Scholastic: Pyrates

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When George van Gelder finds an old treasure map hidden in his attic, he knows he's onto something. His house was built by the notorious Captain Kidd, the pirate whose stolen treasure has been lost for centuries. But when the map leads George and his friends to a mysterious network of trap-laden tunnels far beneath his home in New York City, it becomes clear that there was more to Kidd's plan than a map — and more at stake than a treasure.



	"What is it?" Derrick asked. "I told you, it's a treasure map," Shannon insisted. They both looked at George like he should know. "Well, it's obviously something important," he admitted. "I mean, it was hidden under this secret panel in the desk. But I don't know if it is a treasure map." "It's a secret map, George," Shannon said. "In a house that was owned by a pirate. Do I really have to explain this to you guys?" Derrick was staring at the map hard, looking at every notation from corner to corner. "It's not like any map I've ever seen. I mean, there aren't any coastlines or mountains or landmarks of any kind, just a bunch of lines and symbols." "And you're some kind of expert?" Shannon scoffed. "I wonder if your dad knows how to read it, George." "I wonder if he even knows it's here," George said. The panel had been invisible before the letter rack had crashed into the desk. The map, or whatever it was, could have been hidden for the last three hundred years. He bent closer studying the tattered paper. His heartbeat quickened as he saw some letters in the upper-right corner. "Whoa. Look!" he said. "'W.K.'!" "Is that some kind of abbreviation?" Derrick asked. "For week? Or Western something?" "Try William Kidd," George said. His voice shook. "As in Captain Kidd." "I hit something," George said, trying to sound calm. "What? What?" Shannon and Derrick both yelped. "It looks like a piece of wood." Shannon and Derrick's faces crowded into the hole. They stared at the place where the flashlight pointed. George brushed away more dirt. "Wow, you found it!" Shannon cried.		"Here." Derrick handed a smaller shovel through. George forgot about his blisters as he went back to work, attacking the packed dirt. In less than five minutes, he had cleared the entire door. It was only about two and a half feet square. The planks of wood were blackened with age. In its center, a doorknob stuck up. "Look at the knob," Shannon gasped, her head shoved into the chimney shaft. "It has eight sides." George nodded. It was shaped just like the symbol at the bottom of the map. This door had to be the one! "Open it!" Derrick cried. George took a deep breath and grasped the knob with both hands. He planted his feet at both sides of the door and pulled. The door didn't budge. George could see dirt packed into the seams around the frame of the door. It obviously hadn't been opened for a long time. He shifted his feet and grasped the knob again. He pulled harder this time, rocking back and forth. The wooden planks began to creak. He felt the door start to loosen. Then, with a crack, it swung up at him. George flailed. His arms swung back as he bumped his head against the wall of the chimney space. One foot slipped into the blackness that had suddenly opened under him. Dirt skittered down through the door. "Whoa!" he shouted. He heard an echo of his own voice from the open doorway. He slid backward and pulled his foot onto solid ground. Derrick slithered halfway into the chimney shaft, the flashlight in his hand. "You okay?" "I'm fine," George said breathlessly. He'd almost plunged down into total darkness - but that wasn't why his heart was banging against his ribs. It was because he'd actually opened Captain Kidd's secret trapdoor. They were one step closer to finding the treasure!