“We’re almost there,” Tom said, huffing and puffing. It was a very hot day.
“I hope I have enough strength left to dig!” Benny said.
“You will,” Henry told him. “If no one digs, we won’t find the treasure.”
The Aldens’ plan to escape early in the morning so none of the newspaper people would see them had worked perfectly. There hadn’t been a single reporter or photographer in sight.
“I wish I’d brought my camera,” Violet said as she walked down the sunlit trail. The tall reeds on either side of the path created a sort of natural corridor, hiding the group from plain view. “This is such a pretty place.”
The path brought them to a small footbridge that spanned a shallow stream, then curved sharply to the left before leading them into an open field.
“And there are the birds,” Tom said.
There were hundreds of them scattered all over the place, sitting on their little nests made of twigs and straw. They looked up curiously at the visitors, but none of them seemed too alarmed.
“Wow,” Violet said in a whisper.
“I’ll bet John Finney saw the very same thing,” Henry said.
“Maybe he stood just where we’re standing just now!” Benny guessed.
“That’s possible,” Tom replied. “And look over there.”
He pointed a little farther down the path. There in the distance, standing out from the other trees, was a small crowd of crooked pines.
“The pine trees!” Benny said.
“Yep,” Tom told him. “If the treasure’s not buried in there somewhere, then I have no idea where it is.”
“Are we ready to find out?” Grandfather asked.
“Ready,” Henry said, patting his shovel.
Checking the map one more time, Tom made his best guess as to exactly where the treasure was buried. Then he and Grandfather sat back and let the children do the digging. The loose, sandy soil was easy to cut into, but the growing heat of the day made the work exhausting.
After about an hour the children had made a hole nearly four feet deep and just as wide. Then they stopped to take a rest and have a drink.
“Boy, I’m beat!” Henry said as he poured out a cup of the ice-cold lemonade for Jessie. “And that hole’s pretty deep. How far down could the treasure be?”
“Maybe we’re not digging in the right place,” Violet pointed out.
Tom studied the map again. “Well, if it’s not here, then I know one or two other places it might be, but that’s about it. I still think it’s here, though.”
“What if we don’t find it?” Benny wondered.
“Then we don’t find it,” Jessie answered. “We’ll be no worse off than we are now.”
Benny considered this for a moment, then nodded. “That’s true.”
Grandfather smiled. He was proud of his grandchildren for not being so concerned with finding the treasure. They were happy on the inside, and finding or not finding the treasure wouldn’t change that.
Henry took another long sip from his cup, then set it aside and said, “Well, I’m going to get back to work. If the treasure’s down there, we’ve got to find it.”
Then a voice—an unpleasantly familiar one—said, “Yes, you do. You’ve got to find it so you can give it to me.”
Once again Winston Walker appeared out of nowhere. “So nice to see you all again,” he said with his usual charm. “And it’s even nicer to see that you’ve started digging already.”
“How did you find us?” Jessie asked. She couldn’t help it. “You never had the last piece.”
“I know, but shortly after I left you all, I was paid a visit by a charming little photographer lady.” He pulled a picture out of his pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “And look what she had for me—a very nice shot of the last piece of the map. Seems she was in the right place at the right time a few nights ago.”
“Meredith Baker,” Jessie said.
“Yes, I believe that was her name,” said Winston Walker. “She’s quite a businesswoman. This picture cost me a pretty penny, but at least it led me here. I congratulate you youngsters on your detective skills. It seems as though you have solved the mystery of the pirate’s map. And I was hoping to do that myself,” Walker told them.
“They haven’t found the treasure yet, Mr. Walker,” Grandfather said sharply.
“I can see that. But if they do, I know they’ll be sensible and hand it over to me. After all, I’m the one who’s spent half of his life searching for it.”
The children looked at one another as they stood in the hole they’d dug. Then Benny sighed and said, “You can have whatever we find, Mr. Walker. It seems like you want it a lot more than we do. We don’t need it.”
A smile spread across Winston Walker’s face. “That’s just what I wanted to hear.”
Grandfather and Tom both smiled, too, but not for the same reason. They were proud of the children, proud of the way they decided not to fight with Winston Walker over the treasure. They weren’t controlled by greed like he was.
