Cam Jansen and the Barking Treasure Mystery

by David A. Adler

  Mabel Trent nodded.

  The woman said, “Thank you.” She was smiling now.

  “And now,” Nancy announced, “look to the port side for a great view of the city’s skyline. Those of you with cameras might want to take a picture of it.”

  “That’s me,” Mabel Trent said. “I have a camera. Bye-bye,” she said to the woman with the straw hat, and went off.

  “Does Mabel Trent know that woman?” Eric asked his mother.

  Mrs. Shelton said, “Probably not. But that woman is still smiling. That’s what Mabel does. She makes people happy.”

  Mrs. Shelton told Cam and Eric, “Now stay together and don’t lean over the rail.” Then she hurried to join her friend.

  “That Mabel Trent is fun,” Eric said. Then he turned to Cam.

  Her eyes were closed.

  Eric said, “Now we have to find Little Treasure.”

  Cam said, “Click.”

  “I’m looking at everyone who was near the woman in the red dress when she was watching the fireboat,” Cam told Eric.

  Cam said, “Click,” again.

  “There was a thin man with a bushy beard,” Cam said with her eyes still closed, “that woman with the straw hat, a woman with long blond hair and long earrings, a short, bald man, and a man wearing an orange baseball cap.”

  Cam opened her eyes.

  “One of those people took Little Treasure,” Cam told Eric.

  “Well,” Eric told Cam, “we just saw the woman with the straw hat, and she didn’t have Little Treasure.”

  “So,” Cam said, looking around, “that leaves us with four people who may have taken the dog.”

  “Look,” Eric said. “There’s a woman with blond hair standing by the snack bar.”

  Cam and Eric hurried into the covered area of the boat. A woman with long blond hair was buying a cup of soda.

  The woman paid for the drink. She said, “Thank you,” and turned around.

  “That’s not her,” Cam whispered. “The woman I saw was wearing earrings.”

  Cam and Eric went outside. They walked slowly along the deck of the boat.

  “Here I am, Little Treasure. It’s me, Lila,” the woman in the red dress said. She smiled at Cam and Eric. Then she walked on and said again, “Here I am, Little Treasure. It’s me, Lila.”

  Two boys laughed as she walked past.

  “They think she’s talking to herself,” Eric whispered. “They think she’s crazy.”

  Cam told Eric, “And I think we better hurry and find her dog. We have to find Little Treasure before the ride ends and people start leaving the boat.”

  Cam and Eric walked slowly along the starboard side. They looked at all the people sitting on the benches along the rail.

  Eric grabbed Cam’s arm. “Look at him,” he whispered, “the man with the orange baseball cap. His jacket is all puffed out. He could be hiding something in there. He could be hiding Little Treasure!”

  Chapter Five

  “He was there,” Cam whispered. “He was near the woman in the red dress when she was looking at the fireboat.”

  The man was wearing a short blue jacket. His legs were crossed and he was sitting next to a young woman. They were holding hands and talking.

  “Little Treasure is a small dog,” Eric whispered. “There’s lots of room for her under that jacket.”

  Cam and Eric watched the man. He said something to the young woman and she laughed.

  “He looks like someone in love,” Eric whispered, “not someone who just stole a dog.”

  “In about ten minutes,” Nancy announced, “we will be passing the Evil Skull, a pirate ship that is 200 years old. It will be on the port side.”

  People hurried to get to the port side of the boat. A thin man with a bushy beard walked by. He was carrying a cloth book bag.

  “And look at him,” Cam said. “He was near the woman in the red dress, too.”

  Cam turned and watched the man with the bushy beard. Eric watched the man with the orange baseball cap.

  “The Evil Skull is being restored,” Nancy announced. “When that’s done, you’ll be able to go on board.”

  The man in the baseball cap said something to the young woman. He uncrossed his legs. Then they both got up to join the people at the port side. When the man stood, his jacket was no longer puffed out. There was no room under it for Little Treasure.

