Judy sighed. “I really need to work on my travelogue.”

  “Travelogue,” said Mrs Brown, pointing at the Scrabble set. “Fourteen points, and that’s without the triple word score.” She beamed.

  Judy rolled her eyes and put her headphones back on.

  Mrs Brown tried not to look hurt and said to herself, “All right, darling. No, you carry on.”

  It was evening and the boat was moored up for the night. Inside, it was lit up with lots of twinkly lights and a delicious-looking colourful dinner of local vegetables and fruits was laid out for the Browns by their hosts. The family murmured with delight as they took their places at the table.

  “Buen provecho, my friends,” said Hunter, offering a tray of large non-alcoholic cocktails complete with pretty umbrellas. “And to drink, chicha moradas – made from Peruvian purple corn. Magenta heaven in a glass.” He handed one to Mrs Brown, who was excited to try it.

  “Ooo! ¡Muchas gracias!” she said enthusiastically.

  Mr Brown gave her a look.

  After handing the drinks out, Hunter said, “Tomorrow we will arrive at Rumi Rock.” He held his drink high and gestured to Aunt Lucy’s chart on the table. “So, a toast …” he announced.

  Paddington gave a loud slurp, his snout already inside the glass. He finished the drink off noisily. “Oh, excuse me,” he said, looking up at the others. He had a purple juice moustache on his face! He took another drink and held that up for the toast.

  “To finding Aunt Lucy …” said Hunter.

  As everyone raised their drinks, Hunter spotted Aunt Lucy’s bracelet on Paddington’s arm. He stared at it with a strange intensity.

  “Hear, hear!” said Mrs Brown.

  Everyone tucked into their drinks. But Hunter’s eyes kept darting back to the bracelet. His manner became shifty.

  “So, tell me, young bear, why was your aunt so interested in Rumi Rock?” he asked.

  “We don’t know, Mr Hunter,” Paddington admitted. “The Reverend Mother said she was looking for something …”

  “She was wasting her time,” said Gina. “Rumi Rock is just a bunch of old stones.”

  Hunter waited as Gina headed to the galley, then he leaned forward. “A bunch of old stones that, according to legend, is the first step to finding … El Dorado …!”

  The Browns all had purple juice moustaches now! They looked up at Hunter with shocked expressions.

  Paddington just looked confused. “You mean … the piri-piri chicken shop on Edgware Road?”

  “He means the mythical lost city,” said Jonathan.

  “Yes,” said Hunter eagerly, “you have all heard the legend of El Dorado? The city made entirely of gold, forever lost in the jungle.”

  Paddington looked intrigued as Hunter played with a lighter, staring at the flame.

  Hunter continued. “You have not heard the true story … Would you like to hear it now?” He rested his eyes on Mrs Brown.

  “We’d love to!” she said.

  “Or after we’ve eaten,” said Mr Brown. “It’s probably quite long.”

  Hunter pulled down a book of old prints from a shelf. In a low voice, he began to explain what they were.

  “When the Spanish invaders came, they took all the treasures of Peru – apart from one. The most precious treasure of all – the gold that the Incas valued more than anything else. It could not be found …” He turned the page to reveal an image of Incas handing over boxes of golden treasure to some creatures covered with leaves.

  Hunter went on: “This is because the Incas had entrusted it to ‘Los espíritus del bosque’ – the spirits of the forest – who promised to keep it secret and hidden forever.” He pointed at the treasure in the pictures and continued. “That is El Dorado.”

  “Are you suggesting Aunt Lucy was … looking for El Dorado?” asked Mrs Brown.

  Hunter shrugged. “Aren’t we all? In our own ways?”

  “No,” said Jonathan.

  “But why would she be looking for El Dorado, Mrs Brown?” asked Paddington. “She has no interest in gold.”

  “Let’s not get carried away by some old drawings in a book,” said Mr Brown. “If El Dorado exists, then why’s no one found it?”

  “Because none of them had this,” said Hunter. He turned another page. It showed a bracelet that looked just like Aunt Lucy’s. “It is said,” he continued, now staring pointedly at Paddington, “that the only clue the Incas left to where the espíritus del bosque hid the gold was in a special bracelet. A bracelet like yours!”

  Everyone looked at it, and then looked at the bracelet on Paddington’s arm.

  “Where did you get that?” asked Gina, sitting back down.

