The Treasure of Dead Man's Cove Read online

  About the Book

  You find an old map while holidaying in a secluded seaside town. It is said to have belonged to the fiercest pirate of them all – One-Eyed William, who was buried with his treasure. Could it be real, or is it someone’s idea of a joke? You set off to follow the map to find out …

  WILL YOU UNCOVER THE TREASURE OF DEAD MAN’S COVE, OR WILL YOU BE DESTINED FOR DOOM?

  YOU CHOOSE …

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  You Choose 1: The Treasure of Dead Man’s Cove

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  More Books in the Series

  Copyright Notice

  Loved the book?

  For my daughter, Nykita – G.I.

  ‘Treasure!’

  You freeze. Where did that voice come from?

  You are in the hallway of the small guesthouse in the seaside town of Seabreeze. You and your parents are staying here for the summer holidays.

  ‘Treasure!’

  The screeching voice is coming from the living room. You edge your way to the door and peer inside.

  A large colourful bird is sitting on a perch by the window. It’s a macaw.

  ‘Treasure!’ it screeches again.

  You are about to enter the living room, when you hear your mother calling from the kitchen that breakfast is ready. Your stomach rumbles.

  If you are hungry and decide to eat breakfast, go here.

  But if your curiosity is greater than your hunger, approach the bird and go here.

  You enter the kitchen and sit down at the dining table with your parents. Mrs Tisdale, the owner of the guesthouse, brings a plate stacked high with pancakes.

  You ask her about the macaw and why it keeps saying ‘treasure’.

  ‘Mr Fibuli. That’s his name,’ says Mrs Tisdale, wiping her hands on the front of her floral dress. ‘It seems that everyone in this town is obsessed with treasure and pirates. Even the birds.’

  ‘Pirates?’ your mum asks.

  ‘Oh yes,’ says Mrs Tisdale with a wink. ‘The town of Seabreeze used to be inhabited by pirates, and Dead Man’s Cove is where they launched their ships. According to legend, the fiercest pirate of them all, One-Eyed William, was buried somewhere around here along with his treasure. They say he kept a huge ruby in his deformed, empty eye socket!’

  Someone behind you grunts and you whirl around to see a strange man leaning in the kitchen doorway. He has long black hair tied back into a neat ponytail and mismatched eyes – one small and squinty, the other wide and staring. Even though it’s a warm day, he’s wearing a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows. Mrs Tisdale introduces him as Professor Wagner, the only other person currently staying in the guesthouse.

  The professor questions Mrs Tisdale about the legend of One-Eyed William’s buried treasure. But she doesn’t know much more. She suggests that the museum would be a good place to get more information.

  Your parents decide to visit the museum and then go down to Dead Man’s Cove.

  Do you want to find out more about pirates? To visit the museum with your parents, go here.

  If you’d rather ditch your parents and explore the town on your own, go here.

  You enter the living room and approach the macaw.

  ‘Treasure!’ the bird screeches again.

  ‘What treasure?’ you ask, reaching out to stroke its feathers.

  The bird screeches and lunges at your outstretched hand, its beak biting down on your finger.

  You pull your hand back, but the bird doesn’t let go. It flaps its wings and lands on your hand, its claws digging into your flesh.

  You are in great pain. If you want to yell for help, go here.

  If you try to shake the bird off, go here.

  You go into the town with your parents. As they head off to the museum, you wander around, checking out the shops.

  Most of the shops have a pirate theme. The jewellery store is called The Treasure Chest. The store that sells cleaning products is named Swab the Deck. There’s a restaurant called The Hungry Parrot. And the toy store is Toys Argh Us. There is also a bunch of shops that has closed down, including Land Lubbers’ Real Estate, Long John’s Silverware, Shiver Me Timbers Hardware and The Pirate Planet Tourist Bureau.

  The town of Seabreeze seems a little obsessed with pirates.

  You buy a bag of chocolate coins from Pirate Pete’s Treats, and walk over to the town square. There are three kids sitting at the base of a pirate statue at one end of the square. At the other end is a little booth covered in pirate flags.

  Where should you go?

  If you think it would be fun to hang out with the local kids, go here.

  But if you decide to check out the pirate booth, go here.

  You yell for help!

  Your parents and Mrs Tisdale, the guesthouse owner, come running.

  She tickles the macaw under its beak and it releases you. You are bleeding all over the carpet.

  Your parents take you to the hospital, where you have to get stiches and an injection.

  What a start to your holiday! It completely saps your sense of adventure and you spend a quiet week, reading in your guesthouse room.

  Although your finger heals, it is forever deformed, bending at an odd angle … a reminder of your worst holiday ever!

  You walk towards the kids. They are sitting under the statue of One-Eyed William. He has a macaw on his shoulder and a patch over his right eye. And he is covered in pigeon poo.

  You introduce yourself to the kids. There are three of them. They say their names are Jack, Jill and Polly. They show you around the town and then take you to a convenience store. As you’re drinking a slurpee, Jack, who seems to be the ringleader of the kids, suddenly asks you if you’re interested in pirate treasure. You nod.

