In October 2021, Clubhouse magazine challenged our readers to finish Juan’s story of mutiny at sea. We received over 200 endings! You can read our winners in the April 2022 issue. Here are five more exciting runners-up.
A Brave Speech
by Coleman, 13, from Kentucky
“I must get something loud enough to get the attention of the men who are fighting,” Juan says.
A crate with the word Pistols on it catches Juan’s attention.
Here’s something, Juan thinks, grabbing a pistol.
Juan carefully climbs the mainmast until he is high about the deck. “Here goes nothing,” he says, pointing the pistol straight up.
Kablam!
Owww, my ears, Juan thinks as he looks below. Surprisingly, everybody is looking up at him.
“Stop!” Juan yells. “We are not being loyal to King Charles. The king put Magellan in charge, not us.”
“We must stop this madness,” Captain Mesquita yells. “This is treason!”
. . . . . . .
“The mutiny was treason,” Magellan says the next day, “but I will spare you only because I understand your situation and because no one was killed. I agree this has been a tough voyage—”
“Tough?!” Captain Mendoza cries. “We are half dead from hunger!”
“Let me finish,” Magellan says firmly. “I believe God is leading me on this voyage, and King Charles has commanded me to find the passage from the Atlantic.”
As the men grumble, Juan nods his head. The men start to complain more, but shouts interrupt them.
“A passage! The land has ended!”
“Absurd!” Captain Mendoza cries.
“Captain Magellan, now you will be famous in Spain,” Captain Mesquita says.
“Yes, maybe I will even have some type of clothing named after me,” Magellan jokes.
Everyone laughs. It is the first laugh many of the men have had in months.
Never Too Late
by Meredith, 10, from Pennsylvania
“All right, I’ll join the mutiny!” Juan cried. Some men smiled, like Mendoza. Others frowned, like Mesquita.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Juan,” Mesquita said, “but I will defend Magellan with my life.”
His words hung in the air, and Juan nodded slowly.
“I fully respect your decision, Captain Mesquita,” Juan said.
. . . . . . .
A day passed as the plan went into full swing. Afterward, Juan looked guiltily at Magellan, all chained up.
“I’m sorry, Captain Magellan,” Juan murmured under his breath.
In the end, they had also chained up Mesquita. The plan was in full swing, yet Juan was feeling guilty.
It’s too late to back down now, Juan thought. Yet he still wanted to back down.
Juan decided to try to leave. That night as he left, he unchained Magellan and Mesquita.
“I’m sorry I supported the mutiny,” he said.
“We forgive you,” Magellan said. “Thank you for freeing us.”
The group went to prepare a rowboat for their escape. Suddenly, Juan spotted a dark form of a person that wasn’t Magellan or Mesquita.
“Mendoza,” Juan whispered. Sure enough, Mendoza and his goons stepped forward and lit a lantern.
“Step away from the boat or we’ll attack,” Mendoza said.
Juan frowned. “You never really cared about what happened to me. You just wanted me to help you with the mutiny.”
“You’re a smart one,” Mendoza said. “But not smart enough.”
Juan, Magellan and Mesquita took a step back. There were at the edge of the ship. One more step and they would all fall overboard and drown in the crashing waves. Mendoza stepped back to talk to his men.
Tears ran down Juan’s cheeks. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault we’re about to die,” he whispered.
“Oh, Juan. You’ve already been forgiven by us, but have you been forgiven by God?” Magellan asked.
“No,” Juan admitted quietly, “I will, though.”
Dear God, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I truly am. Please, forgive me of all my sins, Juan prayed.
As Juan finished praying, Mendoza stepped forward again. Their fate had been decided. Juan knew that whatever happened, he, Magellan and Mesquita would be all right.
Out of the Fire
by Logan, 11, from Texas
While Mesquita and Mendoza fought, Juan grabbed the signal lantern off the wall. He dashed toward the back of the ship, avoiding the fire that was starting to get out of hand. Juan had decided to remain loyal to Magellan. He quickly signaled the Trinidad, warning them of the mutiny and fire. The Trinidad immediately started making its way toward the San Antonio.
Most men were jumping overboard as the fire continued to spread. Juan reached the edge, then turned back to see Mendoza and Mesquita still locked in battle.
“If you will join our mutiny, there will be no more trouble for you and we can all return home!” Mendoza exclaimed.
“No! I trust my cousin Magellan!” Mesquita shouted.
As Mesquita and Mendoza’s swords clashed and clanked, the wooden planks below them began to weaken. Suddenly, the deck below Mendoza broke, sending him plummeting into the belly of the burning ship.
I need to get off this ship, Juan thought. He took a deep breath and jumped into the waves with Mesquita close behind him.
