Tracy and Penny in the Mystery of Papa's Pirate

By Lora Knight

Sisters Tracy and Penny love researching their Papa Toby's stories of local tales. Never really thinking Papa's stories could be real, the girls couldn't have ever imagined the adventure Papa's pirate story would take them on. The girls will unearth the secrets their family has kept hidden and possible connections to buried pirate gold, as they discover the town's seemingly uneventful past wasn't always so.

Travel back in time with Tracy and Penny to solve the mystery of Papa's pirate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098085346

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Tracy and Penny in the Mystery of Papa's Pirate

Lora Knight

Copyright © 2021 by Lora Knight

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 1

Nestled beneath the canopy of live oak trees stood a lovely yellow house. Kissing the front lawn of the house was the amber-colored bayou. The front lawn served as the background for many events. There were birthday parties, family gatherings, and the occasional shrimp boil. The front lawn appeared as a happy place—at least that’s how Tracy and Penny had always seen it.

Tracy and Penny had a treasure trove of wonderful memories of their beloved bayou. They felt like the luckiest two girls in the world. Their lovely yellow house had a million stories to tell. You see, their house was over a hundred years old. It was built before the Civil War. It was rumored that Confederate soldiers used the house as a hideout from Union Troops.

The bayou was said to have been a refuge for pirates. Some stories even told of buried treasure. Tracy and Penny had heard of the magnificent tales but never really paid any attention to them. They just thought they were stories people had crafted over the years, each generation adding their own little twist to the tale.

Penny and Tracy might have been only ten and eleven years old, but they had experienced a wealth of adventures on the bayou. Canoeing and exploring the marshes was one of their favorite things to do. It wasn’t always an easy job. You see, Tracy and Penny lived with their Granny Corrine and Papa Toby.

Granny Corrine didn’t think it was proper for two young girls to be gallivanting around the bayou in a canoe. So Tracy and Penny had to wait until Granny had something of importance to occupy her. Now Papa had other opinions concerning Tracy and Penny’s adventurous ways. He wasn’t much help to Granny.

Papa Toby was always telling the girls the history of the bayou. It was a varied and rich history. There were stories of forgotten Indian burial grounds, Civil War battles, and of course the buried pirate treasure. Papa’s stories ignited the curiosity of the girls. No matter how much Granny fussed, the girls couldn’t restrain from exploring and checking out Papa’s stories.

Summer was beginning, and soon the girls would be on vacation from school. The school was about a mile from their home. Tracy and Penny rode their bikes to school every day through the small fishing village along the bayou. Every afternoon, they would stop by the library. Penny was always stopping to check the facts of Papa Toby’s stories. Some of the stories couldn’t be found on record. Penny would always laugh and say, Papa just wanted to make sure I was listening.

After the girls left the library, they would go to the drug store for a milkshake—a chocolate shake for Tracy and strawberry for Penny. The girls could often be seen riding their bikes down the curving road that snaked along the edge of the bayou. The town misleadingly seemed sleepy and uneventful, but Tracy and Penny would soon find out what a whirlwind of events had taken place in the town’s early beginnings.

Chapter 2

One evening while sitting down for dinner, Papa began telling one of his stories. This story was about a pirate, but not just any pirate. The pirate was Jean Lafitte. Jean Lafitte was one of the most successful pirates ever. Papa said there were stories that Jean Lafitte buried some of his treasure right there in their bayou. An old fisherman had come across two gold coins. Never revealing the location, it died with him. When the girls heard this, it made goose bumps pop up on their skin.

Papa, are you serious? Tracy asked.

You’re not just pulling our leg, are you? said Penny.

Papa gave his famous grin and said nothing more.

The girls just sat there and stared at each other, both looking like they had just seen a ghost. Tracy looked at Penny and said, Penny, why are we just sitting here? We have got to get to the library!

As quickly as they could, both girls ran to their bikes and were off on a very important mission—maybe the most important one of their lives! They pedaled until they could no longer feel their legs, not even glancing at each other the entire way. It was all they could do to get to the library.

As they approached the front door, their hearts sank to the ground. Closed! They had forgotten the library hadn’t started enforcing the summer schedule. It would be next week before they would stay open one hour later in the evening. The