The Treasure of El Patron Read Online Free PDF Page B

here.”
    From the distance a blue-and-white outboard slowly approached Tag’s boat. Davis and Spear anchored next to them.
    The heavyset man had an angry look on his face. “So, you two thought you’d be cute and cut yourselves in for a piece of the action?”
    “Why not?” Tag shrugged. “You bring the money?”
    Davis snapped his fingers and Spear produced a large wad of bills. “The question is, boys, did you bring our missing property?”
    Cowboy reached under the seat and lifted up the yellow bag.
    “Good!” Davis rubbed his chubby hands together. “Why don’t you relieve our little friends of what is rightfully ours, Spear?”
    Spear took a gun out of his shirt. “Whatever you say, Davis.” Spear stepped into Tag’s boat and tossed the yellow package to Davis.
    Davis looked inside. “It’s all here.” He threw Spear some rope. “Make sure you tie them good and tight. We wouldn’t want them to miss the party.”
    “Wait a minute!” Tag yelled as he struggled against the big man. “You were supposed to pay us.”
    “Oh, we’re gonna pay you all right. You and your nosy friend are going to get exactly what you deserve.” Davis handed a small bundle to Spear. “Set the timer for ten minutes. We don’t want to be anywhere around when it goes off.”
    Spear tied the last knot around Tag’s feet and then stuffed rags in both boys’ mouths. He set the timer and climbed back into his own boat.
    Davis waved at them. “Bye, boys. I know you’re just
dying
for us to leave.” He laughed and pointed the blue-and-white boat toward shore.
    The two fishing boats Cowboy had noticed earlier had moved in. One stopped in front of the outboard. Thomas spoke to them through a megaphone. “This is the police. Throw down your weapons. I repeat, throw down your weapons.”
    The second fishing boat moved in beside the outboard, making escape impossible. Several rifles were trained on Davis and Spear.
    Davis put his hands in the air. Spear cursed, stepped back, and pointed the gun at Tag’s head. His finger started to squeeze the trigger.
    Suddenly he jerked backward, dropped the pistol, and fell, clutching his bloodstained arm. The sharpshooter in the fishing boat kept his sights on Spear until Thomas stepped down into the blue-and-white boat and handcuffed him.
    Thomas helped get the two criminals onto the fishing boat. Then he maneuvered the blue-and-white outboard close to the boys. He pulled the rag out of Tag’s mouth.
    “Quick, there’s a bomb!” Tag motioned to the small bundle with his head.
    Thomas grabbed it and looked at the timer. Thirty seconds. He flung it as far as he could out into the ocean, and, without untying the boys, he started Tag’s boat and gave it full throttle.
    The sea exploded behind them. Pieces of rock and coral flew into the air. A giant wave hit Tag’s small boat and tossed the bow into the air. It came down hard, slapping its passengers to the bottom of the boat.
    Thomas shook himself and struggled to his feet. The boys were lying on the bottom of the boat like wet rag dolls. Thomas cut Tag loose and then went to work on Cowboy. “Are you all right?”
    Tag rubbed his wrists. “I think so.”
    Cowboy moaned and sat up. “Well, I’m not all right. Every bone in my body aches.”
    “We arrested Spear and Davis.” Thomas tried to restart the engine. “If we’re lucky they’ll tell us who made the drop.”
    Tag wasn’t listening. He was staring back toward Tiger Head. “How much damage do you think it did?”
    “What, to the reef?” Thomas asked. “Plenty, I’d say. Probably collapsed the whole tail end of it.”
    Tag slumped. “I guess that’s the end of our treasure hunting.”
    “What are you talking about?” Thomas finally got the engine to start. “Those crooks don’t know it, but they probably just did you guys a favor. Once you clear away some of that rock,
El Patrón
will be that much easier to salvage.”
    “You knew?” Tag was astonished.
    “Of