  “It’s Aunt Lucy’s,” said Paddington. “She always wore it.”

  “It is the key to finding El Dorado!” cried Hunter. He grabbed Paddington and pulled the bracelet into the light.

  “Wow!” said Mrs Brown.

  “There’s no reason why Aunt Lucy would have an ancient Inca bracelet,” said Mr Brown.

  “But she did!” said Judy. “Look! It’s the same!” She pulled Paddington’s paw as well.

  “It may well look the same …” began Mr Brown.

  “Honestly, Henry,” said Mrs Brown, “you’re really taking the fun out of this.”

  Paddington’s paw was being yanked around the table as everyone discussed the bracelet.

  “It’s just an ordinary stringy bracelet,” said Mr Brown, but he grabbed Paddington’s paw too.

  “It is not an ordinary bracelet,” said Hunter. “It is quipu.”

  “Quip-who?” said Mr Brown.

  Hunter whipped the bracelet off and poor Paddington immediately fell over. Hunter stretched out the bracelet so that everyone could see it was made with a complex set of colourful knots. “An ancient Inca knot language used for secret messages,” he said, pointing at each in turn, “hidden in riddles …”

  Mr Brown rolled his eyes.

  Paddington stared at the bracelet. “So, if we work out what this says, it might help us find Aunt Lucy?” he asked.

  “I believe so,” said Hunter, “and maybe even find El Dorado itself!”

  Mr Brown looked doubtful. “I’m sorry, but I don’t buy it. It’s just some drawings in a book, a mysterious bracelet, and a secret Inca riddle that …” He paused, realising what he was saying. “I suppose it is starting to stack up.”

  “Lend me this bracelet for a few hours,” said Hunter. “I may be able to translate it.”

  Gina gave her father a sharp look. “Everyone who searches for El Dorado dies,” she said.

  There was a wave of silence as this sank in.

  “Then we can’t let that happen to Aunt Lucy,” said Paddington firmly. He handed the bracelet to Hunter.

  The Browns were getting ready for bed. Judy was on the top bunk in the cabin she shared with Jonathan. She was flicking through Mr Gruber’s travel book. She paused at the picture of Gonzalo Caboto … then sniffed the air in disgust. “What is that smell?” she asked.

  On the bottom bunk Jonathan had been spraying Teenage Boy deodorant on himself. “Gotta smell good in the jungle, you know,” he said.

  Mrs Brown called out from the cabin she was sharing with Mr Brown. “Night, night!”

  Jonathan called back, “Night.”

  Mrs Brown was in bed sketching a drawing of Aunt Lucy. “Love you!” she called out. She waited hopefully but no response came. Mr Brown popped up from under the bed, wearing a head torch.

  “Clear!” he announced.

  Mrs Brown ignored him. “Very interesting man, Hunter, isn’t he?” she said absently.

  “Right,” said Mr Brown, sounding fed up.

  “If what he says is true,” Mrs Brown went on, “we could be on our way to finding Aunt Lucy and the lost city of El Dorado!”

  “I hope so, for Paddington’s sake,” said Mr Brown. “But, in my experience, tattooed charmers can’t always be relied upon.”

  Paddington meanwhile was out on the deck, trying to clamber into his hammock. He jumped in and was immediately spun out of it, his arms and legs flailing in all directions. He kept trying to get into it, talking to it in the hope it would stop moving.

  “Nice hammock! Steady, steady!” he said.

  In the final cabin, Hunter was wide awake. He was studying Aunt Lucy’s bracelet with a magnifying glass, making notes on a piece of paper and trying to decode the ancient message hidden in the knots. He was not alone.

  The ghost of Hunter’s gold-hunter ancestor, Gonzalo Caboto, had appeared from the portrait and was pacing behind him impatiently. “What does it say?” he demanded.

  “It doesn’t make any sense,” said Hunter.

  “Why not?” asked Caboto angrily.

  “Because it’s a riddle!”

  Suddenly Gina appeared at his doorway, looking suspicious. “Who are you talking to?” she asked. She couldn’t see or hear the ghost of Caboto.

  “No one,” lied Hunter.

  “You’re seeing the ghosts again, aren’t you?” said Gina. She looked worried. “We need to turn back!”

  “Gina, I’m fine,” said Hunter. He grinned broadly to show everything was all right.

