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

Trumble?"
    I hesitated, but realized there was no way around it.
    "He's with Mr. Burton," I replied. "He took Ethan with him."
    I had never heard that register of my mother's voice before. It was strangely high-pitched and booming at the same time.
    "WHHHAAATTTTTTTTTT?!" she howled.
    "I'm sorry! He said it was his insurance policy."
    I thought that since my mother was in the insurance business, this explanation might help to calm her down. It did not.
    "What on earth were you thinking?!"
    She ran to the steering wheel of the boat, pushing Mr. Morgan aside and pulling the throttle to full. The boat surged forward, knocking Tricia and me to the floor.
    "Here," said Mr. Morgan. "Let me. I think I can handle it."
    "Just get them!"
    The boat raced forward, quickly gaining on the small fishing boat ahead of us.
    "Cora," my Mother said. "What you did was very dangerous and extremely careless! What if something happens to Ethan?"
    "You're right," I apologized. "You're right. I shouldn't have brought him with me."
    "You shouldn't have come at all! This is far too dangerous for anyone! You should have told the police and let them investigate it!"
    "Cora," said Shelby. "Tell me about the gold. Did you take any with you?"
    "No," I replied. "We didn't have time."
    "There is always time for gold!"
    "How did you find this place?" asked Tricia.
    "There were two parts to the map. When I saw the whole map, I knew the treasure had to be somewhere in a place called the Three Wise Men. That's where we were," I said.
    I turned to my mother, feeling I owed her as much explanation as possible. "It was Mr. Burton who broke into our house. He was looking for the other part of the map."
    "Jake," said my mom to Mr. Morgan. "Can you radio the police? Ask them to call Officer Orzabal and tell him what's going on?"
    "Already on it," he said, reaching for the radio.
    As Mr. Morgan radioed the police, the fishing boat grew larger, the distance between us decreasing.
    "Not far now," I said. "We'll catch up with him soon."
     

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
    "Your boat has some serious power," said Mr. Morgan to Gerald.
    "I spent a fortune upgrading the engine last year," he said. "Money well spent, apparently."
    As the distance between the two boats grew smaller, we could see Mr. Burton's face grow more and more alarmed. He was not counting on a large sailboat catching up with him and his stolen gold bars.
    "Ethan!" my Mom yelled from the side of the ship. "It's Mommy!"
    Ethan waved at our mother, happy to see she was participating in our fun little adventure.
    "What is he doing?" asked Tricia.
    Mr. Burton had started to turn the boat back towards us, and was coming up to the side of the boat. He was aiming the fishing boat right at us!
    "Is he crazy?" asked Mr. Morgan as we watched Mr. Burton slam the fishing boat into the side of Mr. Morgan's ship.
    "You're going to kill us all!" yelled Mr. Morgan. "Frank! Do you hear me? Stop slamming the boats or we'll all drown!"
    "The police are coming! You won't get away with this!" my mother yelled. "You can't kidnap a child and expect to get away with it!"
    "I don't care about the kid," he shouted. "He's unharmed! Let me go and I'll give him back in return."
    "Pull up around the back!" yelled Mr. Morgan.
    Mr. Burton did as Mr. Morgan said, and pulled the boat up to the back of the Morgans' boat. We were close enough for my mother to jump over to Gerald's boat and grab Ethan. She hugged him tightly, much to the impatience of Mr. Burton.
    "Take him and go!" he yelled.
    My mother stood up with Ethan in her arms and climbed back onto the Morgans' boat. No sooner had she stepped aboard than Mr. Burton roared away again, trying to distance himself from us as quickly as possible.
    "Fun!" cried Ethan, clearly enjoying himself.
    Calvin, happy to see Ethan again, ran over to him and started licking his face, causing Ethan to fall to the floor of the boat in a fit of laughter.
    "He's getting away!" called Tricia.
    "Not for long, look," I