Corby Flood

by Paul Stewart

  HOFFENDINCK’s GUIDE

  (revised edition)

  THE TOWNS OF THE DALCRETIAN COAST

  DORALAKIA

  The highlight of any cruise along the Dalcretian coast is a visit to the little town of Doralakia, hidden jewel of Dalcretia. Situated on the very tip of the Dalcretian peninsula, the lights from its extraordinary tower houses are a truly magical sight when seen from the sea.

  The Doralakians are amongst the friendliest and most hospitable of all the Dalcretians, and taking tea in a tower house as the moon rises is an experience never forgotten. The harbourside is well worth a visit, as is the famous Hundred – Years – Old Grocery Store, with its fascinating collection of antique canned goods.

  But the highlight of any visit to Doralakia must be the Longest Afternoon, at which the remarkable singing rhinoceros is sure to make an appearance. The Emerald rhinoceros of the Dandoon Delta was rescued by the Doralakians and later formally presented to the town by the Begum of Dandoon, who recognized how happy it was in its new home. She and her granddaughter visit it each year.

  Marriage Announcements:

  – Announcement –

  MR & MRS WINTHROP FLOOD ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE

  THE FORTHCOMING MARRIAGE OF THEIR DAUGHTER SERENA,

  TO ARTHUR, SON OF MR HOFFENDINCK,

  AT A CEREMONY TO TAKE PLACE AT THE CYCLOPS POINT LIGHTHOUSE,

  CAPTAIN BORIS BELVEDERE OFFICIATING,

  FOLLOWED BY A SUNSET CRUISE ON BOARD THE S.S. – EUPHONIA

  From the Scowling Mermaid, school magazine of the school ship Betty – Jeanne:

  SCHOOL MAGAZINE OF THE SCHOOL

  SHIP BETTY – JEANNE EDITOR: FERGUS CRANE

  NEW PUPILS JOIN OUR SCHOOL

  The Scowling Mermaid is pleased to announce the arrival of five new pupils at the school Betty – Jeanne. The Flood children, Cedric, Hubert, Ernest, Toby and Corby, join us from the Dandoon Delta, where their father was recently bridge building.

  The boys are keen to organize a deck sports team for next season. (See the school notice board.)

  HARBOUR HEIGHTS SCHOOL TO CLOSE

  The school ship can expect plenty more new pupils as Harbour Heights has announced that

  And a cable which arrived this morning:

  PAUL STEWART is a highly regarded author of books for young readers – everything from picture books to football stories, fantasy and horror. Several of his books are published by Random House Children’s

  Books, including The Wakening, which was selected as a Pick of the Year by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. Together with Chris Riddell, he is co – creator of the bestselling Edge Chronicles series, which is now available in over thirty languages.

  Fergus Crane, the first in their Far – Flung Adventures sequence, won a Smarties Prize Gold Medal.

  CHRIS RIDDELL is an accomplished graphic artist who has illustrated many acclaimed books for children, including Pirate Diary, by Richard Platt, for which he won the 2001 Kate Greenaway Medal, Something Else, by Kathryn Cave, which was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Smarties Prize and won the Unesco Award, and Castle Diary, by Richard Platt, which was Highly Commended both for the l999 Kate Greenaway Medal and for the V & A Illustrations Award. Together with Paul Stewart, he is co – creator of the bestselling Edge Chronicles series, which is now available in over thirty languages. Fergus Crane, the first in their Far – Flung Adventures sequence, won a Smarties Prize Gold Medal.

  EMIL HOFFENDINCK, writer, explorer and bibliophile, is the author of the acclaimed Hoffendinck’s Guide, for many years the essential companion for any sea – faring traveller. Now in its new revised edition, Hoffendinck’s Guide is once again available to all travellers in search of the overlooked, the undervisited or the misunderstood.

  A DAVID FICKLING BOOK

  Published by David Fickling Books

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

  a division of Random House, Inc.

  New York

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product

  of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons,

  living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text and illustrations copyright © 2005 by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

  Cover art copyright © 2005 by Chris Riddell

  All rights reserved.

  Originally published in Great Britain by Doubleday, an imprint of

  Random House Children’s Books, in 2005.

  DAVID FICKLING BOOKS and colophon are trademarks of David Fickling.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at

  www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Stewart, Paul.

  Corby Flood / by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. — 1st American ed.

  p. cm. — (Far-flung adventures)

  SUMMARY: While traveling with her family aboard the S.S. Euphonia, eight-year-old

  Corby Flood accidentally attracts the murderous attentions of five men, clad in

  bowler hats, called the Brotherhood of the Clowns as she investigates the

  mysterious singing coming from the ship’s hold.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-49541-9

  [1. Ocean travel—Fiction. 2. Clowns—Fiction. 3. Ships—Fiction.] I. Riddell, Chris.

  II. Title.

  PZ7.S84975Cor 2006

  [Fic]—dc22

  v3.0_r1