  Gina was not convinced. “You made me a promise,” she said. “We don’t need gold.”

  “You’re right,” Hunter agreed wholeheartedly. “But if we had it,” he went on in a persuasive tone, “we could buy a real house with stairs and beds and … square windows!”

  “Papa!” Gina exclaimed.

  “We could bring honour to the family,” said Hunter.

  “But we only need each other,” Gina insisted. She looked really worried now. “You’ve got that look in your eye. I’m scared I’m going to lose you again – for good this time. Please, turn the boat round, Papa.”

  Hunter looked at the ghost of Caboto and then looked at the quipu on the table.

  “Do not listen to her!” hissed Caboto. “She does not understand – we need the gold! THE GLORY!”

  “You’re right …” said Hunter. He slipped the bracelet into his pocket and leaped up. “Let’s turn the boat right round, Gina,” he said. “Right now.”

  “You mean it?” said Gina.

  “You’re my treasure, and I love you,” he said.

  “Thank you,” said Gina, relieved.

  Caboto looked very angry, but Hunter ignored him. “Go and untie the mooring rope,” he told his daughter.

  Gina went out on to the riverbank in the warm night air. She was busy untying the rope, with her back to the boat. “I’m so proud of you, Papa. This could be a whole new chapter in our …” She pulled her end of the rope free … then realised the other end had been cut! She whipped round to see the boat drifting off, leaving her stranded on the riverbank.

  “PAPA!”

  Hunter stood on the boat, waving, with Caboto standing next to him.

  “I love you, Gina, but I have to get that gold. I have to! I’m doing this for the both of us …!”

  Caboto nodded sympathetically.

  Gina ran down the bank. “You double-crossing pig … ¡Maldito! ¡Estúpido! ¡Escoria!”

  “What a potty mouth,” said Caboto. Then he said to Hunter cheerfully, “And you – you really had me there! Maybe you’re not a failure after all.” He became serious again. “Come, we’ve got work to do.”

  Hunter hesitated, watching as the current took him away from his daughter. He felt terrible that he had tricked Gina, but he wanted that gold so much … He turned away and followed Caboto just as the boat hit some rapids and bounced a little. There was an ominous CREAK and a long shadow swung towards Hunter.

  “What’s that creaking noise?” Caboto asked.

  Hunter realised too late. “Boom!” he shouted.

  THWACK! The boom hit him hard and knocked him overboard into the dark water.

  SPLASH!

  Caboto immediately vanished.

  Paddington was asleep, tangled up in his hammock, clutching Aunt Lucy’s glasses. Drops of water landed on him from above. He twitched a bit in his sleep and wiped his face and then began dreaming of Mr Gruber’s statue before he was blinded by mystical golden light …

  Paddington awoke with a gasp and fell out of his hammock. “Oof!” he cried, looking around and shielding his eyes from the morning sun. His dream had left him feeling troubled.

  As the boat chugged on upriver, the Browns came up on the dining deck at the stern. They cheerfully took their places at the table.

  “I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with ‘J’,” said Mrs Brown.

  “Is it ‘jungle’?” asked Jonathan.

  “No, it’s something else …” said Mrs Brown.

  Paddington arrived, still clutching Aunt Lucy’s glasses.

  “Sleep well, Paddington?” Mrs Brown asked.

  “I keep having the strangest dream,” said Paddington. “Has anyone seen Mr Hunter? I’d love to know if he’s translated the bracelet …”

  “Or at least made us some breakfast,” said Mr Brown.

  Mrs Brown gave him a piercing look.

  “Well, it’s gone past ten, Mary!” said Mr Brown indignantly. He looked around and called out, “Hello? Any chance of some coffee?”

  Paddington went down the ladder to the saloon to see if he could find Gina or her father. It was eerily empty below deck.

  He called out, “Coo-ee! Mr Hunter?” Then he paused before the portraits of Hunter’s ancestors. They seemed to be glaring at him. He lifted his hat politely. Suddenly the boat bumped a little, jolting the piano, making it start playing automatically. Paddington leaped in shock, stumbling backwards into the globe drinks cabinet, which he suddenly found himself sitting inside, among the various bottles. The globe trundled backwards and clonked against a shelf. The impact sent a jar rolling. Paddington gasped in horror as he realised it was marmalade.

