Let me start by saying I hate pirate stories. There have been a couple in the pages of Batman and Detective Comics and they have fortunately been good enough to read through, but I am not a fan of water-bound Batman unless he has the Batboat, which we haven't seen yet.
But the opening gambit for this story shows Bruce and Dick on vacation and fishing in a lake that legends say a ghost pirate ship roams the waters. They are startled by a ship that makes its way to the mainland and robs the inhabitants of an inn. Batman and Robin swing in to stop the piracy.
At one point in the fight, Robin is knocked over so Batman dives in after him, giving the pirates a chance to get away. After rescuing Robin, Batman gets a motor boat and the two head out to the island where the descendent of the pirate lives. And they find the ship in dock as they approach.
The two are quickly captured by Captain Plankton and his crew. Batman surmises that this cannot be the original Captain Plankton even though he looks exactly like him, nor can he be the grandson, John Plankton who lives on the island. But here he is with a yacht that has been designed to look like a pirate ship of the past. Plankton has Batman and Robin walk a plank they stick out a window of the castle Plankton lives in. Batman falls first with Robin to follow.
The story ends rapidly as Batman manages to bounce back on the springboard and crash through a window, using the glass shards to cut his bonds. He frees Robin and they quickly round up the men. We learn it's the nephew of the grandson of the original pirate. He can't do anything about the piracy of the past other than to turn the ill-gotten gains over to the government to help the war effort.
A fast little story that takes place over four weeks as opposed to the first story that took six weeks. And what's next, Citizens? We're back to the comics and the 21st issue of Batman!
