The Wild Culpepper Cruise

by Gary Paulsen

  OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY:

  THE VOYAGE OF THE FROG, Gary Paulsen

  THE BOY WHO OWNED THE SCHOOL, Gary Paulsen

  THE COOKCAMP, Gary Paulsen

  THE RIVER, Gary Paulsen

  THE MONUMENT, Gary Paulsen

  HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS, Thomas Rockwell

  HOW TO FIGHT A GIRL, Thomas Rockwell

  HOW TO GET FABULOUSLY RICH, Thomas Rockwell

  SHILOH, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

  SOUP IN LOVE, Robert Newton Peck

  YEARLING BOOKS/YOUNG YEARLINGS/YEARLING CLASSICS are designed especially to entertain and enlighten young people. Patricia Reilly Giff, consultant to this series, received her bachelor’s degree from Marymount College and a master’s degree in history from St. John’s University. She holds a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra University. She was a teacher and reading consultant for many years, and is the author of numerous books for young readers.

  For a complete listing of all Yearling titles,

  write to Dell Readers Service,

  P.O. Box 1045, South Holland, IL 60473.

  Published by

  Dell Publishing

  a division of

  Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

  1540 Broadway

  New York, New York 10036

  Copyright © 1993 by Gary Paulsen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

  The trademark Yearling® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  The trademark Dell® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-80378-8

  v3.1

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Yearling Titles You Will Enjoy

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Amos was out of breath. He had forgotten his bicycle and had run all the way to Dunc’s—Duncan Culpepper’s house.

  He pounded on the front door.

  Mrs. Culpepper opened the door. “Hello, A—”

  He raced past her and up the stairs to Dunc’s room.

  “Amos.” She shook her head. “Strange boy.”

  He burst through the bedroom door.

  Dunc was reading the Stock Market journal. For once Amos didn’t notice Dunc’s overly neat room. He usually hated neat. Neat bothered him. But not today.

  “You’ll … never … guess!”

  Dunc sat up. “Calm down, Amos. Catch your breath.”

  Amos Binder was Dunc’s lifetime best friend. Dunc was used to his strange behavior.

  Amos took a deep breath. “You’ll never guess what happened. Go on—try. Take a guess. Any guess. You won’t guess in a trillion years. Well, go on—guess!”

  Dunc thought about it. “From the way you’re acting, I’d say … you won something.”

  Amos’s face fell. “You guessed. How did you do that? I come over here with the best news of the century. The most exciting thing that will probably ever happen to me in my entire life, and instead of waiting for me to tell you—you guess.”

  “I’m sorry, Amos. You told me to guess.”

  “Okay. So you know I won a contest. But you don’t know what prize I won, do you? Just try and guess that! Go ahead!”

  “You got me. I don’t know.”

  “Aha! I knew you couldn’t guess. Get ready. Here it comes. Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready already. What?”

  Amos danced around in a little circle. “A cruise. I won a cruise—in the Caribbean. Can you believe it?”

  “That’s really great, Amos. When do you go?”

  Amos stopped dancing and put his hands on Dunc’s shoulders. “That’s the other great news. The cruise is in two weeks. It’s a seven-day cruise for four people. My sister Amy can’t go because she has cheerleading camp.”

  Dunc looked puzzled. “I don’t understand. Why is that great news?”

  “Get with the program, Dunc. Count: My dad. My mom. Me—and you. Four people.”

  A smile touched the corner of Dunc’s mouth. “Me?”

  “Of course you, dummy. Who else?”

  Dunc beamed. “A trip to the Caribbean. Who’d ever have thought we’d wind up there?”

  Amos took a travel brochure out of his pocket and spread it out on the bed.

  “Here’s a picture of the ship. It’s The Lady Anne, with Duchess Cruise Lines. We go to a lot of islands, and to part of Mexico. Everything is paid for, except souvenirs and junk.”

  “Amos, how did you do it?”

  “What?”

  “Win. What did you do to win? You never even told me you were entering a contest.”

  Amos folded up the brochure. “I don’t always tell you everything. Almost everything. Not everything.”

  “Tell me how you won the cruise.”

  Amos looked down at the floor. “I wrote an essay for a dog food ad.”

  “And?”

  “And it won.”

  Dunc cleared his throat. “Let me get this straight. You wrote an essay about dog food and won a cruise. That’s it?”

  Amos nodded. “Actually, I was trying for the bicycle. But the cruise will do.”

  “What did you write about?”

  “You had to ask, didn’t you?” Amos sat on the edge of the bed. “The title was the same for everybody who entered—‘My Dog, Why I Love Him.’ ”

  Dunc stared at him. “Amos, you hate your dog! You and your dog have never gotten along. You try to give him away every chance you get. And Scruff hates you too. He bites you every time he sees you.”

  “Details. The rules never said what you wrote had to be true. If they assume that—well, that’s their problem. I won fair and square because of my ability to write believable fiction. Anyway, it’s about time that dog was good for something.”

  “If you say so, Amos.”

