Super Sleuths and the Smugglers Gold: Super Sleuths, #3

By E.M. Clarke

Follow the exciting adventures of the Super Sleuths the child detectives. Join the twins Zelie and Zav, their cousins Sam and Sofie and their friend Milo as they hunt for treasure and capture pirates. Meet their magical talking parrots as they solve mysteries in the faraway places of Sandopolis and Red Cove. They live by the beach in a place where it's never cold giving them more time for fun on land and sea. Where they live is a tropical part of the world so it is never cold here, but hot all the time; all year round, day and night.

This, their third adventure, involves their new friend Nico the Navigator who is a young captain with contacts amongst the sailors of old. He brings back clues to help the Sleuths find the long hidden smuggler's gold in the Lagoon of Emora. Unfortunately the Black Cross gang of pirates are hot on their tail. Can the Sleuths get the gold safely back to the Royal Palace. Will they succeed in defeating the pirates once again?

Their adventures take place in the future but sometimes they feel like the pirate days from our past as they do not have all the machines we take for granted. Their father is an engineer though and little by little they get more modern devices to help them; telephone, torches and hover boards to name a few. This helps them be detectives and also means they have a lot of fun!

Join in their adventures as they investigate the Black Cross Gang of pirates and the evil Count Zuto, aided by their friends Captain Jett Wheeler and Nico the Navigator. The Sleuths are training themselves to be detectives so they make sure that they are always looking for clues.

Super Sleuths, Super Sleuths,

Always searching after truth.

We fear no danger or any foe;

Where there is mystery there we go!

Super Sleuth Adventures;

Book 1 Super Sleuths and the Pirates Plunder

Book 2 Super Sleuths and the Royal Captive

Book 3 Super Sleuths and the Smuggler's Gold

Book 4 Super Sleuths and the Black Castle

Book 5 Super Sleuths and the Magical Parrots

Book 6 Super Sleuths and the Cabin Boy's Secret

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lexi
• Release date: Nov 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393220923

Book preview

Chapter 1:

The Flying Dutchman

Captain Cornelius Van de Belt paused. His sharp eyes swept the flat, blue expanse ahead of him....

Nothing.

As he surveyed the quiet sea from his position at the helm of his ship, The Flying Dutchman, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The captain was four days out from the Sugar Islands carrying a precious cargo to King Lucio in Sandopolis and the journey had been fraught with dangers.

The reason? Van de Belt’s cargo was gold - shimmering piles of doubloons, heaps of bright Krugerands and a pyramid of gleaming gold bars locked inside a stout oak chest.

And all to be delivered to the royal treasury. 

But the route from the Sugar Islands in the north back to Sandlandia in the south was a notorious pirate stronghold - even without such a valuable cargo it would have been dangerous. Near land, ships were mostly safe from marauding pirates. However, out on the open sea vicious pirate gangs sailed with impunity, attacking any vessels they wanted to, looting, plundering and sometimes even kidnapping the crew. A grim smile crept over the captain’s face as he remembered a particularly bloodthirsty battle with one group of merciless pirates, the Black Cross Gang. That was where he had received the vivid scar which ran from his wrist to his elbow. It had taken one hundred very painful stitches to sew it up, and the jagged line was a daily reminder of the pirate threat. Van de Belt had on that occasion been victorious, but the pirates had sworn vengeance and the captain knew they would not rest until they had exacted their revenge. 

Van de Belt kept his eyes on the ocean but when the Flying Dutchman finally approached the Lagoon of Emora off the coast of Sandlandia he relaxed and gave the order to drop the anchor. Home, he thought, and smiled. Safe at last.

But he had spoken too soon.

No sooner had the anchor hit the ocean floor than a cry of ‘ship ahoy’ rang from the crow’s nest.

A few minutes later his lookout had descended from the rigging and ran toward Van de Belt, spy glass in hand. ‘It looks bad captain. Flying a black flag and gaining fast. Pirates for sure. They must have been hidden behind the curve of the coastline waiting for us!’

Captain Van de Belt’s heart sank and his hand tightened on the blade at his belt. After all his precautions, twenty four hour look outs, checking and double checking, only to be discovered where they were so close to the end of their journey!

But he would not give in. And he certainly would not be handing the gold over to the pirates as long as he was Captain Cornelius Van de Belt of the Flying Dutchman! 

How long did they have before the pirates were upon them? He grabbed the spy glass and trained it on the approaching speck, making swift calculations. 

An hour at the most. 

Very well. Plan B would have to be implemented.

And fast.  ‘Lower the longboat!’ He roared. The order was obeyed immediately. Van de Belt boarded then summoned two trusted sailors, Otto and Oskar, to load the chest of gold into the longboat with him and pull with all their might for the Lagoon of Emora around the bay.

When they reached the lagoon they were out of sight of the Flying Dutchman but Van de Belt placed the sailors on watch to be sure. The Captain knew this area well; it had been his home since he was a boy. And it would make an excellent hiding place. Van de Belt lined up landmarks to make sure the gold could be found again once it was safe. That oddly shaped palm tree to the left; the curve of the turquoise water as it hit the shore to the right; the sharp rock whose tip the sun hit at precisely this time of day. Pinpointing all these landmarks with a sailors experienced eye, he sank the gold into the lagoon. His only witnesses were some large, gentle sea creatures called manatees, but they were happy to share the lagoon in peace and did not often interfere in the lives of men.

Van de Belt then disappeared into his house by the side of the lagoon. He drew a rough map of the area, placing an X to mark out the treasure. When he reappeared he had two items in his hand. What he feared had come to pass... but Cornelius Van de Belt was not un-prepared. He summoned his two men.

‘Otto - go to Sandopolis and give the King the whole story. If you think you are being pursued, give this locket to a trustworthy sailor to keep safe but make sure you choose one who is departing on a voyage. It must not get into pirates’ hands! Make haste!’ he shook Otto’s hand and turned to the remaining sailor, giving him a ship in a bottle.

‘Oskar Give this to Old Pete in Red Port to keep safe. He will know to pass it to another if the pirates come calling. Tell Old Pete Plan B is in operation. He knows what to do with the wallet and the doubloon.’

If the sailors were confused by these rather cryptic instructions, they did not show it. They saluted their Captain and went to their tasks, heading toward the city of Sandopolis