The Joneses and the Pirateers: Lost on the Isla De La Muerte

By Suzanne Westgate

After a daring escape from Cartagena, nine-year-old James can’t wait to return to the familiar shores of Tortuga. Unfortunately, the Joneses and the pirateers didn’t expect Dani to bring the admiral general’s only son with them—whether he likes it or not. With the Spanish Navy on their heels, the pirateers can’t stay on Tortuga, but getting off the island becomes much riskier when the privies attempt to kidnap their hostage.

And it isn’t only the Spanish Navy pursuing the Joneses and the pirateers across the Caribbean. As they look for a place to hide, the pirateers find themselves trapped on the Isla de la Muerte—the Island of Death. With no way off the island, the crew quickly becomes lost . . . and James can’t keep track of the number of ways they nearly visit Davy Jones’s Locker while on the run.

Nothing goes as planned—because there is no plan this time. The Joneses, the pirateers, and their new friends battle through wild jungles, face a cursed volcano, and evade some very angry locals, all while undertaking the most dangerous rescue mission ever attempted on the one night of the year when the pirateers could possibly discover the third clue to the fabled Lost Treasure of Santa Maria. In this third epic novel, the Joneses and the pirateers’ adventures just became a lot more nay on impossible. . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Jun 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781922812193

Suzanne Westgate

Suzanne Westgate is a mother and lawyer who never let go of her inner pirate. She grew up in a small harbourside town, often kayaking to shelly islands after school. In her early twenties, Suzanne backpacked through South America and Asia, and her adventures—sailing, caving, mountaineering, surfing, diving in the Caribbean with a crew of prisoners on parole, abseiling, skiing down a live volcano (mostly on her bottom), blowing things up with dynamite, and very nearly getting kidnapped—helped inspire the Joneses and the Pirateers.Suzanne and her family live in Sydney, where they enjoy their own adventures, treasure hunts, dance-offs, booby traps, and pirate-themed birthday parties.To make it count, all royalties from this book are donated to charities for real lost children - starting with Project Futures - which supports safe houses for trafficked children (and women) in Cambodia and Australia.

Book preview

Prologue

The Spies

The storm petrels swooped through the rain, battling against the blustery wind, which seemed to blow from every direction.

Storms worse. Master angrier.

They called to one another as they sped towards the distant rock where their master was waiting, soaring past an enormous Chinese junk with fanlike sails and a dragon’s skull on its flag. The birds flew over lush green islands, then turned west as they spotted a plume of volcanic ash lazily rising from a cone-shaped mountain in the distance.

One of the petrels had a small piece of material clamped in its beak, as if it were a rare, tasty morsel. Their master would be pleased with their news.

Dr Jones . . . the Aurelia.

CHAPTER 1

The Three Grumpiteers

The only sound James could hear—other than waves slapping against the bow of the boat and the pitter-patter of rain on the porthole window—was sniffing.

Young Nick and Old Nick were apparently taking turns. Sometimes they sniffed together. Other times, they sniffed one after the other, in a snotty sort of symphony. Occasionally, one of them would wipe his nose along his sleeve, carefully checking to see whether the results were satisfactory.

It’s the one thing they have in common, James thought, and they’ve been at it since we boarded the Yinglong. I wonder if they’ll ever run out.

He gazed around the cabin as he listened to another synchronized snuffle.

James’s sister Emily was sitting on a wooden bench carved with flying dragons. She was carefully positioned between Javier and Dani, as if she was Javier’s bodyguard. Her thunderous expression had been there for days.

Javier had become more relaxed after being untied, but the admiral general’s son still looked grumpy because Dani had kidnapped him.

Dani’s face was blank. To others, it might have appeared as if she were lost in a daydream, but James knew that she was ready to pounce if Javier made one wrong move. She didn’t even look upset about the fact that her boat—the Avenger—was now broken into little pieces at the bottom of the ocean.

Balthazar, or Captain Bal (or the Handsomest Hero in all of Tortuga––as he liked to call himself) sat at the table staring at a map and muttering about lost treasure, conquering devils, and, inexplicably, needing to go for a dive. Brutus, an ancient half-bald parrot, waddled across the table, growling at Old Nick. Bal absentmindedly placed a cracker into his own mouth and leaned towards the parrot, who pecked it out and wolfed it down like a dog. In fact, Brutus thought that he was a dog.

