Super Sleuths and the Cabin Boy's Secret: Super Sleuths, #6

By E.M. Clarke

Continue reading 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 where it's never cold giving them more time for fun on land and sea.

Their adventures take place in the future but sometimes feel like pirate days in the past. Their sixth adventure is about how they discover the secret of Hector the Cabin boy.

After being kidnapped Hector and Zelie must beat their evil foes through the dry sandy desert and dense green jungle in a race against time. They need to find a way to escape and of course they try using their magic to help them.

The Sleuths are training themselves to be detectives and they make sure that they are always looking for clues to help them succeed.

"Super Sleuths, Super Sleuths,

always searching after truth.

We fear no danger, or any foe;

where there is mystery there we go!"

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lexi
• Release date: Sep 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201572907

Book preview

Prologue;

Countess Rosina Contuti smiled to herself. It was not a nice smile; it was calculating and cruel.

Her gaze scanned the tranquil island, zeroing in on two children gathering coconuts under the palm trees. Zelie Sinclair was laughing as she threw coconuts over to her friend, Hector, the Golden Ram’s cabin boy.

‘Bingo!’ she hissed under her breath, her green eyes narrowing.

‘At last,’ she muttered to herself, ‘I will find a way to stop the prophecy of the witches of Zarzuma coming true. And this time I will not fail.’

This prophecy from the Ancient Times had foreseen that Zelie and her magic powers would challenge Rosina in her evil plans. Although she was only a young girl, the Countess did not see Zelie as a child. She saw her as an obstacle; an obstacle Rosina was determined to remove. The Countess had also recently discovered that she also needed to remove Hector, whose secret she had just discovered from her spies. He was the hidden heir of French Town, Axel Larson. Hector had no idea who he really was, but one thing was certain: he was no longer safe in his disguise as a cabin boy.

Rosina cackled quietly to herself as she scanned the perfect white sand of the beach once more, confirming that Zelie and Hector were alone. She raised her arms, her emerald gaze fixed on the laughing figures ahead of her.

‘Fairy Fee, Fairy Fee grant me invisibility.’ she murmured. Then, as her body dissolved into the warm air around her, she walked slowly towards the unsuspecting children.

Chapter 1:

Zelie and Hector are missing!

Zav, Milo, Sophie and Sam were relaxing together in the shade on the beautiful white sand beaches Isla Grande was famous for. They were chatting about the success of their last case as they waited for Zelie and Hector to return with some coconuts to quench their thirst. Soon, Nica and the Navigators would pick them up to return home to Sandopolis in their ship the Challenger alongside Milo’s father, Captain Jett Wheeler of the Golden Ram.

It was some adventure,' said Sam.

'Yes!' agreed his cousin Zav.

‘Zelie and I had a close shave with Ferenc and Festia,’ added Sofie, and even in the heat of the sun she shuddered at the memory.

‘Yes, you two definitely had the worst of it facing those two villains,' said Milo, ‘I wonder what’s keeping Zelie and Hector?' he added.

‘They should be back any minute,’ said Sam, stretching out lazily on the soft white sand, ‘Hector said he knows where there’s loads of coconuts... they’re always stopping off here in the Golden Ram and as he’s the cabin boy, it’s his job is to collect them.’

‘I wouldn’t worry,’ added Zav, ‘they took Rafa with them... he’ll be very useful collecting coconuts as he’s so good at climbing.' Zav grinned; he loved Rafa their pet monkey very much.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to the Sleuths, Captain Jett had received an urgent message from King Lucio of Sandlandia about Hector the cabin boy. The King had ordered the Captain to find Hector immediately as the boy was in danger. Captain Jett had immediately turned the Golden Ram around and was speeding back to Isla Grande as fast as the ship could go.

It was as the Sleuths were chatting that Captain Jett arrived.

'Where’s Hector?' he called as he waded through the waves onto the beach.

'He’s with Zelie collecting coconuts.' replied Zav, who was sitting up looking puzzled.

'Where?' said the Captain urgently, immediately sensing danger.

Sam shrugged and the other Sleuths looked blank.

‘Erm, where Hector usually collects coconuts?’ suggested Sofie.

The realisation dawned that no one actually knew where Zelie and Hector had gone. The Captain looked grim as he shaded his eyes, scanning the line of palm trees at the edge of the sand.

‘We need to find them,’ he said, ‘now.’

Immediately, the Sleuths scrambled to their feet and set off to comb the island.

‘Rafa’s with them,’ called Zav, ‘if we find him, we find them. Come on!’

While the Sleuths set off, Captain Jett fired orders at his crew who fanned out across the beach in different directions to search for the two children. Cries of ‘Zelie! Hector!’ rang over the island, but there was no reply. The Sleuths moved through the palm trees and, a few minutes later after fruitless calling, they spotted Rafa the monkey who scampered up to them, chattering urgently.

'What is it Rafa?’ asked Zav gently. The little monkey looked agitated and he was waving his tail in the air.

'I’ll calm him.’ said Zav, stroking the monkey and making soothing crooning noises.

‘We need Zelie to be able to talk to him.' said Milo, looking worried.

'I can do it.' said Sofie and she repeated the magic rhyme.

'Great good creature wise and true,

Tell me what I ask of you.'

The monkey jabbered away, his eyes bright with alarm. Sofie’s face turned ashen.

'What is it?' cried Zav distraught at the idea that something had happened to his twin sister.

'The Countess Rosina has taken her and Hector.’ gulped Sofie, listening intently to Rafa.

‘He... he says they didn’t see her as the Countess used her magic to become invisible, but she didn’t use magic to take them away. She...’ Sofie gasped in alarm.

‘What?’ interrupted Zav fiercely.

‘What did she do?’

‘She hit them on the head,’ Sofie finished in almost a whisper, ‘and...’ she paused again, her eyes filling with tears, ‘and Rafa says she hit Zelie very hard.'

As if to confirm this, the little monkey made sharp movements with his arm and then mimed pain and unconsciousness.

There was a horrible silence as the children digested this frightening news. By this time, Captain Jett