Treasure of the Golden Skull by Chris Priestley

Author:Chris Priestley
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781408873113
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2018-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Mildew took it from him and flicked through the pages.

‘You see!’ cried Mildew. ‘Rule 27, paragraph 5, sub-section 59, appendix 478c: “A descendant of a Pirate Captain, be he of sound mind, may claim the right to be governed by the rules of the Pirate Code and be given the honorary title of ‘pirate’.”’

The Pirate Headmaster shrugged.

‘And where exactly does that get ye, shark bait?’

Mildew flicked through the pages again.

‘Because,’ he said, ‘appendix 58a of the same rule says: “The said descendant can claim the right to the proceeds of the aforementioned ancestor, be it in gold, silver, jewels or coin of the realm, if he be responsible for their discovery.”’

The Pirate Headmaster took a pair of thick-lensed glasses out of his pocket and sheepishly put them on. He saw Mildew looking at him.

‘What?’ he said defensively.

‘I didn’t say anything,’ said Mildew.

‘Arrr. Pirates wear glasses too, you know,’ he said. ‘Get over it.’

The Pirate Headmaster read the section Mildew pointed to and nodded in agreement.

‘Arrr,’ said the Pirate Headmaster, taking the book from Mildew and flicking through the pages. ‘That would be annoying if it wasn’t for the fact that in Rule 31, paragraph 7, clause 42, it says clearly: “Anyone who is captured by a pirate loses the right to any treasure they may otherwise have a justified claim to.”’

There was a murmur of approval from the pirate crew. Mildew asked if he might have the book again, flicked through the pages until he found the relevant section.

‘You see – Rule 261, paragraph 21, amendment 7, footnote 5c: “A pirate and his crew” – for the purposes of this I am seeing the staff and boys as my “crew” –’

‘Agreed,’ said the Pirate Headmaster.

‘“If captured by another pirate whilst in the pursuance of treasure,”’ continued Mildew, “must be allowed the chance to discover the said treasure and will be given one day to achieve this end and none of his crew can be harmed so long as half of the treasure be handed over to their captors. But …”’

Mildew faltered and looked at Sponge.

‘But?’ said the Pirate Captain with a grin, taking the book from Mildew’s grasp. ‘Arrr. Shall I finish it for ye? “But if he fails, he and his entire crew will be made to walk the plank.”’

The pirates chuckled.

‘Luckily, we are not at sea, so that won’t be possible,’ said Mildew.

‘It don’t say nothing about the sea,’ said the Pirate Captain. ‘Arrr. I think we could always rig a plank up on one of those there towers.’

Mildew and Sponge gulped. The Pirate Headmaster conferred with the other pirates and after a few minutes turned back to the boys.

‘Very well,’ said the Pirate Headmaster. ‘Ye have until noon tomorrow, mateys. But only till then, mark you. And no help from the others. Just you two. By rights it should just be Mildred here, but as you’re only youngsters, we’ll let it go.’

‘But why?’ said Sponge. ‘We might find it quicker with the help of our crew.’

‘Arrr. I don’t make the rules,’ said the Pirate Headmaster.

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