"Chop-chop!" said Mr. Arrow, the first mate of the ship. "The captain will be here, soon. Chop-chop!" 

Mari and Jim had finally caught sight of the man who was giving out orders. Jim furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the daunting-looking man in front of them. 

"Who's that?!" Jim asked. 

"Oh, that's Mr. Arrow," Trelawney Jr. answered. "The first mate of the ship. A capital fellow." 

A trumpet in the distance sounded. Mr. Arrow gasped dramatically. "The captain approaches! Move aside! Make way! Lollygaggers will suffer his wrath!" 

"Wrath?" Gonzo echoed nervously. "I-Is this captain bad-tempered?" 

"Is he bad-tempered?!" Mr. Arrow repeated. "The man is a raging volcano, tormented by demons, unlike which no mortal man has ever seen." 

"He's got demons?!" Gonzo exclaimed excitedly as they hurried to the edge of the boat. "Cool!" 

The carriage finally came to a halt in front of the ship. At first, an intimidating man stepped out, looking sour and miserable. Everyone groaned in disgust and shock. The man who wore a sour expression then shifted to the side to reveal a green frog. Mari was surprised when she saw the way he acted. 

"Heigh-ho, everyone," the green frog greeted cheerfully. 

"What the —?" Jim exclaimed quietly. "That's the raging volcano? He's a frog!" 

"Hey," said Rizzo. "Maybe he's hopping mad. Hopping mad. Get it?" 

Mr. Arrow blew the whistle, and Mari stood up a bit more straight to respect the captain. 

"The captain approaches!" 

The captain approached the ship before stopping right in front of Mr. Arrow. 

"Good day, Mr. Arrow." 

He took one look of approval around the ship. But Mr. Arrow thought differently. He stared after the captain with a horrified expression. He then went to the rails of the ship, brushing some dust off the rails. 

"I knew it — he's furious!" He looked around and saw a rather tall Muppet. "Ah! You there!" 

"Me?" the tall Muppet responded in confusion. 

"You were in charge of dusting the railing! Thirty lashes for you and then, you walk the plank." 

The captain turned to face Mr. Arrow. "I didn't say that, Mr. Arrow." 

"I was just anticipating your whim, sir," Mr. Arrow answered dubiously. He gave one last at the tall Muppet before flouncing away. 

The captain finally approached Mari, Jim, Rizzo, and Gonzo. 

"Ah. You four must be the cabin children." 

"Yes, sir!" Gonzo answered enthusiastically. 

"Which one of you is Master Jim Hawkins and Miss Amira Wells?" 

"It's us, sir," Jim answered. 

The captain smiled gently, giving the duo a nod of respect. "I knew your fathers, Jim and Amira, when they were serving me. They were both good men." 

Mari relaxed. Maybe this captain wasn't nearly as bad as Mr. Arrow described him to be. She actually managed a smile. 

"Thanks, sir," Jim breathed. 

"Well, this is shaping up to be a fine voyage, children," said Long John as he leaned heavily on his crutch. "Oh, yes, indeed!" 

Gonzo laughed nervously as Mari nodded in respect to the captain. Gonzo leaned in towards Jim, who stared off after Long John. 

"One leg, Jim and Mari. Count 'em — one! Remember what Billy Bones had said about a one-legged pirate?" 

"Oh, Gonzo. He seems alright," Jim argued. "I mean, Long John is only a cook. How bad could he actually be?" 

"I dunno, but —" Gonzo glanced around himself and noticed that his friend, Rizzo, was missing. "Hey! Where's Rizzo?" 

"— And remember, we put the rat in pi-rat!" they heard Rizzo emphasizing. "NEXT!" 

"Rizzo!" Gonzo exclaimed. "What are you doing?!" 

"Well, I thought that it would be nice to have my own kin on board," Rizzo answered. "If this adventure ends up turning into a flop, at least it won't be a total failure. NEXT!" 

A light breeze went over the ship, ruffling Mari's hair, which was now up in a ponytail. 

