The Enid Blyton Adventure Series – Plot Synopsis – Book Seven: Ship of Adventure
Bill and Allison prepare for their wedding the next day. They are going on a cruise around the Channel Islands for their honeymoon. Sir George phones. He orders Bill to drop everything and get on the trail of arch villain, Slade who is potentially behind a coup. Allison is devastated. The kids suggest that they go on the cruise with her. She agrees and as Bill gets to work the rest of the family set sail.
As they get used to the ship and meet Ingrid, their stewardess, Bill pores over his computer. Igor, a known associate of Slade, was last seen at a museum stealing a Roman Galley in a bottle. Is there a connection?
Slade is behind the theft. He is searching for an old map hidden in one of the four Galley’s around the world. He has retrieved three. Nothing. He intends to search for the last one himself and find the map it contains which will lead him to the ancient treasure of Andrea.
On the ship Lucy-Ann realises she has no present for Jack’s birthday. Ingrid tells her of an old shop in the next port which has nautical memorabilia for sale. Lucy-Ann decides to try it. She finds an old Roman Galley in a bottle, dusty and neglected. Perfect. She leaves the shop as Slade and Igor arrive.
They are too late. Igor pretends to be sick and while Allison and the kids go to his aid, Slade steals the carrier bag that he thinks contains the Roman Galley. Unfortunately, it only contains parrot seed. Slade sends Igor off to follow the kids and devises his own strategy.
Next day at sea a helicopter lands on the ship with two new passengers. It is Slade disguised as Eppy and his son Lucas. They meet the family. Lucas gives Jack a belated birthday present, a watch with a tracking device on it.
That night Igor tries to steal the Galley as the boys sleep but Kiki scares them off and the bottle falls to the floor, smashing. When Jack picks it up he finds a crack in the Galley. Closer inspection reveals an old map. Could this be the map to Andrea’s treasure? They decide to find out. Crouched in the broom cupboard next to their cabin, Igor listens, his ear pressed to a glass tumbler.
In the morning Igor manages to bug the kids room. Slade listens in on the receiver. Igor tries to steal a map from Jack but Slade intervenes and Igor is arrested as a stowaway. Slade must be a friend.
Ingrid tells the kids about an old friend of hers who lives at the next port, Owen. She cannot decipher the map but Owen might be able to help. Jack scans the map into his PC and discovers that the coastline matches the island they are to stop at the next day, Anders Isle. The kids are excited.
Allison gets a telegram from home, Uncle Joss is ill. She has to fly home. Slade volunteers to keep an eye on the kids. Next day Allison leaves for home and the kids set off to find Owen, followed by Igor. Owen helps them decipher the writing and on their way back to the ship they evade the menacing Igor. In their cabin the girls discover a bug on their table light. The kids set a trap and discover Lucas and Slade are villains planning to buy zillions of guns with the treasure. They decided then and there to find the treasure for themselves and prevent Slade from acquiring it.
Slade watches their movements on the tracker in his room. They will catch up with them next day.
Allison arrives at Craggy Tops to find Uncle Joss hale and hearty. She realises she has been tricked and gets Joss to run her back to the airport post haste. Bill is tracking down the fourth Galley last seen in the Channel Isles. Sir George suggests he should meet up with the family while looking into it. He jumps at the opportunity.
The kids follow the map, the villains track the kids. Jack discovers the bug in his watch and uses it to decoy the pursuers. They find the treasure but the villains catch up with them following a trail of butts that have fallen out of Lucy-Ann’s rucksack.
Bill arrives at the Ship and searches for clues as to the kids whereabouts. In a packet of developed film he recognises Slade. The kids are in danger. Ingrid sends him to Owen. As he leaves the ship he meets up with Allison.
The kids, including Lucas, have been tied up, the villains are getting away with the treasure. They manage to escape and with ingenuity, hold up the villains long enough for Bill and Allison to arrive and arrest them.
Later in Owen’s garden, Bill and Allison get married. Dinah and Philip have a new dad. No more adventures. The kids agree, their fingers crossed behind their backs.