Two Tigers and a Treasure Map

A story of adventure for aged 10 upwards.

Two Tigers and a Treasure Map


Once upon a time, there were two Tigers, called Tarquin and Tiges who lived in a green and pleasant land called England.  They were not scary big Tigers, just little ones that preferred burgers to human flesh.  They liked fishing and computer games.  And both Tigers had a special power, you will hear more of that later.  Their zoo had closed a few years ago so now they lived in a house by a river, with their human pets.  The humans were out a lot so the tigers had time to themselves.

On one hot afternoon they were fishing on the river near home when they saw a bottle bobbing towards them.  At first they didn’t think much of it, until it came closer.  Inside the bottle was a little boat and what appeared to be a piece of paper.

Tiges managed to grab it with his paw and bat it towards the shore.  He picked it up and shook it, there was definitely a little wooden boat inside.  With his big sharp teeth he pulled the cork out and took out the piece of paper.

Tarquin had a look at it.  On the front it was a ships report log.  That means it would say where the ship was, and where it was going, what was onboard, who was in charge, and all the other important stuff.  On the back there was a map.

They laid it down on the ground and had a proper look.

“Hhmm… what does that bit there say?”  Said Tiges, who wasn’t a great reader.

“It says.. The boat was called the Portabello.. It was a golden treasure ship sailing back to Spain from America back in the year 1532.  Wow, that was a very long time ago.”

“You’re right, it sure was.  Now what’s on the back?”

They turned the paper over carefully

On the other side was a big map with pictures of England, France, Ireland and an arrow pointing towards America.  Next to the big map was a small sketch of an island near America, with the letter X on a beach.  The words THE TREASURE IS HERE were written underneath.

Tiges and Tarquin looked at each other in amazement.  “Do you think.. The buried treasure is really there?”

They were giddy with excitement.  Not so much about the chance to get rich, they just liked the idea of a big adventure.  But first they needed to be sure.

They packed up their equipment and headed back home in a hurry.

“Wow, just think, there must have been pirates and galleons and parrots in those days.  What do you think happened to the ship?”

“Well, lets stick the computer on and find out matey.”

They powered up the computer and logged on to the internet.  They looked on a few history websites and put the ships name into a search engine.

After a few seconds it came up:

The Spanish Galleon, the Portabello, was shipwrecked off the coast of Bermuda  in the year 1532, after it was attacked by the evil pirate, captain More-rum.  He shot the ship up with cannonballs, tied up the crew and made them walk the plank to a watery grave.   He then hid their treasure on a small island in the Carribean sea, and noted it down on a  map on the back of the captains log sheet.  Later his ship hit a storm and sank, but before it did, Captain More-rum put the map into a bottle and threw it over board.

That was nearly five hundred years ago! And the treasure chest must still be there, surely, buried under the sand on a small island for all that time.

Tiges and Tarquin were thrilled, this was exciting stuff.  But now they needed some advice from a gold expert.

Tarquin typed in www.paddycom.ie and waited for the screen to light up.  He pointed his webcam at himself.

A few seconds later a little face in a big green hat appeared on the screen, it was a leprechaun, sat at his computer somewhere in Ireland, the famous little people were experts on gold and treasure.

“Hello Declan, how are things on the Emerald Isle?”  Said Tiges, meaning Ireland.  He had known the leprechaun since the last time he visited there.

“Good heavens!  Tigey boy, how the devil are ya?  Is life treating you grand?”  The leprechaun said.

“It is, mate, we’re all good here.  Listen, we found this map today , pointing towards buried treasure.”

“Wow, are you pulling me leg?”

“No, seriously, it washed up on the river Thames.”

“Well hold it up to the camera and I’ll have a look.”

The two Tigers grabbed a corner each and held the map up for him to see.

“Hmm..right….right…yeah, ok.  Now turn it over.”

The Tigers turned the map around carefully so Declan could see the writing on the Captain’s log page.

“Let me see that.. Hhmm.. La Portabello.. Columbia to Espania.. Muchas muchas bling bling.. 1532.  Well it looks genuine enough.  The  treasure, if this is right, is buried and marked by an X somewhere on an island in the Carribean sea.”

“Are you sure it will still be there?” Asked Tarquin.

“Well has anybody seen the map except for you two and me?”

“No.”

“Well then it is very likely that the treasure is still there.”

