

  One day I was really bored and I didn’t want to read … I looked in your book. I read a sentence, and it was interesting. So I read some more, until the book was done. It was so good I read more and more. Then I had read all of your books, and now I hope you write lots more.—Danai K.

  I always read [your books] over and over … 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, 4 times … —Yuan C.

  You are my best author in the world. I love your books. I read all the time. I read everywhere. My mom is like freaking out.—Ellen C.

  I hope you make these books for all yours and mine’s life.—Riki H.

  Teachers and librarians love

  Magic Tree House® books, too!

  Thank you for opening faraway places and times to my class through your books. They have given me the chance to bring in additional books, materials, and videos to share with the class.—J. Cameron

  It excites me to see how involved [my fourth-grade reading class] is in your books … I would do anything to get my students more involved, and this has done it.—C. Rutz

  I discovered your books last year … WOW! Our students have gone crazy over them. I can’t order enough copies! … Thanks for contributing so much to children’s literature!—C. Kendziora

  I first came across your Magic Tree House series when my son brought one home … I have since introduced this great series to my class. They have absolutely fallen in love with these books! … My students are now asking me for more independent reading time to read them. Your stories have inspired even my most struggling readers.—M. Payne

  I love how I can go beyond the [Magic Tree House] books and use them as springboards for other learning.—R. Gale

  We have enjoyed your books all year long. We check your Web site to find new information. We pull our map down to find the areas where the adventures take place. My class always chimes in at key parts of the story. It feels good to hear my students ask for a book and cheer when a new book comes out.—J. Korinek

  Our students have “Magic Tree House fever.” I can’t keep your books on the library shelf.—J. Rafferty

  Your books truly invite children into the pleasure of reading. Thanks for such terrific work.—S. Smith

  The children in the fourth grade even hide the [Magic Tree House] books in the library so that they will be able to find them when they are ready to check them out.—K. Mortensen

  My Magic Tree House books are never on the bookshelf because they are always being read by my students. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series.—K. Mahoney

  Text copyright © 1994 by Mary Pope Osborne.

  Illustrations copyright © 1994 by Sal Murdocca.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Osborne, Mary Pope. Pirates past noon / by Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by Sal Murdocca.

  p. cm. — (The Magic tree house series; #4) “A First stepping stone book.”

  SUMMARY: The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie back to the days of deserted islands, secret maps, hidden gold, and nasty pirates.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89421-3

  [1. Pirates—Fiction. 2. Time travel—Fiction.

  3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Tree houses—Fiction.]

  I. Murdocca, Sal, ill. II. Title.

  III. Series: Osborne, Mary Pope. Magic tree house series; #4.

  PZ7.O81167Pi 1994 [Fic]—dc20 93-2039

  Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland

  v3.0

  For Andrew Kim Boyce

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. Too Late!

  2. The Bright Blue Sea

  3. Three Men in a Boat

  4. Vile Booty

  5. The Kid’s Treasure

  6. The Whale’s Eye

  7. Gale’s a-Blowin’

  8. Dig, Dogs, Dig

  9. The Mysterious M

  10. Treasure Again

  Special Preview of Magic Tree House #5: Night of the Ninjas

  Jack stared out his bedroom window. The rain kept falling. And falling.

  “The TV said it would stop by noon,” said Annie, his seven-year-old sister.

  “It’s already past noon,” said Jack.

  “But we have to go to the tree house,” said Annie. “I have a feeling the M person will be there today.”

  Jack pushed his glasses into place and took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure he was ready to meet the M person yet. The mysterious person who had put all the books in the magic tree house.

  “Come on,” said Annie.

  Jack sighed. “Okay,” he said. “You get our raincoats and boots. I’ll get the medallion and bookmark.”

  Annie ran to get their rain gear.

  Jack reached into his drawer. He took out the medallion.

  It was gold. The letter M was engraved on it.

  Then he took out the bookmark. It was made of blue leather. It had the same M on it.

  Both M’s matched the M that was on the floor of the tree house.

  Jack put the medallion and bookmark into his backpack. Then he threw in his notebook and pencil. Jack liked to take notes about important things.

  “I got our rain stuff!” called Annie.

  Jack picked up his pack and went downstairs. Annie was waiting by the back door. She was putting on her boots. “Meet you outside,” she said.

  Jack pulled on his raincoat and boots. Then he put on his backpack and joined her.

  The wind was blowing hard.

  “Ready! Set! Go!” shouted Annie.

  They kept their heads down and charged into the rainy wind.

  Soon they were in the Frog Creek woods.

  Tree branches swayed, flinging rainwater everywhere.

  “Yuck!” said Annie.

  They splashed through puddles. Until they came to the tallest oak tree in the woods.

  They looked up.

  Tucked between two branches was the tree house. It looked dark and lonely against the stormy sky.

  Hanging from the tree house was a rope ladder. It was blowing in the wind.

