Amazon Susan Troutt Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Authorhouse ISBN-10:  1425937373 Type: Fiction Pages: 275 Copyright: 2006 Historical fiction, high sea adventure, and a hunt for buried treasure The Child Pirate is the story of Briney McDoogal, abandoned by his mother and thrust upon his father, the brave pirate Captain Thomas McDoogal, and his crew of Gypsy Laddie pirates. Briney sails to the sandy shores of Jamaica and uncovers mysterious clues for a hidden treasure. But alas, as you shall soon read, all is not well for Briney. He must beware, for someone is watching his every move. Excerpt Her long raven hair billowed in the wind, brushing its curls about her face and throat as she stormed angrily down the street. Close to her chest, she held a tightly wrapped bundle. Determination showed in her eyes; her mind was set. When she reached the wharf, her grey eyes searched for someone to hold the bundle while she took care of business. “You there! Girl! Come here,” she summoned. A girl of about twelve answered her call. “Yes, Miss?” “Here, hold this for me. I shan’t be long.” She thrust the bundle into the young girl’s arms. “Why, it’s a baby, mum!” exclaimed the child. “Yes. Yes, it is,” agreed the woman straightening her blouse and waist cinch. “Wait for me in the shade of that tree.” She directed the girl, giving her a little push toward a large sycamore tree. The child stumbled slightly but then regained her footing and hurried from the hot, summer sun into the cooler, shady area. “I shan’t be long,” the woman repeated, calling over her shoulder as she ran along the dock toward the ship. The restless sea rocked the ship with its waves—high, low, high, low. The woman ducked and rose with each rock of the ship. A man appeared on the deck. Not many men were that slight of build. She recognized him immediately and called to him. “Alvin! Could you help me please?” Alvin Mitchell looked up, surprised to see a woman so near the ship. “Captain!” he called. “Come quick!” Thomas McDoogal heard the urgency in Alvin’s voice and took the steps two at a time reaching deck just in time to see the woman struggling to come aboard. “It’s a woman!” explained Alvin, pointing at her. “We’ll have bad luck for sure.” The captain allowed Alvin his superstitious indulgences. The bad luck of a woman on board ship was one of them. “I’ll handle this, Alvin,” he said, brushing the man aside. With authority, he strode toward the woman who by now had one leg over the side of the ship and was attempting to control her billowing shirts and raven hair in the wind as she held tightly to the ship, working to maintain her balance. “Madam,” he called, striding toward the woman. Before he could reach her, she tumbled, petticoats and all, onto the deck. She scrambled to her feet, holding her skirts together with one hand. With the other, she corralled her raven hair which flew wildly across her face. The ship rocked, throwing her off balance, and as Thomas McDoogal approached, she stumbled into his arms. “Effie!” he said in surprise. He held her at arm’s length, appraising her beauty. She was still as lovely as he had remembered. Effie assessed McDoogal’s handsome face. “Thomas,” she said. Her dark-lashed eyes looked directly into his, drawing him into her beauty. “How long has it been? A year?” Thomas remembered their time together last summer. “Yes, Thomas. It’s been just about a year since I’ve seen you.” “What brings you here?” he asked, noticeably under her spell. “I came to see if you were still alive.” “Clearly, I’m alive. I’m in the presence of a beautiful woman.” He smiled. Effie felt her heart flutter, but she was determined not to fall prey to his charms again. She held her gage steady. “I’ve brought you something, since you’re so alive.” She turned to attempt scaling the ship’s wall again. “Effie, wait. Let me lay the plank. Alvin!” he called. “Help me with the plank.” Alvin appeared from below deck but stopped in his tracks when he saw Effie. “Captain! A woman! A woman!” He cowered, crossing his index fingers in front of his face in the sign of an “X”. “A hex on you, oh woman, for bringing bad luck to our ship.” “Yes, yes, Alvin,” said McDoogal impatiently. “Give me a hand with this plank so she may leave.” Obediently Alvin rushed to the plank and lifted one end while his captain lifted the other. Together they fitted it into the slot. McDoogal extended his