The Invisible Island (2 page)

The kids waded back into the river. A few minutes later, they were squishing their way up River Road to Ron’s Bait Shop.

Ron Pinkowski lived in an old house next to the river. On the ground floor, he sold bait, boating supplies, and groceries. He also repaired and painted boats and fixed boat motors.

The kids trudged down a dusty driveway to the house. Several small
boats were lined up in Mr. Pinkowski’s big yard along the riverbank. A striped cat slept on the back step. Out the back door trailed a long orange extension cord. The kids followed the cord around the side of the house.

They spotted Mr. Pinkowski under a shady tree, sanding a boat bottom.

“Hi, Mr. P,” Dink said.

Ron Pinkowski switched off the electric sander. He was tall and sandy-haired, and sported a curly beard and droopy mustache.

“Well, hi, kids. What’re you up to today?” he asked, smiling.

Ruth Rose pulled the hundred-dollar bill out of her pocket. “I just found this on Squaw Island,” she said.

“Goodness,” Ron said. “Aren’t you a lucky gal!”

“We saw some marks in the sand from a boat,” Dink said.

“And some footprints, too,” Josh added. “Really big ones!”

“We think whoever was out there might have lost the money,” Ruth Rose said.

“Hmm, wonder who it coulda been.” Ron leaned against the boat and tugged on his beard. “Not many folks go
out there. The poison ivy grows somethin’ fierce in all that sand.”

“Yeah, and I think I walked right through some!” Josh said, scratching his leg.

Ron smiled. “All I have to do is
look
at the stuff and I swell up like a balloon,” he said.

“Could we leave a note here about the money?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Good idea, Ruth Rose. I’ll stick it up near my bait tanks.”

The kids followed Ron into his bait shop, where he handed Ruth Rose a pencil and pad.

She thought for a minute, then wrote:

“Shouldn’t you say how much you found?” Josh asked.

Ruth Rose shook her head. “If I write the amount, anyone could call and claim it, even if they didn’t lose it.”

Ron tacked Ruth Rose’s note to a small bulletin board. “Lots of people will see it here,” he said.

“Thanks, Mr. P,” Ruth Rose said. “I hope whoever lost the money sees the note.”

Ron grinned. “Wish it was me!”

The kids laughed. They said goodbye and headed for Duck Walk Way.

“So what’re you gonna do with the money?” Josh asked Ruth Rose. “I’ll be glad to hold on to it for you!”

Ruth Rose shook her head. “Nope. I’m giving it to Officer Fallon. It’ll be safe at the police station.”

Josh scratched his arm. “Let’s stop at Ellie’s on the way. Maybe an ice
cream cone will help me forget about this lousy poison ivy!”

The kids crossed the elementary school’s wide lawn and hiked down Main Street. As they opened the door to Ellie’s Diner, cool air washed over them.

After they ordered cones, Ruth Rose asked Ellie if she knew anyone who had lost money on Squaw Island.

“Someone with really huge feet!” Dink added.

Ellie shook her head. “Hon, I don’t even know anyone who goes out there. I hear it’s covered with poison ivy!”

She noticed Josh scratching. “Looks like someone else is covered with the stuff!”

The kids thanked Ellie and left. They worked on their cones on the way to the police station.

“I can’t believe we’re gonna just
give away a hundred bucks,” Josh said.

“If I get a reward,” Ruth Rose said, “I’ll split it with you guys.”

Josh grinned. “Now you’re talking!”

They found Officer Fallon sitting at his desk. He was watching his computer screen and sipping a glass of lemonade.

“Howdy” he said as the kids trooped in. “What can I do for you?”

“Look at this!” Ruth Rose said. She placed the hundred-dollar bill on his desk.

Officer Fallon picked up the bill and examined it. “Where’d this come from?” he asked.

“Ruth Rose found it on Squaw Island,” Josh told him. “We were out there having a picnic, and it was in the sand!”

“I’m trying to find out who lost it,” Ruth Rose said. “Mr. Pinkowski let me put a note on his bulletin board. I left my phone number.”

“This bill could’ve been lost a long
time ago,” Officer Fallon said. “Not many folks go to Squaw Island.”

He grinned at Ruth Rose. “If no one claims it, the money is yours to keep.”

“Really?” Ruth Rose said. “Cool!”

Officer Fallon put the bill in an envelope and sealed it. He wrote the date and Ruth Rose’s name on the outside.

“I’ll put this in our safe,” he said. “If it’s still here in thirty days, I’ll let you know.”

The kids thanked Officer Fallon and left.

“Gee, Ruth Rose,” Josh said as they waited for the light on Main Street. “Will you split the hundred three ways if you get to keep it?”

“I might,” she said. “If you’re extra nice to me!”

“I’m always nice to you!”

Dink whispered something in Ruth Rose’s ear.

“Okay, prove you’re nice,” she told Josh. “Come over tomorrow and mow my lawn!”

Josh laughed. “I have a better idea. Let’s go back to the island and look for more money!”

“Josh, we already did, and there wasn’t any,” Dink said.

“But we never found where the footprints ended,” Josh argued. “I’ll bet if we do, we’ll find buried treasure!”

“What about the poison ivy?” Ruth Rose reminded him.

Josh scratched his neck. “So what’s a little poison ivy?” he said. “I’m going back to Squaw Island tomorrow, and I’m bringing a shovel!”

