Crown of the Cowibbean (2 page)

The
Swashclucker
may have been the biggest ship in the harbor, but that was only because all the other boats were so small. Up close the ship was squat and dumpy. Its sides had been repaired so many times that the patchwork of planks nailed to its sides looked like big wooden bandages. At the top of the mast sat a rickety crow's nest with a tiny orange flag waving from it. It really wasn't very fancy. But as far as Chuck was concerned, it was amazing.

“This is such a bad idea,” Dakota said as they climbed on board the ship's main deck. “I don't think we're going to find anything here but trouble.”

“Weren't you listening to Marco's stories?” Chuck asked. “Even if he's only done
half the
stuff he says, this boat should still have treasures
all over
it! Let's look for that sea snake's head he was talking about! I bet it's in his quarters.”

They made their way to Marco's cabin, which looked a lot like a chicken coop. Chuck swung open the door with excitement. He thought the room would be filled with ancient artifacts and mystical objects, glittering jewels and gold coins…maybe the sea snake's head would even be mounted on the wall!

But the cabin was not at all what Chuck expected.

There were no treasures. There were no jewels or prizes or coins. The only golden thing in sight was a warm light that came through the windows, highlighting a globe, a spyglass, and measuring tools on a table in the middle of the room. In the corner was a roosting perch where Marco would stand as he slept. The wall on the right displayed a collection of swords. The wall on the left was covered with maps and charts. It looked like a great place to plan an adventure. But it was no treasure trove.

“Okay,” said Dakota. “Where's all the treasure?”

“Of course someone as smart as Marco Pollo wouldn't keep his treasures in the first spot everyone would look. What was I thinking? He hid them in a place that's harder to get to. This boat should have some kind of cargo area, right?” Chuck thought aloud. “A storage place where Marco keeps all his stuff? Let's look in there.”

After poking around a bit, Chuck and Dakota found the cargo area in the very bottom of the ship. They climbed down a rope ladder into the room through a hatch in the ship's deck. It was dark and damp, and they could see very little by the dim light that came in from the open hatch. There wasn't much to see, anyway. It was mostly just stacked-up barrels of food and supplies.

Chuck was disappointed and Dakota was not impressed. They both inched a little closer into the darkness, looking for something—
anything
—interesting.

“I don't get it,” Chuck said. “I
know
those stories
have
to be true. They just have to be!” He stomped the floor with his hoof. “Some treasure hunt!”

Just then, they heard a long squeak and a loud thud, and the room went from dim to pitch black. Someone had closed the door to the cargo hold.

Chuck scrambled up the rope ladder. “Hey! HEEEEYYYYY!!!” he mooed, banging his hoof on the bottom the hatch. But it was no use. The hatch door was thick and heavy, and no one could hear.

Then the whole room suddenly shook, causing Chuck to fall off the rope ladder. He landed on Dakota with a thud. The floor seemed to move underneath them, rocking back and forth as they tried to stand up on their wobbly legs.

“Are we…
mooooving?
” Chuck mooed in a panic.

“I told you this was a bad idea!” Dakota shouted in the dark.

3

ALL ABOARD

Chuck and Dakota searched for a way to get out of the cargo area as the boat rocked back and forth. Dakota tried his best not to be sick as his stomach flip-flopped from all the swaying.

Peering up, Chuck noticed a small crack of light slicing through the dark above their heads. “Look!” he said. “Up there! Light!”

They both climbed onto some barrels to get a closer look. “Come on, give me a boost,” Chuck said as he climbed up on Dakota's shoulders. Sure enough, he found a sliver of daylight peeking past a loose board near the ceiling. Chuck pounded his hoof on the board until it broke with a
CRACK
!, creating a hole just big enough to poke his head through. Looking down, he saw waves splashing against the bottom of the boat. Looking up, he saw the side rail of the ship just within reach.

“Hurry! Hurry!” Dakota whined from below. Chuck was rather beefy for such a small cow, and his hooves weighed heavily on Dakota's shoulders. Suddenly, Dakota's knees buckled and gave way. They both tumbled off of the barrels and onto the floor.

“The ship's rail is just above the ceiling,” Chuck grunted as he got back to his feet. “But I'm too big to fit through the hole.
You'll
have to do it.”

Dakota's face fell. “
Me
? This was all
your
idea, captain!” Dakota was not fond of heights, and the idea of climbing around the outside of a ship on the open water did not thrill him.

“You're smaller and lighter than me,” Chuck insisted as he nudged Dakota back up the barrels. “Just grab the rail, climb up, open the hatch, and let me out. Come on, it'll be easy!”

