The Clue of the Gold Doubloons Read online

  Contents

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  1 City of Pirates

  2 A Golden Clue

  3 Ransacked!

  4 Suspicion Onboard

  5 A Crew of Thieves

  6 A Daring Heist

  7 Shaky Alibis

  8 A Close Shave

  9 A Fishy Assailant

  10 A Message in Blood

  11 A Narrow Miss

  12 A Chance Encounter

  13 Cat and Mouse

  14 A Daring Rescue

  1. City of Pirates

  “I love the Inner Harbor,” Nancy Drew announced as

  she and her friend George Fayne strolled along the

  bustling brick walkway that surrounded Baltimore's

  Patapsco River.

  “I agree,” George said. An Orioles baseball cap

  covered her curly brown hair, and the two girls were

  dressed for the warm weather in shorts, tennis shoes,

  and T-shirts.

  It was a gorgeous September Monday. The sun

  sparkled off the water, and a breeze ruffled Nancy's

  reddish blond hair. Tour boats were docked along the

  wharf area, and small pleasure boats dotted the river.

  “I'm dying to spend some time sightseeing,” Nancy

  said.

  George laughed. “I don't think we're going to have

  much time to sightsee. Andrew, Daniel, and their film

  will keep us plenty busy.”

  “True.” Nancy stopped to watch a juggler toss balls

  into the air. The Inner Harbor was crowded with

  tourists visiting one of Baltimore's biggest attractions.

  The harbor had once been a polluted industrial area.

  Now it was a 240-acre complex of museums,

  interesting shops, excellent restaurants, and high-tech

  offices.

  “Andrew's determined to keep on schedule,” Nancy

  added as they continued on their way. “He says we'll be

  finished filming in a week. Maybe we'll have some free

  time then.”

  Andrew and Daniel Wagner were the twenty-four-

  year-old owners of the fledgling film company Seeing

  Double Productions. During the summer, George and

  Nancy had taken a filmmaking course. The twin

  brothers had taught one of the workshops. After the

  course ended, Nancy and George had talked to them.

  They'd discovered the twins were working on a

  documentary about pirates. Nancy had been intrigued

  with the subject as well as with filmmaking.

  She and George had volunteered to join the small

  group, first helping to write the documentary. When

  the script for Robbers of the High Seas was finished,

  George was chosen to play the part of Anne Bonny, a

  famous eighteenth-century female pirate. Nancy had

  enjoyed the more technical side, so Andrew had

  enlisted her as his assistant director.

  “Too bad Bess couldn't be here,” George said when

  they passed Harborplace, two glass-enclosed pavilions

  filled with shops and restaurants.

  Bess had just started a part-time job and didn't want

  to leave River Heights.

  “Maybe it's good she's not here,” Nancy said

  jokingly. “We might find out the real meaning of shop

  until you drop.' “

  “So where is the Swift Adventure?” George asked.

  Nancy pulled out a travel brochure. “Pier Three. If I

  remember correctly, the aquarium is on the other side

  of the Trade Center. The Maritime Museum is beyond

  that, and that's where the Swift Adventure is docked.”

  A week earlier Andrew had received permission to

  use the Swift Adventure to film many of the scenes. To

  save money, the two brothers were also staying on the

  ship.

  Earlier Nancy and George had checked into the

  Harborside Hotel. Selena Ramirez, the only

  professional actress hired to be in the documentary,

  was also staying at the Harborside.

  Nancy wasn't sure where the rest of the cast and

  crew were bunking. In fact, she wasn't sure who the

  rest of the cast and the crew were. All she knew was

  that a group had arrived two days earlier to prepare the

  ship for filming.

  When she and George reached the other side of the

  Trade Center, Nancy spotted three tall masts. “We

  must be headed in the right direction,” she said.

  “I hope we get to see the aquarium again,” George

  said when they passed the unusual buildings that

  housed more than six hundred different types of sea

  creatures. “Last time we were here, we were too busy

  with a case to see all the animals.”

  “Let's put it at the top of our sight-seeing list,”

  Nancy agreed. Seconds later the two girls crossed a

  wooden bridge to Pier Three.

  “There's the ship.” Stopping on the pier, Nancy

  tilted her head back to check out the Swift Adventure,

  a square-rigged galley that had been built in the early

  1700s. It had three tall masts. The sails were unfurled

  and tied back so that the complicated system of masts,

  yards, ladders, and rigging was exposed.

  While working on the script, Nancy and George had

  researched seventeenth- and eighteenth-century ships.

  They had learned that pirates captured or stole many

  kinds of boats but preferred small, fast vessels, like

  galleys, that could overtake the heavier cargo ships.

  George gave a low whistle. “The ship's perfect for

  the film. I'm so glad the twins are getting to use it.”