Nobody seemed remotely disturbed at the sight of Bal feeding a parrot from his mouth. Nor did anyone seem worried that there was a human skull on the table, which was being prodded by a cheeky monkey named Mr Periwinkle.

Then again, James supposed, that was probably because they were the Swashbucklin’ Nay on Impossible Adventurers—a crew of orphan pirateers—sailing to Tortuga on a luxurious Chinese junk, which had rescued them from Captain Silverbeard’s clutches after they had broken Young Nick’s father out of the pirate prison San Lázaro and escaped through secret tunnels under the city of Cartagena, not to mention finding a second piece of a treasure map along the way.

All of which James was rather pleased about, especially since he had changed out of the nun’s habit he had been wearing as a disguise. He felt a rush of gratitude towards Captain Bal for saving their trunk of belongings moments before the Avenger had sunk, although he suspected that was more about rescuing Elizabeth’s Almanac of Astronomy than his grubby breeches. Then James remembered it was Bal who had forced him to wear a nun’s habit in the first place, so perhaps he wasn’t that grateful.

But there was still a problem.

James and his sisters hadn’t found their papa.

Each of the Swashbucklin’ Nay on Impossible Adventurers—Swashbucklers for short—had a nay on impossible mission that they simply had to do. James, Elizabeth, and Emily were searching for Dr Jones, who had been captured by Captain Silverbeard, then thrown into San Lázaro to be hanged as a pirate. With the help of their crew, the Joneses had tried to rescue him, only to find that he had already been taken by the Spanish Navy.

And that really led to a second problem.

It would be even more nay on impossible to rescue Dr Jones now that the Spanish Navy admiral general’s only son was their prisoner.

James glanced at Elizabeth, his oldest, more responsible sister. She tended to become rather anxious whenever the Joneses got themselves into something naughty and dangerous, which they had been doing quite a lot lately.

Instead of fretting, Elizabeth was fast asleep on one of the comfortable bunks. Her hands were resting on a brand-new pair of matching bamboo cutlasses—from her friend Shao Long—whose family had saved the Swashbucklers and were giving them passage to Tortuga. But as Shao Long had explained when they first boarded, they weren’t scheduled to get there until the school holidays ended in two weeks’ time.

Now they had lost track of how many days they had been on the Yinglong—Elizabeth refused to let Emily carve crosses into the polished red wood cabin walls.

Shao Long had given Elizabeth a chessboard to help pass the time . . . except no one wanted to play her because she always won. Even Javier, who boldly claimed that his father had taught him so well that his nickname was El Magnífico Campeón—the Magnificent Champion—gave up after the first game (having lost in three moves). Afterwards, Dani called him El Magnificado Champiñón—which made Javier even crankier than usual. (It translated to the Big Mushroom.)

James’s mind wandered to Javier’s father. Did he know Javier was gone? Was the Spanish Navy searching for him yet? He cleared his throat.

Dani, do you think the navy knows who took Javier? he asked. Did anyone see you?

I already told yo’. Of course no one seeing me, pah!

Dani hadn’t even told Bal her plans. They only knew that her Swashbucklin’ Nay on Impossible Adventure was to avenge her family because she thought that Javier’s father had murdered them. Dani had kidnapped Javier to lure Admiral General de Blanco right to her.

By the time the Swashbucklers realized the Spanish boy was tied and gagged at the bottom of the Avenger, it was too late to do anything other than bring him along.

Yo’ stealing me after pirateer annual raid, Javier said irritably. "The only people estúpido enough—"

Brave enough, Bal corrected.

"—to do thees ees pirateers. My papa will know. He ees probably on his way to Tortuga in the pride of the Spanish Navy—the Aurelia. Papa will take yo’ pirateers to the mines as Los Niños Perdidos."

Dani narrowed her eyes. Let him trying.

"What if he is going there and we’re stuck on this boat? James asked, thinking about Caramelo, Cream Puff, the Misfits, and everyone else on Tortuga, completely unaware that the navy might be lurking around Shipwreck Point. Shouldn’t we warn the others?"

Don’t worry, Jimmy, Bal said. "Even if the navy do sail to Tortuga, they’ll take three weeks to decide what to wear—and they’ve got uniforms. Then the Aurelia’s crew’ll need a week or so to work out which way be forward and to turn her around. And even then, Tortuga’s never been successfully attacked. We got plenty of time, trust me."

James scrunched his nose. Rule number one of the Pirateer Code was that you could never trust a pirateer. Still, he said slowly, can we please ask Shao Long to take us home now?

