ThThe Pirate’s Den 

Down at the bottom of the orchard stood an old boat shed.
 
Many years ago, Sam’s great grandfather had made rowing boats there, but it had stood empty and neglected for a long while.
 
Sam’s father was going to knock the shed down in favour of the brand new shed built nearer to the house, but Sam begged him not to, and he and his best friend Chris had made it into their own special den.
 
At the windows hung old sack clothes to stop anyone from seeing in (mainly Sam’s nosy sister Annie). Painted on the big double doors in black letters were the words:
 
‘KEEP OUT! PIRATE’S DEN’
 
Sam and Chris had been collecting items for their den for nearly a year, mainly from car-boot sales. Had anyone been allowed into the shed, they might have been surprised to find it looked like the deck of a ship, complete with a ship’s wheel.
 
Sam’s grandfather was a carpenter like his father had been, and last year when he had asked Sam what he wanted for his birthday, Sam had asked for a ship.
 
Thinking he meant a model ship, he had readily agreed, until Sam had taken him down to the shed and explained exactly what he wanted.
 
Even though the shed was big, it had been awkward working in there, and it had taken his grandfather several months to complete the project.
 
Luckily, there had been lots of spare wood stacked around from his great grandfather’s boat building days. In the shed there now stood an exact replica of the deck of a ship!
 
Sam had found the ship’s wheel wrapped in oil cloth at the back of the shed and engraved on it was the name ‘Intrepid.’ Why he had hand made such a beautiful ship’s wheel when he only made rowing boats was a puzzle.
 
“Maybe,” Sam thought, “he had secretly wanted to build a full size ship one day?”
 
The boys bought a box of junk at a car-boot sale because they saw an old brass compass that would look good on their ship. The glass was broken and Sam’s father said the compass was as well, because it always pointed South.
 
The boys fitted it to next to the wheel of the ship anyway and strange things started to happen.
 
At first they didn’t take any notice as they were busy playing pirate games but gradually they realised that the glass of the compass had been mended, and the needle was always swinging around in a circle almost as if searching for a direction.
 
Whenever either Chris or Sam took hold of the wheel pretending to sail to far off places, the honey coloured wood turned to a dark mahogany colour.
 
Chris and his family had gone away for the weekend, and Sam decided to hang the new ‘Scull and Crossed Bones’ flag at the top of the mast. His sister Annie had bought it for him at Christmas because she knew they loved playing pirates.
 
Feeling at a loose end without his best friend Chris, Sam decided to dress up in his pirate clothes complete with his wooden sword.
 
Sam stood on the deck of the ship grasping the wheel tightly and said, “OK me matey, show me what you can do.”
 
He closed his eyes and pretended he was sailing far out to sea. The boat started to lurch, and the wheel spun out of his hands. Sam opened his eyes in fright and saw the compass needle swing to SouthWest. The wheel responded and the ship tilted to the side.
 
“This can’t be happening,” Sam thought to himself. The deck was bolted to the floor for safety.
 
All around him a thick mist seemed to appear, and a strong wind filled the sheet his mother had given him for a sail. The pirate’s flag flapped so hard Sam thought it would surely tear.
 
The ship lurched and a huge wave crashed over the deck soaking Sam. His fear was replaced with excitement, and he took hold of the wheel as though he had sailed all his life.
 
Slowly out of the mist Sam saw the outline of another ship quickly gaining on him. He was just changing direction when he heard the ‘boom, boom, boom’ of their cannon.
 
Suddenly, the mist cleared, the sail hung limply, and the ship stood still. ‘Bang, bang, bang!’
 
“Sam, open up,” his father shouted. “It’s time for dinner.”
 
“Had it been a dream?” he asked himself.
 
He looked down at his clothes and they were soaking wet but the shed and deck were as dry as bone. Luckily for Sam, it was pouring down with rain outside so the dash to the house only made him wetter and nobody took any notice.
 
Sam couldn’t wait to tell Chris about his adventure but whenever Chris stood on the deck nothing happened, that is until one day Chris came to play and brought with him a big brass ship’s bell.
 
The boys polished it until it shone, and then hung it near to the compass.
 
Dressed in their pirate’s clothes, Sam asked, “Where shall we sail to today?”
 
“I dunno, anywhere that we can blast other pirates out of the water,” Chris replied laughing.
 
The boat lurched and the wind picked up filling the sail. Chris looked at Sam with excitement in his eyes.
 
“It’s happening, isn’t it? I didn’t really believe you, but I can feel the wind and salt spray,” he cried.
 
The boys spent many happy days in their boat shed and shared lots of adventures, some funny, others scary, but all of them exciting.
 
Sam liked to think that his great grandfather would have been happy to see his ship’s wheel being used for such wonderful adventures.
 
Sometimes, while lying in his bed, Sam could hear the ship’s bell gently ringing, almost as if it was saying, “Come and play. Come and play.”
 
Sam would smile and reply, “Soon, Intrepid, soon.”