The Treasure of El Patron

by Gary Paulsen

  Davis put his hands in the air. Spear cursed, stepped back, and pointed the gun at Tag’s head. His finger started to squeeze the trigger.

  Suddenly he jerked backward, dropped the pistol, and fell, clutching his bloodstained arm. The sharpshooter in the fishing boat kept his sights on Spear until Thomas stepped down into the blue-and-white boat and handcuffed him.

  Thomas helped get the two criminals onto the fishing boat. Then he maneuvered the blue-and-white outboard close to the boys. He pulled the rag out of Tag’s mouth.

  “Quick, there’s a bomb!” Tag motioned to the small bundle with his head.

  Thomas grabbed it and looked at the timer. Thirty seconds. He flung it as far as he could out into the ocean, and, without untying the boys, he started Tag’s boat and gave it full throttle.

  The sea exploded behind them. Pieces of rock and coral flew into the air. A giant wave hit Tag’s small boat and tossed the bow into the air. It came down hard, slapping its passengers to the bottom of the boat.

  Thomas shook himself and struggled to his feet. The boys were lying on the bottom of the boat like wet rag dolls. Thomas cut Tag loose and then went to work on Cowboy. “Are you all right?”

  Tag rubbed his wrists. “I think so.”

  Cowboy moaned and sat up. “Well, I’m not all right. Every bone in my body aches.”

  “We arrested Spear and Davis.” Thomas tried to restart the engine. “If we’re lucky they’ll tell us who made the drop.”

  Tag wasn’t listening. He was staring back toward Tiger Head. “How much damage do you think it did?”

  “What, to the reef?” Thomas asked. “Plenty, I’d say. Probably collapsed the whole tail end of it.”

  Tag slumped. “I guess that’s the end of our treasure hunting.”

  “What are you talking about?” Thomas finally got the engine to start. “Those crooks don’t know it, but they probably just did you guys a favor. Once you clear away some of that rock, El Patrón will be that much easier to salvage.”

  “You knew?” Tag was astonished.

  “Of course. Your dad and I weren’t partners all those years for nothing.” Thomas winked at them. “And if you guys cut me in, I might just be persuaded to help.”

  “What about your job? I don’t think they were too happy the last time you went diving.”

  “After this bust, I’ll be able to call the shots. The boys down at the station will probably make me chief now. What do you say?”

  Tag smiled and gave him the thumbs-up sign. “I say let’s go for it.”

  DEEP-SEA DIVING

  TIPS FOR SAFE DIVING

  1. Be physically prepared. Don’t try diving unless you exercise regularly and are a good swimmer. Get a medical checkup to be sure.

  2. Enroll in a recognized training program. Just reading about diving doesn’t make you a diver.

  3. Make sure you have good equipment. Have it tested and checked before each dive.

  4. Find out about the area you are planning to dive in. Know beforehand about any special weather or water current conditions.

  5. Do not dive alone. Always take someone with you under the water, and if possible have someone waiting at the surface.

  6. Know what to do in case of an emergency, and carry first-aid equipment.

  7. Plan your dive and make sure all those involved stick to the plan.

  8. If you discover that you have any physical abnormality before or after a dive, seek medical attention.

  EQUIPMENT USED IN SCUBA DIVING

  It’s always a good idea to have an equipment checklist so that you don’t find yourself out on the water, ready to dive but missing part of your gear.

  Make sure you start with a full tank of air with a reserve valve or a submersible pressure gauge that has been double-checked for accuracy.

  Your weight belt should be chosen by figuring your body’s size and buoyancy—generally one pound for every ten pounds of body weight.

  A face mask, snorkel, fins, flotation vest, and wet suit are basic equipment.

  Don’t forget your special instruments. You’ll need a depth gauge, a waterproof watch and flashlight, and an underwater compass.

  By the way, it’s called scuba diving because the letters in scuba stand for:

  Self

  Contained

  Underwater

  Breathing

  Apparatus

  Don’t miss all the exciting action!

  Read the other action-packed books in Gary Paulsen’s WORLD OF ADVENTURE!

  The Legend of Red Horse Cavern

  Will Little Bear Tucker and his friend Sarah Thompson have heard the eerie Apache legend many times. Will’s grandfather especially loves to tell them about Red Horse—an Indian brave who betrayed his people, was beheaded, and now haunts the Sacramento Mountain range, searching for his head. To Will and Sarah it’s just a story—until they decide to explore a newfound mountain cave, a cave filled with dangerous treasures.

  Deep underground Will and Sarah uncover an old chest stuffed with a million dollars. But now armed bandits are after them. When they find a gold Apache statue hidden in a skull, it seems Red Horse is hunting them too. Then they lose their way, and each step they take in the damp, dark cavern could be their last.

  Rodomonte’s Revenge

  Friends Brett Wilder and Tom Houston are video game whizzes. So when a new virtual reality arcade called Rodomonte’s Revenge opens near their home, they make sure they’re its first customers. The game is awesome. There are flaming fire rivers to jump, beastly buzz-bugs to fight, and ugly tunnel spiders to escape. If they’re good enough they’ll face Rodomonte, an evil giant waiting to do battle within his hidden castle.

  But soon after they play the game, strange things start happening to Brett and Tom. The computer is taking over their minds. Now everything that happens in the game is happening in real life. A buzz-bug could gnaw off their ears. Rodomonte could smash them to bits. Brett and Tom have no choice but to play Rodomonte’s Revenge again. This time they’ll be playing for their lives.

  Escape from Fire Mountain

  “… please, anybody … fire … need help.”