He grinned at his friends. “You coming with me? Or do I keep the treasure all to myself?”

Dink yawned and looked out the kitchen window the next morning.

“Fog,” he muttered. He finished his cereal and put the bowl in the sink.

Just then, the doorbell rang. It was Josh, standing on the porch holding a shovel. “You ready to go?” he asked.

“It’s so foggy,” Dink said, looking over Josh’s shoulders. “I can hardly see across the street! We won’t find the island, let alone a treasure.”

“If there’s more money out there, I’ll find it,” Josh said, scratching his ankle. “Let’s get Ruth Rose.”

“I’m already here!” Ruth Rose said, appearing out of the fog.

When she saw Josh scratching, she said, “You better put something on that poison ivy, Joshua!”

“My mom said the same thing,” Josh said. He scratched his arm. “She gave me money to buy some calamine lotion. Now let’s get going!”

Balancing the shovel over one shoulder, Josh led his friends through Ruth Rose’s backyard and across Meadow Road. The tall, dewy grass on the other side soaked their sneakers and legs.

Near the river, the fog was even thicker. It hung in tree branches like miniature clouds. The kids’ faces and hair were wet.

“I can’t even see the river,” Dink muttered.

“It’s right here,” Josh said, splashing the water with his shovel.

“Yeah, but where’s the island?” Ruth Rose asked.

The kids gazed out to where they thought Squaw Island should be. All they could see was more fog. One patch looked a little darker than the rest.

“That must be it,” Josh said, stepping into the water. “Come on, guys, I can almost smell the money!”

“Like a hound dog,” Dink muttered.

The river was quiet. No birds sang. The kids’ legs splashing through the water was the only sound.

Dink began to imagine some fog monster creeping toward him. It had slimy green tentacles and six-inch-long teeth!

Dink was glad when the water
became shallower. Suddenly his foot struck dry land. They were on Squaw Island again!

The kids stopped and looked around. Wisps of fog hung over everything. Dink could barely make out the mound of boulders in the center of the island. He remembered yesterday’s sun on his back and shivered.

“This place is creepy in the fog,” Ruth Rose said. “I hope the sun comes out soon!”

“Okay, Joshua,” Dink said. “You got us out here. Now what?”

Josh dropped to his hands and knees. “Help me find the big footprints again,” he said.

The kids quickly found the prints and followed them to the squat, vine-covered boulder.

“So where’d Bigfoot go from here?” Josh muttered.

“It looks like the guy walked right into this big rock,” Dink said.

“Maybe he climbed over it,” Ruth Rose said.

Josh poked his shovel into the poison ivy vines covering the boulder. The shovel clinked against stone. Josh tried another spot. This time the shovel went straight in.

“Hey, guys!” Josh said. “I think I found something!”

Using the shovel to keep the vines back, Josh peered into a dark space.

“There’re two boulders here!” he said.

“And look,” Ruth Rose said. “A little path goes right between them!”

The path was hidden, covered with poison ivy leaves and vines.

“He must have gone through there,” Dink said.

“But it’s all poison ivy!” Ruth Rose said.

“Wait a sec,” Josh said. He chopped
at the poison ivy with his shovel until he had cleared a passage. “Just be careful,” he said.

Single file, the kids walked down the narrow path. Enormous boulders loomed over them on each side.

Soon they came to a small, sandy clearing in the middle of the rocks. The rocks were thick with poison ivy. The dew-covered leaves were dull green in the fog.

“I feel like I’m in some jungle!” Ruth Rose said.

“More prints!” Josh said, dropping down on his knees.

Dink got down next to Josh. “They look like they’re from the same guy” Dink said. “But there are so many! And they walk all over each other.”

“Now what, Josh?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Now we search for treasure,” Josh said. “We’ll take turns and dig all over this place!”

They began digging hole after hole. Ruth Rose found a rusty nail, but no treasure.

Soon the kids were sweaty and covered with sand. Josh started filling the holes back in so no one would step in them.

Dink flopped down against one of the boulders.

“WATCH OUT!” Ruth Rose yelled.

Dink jumped away from the rock.
Something was sticking him through his shirt!

“Ouch! What’s poking me?” he asked. He turned around so Josh and Ruth Rose could see his back. “Can you see anything?”

Josh grinned. “Just a hunk of poison ivy,” he said.

“Stop grinning and get it off me!” Dink yelled.

“I’ll get it,” Ruth Rose said. She
brushed at the twig with the shovel handle.

“Is it gone?” Dink asked, trying to see over his shoulder.

“This is amazing!” Ruth Rose said. “Look, Josh!”

“I don’t believe it,” Josh said.

“What’s amazing?” Dink cried. “What’re you guys
doing
back there?” He was already feeling itchy.

“This poison ivy is fake!” Ruth Rose said.

“Huh?” Dink turned around. Ruth Rose handed him a green sprig. The leaves were plastic and the stem was made of brown wire.

“I don’t get it,” Dink said. “Why would anyone…”

“This is too weird,” Josh said. He placed the shovel blade between the boulder and the fake poison ivy. Then he twisted the shovel and pried off a
section of vines. It came away from the face of the boulder in a sheet and fell flat on the ground.

“The whole rock is covered with plastic poison ivy,” Ruth Rose said. “Tied to a wooden frame!”

“Forget that,” Josh said. “Look what was under this stuff!”

The “boulder” wasn’t a boulder at all. The kids were staring at a large square cement slab.