hand gallantly to Effie, assisting her departure from the ship. She looked at him, smiling sweetly. “I shall be right back.” Grasping the side of her skirts to keep them from blowing over her head, she strode up the wharf until she reached the shade of the sycamore tree. Beneath the tree, the young girl paced, making every effort to soothe the screaming baby. “I can’t make him stop crying, Mum!” she said desperately. “Here, give him to me,” directed Effie. As soon as the baby was in her arms, the crying ceased. “Thank you for your help,” she said to the girl. She tossed a coin from her pocket at the girl, then stormed off toward the ship again. Thomas McDoogal waited on the deck. He smiled when he saw Effie return. Effie paused at the edge of the plank, clutching the baby tightly, steadying herself for what lay ahead. Again Thomas guided her arm as she walked across the plank. “What have we here?” he asked full of curiosity. Effie thrust the baby into his arms. “Here! Take him. He’s yours! I’ve had enough of the brat!” Her grey eyes stormed with fury. With one swift movement, she spun on her heel and ran away as fast as she could. Thomas McDoogal watched the white of her petticoats blowing in the wind as she retreated. He looked at the bundle in his arms. When he pulled back the blanket, the baby’s red face puckered up. A loud wail filled the air. Alvin ran to the captain’s side. “What’s this? A baby? Where did it come from?” The captain raised his eyes in the direction of Effie, who by now had left the wharf and showed nothing but her back as she ran away. “See, Captain, I told you women on ships were bad luck!”

The Child Pirate
The Child Pirate

Susan Troutt, a former Burlington Elementary fourth grade teacher, brings readers the exciting story of Briney McDoogal, a boy who lives an eventful, happy life among the pirates until danger looms over his head, and he must solve a great mystery in her new book from the Tales from the Granite Countertop series, The Child Pirate.
Set in the early 1700s, best friends Thomas McDoogal and Junie Edwards are dismissed from Cambridge University. Believing the world owes them a living, they choose a life of piracy. Together, they commandeer a ship and name it the Gypsy Laddie after the hero in a 17th-century song.
Captain McDoogal believes in taking goods, not human lives, and that the crew should share all the goods that they acquire. Although the crew is small at first, other men enlist to enjoy the riches of pirate life, including shipwrecked Africans bound for slavery, indentured servants, and sailors from other ships. McDoogal also has an infant son aboard, Briney, who was cast off by his mother and adopted into the hearts of the crew.
Briney is locked in a cage during raids for his protection but learns to escape in order to see the action. He witnesses Katherine Stewart, a headstrong woman who was mistakenly thrown on board by the Africans, talk of a valuable object she has on the ship. Briney searches for the object, only to find an old orange tile.
One night, in the darkest of nights, an unknown interloper pounces upon Briney, revealing knowledge of Briney’s secret activities. Briney holds every crew member in suspicion and soon finds himself fearing for his life when chaos erupts. He struggles to discover the meaning of the orange tile he found, while avoiding the dangerous crew member who is tracking his every step. The Child Pirate is a gripping, action-packed adventure full of surprising twists that will delight children and adults alike.
Susan Troutt enjoyed reading and writing throughout her childhood and credits her teachers with nurturing her talents. At age fifteen, she wrote a series of articles for The Shively News, a Louisville area community newspaper. As a student at Morehead State University, she co-authored several reference books, and while working on her Master’s Degree at Northern Kentucky University, she wrote four life science books for Kentucky’s Boone County Cooperative Extension Service. She has also published “A Labor of Love” in the 1987-88 edition of The Boone County Writing Institute and biographies of Northern Kentucky African Americans Thomas “Tommy” Robert Lewis and Mary Blake that were included in Tales of our Lives. Though now retired from teaching, she still educates children through assemblies and writing workshops which open children’s imaginations to the wonder of words.