  Jack thought of all the books up there. He hoped they weren’t getting wet.

  “The M person’s been there,” said Annie.

  Jack caught his breath. “How can you tell?” he said.

  “I can feel it,” she whispered.

  She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed.

  Inside the tree house it was chilly and damp.

  But the books were dry. They were all neatly stacked along the wall. Just the way they had been the day before.

  Annie picked up a castle book on top of one stack. It had taken them to the time of castles.

  “Remember the knight?” she said.

  Jack nodded. He would never forget the knight who had helped them.

  Annie put down the castle book. She picked up the next book on the stack.

  It was the dinosaur book that had taken them to the time of dinosaurs.

  “Remember?” she said.

  Jack nodded.

  He’d never forget the pteranodon who had saved him from the Tyrannosaurus rex
.

  Then Annie held up a book about ancient Egypt.

  “Meow,” she said.

  Jack smiled. The Egypt book had taken them to the time of pyramids. A black cat had come to the rescue there.

  “And here’s the book about home,” Annie said.

  She held up the book with the picture of their hometown in it.

  Frog Creek, Pennsylvania.

  Jack smiled again. The Pennsylvania book had brought them back home at the end of each of their adventures.

  Jack sighed. Okay. He still had two main questions.

  Who was the M person who had put all the books here?

  And did the knight, the pteranodon, and the cat all know the M person?

  Finally Jack reached into his backpack. He took out the gold medallion and the leather bookmark. He placed them on the floor. Right over the spot where the M glowed faintly in the wood.

  Rain blew into the tree house.

  “Brr!” said Annie. “It’s not very cozy today.”

  Jack agreed with her. It was too wet and cold.

  “Look.” Annie pointed to an open book lying in the corner. “I don’t remember a book being open.”

  “Me neither,” said Jack.

  Annie picked up the book. She stared at the picture on the page.

  “Wow, this place looks great.” She showed the picture to Jack.

  He saw a sunny beach. A big green parrot sitting in a palm tree. And a ship sailing on a blue sea.

  Another gust of rainy wind blew into the tree house.

  Annie pointed to the picture. “I wish we were there instead of here,” she said.

  “Yeah,” said Jack. “But where is there?”

  “Too late!” came a squawk.

  Jack and Annie turned quickly.

  Sitting on a branch outside the window ledge of the tree house was a green parrot. Exactly like the parrot in the picture.

  “Too late!” the parrot squawked again.

  “A talking parrot!” said Annie. “Is your name Polly? Can I call you Polly?”

  Suddenly the wind started to whistle.

  “Oh no! Now we’re in big trouble!” said Jack.

  The wind blew harder.

  The leaves shook.

  The tree house started to spin. Faster and faster!

  Jack squeezed his eyes shut. Then everything was still.

  Absolutely still.

  Jack opened his eyes.

  “Too late!” squawked Polly.

  Jack felt hot sunlight streaming into the tree house.

  He smelled saltwater.

  He heard the sound of waves.

  He and Annie looked out the window.

  The tree house was in a palm tree. Beyond was a bright blue sea. A tall sailing ship was on the horizon. It was just like the picture in the book.

  “Too late!” squawked Polly.

  “Look!” said Annie.

  Polly was flying in circles above the tree house. Then she swooped down to the ocean.

  “Come on, let’s follow her! Let’s go in the water!” said Annie. She took off her raincoat and dropped it on the floor.

  “Wait, we have to study the book first,” said Jack. He started to reach for the book. But Annie grabbed it.

  “You can read it on the beach,” she said. Without even looking at the cover, she shoved the book into Jack’s backpack.

  He sighed. Actually, the water did look wonderful.

  “Okay,” Jack said. He took off his raincoat, too.

  “Come on!” Annie handed Jack his backpack, then started down the ladder.

  Jack folded the raincoat and put it next to the stack of books. He put on his backpack. Then he went down the ladder.

  As soon as Annie hit the sand, she ran toward the ocean. Jack watched her wade into the water. She was still wearing her rain boots.

  “Your boots, Annie,” called Jack.

  She shrugged. “They’ll dry out,” she said.

  Jack took off his boots and socks. He put them beside his pack. Then he rolled up his jeans. And ran across the hot sand into the waves.

  The water was warm and clear. Jack could see shells and tiny fishes.

  He shielded his eyes against the sun. And peered out at the sea.

  The tall sailing ship seemed a bit closer.

  “Where’s Polly?” said Annie.

  Jack glanced around. No sign of Polly. Not in the palm trees. Not on the sunlit sand. Not over the bright blue sea.

  When Jack looked out at the sea again, the ship seemed even closer. Now Jack could see its flag.

  As he stared at the ship’s flag, a chill went through him.

  The flag was black. With a skull and crossbones.

  “Oh man,” he breathed. He started out of the water.

