156 pgs. 2003. Upper elementary, middle school.

Punch Wagner has an awesome plan. He, his parents, his teenage sister Lila, and his friend, Tom, are going to Beaufort, North Carolina, where Blackbeard the pirate once lived... and where he probably buried his treasure. Excited by the idea of pirate loot, Punch and Tom decide to spend their two-week vacation secretly digging for it. Of course, they'll have to keep Lila from leaking their plan and find a way to enlist the help of their local “guide,” 11-year-old Skeeter Grace. A year younger than Punch and Tom, Skeeter turns out to be a bossy know-it-all who doesn't like Yankee tourists.

Still, he's the one who introduces Punch and Tom to the local dolphins, which reveals a different side to his character. Skeeter has a lot to offer. Soon, all three boys start digging, combing Beaufort and the surrounding islands for the pirate's buried treasure. Here is a fast-paced treasure hunt with surprising results—especially on the night they dig the ground in Blackbeard's yard.

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