John Ryan Quotes

“Best French brandy, eh?′ said Captain Pugwash. ‘Those four barrels are full of the stuff and you want me to load ‘em aboard my ship in one hour’s time and sail ‘em to England?”

“Of course it wasn’t the planks that Tom was nailing down! It was the barrels! But the pirated inside each barrel though it was the planks...until it came to their turn to be trapped.. and then it was too late”

“That night, the Black Pig lay peacefully moored in the moonlit harbour. A small rowing boat slid out from the quayside with two figures aboard. One of thedm tied the boat up under the stern of the ship, while the other climbed up to the deck.”

“Meanwhile, in the hold, things were far from ship-shape! ‘Open up, all of ‘ee,’ whispered Cut-throat Jake, and one by one the lid of each brandy barrel opened to reveal a member of Jake’s gang inside.”

“As usual, Cut-throat Jake is determined to give the Captain as much grief as possible, and he has a dastardly plot up his sleeve.”

“Non, non!′ answered the Frenchman, greedily catching the bag of gold which Jake tossed over to him. ‘You are too kind, Captain Cut-throat!’ ‘Ho-ho-ho-ho! Kindness is my second name.”

“Jolly Captain Pugwash is delighted at the prospect of earning 500 golden crowns for smuggling barrels of brandy across the English Channel. But little does he suspect what’s really inside the barrels!”

“Will Tom, the quick-witted cabin boy, uncover Jake’s scheme and save the day? Captain Pugwash hopes so, for the sake of his pocketbook!”

“Excellent!′ said the Captain. ‘I had no idea smuggling was so well paid. I’ll be off to fetch the rest of my crew and we″ll be home and dry by morning!’ And the two men shook hands.”

“An hour or so later, the Black Pig slipped out of the port and began the Channel crossing. The barrels were stowed safely in the hold...the mate was at the wheel... Willie and Barnabas snored in their hammocks below...”

“Tom had arrived in time to hear Jake outlining his plan to seize the ship...but he kept well out of sight so none of the ruffians realised that they had been overheard.”

“I’ll give ‘im an ‘appy birthday ‘e’ll remember as long as ‘e’ lives’, he went on, planting a single candle in the centre of the cake...‘...which won’t be very long! Ah-harrh!”

“Tottering turtles! That’ll teach them to try their tricks on ME!′ boasted the Captain. ‘But that’s all very well. What am I going to do for a cake?’ ‘Don’t worry about that, Cap’n,’ said Tom.”

“But Barnabas wasn’t very clever with sails. He untied the wrong ropes, and a moment later, down came the whole of the main sail....crash! Willy didn’t fare much better with the anchor.”

“He was also putting the finishing touches to a large notice which he had written out. In fact he had just signed his name at the bottom when there was a knock on his door and the Mate came in looking rather uncomfortable.”

“But without their Captain and his clever cabin boy Tom, the crew soon run into big trouble - the unexpected arrival of the deadly Cut-throat Jake and his nasty crew ...”

“Doddering dolphins, Master Mate,” he cried. ‘Pirates should be desperadoes_not do-gooders! Take this notice and nail it to the main mast immediately! Things are going to be very different aboard this ship from now on!”

“But then Tom interrupted. ‘Quiet, all of you!’ he cried. For Cut-throat Jake had not been able to resist joining in, and the cabin boy had heard him.”

“Well, who would ‘ave though it?’ said Pirate Willy, as they watched the little boat moving further and further away from the Black Pig. There weren’t too worried about doing without their Captain, but losing Tom was a disaster.”

“They couldn’t sail the ship without Tom to tell them what to do; they didn’t know how to cook, because Tom gad always done that, too. So they were reduced to eating the despised ship’s biscuits, weevils and all, and that evening they climbed miserably into their unmade bunks...”

“Earlier that evening, he had cooked a delicious dinner, and now Captain Pugwash was savouring a fine old French brandy before going to bed. In fact, he was just turning in for the night...”

“Capitan Pugwash was very excited. Tomorrow was his birthday, and already the crew were dressing up the ship with all the flags they could lay their hands on.”

“Next morning, Tom the cabin boy arrived in the Captain’s cabin with his early morning tea. ‘Wakey-wakey, Cap’n,’ he cried. ‘Come on! Wake UP! It’s your birthday today.”

“That most unlikely of pirates, the greedy, selfish Captain Pugwash is at the helm once more. And his familiar crew are all aboard.”

“Poor Pugwash! Little did he realize that his very worst enemy had taken lodgings in the same town and was also getting ready for the Captain’s birthday. ‘Ho ho ho!’ growled Cut-throat Jake.”

“He peered through the hatchway over the Captain’s cabin. Down below, he could see Pugwash fast asleep. Then he lowered the parcel on the end of a rope, so that it came to rest by the Captain’s bedside.”

“Humph,′ grumbled Pugwash, ‘no jewels or gold or silver? how very disappointing.’ ‘But wait! What’s this? ’ he cried, as he notice the large parcel beside him.”

“A mutiny on board the Black Pig! Captain Pugwash is cast ashore and his crew take over the ship.”

“It was quite early in the morning, and the Black Pig lay at anchor in the shelter of a little rock bay, by an island far away in the blue Pacific ocean. On any other day Captain Pugwash and his pirates would still have been fast asleep, but this morning was different.”

“Never mind,′ thought Willy, as he climbed up the anchor chain, ‘at least there’ll be a nice hot cup o’tea soon.”