"Pirates! I'm hiding from the pirates. They'll never find me here!" she told them in a voice she hoped sounded full of panic.
"What's your name?" asked the voice.
"Darling Toujours, famous television actress," she lied quite calmly.
"That's the one, boys," said another voice. "Let's go." Catching hold of Grandma's arm, they led her out into the emptiness of free space.
Half an hour later, after the pirate ship had blasted far enough away from the Kismet, the men in the control room relaxed and began to take off their space suits. One of the men who Grandma soon learned was Lamps O'Toole, the nominal leader of the pirates, stretched his brawny body to ease the crinks out of it and then rubbed his hands together. Grandma noticed that he carried a week's beard on his face, as did most of the other men.
"Well, that was a good one, eh, Snake?" said Lamps.
Snake Simpson was a wiry little man whose tough exterior in no way suggested a reptile, except, perhaps, for his eyes which sat too close to one another. "You bet, Skipper. We're full fledged pirates now, just like old Captain Blackbrood."
"You mean Blackbeard, Snake," said Lamps.
"Sure. He used to sit around broodin' up trouble all the time."