A Good Night for Ghosts Read online

  “Don’t worry about them,” said Dipper. “You’re with me now.”

  Jack and Annie followed Dipper outside into the rain. The wind was blowing harder now. “Uh-oh,” said Dipper. “Here comes the storm! Let’s hurry!”

  Thunder cracked and rain began to pour down. The three of them got soaked as they hurried through the alley back to Bourbon Street.

  The street was empty now. Partygoers and street musicians had fled from the storm. The restaurants and cafés had taken their chairs and tables inside. Lightning lit the sky, and thunder shook the ground. The wind was blowing hard, picking up sticks and leaves and trash.

  “We have to find cover!” said Dipper. “Run!” He and Jack and Annie bowed their heads against the downpour and ran up Bourbon Street.

  “Dipper! Over here, man!” someone yelled. It was Little Mack.

  Little Mack, Happy, and Big Nose Sidney were waving to Dipper from the doorway of a dark building on a corner. Dipper, Jack, and Annie ran across the street through the pounding rain.

  “Get over here, out of the street!” shouted Little Mack. “Before you get hit by lightning!”

  “Thanks, fellas!” said Dipper.

  Soaking wet, Jack, Annie, Dipper, Little Mack, Happy, and Big Nose Sidney all crowded together just inside the dark building, looking out at the storm.

  “Who lives here?” asked Dipper.

  “Nobody. It’s been empty for years,” said Happy.

  “Used to be a blacksmith shop,” said Little Mack.

  “Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop?” said Jack. He immediately stepped out of the shop and stood under the eaves.

  “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” asked Little Mack.

  “We read this place is haunted!” said Annie.

  “Y’all believe in ghosts?” asked Little Mack.

  “No, not really,” said Jack.

  “But I thought you said they gave you the heebie—” started Dipper.

  “No, no, I was kidding,” Jack said quickly. He didn’t want Dipper’s friends to know he was afraid of ghosts.

  Lightning split the sky again. Another crash of thunder shattered the night. The wind blew so hard that shingles blew off the roof across the street and crashed to the sidewalk.

  “Whoa! Come inside, man, we gotta close the door,” Dipper said to Jack.

  “Hold on,” said Little Mack. “We have to go.”

  “We do?” asked Happy.

  Little Mack whispered something to Happy and Big Nose Sidney.

  “Oh, yeah, he’s right,” said Happy. “We have to leave. We’ll see y’all later.”

  “Y’all are scared to stay here, aren’t you?” said Dipper.

  “No, man. We forgot we have an important gig to play,” said Big Nose Sidney.

  “Oh. Suddenly y’all have got an important gig. I see…,” said Dipper.

  “Yeah, we’ll have to try to make it through the storm. See y’all! Come on, fellas!” said Little Mack.

  The three boys hurried out of the blacksmith shop and turned the corner.

  “They left ’cause they’re scaredy-cats,” said Dipper, chuckling.

  “Yeah,” said Jack, “scaredy-cats.”

  Thunder cracked the sky again, the loudest crack so far. It seemed to shake the whole block. Roof shingles flew through the air.

  “Come back inside!” said Dipper. “It’s dangerous out there.”

  Jack took a deep breath and stepped back into Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop.

  Dipper closed the door.

  It was pitch-black inside the shop. As the wind howled outside, the broken shutters banged against the brick walls. A gust of damp air blew through the room.

  “It’s dark in here,” said Annie. “And cold.”

  “It’s creepy,” said Jack.

  “Yup,” said Dipper. “Let’s leave. I’ve changed my mind about staying here. We can find some other place to get out of the storm.”

  “Good idea,” said Annie.

  “Great idea!” said Jack.

  Jack heard Dipper rattle the door handle. “Uh-oh,” said Dipper.

  “Uh-oh what?” said Jack.

  “Won’t open,” said Dipper. “It’s stuck.”

  Jack felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. The shutters banged in the wind.

