Wendy was brought up to the deck of the Jolly Roger.
The boys were lined up in their chains trying to look brave.
When she saw the pirates preparing the plank, she was filled with hate.
She hated Hook and she hated the pirates.
Boys might think pirates exciting, but Wendy did not.
She especially hated that the ship had not been cleaned for years.
Not one window was without a layer of grime.
In fact, while she was below, she wrote "Dirty Pig" on a window with her finger.
She also hated that it was nighttime and no one was in bed.
But when the boys gathered around her, all these thoughts melted away.
"So, my beauty," said Hook, "soon you will see your children walk the plank."
Hook's lace collar was dirty, and when he saw Wendy staring, he tried to hide it.
"Are the children going to die?" she asked scornfully.
Her voice made it clear how she despised Hook for his plan.
"They are!" he shouted. "Silence! Listen to a mother's last words to her children."
Wendy stood tall and faced everyone proudly.
"These are my last words, dear boys," she said.
"I feel that your real mothers would say this:
We hope our sons die like gentlemen."
Hook shuddered. Even the pirates were awed, for Wendy's words were the kind that inspired bravery.
Tootles cried out, "I am going to do what my mother wishes.
What are you going to do, Slightly?"
"What my mother wishes," said Slightly. "What are you going to do, Nibs?"
Nibs answered the same way, and so did the other boys until Hook interrupted.
"Tie her up to the mast!" he shouted cruelly.
It was Smee who tied Wendy.
Under his breath, he whispered, "I'll save you if you promise to be my mother."
But this was a promise Wendy could never make to a pirate.
The boys' eyes had drifted from Wendy to the plank, and their faces went white. They were not ready to die.
Their walk down the narrow board and over the end into the cold sea would be the last walk they would ever take.
They shivered and stared, no longer sure they could walk the plank as gentlemen.
They were, after all, only little boys.
Hook smiled and took a step toward Wendy.
He wanted to turn her face to make her watch the boys walk the plank.
He wanted to hear her cries of terror and regret.
Instead, what he heard filled his own heart with terror.
It was the tick-tock of the crocodile.
They all heard it—Hook, the other pirates, the boys, and Wendy.
Instantly, they all looked—but not at the water where the sound was coming from.
All their eyes were fixed on Captain Hook.
The crocodile, Hook knew, had only one victim in mind—him!
He fell to the floor, trembling in a heap.
The ticking grew louder, as if the crocodile were getting closer.
Hook crawled on his knees to the other side of the ship, away from the boys and Wendy.
The awful sound was getting even louder.
All Hook could imagine was the terrible crocodile climbing aboard his ship.
"Hide me!" Hook cried, but his men stepped back to clear the way.
They had always been loyal to their captain, but none of them would stand between him and his fate.
On the other side of the deck, the boys leaned over the side of the ship to see the crocodile climb in.
But to their surprise, it was not the crocodile coming to their rescue.
It was Peter! He made a sign for them to keep silent. Then he went on ticking.