The Ghost Ship Mystery Read Free Page B

organizing the litter crew. Captain Bob, meet the Aldens—Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. Best crew you could ever have.”
    “Welcome aboard,” the young man said.
    Mr. Pease teased Captain Bob. “Now don’t talk boat-talk today, Bob. Not unless you want to upset this crew. They were counting on a whale watch ride on the Jonah during their visit.”
    The young man’s smile suddenly disappeared. “No boat rides anytime soon,” he told the children.
    This didn’t stop Benny Alden. “You don’t know how fast we work. We can get everything shipshape today. Then maybe could we go for a boat ride?”
    Captain Bob shook his head. “Sorry, I have to drive up the coast with my truck tomorrow, once we get Ragged Cove in shape. I can’t see my way clear for awhile.”
    Benny was about to speak until he saw Henry give him a look. He knew what that look meant: Button up, Benny!
    With some of the other volunteers, the Aldens set off through Ragged Cove with a street map, trash bags, some work gloves, and brooms.
    “I never cleaned a town before,” Benny said, sounding as if he were on a treasure hunt instead of a clean-up. “Maybe we’ll find something.”
    The Aldens found lots of things. Wet newspapers, boxes, bottles, even a sandy old sneaker went into a garbage bag. Then the children fanned out through the town to gather up the broken branches that were lying everywhere.
    By afternoon, their group was finished with their work. They reported back to the beach where Captain Bob was directing a group of teenagers raking the sand.

    “What else can we do?” Henry asked the captain.
    Captain Bob pushed back his cap. “Unless you can drive a pick-up truck, not much else. We’re shipshape here.”
    Benny tugged on the captain’s sleeve. “You think you’ll take your whale watching boat out tomorrow?”
    Jessie tried to shush Benny, but she was too late.
    Again, the man looked upset when Benny mentioned the boat. “I told you, I have work up the coast to do. I won’t be going out on my boat for awhile.”
    Benny pulled down his sailor cap and tried not to get upset. “Sorry,” he apologized.
    Captain Bob turned away from the children. He didn’t seem to want the Aldens bothering him.
    Henry handed over the work gloves, brooms, and extra bags without saying anything to Captain Bob. He turned to his brother: “Come on, Benny. Violet had a good idea in the middle of the night. Let’s see if we can find the grave of the lost sailor from the Flying Cloud. Wouldn’t that be interesting?”
    Captain Bob spun around and faced the children again. “Why don’t you kids get going—I’ve got work to do.”
    Henry’s eyebrows went up.
    “All right, Captain Bob,” Jessie said softly.
    The Aldens slowly walked toward the town. They didn’t say anything right away. All of them were puzzled.
    Benny kicked sand every few steps. “Why did Captain Bob get angry after we did a good job?”
    Jessie shook her head. “I don’t know, Benny. Maybe he was up working all night and got in a bad mood.”
    Henry put his arm around his younger brother. “Maybe he’s upset about losing business because of the storm. Mr. Pease seems to like him, so let’s not say anything. Jessie might be right that he’s just in a bad mood from working too hard.”
    “What about what that guest said about Captain Bob last night?” Violet asked.
    Henry walked along. “You mean that the museum curator says Captain Bob is no better than a pirate? That’s probably just a lot of talk.”
    Violet turned around to take another look at Captain Bob. He was off in the distance putting up benches that had blown over. “I think it’s a lot of talk, too. Maybe somebody he loves is buried in the cemetery and thinking of them upset him.”
    Henry smiled at his sister. “Maybe you’re right. We’ll be careful and respectful while we’re there.”
    The children strolled toward a bluff that overlooked the town and the beach. Beach plum bushes lined the