“Do you want to help us find it?”

“Only if we can split it.  I need a new crock of gold.  I lost my last one when I hid it under the Northern Rock, and it got wiped out somehow..”

“OK matey, you’re on.  We will get a boat and pick you up in Ireland in a few days.  Over and out.”

The next few days were very exciting.  Tiger and Tarquin got all the money they could out of the bank and bought all the tinned food and wet weather clothes they could find.  They bought a little gas stove to cook on, lots of really big bottles of water to drink, a radio, a decent map, some sailing bits like rope, lifejackets, maps and compasses so they knew the way,

Now all they needed was a boat.  As everybody knows, the best place to buy a boat was Mr Salty’s boat yard, on the river Thames.  The river they lived near.

Mr Salty came out to greet them.  He looked like a cross between Captain Birdseye and a used car salesman.

“Harr-harr, two young Tigerrs, Oi sees?  And what can Oi be dewing for you today?” He talked like a pirate.

“Erm.. Pardon?”

“Can I be of any help sir?”

“Oh, right, yeah, well we need a boat to sail to the Carribean sea”

“Oh very good sir, well I have a small clipper over there, it is a boat that sleeps five, goes quite fast and doesn’t use up too much petrol.”

“And how much is it?” Asked Tiges

“£80,000 sir.”

Tiges jaw dropped, they didn’t have that kind of money!

“Have you got anything cheaper?”

“No, no, that’s the cheapest.  I have the rowing boats if you don’t mid doing all the rowing.”

Tiges and Tarquin had a quick emergency meeting, they couldn’t row all the way to the Carribean. Could they do some kind of deal?  After a few seconds whispering they went back over to Mr Salty.

“Well Mr Salty, we can’t pay you that kind of money now, but we have an idea..”

“Aarrr.. What that be?”

“Well since you know so much about boats you could sail us to the Carribean, and help us find the treasure.”

Mr Salty’s eyes lit up.  “Treasure you says?”

“That’s right, lots and lots of it.  Gleaming gold and pearls, rubies and diamonds.”

Mr Salty suddenly seemed a lot keener.

“Alright, you got my services.  But we ain’t taking any old ship though, we will take my own good ship, the H.M.S. Matilda.”

He led the Tigers over to take a look at her.  She was indeed a beauty, half wooden, half metal, with a huge mast and wide billowing sails.  On her foredeck (the front) she had a huge cannon, and on the back she had nets and cabins big enough to sleep ten.  She also had a little rubber boat on a crane hanging over the back for sailing close to a beach.

The very next day they fitted out the boat, brought the supplies on board, extra clothes, big barrels of petrol for when there was no wind.  On the bridge (which isn’t a bridge at all on a ship, it is the name of the main control area where the steering wheel is located), Mr Salty was wiring up a new piece of equipment.  Tarquin came up to have a look at it all.

“What does that do?”

“Arrr.. That, my Tiger friend is the latest in navigation instruments.  The Norm-norm, it will show you how to get anywhere.  I bought it off a Monkey called Raffles at a car boot sale.”

Just before they set off they had a little ceremony on the main deck.  Mr Salty poured them a drink in a little cup and they all bashed them together.

“A toast, to good fortune, lads.” Said Mr Salty.  He then pulled out three sailors hats and put them on everybody.  “And from now on you call me Captain Salty.  If I give you Tigers an order you say ‘aye aye Captain’ and do it straight away.  Sailing can be very dangerous so we must work together as a team, understand?”

“Aye-aye Captain!” Chorused the Tigers.

“And off we go.  Raising anchor.”  He pulled a huge rope on a crank and the huge metal anchor rose out of the water.  He went onto the bridge and steered the boat down the river towards the sea.

The river Thames took them east first, towards London.  They waved as they went past the houses of Parliament.  Then they went under Tower Bridge, that raised the road up so they could pass under.  They stopped for Coffee and had a look around, to stretch their legs.  Tarquin and Tiges had a ride on the biggest wheel in the world, the London Eye.  After that they sailed on and the river got wider and wider.  Other ships passed them, going to and fro.  Pleasure craft, Container ships, huge Battleships.  Some hooted their horns to say hello.  At the rivers entrance they turned south to sail around the coast and into the channel.  They sailed past Dover, taking pictures of it’s pristine white cliffs.  They sailed past Hastings, where William the Conquerer landed.  They sailed past the Isle of Wight, where lots of people were out sailing for the day.   From there they sailed on down the coast past Plymouth, where more Battle ships sat at anchor.  Then they went on past Cornwall and stopped for tea at Lands End.