  “I say so. That dog doesn’t know it yet, but because of him I’m going to overwhelm Melissa.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “When she sees my island tan and finds out I’m a world traveler, she’s bound to be impressed.”

  Melissa Hansen was the girl Amos loved. He adored her, but she didn’t know he existed. He spent half his life trying to get her attention. Somehow, he never quite got it.

  Amos stuffed the brochure back in his pocket. “I think she tried to call me again yesterday. I’m pretty sure it was her. I have her ring memorized.”

  Dunc nodded. He knew Melissa wouldn’t be caught dead calling Amos. But he never told Amos that.

  “It didn’t work out too well, though. She really shouldn’t call me when I’m at the dentist.”

  “She called you at the dentist?”

  “Yeah. But like I said, it didn’t work out so hot. I was leaning back in the chair, and Dr. Fulbright was filling a cavity way back here.” Amos opened his mouth to show Dunc the tooth.

  “Anyway, he had the light in my face, like he always does, and that little table over me with all his tools and stuff. Lisa—she’s the new dental assistant—she was sucking up the spit in my mouth with that sucker thing, when I heard the phone.”

  “Wha
t made you think Melissa was calling you at the dentist’s office?” Dunc asked.

  “It surprised me too. I don’t know how she knew I was there. Maybe she followed me or something. But it was her ring, all right.”

  “What happened?”

  “Well, naturally when I knew it was Melissa, I jumped out of the chair to answer it.”

  “Naturally,” Dunc said.

  “I accidentally hit the tray of dental tools, and they flew up into the light. One long silver thing got stuck up in there. They got the fire out pretty fast, though.”

  “Fire?”

  “That long silver thing made a lot of sparks. They flew around the room and caught the fake plant in the corner on fire. It was really more smoke than fire. A lot of the patients thought it was a real fire, though, and ran outside hollering. But that’s not the bad part.”

  “There’s more?” Dunc asked.

  “Dr. Fulbright didn’t get the drill turned off, and he drilled right through his new dental chair. While he was doing that, Lisa got the spit sucker caught in his hair. I always thought that was his real hair. Didn’t you?”

  Dunc nodded.

  “By the time I made it out to the receptionist’s desk, Melissa had already hung up. She likes for me to get it on that all-important first ring. She doesn’t like to wait.”

  Dunc nodded again.

  “Dr. Fulbright asked my mom if we would please find a new dentist. I really hate to see a grown man cry like that.”

  “Amos, you’re amazing.”

  “What? Oh, you mean because I won the cruise. Yeah, sometimes I even amaze myself.” Amos headed for the door. “Well, I have to go. I’ll be back later to help you pack.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I need to get home. Melissa may have heard about the cruise by now. She’s probably been trying to call.”

  Dunc smiled.

  “I can’t believe it. We are actually standing in the Miami airport. Tomorrow we’ll be cruising around in the Caribbean. It’s unreal. What’s the name of the hotel we’re staying at tonight?” Dunc asked.

  Amos was watching the luggage carousel go around. “I don’t remember. It’s one of those big ones. The Tilton, I think.”

  “There’s mine.” Dunc grabbed his suitcase.

  “I wonder where mine went. I tied one of Amy’s new red hair ribbons on the handle so I’d be sure and recognize it.”

  “It’ll turn up. Be patient. We have plenty of time. Your folks went to see if the cruise line sent a car for us.”

  “There it is,” Amos said. “No wonder I didn’t see it before—the ribbon came off. Oh, well. Let’s go find my parents.”

  The ride was a blur. The driver of the minibus broke land speed records getting them to the hotel.

  Amos’s dad tried to get him to slow down so they could see some of Miami, but the man did not understand English. Mr. Binder attempted to ask him to slow down in Spanish, but it came out, “Please, sir, can I have a drunk tortilla?”

  The driver looked at him strangely and went even faster.

  When they arrived at the hotel, the driver put the luggage on the sidewalk and took off at something close to the speed of light.

  Amos craned his neck to see the top story of the hotel. “Wow! I hope our room is on the very top.”

  Their rooms were on the fifteenth floor. It wasn’t the top, but it did have a balcony overlooking the ocean.

  Amos threw his suitcase on the bed. “Come on. Let’s look this joint over.”

  Dunc was carefully hanging his clothes in the closet. “In a minute. Let me get unpacked.”

  Amos had always thought Dunc was too organized for his own good. He turned on the TV and plopped onto the other bed. The news was on. A reporter was telling about a robbery that had taken place in Fort Lauderdale earlier this morning.

  “I’m glad we only stopped in Fort Lauderdale to change planes,” Amos said. “Those guys look mean.”

  Dunc was hanging up a T-shirt. He leaned over to see the television. “They’re ugly too. Look at that one. He has a scar down the side of his face. I’d sure hate to meet him in a dark alley.”

  Dunc closed his empty suitcase and put it in the closet. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  They headed straight for the top of the hotel, where they found a swimming pool and a Jacuzzi. The view of the ocean was spectacular. It was blue as far as you could see.

  “Let’s go get our trunks on,” Amos said. “This pool has my name on it.”

