Free Cora Flash and the Treasure of Beggar's Bluff by Tommy Davey Page A

Mr. Burton well; he had often come with us to the library, so he didn't hesitate.
    "Oh," said Mr. Burton, turning around. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take your boat. It's a bit faster."
    Mr. Burton lifted the two duffel bags into the boat before climbing aboard with Ethan. We could only watch, helplessly tied to the rocks.
    The engine of Gerald's boat roared to life and the boat slowly began to back out of the cavern. As Mr. Burton pulled away, the light the spotlight had provided also dimmed. I could see Ethan on the front of the boat, waving goodbye to us, enjoying this game of hide-and-seek.
    "Oh, Cora, what are we going to do?" asked Gerald. "We're both tied up, how can we get out of here?"
    Neither of us could do anything, as we were both tied to the rock, but one of us was not tied to anything.
    "Calvin!" I called. "Come here, buddy."
    Calvin appeared from behind a small rock.
    "Arr," he said, by way of greeting.
    "Come here boy. Look," I said, trying to move my hands in a way that caught his attention. He cocked his head to one side and looked at me. I could tell he did not understand what I was trying to say.
    "Look, look!" I said moving my hands faster. "Go get it!"
    Calvin seemed to catch on at that moment and ran behind the rock to where my hands were tied. He started to chew on the rope like a new dog toy. He chewed through it enough to fray the rope to the point where I could slip out one hand and then the other.
    "Good boy. I'm free," I said to Gerald. "I'll untie you."
    "Reach into my pocket," he said. "There's a small pen-knife. You can use it to cut the rope."
    I did as he suggested and found a small knife that made quick work of the rope. In just a few minutes, Gerald was free.
    The three of us, including Calvin, ran down to where the small rubber dinghy was tied up.
    "How fast do you think it can go?" I asked.
    "Not very," he said. "Certainly not as fast as my boat."
    We looked out at the water and could see Gerald's boat, now captained by Mr. Burton, quickly disappearing on the horizon.
    "Let's not waste time," I said.
    We climbed into the boat and proceeded to start the engine. After a few false starts, the small motor roared to life and we carefully navigated our way out of the cavern.
    "I'm coming, Ethan," I said. "I'm coming to rescue you!"
     

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
    Our small boat was indeed not much of a match for the larger fishing boat that Mr. Burton had stolen. We turned the speed up as far as it would go, but our small dinghy lagged farther and farther behind.
    "Can this go any faster?" I asked.
    "No, I'm afraid not," said Gerald.
    "Arrrr," growled Calvin, obviously frustrated at our lack of speed.
    We stayed on our course, trying our best to keep up with the larger boat, realizing the distance between us was growing with every wave we passed.
    "It's no use," said Gerald. "We'll never catch them at this speed."
    "Ahoy there!" yelled a voice.
    We turned around and saw Mr. Morgan's large sailboat just behind us. On the stern of the boat waved Shelby and Tricia. Just behind them stood my very, very , angry mother.
    "Look!" I yelled. "It's Mr. Morgan!"
    The Morgans' boat pulled up beside us so we could climb up the small ladder that we used to climb aboard after diving off the back.
    "I thought you could use a lift," said Mr. Morgan.
    "How did you know we were here?" I asked, once the three of us were safely on board.
    "Tricia and Shelby had the good sense to tell their parents what you were doing," bellowed my mother. "When they found out, they called me right away. What were you thinking?"
    "I just wanted to find the treasure," I said. "And we did, it's back there."
    Shelby's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Are there diamonds and other jewels?"
    "No, bars of gold. Tons and tons of gold bars. Some of it might still be on the boat. But Mr. Burton took a lot of it with him. He stole Gerald's boat. We have to catch up to him."
    "Where did you leave Ethan?" my mom asked. "Is he with Mrs.