“So Captain Salty, how long have you been a sailor now?”

“Oh since I was a boy, I have always loved the sea.  I served on Merchant ships, carrying coffee and sugar.  I worked on Cruise ships, for people on holiday.  We took them to Italy, Spain, Greece and Russia.  They all loved our ships and had a great time.”

Then his face looked a bit sadder

“I also served on Battleships many years ago.  Once people from another country invaded the Falkland Islands and we went to war.”

“Where’s that?” Asked Tarquin.

“They are near the bottom of the world, but English people live there on little islands, believe it or not. After the invasion they were held on the island.  The queen sent her vast fleet of Battle ships and many soldiers to free them and bring the country back under British control.  It took many months and a lot of fighting, and we won in the end but.. My ship was sunk by a rocket.  It was terrifying, many of my friends died in the sea.”

Tiges and Tarquin were saddened by this but glad that at least Salty had survived.  They soon cheered up, put their picnic away on the boat and sailed on out to see, heading north west now, towards Ireland.  They had one last crew member to pick up.

Hours later they saw land again, a deep green colour with rugged rocks.  Salty checked the Normnorm and the maps, which showed that they were exactly where they agreed to meet Declan, in Cork city.  They sailed round the cliffs and up the river Lee.  Soon they saw the leprechaun on the bank, waving a red flag to attract their attention.  The red flag was the emblem of cork, with a white band and a castle and drawbridge on it.

“Howya lads!  Glad you could make it on time.”  Shouted Declan from the bank.  The tied the boat up with a thick rope and let him throw his belongings aboard.  He brought no less than five suitcases, big ones too.

“Good grief, Declan, what do you need that lot for?” Asked Tiges

“Ah well I didn’t know how long I would be out there, so I brought all my own stuff.  Proper tea bags, Potato cakes, good Irish chocolate,  and my Irish sports magazines.  Oh and of course my fishing rods.  Might have to catch dinner for you lot.”

By now it was dark so they decided to spend the night in Cork before setting off in the morning.  Declan showed them the best places to eat and drink, and gave them a tour of the city.  It was from near here that the Titanic had made her final stop before her unfortunate meeting with an iceberg.  For many years people had left Ireland, where there was little food in those days, to a new life in America.  Declan took them to his favourite pub, Up the Craic, and bought them a hearty bowl of Irish stew, washed down with Rock Shandy, which was fizzy and tasted of Orange and Lemon.

Bright and early the next morning the H.M.S. Matilda set off out into the Atlantic.  Many leprechauns stood on the banks to see them off.  The bright sunshine soon cut through the Irish mist.  Further and further they went, away from Ireland now and out into the deep Atlantic sea.

It soon got rough, and rougher still.  Huge waves shook the boat, and the terrible wind blew all around.
It was freezing and soon they were all wet through.  Tiges could think of nothing better than being in his warm bed.  The boat rocked back and forth, side to side.

Soon Declan, Tiges and Tarquin were taking turns to be sick over the side.  They puked their little guts up over the side of the boat. Yuck!

Eventually it settled down and the sun came out between the clouds.  Tarquin, still feeling yucky, went up onto the bridge to see Captain Salty.

“Well that wasn’t much fun, all those big waves.  Does it get like that a lot?” Asked Tarquin.

“Not generally but it can happen out of nowhere.  Anyway, your turn to take the wheel.  Here you are, just keep the boat steady and the Normnorm will tell you the way to go.  I am having a lie down.”

“Ok.” Said Tarquin, pleased to be given such a responsible job.

Captain Salty went below deck to the cabin he was sharing with Declan, who was fishing off the back.  He lied down and looked at the pile of baggage the leprechaun had brought.  One open bag contained nothing but tea bags for heavens sake.  Who would think that a leprechaun would drink so much tea?  He felt inside the bag and felt something like glass inside.  He pulled it out and to his delight he found it was a bottle of Irish whiskey.  He felt around in the tea bags and found three more bottles of Powers Irish Whiskey.  This kind was so good that it is rarely sold outside Ireland.  Well he had to try a little drop, the leprechaun wouldn’t mind, he had four bottles after all.  Hmm, nice stuff this whiskey.  Perhaps he might have a little drop more…

On deck Tiges and Declan were struggling with a little fish they had caught.  They had managed to reel it in and sling it on to the deck, but now it was slithering everywhere and they couldn’t catch it.


