The Buccaneers

A swashbuckling thriller, part three of THE HIGH SEAS ADVENTURES, set on the oceans at the turn of the nineteenth century -- drama, horror, adventure... "There's pirates in the West Indies. Cannibals. They cook you alive. They shrink your head to the size of a walnut," says Mr Spencer to his son. These words will haunt sixteen-year-old John Spencer as he embarks on his first voyage to foreign lands. Carrying cargo destined for Jamaica, John and his Dragon crew set off from London for waters few of them have sailed before. When they come upon a lifeboat adrift at sea, some are wary of the sailor aboard. His name is Horn, and something about this imposing and mysterious sailor isn't right. He carries a chest full of clinking glass, and his story doesn't quite make sense. Still, John respects the stranger's awe-inspiring seamanship. With Horn on deck, both John and the ship's captain believe the Dragon is in the best of hands. But is Horn to be trusted? The answers become more and more complicated as the Dragon encounters a very real -- and very dangerous -- pirate ship. Now John starts to believe his father's warnings, especially after he becomes separated from his shipmates and is stranded on an island reputed to conceal buried treasure. A place teeming with buccaneers... Brimming with furious high-seas adventure, this companion to The Wreckers and The Smugglers concludes with a bloodcurdling tale of pirates -- and a surprise ending...