"He does look like Mr. Howell." Ted stopped his trek through the jungle and looked thoughtful for a second. "Wow. I didn't notice that before. Crazy." He turned then to give Michael a look -- a look that Ted hoped conveyed how disappointed he was with that question. "Ghost Pirates." He repeated, before turning and continuing to try and pick his way through the jungle foliage. "Ghost Pirates! Just think how cool it will be when we find them!"
He didn't bother to mention that right here, right now he thought they might be a tiny bit lost. Nope. No need to sound the alarm yet. He was pretty sure any second now they'd exit the jungle and find the beach . . .
"And hey -- the people I've been talking to aren't crackpots! I talked to this one guy who was present at an undersea, unexplained mass sponge migration!"