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Judy looked up each letter of the coded message, writing them down in Stink’s notebook as she found them.

“What is it? What does it say?” Stink pestered.

“Let me finish,” said Judy.

“It’s Bad-Bear,” said Stink. “Blab-ear? Blackbird? Blackbear?”

“BLACKBEARD!” screamed Judy and Stink at the same time, forgetting all about spies.

Judy and Stink met Mom and Dad in front of Barnacle Bob’s. “Those two girls with painted faces have maps, too,” said Judy, pointing.

“So does that surfer-dude kid,” said Stink. “And he’s not stopping to eat hot dogs.”

Judy and Stink wolfed down hot dogs, then their parents drove them all over town while they tried to solve the next clue. Something about Blackbeard.

They went to Blackbeard’s Castle. They peeked inside a gift shop called Blackbeard’s Folly. They checked out the Barefoot Blackbeard, a surf shop. But all they found were a lot of flip-flops.

“Let’s park and walk into the center of town,” said Mom. “I need to get sunscreen. And I’m hoping to find some art supplies so we —”

“Do we have to?” asked Stink. He could already feel his feet falling off from all the boring old shopping.

“C’mon — it’ll be fun,” said Mom. “There’s a toy store, and a pet shop like Fur & Fangs, and an ice-cream place.”

“Pirates don’t play with toys,” said Stink. “Or go to pet shops.”

“Not even Toys Arrr Us?” Mom joked.

“And they definitely don’t eat ice cream,” said Judy.

“Not even Marrrs Barrr Crunch?” Dad teased.

“Sometimes parents are clueless,” Judy whispered to Stink.

“We’re clue-less, too,” said Stink. Judy and Stink laughed till their stomachs hurt.

“Stop!” said Stink. “You’re making me get scurvy again.”

In the village, Judy and Stink saw kids with maps everywhere. “Stink. Across the street. Tall Boy and Smart Girl.”

“Are you doing the Girl-Who-Cried-Pelican thing again, where you get me to look?” He looked anyway. “Let’s follow them. As in spy.”

“That’s called cheating, Stink.” said Judy.

“Pirate Rule Number Something-or-Other: Cheat every chance you get.”

“Carbunkle,” said Judy.

Judy and Stink trudged up and down Back Road and School Road behind Mom and Dad, in one shop and out the other. Stink made bored sounds. Judy made bored faces.

Until . . . they heard a voice.

“Walk the plank! Walk the plank!” said the voice. It was not a Scurvy Sam pirate voice. It was a high, squeaky voice. “Shiver me timbers! Shiver me timbers!” the voice screeched.

“I think it’s coming from the pet shop,” said Judy, rushing inside.

“Pet shop!” Stink called to his parents, rushing after Judy.

“Jolly Roger! Pieces of eight! Jolly Roger!”

“It’s that parrot!” said Stink, pointing to a large red, yellow, and blue bird with long tail feathers. They hurried over to his cage.

“RARE!” said Judy.

“What’s your name?” Stink asked in a parrot voice.

“Stink, it says right here that his name is —”

“BLACKBEARD!” Judy and Stink both screamed at the same time.

They rushed over to the teenage boy behind the counter. He had coal-black hair that fell in his eyes, a green army jacket with the sleeves ripped off, and a silver hoop earring.

“Maybe that guy’s Blackbeard,” Stink whispered.

“Do you know about the treasure hunt?” Judy asked the guy. “Because we think your parrot is Blackbeard, and that’s our next clue.”

“You got it,” said the kid, putting on his red sash. He pressed a button on the cash register and handed them four pieces of eight. “That’s ten!” said Stink. “We have ten! We’re gonna win! We only need to solve three more clues and get six more pieces of eight.”

Stink and Judy went over to the cage again. They looked around for a piece of paper inside the cage, outside the cage, under the cage. “Hey, there’s nothing here,” Judy said to the guy.

“He has it,” the guy said, smiling. “Just ask him.”

“Bwaack! Blackbeard singing in the dead of night!”

“Hey! He’s singing that old Beatles song Dad sings about the blackbird,” said Judy. “Maybe the clue’s a black bird.”

“Is it a black bird?” Stink asked the parrot. “Is that the clue?”

“Sign of the pirate. Sign