01 Too Late!

Pirates Past Noon

Chapter 01 Too Late! Jack stared out his bedroom window. The rain kept falling. And falling. “ The TV said it would stop by noon, ” said Annie, his seven-year-old sister. “ It’s already past noon, ” said Jack. “ But we have to go to the tree house, ” said Annie. “ I have a feeling the M person will be there today. ” Jack pushed his glasses into place and took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure he was ready to meet the M person yet. The mysterious person who had put all the books in the magic tree house.

“ Come on, ” said Annie. Jack sighed. “ Okay, ” he said. “ You get our raincoats and boots. I’ll get the medallion and bookmark. ” Annie ran to get their rain gear. Jack reached into his drawer. He took out the medallion. It was gold. The letter M was engraved on it. Then he took out the bookmark. It was made of blue leather. It had the same M on it. Both M’s matched the M that was on the floor of the tree house. Jack put the medallion and bookmark into his backpack. Then he threw in his notebook and pencil. Jack liked to take notes about important things.

“ I got our rain stuff! ” called Annie. Jack picked up his pack and went downstairs. Annie was waiting by the back door. She was putting on her boots. “ Meet you outside, ” she said. Jack pulled on his raincoat and boots. Then he put on his backpack and joined her. The wind was blowing hard. “ Ready! Set! Go! ” shouted Annie. They kept their heads down and charged into the rainy wind. Soon they were in the Frog Creek woods. Tree branches swayed, flinging rainwater everywhere. “ Yuck! ” said Annie. They splashed through puddles. Until they came to the tallest oak tree in the woods. They looked up.

Tucked between two branches was the tree house. It looked dark and lonely against the stormy sky. Hanging from the tree house was a rope ladder. It was blowing in the wind. Jack thought of all the books up there. He hoped they weren’t getting wet. “ The M person’s been there, ” said Annie. Jack caught his breath. “ How can you tell?” he said. “ I can feel it, ” she whispered. She grabbed the rope ladder and started up. Jack followed. Inside the tree house it was chilly and damp. But the books were dry. They were all neatly stacked along the wall. Just the way they had been the day before.