Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Dink felt the water rush over his head. Some got in his mouth before he remembered to shut it. His eyes stung from the salt. Then his life vest shot him to the surface. He was floating.

Josh and Ruth Rose were bobbing nearby in their orange life vests. "You guys okay?" Dink asked. "Look!" Josh said, pointing at something over Dink's shoulder. Dink spun around in the water. The Golden Goose lay on its side. A few seconds later, it went under. The kids heard a loud WHOOSH! as the boat disappeared. "We got off just in time!" Josh said. "Let's swim," Dink said. "Spike and Chip might decide to come back to make sure the boat sank!" "Swim where?" Josh asked. "I can't even see land!" "But I see some boats," Ruth Rose said, pointing one wet arm. "See those things sticking up out of the water?" Josh began splashing his arms. "I think those are shark fins!" he yelled. Ruth Rose laughed. "Sharks don't have white sails, Josh." The kids began swimming toward the boats. Suddenly, Dink heard a roar.

He whipped his head around, expecting to see Spike and Chip bearing down on them. Instead, he saw a large white boat. On the side, in black letters, he read COAST GUARD. The boat zoomed up, then slowed. The kids bounced in the waves like corks. "What the heck are you kids doing!" a voice boomed from the boat. Dink saw a man in a white uniform standing on the deck. He was holding a bullhorn and glaring down at them.

Dink tried to yell, but a wave filled his mouth with water. Another man threw three round life preservers into the water. "Hang on to those!" the man in white bellowed. The rings splashed into the water only a few feet away. Seconds later, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were hauled onto the boat's deck. The kids huddled together. A group of men stood staring at them. The sun was warm, but Dink couldn't stop shaking. One of the men draped blankets around their shoulders. "Well?" the uniformed man said. "I'm waiting." He stared at the kids with a strange expression on his face. "You do speak English, I hope." Josh grinned. "Yeah. Do you guys have anything to eat? I'm starving!" The men laughed. The man holding the bullhorn grinned. "Okay kids, first you tell us why you were swimming to Cuba," he said, "then we feed you!"

"Awesome!" Josh said as burst after burst of fireworks went off in the sky. It was ten o'clock on New Year's Eve, two days after they'd been rescued by the Coast Guard boat. The kids were lying on the lawn in Gram's backyard. They had just finished a lobster dinner, and their stomachs were full. Gram came out carrying a tray. "Who has room for chocolate ice cream?" she asked. Dink groaned. "If I eat one more thing, I'll bust wide open!" Josh sat up. "I'll have some!" he said. Gram set the tray on the blanket. "Help yourself," she said, joining the kids. "That was a super meal, Gram," Ruth Rose said. "My pleasure!" Gram said. "You kids are heroes! Thanks to you, the police were able to catch Spike and Chip. We almost lost a lot of money!" "Well, Dinkus," Josh said, "you were right. It was Spike on the phone at the airport, and he did say, 'take the dough!'" Gram Hathaway squeezed Dink's hand. "You saved the day!" she said.

Dink blushed. "Well, you guys helped, too," he said. "If it hadn't been for Ruth Rose, we wouldn't have been on the Golden Goose when those two guys came back. They'd have sunk the boat and gotten away with the money." "And Josh figured out they were lying about how to clean gold and silver," Ruth Rose said. "I never even saw that in my book." Gram Hathaway smiled. "I know three children who are going to get a reward," she said. "A reward?" Josh said. "For what?" "The gold and silver Spike and Chip showed us was stolen from a museum in Miami," Gram said. "The museum was offering a reward, and it goes to you three!" "Awesome—how much?" Josh said. Ruth Rose laughed. "Don't be greedy, Joshua." Josh slurped up the last of his ice cream. "I'm not greedy," he said. "I just like money!" Suddenly a huge mushroom of fireworks went off over their heads. Red, blue, and green sprays of light cascaded toward the earth. "Make a wish, everyone!" Gram said. "I wish I had more ice cream," Josh said.