  “NO …!” He popped Aunt Lucy’s glasses down on the counter and leaped to catch the falling jar. He managed to catch it and let out a sigh of relief. “Phew …!” He was about to put the marmalade back, but paused for a moment, gazing at the delicious treat …

  Moments later, Paddington stepped up into the wheelhouse, guiltily wiping his mouth and holding an empty marmalade jar.

  “Um, Gina,” he began, “we seem to have run out of marmala …” but then he stopped – there was NOBODY AT THE WHEEL!

  Paddington thought for a moment, then spotted the dangling microphone. He quickly clambered up the spokes of the ship’s wheel and grabbed it, but doing this made the wheel spin round and the boat lurched dangerously to the side.

  Outside on the dining deck, Mr Brown said, “Is it me or is it getting a bit choppy?” Then he had an idea. “Actually, Judy – take another photo!” He put on his sunglasses again as Judy snapped a shot of him trying to lean in a cool way on the boat rail.

  Above deck in the wheelhouse, Paddington was now hanging above the ship’s wheel, tangled up in the curly microphone cable. The boat lurched again, and his hat fell off.

  Back on the dining deck, the speaker crackled to life. It was Paddington’s voice on the ship’s loudspeaker!

  “Er … good morning. Could the Brown family pop up to the front of the boat for an … um … emergency?”

  The Browns looked at each other. Then they leaped into action.

  Up ahead, the river divided into two. The boat was now veering away from the main branch of the river into a smaller stream, churning with white rapids. There were lots of large rocks in the water, which made the boat tip from side to side so that, on board, the Browns were sent flying! They staggered through the saloon towards the wheelhouse as the boat heaved violently. However, just as they reached the entrance, the piano, still playing a jolly tune, broke loose from its fixings and rolled in front of them, blocking their path. They yelled to Paddington through the wheelhouse doorway.

  “Paddington, what on earth are you doing in there?” Mrs Brown shouted.

  Paddington, still tangled in microphone cable, was now attempting to steer the boat away from danger with his feet. The boat leaned again, and a captain’s hat dropped on to his head.

  “Um … I appear to be driving the boat, Mrs Brown,” he said.

  “What? Where’s Gina?” asked Mr Brown.

  “She’s not here!” said Paddington. “I don’t think Mr Hunter’s here either!”

  “DAD!” Judy shouted. Through the window, she had spotted bigger rapids ahead.

  “Paddington, put it in reverse,” cried Mr Brown. “Put the boat in reverse!”

  “Good idea!” said Paddington. “Hmm … reverse …” He spotted a large lever and pulled it down with his foot. There was a loud noise from the engines and the propellers churned as the boat accelerated forward. “Oh no … that’s faster!” cried Paddington.

  Inside, the sudden speed of the boat made the Browns tumble back into the saloon, swiftly followed by the piano.

  Paddington, meanwhile, had clutched on to the ship’s wheel, which suddenly came off in his paws.

  The piano was now playing a jolly tune that was like a soundtrack for a chase! The Browns leaped through the back door just in time to avoid the piano jamming into the doorway. They collapsed in a heap – right back where they had started. It was then that Mr Brown spotted the mooring rope, hanging free.

  “We’ve got to stop the engine!” said Jonathan.

  “Where are the life jackets?” asked Judy.

  “Over there!” said Mrs Brown.

  Mr Brown and Jonathan ran up one side of the boat, Mrs Brown and Judy ran up the other. As they passed the wheelhouse, Judy peered through the window.

  “Where’s Paddington?” she cried.

  The wheelhouse was now empty … and the ship’s wheel had also disappeared …

  Meanwhile, back in the wheelhouse, Mrs Brown had found a hatch labelled “Emergency Supplies”. She yanked it open to find it was full of cocktail shakers, drinks and tiny umbrellas, which were no use at all!

  Jonathan and Mr Brown were running along the side of the deck as the boat tossed and heaved in the angry white water, the hull crashing against huge boulders. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Paddington, who had accidentally become lashed to the ship’s wheel by the microphone cable! Mr Brown and Jonathan whirled round to go in the opposite direction as Paddington rolled towards them at a dangerous speed. The boat then suddenly lurched, causing Paddington to roll away from them. Mr Brown and Jonathan chased after him. Then the ship’s wheel collided with some steps and smashed, sending Paddington flying towards the bow!

 

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