  “Hold on a second, I’ve got some matches in my pocket,” said Dipper. “I just hope they didn’t get wet in the rain.”

  Jack heard Dipper trying to strike a match. He tried one, two, three times—then he held up a small flame.

  “Yay” breathed Annie.

  Jack looked around the room. In the dancing light, he could make out wooden buckets on the floor, a couple of broken chairs, a doorway leading to a back room, and—

  Squeak! A bat flapped above their heads.

  “Ahhh!” Jack, Annie, and Dipper ducked.

  The match went out.

  Dipper quickly lit another match. He held it up high, trying to light the room. Jack didn’t see the bat, but he saw a bricked-over fireplace, some rusty lanterns, and lots of spiderwebs.

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

  The match went out.

  “Help,” said Annie in a small voice. “More light, please.”

  “Nobody panic,” said Dipper. “I got two matches left.”

  “Just two?” said Annie.

  “Hey, I thought I saw some lanterns,” said Jack. “Near the fireplace. Maybe we could light them.”

  “Good idea,” said Dipper. “Maybe there’s oil still in ’em. I just hope I can light the wicks. Or we’ll be left in the dark with the bats.”

  “And spiders,” said Annie.

  And ghosts, Jack thought.

  Dipper struck his next-to-last match. He held it up to find the lanterns.

  “Over here,” said Jack, pointing.

  “I see,” said Dipper. But as he knelt on the floor, the match went out. “I got just one more,” he whispered. “So we better be real careful.”

  Dipper lit his last match. Jack slowly lifted the glass on both the lanterns. Very carefully, Dipper touched the match flame to the wick of the first lantern. The wick sputtered and flickered to life. A yellow glow filled the room.

  “Ahh!” said Dipper. He lit the second lantern. “Beautiful. You can each carry one.”

  Jack picked up one of the lanterns. Annie put down her trumpet and picked up the other one. The firelight cast eerie shadows on the walls.

  Screeeee!

  A sound from the back room startled them. It sounded like the creak of a door opening. Jack’s heart began to pound.

  WHAM! The sound of a door slamming shut!

  Jack’s heart beat faster and faster.

  “Hey!” called Dipper. “Who’s back there?”

  No one answered.

  Clump. Clump. Clump. The sound of footsteps on stairs!

  Jack held his breath.

  “Who’s there?” yelled Dipper.

  “WOOOOOOO!”

  “Show yourself!” yelled Dipper.

  The shutters outside banged harder against the walls.

  “WOOOOOOO!”

  “Mercy,” whispered Dipper.

  Jack’s hand trembled, shaking the lantern and making the shadows in the room dance even more wildly.

  The moaning came again: “WOOOOOOO!”

  “Annie!” said Jack. “The trumpet! The time is right!”

  “I know it! I feel it!” said Annie. She put down her lantern and grabbed the trumpet. “Sing, Jack!”

  Annie lifted the magic trumpet to her lips and blew. A pure, smooth sound flowed from the trumpet and filled the room. As Annie played, Jack started singing:

  Ghost, ghost,

  Leave us alone!

  Stop, stop!

  Stop your moan… ing!

  What a stupid song, Jack thought, but they were the only words that came to his mind. Then he remembered Dipper’s advice: When you can’t think of words, just sing sounds. Make ’em up. Put your heart in it.

&nbs
p; So Jack started singing nonsense sounds. He sang with all his heart, pouring all his feelings into the sounds, telling the ghost to go:

  Skid-dat-de-dat!

  Skid-dat-de-dow!

  Skiddle-skiddle

  Daddle-daddle

  Outta here NOW!

  Thumping noises came from the other room, as if heavy things were falling.

  “Who’s there?” shouted Dipper.

  Annie stopped playing.

  Jack stepped back in fear, waiting for something awful to happen. Then he heard laughing and whispering.

  “Hey!” shouted Dipper. He picked up Annie’s lantern and headed into the other room. Jack and Annie followed.