  ‘We reckon we might have found it,’ says Jack.

  ‘Yeah,’ agrees Jill. ‘We’ve been digging for it.’

  ‘You can help us if you like,’ says Polly.

  ‘Come on,’ says Jack, heading off. ‘It’s this way.’ You’re not sure you believe them.

  If you’re feeling adventurous and decide to go with the kids, go here.

  Maybe you think the pirate booth in the town square will be more interesting? Then go here.

  But maybe the beach would be better? To join your parents at Dead Man’s Cove, go here.

  Professor Wagner shines his torch around the cave. He finds a skull-and-crossbones symbol carved into the wall right at the back of the cave.

  ‘William’s Roger points,’ he whispers. ‘William’s symbol was a Jolly Roger, a skull and crossbones, with an eyepatch on the skull. Look!’

  You run your hand over the symbol and realise there is a groove that encircles it. You press the Jolly Roger and the circle of rock pushes into the wall. You hear the grinding of rock against rock, and a section of the back wall slowly slides away.

  The professor shines his torch through the opening to see a long passage with steps leading up.

  ‘Into the unknown,’ he says, as he marches in.

  But do you follow?

  If you decide that you’ve had enough adventure, go here.

  If you think you’re brave enough to follow Professor Wagner, go here.

  You walk along the path from the town towards Dead Man’s Cove. As you approach the trees at the top of the cliffs overlooking the cove, you see Professor Wagner. He is walking from the guesthouse towards the trees, constantly looking over his shoulder. He seems excited, nervous and wary at the same time.

  You duck down behind some shrubs and watch.
He continues on into the trees.

  You wonder what he’s up to. Perhaps you should find out?

  Are you curious enough to follow the professor? Then go here.

  But if you think Dead Man’s Cove will be more fun, go here.

  You follow Professor Wagner as he walks along the path through the trees.

  The path winds its way through bushes that get thicker as you go along. The professor eventually stops and pushes his way through some undergrowth to a little track.

  He leads you to a small clearing. There’s a hole in the ground and a couple of shovels. You stay hidden and watch as he digs.

  Is he searching for pirate treasure?

  After he’s been digging for a while, you start to get bored. Maybe you should ask him what he’s up to?

  If you’re brave enough to confront the professor, go here.

  If you think you’ll find out more by staying hidden and watching, go here.

  You approach the booth and the red-faced woman behind it. She is quite round. In fact, she looks a bit like a cartoon character come to life – a spherical head on a rotund body, with a very little neck.

  She straightens her enormous pirate’s hat and pulls down an eyepatch over her left eye. The pirate gear looks rather silly with her lime-green tracksuit.

  ‘Ahoy thar, matey,’ she calls, in a really bad pirate voice. ‘Oi be the cap’n of this picturesque little town. Can oi be interestin’ ye in some piratical information? Argh!’

  You stare at her with a blank expression.

  ‘What be ailin’ ye?’ she asks. ‘Ye daft or somethin’?’ She pauses. ‘Or mute?’ She pauses again, lifting up her eyepatch and dropping the accent. ‘Are you okay?’

  Finally you nod and explain that you couldn’t understand her.

  ‘Oh,’ she says with a giggle. ‘Well, I guess my pirate voice isn’t all that great. Argh!’

  You both laugh.

  ‘I’m Gwendolyn McNaughton Fothering ton Brown-Smith,’ she says. ‘But you can call me Madam Mayor.’

  You give her another blank expression.

  ‘Just kidding.’ She laughs. ‘Gwen will be fine. But I am the mayor. I’m trying to get the people here enthused about changing the name of our little town from Seabreeze –’ she pulls a sour expression ‘– to Pirate Town.’

  You continue staring at this strange woman.

  ‘It’s all part of my grand plan to increase tourism. But trying to convince the locals is an uphill battle.’ She sighs. ‘Ah, if only I could find One-Eyed William.’

  Your eyes light up with interest.

  ‘Oh, so ye ’ave heard of old William, have ye?’ Her pirate voice is back. ‘Argh! Well, oi ’ave a collection of piratical paraphernalia that’ll make ye eyes pop.’

  The strange woman waddles out from behind the booth and sets off across the town square.

  Are you interested enough in pirates to see what she’s on about? Then go here.

  If you decide to ditch her and take the path down to Dead Man’s Cove, go here.

  Jack, Jill and Polly take you along the path towards Dead Man’s Cove. But instead of following the path all the way down, they take a detour off into the trees.

  The path winds its way through bushes that get thicker as you go along. Jack eventually stops and points at a little track that heads off into the undergrowth.

  ‘This way,’ he says.

  Jack leads you to a small clearing. There’s a hole in the ground and a couple of shovels.

  ‘We reckon the treasure is buried here,’ says Jill.

  ‘Want to help us dig?’ asks Jack.

  This seems like an odd place for pirate treasure to be buried.

