31

Mr. Tiger had returned to the café after seeing Betsy off.

His plan was simple: to tempt the pirates into a trap with free ice cream. And it wasn’t long before all the pirate eggs and pirate sea dragons were jostling to get into the café. Alfonso was busy serving them.

Captain Calico Kettle took off his hat and sat down. Never had he tasted anything as delicious as Alfonso’s ice cream. He and the other pirates wanted to sample every flavor. By the time they had licked their spoons clean, the Gongalongs had unrolled the ball of string and quietly tied the pirates together by their boot buckles and wooden legs.

Meanwhile, other Gongalongs slid in unseen and waited for Mr. Tiger to give them the sign.

It was only when Captain Calico Kettle had finished his sixth flavor—Myrtle’s Minty Mumbo Marvel—that he found he couldn’t move. For a moment he thought it might be something to do with eating so much ice cream. But then he realized that he and his crew were spliced to one another. With difficulty, he took out his pistol from under his egg costume and pointed it at Mr. Tiger.

“Untie our boots,” he bellowed, “or you’ll end up as a rug on my cabin floor.”

Dad ducked behind the counter, and Mr. Tiger let out a terrifying roar.

Just then the mayor burst into the café in his socks, whirling his chain of office. He brought it down hard on Captain Calico Kettle’s egghead. The egg cracked, and the captain wobbled to and fro before crashing to the floor.

Mr. Tiger raised his paw, the Gongalongs released the fisherman’s net and bunting from the ceiling, and down they fell, completely covering the pirates. Alfonso, Septimus, the mayor, and the Gongalongs made sure not a single pirate escaped.

But screams and shouts could be heard outside—people were running past the café crying, “Look, look!”

Mr. Tiger looked. Swimming into the mouth of the harbor was an enormous sea dragon, escorted by a flotilla of mermaids.

“It’s the Mam-a-naggy,” said Mr. Tiger. “And she’s carrying the Kettle Black. It seems Betsy has done a splendid job of rescuing Floss Grimm without me.”