“Shiver me timbers, what be that creaking noise?” Frankenbeard whispered.
“Aar, I believe the timbers of the boat be creaking, brother, which causes me timbers to shiver, too,” replied Pegleg Joe, Frankenbeard’s twin brother. They were sleeping in their shared cabin on their galleon, the Stratemeyer. Frankebeard’s hammock was hung directly above Pegeleg Joe’s, and the rest of the cabin was taken up by an enormous oak bureau. Their father, Fenton the Fierce, was the only other person who manned the Stratemeyer, and he was away on pirate business.
“Ahoy, twin brother matey, maybe we should investigate,” Frankenbeard said. “I’ll just hop out of me hammock and have a look-see.” He didn’t move.
“Yar, maybe it’s just the wind creaking on the deck,” Pegleg Joe said. “Yar,” he added.
Frankenbeard scratched his chin. “That does not sound right, me brother. It sounds to this pirate sleuth’s ears more like the creaking of footsteps. Yo ho ho.” The creaking continued apace, and in their fevered minds it seemed to get louder. “Maybe it’s an intruder!” Frankenbeard exclaimed. “One of the sixteen men from the proverbial dead man’s chest!”
“Aar, ye may be right, Frankenbeard,” Pegleg Joe said. “Perhaps we should investigate, to protect our booty. And Dad’s booty.”
“Agreed,” Frankenbeard said. Neither made a move. “Maybe,” Frankenbeard said, “it’s a guh-guh-guh…”
“Don’t say it!” Pegleg Joe shouted. “Ye know how afeared am I of ghosts!” The creaking boards seemed to grow louder and louder (though actually it hadn’t changed at all) and Pegleg Joe emitted a very un-piratelike “meep,” and fell from his hammock.
“Quiet, Pegleg Joe, or we’ll walk the plank, metaphorically speaking,” Frankenbeard whispered. Pegleg Joe froze in place on the ground. For a moment, there was no sound, except for the harried breaths of the Aaardy Boys. Then, the creaking commenced, and they shrieked and scrambled to their bureau, hiding in the drawers. Frankenbeard crawled in next to his socks and pirate Underoos and Pegleg Joe snuck behind his torn trousers and replacement peglegs. The creaking continued throughout the night. Frankenbeard and Pegleg Joe cowered in their respective drawers, ready for action nonetheless.
The next morning, they discovered the creaking had been caused by an old rocking chair they had been reupholstering on the deck the day before. They moved it to a flatter surface and the creaking stopped altogether. The Aaardy Boys spent the next twelve nights in the bureau, just to be safe. One can never be too careful when it comes to the supernatural.