GIDEON DEFOE was born in 1975 and lives in London. He is also the author of
First published in Great Britain in 2004 by Weidenfeld & Nicholson This paperback edition published 2012
Copyright © Gideon Defoe 2004 Map copyright © 2004 by Dave Senior
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney
50 Bedford Square, London WCiB 3DP
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781408826058 10 98765432
Typeset by Hewer Text UK Ltd, Edinburgh
www.bloomsbury.com/gideondefoe |
Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives Pic
To Sophie, who has a quarter of a million pounds.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
A pirate brawl - The Pirate Captain - A decision is made - Cooking the ham - Setting sail
CHAPTER TWO
A pirate feast - A letter arrives -The
CHAPTER THREE
Piratical entertainments - A delicate question - Making ready for attack
CHAPTER FOUR
A reluctant duel - Under attack! - Looking for gold - In conversation - Darwin's dangerous idea - Another decision is made
CHAPTER FIVE
Walking the plank - Another pirate feast -A terrifying story - The Captain's question
CHAPTER SIX
At the seaside - Visiting the arcade - A spot of golf
CHAPTER SEVEN
Arriving in London - At the zoo - A mysterious poster - To the gentlemen's club - In disguise! -Another feast - A plan is hatched
CHAPTER EIGHT
Breakfast - Organising the pirates -The Captain receives another letter
CHAPTER NINE
To the sinister circus - Meeting a pretty lady -The Elephant Man - Drugged! - The infernal machine - A pirate in trouble
CHAPTER TEN
At the convention - Scurvy Jake - Help arrives -Signing autographs - Too much grog
CHAPTER ELEVEN
In the news - A confrontation with the Bishop - A controversial lecture - An exciting fight - The end for the Pirate Captain?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Not much time! - The terrifying clock - Mister Bobo has an idea - A new kind of piracy -A daring leap
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
COMPREHENSION EXERCISE |
A fond farewell - The Bishop's fate -Setting sail!
A Brief Explanatory Note From The Pirate Captain
Hello lubbers,
I'm writing this note on the back of an old bit of squid carcass to clear up any confusion that might arise about a hundred and seventy years from now. You see, there's a good chance that in your more enlightened times of hover-boards and asymmetrical haircuts, a daring theatrical impresario will have decided to adapt my exciting adventure with scientists into some sort of motion picture, to be exhibited at your local zoetrope club.
Probably you will notice how that motion picture contains a