The next morning, Violet reported the theft to Melanie at breakfast. The counselor’s expression was grim as she noted the time that the girls had visited the classroom building.
“Somebody really worked fast,” she said. “I closed up half an hour earlier.” She pushed her plate aside, her food untouched. “I must have forgotten to lock that side door, though,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Why so glum? The scrambled eggs can’t be that bad,” Nick Simon joked, sliding into the seat next to her. He had a plate of pancakes and a steaming cup of coffee.
“Somebody stole Violet’s conch shell,” Benny said. “They took it right out of her aquarium last night.”
“Really?” Nick’s eyes darkened.
“I’ll have to report it to the authorities,” Melanie said quietly. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
Jessie looked around the crowded cafeteria. It was hard to believe, but the person who stole the conch shell could be eating breakfast in the dining hall at that very moment!
Melanie noticed Violet’s downcast expression. “How about if I take all of you on an outing this morning? I can’t promise you another conch shell, but I’ll show you a beautiful spot.”
Violet brightened. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“To my own hidden beach.” Melanie lowered her voice. “It’s a very special place and no one else knows about it.”
“You own your own beach?” Soo Lee asked.
“Not exactly.” Melanie smiled. “But when I’m all alone there, sitting under a palm tree, I can pretend that I do! It’s my favorite place to be.”
Half an hour later, the Aldens were skimming over the water in a small powerboat. The water shimmered in the bright sunlight as Melanie maneuvered the craft toward a tiny island.
“We’re going to an island!” Benny exclaimed.
“There are hundreds of islands in the Keys,” Melanie explained. “A lot of them don’t even have names. I discovered this one a few years ago. And ever since, it’s been my special place.”
When they reached the island, Melanie cut the motor and pointed to a dense thicket of mangrove trees. “I’m afraid we have to take a little hike to get to my favorite spot.” She handed out large beach towels with the Camp Coral insignia. “Be sure to wrap these around your waists. The undergrowth is pretty thick here, and I don’t want you to get all scratched up.”
A few minutes later, after cutting through a narrow, twisting path, they found themselves on a beautiful stretch of deserted beach. Everyone peeled off their beach towels and plunked down happily on the soft white sand.
“Are you sure no one else knows about this place?” Violet asked.
“As far as I know, it’s all mine,” Melanie told her. “Most of the staff members find their own little getaway spots. Sometimes you just want to be by yourself.”
“I think somebody else has discovered your private island,” Henry told her. He reached over and yanked a shiny object out of the sand.
“A chisel?” Jessie said in surprise. “That’s strange. Why would anyone bring a chisel to the beach?”
Melanie shook her head. “I can’t imagine.” She looked at the bright yellow handle. “It’s not from Camp Coral. We stamp all our tools with a double C.”
“Melanie, can we go swimming?” Benny asked. The bright Florida sun was making him hot.
“Sure, or how about wading? There’s a really nice coral bed here and we can take a few pictures, if you like.” Melanie reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a small camera and some goggles. “Who wants to be the photographer?”
“I do.” Violet said, jumping to her feet. “I’ve never seen an underwater camera before.”
“I’ll show you how to use it. It’s really easy,” Melanie told her.
Everyone waded out into the warm water, and Melanie led them to a patch of brightly colored coral.
“I thought you had to go way out in the ocean to find coral,” Henry said.
Melanie nodded. “To get to the barrier reef, you do. That’s where we’re going tomorrow. But this kind of coral — shallow bay coral — is found in knee-deep water.” She handed Violet the camera and quickly explained how to use it.
“Remember, don’t touch anything,” Jessie said to Benny. He was staring at a clump of coral just a foot away.
Melanie handed out goggles to everyone. “You really have to put your face in the water to get the full effect of the colors. Take a look. That’s golf ball coral right next to your foot. And there’s a nice chunk of finger coral over on the right.”
