Ernie and Aunt Jane attached the two canoes and the paddles to the roof of the car. Henry and Jessie squeezed the sleeping bags and life preservers into the back.
Then Aunt Jane, Uncle Andy, and the Aldens stopped for an early lunch at Piccolos’ Pizzeria. The Aldens had a large Pizza Supreme topped with cheese, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, and Mrs. Piccolo’s special tomato sauce.
At the next table, two men were talking very loudly. “I can’t believe someone broke into the museum and then didn’t take anything,” one of the men said.
“It is strange,” the other man answered. “The burglars only disturbed the coin collection. They didn’t even bother with the jewelry or antique silver.” Both men shook their heads.
“Did you hear that?” Benny asked Mrs. Piccolo. She was busy refilling Grandfather’s cup of coffee.
“Yes,” Mrs. Piccolo answered. “It’s good nothing was taken this time. About a year ago, a large private coin collection was stolen from a local man named Orville Withington.”
“I think I remember reading about that,” Grandfather said. “They never caught the burglars.”
“No.” Mrs. Piccolo shook her head. “They never did.”
“Maybe the same people broke into the museum,” Violet said.
“Yes, but if they did, why didn’t they take anything?” Jessie asked.
“I’m afraid you won’t have time to solve this mystery,” Grandfather said, knowing what they were thinking. “You’ll be far away from any burglars on your canoe trail.”
“Speaking of the canoe trail, I think we should be on our way,” Aunt Jane reminded Grandfather gently. “We’d like to make a good start this afternoon and get to the first campsite before dark.”
Uncle Andy looked at his watch. “From here, the drive to Wolverine State Park should only take about two hours. You should be on the lake by three in the afternoon,” he told his wife.
“It stays light late now,” Violet reminded her aunt. “We’ll have time.”
Grandfather paid the bill. Everyone except Uncle Andy piled into the station wagon. He stood and waved as they drove off.
On the outskirts of Silver Falls, they passed big red barns, potato fields, and small towns with low brick buildings. Farther and farther north, the children began to see pine forests. Timberwolf Lake shone in the distance.
“Oh, it’s so beautiful up here,” Violet said.
“The air smells so fresh,” Henry added.
“Grandfather, we have to turn at the next junction,” Jessie said, looking at the map. Grandfather turned onto a wide dirt road and followed the signs to Wolverine State Park. He stopped the car in front of a dock on Timberwolf Lake and helped his grandchildren and Aunt Jane unload all their equipment.
Everyone was busy. First Henry and Aunt Jane took the canoes off the top of the car and carried them to the water. Grandfather put the paddles and tents inside them. Benny carefully carried the waterproof bags of food from the car. Jessie and Violet packed the sleeping bags, life preservers, food bags, backpacks, and first-aid kit into the canoes. They were careful to put an equal load in each one.
Henry tied a long piece of rope to the front of each canoe. Jessie and Violet pushed both canoes into the water, while Henry and Aunt Jane held the ropes and walked the canoes toward the dock.
Benny took off his sneakers and socks and dipped his toes in the water. “Ooh, it’s cold!” he cried.
“The water hasn’t had time to warm up yet. It’s only spring,” Violet said gently. She felt sorry for her brother. She knew how much he wanted to go swimming.
“Benny, you won’t have to get your feet wet if you get into the canoe from the dock,” Jessie said as she tied the canoe lines to the dock.
Henry and Aunt Jane got into the canoes first and tried to hold them steady. With Grandfather’s help, Violet carefully climbed into Henry’s canoe. Jessie and Benny joined Aunt Jane.
Grandfather untied the canoes and threw the ropes to Henry and Aunt Jane. “Goodbye,” he waved. “I’ll meet you at the dock in White Pine in a week.”
“Good-bye, Grandfather,” his grandchildren called loudly. Benny waved. He was the only one not paddling. But he sat very still in the middle of the canoe, watching Jessie paddle in front of him. Aunt Jane sat behind Benny, steering with her paddle.
Aunt Jane took the lead and the two canoes moved slowly across the lake.
Pine and birch trees lined both sides of the rocky shore. Canadian geese flew overhead. The still, blue lake stretched ahead of the canoeists for miles.
“Look,” Jessie said, pointing to a family of ducks. “The mother is leading her ducklings out on the lake to look for food.”
“How old are they?” Benny asked.
“They may not be more than a day old,” Aunt Jane answered. “Ducks can swim as soon as they are born.”
“Really?” Benny said. He looked very impressed.
“Look at all those islands,” Jessie said, pointing with her chin toward the small rocky islands in the middle of the lake.
“We won’t go too much farther today,” Henry called to the other canoe, when the group had been paddling for more than an hour.
“That’s good,” Benny cried. “I’m hungry!”
The forests began to thin into a clearing. In the distance, the Aldens could see the remains of an old wooden house. In front of the house was a field filled with blue, pink, and purple wildflowers.
“This might be a good campsite,” Henry called to the others. “We could explore.”
The Aldens and Aunt Jane paddled ashore and pulled the canoes out of the water. They tied the ropes around a trunk of a large pine tree and took out their backpacks, sleeping bags, and a small bag of food for dinner and breakfast.
A dirt road wound through the field and into a small pine forest. Aunt Jane suggested they set up camp near a stream under the pine trees.
“Somebody else also thought this would be a good campsite,” Jessie said. She pointed to a heap of ashes on the ground.
“Henry and I will go back and get the tents out of the canoes,” Aunt Jane said, putting her pack and sleeping bag on the ground.
“Benny, Violet, and I can gather wood for a campfire,” Jessie suggested. “By the way, where is Benny?” she asked, as she turned around to look for her brother.
“He went to explore the old house in the clearing,” Violet said. Both girls found Benny poking a pile of stones with a stick.
“This might have been a chimney once,” Jessie said. The walls of the house had been made of wood, but now they lay in a pile of rubble.
“There’s lots of wood here for a fire,” Violet pointed out.
“Yes, let’s gather some,” Jessie said, stooping to pick up some wooden planks. “Watch out for the poison ivy,” she warned her brother and sister. A thick patch grew alongside the house.
“I saw it. Henry showed me what it looked like in a book,” Benny said proudly. “I didn’t go near it.”
Violet went into the forest near the house to gather smaller sticks and twigs.
She came running back to her brother and sister with a pile of sticks in her arms. “Come see what I’ve found!” she called to them.
Jessie and Benny followed her into the woods and stopped before a very large rock. Someone had painted a message on it.
“Look, there’s writing on it!” Benny leaned forward to see better.
“Yes,” Jessie agreed. “It looks like a riddle.”
In a clear voice, Violet read:
“Silver and gold coins, so well hidden
To seek and find them, you are bidden.
A cat with whiskers but no feet
Guards them near his silver sheet.”
“What does ‘bidden’ mean?” Benny looked at his sisters.
“It means telling someone to do something,” Jessie answered.
“Oh,” Benny said. “So, whoever wrote this message is telling us how to find a hidden treasure.” Benny beamed.
His sisters smiled back at him.
“You know, Grandfather was wrong,” Benny said. “We have found a mystery on the canoe trail.”
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