So they went back to digging, and Walker watched them with great eagerness. No one spoke, no one laughed, no one even smiled. The fun seemed to have gone out of this treasure hunt for the Aldens. Now all they wanted to do was find the treasure so they could be done with this business. There were still a few days of their vacation left that they could enjoy.
Another half hour passed, and the hole became another foot deeper. But still there was no sign of any treasure.
Henry was just about to suggest that they try a different spot when his shovel hit something hard—
Clink!
Everyone froze. Walker’s eyes widened. He took a step forward.
“What was that?”
“I think I hit something,” Henry said. “Something made of metal.”
“Keep digging, keep digging!” Walker commanded, making wild gestures with his hands.
Jessie, Violet, and Benny climbed out of the hole to give Henry more room. A little more dirt had to be removed before the object’s identity became clear—it was an old iron box.
“Faster! Faster!” Walked urged.
Henry didn’t like being bossed around by this man, but he quietly kept digging anyway.
Hardly another moment had passed when Winston Walker finally ran out of patience. Much to everyone’s shock and surprise, he jumped into the hole next to Henry, dropped to his knees, and began digging around the box with his bare hands. Soon his expensive clothes were covered with dirt, but he didn’t seem to care. “So many years of searching . . .” he mumbled to himself, “and now it’s mine . . . all mine. . . .”
It took another fifteen minutes before the box was loose enough to move. Walker put his hands on either side of it and pulled mightily. It came free on the third try.
Tom and the Aldens came forward, and Walker got to his knees. The box was fairly large. There was a small padlock at the front, and it was caked with rust.
The millionaire grabbed a large rock and smacked the lock with all his might. Being so old, it broke off on the first shot.
“And now,” he said aloud, “at last . . .”
He pushed the lid back and took a good long look at what was waiting for him inside. Then the smile slowly melted from his face.
Nothing was there except a small, rotted leather pouch.
Winston Walker looked as pale as a ghost. He didn’t move for a long time. He just stared at the pouch with wide, unbelieving eyes.
Then he picked it up slowly, looked at it some more, and shook its contents into his other hand. There were only two items inside—a single gold coin and a piece of paper about the same size as each of the map pieces.
“What does it say, Mr. Walker?” Violet asked quietly.
Walker read it once in silence, as if he hadn’t heard Violet’s question. Then he cleared his throat and began out loud:
Whoever you are, I congratulate you on your cleverness. It is my hope that the adventures you have undertaken to find this have caused the blood in your veins to run both hot and cold. I have devoted most of my life to seeking out excitement, and it was one of my last wishes to help someone else do the same.
As for my riches, you have already found them—this single gold coin. It is all that is left of the great fortune I gathered during my many journeys on the high seas. The rest of it has been given away to my relatives and my friends. In my old age, I find I no longer have any use for it.
My best wishes and congratulations again to you, wise adventurer.
Captain John Alexander Finney
Another moment passed in silence. Winston Walker remained still, staring at the note with his mouth open.
Finally, Benny surprised everyone by crouching down and patting Walker on the back. “Sorry, Mr. Walker,” he said quietly. Then he stepped back.
Everyone thought Walker was going to explode in anger. But instead, much to their utter amazement, he just let out one small sigh.
“What have I done?” he asked the Aldens. “I’ve spent my whole life looking for . . . for nothing. There was never any treasure at all, never. All the time and money I’ve spent, flying all over the world, day and night, thinking about it. And all the people . . .” He looked at the children. “All the people I’ve hurt. What have I done?”
Violet stepped forward. “You could start making up for it,” she suggested. “It’s never too late.”
Walker said, “How? How can I undo all of this?”
Grandfather said quickly, “You could start by giving Jack Ford the five thousand dollars you owe him.”
“Jack Ford?”
“Yes, the man who found the third piece of the map for you. You promised a five-thousand-dollar bonus to whoever found it, and you never paid up,” Grandfather said.
Walker appeared to think about this for a moment, then he nodded slowly. “Yes, yes, I do remember that. I thought he got that money.”