  If the lure of pirate treasure is enough to make you dig, go here.

  If you reckon the kids are having you on, you can ditch them and go down to the cove. Go here.

  You and your parents walk through the town of Seabreeze to the museum. You are met at the door by a tall woman in a grey suit. She has spiky blonde hair, thick-rimmed glasses and pinched lips. She looks as if she’s been sucking on a lemon.

  ‘You’re only just in time,’ she says, in a measured voice. ‘I’m the curator and the museum tour is about to begin. Quickly, quickly!’

  She leads you and your parents into the museum. The place is empty of people.

  ‘Well … we don’t get many tourists these days,’ she explains. ‘Not since the coastal bypass was opened last year.’ She looks down at you over the top of her glasses. ‘I suppose you want to know about the pirates.’

  You nod.

  She points to a glass cabinet with a gold coin and some bits of broken jewellery inside.

  ‘Part of a vast pirate treasure,’ says the curator. ‘Or so the legend goes. Of course, no one has found anything more than these few trinkets washed up at Dead Man’s Cove.’

  You come to another cabinet. This one has a large eyepatch.

  ‘This supposedly belonged to One-Eyed William. Notice that it’s larger than a standard eyepatch. William was supposed to have had a deformed right eye socket. Misshapen and large. Too big for an eyeball, which is said to have fallen out when he was born. If you believe the legend, he kept a ruby in the socket behind the patch.’ The curator looks at her watch impatiently. ‘Well, that’s it for now. Feel free to look around.’ And then she’s off.

  ‘That was a short tour,’ says your mum.

  You wander through the rest of the museum and see pirate flags, scraps of old parchment, a ship’s wheel, some pirate costumes and old books.

  It’s a small museum, so you’re finished in less than half an hour. As you come out you see the town square. There is a booth set up at one end, decorated with pirate flags. You wonder what it is. At the other end is a group of local kids.

  Your parents say they are heading down to Dead Man’s Cove.

  Do you want to head down to the cove with your parents? Then go here.

  If you think the pirate booth would be more interesting, go here.

  But it might be more fun to hang out with the local kids. If you want to meet them, go here.

  You come out of hiding and approach Professor Wagner, just as his shovel strikes something hard. You demand to know what’s going on.

  ‘Demand!’ says the professor, brandishing the shovel. He stares at you, his right eye extra wide. ‘You demand, eh?’

  You back away.

  Professor Wagner looks at the shovel, then throws it aside. ‘Don’t worry,’ he says. ‘I’m not going to hit you. You just took me by surprise.’

  You breathe a sigh of relief.

  ‘You think I’m looking for treasure?’ he says, brushing dirt off his jacket. ‘Well, I guess I sort of am. I’m looking for a diary. The diary of One-Eyed William. You see, I’m William Wagner the Fifth, descendant of William Wagner the First … alias One-Eyed William.’

  You ask if he’s a pirate.

  He laughs. ‘No. I’m a historian, not a pirate. I’m writing a book about Willy One, as I like to call him, and having his diary would help a great deal. According to legend, it was buried with him.’

  You ask him why he’s chosen this spot to dig in.

  ‘I saw some of the local kids digging here earlier today,’ he explains. ‘I’m probably clutching at straws, but since I’ve had no luck searching, I thought I’d give this a try.’ He looks down into the hole. ‘And I seem to have found something.’

  You help Professor Wagner dig out a rusty old metal box. Inside is a map of the local area. It’s torn around the edges and stained a yellowy brown colour. Could this be a map to One-Eyed William’s diary? Or, better yet, his treasure?

  ‘It’s a fake!’ says the professor, pointing to the ragged edges. ‘You can see the white colour of the paper where it’s been torn. The surface has been stained brown to make it appear old. Probably with tea.’

  He crumples up the paper, asking you if you’ll help him in his search for the diary. But you’re feeling downhearted after finding out the
map is a fake. You’re not sure you want to chase around after the diary or the treasure.

  If you want to help the professor, go here.

  If you’ve had enough treasure-hunting and decide to go to the cove instead, go here.

  You stay hidden and watch as Professor Wagner digs.

  It’s not long before he unearths a rusty metal box. He opens it and pulls out a piece of paper.

  He looks excited at first. Then his expression changes.

  ‘Damn!’ he says, crumpling up the paper. He throws it to the ground, angrily brushes dirt off his jacket and storms off.

  As soon as he is out of sight, you come out of hiding and pick up the paper.

  It’s a map of the local area. It’s torn around the edges and stained a yellowy brown colour. It looks really old. It shows the town and the cove, and the beach to the east of the cove. A cave is marked on the map in the eastern cliff face. There is a red X inside the cave. Could this be a map to One-Eyed William’s treasure? If it is, why did the professor throw it away? Maybe it’s a fake?

  Should you follow the map? Or maybe you should take it to the museum and ask the curator if it’s real or fake?

  If you think it’ll be fun to follow the map just in case it’s real, go here.

  If you decide to play it safe and take the map to the museum curator, go here.