  Little Mack, Happy, and Big Nose Sidney were crawling toward the back door.

  “Stop!” yelled Dipper. “What are y’all doing here?”

  The three boys all talked at once: “We fell out of the attic!” “Felt like something was pushing us out!” “Yeah! Then down the stairs and toward the door!”

  “Jack’s song pushed you downstairs!” said Annie, laughing. “He ordered the ghost to leave us alone! His singing was magic.”

  “Your playing was magic, too!” Dipper said to Annie. “You two really put your hearts in it.”

  “Thanks,” said Jack.

  Dipper looked down at Little Mack. “Now tell us what you three fools were up to!” he said.

  “We decided to play a joke on y’all,” said Little Mack. “So we snuck through the back door and up to the attic.”

  “We thought you left because you were scared of ghosts!” said Annie.

  “Heck no, man,” said Little Mack.

  “We’re not afraid of ghosts,” said Happy.

  “Not even a little bit,” said Big Nose Sidney.

  Suddenly a cold wind blasted through the room. The lanterns flickered out. An eerie green light lit the blacksmith shop.

  “WHAT?” a voice roared. “NOT AFRAID OF GHOSTS?”

  The voice seemed to come from everywhere—and nowhere.

  “AHHHHHHH!” the kids all screamed together.

  “HAH-HAH-HAH!” Mean-sounding laughter echoed through the shop. It grew louder and louder. “HAH-HAH-HAH!”

  “AHHHHHHH!” the kids all screamed again.

  Stomping noises thundered in the attic overhead.

  Everyone shrieked and froze with terror.

  Down from the attic came a pirate. His face was hidden by the brim of a black hat. He wore a gray jacket with a double row of buttons, a red sash, and dark pants tucked inside black boots.

  The pirate looked like a real person, except you could see right through him.

  Tunder shook the night. The wind howled. The pirate ghost floated down the stairs.

  “The ghost of Jean Lafitte!” whispered Annie.

  The ghost pointed a bony finger at Happy. “NOT AFRAID OF GHOSTS?” his voice boomed again. He pointed at Big Nose Sidney. “NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT? HAH-HAH-HAH!”

  “AHHHHHHH!” everyone shrieked again. They all scrambled out of the back room to the front room. They pushed on the front door together. But the door still wouldn’t open.

  “SCURVY DOGS! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!” the ghost of Jean Lafitte shouted.

  The pirate ghost floated to the center of the room and stopped. He rested his hands on his hips, threw back his head, and laughed again. “YOU’RE TRAPPED NOW!” Jean Lafitte roared. “TRAPPED HERE FOREVER!”

  To Jack’s horror, more ghost pirates began gliding through the walls into the room. One at a time they came: a pirate with a gold earring, another with a pistol, one with a head scarf, another with an eye patch, one with a saber, another with a bushy beard, one with a thin mustache, another with a sack, one with a striped shirt, another with a peg leg.

  Finally ten ghost pirates circled the room!

  From the center of the circle, Jean Lafitte let out another peal of mean laughter. “HAH-HAH-HAH!”

  The pirate crew snorted, snarled, and growled, “YARRR! ARGHH! ARRL!”

  Suddenly 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’s just 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 his eyes. He took a deep breath, and then he blew. The air vibrated with a single warm note. Then Dipper’s fingers danced over the trumpet’s valves. A lively, swinging tune filled the blacksmith shop.

  Jean Lafitte stopped laughing his mean laugh. He held up his hands for his crew to be silent. As Dipper played, crooked smiles crossed the pirates’ faces.

  Dipper’s joyful music drowned out the noise of the storm outside. Annie snatched two rungs from a broken chair. She used them as drumsticks, tapping them against a wooden bucket. Jack grabbed two more 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!

  As the trio sang, the ghost of Jean Lafitte started to dance. He shook his head and clapped his hands. He waved his arms through the air. He turned in a circle. “Go, Mama, go!” he shouted.

