Too Much Cheese – By Luke Pevreal
 which is Part 2 of 'Buried Treasure' (Luke's October story)

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The ship, which was full of pirates, was named 'Too Much Cheese' after an unfortunate case of mistaken identity.  (These Black Cross pirates once landed on an island populated by dairy cows  -  and mistook a large mountain of best quality cheddar for gold !)

"Now you's going to be working for us." said a pirate named Jeff.

"Fire!" ordered their captain.

BOOOM !!!!  The ship was gone. "Why did you attack the ship?" Anna asked Jeff.

"Because that cruise-liner belongs to Gold Eye the pirate, our rival," he said.  "We've got the map to the treasure but them got a copy, too."

"That's all we needed to hear," said Toby, grinning.  Then he snatched the map, grabbed a bag from the boat and sped off in a speedboat with his family.

"You stupid idiot!" a fellow pirate said.  "Now they've got the map!"

"What treasure is this, Toby?" asked his father, George.

"Who knows? Let’s just follow the instructions," replied Toby.  "It says here that we have to go fifty miles south to an island called Gold Eye Island."

"Gold Eye Island?" Anna said.  "Gold Eye was a famous pirate in the mid-18th Century.  That island is a myth.  It's said to have all Gold Eye’s treasure hidden there.  Nobody ever found it."

"But that pirate said Gold Eye was their rival," Toby said.

"He must be talking about the new one who claims to be his descendant," replied Anna.

"Clever little girl," said a harsh voice from the ship sailing nearby :   It was Gold Eye !

"But you're not getting this map," he continued, "the island, and the treasure, are mine."

He whispered to one of his men who immediately pressed a button.  A hook shot out and took the map, then it hooked onto their boat and started to pull it towards the ship.

"Do something !" panicked Anna.

"Don't worry, the bag I stole from the pirate contained lots of weapons" said Toby.

Then their father, George, grabbed a rifle and aimed it at Gold Eye.

"Release us or he dies."  The hook was released from the speedboat.  "Now hand over the map," he ordered.

"No !" said Gold Eye.

"I'll shoot," cried George.

"You don't have the guts," sneered Gold Eye. He gave George a long stare.

But then George shot at their controls, which made the ship’s crew run amok.

"CHK-CHK"  -  The pirates aimed their guns at the family.

Then, all at once, George fired the gun into the air, forcing Gold Eye to drop the map into the speedboat.  Then they were off !

About an hour later, an island with large stone temples loomed ahead.

"We're here,  we're here!"  screamed Bruce excitedly as they ran onto the beach.

"Yes! We did it!" shouted Anna.

"Not yet, we need to find the treasure." said their mother, Helen

"Not before us yuh won't!" said Jeff, suddenly appearing.

"How did you find us here?" asked George.

"We 'ad a snitch who put a tracking device on your boat," said Jeff.

"Mick !" said George, surprised.

"They offered me a whole load of cash, that's why I ratted you out and, well, to get the promotion," said Mick.

"I think you'll find we will get the treasure," said Gold Eye.

"You !!" said the rival captain.

"I oughta blast you off this island right now," replied Gold Eye.

"Why don't you stop fighting, for starters?" said Bruce.

"Kid makes a point," said another Gold Eye pirate.

"Why don't we let them get the treasure for us? I'm sure this place is full of traps." said Gold Eye.

"We will work with you  -  for now." replied the other captain.

They all entered the temple and began digging.  They found many chests with platforms in front of them.

Jeff turned the key in the lock, loosening a platform marked X, which fell with him.

"Well, we know X doesn't mark the spot." said a Gold Eye pirate.

"Let’s try D," said Mick.  He turned the key in the hole  –  no luck.

"Try C," said Gold Eye.

A pirate turned the key, but failed.

"Darn!"  said Gold Eye, "We have no more keys."

Toby remembered the key Gabe had given him and tried 'G'.  He opened the chest.

"Another key?" Toby said.

"Look !  There's a door over there  -   the key might fit that keyhole." Anna said.

Toby unlocked the door and, when he opened it, he found himself in a massive room of treasures, jewellery and gold.

"We found it !!" Toby screamed with excitement.

"Look, there's that box of money from work !" pointed George.  "Mick must have already known where the island was !"

"That lying scallywag !" said a Black Cross pirate.

"Now it's time to load all this treasure onto the ship." said Gold Eye.

"Not so fast ! WE will be taking the treasure," said the Black Cross captain.

"There's no point in verbal conflict, I prefer a straight fight." Gold Eye said.

Then he took out his sword and pointed it at the Black Cross captain.  The battle had begun.

Gold Eye accidentally hit a panel on the wall which caused a loud rumbling noise.

“That doesn't sound good," said Bruce.

A few seconds later, the temple started falling apart.

"RUN!!" shouted Gold Eye, "Take as much treasure as you can!"

"You :   carry that box for us !"  a pirate commanded George.

They narrowly escaped the temple alive.

"Get on the speedboat !  There isn't enough room on the ship, but don't try anything or we'll blow you off the water !" said a pirate.  "Look ! The volcano is erupting !"

All ships got off the island.  Then Bruce turned around and saw Gabe standing on the island.  He rubbed his eyes and, when he looked again, he was gone.

"This is the Police ! We have you surrounded !"

Sadly though,  during the arrest,  the pirates didn't want to give up the treasure and threw it in the water.

"Ohh !  No treasure !" whined Bruce.

"Oh well ..." said George.

"Wait a minute, guys !" said Helen, "We still have that box of money !"

They opened it and found twenty bars of gold !

"There wasn't money in there, there was gold !" screamed George.

Soon the pirates were imprisoned and the family was in the newspaper because of their adventure.  Their father, George, got a high-paying job,  they escaped poverty and donated most of the gold to charity.

And they all lived happily ever after.

                                                                                 The End