CHAPTER 21

“I suppose even a gang of imbecilic pirates could decipher the first point on the treasure map,” said Dad, tilting his control wheel forward, sending us into a pretty steep dive. “Let’s go pay those pirates a little visit!”

All those Peruvian snacks I’d been munching on? They were dancing the pukllay in my stomach (that’s a carnival dance widespread among Peruvians that Mom made us learn in homeschool gym class). I was afraid that if we kept nosediving toward the ocean, those same snacks might lurch up into my mouth to dance the puke-lay!

“We’re descending too rapidly, Thomas. I don’t want them to get away.”

Suddenly, Tommy was unbuckling his seat belt. “How low can you level off at?” he asked.

“Why?” asked Dad.

“I’ll hop out and have a quick word with the pirates!”

“Thomas?” said Mom. “Sit down this instant.”

“I can’t,” said Tommy. “I ripped off my seat cushion so I could use it as a flotation device.”

“Thomas?” said Mom. “This isn’t safe!”

“Sue, you heard the boy. Tommy doesn’t have a seat to sit in! Nothing’s more unsafe than that! Descend to ten meters. Thirty-three feet.”

“The official height of an Olympic diving platform,” said Storm.

“Hurry, you guys!” said Tommy, yanking open a door on his side of the plane.

A bag of churros went flying out.

“The first guy’s already down the hatch and in the submarine!”

“Just ID them, son,” advised Dad. “Don’t try anything heroic or stupid.”

“Of course not!”

And then Tommy immediately did something I thought was kind of heroic and stupid.

He leaped out of our roaring seaplane!