Tarquin kept the boat steady, pointing west.  The Normnorm said they were 230 miles from their treasure island.  Still a long way then.

Tiges and Declan finally caught the fish and put it on a table so Tiges could take the skin off with his claws.  Declan then showed him how to gut it with his nails and finally they baked it in tin foil over the stove.  Declan boiled some potatoes in sea water mixed with fresh water.  When dinner was ready Declan went down to the cabin to wake up Captain Salty.

Ah, there he was, lying facing the wall, snoring away.  Declan gave the old sea dog a nudge, then a shake.  He didn’t budge, just snored away.  Then Declan noticed an empty bottle under his arm.  He lifted it up.  “Ahhh now,  Salty ya little gob sheen you have  had away with all my whiskey.”  He checked around, indeed all three bottles were empty.  He wouldn’t be waking up any time soon.  Declan’s anger was punctured by mild panic.  Salty was the only trained sailor out of all of them!

On the bridge Tarquin heard the Normnorm bleep a weather warning.  Heavy storms coming in from the south, all shipping beware.  Just at that moment Declan came bursting in.

“Tarquin, we have a bit of a problem, boyo.  That old sea dog is fast drunk down there, three sheets to the wind, so he is.”  He panted.

Tarquin gulped, his sea skills were about to be tested to the limit.

Soon the boat was rocking again, thrashing back and forth.  The pots and pans clattered in the galley.  Equipment and provisions fell off shelves.  The dark clouds in the sky were lit up by dazzling lightening.  The rain lashed down hard on the boat.

Tarquin gripped the wheel and turned it into the wind.  Tiges went on deck and lowered the sails, so they could not be pulled the wrong way by the wind.  Declan scrambled down to the engine room to start the main motor.  He pulled the start cord again and again.  On the third attempt it spluttered and chugged into life.

The waves washed the sea water over the decks, soaking everybody.  Tarquin swung the wheel round, forcing the front of the ship hard into the huge waves, forcing it up and down the waves.  Tiges grabbed the radio and called for help.

Declan came back up from the engine room.  He went through the emergency kit, looking for something helpful.  He found an emergency rocket, which is no different to the ones you see on bonfire night.  At sea they are used to ships to cry for help when they are in distress.  He fired it into the air with a big Whoosh! Followed by a BANG that could be heard for miles.  

Captain Salty started to stir and stretch.  By heavens, that Powers Whiskey was good stuff.  He stood up, feeling really queasy.

Tiges and Tarquin struggled to keep the ship from sliding over on it’s side, and it was hard work.  Declan was feeding petrol into the engine, which wasn’t easy in a rocky boat.

The Captain dragged himself up the ladder onto the bridge.  He was seeing double and his knees were weak.  “Can I be of any help lads?” He asked, weakly.

The two tigers looked at each other then back at him.  “Yeah, help us get out of this storm.”

“Aye-aye lads!”  And with that he was back to his old self.  He took the wheel, pulled the ship through the waves north away from the storm.  “More power Declan, bring it up to maximum revs!”

“Aye-aye Captain” Yelled Declan, hitting the engine with a large hammer.  Smoke billowed out of the workings, covering  the leprechaun in soot.

Eventually the storm got less and less, the sea less choppy, and then finally it was flat as a pancake.  They all relaxed for an hour and tidied up the mess.  Then they sat Captain Salty down for a good talking to.

“Listen, you so-called Captain, you let us down at a very dangerous moment back there.  You got drunk on someone else’s whiskey which is stealing, and nearly let us drown at sea.”  Declan was more cross than most, it was his flipping whiskey.

“I know, I am really sorry lads, it was an awful thing to do.  It is just that I had not had a drink of whiskey for such a long time.  I couldn’t resist it.  I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Well you must buy Declan some new whiskey the next chance you get.  And you are not having another drop till this voyage is over, understand?”

“Aye aye Tarquin, that’s a promise.” He looked very solumn.

“Now apologise to Declan.”

“I’m sorry Declan mate, I will make it up to you I promise.”

The sailor and the leprechaun shook hands.

