The crew and I decide that we need a secret pirate cove, so we all agree to meet after school the next day at my house. As soon as we’re all there, I suggest, “Maybe the woods behind Granny and Pappy’s house would work. It’s very secret.”

“How about your garage?” Lucy asks.

Cara groans. “Those are too boring,” she says. “Someplace a little mysterious might make a better hideout.”

“I know!” Paula says. “How about the spooky old house at the end of Kylie Jean’s street?”

I know the house she means. People call it the Black house, because the last person to live there was an old man named Bart Black.

“I love that idea,” Cara says. “The boys will never find us if we make our hideout there!”

When I look at Lucy, I can tell she is scared. She thinks the house is haunted.

It is creepy. No one lives there, but sometimes it looks like the old curtains are moving, as if someone is looking out. Some of the windows have boards over them. The white paint on the house is all peeling off, showing the gray wood underneath. Plus, it’s Halloween time. Everything is creepier around Halloween!

Lucy shivers. “I’m not going!” she says. “That house is creepy. Everyone says it’s haunted!”

“There are no haunted houses in Jacksonville,” I say, putting my hands on my hips. “Don’t worry, Lucy.” I sure hope I’m right!

Cara smiles and adds, “Remember, the Black house is just a house.”

“I know it’s a house,” Lucy says. “An old, dark, spooky house!”

Paula stands up. “Come on,” she says. “Let’s go before it gets dark and we have to go home.”

After packing a few things in our treasure chest, which is really just a cardboard box, I call our parrot and we set out down the street. We look like a little parade.

I am in the front with my parrot, Ugly Brother, ahead of me. Then comes the crew in their pirate hats, and at the end my first mate, Lucy, pulling the treasure chest in a wagon. I think Lucy wants to be last in line. She’s as scared as a pirate on a plank.

Before long, we march right up to our new hideout. I look up at the old house and think I see something in the window upstairs. Lucy has got my imagination running wild.

Cara starts to wade through the long, dry grass toward the back of the house.

“Hey, where are you going?” I shout.

She hollers back, “Exploring. It might be hard to get inside the house.”

I don’t say anything, but I decide it’s a pretty good idea, so I follow her. Paula follows me.

“Don’t leave me here all alone with Ugly Brother!” Lucy calls nervously.

Ugly Brother whines. But we just keep going anyway.

As Paula, Cara, and I turn the corner, we see an old shed. The windows are so dirty I can’t see inside, so I rub my sleeve on the glass until I can see a small, dirty room.

Perfect! The boys will never look for us here. Paula pulls open the rusty door and it creaks and groans.

Behind us, we hear Lucy shriek, “What’s that noise?”

“Just the door!” Paula shouts. “Come on, it’s safe!”

Now that we’ve found our secret spot, the crew needs to vote for or against it. If you think Lucy votes nay, you’re right. “No way,” she says, looking at the shed. “The garage will be much better.”

Everyone else votes aye. Ugly Brother votes “ruff, ruff.” I count his vote as an aye, too. The vote is four in favor and one against! Lucy’s vote is outnumbered, and so our hideout will be behind the old Black house.

Lucy blows out a great big sigh and starts to unpack the treasure chest. Paula and Cara begin to move old, dusty pots and watering cans out of the shed.

I hide everything so that no one even knows we’ve been there. We leave the dirty windows dark so the boys can’t find us!

While we work, I have a funny feeling someone is watching us. It might be a good idea not to tell Lucy or the crew.

We set all of our water bottles on an old shelf next to our tin of crackers. We put our treasure chest box in the middle of the room. Inside, gold bead necklaces and fake gold coins glimmer in the dim light.

In one corner, there is an old rusty metal bucket. Upside down, it makes a great stool, so I sit right on it. Lucy and Paula pull the wagon inside the shed to use as their seat.

Cara finds a little wooden bench that is kind of wobbly. She says, “Every time this bench wobbles, it makes me feel like I’m sailing on an ocean full of waves.”

I nod. “Being here makes me feel like we sailed right over to our very own treasure island!” I tell them.

Paula passes around the crackers. Pirates would call them hardtack. Next, we all have a swallow of water.

I teach the other girls the pirate song, and we sing it together until our parrot dog begins to howl. Then we pass our water bottle around again.

Outside, the sun is starting to float like a big orange ball as it goes down to make room for the moon, and inside, we can barely see. As the captain, I have to look out for my crew.

“We have to go back now before it gets dark,” I say. Then I give the orders. “Prepare to set sail!” I shout.

Paula asks, “What does that mean in pirate talk?”

“Get your stuff,” I tell her.

We pack up quickly. As we are walking around the old house, Lucy stops. She is right behind me and everyone else is behind her. The other girls both have to stop.

Cara asks, “Why are we stopping?”

“A . . . a . . . a . . . light,” Lucy stammers, pointing at the house.

I spin around and see a light in one of the windows. Then quick as a flash, it is gone. Now I wonder if I really saw it at all. “It’s probably just the sun reflecting on the window,” I say, though I’m not really sure. “Come on. Let’s go!”

I start walking a little faster. The crew walks faster, too. Even our dog parrot speeds up! Seeing the light was kind of spooky, but a pirate captain can’t be a ’fraidy cat. It was just my imagination playing tricks on me. Right?