  “What’s wrong?” said Annie. She splashed after him.

  Jack ran to his backpack. Annie followed.

  He grabbed the book from his backpack. He looked at the cover. For the first time, he and Annie read the title of the book.

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

  “Pirates of the Caribbean,” Jack read aloud.

  “We’ve come to the time of pirates!” Jack said.

  “Pirates?” squeaked Annie. “Like in Peter Pan?”

  Jack flipped to the picture that showed the parrot, the sea and the ship.

  He read the caption under the picture:

  Three hundred years ago, pirates raided Spanish treasure ships in the Caribbean Sea.

  He grabbed his notebook and pencil from his pack. He wrote:

  He turned to the next page. There was a picture of a pirate flag. He read:

  The skull-and-crossbones flag was called the Jolly Roger.

  “Let’s go!” said Annie.

  “Wait!” said Jack. “I want to make a drawing of the flag.”

  He propped the pirate book in the sand.

  He started drawing the Jolly Roger flag.

  “Don’t copy the picture in the book,” said Annie. “Look at the real thing.”

  But Jack pushed his glasses into place and kept drawing.

  “Jack, some pirates are getting into a rowboat,” said Annie.

  Jack kept drawing.

  “Jack, the boat’s leaving the big ship,” said Annie.

  “What?” Jack looked up.

  “Look.” Annie pointed.

  Jack looked. He saw the rowboat coming toward the shore.

  “Run!” said Annie. She started running toward the tree house.

  Jack jumped up. His glasses fell off.

  “Hurry!” Annie called back to him.

  Jack went down on his knees. He felt for his glasses. Where were they?

  Jack saw something glinting in the sand. He reached for it. It was his glasses. He snatched them up.

  Then he threw his notebook and pencil into his pack. He put the pack on his back.

  He grabbed his boots and his socks. And he took off running.

  “Hurry! They’re coming!” Annie was at the top of the rope ladder.

  Jack looked back at the sea. The pirates were closer to the shore.

  Suddenly Jack saw the pirate book. In all the confusion he had forgotten it. It was still propped in the sand.

  “Oh man, I forgot the book!” he said. He dropped his socks and boots below the tree house.

  “Come on, Jack!” Annie shouted.

  “I’ll be right back!” Jack called. “I’ve got to get the book!”

  “Jack, forget it!”

  But Jack was already running toward the water.

  Jack grabbed the book.

  “Come back!” Annie shouted.

  Jack shoved the book into his backpack.

  Suddenly a giant wave carried the rowboat right onto the beach.

  “Run, Jack!” shouted Annie.

  Three big pirates splashed onto the sand.

  They had knives in their teeth.

  They had pistols in their belts.

  They charged toward Jack.

  “Run,
Jack, run!” cried Annie.

  Jack started to run across the hot sand. He ran as fast as he could.

  But the pirates ran faster.

  Before Jack knew it, the biggest pirate had grabbed him!

  Jack struggled. But the pirate had huge, strong arms. He held on to Jack and laughed a mean, ugly laugh. He had a shaggy black beard. A patch covered one eye.

  Jack heard Annie yelling. He saw her coming down the rope ladder.

  “Stay where you are!” Jack shouted.

  But Annie kept coming. “Leave him alone, you bully!” she cried.

  The other two pirates laughed meanly. They were dirty and ragged.

  Annie charged up to the biggest pirate. “Let him go!” she said. She hit the pirate with her fist and kicked him.

  But the pirate just growled. Then he grabbed her, too. And with his giant hands, he held Jack and Annie as if they were two kittens.

  “No one escapes Cap’n Bones!” he roared. His breath was terrible.

  “Let go!” Annie shouted into his face.

  But Cap’n Bones just smiled. All his teeth were black.

  Annie fell silent.

  Cap’n Bones laughed loudly. Then he turned to the other two.

  “Find out what’s in their house, you dogs,” he said.

  “Aye, aye, Cap’n!” they answered. And they started up the ladder to the tree house.

  “What do you spy, Pinky?” shouted Cap’n Bones.

  “Books, Cap’n!” Pinky shouted down.

  “Aghh, books,” growled Cap’n Bones. He spit on the sand. “I want gold, you dogs!”

  “Dogs are nicer than you,” said Annie.

  “Shhh,” said Jack.

  “What about you, Stinky?” Cap’n Bones roared.

  “Just books, Cap’n!” shouted Stinky.

  “Aghh, books,” said Cap’n Bones. He spit on the sand again. “I hate books! Keep looking, dogs! Find me something good!”

  Cap’n Bones grabbed Jack’s backpack. “What’s in here?” he said.

  “Nothing—” Jack quickly opened the pack. “Just paper, a pencil, a book.”

  “Another book!” roared Cap’n Bones. “That’s vile booty!”

  A gleeful shriek pierced the air.

  Cap’n Bones froze. “What’s that?” he shouted.