Map to Treasure

by Kaylie M. Dameron

  “Typical signs of an exercising person,” Elise said, pulling her up. She was tired as well. She grabbed Diana’s shoulders and looked her in the face. “We decided when we left the cabin that we would try to work together. You have to do your part. We can’t be enemies right now.”

  Diana looked down. “Fine,” she smirked. “But when we get out of this, I’m not going to like you any better.”

  “Same here!” Elise laughed. “We just somehow got caught up in this and have to find our way out together.”

  They started off again at a slower run, Diana complaining less now. When they had been running for a few minutes, Elise said, “Look Diana! The tree!”

  Sure enough, the tree that held the tree house they were held hostage in was right ahead.

  “We’re almost home!” Elise jumped up and down and Diana joined her.

  Suddenly, they heard swift movement coming from behind them where they had just been running.

  “We need to hide!” Elise whispered fiercely.

  “We don’t have time…”

  Elise pulled Diana behind a tree and they waited.

  The noise turned into a steady trot of a horse, and the girls heard Austy’s voice saying, “I was sure I just saw them!”

  Elise and Diana’s eyes widened in surprise and they scrambled up from behind the tree and revealed themselves to their sisters. Austy jumped off the horse and Adara was only a few seconds behind her. The girls all ran to each other and embraced.

  “What in the world? What happened?” Austy asked, tears streaming down her face. “My heart’s about to pound right out of me.”

  Elise only hugged her sisters closer. She was also crying.

  “We have to get out of here now,” Adara warned.

  “Yes.” Austy swung onto Midnight’s back and pulled Elise up with her. Adara did the same for Diana. The girls pushed branches aside as the horses trotted down the small trail all the way to the creek. They went through it and galloped up the small slope to the other side where the Rethman property was. The ride back to the Rethman’s house was a talkative one. Elise and Diana filled them in on everything that had happened and everything they had figured out. The other two told them about their adventures as well and the letter.

  “Bert is with Helen Kren. He was the one who captured us in the first place. He and his sister Amy did,” Elise explained to the others as they bounced on the horses’ backs.

  “I’m just glad we found you girls,” Adara said, relieved.

  “Now Mom and Dad won’t have so much stress since you two have been found,” Austy said.

  “Uh, they’ll still be stressed because Helen Kren isn’t found yet. She’s somewhere around here.”

  The horses broke out of the trail into the Rethman’s yard. The girls all started shouting at the top of their lungs, and everyone who had been in the house or around the yard came running to see what the matter was. Adara and Austy rode the horses up to the house and they all slid off the horses’ backs. Mrs. Rethman was sprinting toward them with a shocked shout, her arms opened wide, and Mr. Rethman and the other girls were right behind her. Lots of hugging and kissing were passed around, and Mrs. Rethman was crying and saying, “Don’t you ever give me a scare like that again! Do you hear? You nearly killed me with worry and fatigue! Do I need to call a doctor? How did you survive out there?”

  “We’ll tell you everything,” Elise explained while her dad was giving her a huge hug.

  “Well, while we get you girls inside and call the Coxes, tell us every detail.” The girls nodded and Diana said, “but first I need to go to the bathroom.” Everyone laughed when she said that.

  Lexie led the horses back to the stables. She came back inside to find everyone sitting around Elise and Diana. They were each holding a cup of warm apple juice and were getting ready to tell everyone about their adventure. Lexie walked into the room.

  “I called the Simpsons and Coxes about the girls. They’re coming as fast as possible,” Mrs. Rethman explained.

  “Well, then, let’s hear your story,” Arianna said, looking at Elise and Diana.

  The two girls looked at each other, took a quick sip of their drinks, and began their story, taking turns and talking about everything that had happened. When they had finished, everyone was asking questions and having them repeat parts of what had happened. Mrs. Rethman sat on the couch with her mouth wide open and her hands folded in her lap. Elise noticed that her parents gave certain glances and looks of dismay at each other when she and Diana mentioned Helen Kren. She wondered why they looked as if they knew who the girls were talking about.

