When a terrified Pedro Molino overheard his uncle's scheme to kill him and seize his inheritance, he ran from the house, hid in the marshes of the Quadalquiver River, and desperately hoped his pursuers would think him drowned. Finally they gave up the search, and under cover of darkness Pedro returned to the house to say good-by to his old nurse before fleeing Seville for good.

But quick-witted old Rosa had devised a better escape plan than anything Pedro would have dreamed of. Riding at anchor in the harbor was a fleet of five vessels under the command of the famous Ferdinand Magellan; in just two days they would set sail for the New World, hoping to discover a waterway through the continent of America that would give Spain a new route to the rich Spice Islands of the Orient. Thanks to Rosa's persuasion, Pedro was signed up with Magellan's crew and on August 10, 1519, the fleet cast anchor.

Safe from his uncle at last, Pedro faced new dangers in his three years as ship's boy on the Trinidad. An attempted mutiny, the long-anticipated discovery of the strait, the naming of the Pacific Ocean, and the threats of the hostile Philippine natives are only a few of the dramatic events Pedro shares in Milton Lomask's thrilling recreation of one of the most momentous voyages in history.

From the dust jacket