"Well! The wind seems to be freshening," Captain Smollett concluded. "The tide is with us. Mr. Arrow, this voyage has begun!" 

"This voyage has begun!" Mr. Arrow repeated. "Raise the gangplank! Let go forward line! Let go aft line! Hard to starboard! Any man dawdling will be shot on sight!" 

"I didn't say that, Mr. Arrow," Captain Smollett chided gently. 

Mr. Arrow looked disappointed. "I was just paraphrasing." 

"Mr. Arrow? Just hoist the sails." 

"HOIST THE SAILS!" 

After everyone had their fun while they sailed away from England, they had their roll calls. Some of the roll calls were a bit suspicious, and Mari did not feel comfortable with some of the crew. Even Captain Smollett seemed to agree with Mari, even though she said nothing aloud. 

"Gentlemen, lady? Can I please see you in my office? Immediately?" 

**** 

"Who hired this crew?!" Captain Smollett ranted once everyone had been seated. "This is, undoubtedly, the seediest bunch of cutthroats, villains that I've ever seen, so who hired them?!" 

Everyone glanced at each other before pointing to Trelawney. Of course, Trelawney accused Mr. Bimbo, the man that lived in his finger. 

"Your finger hired the crew?" Captain Smollett asked in disbelief. 

"No, that's silly! The man who lives in my finger hired the crew. Mr. Bimbo. What? Ah! Yeah, he relied heavily on our excellent cook, Long John Silver." 

Captain Smollett sat down in shock. Mari couldn't blame him. 

"A cook? And a guy that lives in a bear's finger?" Captain Smollett repeated faintly. 

"Exactly!" Squire Trelawney proclaimed ecstatically. 

Both Mr. Arrow and Captain Smollett groaned, shaking their heads.

"I'm starting to get concerned about this voyage," Captain Smollett declared. To Jim, the Captain continued, "Jim? I know that Captain Bones gave you and Mari that treasure map. But I was hoping that you'd give it to me for safe-keeping." 

Jim hastily put the map in his vest pocket. "I'll be careful with it, sir." 

Before anyone else could say anything, a sharp knock sounded at the door. Jim got to his feet and opened it, revealing none other than Long John Silver. 

"Beggin' your pardon, gentlemen. Lady," he added, nodding politely to Mari. But I have come to stop by to give a bit of a treat for you. 'Tis from my very own best brandy, laid down by the brothers of Buckfast Abbey. A toast to a prosperous voyage!" 

"Oh!" said Squire Trelawney. He grabbed a couple of glass goblets from the nearby cabinet. "Spiffy!" 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Silver," said Captain Smollett apologetically. "But there will be no consumption of alcohol of any kind." 

"Ah. Well. . . .," said Squire Trelawney. He tossed out his glass of freshly-poured brandy out the window. "Rules are rules." 

"But, sir!" Long John insisted. "It's tradition for the officers to toast to the success of our oncoming voyage!" 

"Ah! Very true!" Trelawney agreed as he eagerly began to pour himself another glass of brandy, only to have Captain Smollett interrupt him. 

"Unfortunately, I must disagree with you." 

"Oh." 

Trelawney threw another fresh glass of brandy out the open captain's window. This time, a squeal of protest came below them. Three mice appeared. 

"Hey! You wanna knock it off with the booze?" the only male rat complained. "It's peeling the paint off the shuffleboard court." 

"Yeah!" the two mice ladies protested in agreement. 

"Sorry," Squire Trelawney apologized. 

"C'mon, girls," the male rat huffed. 

"And with that, this conversation is finished," Captain Smollett concluded. 

"I understand, sir," said Long John, though he sounded a bit disappointed. "I shall tend to my duty and make sure that every single drop of alcohol goes overboard. C'mon, Jim, Amira. Let's not bother the captain." 

Mari glanced over at Captain Smollett, making sure that he would give them his consent. Luckily, the captain allowed them to leave. 

"You can go if you want to, kids." 

They followed Long John out the door and Mari closed the door sharply on her way out.