  The doorbell rang and Mrs. Rethman jumped up. They all looked after her as she opened the door and let in the Coxes. Diana jumped up and they all embraced. More tears of joy were spread and they all told the girls how worried they had been. Diana and Elise looked at each other and passed a small smile between them. They were proud that they had escaped the “bad people” together. Now they were worried about what would happen next.

  Elise, after they were all sitting together in the living room again, told everyone all about the threats Helen Kren had said to them.

  “The police left for Tuscola to look there for clues. They said they already searched our property. I don’t think they did a thorough job,” Mrs. Rethman said, as she dialed on her phone. “I’m going to tell them that the girls are found. They’ll probably come back here, and we’ll try to get them on the trail of Helen Kren’s crew.”

  Everyone nodded. There were tons of chatter among them. They had all been worried sick since the day before, and now they were just all glad to be together again.

  Elise couldn’t believe that she had just met Helen Kren for the first time yesterday. She still couldn’t get over everything that had happened in so short a time. She felt like she had figured out so much about Helen Kren, but she could tell by the way her parents acted that they knew way more about Helen than she did. She was just glad to be back home.

  The front door swung open wide and the Simpson family all rushed into the house. “Elise!” Iris hugged her. “I was so worried about you.”

  Diana saw Iris and looked down. Iris saw her lonely expression. “Diana! You’re safe!” Iris danced over to her and threw her arms around Diana. Diana’s face changed and she smiled big. Iris didn’t want to make Diana feel left out. Elise didn’t feel bad that Iris was glad to see Diana as well. She felt like Diana needed a kind friend right now.

  “I’m still wondering why you girls were captured,” Mr. Cox said as the Simpson family filed into the room to hear the news. “The police should be searching everywhere now for those people who kidnapped you.”

  “We alerted them,” Mrs. Rethman affirmed. “They’ll be here sometime soon, I bet. This is a serious matter.” She covered her face with her hands and tried to breathe calmly. Mrs. Cox lightly patted her shoulder.

  “What would someone like that want with two girls?” Mrs. Simpson asked.

  “We think it has to do with some past business,” Mr. Rethman explained.

  The other adults nodded their heads, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

  “It must have been a serious matter, then.” Mr. Simpson said.

  “It was, somewhat. Or rather, it was how a certain person took a certain situation.”

  The other adults looked confused, but the Rethman parents told them, “It’s a confusing past.”

  The girls all looked at each other. “Well,” Mr. Rethman tried to turn the conversation in a different direction, “when the police come, we’ll get this cleared up with them, and we’ll try to get back to our normal selves.”

  “That’s going to be hard,” Elise spoke up, “especially now that we know those people had been spying on us on our property.”

  “We’re trying to sort this through,” her father explained.

  They talked for a while and then the ladies and girls fixed up some food. The police arrived and spoke with the Rethman and Cox parents
. The girls were all in the kitchen eating with the Simpson parents when they heard the front door shut and the four adults walk back in.

  “The police are trying to catch the culprits,” Mr. Rethman explained to the others as they walked in. “They were wondering if we had any identification as to who it was. I told them we did. Good thing Elise and Diana were able to figure out what all their names were,” he smiled at the girls. “The authorities are calling us back as soon as they can.”

  “Oh my!” Lexie suddenly jumped up, causing everyone else to get startled. “We have cross country practice today! I forgot.”

  “Well, I’m sure you girls can miss out this time. We have some things to clear up,” Mrs. Rethman shook her head.

  “Uh, I don’t know if our coach would like that.”

  “Then we’ll let him know,” Mr. Rethman confirmed. “He’d understand.”

  “Yes, well, we need to get out of your way so that y’all can get back to your business.” Mr. Cox said. “Thanks for keeping the girls for the past couple days, even though they spent quite some time outside away from your home,” he smiled.

  “Yes, no problem. I’m so sorry that happened. We’ll try to get all this figured out.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Mr. Cox smiled. “I’ll help as much as I can. We need to get home now and explain things to my family members who had gone to the funeral.”