Later that afternoon when it was warmer The tigers and the leprechaun had a swim in the sea.  Captain Salty was still a bit queasy so he stayed on deck and watched.  They had a game of water football and did a bit of swimming underwater, looking at all the brightly coloured fishes.

After that Captain Salty cooked them a fish supper, which they ate hungrily.  After dinner he pulled out an accordion, which is like a musical squeezebox, and treated them to a song.

“I’ll treat you to an old song called a sea shanty now.. Alright here we go.  You do the doodlebug…”  He began to do a little dance as he sang and played  “..you do the doodlebug into my heart.. You get my love life started when the music starts.. You doodlebug into my brain.. You get the bang bang feeling when my love is insane..”

The tigers and the leprechaun looked at each other in amazement.  Wasn’t this a Wham! Song?  Was he still drunk?

He carried on.. “Wake meeeyyuupp before ya go-go, don’t have me hanging on like a yo-yo.”

Eventually he stopped and everybody clapped like mad.  Captain Salty was truly off his rocker.

After that they all went to their hammocks for the night.  A hammock is a swing made into a bed like a sling.  They move with the ships motion so you don’t feel sick in your sleep.  You would be surprised how comfortable they are.  Normnorm was left to do the driving.

Bright and early the next morning Captain Salty took the controls.  He checked the weather, fine, no problems there, nice and sunny.  He checked the wind speed and direction, quite strong north west wind, perfect.  He checked the direction on the Normnorm, and gulped hard.  The tide was taking them straight into the Bermuda triangle!

This was not good at all.  The Bermuda triangle is an area of sea that extends from Bermuda in the Carribean, to Florida and The Azore Islands.  For hundreds of years it has been a centre of strange happenings.  Strange lights and shapes have been seen on the horizon.  Compasses go mad.  Huge ships and flights of aircraft have vanished without trace, never to be seen again.

They had to work fast.  Captain Salty woke up the others and put them on battle alert.  The took the sails down, battened down the hatches, closed the inside doors, and Declan turned the engine back up to full power.  The huge machines began to chug and whirr.  He turned dials up, and valves open.  He fed petrol into the tank, and oil into the engine.

Captain Salty and Tarquin turned the wheel with all their might, bringing the ship about turn.  It wasn’t working!  Tiges looked on, concerned.  Then he noticed the Normnorm was printing off worrying messages.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE AHEAD! BERMUDA TRIANGLE AHEAD! ALERT ALERT

BREMUNA TWYUNGLE HEAD BER BER BER BER BER BER.. ZZZZZZ

Oh no!  The triangle had sent the Normnorm mad!

“Can’t you turn the wheel?” Tiges asked.

“We are, it isn’t doing anything!” Yelled back Tarquin.  Him and Salty were pulling the wheel with all their might but it wouldn’t turn.  It was taking them all the way into the triangle.

Declan shouted up from the engine room; “Engine at full power captain!  She can’t keep this up for much longer.”

There was nothing they could do to stop it.  Captain Salty made a decision. “Declan, cut the engine, switch it off.”

Then he turned to the two Tigers.  “Break out the weapons lads.”  He led them to a chest at the back of the boat. He opened it and pulled out huge curved swords called cutlasses, just like pirates use.  He also armed himself with two old muskets, really old fashioned handguns that find single tiny cannon balls and took about half an hour to load.  He also took a spear gun, normally used to spear sharks, and slung it over his shoulder.

Captain Salty took his binoculars and stood at the front of the boat.  Tiges took the left and Tarquin took the right, neither sure what they were supposed to be looking for.  It was quiet, the only noise was the waves lapping at the boat.

Salty scanned the sea with his binoculars.  He went left to right, then back and saw a spot of green light coming from under the water.

“Shiver me timbers!  It’s the Kraken!” This was not good.

“Wh-whats a Kraken?” Asked Tiges, knowing it wouldn’t be nice.

The green under-sea light made straight towards the boat.  Now bubbles were rising from it, and then foam…

“What’s that?” Said Tarquin, suddenly wishing he could go home.

A huge tentacle, as long as football pitch shot straight up out of the water, then another and another.

“Sweet mother of pearl!” Salty took aim at the first tentacle and fired.  He missed, it moved that fast.

From under the sea now a huge body appeared, with eight long tentacles and two big black eyes.  It had a huge mouth with sharp teeth.

