Thunder shook the night. The wind howled. Thepirate ghost floated down the stairs.
"The ghost of Jean Lafitte!" whispered Annie.
The ghost pointed a bony finger at Happy. "NOTAFRAID OF GHOSTS?" his voice boomed again. Hepointed at Big Nose Sidney. "NOT EVEN A LITTLEBIT? HAH-HAH-HAH!""AHHHHHHH!" everyone shrieked again. They allscrambled out of the back room to the front room.
They pushed on the front door together. But the doorstill wouldn't open.
92"SCURVY DOGS! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!"the ghost of Jean Lafitte shouted.
The pirate ghost floated to the center of the roomand stopped. He rested his hands on his hips, threwback his head, and laughed again. "YOU'RETRAPPED NOW!" Jean Lafitte roared. "TRAPPEDHERE FOREVER!"To Jack's horror, more ghost pirates began glidingthrough the walls into the room. One at a time theycame: a pirate with a gold earring, another with apistol, one with a head scarf, another with an eyepatch, one with a saber, another with a bushy beard,one with a thin mustache, another with a sack, onewith a striped shirt, another with a peg leg.
Finally ten ghost pirates circled the room!
From the center of the circle, Jean Lafitte let outanother peal of mean laughter. "HAH-HAH-HAH!"The pirate crew snorted, snarled, and growled,"YARRR! ARGHH! ARRL!"93Suddenly Jack started singing:
Skiddle-diddle dog!
Hey, hey, hey!
Ghost, go away,Go away, go away!
"Jack!" said Annie. "What are you doing?""Play, Annie! Play!" squeaked Jack.
"I can't!" said Annie. "We used up the magic! It'sjust an ordinary trumpet now!""Here, give it to me!" said Dipper.
Annie handed Dipper the trumpet.
Dipper put the trumpet to his lips. He closed hiseyes. He took a deep breath, and then he blew. Theair vibrated with a single warm note. Then Dipper'sfingers danced over the trumpet's valves. A lively,swinging tune filled the blacksmith shop.
Jean Lafitte stopped laughing his mean laugh. Heheld up his hands for his crew to be silent. As Dipperplayed, crooked smiles crossed the pirates' faces.
94Dipper's joyful music drowned out the noise of thestorm outside. Annie snatched two rungs from abroken chair. She used them as drumsticks, tappingthem against a wooden bucket. Jack grabbed twomore rungs and did the same.
Dipper paused long enough to yell to his trio, "Hey,boys! Sing the Heebie-Jeebie song!""We don't know it!" said Little Mack.
"Make somethin' up!" called Dipper.
As Dipper played the trumpet, Little Mack sang:
I got the heebies!
You got the jeebies!
Then Happy sang:
The heebies make you hop!
And the jeebies make you quake!
Then Big Nose Sidney sang:
'Do a little dance, Mama!
Stomp and shake!
95As the trio sang, the ghost of Jean Lafitte started todance. He shook his head and clapped his hands. Hewaved his arms through the air. He turned in a circle.
"Go, Mama, go!" he shouted.
Lafitte's crew began dancing like their captain. Allthe ghost pirates moved in a circle, shaking theirheads and waving their hands. Some floated off thefloor, turning this way and that.
Little Mack sang:
Hey, Papa! Hey, Mama!
Hey! Hey! Hey!
"Hey, hey, hey!" all the pirates shouted. "Hey, hey,hey!"Dipper played the trumpet. Jack and Anniedrummed on the bucket. The trio sang. The floorshook. The windows rattled. And all the piratesstomped and shook, doing the Heebie-Jeebie dance.
"SWING THAT MUSIC!" shouted Jean Lafitte'sghost.
969798"YARR!" the pirates all shouted. "YARR! YARR!"The front door suddenly banged open.
"GO, MAMA! GO, PAPA! GO! GO! GO!" shoutedthe ghost of Jean Lafitte. He danced out of the shop,and his pirate crew followed, one by one.
As the ghosts all danced out of the shop, Dipperkept playing. The trio kept singing, and Jack andAnnie kept drumming.
"MY CREW AND I SURE ENJOYED YOUR VISIT!"the pirate ghost captain shouted back to Dipper andthe others. "BE SURE TO COME BACK! SAME TIMENEXT YEAR!"The ghost of Jean Lafitte turned and waved hisarms in the air again. "COME ON, BOYS! PAPA'SDOIN' THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES DANCE!" Then, doingthe Heebie-Jeebies dance, allthe pirate ghosts dancedaway into the dark New Orleans night.
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