The Secret of Skeleton Reef Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    â€œTie up to port!” Flask shouted.
    Joe maneuvered the skiff along the left side of Flask’s boat. After tying a rope to the skiff, he threw the other end of the line to Flask, who lashed it to the side of his vessel. Then Frank and Joe climbed aboard the handsome white boat.
    â€œWelcome aboard the Destiny ,” Flask said. “That’s the name of this fine maiden. I don’t usually allow outsiders on board, but you lads helped me out, and you look like you can handle yourselves.”
    â€œHow’s it going?” Joe asked, seeing the crew tending to their chores on the sun-drenched decks.
    â€œNot great,” Flask replied. “So far today the divers have been coming up empty-handed.”
    â€œDo you keep the Destiny anchored here?” Frank asked as he leaned on the gunwale, or railing, which he knew was pronounced “gunn’l.” “I didn’t see her anchored at the docks this morning.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Flask answered. He pointed toward a weathered trawler tied alongside the opposite side of the boat. “We ride that claptrap fishing boat out here every day. The Destiny marks the dive site for us, and it also serves as a guard tower at night. See those two islanders?”
    Flask pointed at two shirtless, dark-skinned men who were cleaning equipment on the top deck. One was big and muscular, Joe noticed, but the other was a giant.
    â€œThat’s Isaac, and the big one’s Ishmael,” Flask explained. “They’re cousins. They stay on the ship all night, one of them always awake. If anyone comes by with a mind to steal some of the Laughing Moon treasure out of the sea, Isaac and Ishmael shoo them away. I guarantee, no one messes with them.”
    â€œI can see why,” Joe said.
    Brunelli walked up to Flask and said, “We’re getting ready to move into the new blasting position. Do you want to supervise?”
    â€œJust follow my markings and call when you’re set to drop anchor,” Flask answered. “Frank, Joe, this is my first mate, Lou Brunelli.”
    â€œWe’ve already met,” Brunelli said, giving Joe a hard but friendly slap on the shoulder. Then Brunelli strode across the deck.
    â€œWhat are you going to blast?” Frank asked.
    With a half smile, Flask said, “You boys probably think we found this great old pirate ship down there, and all we have to do is crawl around the decks, opening chest after chest of treasure.”
    â€œIt’s not like that, is it?” Joe said.
    â€œFirst of all,” Flask said, “there is no ship anymore. The Laughing Moon was mostly made of wood, and all of it has long since rotted away orbeen eaten by sea life. What’s more, the treasure and artifacts have been scattered about by currents. We know the Laughing Moon went down right around this spot, but we have to search hard to find relics—especially since most of them are buried deep in the sand.”
    â€œSo what are you going to blast?” Frank asked.
    â€œSee those things?” Flask said, pointing. Frank turned and saw two enormous, elbow-shaped aluminum tubes that hung over the rear of the boat.
    â€œThose contraptions are called mailboxes,” Flask explained. “They fasten right over the boat’s propellers. We anchor the boat in a position that seems promising, then we lower the mailboxes, turn the engine on, and the mailboxes work with the propellers to blast two holes in the sand. A few divers look in the holes and others roam around, exploring elsewhere.”
    â€œAll right, Peg, we’re ready to move!” Brunelli called from the top deck. Just above the top deck was the main bridge, where the steering apparatus was located. At the helm a red-haired woman started the engine and guided the Destiny about twenty feet forward. “That’s good,” Brunelli shouted, and Peg shut down the engine.
    â€œPrepare to drop