  “They're paying for the use,” Nancy reminded her

  friend. “The historical society that maintains it is

  charging a pretty hefty fee.”

  Just then a round, pixieish face peered over the edge

  of the ship's railing. Nancy waved.

  “It's Janie!” Nancy told George, referring to Janie

  Simms, the film's production manager. The petite

  brunette had been with the project from the very

  beginning, raising money, scheduling filming, and

  locating equipment.

  Janie waved back. “Ahoy, mates!”

  Nancy grinned, then hurried after George, who was

  heading up the pier to the gangplank. A group of

  tourists was converging on the ship from the other

  direction.

  “The Swift Adventure is being used to film Robbers

  of the High Seas,” a guide was saying as he led the

  group up the gangplank. “We may still tour parts of the

  ship, but please stay on the outside of the ropes so we

  don't disturb the film crew.”

  George shot Nancy a puzzled look. “I didn't realize

  we were going to have spectators,” she whispered as

  they followed the group up the gangplank to the waist

  of the ship, which was the lower area between the

  foredeck and the quarterdeck.

  Chattering excitedly, the tourists followed their

  guide toward the foredeck. Nancy and George headed

&
nbsp; to the stern. Stepping over the low rope, they climbed

  up the ladder to the raised quarterdeck, which was

  filled with milling people. Some carried equipment.

  Some were setting up lights and cameras.

  Nancy recognized several people. There was Harold

  Oates, who had taught one of their classes on lighting

  and sound, and Lian Chu, a cameraperson. Nancy also

  spotted Janie, who was intently discussing something

  with a pretty woman with long jet-black hair.

  “There're Andrew and Daniel,” George said,

  pointing to the middle of the quarterdeck. “We'd

  better ask them what they want us to do.”

  The twins were standing beside the towering

  mizzenmast. Daniel was waving something in the air.

  Andrew had his fists planted on his hips. Nancy

  couldn't hear what the brothers were saying, but from

  their gestures, she could tell they were arguing.

  “I guess we'd better check in,” Nancy said. “Though

  it looks as if they're having one of their artistic

  disagreements.'“

  When they'd worked with the twins on the script,

  Nancy and George had quickly learned that even

  though Daniel and Andrew were identical in looks,

  their personalities were quite different.

  Daniel was an actor. He was going to play a

  character named Calico Jack Rackham in the film. He

  usually spoke in a booming voice accompanied by

  dramatic hand gestures, as if he were always onstage.

  He wore loose-fitting Hawaiian-print shirts, sandals,

  and baggy shorts. His brown hair was pulled back into

  a short ponytail, and a gold earring glittered in one

  earlobe.

  Andrew got more involved in the business end of

  filmmaking, and he tended to worry about practical

  matters. He usually wore polo shirts, tailored slacks,

  and deck shoes. His hair was trimmed neatly around

  his ears. He kept several pens in his shirt pocket, and

  this afternoon he carried a clipboard thick with papers.

  As Nancy drew nearer, she could clearly hear what

  the twins were saying. “I refuse to use this musket!”

  Daniel was shouting. “It looks like Eli bought it at a toy

  store.”

  “That's because he did buy it at a toy store,” Andrew

  shouted back. “For five bucks. A replica from the Prop

  Shop costs fifty dollars. No one watching the film will

  know the difference.”

  Cupping her hand around one side of her mouth,

  George whispered to Nancy, “Do you get the feeling

  our ship isn't so shipshape?”

  Suddenly, Andrew spotted them. “Nancy! George!”

  He waved them over. “Am I glad you finally made it.

  We need some sanity around here.” He flung an arm

  around Nancy's shoulder. “Nancy, tell Daniel I cannot

  afford museum-quality props.”

  “George.” Daniel put his arm around George's

  shoulder. “Tell Andrew if he wants this film to look

  authentic, he can't use props from a toy store.”

  “Uh,” George began. She glanced at Nancy, and the

  two started laughing.

  With a look of pretend disgust, Andrew smacked his

  clipboard against his thigh. “Even my assistant director

  doesn't take me seriously.” Then he smiled and gave

  Nancy's shoulder a squeeze. “Glad you're here. This

  place is a zoo!”

  “What can we do to help?” Nancy asked.

  Andrew pulled a piece of paper from his clipboard.

  “Here's a list to get you started. George, you—”

  “Oh no, George is mine,” Daniel stated firmly. “I'm

  taking her below-decks to get her fitted into her

  costume.” Furrowing his brow, he frowned at George.

  “Have you got your lines ready, Anne Bonny?”

  “ If there's a man among ye, ye'll come out and fight

  like the men ye are to be,' ” George recited.

  Nancy laughed. “She's been practicing ever since we

  left River Heights.”