Dakota groaned as he climbed up onto Chuck's shoulders. Chuck always had a way of making his plans sound a lot easier than they actually were. Dakota wriggled himself through the hole Chuck had made in the hull. He looked down at the rushing water below, and his stomach churned even more than it had in the rocking cargo area. With a deep breath, he reached up and grabbed the top edge of the ship. But talking about climbing up to the deck was much easier than actually doing it. As he tried to pull himself up, his fingers slipped and he went tumbling down the side. He caught himself on one of the ship's loose boards just before he hit the water. His feet dangled over the waves as he struggled to pull himself up.

“What's going on out there?” Chuck called from inside. “Come on, mooooove it!”

Dakota swallowed a lump in his throat as he began the climb again. He scaled the side of the ship, trying not to look down at the water as he grasped the different boards stuck to the hull. At that moment, he was very thankful that the
Swashclucker
had so many odd pieces of wood nailed to the side of it. Finally, Dakota reached the top. Grunting with effort, he hoisted himself over the ship's rail and plopped onto the main deck. He crawled to the hatch and opened it. Chuck poked his head out of the hatch, quite happy to be free from the dark room.

Squinting his eyes in the daylight, he immediately noticed two things. First, he noticed that they were completely surrounded by water, and Bermooda was nowhere in sight. Second, he noticed that Marco and the very large Ribeye were standing over them.

“
Buon Giorno
, little stowaways,” Marco said, his wings on his hips. “May I help you?”

“Oh. Ummm…
lo
'
hai
,” Chuck answered with a wave and a nervous chuckle.

Neither Marco nor Ribeye seemed very happy to have found them aboard. They brought Chuck and Dakota up to the quarterdeck for Marco's questioning while Ribeye steered the ship.

“Little cows, why are you here?” he asked.

Neither of them wanted to admit that they had been sneaking around his boat looking for treasure. “I guess…we just…wanted to hear more of your stories?” Chuck stammered.

“If you wanted to hear more of Marco's stories, you could have just waited until I came back to port like everyone else,” Marco said.

“Can't you just swing back by Bermooda and drop us off?” Dakota asked with a shrug.

But Marco just looked past them at the horizon. “No, little one. I do not think that is possible.”

Ribeye grunted and snorted at Marco. Chuck and Dakota had no idea what he was saying, but Marco seemed to understand just fine. They appeared to be arguing.

“I don't want them aboard any more than you do,” Marco said in a loud whisper. “But we have the wind on our side! We can't just turn around and take them back to Bermooda!”

Ribeye grunted and snorted some more.

“Yes, I know a ship is no place for little calves,” Marco answered. “But we are not turning back! We just find something for them to do, give them a little adventure, we have them back before you know it!”

“Adventure?” Chuck said.

Marco turned his head toward Chuck and Dakota, as though he had forgotten they were standing right there.

“Ribeye, guide us while I greet our new guests,” he said. He led Chuck and Dakota to his cabin.

“My grumpy friend and I ought to drop you stowaways on the first dot of land we see,” Marco said, turning to the calves. “But I would never do that to someone who enjoys my stories. Bermooda is already out of sight and I'm afraid it is too late to turn back now. So, until we finish our journey, you shall be my ship's helpers. You are now…buccowneers.”

Chuck felt his heart leap inside his chest. “Really? US?”

“BUT FIRST…you must take the oath!” Marco said. He puffed out his chest. “Do you solemnly swear to follow any and all of the captain's orders, to bravely seek adventure, and to not bring bad luck upon the ship and her crew?”

“Aye, aye, captain!” they replied.

“Be warned, my young friends,” Marco continued, pointing a feather at them. “This is not a place for cowards, and this is not a playground. This is a daring quest for treasure!”

Chuck's ears perked up. “Treasure?” he repeated. Was he finally on a real treasure hunt?

“
Certamente
!” Marco held up the rolled paper. “This map has been passed down through my family, all the way from my great, great grandfather—Pinfeather Pollo. It will lead us to the greatest treasure in the Cowibbean Sea!”

With a flourish, Marco unrolled the paper. On the paper was an old map featuring tropical islands, a coral reef, a shipwreck, and a rock with a red “X” scratched over it. A sailing path was drawn out in a dotted line that looped and curled around the landmarks, making a giant “S.”

“First, we start here, at
Cattleena
,” he pointed to a little island with a palm tree in the lower left corner of the map. “Then we sail northeast, to
Waterdown
—the treacherous yard of underwater shipwrecks!”

Dakota's neck hair rose at the mention of shipwrecks. It reminded him of the
HMS Hortica
—the forbidden Bermooda shipwreck where he had been found.

Marco hopped up on the table, clucking louder and louder. “Then we swoop around to Sterling Reef,” he went on feverishly, “home of the most magical maids of the sea!” He got so excited that he drew his sword from its sheath.

“Then…it's on to Spidercrab Rock!” he shouted, fluttering to the top of his globe. “Where we shall find the greatest treasure known!
The Coral Crown
!” Brandishing his sword high in the air, he threw back his head and ended his speech with a long crow.

“The Coral Crown?” Chuck asked. He loved legends and stories, but this was one he had not heard before.