Tiges jaw dropped.  He really wanted to go home now.

Tarquin tried to remain calm, and remembered his Tiger training.  What was the Tiger’s first rule? A Tiger never charges if he can scatter his enemies with a roar.

He jumped onto the roof of the bridge and gave his best “RRROOOOOAAAAAARRR!!!”

The Kraken batted him off the roof with a sweep of a tentacle. Pow!

Tiges charged with his cutlass and slashed at the first tenticle. He cut it first, then tried sawing through it, it was tough and leathery.

“Lads try and - Oh help!” Salty cried as a tenticle wrapped around his waist and lifted him up.

“Salty!” Cried Tarquin, trying to grab the Captain’s ankles.

Declan arrived on deck and was hammering away at the tentacles with his hammer.  Tiges felt a tenticle grab his tail.  He chopped hard with his cutlass, but it dragged him backwards down the deck.  He dug his claws into the wood, trying to stop it dragging him.

On the bridge a tenticle swept around Declan, smashing the Normnorm to pieces.  He grabbed a fire extinguisher and used it to batter the tenticle until it withdrew.  He ran to the front and pointed it into the face of the monster.  “Here, have a taste of this!” He yelled and blasted it in the eyes with dry powder.  It let go of the boat, but it still held Salty fast.  It was pulling him towards it’s big slimy mouth.

Salty took his spear gun and poked it right in the mouth, again and again, and then in the eye.  The thing howled in pain and threw him back on to the boat.  Tarquin picked him up and checked he was ok.  He was shaken but otherwise ok.

Declan and Tiges joined them at the front of the boat.  The thing had backed off, but it was coming back now, and it was very angry!!

The first tenticle broke into the boat just under the waterline.  The second pulled down the rigging poles, where the sails were held.  The third ripped the bridge to shreds , sending bits of wood and computer flying everywhere.

Water gushed in, flooding the cabins, and the galley, where the cooker and fridge were.  The ship started to sink.

“This is it boys, we’re lost at sea!” Yelled Declan.

“Get to the lifeboat at the back!” Called Salty.  He fired into the Kraken at close range with his old musket.  Declan fired a good shot with the spear gun.  It hit the thing right in the big black eye.  The spear had a length of rope to it, and Declan tied the rope to the boats mast.  If they were going down they were taking this thing with them.

Tarquin and Tiges had one last trick up their stripy sleeves.  The old Tiger magic trick, which they had never really tried.

They each pushed their paws together and rubbed them hard.  As they did so they concentrated as hard as they could.  They thought of warmth, of heat, of power and courage.  They thought harder and harder. They rubbed their paws harder and harder.

In between their paws something sparked, then flashed. Then a ball of blue light appeared in each of them.  They concentrated harder and the ball got bigger and brighter.  Then finally when each had a ball of blue light humming in front of them they took it in one paw each and threw it right at the Kraken.

Whoosshhh!! Pow! Pow! Smash!

The balls of blue light hit the Kraken hard in the body then bounced off.  The bounced back off the boat and skimmed over the water like a skimming stone and smashed back into the Kraken again and again.  It Roared a terrible roar!  As it did so a power ball caught it right in the mouth and went down into the Kraken’s belly.

The Kraken whimpered and moaned as it had the worst case of belly-ache imaginable.  The other ball hit it hard against the back of the head.  Then finally it stretched it’s tentacles out as far as it could as it started to glow with blue light.  Then the whole thing exploded in a big green yucky shower!  Gallons and gallons of green gunge rained down on the boat and the sea.

“YYEeeaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!” The Tigers hugged each other in glee!

“Come on lads, we have to get off this boat before it sinks!” Yelled Salty.  He had the lifeboat ready to go, Declan was already there with him.

The two tigers jumped into the lifeboat as the H.M.S. Matilda broke up and sank quickly into the water.  The only problem was the lifeboat was still attached to the Matilda by the rope crane.  Salty had lost his knife, Declan didn’t have one either.

“Quick!” Tarquin yelled, as he and Tiges bit and clawed the rope as hard as they could with their razor sharp teeth and claws.

Finally the rope snapped and the H.M.S. Matilda slipped slowly beneath the waves.  Captain Salty stood up and gave a last salute to his best ship, tears in his eyes.

For hours the lifeboat chugged it’s way out of the Bermuda triangle.  Lucky for them Salty had had the sense to pack the lifeboat with food and water, petrol for the engine and a blanket to share.

