John and Billy Kyburg were thirteen-year-old twin boys. Next came Sally, a twelve-year-old girl; then Sadie, an eight-year-old girl; and finally a five-year-old boy named Benny. That spring, their grandfather had died and left all the children a small charter fishing boat. They lived in a small seaport village named Pirates Cove. It was given that name because, when you came into the harbor, there was a little cove surrounded by tall trees where pirates used to hide their ships from the law in the olden days.