Elizabeth pulled herself up from the bed, frowning. She must have been listening all along.

James braced himself for her I’m worried about my brother and sister speech.

However, Elizabeth surprised him. "We’ve already asked, James. Shao Long said his captain won’t go back to Tortuga until they’ve finished their trade route. Anyway, we haven’t told him who Javier really is, so he doesn’t understand why it’s important. I think that if we’re going to put the whole island at risk, we should turn ourselves in. Our papa might be on the Aurelia. If he’s joined the navy, we’ll be fine!"

Dani growled and reached for her cutlass. Old Nick began to protest, which made Periwinkle screech, but Bal held up his hands.

Nay, Lizzie, he said. "Yeh be pirateers now, whether yeh like it or not. Pirateers who just broke every pirate out of San Lázaro and captured the admiral general’s only son for good measure. Chances are, if we surrender, he’d send us to the mines, then hang Dr Jones for being the pa of pirateers. It ain’t worth the risk, matey."

Old Nick sniffed, evidently satisfied with Bal’s response, but still grumbling about his festering foot, which smelt like a dead goat. Once again, James guiltily found himself hoping that Old Nick might slip and fall into the sea when he went to relieve himself over the edge of the poop deck. Or be gobbled up by a rogue leaping great white shark. James would never forgive him for trying to trade Young Nick to Silverbeard in exchange for his own freedom.

James focused instead on the fact that Bal had just called them pirateers. After all these months, they were finally, really pirateers . . . although it now meant that they might be at war with their papa.

What about Javier, then? Emily demanded. Even if we don’t turn ourselves in, we should let him go. He hasn’t done anything wrong.

I ees the master of escape, Emily, Javier boasted. As soon as yo’ all not looking, I gone, like a ghost shrimpy. I steal a boat and off I sail into the sun-sink, har!

You mean ‘sunset,’ Emily giggled. Mr Periwinkle pretended to vomit.

Yo’ no escaping, Dani hissed, pulling her dagger out of her sash. I watching yo’ every move.

Emily shuffled closer to Javier. "I won’t be letting Javier out of my sight, either. He saved me from the guards during the raid, Dani. And the only reason they nearly caught me was . . . well . . . no thanks to you, anyway."

Dani and Emily glared at each other. They had been rivals ever since they had met, and it had only become worse after Dani had kidnapped Javier.

Javier folded his arms. "My papa will find me, and yo’ will be sorry."

Dani twirled her dagger around in her hand. "If he finding yo’, he will be sorry."

Touch Javier and you–– Emily started, but Bal interrupted.

The only thing worse than listenin’ to Old Nick snortin’ a merry tune all the way home be yeh three grumpiteers squabblin’ for days on end. Do somethin’ useful instead—like workin’ out Skully’s clue.

Bal’s Swashbucklin’ Nay on Impossible Adventure was to find the Lost Treasure of Santa Maria. According to legend, Bartholomew Black, the infamous founding member of the pirate brethren, had hidden four pieces of a treasure map across the Caribbean.

The Joneses and the pirateers had pilfered the first piece of map from the fearsome Captain Silverbeard. Unfortunately, the fearsome Captain Silverbeard had been following them ever since, intent on stealing it back. They were certain they hadn’t seen the last of him. Captain Silverbeard’s map had led the pirateers to the second piece—the skull itself. Bal had borrowed Skully (as Bal had named it) from the catacombs beneath the Santo Domingo Church in Cartagena—setting off a century-old booby trap of hissing scorpions that had almost meant the end of them.

Skully had one serpentine eye. Behind his other, empty eye socket was a riddle, which read:

When conquered be the devil,

and shortest be the night,

let the loveliest sister guide yeh

at dawn to the prized. S.

Javier harrumphed. "Yo’ pirateers ees loco to believe story of Bartholomew Black. Ees made up! Thees skull ees just a big, dumb, old hueso, not a map to a lost treasure."

Ignore him, Bal said fondly to Skully. He’s only jealous of how handsome yeh be. Four clues in the riddle . . . A devil who needs to be conquered, a short night, the loveliest sister, and a prize at dawn. What do they mean? And who be ‘S’?

Could ‘S’ be for ‘Silverbeard’? James suggested half-heartedly.

Periwinkle made a noise that sounded like laughter.

