Sunken Treasure
No sooner had the shark disappeared over the top of the mountain of coral than a large triangular stingray appeared right next to where Maddox was standing.
“Hop on!” She said gently. “I’ll take you to the shipwreck.”
Maddox did as he was told and clambered up on the stingray’s back.
Soon they were speeding past towers of brightly coloured coral decorated with swaying fronds of green and brown seaweed.
Beautiful sea anemones waving their tiny tentacles were dotted everywhere.
As the stingray whooshed by at speed, with Maddox clinging to her back, frightened crabs puffed up clouds of sand as they scuttled sideways to hide under the nearest rock.
The stingray’s huge wings flapped up and down like an enormous underwater bird. Her long tail with its deadly sting at the end, trailed safely behind them like a sleepy snake.
As the stingray glided around a tower of pink and purple coral, there on the sandy floor lay the remains of an ancient wooden sailing ship.
Once upon a time she must have proudly sailed the seven seas, carrying spices and valuable cargoes around the world.
Those happy days were long gone. Now her masts were broken and her ancient hull had holes as big as caves, where fish of many colours swam in and out as they pleased.
Maddox slid down from the stingray’s back to the sandy floor and immediately the shark raced towards him in a flash of silvery grey.
“Aha!” It bubbled excitedly, “I’m so glad you decided to come.”
To be sure, Maddox hadn’t really had any choice. If he’d chosen not to come along, he might have ended up on the wrong side of those razor sharp teeth.
“Oh… I just thought I would,” he said carelessly, trying very hard to sound as if he did this sort of thing every day.
“Is this where your gold bars are hidden?” He said, waving his arm in the direction of the shipwreck.
“They’re not mine yet,” said the shark with his eyes flashing, “but with the help of your strong arms young man, I will soon be rich.”
“Why didn’t you ask an octopus to get the gold for you?” Maddox asked thoughtfully, “I only have two arms, but octopuses have eight. I’m sure they could lift your gold four times faster than I can.”
At this, the shark thrashed his tail angrily and his teeth gleamed as he spoke.
“Never trust an octopus!” He snarled. “Don’t like octopuses. Octopuses cheat. Octopuses are too tricky!”
Maddox who had somehow lost both socks while zooming along on the stingray’s back, now stood squishing the soft sand between his toes.
“Don’t just stand there!” Snapped the shark rudely. “Climb inside and get my lovely gold.”
As Maddox got closer to the shipwreck, it towered above him like a spooky deserted castle. Finding the boxes of gold bars wasn’t going to be easy.
He clambered carefully up the side of the ship, while the shark swam excitedly backwards and forwards nearby, muttering to itself and laughing crazily.
“Twenty-eight lovely boxes,” it bubbled, “they are going to be mine, all mine!”
The ship’s timbers were covered in barnacles and it took Maddox some time before he could drop down through a large hole in the ship’s deck.
The shark shouted encouragement while snapping its teeth together over and over again, making Maddox feel nervous.
Inside the ship there was just enough light for Maddox to search the many cabins.
He pulled hard on a door handle. At first it was stuck, but then the rotten door broke into little pieces. With a scurry of sand, a huge conger eel shot out and nearly knocked Maddox over.
He jumped back in fright, but the thought of the shark’s teeth made him keep going. He knew it was time to be brave.
He crawled his way deeper into the dingy darkness.
At last, Maddox spotted a strongroom with bars on the door, like a prison. The door was wide open and there inside was a pile of boxes covered with sand and seaweed.
Sliding one of the boxes towards himself, Maddox pulled open the lid, and there inside were bars of gold that glinted in the dim light.
Although the boxes were quite small, they were very heavy. Maddox managed to slide them along wooden planks and then dropped them one by one down to the seabed through a gaping hole in the side of the ship.