  They rode the elevator back down and raced the length of the hall to their room.

  A tall, extremely thin man was bent over the door to their room. When he saw them, he turned and walked quickly around the corner.

  Dunc grabbed Amos’s arm. “Did you see that?”

  “What?”

  “That man was trying to break into our room.”

  Amos made a face. “Give it a rest. You’re not solving any mysterious crimes on this trip. The guy probably works for the hotel.”

  “I don’t know. He sure acted funny.”

  “Lighten up. This is a vacation. Save all that detective stuff for when you get home.” Amos unlocked the door. “Last one in the pool is maggot food.”

  He grabbed his suitcase. It was locked. “That’s funny. I know I didn’t lock it. I don’t have a key.”

  Dunc tried to open it. “Go see if your mom has a hairpin or something we can use to get it open.”

  Amos ran across the hall and came back with a long hairpin. He wiggled it in the lock until it popped open.

  “Oh.”

  “What’s wrong?” Dunc asked.

  Amos stared in the suitcase. “This isn’t my stuff.”

  “You must have grabbed the wrong bag at the airport.”

  “What do I do now?”

  “You search it and see if you can find out who it belongs to.” Dunc picked up the phone. “I’ll call the airport and see if they have your bag.”

  The clothes obviously belonged to a man. Whoever owned the bag was traveling light. Everything was brand-new. A new set of clothes, new shaving supplies, and a newspaper.

  Dunc put the phone back down on the receiver. “The airline doesn’t know what happened to your suitcase. They’re going to check on it. And no one from our flight has reported theirs missing. Did you find any identification?”

  Amos shook his head. He picked up the suitcase. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  “The guy at the airport said to hang on to it until he gets back to you.”

  “When exactly is that going to be? We’re leaving in the morning. What do they want me to do? Wear the same sweaty clothes for seven days while I drag some strange man’s stuff all over the Caribbean?”

  “It’s a good thing you let me hold our tickets,” Dunc said.

  “I wish my parents had let you hold theirs. Then they’d be here instead of racing back to the hotel to get them,” Amos said.

  Dunc looked at his watch. “They’ll be here. They’ve still got forty-five minutes. While we’re waiting, let’s look around the ship.”

  Amos turned around and bumped smack into a little girl.

  “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

  The little girl straightened her dress and smoothed her long hair. “No, I’m perfectly fine, thank you.”

  Amos started to walk away. She pulled on his sleeve. “My name’s Vanessa. What’s yours? I’m five years old. I go to school. I can write my whole name, and I can count to one thousand without stopping. What’s your friend’s name? I have a cat. Her name is Amanda. We play house. Do you like to play house?”

  Amos looked at Dunc. He patted Vanessa on the head. “We have to go now. ’Bye.”

  Vanessa grabbed his sleeve again. “I have to stay right here. My mommy said I can’t go anywhere. She wants me to wait for her. You can wait, too, if you want. I have a doll. When my mommy gets back, I’ll ask her if I can show my doll to you.”

  Amos uncurled Vanessa’s fingers from h
is sleeve. “I’d really like to see your doll, but I need to go. Now.”

  Dunc laughed. “Does Melissa have competition?”

  “Don’t be dumb.”

  They walked out on one of the decks. People had already changed to bathing suits and were sitting by the pool sipping drinks with umbrellas stuck on top.

  The ship was a floating entertainment center. It had its own gambling casino, movie theater, stage show, three lounges, a banquet hall, shuffleboard, volleyball, video game room, skeet shooting, and mini–shopping mall.

  They wandered from room to room exploring. A woman in a blue sailor suit gave them a list of the classes that would be offered aboard ship. They could choose from painting, karate, aerobics, snooker, dancing, snorkeling, and shooting.

  Another woman gave them a schedule of floor shows, movies, and sight-seeing tours.

  “Didn’t I tell you it was going to be great?” Amos said.

  Before Dunc could answer, an announcement came over the ship’s loudspeaker.

  “All nonpassengers will please leave the ship at this time. Once again, all nonpassengers are asked to disembark at this time. We are about to set sail.”

  Dunc looked at his watch. “Oh, no. It’s time! Let’s find out if your parents made it—come on!”

  They raced down the narrow hall to the boarding area.

  “I don’t see them anywhere,” Amos said.

  A small hand tugged on Amos’s sleeve. When he looked down, he saw Vanessa smiling up at him. “What’s the matter, boy? Did you get lost from your mommy?”

  “No—yes. Well, sort of.”

  “If you get scared, you can stay with me.”

  “Thanks, Vanessa. Not right now. I need to look for my mommy—uh—mom.”

  The ship started to pull away from the dock. People were screaming and throwing streamers and confetti.

  Amos stared at the shore. “How could this have happened?”

  Dunc looked around. “Don’t worry. They’re probably on board somewhere. Let’s go check their cabin.”

  Another announcement came over the ship’s loudspeaker: “Will passenger Amos Binder please report to the main deck.”

  They climbed back up the stairs.

  “I don’t see them,” Amos said.

  A woman with a clipboard walked over. “Are you Amos Binder?”