As Juan and Mesquita surfaced, Mesquita noticed Juan struggling to stay afloat. He paddled over to Juan and helped him onto a large wooden plank that had come loose from the ship.
“I am glad to see you remained loyal,” Mesquita said. “I noticed you signaled the Trinidad for help. I am proud of you.”
“Thank you. I knew it would be wrong to betray our captain,” Juan said.
Moments later, longboats from the Trinidad began picking up survivors. Once everyone was on the Trinidad, they began sorting the mutineers from the loyal sailors. As Magellan studied the line of mutineers, he noticed Cartagena, the former captain of the Concepción. Suddenly, Cartagena pulled out a knife and lunged toward Magellan.
“This is for throwing me in jail!” Cartagena shouted. But he stumbled as he ran toward Magellan, causing him to crash into the railing and fall into the sea. That was the last of Cartagena. The rest of the mutineers were made prisoners.
Juan learned that loyalty is important, but what’s more important is who you’re loyal to. From then on, Magellan and his sailors were careful to look for signs of mutiny.
The Secret
by Jodi-Lynn from Hawaii
Juan picked up the signal lantern. Hiding the lantern under his coat, he sneaked toward the crow’s nest. He was halfway there when someone jumped out of the shadows, grabbing Juan and covering his mouth with a cloth. In the scuffle, Juan dropped the lantern.
He struggled in the person’s powerful grip but to no avail. The person carried Juan to the storage room and shut the door behind them.
“Don’t scream. It’s me,” a familiar voice said, removing the cloth from Juan’s face.
“Cristobal!” Juan said. “What are you doing?”
“Be quiet or they’ll hear you. I need your help. We need to get a signal to Captain Magellan before Mendoza and Cartagena take over the ship,” Cristobal said.
“But I thought you were loyal to the mutiny,” Juan said.
“The truth is I am a spy for Captain Magellan. He thought something was strange, so he sent me to figure out what was happening. I was not to tell anyone about this plan, but I think I can trust you,” Cristobal explained.
“I was going to send a signal to Captain Magellan’s ship when you brought me down here,” Juan said. “I must have dropped the signal lantern upstairs. We have to get it and send a message to the Trinidad.”
The boys dashed up the stairs to find the ship in flames. Juan grabbed the lantern and climbed to the crow’s nest. He quickly signaled the Trinidad and started to climb down. Suddenly, Juan felt the rope ladder shake. He looked down to see Captain Cartagena starting to climb the ladder.
“Lord God, please deliver us and keep us safe,” he prayed.
Boom! The Trinidad’s cannon fired a warning shot at the San Antonio. Captain Cartagena climbed down the ladder and ran to a longboat to abandon ship with the other mutineers. Juan saw Cristobal was tied up and gagged, but otherwise he looked OK.
“Thank you, Lord!” Juan cried.
Danger in the Waves
by Arlie, 15, from Mississippi
Juan took a deep breath and plunged into the heat of battle. Fear tingled down his spine as he ran across the deck, dodging swords. Jumping on top of the railing, Juan dove into the ocean and came up about 10 yards from the ship.
Juan looked back in time to see a group of mutineers headed for the lifeboat. Their destination could only be one place: the Trinidad.
Juan plunged beneath the water and swam for all he was worth. Suddenly, fear gripped his heart. He could see a shadow swimming over him. Juan frantically swam to the surface. His ears filled with the shouts from the lifeboat.
“Shark!”
Juan realized he was swimming in shark-infested waters. He looked for the Trinidad.
There! he thought. The Trinidad had been sailing toward the burning San Antonio. It was only 100 feet away. Juan whispered a prayer for protection before going under for the last stretch.
Juan could sense the large fish swimming near him. All around he could feel the water swirling.
Lord, You are the only One who can keep me safe. Please send the sharks away, Juan prayed.
Juan couldn’t hold his breath any longer. He surfaced 10 feet from the Trinidad. Frantically, he tried to swim the remaining distance, but fear seemed to drag him down.
Just then, Juan realized a sailor from the Trinidad was yelling at him. Several sailors thrust a heavy rope over the railing down to Juan.
Splashing and gasping, Juan gripped the rope and was lifted to safety. He fell to the deck gasping for breath and shaking all over.
“Thank You, Lord,” he whispered. Then he remembered the mutiny.
Magellan had come to the deck to see what all the commotion was about.
“Please, sir. I must talk to you, “Juan said. “There is a mutiny on the San Antonio.”
“I was afraid of this,” Magellan said. “You have done a very brave thing by risking your life to warn me. Thank you.” Juan knew deep in his heart he had done the right thing. Who knew? Maybe they would even sail around the world.
Read more about Magellan’s voyage in the 28th Imagination Station novel, Islands and Enemies.