Nay, matey, Bal replied. Skully’s riddle has been buried in the cat-combs for over a hundred years. James noticed a flash of sadness across Bal’s face, almost as if he had wanted someone else to find it, but the look disappeared almost immediately. "Now, how are we going to conquer the devil? What if it means Davy Jones? That would be a Nay on Impossible Adventure!"

Davy Jones is a mythical character, Elizabeth stated. We’re not going to try and conquer a myth.

Dani clicked her tongue impatiently, as if to say, Yo’ still don’t knowing anything.

There are a lot of other things you can conquer, Emily added thoughtfully, like armies, or your fears, or even mountains. Perhaps ‘devil’ is describing something else.

Maybe eet means we conquer admiral general of navy, Dani suggested.

Javier glared. Maybe yo’ need to conquer yo’ own bad breath.

Dani blew air at Javier.

You are all being utterly ridiculous, Elizabeth scolded. Instead of concerning ourselves with a skull, or Dani’s breath, we should worry about what happens when we get to Tortuga, as James said. She nodded at him. "In case the navy attacks."

It’ll be easy, Lizzie. We’ll warn the others, find a new boat, get off the island, lead the navy away, then escape, Bal said absentmindedly, as if he had just stated plan so simple that he could have done it blindfolded while balancing on his head. He now appeared to be engaged in a staring contest with Skully.

Dani stabbed her dagger into the table.

"I mean, carry out Dani’s Swashbucklin’ Nay on Impossible Adventure, then escape, Bal corrected himself, looking up. And while we’re on Tortuga, we’ll need to hide Have’ster. We can’t have the whole island knowin’ we captured him. It’ll be too dangerous—pirateers’ll be like a pack of hungry wolves hunting a . . . hamster. Then, after they’re done with him, every pirateer’ll start kidnappin’ navy laddies, just for fun."

It’s Hhhhavier, Javier growled. No Have’ster. No hamster. If yo’ calling me Have’ster, I calling yo’ . . . Ding-Dong Bal.

Emily broke out into squeals of laughter.

What about hiding . . . him in the Fort de Torte? James suggested, carefully not saying anyone’s name.

He ain’t a pirateer, so he can’t go in, Bal said.

We’re pirateers now, and we haven’t been allowed inside! Emily protested.

Yeh can visit the fort after we’ve found a hidin’ place for Have’ster, Bal replied.

Hhhhhavier, Captain Ding-Dong, Javier said.

James’s mind raced through all the places he knew in Tortuga. The Scabrous Sea Pup?

Too busy, said Bal.

The jungle? Cathedral Cave?

Too escape-ish ’n’ too far-ish.

The warm pools? The waterfall?

Too luxurio-ish, Bal said. I s’pose we could leave him on the cliff at the Leapin’ Lizzie Falls—

"No," barked Emily.

But it’s too exposed-ish, Bal continued. Anythin’ with a roof? And that no one else knows about? And surrounded in iron bars so he can’t escape?

Dani and the others shrugged.

James stood abruptly. Cream Puff’s cave!

He and Cream Puff had been practicing fencing in a secret cave full of straw men and rusty cells. Cream Puff’s father was the town baker, and the cave’s whereabouts had been passed down from baker to baker since the founding pirate brethren had arrived on Tortuga. No one else on the island knew about it . . . and Cream Puff had made James promise not to tell anyone. He sat down again.

James, Emily said, you’re popping up and down like a porpoise. Do you know a place?

James gulped. It’s a secret.

All eyes were on James.

Whose secret? Bal demanded.

James thought for a moment. He hadn’t promised anything about that. Cream Puff’s. But I can’t tell you where it is.

Bal and Dani glanced at each other. Don’t, then, Bal said casually. "But can yeh say what it be?"

James paused again. It’s a secret prison-cave, he finally said. Cream Puff’s papa keeps his baking ingredients there, like butter.

Bal’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. A secret prison-cave on the island that Cap’n Bal don’t know about? he scoffed. Can’t be.

Lock Javier in a dark, underground prison? Emily asked. Fiddlesticks to that.

Sounding perfecto, Dani said. Ees eet damp, too?

I ees still here, yo’ know, Javier grumbled. I ees hearing everything. My papa ees admiral general. I no hidey in a hole with butter.

It would be the safest place for him, Bal said slowly.

Hang on, I haven’t told you where it is, James argued. And I’m not going to.

Of course! Bal said. Not without Cream Puff’s permission. Me and Dani’ll come with yeh to ask.

