It is the summer of 1943, sixteen-year-old friends Scott and Adam have gotten jobs working on the Rapids Prince, a ship that takes passengers on the day-long trip from Prescott to Montreal and through the Long Sault Rapids. Though they are young and inexperienced, jobs are plenty with the war on and so many men away fighting in Europe.
The ship has just entered the rapids when someone yells, “Man overboard!” Passengers and crew rush to the side, and the first mate throws a life ring into churning water where someone else says he saw a hand disappear below the waves. Captain Plum contacts the police, and, when the ship reaches the end of the rapids, orders a lifeboat into the water to search for the man or his body, but nothing turns up. No one reports a missing husband, father, brother, or son, so the captain asks all passengers to report to the purser’s office. Everyone is accounted for except a man named Derek Patterson.
The name rings an ominous bell in Scott’s head. Prior to the ship’s departure, he had snuck away from his duties to check out the Packard Twelve Touring Sedan parked next to the pier. Thinking Mr. Dale, the wealthy man who owns the car and who minutes earlier had checked in with the purser for the day’s trip, was safely aboard The Rapids Prince with his chauffeur, Scott sat on the car’s running board, the wide step that runs along each side of the Packard.
He was startled to hear the sound of talking coming from inside the car, and recognized the voices both Mr. Dale and the chauffeur, only the chauffeur was calling the other man Mr. Vandam. As Scott listened, Vandam told the chauffeur that they were waiting for someone called Heinrik, an explosives expert, who would then accompany them aboard the Rapids Prince, and added that Heinrik thought he was been followed by a government agent named Derek Patter… Scott, who had heard rumours of a German U-boat carrying enemy agents landing on Canada’s shores, began to suspect that Vandam, his chauffeur and this Heinrik must be working for the Nazis.
Uncertain what to do with what he had just overheard, the teenager ran back to the ship. Unfortunately, he was observed by the occupants of the Packard Twelve Touring Sedan.
Back aboard the Rapids Prince, Scott considered telling the captain about the men in the car but decided against it. He knew he’d be fired if Captain Plum learned he was absent, even briefly, from his duties. Instead, Scott promised himself he would discuss things with Adam just as soon as he could get his friend somewhere quiet.
The Rapids Prince docks a little behind schedule in Montreal that evening. Scott has just caught up with Adam when the chauffeur appears at his side, offering to show him the Packard. Torn between alarm and interest and accompanied by a curious Adam, the teen follows the chauffeur across the pier to where his boss waits. Scott is almost at the car when he looks into Vandam’s eyes and realizes it’s a trap. He turns and runs, but the two men grab Adam, throw him into the back of the Packard, drive off.
Determined to rescue his friend, Scott leaps on the back of the car and hangs on as it speeds through the streets of Montreal until stopping outside a duplex. He tries to pull the now tied up and blindfolded Adam away from his captor, but Vandam slaps him and says, “If you say one word to anyone about what you overheard this morning, your friend’s life won’t be worth a plugged nickel.” Scott finds his way back to the Rapids Prince, his thoughts filled with worry. His friend is being held captive by enemy agents and he can’t tell anyone.
Written by Curtis Parkinson, Man Overboard! recounts the story of Scott, a sixteen-year-old boy who, during the height of World War II, stumbles across German agents intent upon striking a blow against the Allied war effort. When his friend Adam is kidnapped by those agents, Scott is forced to stay quiet while he worries for his friend’s safety and tries to find and rescue him. Steeped in Canada’s war history, this is a thrilling book for readers from Grade 5.
FernFolio Editor
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Man Overboard by Curtis Parkinson
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