Night fell and the four of them huddled under the blanket, shivering and cuddling each other.  The full moon reflected beautifully off the water.  They ate some of Declan’s Irish chocolate and drank fresh water.  A group of Dolphins came over and gave them a friendly nudge.  They were nice dolphins who said hello in Dolphinese. The tigers waved back as they went away to play in the Caribbean sea.

Early next morning the burning sun rose.  Tarquin was the first to wake up.  He rubbed his sore eyes and looked around.  Was that land over there? It was. “LAND AHOY!” He shouted, waking everybody up with a start.

Soon all four were paddling away towards the land.  The engine chugged away as hard as it could.  It got closer and closer, and finally the lifeboat landed on the beach.  They were finally safe.

They got out and had a look around.  This island had a big beach and mountains further back.  In front of them was a little wooden bar, called Bob’s bar.  They were certainly thirsty enough for a drink.

The owner came over to meet them, he was another Tiger “How’s me brother tigers today? Are we all good ha ha?  You want a drink?”

“Gosh, yes please.”

Come here den, I got just de t’ing.” Bob had a strange accent.

They sat down at the bar while Bob took out four heavy coconuts and cut into them with a knife.  He then   added some milk into them and some strawberry sauce.  Then he shook them and stirred them and put them on the bar for everybody to drink.

Mmmm they were absolutely delicious.  Strawberry coconut milk.  Definitely worth fighting a giant squid for.  They paid for their drinks and spent the next hour telling the story to Bob of how they had come all the way from the UK, fought through storms and finally defeated a giant squid in a sea battle.  Bob was amazed.
Tarquin took out the map and told them about the treasure.  Bob frowned, he had never heard of any treasure on this island, and he had lived here all his life.

When they were feeling full they said goodbye to Bob and had a look around the beach for an X on the ground.  Unfortunately they found nothing, not a single X on the ground.  Just lines of palm trees.

That night they went back to Bob’s bar feeling sad.  Perhaps there was no treasure here after all. “Never mind, lads.  You can all sleep in my spare shed tonight, no problem, man.”

They spent the night in Bob’s spare shed, which was big, with chairs and sleeping bags.  He used to live here himself apparently.

In the morning they had breakfast at Bob’s bar.  He made them Salt fish with Ackee, which looked like banana but tasted like potato.  They also had deep-fried dumplings and a glass of coconut juice.

After breakfast he told them he had a sea plane hooked up on the pier and would they like a tour of the island?  Why not indeed, it was a lovely day.

Bob’s seaplane was a plane with wings but it also had pontoons to float.  It didn’t need wheels to land because it took off and landed on the sea.  What a good idea eh?

They took off and flew over the coast.  They saw huge cruise ships anchored up in the main port.  They saw little fishing boats working away out at sea.  They flew over the coast and the misty mountains, where people grew coffee plants.  They flew past a waterfall and a crocodile infested river.

As they flew back towards Bob’s place Tiges noticed something about the palm trees.  From the air he could see they were formed out in perfect line, as though they had been planted that way.  He looked closer and the two lines crossed in the middle..

..that was in, they were in an X shape.

X MARKS THE SPOT

This was it!  The treasure must be down there!  Bob brought the plane into land and the passengers were out before he had even stopped.  They grabbed spades and made their way to the spot where the two lines of palm trees met.  The four of them dug like mad, sending sand flying everywhere.  Bob looked on, scratching his dreadlocks.

Finally Declan’s spade his something hard.  He felt down and knocked on it with his knuckles, it was wooden and hollow.  Was it..?

The four of them dug around it, finding the corners and the edges.  They dug the chest out and stuck ropes around it.  They pulled and heaved on the rope and the chest slowly rose.

They opened the chest with a hammer and chisel, borrowed from Bob and opened it.

Inside was endless gold coins, pearls, rubies, sapphires and diamonds.  Jewels of every description and colour.  They had found it!  They had found the buried treasure! They were rich!

That night there was one heck of a party at Bobs bar, the likes of which Jamaica had never seen.  They paid Bob well for his hospitality and picked out a new boat for Salty.

After a week in a luxury hotel they flew home first class, as happy as Tigers can be.


THE END
 

Reviews

[Ash.]

Your story was so unique.
I am glad I read this.
Keep up the work.