  “Yes, we need to get back to our lives,” Mrs. Simpson sighed, standing up from where she had been sitting. “Stay safe,” she looked at the Rethman family. “I will be keeping you in my prayers until all this is figured out.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Rethman nodded and said their thanks and appreciation as the Simpson and Cox families both went out the door.

  “We have a lot to do,” Mr. Rethman sat down and rubbed his chin. “I don’t know where to start.”

  “Well, first of all, you need to tell us everything you know about this Helen Kren and about our past that you haven’t completely filled us in on,” Elise said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You haven’t told us everything that there is to know.”

  “That’s probably for the better,” Mr. Rethman sighed, and so did everyone else.

  The phone rang and he hopped up to answer it. It was the police, who needed his help with the investigation going on around the area. When the call ended, the girls were all anxiously waiting to see what their dad was going to announce. He came into the room. “Well, the police need me now. They’re going to pick me up and we’re going to drive around town.”

  “That’s it? You’re just going to drive around town?” Lexie asked.

  “Of course not, we’re going to be doing a bit of things,” he assured her. He didn’t say anything else and paced the room instead, waiting.

  When the police car pulled in a little later, he grabbed a jacket and headed out the door.

  “I think Dad’s stressed,” Arianna whispered to Elise when their dad had disappeared out the front door. “So is Mom,” the latter answered in a whisper.

  “Let’s go upstairs and talk,” Arianna nudged her. They trudged up the steps.

  When they had entered their bedroom, they plopped on the bed and stared out the window.

  “That must have been such a scary experience,” Arianna said.

  “It was,” Elise admitted. “I was captured with my ‘enemy’ by more enemies.”

  Arianna laughed. “That’s a funny way to put it.”

  “I’m really worried about Helen Kren, though.”

  “Don’t be. Dad and the police will take care of everything.”

  Elise sighed, “I hope you’re right.” She looked away toward the window. She had so many things on her mind.

  ……

  The next day, Mr. Rethman returned home. He had been searching all night with the police for the culprits. The girls heard him knock on the door and hurried down to see what he had accomplished. Adara opened the door for her tired-looking father.

  “Anything?” Austy, right behind Adara, asked.

  He walked in and sat on the couch, propping up his legs on the footstool. Mrs. Rethman came out of the kitchen with a towel slung over her shoulder. She wiped her wet hands on it and sat down next to him. As the rest of the family gathered around him, he told them everything. Amy, Bert, and the McCragg fellow were caught now and were being hauled away to jail. Helen Kren had disappeared entirely.

  “What? You mean she’s gone?” Elise exclaimed.

  “Yes. We think she escaped out of the area somehow.”

  “You don’t think she’s just hiding?” Arianna asked.

  Her father shrugged. “It’s hard to tell. We were able to pry a little information out of that Bert and Amy, however. The horse is in Tuscola,” he said, referring to a neighboring town.

  “We figured that out yesterday, too!” Elise jumped up and down.

  “Helen had sold the horse to a farm in Tuscola, and it may be hard to convince them that it’s our horse, but we’ll have the police with us to help clear things up a bit. They’re probably honest folks tricked into buying the horse.” Mr. Rethman sighed deeply. “There are a lot of things we need to figure out right now.”

  “Dad, do you think you can just tell us everything that happened between you, Mom, and Helen Kren?”

  “How did you know we had anything against each other?”

  “Me and Diana figured out quite a bit of things,” Elise confessed.

  Her father looked at his wife, who shrugged.

  “They can know everything,” she nodded.

  Mr. Rethman sighed. “I suppose so,” he agreed. “Go get everyone, then.”

  The five Rethman sisters were soon in the living room waiting expectantly for the news their dad was about to give. He began, “Well, to start you off, it all started in your history books.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Secrets Unfolded

  “Our history books?” Elise was disappointed. Why did all this have to be related with school?

