Author/Uploaded by Nick Sheridan
Contents Cover Title Page Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seve...
Contents Cover Title Page Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Acknowledgments About the Author Copyright Guide Cover Start of Content Title Page Dedication Prologue Acknowledgments About the Author Copyright III V VI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 Three Unlikely Detectives, One Big Mystery The Case of the Phantom Treasure Nick Sheridan Illustrated by David O’Connell First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd Copyright © 2023 Nick Sheridan Illustrations © 2023 David O’Connell This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved. The right of Nick Sheridan and David O’Connell to be identified as the author and illustrator respectively of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Design and Patent Act, 1988. Simon & Schuster UK Ltd 1st Floor, 222 Gray’s Inn Road London WC1X 8HB www.simonandschuster.co.uk www.simonandschuster.com.au www.simonandschuster.co.in Simon & Schuster Australia, Sydney Simon & Schuster India, New Delhi A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. PB ISBN 978-1-3985-0687-9 eBook ISBN 978-1-3985-0688-6 eAudio ISBN 978-1-3985-0689-3 This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. For James 1723 Captain Horatio Huxley hauled himself up to the crow’s nest and wrapped an arm round the ship’s mast, shielding his eyes from the rain and wind that whipped through the sails and threatened to blow him overboard. Scanning the horizon, which was shrouded by dark clouds and split by streaks of lightning, Huxley pulled a sodden clump of parchment from his overcoat. What had once been a map of the way home now resembled a damp rag that had been used to wipe up an oil spill. He tossed it into the wind with a snarl. ‘Make a U-turn!’ came a voice from his shoulder. ‘Shut it, Mosey!’ snapped Huxley. The parrot squawked back in indignation. ‘If it weren’t for you,’ he bellowed over the screaming wind, ‘we’d be sitting in front of a roaring fire, bellies full of roast pheasant and hot cocoa!’ ‘At the roundabout, take the second exit!’ Mosey screeched. ‘We’re in the middle of the ocean!’ Huxley roared. ‘There are no roundabouts here!’ ‘Make a U-turn!’ Mosey cried again. ‘Make a U-turn!’ The ship suddenly gave a violent lurch, and Huxley hugged the mast even tighter. The Captain’s Revenge was being tossed like a rag doll ‘The ship, Podge!’ roared Huxley. ‘A damage report for the ship, you gilly-livered greasepot!’ ‘Oh… We’re sinking!’ called back Podge. ‘The hull, bow, keel, galley, bridge, hold, stern and amidships are all underwater!’ ‘Good grief!’ shouted Huxley. ‘That’s almost the entire ship! What about the poop deck?’ ‘The poop deck is fine, but it smells awful! Permission to panic, cap’n?’ ‘Pull yourself together, Podge!’ commanded Huxley. ‘Ready the lifeboats.’ ‘Oh, I knew I forgot something. They’re underwater too, cap’n!’ Huxley growled and spat out a mouthful of rain. On his shoulder, Mosey was still giving directions. ‘Take the next right, then join the motorway!’ ‘What’s the satnav saying, cap’n?’ shouted up Podge. ‘It’s on the blink!’ Huxley yelled back. ‘It thinks we’re on a motorway.’ ‘Speed cameras ahead!’ squawked Mosey. Huxley pulled up his collar round his face and tried to think of a plan. He wasn’t ready to let the Captain’s Revenge sink to the black depths of the sea, taking him, his crew and their precious cargo with her. ‘We’ve come too far to give up now, Podge!’ he yelled down to his first mate. ‘We found the treasure, and we’re going to bring it home!’ Suddenly, there came a tremendous