Ahh . . . James was suddenly worried for his friend. He’s a bit scared of Dani . . .

If you want a favour from Cream Puff, perhaps you should do something for him, Elizabeth suggested.

Yeh! James said. Cream Puff doesn’t have a crew—can he join ours?

Good idea, James, Elizabeth said. What do you think, Balthazar? You’ve let a skull join—what about Cream Puff?

Bal strummed his fingers on the table.

Cream Puff can’t join the crew, he finally said. "’Cause he lives with his landlubbin’ pa—but, he added before James could argue, I’ll make him a special ’ssociate."

A what? James asked.

I’ve never heard of that before, Emily said suspiciously.

It be a new thing, Bal explained. "It means he can help us and hang out sometimes."

Like a friend? James suggested.

Like a special ’ssociate, Bal confirmed. How will we get Have-ster off the boat and up the main street without anyone seeing him?

I knowing a way, Dani said, giving her rare smile.

Before she could explain, they were interrupted by a loud cry from the crow’s nest. It was followed by yelling in Mandarin and the sound of feet clattering down the stairs.

What’s happening? James turned to Elizabeth. Can you understand what they’re saying?

The colour drained from Elizabeth’s face.

They can see a ship, she whispered. "We’re preparing for attack. And I think I heard them say the Aurelia."

Javier leaned back and smirked. Papa ees coming.

CHAPTER 2

The Most Fearsome Captain

Dani and Bal leapt up at once. Dani grabbed some rope from a hook on the wall, and they proceeded to tie a struggling, cursing Javier to his seat.

Sorry, Have’ster, Bal grunted as he held Javier down. Can’t have yeh strollin’ about on the deck and wavin’ to yeh pa. Periwinkle, Brutus, stay. Guard him.

Brutus threw Javier a sideways glare, as if to say, Move, and I’ll peck you.

The admiral general ees all mine, Dani snarled, pulling a knot extra tight.

Don’t touch him, Javier shouted, wriggling around like a sea snake. Papa! Papa! Mmm!

Dani had tied a gag over his mouth.

Emily appeared as if she wanted to argue, then thought better of it. Instead, she grabbed her cutlass, gave Javier an apologetic shrug, and raced out the door.

"I can’t believe we’ve led the Aurelia here, Elizabeth moaned. We’ve put Shao Long and his family in danger! How did the navy know where we are? And what if Papa’s on the ship?" Elizabeth looked distraught, then she squared her shoulders, thrust her twin cutlasses into her sash, and followed Emily.

James hesitated. He remembered the first time he and his sisters had been attacked on their way to Barbados. Back then, they had cowered from Captain Silverbeard’s pirate crew, hiding behind their papa in their cabin. Now they were pirateers—racing to the deck and ready to fight to the death. He was shaken out of his thoughts when Periwinkle leapt onto his head, using it as a springboard to catapult himself to Young Nick’s bunk. James watched the little monkey snuggle beside Young Nick, then he took off after his sisters.

Get me some more grog, he heard Old Nick howling from their cabin. I don’t wanna die down here without warmin’ me gizzards!

James sprinted up the staircase. It was made of polished red wood and was so shiny that he could almost see his reflection in it. He blinked when he reached the deck. It was early afternoon. The sky was dark, and the rain had turned into a drizzle. The Yinglong’s three grand masts blazed scarlet against grey sea.

James saw Emily and Elizabeth push through a crowd of wet pirates towards the upper deck. Shao Long was there with his sister, Lei. They were staring through their spyglasses towards the horizon. Lei was James’s age. She was a tiny girl with pigtails, but James knew better than to underestimate her. They practiced fencing together on the deck each time it stopped raining, and Lei had won every point.

Shao Long, Elizabeth called.

Elizabeth! Shao Long reached to help her up, then Emily and James. I was just about to come and find you. Look!

They gazed across the water.

Oh, breathed Emily. She is enormous.

Far in the distance, James could see a small white dot. He couldn’t make out any people. Could Papa really be on that boat? he wondered.

"Is it the Aurelia?" Elizabeth asked.

Yes, Shao Long said, looking surprised. It’s a naval man-o’-war. We’re trying to work out whether she’s seen us.

"How did you know it’s the Aurelia? Lei squeaked. You can’t read her name from here."

We heard the lookout yell from the crow’s nest, Elizabeth responded innocently.

I’m going up, Emily said. She jumped onto the lower deck,