A GHOST OF A CHANCE
by Joan Carris & illustrated by Paul Henry
A summer-vacation novel with everything—dolphins, buried treasure, a pirate's ghost, and a most appealing cast of humans. The Wagners are vacationing in bayside Beaufort, N.C. Punch, 11, is annoyed that his father has arranged for taciturn Skeeter Grace to show him around; but when the boys discover a common enthusiasm for dolphins, their touchy relationship becomes a tentative friendship. Beaufort boasts a haunted mansion that once belonged to Blackbeard; local tales of plunder hidden on nearby islands inspire Punch to organize treasure-hunting expeditions. The boys never find Blackbeard's treasure, but they do uncover artifacts of historic value; they also find trouble when they sample a cache of buried liquor. And, on a midnight visit, they encounter a terrifying apparition that turns out to be a sometime actor and caretaker who guards the vacant mansion from trespassers by pretending to be Blackbeard's ghost. Carris (Witch-Cat, 1984), who has a sure touch with the supernatural, leaves just enough of the ghostly manifestations unexplained to tweak the imagination, and weaves in salutary messages about respect for marine life and the dangers of alcohol. Map; occasional full-page b&w drawings. (Fiction. 9-12)