Jack and Taylor instinctively didn’t want to be found so they quietly climbed into an empty crate nearby.
The pirate captain looked at all the crates on the dock and turned to her crew. “Alright boys, let’s load up!” The crew spread out and began carrying crates onboard the ship. The captain walked around barking orders at them to “move faster!” and “put yer back into it ya scurvy dog!”
Jack and Taylor’s crate – with them still hidden inside – was taken inside the ship and down below to a lower level. At first, the kids were too scared to climb out; when they finally did, they saw the ship had set sail and was already far away from land.
“Who are you?!” yelled a sailor who spotted the kids. “Cap’n, we got a couple rats on board!”
The captain came down to and stared at the twins, deciding what to do. Then, “Arrrhg! You stowaways are gonna row me ship ou’ ter sea. You’ll row until you get tired – and then you’ll row some more! Har har har!” she laughed.
Jack, who was somewhere between scared and excited, thought the pirates looked tough but maybe they were just playing. So he played too. “Arrg! Me crew call me Captain Jack Hurricane and we need to get to the The Arctic Circle.”
The captain turned to her crew. “Ya hear that boys? He thinks we’re goin’ ter see some polar bears!” Captain and crew burst into laughter. “No, me hearty.” She leaned in close to Jack and Taylor, so close they could smell her bad breath. “No ... Yer takin’ us to the jungle ter find me lost treasure!”
There was barely any wind for the ship’s sail, so the Flynn Twins rowed day and night for what felt like a week. Then, “Laaaaand hooooo!” yelled a pirate from the crow’s nest at the top of the ship’s mast. Later that morning, the ship’s anchor was lowered, and the two kids were set to rowing – just a small canoe this time – so the captain and the crew could reach the island’s shore and find their treasure.
Taylor and Jack were given shovels and forced to help the pirate crew find and dig out the treasure. The treasure chest – large and made of wood and gold – was lifted out of the ground and set on the beach. It gave out a faint magical glow and a low humming sound. Occasionally, it even wiggled a bit, as if it were alive but sleeping! Seeing it made Taylor smile and giggle, despite how tired she was.
“Arrrgh, mateys! We found our treasure!” cheered the captain. “Load it on the ship and let’s be off. Oh, and Je those kids to the palm trees. Can’t have ‘em tellin’ everyone where we got this.” The crew gave a loud “Yes, Cap’n!” and went about their work. They didn’t have any spare rope, so they used vines from the nearby jungle to tie the kids to the trees. One pirate thought it’d be silly to Je the kids upside down. And so they did! Then all the pirates boarded their ship and sailed away.
The two kids, alone and upside down, were losing hope that they’d ever be able to return the First Snowflake, or even get off the island, for that matter. Jack panicked and started yelling “Help! Somebody help!” Taylor was quiet; quiet and sad. But not for long. Sadness quickly gave way to determination, and she tried to shake free from the vines. As she did, out of her backpack slipped the crystal snowflake. It got twisted into the vines that held Taylor to the tree. Then, one by one, the leaves on the vine turned from green to a pale and glimmering blue.
All of a sudden, the vine came to life; it loosened and unwound until Taylor was free! Taylor started laughing and dancing. She watched as the vine curled itself up and lifted one end like a friendly, leafy snake head.
Taylor moved her head to one side and the vine moved to. She moved her head to the other side and the vine followed.
“Hurray! I love you, Viney!” Taylor danced side to side, playing with her new magical friend.
“Hey. A little help over here,” said Jack.
“Oh yeah,” said Taylor, and she untied the vines that held her brother. “Jack, we’re free! We’re free from those terrible, mean pirates!”
“Aye, we are, matey!” Jack joked, and they both laughed until happy tears squeezed out of their eyes. They spent the rest of the evening laughing and making jokes and dancing with their new pet Viney. They decided to rest for the night and continue their journey – somehow – in the morning.