"I can smell pirates from a mile away. Do you know how much the queen pays me for each pirate head?”

John raced down to the galley to find Kotty flipping a pan of coals around the lower deck.

“ ’Ello Johnny! I figured if no one was going to make me that toast we were talking about, I’d make it myself!”

“Aaargh!” John leaped forward and tackled Kotty to the floor.

The other pirates came down and put out the fire. Kotty’s hands were bound behind his back and he was brought before the entire crew.

“The enemy ship is gone! You set that fire intentionally to distract us, didn’t you?” Captain Cutthroat screamed angrily, waving his sword around Kotty’s face. “You wretched old man!”

“You don’t look too young, either! I’m proud of what I did, how do you like that?” Kotty drew himself up to his fullest height, which was not so significant. “I heard you talking about terrorizing my friends, before you took the treasures they have. Did you think I would let you bomb them and just stay quiet in my little cell?”

“I admit it, John — you were right. I should have listened to you and killed this nuisance when he first knocked me into the water with a frying pan!”

“Ah, a warm memory!” Kotty chuckled.

“Let me deal with you right now, once and for all!” Captain Cutthroat drew a long pistol and pointed it at Kotty.

“Captain!” John jumped between the gun and Kotty. “Wait!”

“You want to save this worthless nuisance?”

“No, no, no, Captain. That’s not it at all. I just don’t think this traitor deserves such a merciful ending.”

Captain Cutthroat grinned widely.

“You want him to walk the plank?”

“Exactly, Captain. Exactly.”