  Her dad laughed. “You’ve all read about Cherokee Indians in your history books. You also have known that your great-great-grandfather was a chief Cherokee Indian. He was a wise leader to his people. Ya’ll probably thought he died peacefully because we never told you what else happened. Well, when a band of white men raided his land, they stole everything, killing all in their path and taking captive many Indians also. Your great-great-grandfather was killed on the spot, but his wife and young son and daughter escaped. They were the only ones to survive, and they continued to be hunted by the white men, who wanted to take the land from the Indians in that area. The poor Indian mother, your great-great-grandmother, had a terrible time getting the children to safety. They stayed at an American family’s house where they were provided for until the white men gave up looking for them. When your great-great-grandmother had fled from the raid, she had taken an important box from inside her husband’s teepee. Now, do y’all want to know what the contents of the box were and still are?” Mr. Rethman asked, stopping his story to look around at the overly eager faces. Receiving nods of encouragement, he continued, “Inside the box is a map that leads to a trapdoor. We believe that under the trapdoor is Cherokee treasure. There is an ancient Indian chief necklace made of ivory and gold and pearls. If sold, it would be worth a lot of money. There is also other Cherokee jewelry in the box as well. So that’s why the box is so important to us. We’ve been keeping it safe and protecting it because the children of your great-great-grandfather grew up and married white people and so mixed the Indian and white man blood.

  The boy, your great-grandpa, moved to the city, got married, and had a son. The son grew up and married, and his wife gave birth to your mother and her two sisters, who, as you know, live in New York City. Aunt Lily’s family lived here in Clyde for a while but now lives in New York. Your great-grandmother got the box once your great-great-grandmother died, and then when she died, your grandmother came in possession of it.

  Well, y’a
ll know, just a few years ago, she lay dying on her bed. Y’all know she had dementia for a few years. Your mom had visited her in her dire state of health, and she told us to take possession of the box. We came in possession of it after she passed away. She had given Elise a necklace with a key on it also. So for these past four years, we’ve been in the care of the box. We don’t want Helen to find the box.” He took a breath and let the information sink into their heads. Then he cleared his throat, “Well, in our woods is hidden, under the ground somewhere, the secret trapdoor.”

  A series of gasps filled the room.

  Mr. Rethman explained, “Your great-great- grandfather dug it there and then constructed a map which is now in the box. There was also a key that would open the door, but we don’t have it, so we can’t get inside to figure out what your great-great-grandfather had buried.

  “Dad, Helen Kren thought that you had the key. When she captured us, she said that you had it and want to make you give it up,” Elise said.

  “No… sadly, we don’t have it. We’re going to try to find clues, though.” Then he continued, “The map was passed down, and when it came to your mother’s grandfather, he recopied it so it could be read easier, and he told himself that one day he was going to uncover this whole secret door and see what was hidden beneath. Our area is where the men and Indians battled each other.”

  “So why didn’t you ever go find the secret trapdoor?” Lexie asked, interested in discovering this secret in the woods.

  “Well, that’s where Helen Kren enters our story. You see, Helen Kren’s great-grandfather was one of the white men who killed your great-great-grandfather. Helen Kren’s forefathers passed down a story of a secret box that held great ‘wealth.’ So Helen, after searching for years to figure out who the descendants of the great wise chief were, figured out somehow that we were the descendants. She’s been after us ever since, especially since she found out that we live on the same property as the secret trapdoor. First, she just simply came to us and told us right out that she wanted to buy the property from us. We really like where the house is and thought it was the perfect place to raise you girls, so we refused her. When we told her that we wouldn’t sell it, she swore to get revenge and has been after us ever since. That’s when the box and legend were handed down to us, and now we’re more firm than ever not to sell the house. For years Helen Kren disappeared, and then when she reappeared and threatened us with a gun, she was put in jail. Now she’s back. Helen probably was so anxious to get the box that she started doing nasty things, like kidnapping Elise and Diana. She’s a lost soul, children. Now we have this whole mess we have to figure out,” he sighed. “Well, did I answer most of the secrets I’ve concealed from you?” he asked, sitting back.