“No, Mr. Walker, he never did. And he was going to use it to help his mother finish paying for her house. Because you never gave him the money, he had to keep working to give her a little extra every few weeks. The house still isn’t paid for,” said Grandfather.
Walker straightened up. “Then it will be,” he said firmly, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he meant it. Only part of him was sad now. The other part was angry, not at John Finney for not leaving any treasure, but at himself for all the wicked things he’d done while chasing it. “I’ll not only pay for his mother’s house, I’ll buy her a new one, and him, too.”
At that moment someone came running around the bend. Everyone turned and was amazed to find Meredith Baker standing there, huffing and puffing, out of breath.
“Did he hurt any of you?” she asked abruptly.
“Huh?” Benny said.
“That Winston Walker character. Did he hurt any of you?”
Grandfather answered for everyone. “Well, no. Who are you?”
“This is the person who broke into Tom’s house,” Jessie said coldly. “Meredith Baker.”
Tom turned and gave the woman an angry look, but she put a hand up in defense.
“I’m sorry about that, Mr. Harrison, I really am. That’s why I’m here. I knew Walker would want that last piece of the map, and I knew you guys would never give it to him, so I figured I could make a quick buck by getting a picture of it and selling it to him.”
“You should be ashamed!” Benny scolded her, but Henry quickly hushed his little brother.
“You’re right, I should. That’s why I’ve been following all of you. After I sold the picture to Walker last night, I couldn’t sleep, and it took me half the night to figure out why—I felt bad and was worried about what might happen to you kids. By the next morning I knew I had to do something about it.”
Meredith reached into her pocket and pulled out a huge wad of cash with a rubber band around it. She threw it at Winston Walker, who caught it against his chest.
“You can have your money back, Mr. Walker,” she said. “I don’t want it. I know what people around this town think of me. I know they think I’m a little strange. But I’ve never committed a crime before, not until the other night.” She turned to Tom and continued, “Mr. Harrison, I’m truly, truly sorry for what I did. Not only was it a crime, but it was just plain wrong. If you want to press charges against me, I’ll understand.”
All eyes turned to Tom, who appeared to be thinking over Meredith’s offer. He began stroking his chin. “You know, I was thinking of putting together a nice color pamphlet advertising my inn, but the one thing I can’t do is take a really good picture. You wouldn’t happen to know any top-notch photographers, would you?”
Meredith stared blankly at Tom for a long moment. Then a broad smile spread across her face. “Actually I think I do know someone. She’s very good and I’m sure she’d do it for free.”
Tom nodded slowly. “Is that right? Gee, she sounds perfect. Why don’t you ask her to come to the house—through the front door this time—next Wednesday.”
Meredith’s smile grew even wider. “I sure will, Mr. Harrison. I sure will.”
“Great,” he replied. And with that, Meredith Baker turned and walked away, looking very happy.
Grandfather folded his arms and looked back at Winston Walker. “So, now, what were you saying before?” he asked sternly.
Walker said, “I was talking about Jack Ford and his mother, and how I’m going to buy a house for each of them.”
“Oh, yes, of course. That’s a very nice gesture, Mr. Walker,” Grandfather told him, “but will you stick to your word?”
Winston Walker looked right into Grandfather Alden’s eyes. “You better believe I will. I’ll make things right with him, and with a whole lot of other people, too.”
He climbed up out of the hole and brushed some of the dirt from his clothes. “Then I’m going to do something nice for you kids,” he said.
“There’s no reason for you to do that, Mr. Walker,” Grandfather replied, but Winston Walker was already waving his hand.
“No, no, I insist. It’ll be the right thing to help me get . . . well, get better, I guess.”
For the first time since Grandfather met Winston Walker, he felt a little bit of fondness for him.
“Good for you, Winston,” Grandfather said, patting him on the back.
“Yeah, good for you,” Benny added with a smile.
Winston Walker smiled back at the youngest Alden and said, “Here—Benny—you can have this.”
He thumbed John Finney’s single gold coin into the air, and Benny caught it.
“Wow, thanks!” Benny said.
“You’re welcome. And now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“Good luck,” Jessie said.
“Thanks,” Winston Walker replied, then turned and headed back down the sunlit nature trail. He reached the curve before the footbridge, followed it into the reeds, and was gone.
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