“Something strange is going on down here,” Violet said, startled. She pulled her head out of the water, still clutching the camera. “I tried to get a picture of some coral and it moved!”
Melanie peered into the clear blue water. “Oh, that’s rose coral, Violet. Whenever it gets covered up with sand, it spits out a little jet of water. That’s how it turns itself right side up.”
They waded around for another half hour, being careful not to disturb the coral in any way. Violet took a lot of pictures, and Benny was excited when he spotted a strange-looking fish swimming past him.
“Hey!” he yelled to Melanie. “What’s that?” He pointed to a small translucent disk bobbing on the water.
“A jellyfish,” she replied.
“Are you sure it’s a fish? It’s got something green trapped inside it,” Jessie said. “It looks like a plant.”
“It is a plant. Some jellyfish carry their food with them,” Melanie explained.
“Just like we put granola bars in our backpacks,” Benny piped up.
“Exactly.”
After they’d eaten a tasty lunch, Melanie took the Aldens back to camp. There they piled into a van with some other campers to visit Key West.
Jessie admired the beautiful old Victorian houses, with tropical plants spilling out of their window boxes. The streets were lined with stately palms and banyan trees, and the air smelled like flowers.
They drove toward Mallory Square on a street lined with shops. A vendor was cutting open fresh coconuts and selling them to a group of children, who raised the rough brown shells to their lips.
“What are they doing?” Violet asked, puzzled.
“They’re sipping fresh coconut milk,” Melanie told her. “It’s delicious. If we have time, we’ll stop and buy some on the way back.”
After Melanie parked the van, they wandered through an open air market that was filled with tourists. The hot afternoon sun made everyone move slowly. Violet watched as a man made a basket out of palm fronds. Soo Lee bought a delicate bracelet with the money Grandfather had given each of them for souvenirs. Benny looked over a selection of shells, and finally chose a chalky white sand dollar.
After Benny paid for his prize, he looked up in surprise. “Look, there’s Nick Simon from camp.” He pointed to a tall bearded man who was deep in conversation with another man. “I want to show him my new sand dollar.”
Melanie watched as Benny scampered over to the marine biologist. “That’s funny,” she said.
“What’s that?” Jessie was picking through a pile of tiny brass rings.
“I asked Nick Simon if he’d like to ride into Key West with us today, but he told me he had too much to do back at camp,” she said with a shrug. “I guess he changed his mind.”
“Nick Simon liked my sand dollar!” Benny said, running back to the group. “And guess what — he told me his friend is a real fisherman!”
Henry glanced over at Nick Simon’s friend, a pale, sandy-haired man in his early thirties. The two men quickly turned their backs and headed down to the docks. “He sure doesn’t look like a fisherman,” Henry said. “Look how pale he is. He looks like he never goes in the sun.”
“Everybody else around here is tan,” Jessie said. She shrugged. “Maybe he’s the captain of the fishing boat, and he stays inside while other people fish.”
“Maybe,” Melanie said, but she didn’t look convinced.
“Where shall we go now?” Violet asked. She sat under a date tree and unfolded her Key West map. “We can go to the Key West Aquarium, or we can see Mel Fisher’s Museum.”
“What kind of museum is it?” Benny was peering over her shoulder.
“It has all kinds of sunken treasure,” Melanie explained. “Mel Fisher discovered the Atocha,a ship that sank hundreds of years ago. It was filled with gold bars, and lots of emeralds and jewelry.”
“But the aquarium is interesting, too,” Violet pointed out. “It has loads of fish, Benny, and I’ve heard they even let you touch an eel.”
“Wow!” Benny exclaimed. He was stumped. Fish or sunken treasure — how could he ever choose? He turned to Melanie. “Could we do both?” he asked. “We could go to the aquarium right now and then come back to Key West another day to visit the museum.”
“That’s fine with me,” Melanie said with a smile. “I can see that you don’t want to miss anything.”
Jessie laughed as Benny hopped up and down. No one had more energy than her little brother!
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