  “Great!” Daniel beamed at George. “I'll introduce

  you to Eli Wakefield, who's in charge of costumes as

  well as props.” He shot Andrew a disgusted look. “Eli

  does a great job, considering the stingy budget he's got

  to work with.”

  “We're lucky there's any money left in the budget,”

  Andrew retorted, “after you ordered those so-called

  authentic gold doubloons, which cost a fortune.”

  That set them off again, giving Nancy a chance to

  glance at her list. There were at least twenty things she

  was supposed to do.

  “Daniel!” A gruff voice broke into Nancy's thoughts.

  A huge grizzly bear of a guy was striding toward them.

  With his pitch-black beard, bushy brows, and scraggly

  long hair, he looked like a real pirate.

  “What's with this script?” the guy said, smacking

  some rolled-up papers against his palm. “You've turned

  Blackbeard into a wimp!”

  “Karl, the documentary is partially funded by

  educational television,” Daniel explained. “We're

  hoping it will be shown in schools all over the United

  States. We had to keep it clean.”

  Karl snorted. “Clean? This has been positively

  sanitized.” Unrolling the papers, he read, “ Pirates,

  prepare for battle.' That sounds like somebody's granny

  talking. Not the fearsome—”

  “Nancy.” Andrew steered Nancy away from Daniel

  and Karl. “Ignore those two. First thing you need to do

  is help Janie with Selena.”

  Nancy glanced over at the two women, who were

  standing at the railing of the stern. The dark-skinned

  woman with Janie was gorgeous. Her short-shorts,

  platform sandals, and halter top accented her long legs

  and curvaceous figure, and her waist-length hair

  gleamed like polished ebony.

  “Selena is turning into a major problem.” Andrew

  rolled his eyes. “I just hope hiring her is worth the

  aggravation and money. Anyway, Janie's about had it

  with Selena's demands. Maybe you can smooth things

  over.”

  “How am I supposed to—” Nancy began, but

  Andrew was striding away, hollering to a woman laying

  a sheet of plywood on the deck. “Lian! Don't put that

  camera track there. We're shooting on the starboard

  side.”

  For a second Nancy pressed her fingertips to her

  forehead. The place was a zoo.

  “Men's clothes! You've got to be kidding!” A shrill

  voice made Nancy turn her attention back to Janie and

  Selena. “You want to hide this work of art in baggy

  pants and shirt?” Spreading her arms wide, the actress

  twirled in a circle. Instantly, several guys stopped what

  they were doing to stare.

  Nancy glanced at Janie, whose face was flushed red.

  Andrew was right, Nancy thought. The production

  manager looked as if she were ready to explode.

  Plastering a welcoming smile on her face, Nancy

  rushed over, her hand outstretched. “Selena, I'm

  Nancy Drew, the assistant director.” She pumped the

  woman's arm. “I couldn't
help overhearing your

  complaint, and I want to say that your acting will be so

  fantastic, every director will notice you.”

  Selena arched her perfectly plucked brows. “Hmm.

  You have a point, Ms. Drew. A dynamite body and an

  award-winning performance. A deadly combination.”

  “Deadly,” Janie echoed, flashing Nancy a smile of

  thanks.

  Just then someone jostled Nancy.

  “Sorry. Sorry.” Smiling apologetically, Harold Oates

  bustled past carrying a shotgun microphone. Harold

  was as tall and gangly as a giraffe, and with the long

  microphone in his arms, he appeared even more

  awkward.

  Suddenly, someone yelled, “Heads up!”

  Snapping her head back, Nancy looked skyward. A

  heavy coil of rope was hurtling toward deck—straight

  for Harold Oates.

  “Harold, get out of the way!” she cried.

  Startled, Harold glanced up. When he saw the rope,

  he raised one arm to shield his face. The long

  microphone tipped sideways, throwing him off balance,

  and he fell against the wooden railing.

  With a loud crack, the railing broke. Nancy tried to

  grab him, but she wasn't fast enough. Arms flailing,

  Harold toppled through the broken railing, landing

  with a splash in the muddy water below.

  2. A Golden Clue

  Nancy rushed to the broken railing. The brown water

  closed over Harold, and he disappeared from her view.

  “He can't swim!” Janie shouted in Nancy's ear. By

  now several crew members had run over to the railing.

  Nancy searched for signs of Harold in the water, but

  it was as if the muddy river had swallowed him.

  Without hesitating, she stuck her list of chores in her

  pocket and kicked off her tennis shoes. “I'm going in

  after him.”

  “No!” Janie grabbed her arm. “It's too dangerous.”

  “We don't have any choice,” Nancy cried. “Harold

  may have bumped his head or injured himself. We

  don't have time to run off the ship to the wharf.”

  Taking a breath, she peered over the side of the

  ship. It was about twenty feet to the water.

  Not much higher than a high diving board, Nancy

  thought. Before anyone could stop her, she stepped