The Ship of Lost Souls 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

inconvenient time, but the treasure boosted his spirits. Without knowing whether it was a heap of jewels or a potion to ward off restless spirits, King Aberhard proclaimed that whoever found this treasure, be it a pirate or servant of the crown, would be richly rewarded.”
    The pirates looked dazed long after Uncle Finn stopped talking.
    â€œRight. Well.” Captain Wallace snapped out of it first. “We know all that. Obviously we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t. You avoided the question nicely. Now tell me, Bliss, what
you
know about this treasure. What is it? Where is it hidden?”
    Uncle Finn gave him a long, solemn look. “I know nothing more.”
    â€œNothing? Oh, don’t be so modest, Bliss. I heard from a reliable source that you have a map showing the way to the treasure.”
    â€œI have no such map,” Uncle Finn said, looking the captain directly in the eye.
    True,
Jem thought, fingering the paper in his sleeve.
That’s true.
    Captain Wallace pivoted on one boot heel, stalked to the wall, then returned. His lip twitched, steady as a pulse. One eyebrow arched above his spectacles like a bow poised to release an arrow.
    â€œDon’t tease me, Bliss. You have no idea what I’m capable of. I’m asking you to join us, share your information, then share the treasure and the reward. Your life depends on your next answer, and I’ll only ask you once more.”
    â€œTell him,” Thomas mouthed.
    â€œWhere is the map?”
    Jem looked at Pete, who returned a calm, level gaze. He knew there was nothing to worry about. Uncle Finn would just give a simple answer, then they’d be on their way, back to the boarding house, to bed, and—
    â€œNo.” Uncle Finn’s voice was firm. “You will not know.”
    Captain Wallace’s ashen face turned fuchsia in a second. “P-p-p,” he sputtered, trying to regain control of his twitching lip. “P-p-plank!”
    â€œCaptain, no.” Pete gasped and stepped between the captain and Uncle Finn.
    â€œPLANK!” the captain screamed and hurled himself out the cabin door. “Now!” His cry carried down the hall.
    â€œWhat does he mean?” Jem cried, looking at his uncle desperately. “He doesn’t . . . they don’t really do that. Only in stories. That’s nonsense, right? It’s a bluff.”
    Then, all at once, the room was full of pirates shouting and shoving as if they’d materialized right out of the walls. Two seized Uncle Finn’s arms and one grabbed his legs. His uneaten dinner clattered to the floor. “Leave the boy. Let him go!” Uncle Finn hollered as the pirates dragged him, struggling, out the cabin door.
    â€œUncle Finn!” Jem tried to stand and follow, but Pete pulled him back and threw a heavy arm over him. “What are they doing? They’re not really—”
    Pete clamped his hands over Jem’s ears and stared at the wall.
    But Jem heard it, anyway, muffled through Pete’s fingers. The hollers in the hall, boots stomping up to the deck and across to the stern. A pause, then . . .
splash.

CHAPTER THREE
    â€œLet me go!” Jem hollered into Pete’s arm, squirming like an eel pinned beneath it. He struggled to his feet, forgetting they were bound, then tripped and toppled over onto the pirate. Jem lay still for a moment, gasping, cheek pressed against the damp floorboards. This couldn’t be happening. They couldn’t have made Uncle Finn walk the plank. That splash he’d heard—it must have been something else. A fish jumping, maybe. A really big one.
    â€œWhere is he? What have you done with him?” Jem shouted at Pete, who promptly moved over and sat on top of him, square in the middle of Jem’s back, pinning him to the floor.
    â€œIt looks bad, doesn’t it?” Pete said. He bowed his head and interlaced his yellowed fingers in his lap like a