  Lafitte’s crew began dancing like their captain. All the ghost pirates moved in a circle, shaking their heads and waving their hands. Some floated off the floor, 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 Annie drummed on the bucket. The trio sang. The floor shook. The windows rattled. And all the pirates stomped and shook, doing the Heebie-Jeebie dance.

  “SWING THAT MUSIC!” shouted Jean Lafitte’s ghost.

  “YARR!” the pirates all shouted. “YARR! YARR!”

  The front door suddenly banged open.

  “GO, MAMA! GO, PAPA! GO! GO! GO!” shouted the 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, Dipper kept playing. The trio kept singing, and Jack and Annie kept drumming.

  “MY CREW AND I SURE ENJOYED YOUR VISIT!” the pirate ghost captain shouted back to Dipper and the others. “BE SURE TO COME BACK! SAME TIME NEXT YEAR!”

  The ghost of Jean Lafitte turned and waved his arms in the air again. “COME ON, BOYS! PAPA’S DOIN’ THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES DANCE!” Then, doing the Heebie-Jeebies dance, all the pirate ghosts danced away into the dark New Orleans night.

  Dipper stopped playing. The three boys stopped singing. Jack and Annie stopped drumming.

  There was silence. They all crept to the open doorway and stepped outside. The rain had stopped, and the wind had died down. The air felt clean and cool. Stars shone overhead. The pirate ghosts were gone.

  “Whoa, that was something!” said Little Mack. “What just happened?”

  “Was it a dream?” asked Big Nose Sidney. “Were those ghosts real?”

  “I don’t know,” said Dipper. “But I’ll tell you this: you’ll never, ever get me back in that shop again.”

  Everyone laughed. Even Happy looked happy. “Hey, Dipper, how’d you get so good on that horn?” he asked, grinning.

  “I practiced for two years at the
Waif’s Home,” said Dipper. “That’s how.”

  “You got to blow that horn while we sing!” said Big Nose Sidney. “Come with us now! We really do have an important gig tonight on a riverboat!”

  “A riverboat?” Jack and Annie said together. They looked at each other. Their research book said that Louis Armstrong developed his musical talents performing on riverboats!

  “That’s right,” said Little Mack.

  “Oh, wow, Dipper, you have to go with them!” said Annie.

  “Yeah, man!” said Jack.

  But Dipper just shook his head. “Sorry, folks, but I can’t play tonight. I have to get up early in the morning to haul coal.”

  “Aww, Dipper,” said Little Mack.

  “Aww, Dipper,” said Jack.

  “Don’t y’all worry about me,” said Dipper. “Have a good time on the boat, fellas. Hang on to that smile, Happy.”

  “I’ll try,” said Happy.

  “See you later,” said Big Nose Sidney.

  “So long to y’all, too,” Little Mack said to Jack and Annie.

  “Bye,” said Jack.

  “Good luck on your gig,” said Annie. The three boys waved and took off.

  Dipper looked after them for a long moment. Then he turned to Jack and Annie.

  “Here’s your horn back,” he said. “Thanks for letting me play it.” He handed the trumpet to Annie.

  “Do you want to keep it?” she said.

  “No, thanks. I have my own horn back at my house, a cornet they gave me at the Waif’s Home,” said Dipper. “Someday when I’m grown, maybe I’ll bring it out again.”

  “I think you should have gone with the fellas, Dipper,” said Jack, “to share your musical gifts—”

  “I know, I know,” said Dipper, “to share my musical gifts with the world.” He shook his head as if he were shaking off the thought. Then he beamed a big smile at Jack and Annie. “Hey! Weren’t we talking about dessert a little while back? That’s a gig I can get behind and still get some sleep. Come on!”

  As Dipper led Jack and Annie down the rain-slicked street, the wet sidewalks glistened like silver. Life had returned to the French Quarter. Horses and mules splashed through puddles. Streetlamps burned brightly outside dance halls and restaurants. Waiters carried tables and chairs back outside.