The Smugglers (High Seas Trilogy Series #2)

by Iain Lawrence

Overview

"Steer clear of that ship," warns the mysterious gentleman who shares a coach with John and his father. "Death she'll bring you," says the man. "It's the way of a ship that was christened with blood."

This is an ominous introduction to the schooner John is about to be entrusted with for a voyage to London. But he's too charmed by the pretty Dragon to heed the advice. The ship looks clever and quick, and John can hardly wait to sail her. She was a smugglers' vessel once, but now she's his Dragon, and she'll proudly carry wool for honest trade.

But soon John will be forced to consider the gentleman's warning. And to wonder what he really knows about his bonny crew.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780440415961
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	10/10/2000
Series:	High Seas Trilogy Series , #2
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 7.63(h) x 0.47(d)
Lexile:	640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Iain Lawrence is a journalist, travel writer, and avid sailor.

Read an Excerpt

I fetched a lantern and went right to the depths of the ship, where water, brown and fetid, slurped among the timbers. I went through the darkness in a circle of light, frightening cockroaches into shelter, hearing the groans and creaks of the hull as it worked. The places where I had to go were small and cramped, and I slithered through them as the lantern made the shadows zoom and tilt.

And someone came behind me.

When I stopped, he was silent. When I moved, so did he. I heard a faint creaking of wood as he crept up, closing the distance. He was quiet as a cat. And suddenly I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I cried out, startled, as he pushed me down against the hull.

"You're in danger, boy," said he.

I tried to lift myself, to turn and see him, but the sailor held me down.

"Watch yourself," he said. "There's one aboard who'll kill you."

"Who?"

For a moment I only heard him breathing. He said, "The one who seems least likely."

"But who?" I asked again.

He pressed harder on my shoulder. "He'll want the dead man's secrets. See you keep them safe."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"A man you never saw." And then the hand was gone.

Table of Contents

1.	The Highwayman	1
2.	A Warning	10
3.	The Old Captain	17
4.	The Dragon	27
5.	The Crew Comes Aboard	35
6.	An Eerie Wind	46
7.	A Dreadful Curse	57
8.	Dashing Tommy Dusker	66
9.	The Home of Nightmares	74
10.	Cannons in the Fog	84
11.	No Taste for Blood	94
12.	Deadlock	100
13.	A Tale of Murder	109
14.	The Coast Is Clear	119
15.	The Black Guard	133
16.	A Gang of Men	141
17.	A Jerkin of Corks	152
18.	The Only One Left	159
19.	A Hangman's Noose	167
20.	One More Name	173
	Author's Note	179
	Acknowledgments	182

Editorial Reviews

"Readers who devoured The Wreckers will be eager to dig into this seafaring sequel."—Booklist, Starred

"A corking good nautical adventure."—The Horn Book Magazine

"[To] be devoured in a single sitting."—The Bulletin

"Full of vivid descriptions that are swarming with historical detail."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

What places The Smugglers in the first rank of pirate-adventure yarns is the author's ability to create memorable characters...Avast, ye lubbers, for a great read!
— The Horn Book Magazine

Mary M. Burns

In this companion to The Wreckers (1998), Lawrence provides more adventures on the high seas. When John Spencer's father buys the mysterious black schooner, the Dragon, the 16-year-old boy is excited until he learns that he must make the ship's maiden voyage without his father. Among the bad omens: Mr. Spencer survives a shooting, and later, the captain they've hired is killed. Mr. Spencer is convinced that their affairs are looking better when he hires the colorful Captain Crowe to assume command of the vessel. No sooner does the schooner sail out of harbor than Crowe changes course unexpectedly, claiming that he has new orders. Crowe, of course, is a pirate, as are the scalawags he's hired, and in no time, John is trapped with the scurrilous crew. When it seems that John will be fed to the fish by Crowe, he escapes and lives to see the cur hanged on his beloved Dragon. The storytelling is broad but the details are fine: Lawrence has packed his tale full of vivid descriptions that are swarming with historical detail, painting as honest a picture of piracy as readers are likely to encounter. (Fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews