Cora Flash and the Treasure of Beggar's Bluff (3 page)

"Really?" he sounded genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, honest. Well, sort of. When I was researching my project, I discovered something else that interested me. It's a bit of a puzzle that I am trying to figure out."

"That sounds intriguing. Maybe you will present your second project to the class if it turns out to be as puzzling as it sounds."

"Maybe, but I've just started looking into it. It might turn out to be nothing."

Those words pained me. I felt awful that the clue on the small piece of paper might not turn out to be anything meaningful. At the same time, I only had a hunch that might not have led anywhere.

"Go for lunch then, and enjoy."

Every day for as long as I had been at the same school, I'd sat with Shelby and our friend Tricia Morgan. Tricia was in the same grade as us, but in a different class. There were an unusual number of eleven-year-olds in our school, so we were split into two separate classes, but we all knew each other and hung out.

"I heard your teacher was in jail," said Tricia.

"No, he wasn't," said Shelby. "He taught at a prison. He was not a prisoner."

I couldn't help but think it ironic that Shelby was deflecting the accusation against Mr. Levine since she'd started the rumor in the first place!

"Oh," said Tricia, sounding a little disappointed. "I guess that's different."

"What are you doing this weekend?" I asked.

"We are going sailing. Do you want to come?"

"Yeah!" I yelled.

"My mom told me to ask you," she said.

"Well I want to come, too!" cried Shelby. "Can I come?"

"Yes," Tricia said. "You are also invited."

Shelby's depressed expression immediately turned into a smile. "Thank you," she said graciously.

"That might help my project," I said. "I have to research shipping routes in our region. We'll be sailing right through the same areas. I can take some pictures to use for my presentation."

"You're showing pictures in your presentation?" asked Shelby. "Ugh, I can't show pictures of vegetables in my presentation. I'll get laughed at!"

"What time should we be ready?" I asked.

"We'll pick you up at nine on Saturday. Have a good breakfast before we get there."

We finished our lunch talking about the new boy in Tricia's class. Nathan, or something like that.

The rest of the day went by just as painfully slow as the first part. I could not wait for it to end so I could get over to the library and start searching for the answer to my clue!

CHAPTER SEVEN

As soon as the bell rang at the end of the school day, I grabbed my bag and ran to the door calling after Shelby. "Let's go!"

"Well wait for me, at least!" she yelled.

I really wanted to run all the way to the library, but Shelby was not interested in high-tailing it with me.

"Why are you so excited to research your project, anyway?" she asked. "Is shipping that interesting?"

"I don't know," I said, "I'm just anxious to get started. I don't like to leave anything to the last minute."

That was the truth, and she knew it. I was always prepared and had my work done well ahead of schedule, most of the time. Shelby, on the other hand, often did not get started on things until the night before they were due!  Surprisingly, she was able to get good grades and managed to stay out of trouble.

The library was a bit quieter than the night before; we were earlier and most people were still at work. It would be easy to search for the book I needed without people getting in the way.

"I'll see you at the tables later," I said to Shelby as I made my way to the back of the library.

"Okay," she said. "Try not to be too excited. It is a library after all."

I took out the piece of paper I'd found the night before and looked at the clue once more.
"Fortune and love favor the brave. CMXLVI JON."
The last part, which I'd determined to mean 946 JON is the reason I had to return to the library.

I knew that books in the library were filed under the Dewey Decimal system. Children's books were assigned a three-digit number followed by the first three letters of the author's last name. I guessed that 946 JON was the call number for a book. The clue I found in the shipping book was leading me to another book, in section 946.

Slowly, I walked down the bookcases until I came to the 900 section. I knew the 900 section had the history books, but I was not sure what the 940's section was. I started to see books that started with 940, and they appeared to be about the history of Europe.

As I made my way down the shelves, I saw books on Britain, then Germany, France and Italy. Next in the list was Spain, and all the books on Spain started with – 946!

Next, I began to skim the books to find ones that had JON as the first letters of the author's last name. There were only two,
The History of Ancient Spain
by Amanda Jonas, and
Spain's Enemies
by Steven Jones. I took both books off the shelf and started to flip through them, looking for anything that might be noteworthy.

The first book,
The History of Ancient Spain
contained no writing or notes tucked into the spine. I placed it down on the floor beside me and began to flip through the second book.

Near the back of the book, something did not seem right. Two of the pages appeared to be glued together. They were a bit thicker and stiff. I looked at the pages closely, and could see a spot where the glue was not right to the edge. Using my fingernail, I pried the two pages apart, and discovered the glue only ran around the edges of each of the pages, almost like a frame.

This left a spot in the middle of the pages where there was no glue—a perfect place for someone to tuck a small folded piece of paper.

I reached into the gap and pulled out the note someone had left. After unfolding it, I could not believe my eyes.

It appeared to be a treasure map, or half of one–hand drawn, with part of the map seeming to be water, a river or lake. There were no labels, so I couldn't tell what area the map illustrated. A single red 'X' was drawn over some jagged lines next to the water, cliffs or mountains of some sort.

Suddenly, I heard a noise from the other side of the bookshelf. I peeked through to find another pair of eyes looking back at me!

I let out a slight scream and dropped the book where I'd found the note. I made sure to hold on tightly to the map as I ran around to the other side of the shelf, but by the time I got around to the other side, the person had disappeared. I ran to the end of the row just in time to see a man in a beige trench coat run out the front door of the library.

"Wait!" I called out.

Mr. Burton wasn't behind the counter, so I couldn't ask him if he knew the man in the beige coat.

I could only stand helplessly in the middle of the library wondering who had been spying on me, and if he was after what I'd found.

A treasure map.

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Calvin, we have a treasure map!" I exclaimed. My dog responded by energetically wagging his tail.

Curiously, one half of the map appeared to be torn, but there was a big red X on the half that I had. A blue line pointed from the red 'X' to some words, "REE WISE" and "OW ALL" underneath. The first few letters of the writing must have been on the other side of the map, the half I didn't have.

"Whatcha got there?" asked my mom as she entered my room.

"It's nothing. Just a map."

"For your school project?"

"Yeah."

I wasn't in the habit of lying to my mother, but I had a feeling she wouldn't be too thrilled with me going on a treasure hunt, especially after my recent adventures with the Diamond of Madagascar and a close call with a ghost in Mount Topaz. I decided to not worry her by telling her about my latest finding. It might, after all, turn out to be nothing.

What could the treasure  be? Gold? Jewels? Maybe pirate treasure—a chest with priceless coins, rubies and gold chains overflowing onto the ground. I had seen too many pirate movies! Did my area even have pirates? Could that have been a possibility?

I grabbed the book on shipping routes I'd checked out of the library. Maybe pirates would be mentioned in there.

Flipping through the book, I found the reference to my region. The first paragraph of the section said:

The Filbert River was used mainly in the early 1800's and into the mid part of the century. After the railroads were built, shipping by river in this area declined heavily. The water levels changed frequently due to the runoff from main tributaries, and although this was controlled in the 1920s with the building of a dam, most of the transport had already shifted away to the railroads and the industry never recovered.

That sounded interesting, but said nothing about pirates. I skimmed through the rest of the section, mostly looking for the word "Pirate" or "Shipwreck", but did not see anything.

I started to research pirates on the Internet, and discovered they were actually a very serious threat in the heyday of shipping, with some believing it began when the first boats hit the water. Modern-day pirates were still active in some parts of the world, even now.

That night, I dreamed about pirates, and treasure and what I would do with all of the gold coins and jewels if I found them. Even though modern day pirates seemed to operate far away from where we lived, there was still the possibility that the map led to a stolen treasure... but what could the treasure be?

CHAPTER NINE

I returned home from school the next day to an empty house. Mom was still out with Ethan, so I'd have to take Calvin on his walk.

The year before, my mom had given me my own key so I could let myself in after school. It took a lot of convincing for her to let me stay on my own, but I hated when she made me go to Mrs. Trumble's house until she got back. Mrs. Trumble was nice, but all she ever had to drink was ginger ale and that always reminded me of when I had my tonsils out. I'd gotten sick of it the first day.

As soon as I entered the house, Calvin jumped up on me and started licking my face, his version of giving kisses. I thanked him with a gentle squeeze and reached for his leash, which we kept conveniently beside the front door.

I left my knapsack sitting by the front door, deciding to deal with it after we returned.

"Come on, Calvin," I said, leading him out the door.

Our typical walk only lasted about ten minutes. We would walk down about six or seven houses, not even making it as far as the corner, before Calvin would start pulling his leash, asking to be taken back home. I wasn't entirely sure if Calvin was a lazy dog, or just very stubborn.

On our way back, Calvin stopped a few times to relieve himself and endlessly sniff at leaves or grass until I pulled him away with a, "Let's go!" After a few minutes, I decided it was time to head home.

I unlocked the front door and let Calvin in ahead of me, unhinging him from his leash so he could tear about the house looking for one of his many toys. I picked up my knapsack from the hallway and headed for my room.

When I pushed open my bedroom door, I was shocked to see my room in a complete mess. My drawers were opened and turned out on the floor. My sheets were pulled right off the bed and thrown in a pile. The books I had carefully alphabetized on my bookcase had been dumped in a jumbled pile under my window.

My first thought was that Ethan had gotten inside my room and decided to pull things apart. My mom obviously had not noticed before she left, or she would have tidied it up.

"Ethan!" I shouted. "Ugh!"

As I started to pick up the books on the floor, I heard a noise from somewhere else in the house.

"Mom?" I called.

No answer.

I opened the door to my room and tiptoed out to the kitchen.

"Mom? Is that you?"

A crash thundered from the bathroom, the door flew open and someone came tearing out. The intruder pushed passed me, covering his face as he ran out the sliding doors at the back of the kitchen.

Calvin, clearly realizing this person should not have been in our house, began to hysterically bark at him.

The man ran out the doors with Calvin hot on his trail.

"Calvin!" I yelled as I took after them both.

I ran out the door just in time to see the man jump over the bushes that separated us from the row of houses on the next street.

Calvin was far too small to jump over the bushes himself, but he continued to bark furiously in the direction of the intruder.

The intruder, I could not help notice, had been wearing a beige trench coat, just like the man who was watching me at the library. It did not take me long to realize what the man was looking for. He was clearly after the treasure map.

CHAPTER TEN

"What do you mean there was a man in the house?" Mom yelled.

Twenty minutes had passed and she and Ethan had returned home. We were standing in the kitchen along with Officer Orzabal. As soon as I'd come back inside, I'd called the police, even before calling my mother to tell her to come home.

"Who was he?"

"I don't know. I came home, went to my room and noticed it looked like someone had gone through some things. When I went into the kitchen, the man pushed passed me and ran out the back door. Calvin tried to chase him, but he didn't catch him."

"You've got yourself a regular little police dog," Officer Orzabal said.

"Yeah," I replied. "He's pretty good at catching criminals, but not this time."

"Aarrgh," said Calvin, slumping to the floor, clearly disappointed that he hadn't caught the intruder.

"You're sure you're okay?" Mom said to me.

"I'm fine, really."

"What was he looking for?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," said Officer Orzabal. "From what we can see, nothing was taken from the house. Your jewelry wasn't touched, and neither was your laptop. And since both were in plain view, he would not have had any trouble finding them. And for some reason he seemed to be concentrating on Cora's room."