  That’s the urgent cry thirteen-year-old Nikki Roberts hears over the CB radio the weekend she’s left alone in her family’s hunting lodge. The message also says that the sender is trapped near a bend in the river. Nikki knows it’s dangerous, but she has to try to help. She paddles her canoe downriver, coming closer to the thick black smoke of the forest fire with each stroke. When she reaches the bend, Nikki climbs onshore. There, covered with soot and huddled on a rock ledge, sit two small children.

  Nikki struggles to get the children to safety. Flames roar around them. Trees splinter to the ground. But as Nikki tries to escape the fire, she doesn’t know that two poachers are also hot on her trail. They fear that she and the children have seen too much of their illegal operation—and they’ll do anything to keep the kids from making it back to the lodge alive.

  The Rock Jockeys

  Devil’s Wall.

  Rick Williams and his friends J.D. and Spud—the Rock Jockeys—are attempting to become the first and youngest climbers to ascend the north face of their area’s most treacherous mountain. They’re also out to discover if a B-17 bomber rumored to have crashed into the mountain years ago is really there.

  As the Rock Jockeys explore Devil’s Wall, they stumble upon the plane’s battered shell. Inside, they find items that seem to have belonged to the crew, including a diary written by the navigator. Spud later falls into a deep hole and finds something even more frightening: a human skull and bones. To find out where they might have come from, the boys read the navigator’s story in the diary. It reveals a gruesome secret that heightens the dangers the mountain might hold for the Rock Jockeys.

  Hook ’Em, Snotty!

  Bobbie Walker loves working on her grandfather’s ranch. She hates the fact that her cousin Alex is coming up from Los Angeles to visit and will probably ruin her summer. A
lex can barely ride a horse and doesn’t know the first thing about roping. There is no way Alex can survive a ride into the flats to round up wild cattle. But Bobbie is going to have to let her tag along anyway.

  Out in the flats the weather turns bad. Even worse, Bobbie knows that she’ll have to watch out for the Bledsoe boys, two mischievous brothers who are usually up to no good. When the boys rustle the girls’ cattle, Bobbie and Alex team up to teach the Bledsoes a lesson. But with the wild bull Diablo on the loose, the fun and games may soon turn deadly serious.

  Danger on Midnight River

  Daniel Martin doesn’t want to go to Camp Eagle Nest. He wants to spend the summer as he always does: with his uncle Smitty in the Rocky Mountains. Daniel is a slow learner, but most other kids call him retarded. Daniel knows that at camp, things are only going to get worse. His nightmare comes true when he and three bullies must ride the camp van together.

  On the trip to camp Daniel is the butt of the bullies’ jokes. He ignores them and concentrates on the roads outside. He thinks they may be lost. As the van crosses a wooden bridge, the planks suddenly give way. The van plunges into the raging river below. Daniel struggles to shore, but the driver and the other boys are nowhere to be found. It’s freezing, and night is setting in. Daniel faces a difficult decision. He could save himself … or risk everything to try to rescue the others too.

  The Gorgon Slayer

  Eleven-year-old Warren Trumbull has a crazy job. He works for Prince Charming’s Damsel in Distress Rescue Agency, saving people from hideous monsters, evil warlocks, and wicked witches. One day Warren gets the most dangerous assignment of all: He must exterminate a Gorgon. Warren will need all his courage and skill—and a surprise weapon—to become a true Gorgon slayer.

  Captive!

  When masked gunmen storm into his classroom, Roman Sanchez and three other boys are taken hostage. They are hauled to a run-down mountain cabin, bound with rope, and given no food. With each passing hour the kidnappers’ deadly threats become more real. Roman knows time is running out. He and the other boys must pull together now and launch a last desperate fight for freedom.

  Project: A Perfect World

  When Jim Stanton’s family moves to a small town in New Mexico, everyone but Jim is happy. His dad has a great job as a research scientist at Folsum Laboratories. His mom has a beautiful new house. Folsum Labs even buys a bunch of new toys for his little sister.

  But there’s something strange about the town. The people all dress and act alike. Everyone’s too polite. And they’re all eerily obedient to the bosses at Folsum Labs.

  Though he has been warned not to leave town, Jim wanders into the nearby mountains looking for excitement. There he meets Maria, a mountain girl with a shocking secret that involves Folsum Laboratories, a dangerous mind control experiment, and—most frightening of all—Jim’s family.

  Look for these thrill-packed adventures coming soon!

  Skydive!

  Jesse Rodriguez has a pretty exciting job for a thirteen-year-old, working for his friend Buck at a small flight and skydiving school near Seattle. But he still can’t wait to turn sixteen and finally be old enough to make his first jump. Buck has been like a father to him ever since Jesse’s dad died, and has made sure Jesse picks up all he needs to know about skydiving while he does odd jobs around the airport.

  But Jesse and his friend Robin Waterford have also learned something very disturbing. Someone’s been using the airport for an illegal transportation operation, and Jesse’s worried that Buck’s involved. Jesse and Robin are soon in the middle of a dangerous international situation, forced to make their first jumps sooner than they ever expected!

  The Seventh Crystal

  Each day at exactly three P.M., Chris Masters faces two great challenges. First he races home, trying to avoid the school bullies who have made a career of beating him up. Then, once he’s safely back in his bedroom, he takes on another opponent—a computer game called The Seventh Crystal.

  The high-tech game arrived mysteriously in the mail one day, without a return address or a letter from the sender. Chris doesn’t even know who created it, but he does know The Seventh Crystal is the most challenging computer game he has ever faced. Chris becomes obsessed with mastering the game. So obsessed that the game seems real—and then Chris has something much bigger than bullies to worry about.