05-THE SILVER CLAW

THE SILVER CLAW Thea grabbed the binoculars. "Who is firing at us?" cried my sister. "Cheese niblets! That's not an island. It's a pirate ship. And those are cats!" "Cats?" we all squeaked, terrified. Then another shot shredded our balloon. Down we went. We held on to the basket of the balloon for dear life as we hit the water. "Thea, Benjamin, Trap ... are you still alive?" I whispered. I paddled desperately, trying to stay afloat. A lifeboat was approaching. A large black-and-white cat stood at the front.

"Faster, faster, you fools!" he meowed to the cats pulling the oars. Soon the boat pulled up beside us. The big cat plucked us out of the water. "Mice!" he cried gleefully. "How purrfect!" Licking their whiskers, the pirates threw us into the lifeboat and rowed us back to their ship. It was called The Silver Claw. Except for the black sails, the whole ship was covered in polished silver. It shone brightly under the sun.