Ship of Death by Benjamin Hulme-Cross, Nelson Evergreen

Chapter 1

The Ship
    There was an old, ruined ship in the harbour. Nobody was on deck. Torn sails hung from its masts like dead skin. It looked like a wreck but it was still floating.
    Mr Blood put his spy-glass down.
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    â€œHow long has the ship been there?” Mary asked Tom, the old harbour master.
    â€œWe saw it at dawn two mornings ago,” said Tom. “It must have come in during the night.”
    â€œAnd nobody has left the ship, or come on shore?” asked Mr Blood.
    â€œThat’s right,” said Tom. “I’ve watched it. No one has come up onto the deck.”
    â€œMaybe it’s just a wreck. Maybe it just drifted into the harbour,” said Edgar.
    â€œThat can’t be right,” said Tom. “Look, it has an anchor.”
    Edgar looked through the spy-glass. He could see a chain running down into the water from the front of the boat.
    Old Tom was right. Somebody must have let down the anchor.
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    â€œAnd there’s something else I have to tell you,” said Tom. “This isn’t the first time that ship has come here.”
    â€œGo on,” said Mr Blood. “Tell us the story.”
    â€œWell, it’s a sad tale,” said Tom. “Three years ago, the same ship came here, just like this. We woke up one morning and there it was. The harbour master then was a man called Pete. He rowed out to the ship, and he went on board to take a look around.”
    Old Tom went on. “Pete went below deck and we heard him shout. Before we knew what was going on, the anchor came up and the ship headed out to sea by itself.
    â€œSome of us got in a boat and chased after it, but it was too fast. I don’t know how a ship with no crew could sail out to sea. But that’s what we saw.”

    Old Tom paused and looked out to sea. “We always wondered what happened to poor old Pete. We never saw or heard of him again. But none of us wanted to see that ship come back. We called it the Ghost Ship.”

    â€œAnd now it has returned. So we need your help, Mr Blood,” said Tom.

Chapter 2

On Deck
    Old Tom rowed them out into the harbour in a small boat.
    â€œDo we
all
need to go on the ship?” Edgar moaned. He felt ill. His face was a strange shade of green.
    â€œYou’re not going to be sick, are you?” teased Mary.
    Edgar just groaned and stared ahead.
    When they were close enough to the ship, Tom stopped rowing. They all stared up at the ghost ship.
    The black paint on the side was cracked and peeling.
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    â€œAhoy there!” called Tom. “Is anyone aboard? Are you there, Pete?”
    There was only silence.
    â€œWell then,” said Mr Blood. “Let’s go and have a look.”

    Tom threw a rope ladder with hooks up onto the ship’s deck. He tugged at the ladder and it stayed in place. They all climbed up.
    In a few moments, the four of them stood aboard the ghost ship.
    Up close, the ship still seemed lifeless. Everything metal was covered in rust. The deck was caked in salt. The torn sails flapped limply.
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    â€œThere’s nothing to see here,” said Mr Blood. “We’d better go and look down below.”
    Mr Blood strode across the deck to the main hatch. He opened it and climbed down inside the ship.

Chapter 3

Inside the Ship
    Edgar and Mary could hear Mr Blood moving around below deck, opening and shutting things.
    Then he called up to them.
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    â€œGet down here,” he shouted. “And bring something we can use to break down a door.”
    Edgar looked around the deck and saw a small axe. Its blade was rusty, but it was all he could find. He picked it up.
    Mary and Tom had already gone down the hatch.
    Mr Blood was looking at a closed door near the front of the ship.
    â€œI had a quick look around,” he said. “There is no one here. Then I found this door. It’s locked and I can’t find a key. I want to break it