  “He didn’t take the dog,” Eric whispered to Cam. “And I still don’t think the dog was stolen. I think she just ran off.”

  “Look,” Cam said, and pointed to the man with the bushy beard. “I’m going to get close to him. Maybe Little Treasure is in that book bag.”

  “If you look ahead,” Nancy announced, “you can see the Evil Skull. Our captain, Captain Kramer, will go past it very slowly, so you can get a good look at a real pirate ship and take lots of pictures.”

  Cam and Eric walked toward the man.

  “Over here! Over here!” Mabel Trent shouted. She wanted Cam and Eric to stand near her and Mrs. Shelton.

  “Pretend you don’t hear her,” Cam whispered. “We have to get close to that man.”

  By now, there were lots of people crowded around the man. It was hard to get near him.

  “Over here!” Mabel Trent yelled again. “I saved you a spot.”

  Cam and Eric pretended not to hear her.

  The woman in the red dress walked past. She was still saying, “Here I am, Little Treasure. It’s me, Lila.”

  Cam and Eric squeezed between two women who were trying to get close to the rail. They were close to the man with the bushy beard.

  Then someone screamed, “Help! Help!”

  Chapter Six

  The scream came from the covered area of the boat. Cam, Eric, and a few other people ran there.

  “It’s dark in there and I heard a growl,” a tall man yelled, as he ran from the bathroom.

  The door was open. The man ran right into Cam.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he told Cam. “But there’s some big animal in there.”

  Then a small poodle, Little Treasure, walked out of the bathroom.

  People laughed.

  “That’s some big animal,” someone joked.

  “Oh, I feel so embarrassed,” the man said.

  “That’s Little Treasure,” Eric said, “and I was right. She wasn’t stolen. She was just lost.”

  Eric held out his hands and said, “Come here, Little Treasure. I’ll take you to Lila.”

  Little Treasure ran to Eric. He picked her up.

  Cam looked at Eric and Little Treasure. She closed her eyes and said, “Click.”

  Eric told Cam, “You don’t have to click anymore. We have the dog. The mystery is solved. Now we can look at the Evil Skull.”

  “There you are, my Little Treasure,” the woman in the red dress said. She hurried to Eric and took the dog in her arms.

  “Oh, how can I thank you?” she asked Eric. “You should thank me,” the tall man said. “I found your dog.”

  Cam opened her eyes. She looked at Little Treasure. Then she closed her eyes again and said, “Click.”

  “I love you. Yes, I do,” the woman in the red dress said, and kissed Little Treasure’s nose.

  “There it is,” Nancy announced. “The Evil Skull.”

  “Oh, I have to see this,” the tall man said. He started toward the port side rail.

  “Me too,” Eric said.

  “Wait!” Cam told them.

  She opened her eyes and said, “There’s still a mystery here. We have to solve it soon, before the boat docks.”

  “There’s no mystery,” the woman in the red dress said. “I have my Little Treasure.”

  She kissed the dog’s nose again and said, “And I’m not putting you in my bag. You’ll stay out with me and enjoy the ride like everyone else.”

  “You have Little Treasure back,” Cam said. “But her collar is gone. That’s why someone took her into the bathroom, to steal her collar.�
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  “Pirates!” Nancy announced. “Just imagine! There were once pirates on that boat.”

  “Pirates! Thieves!” Lila said. “There’s one on this boat. There are diamonds and emeralds in the collar.”

  Chapter Seven

  “It’s a small collar,” Lila said. “Someone could put it in a pocket and walk off the boat with it.”

  Cam looked back at the bathroom door. There was a Men’s sign on it.

  “Little Treasure was taken into a men’s bathroom,” Cam said, “so we know it was a man who stole the collar.”

  “And I know where he is,” Eric said. “He’s over there, looking at the Evil Skull. Every one is.”

  Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.”

  “There’s who?” Mrs. Shelton asked.

  Mabel Trent said, “You’re both looking the wrong way. The Evil Skull isn’t over there. It’s this way! It’s in the water!”

  Cam opened her eyes and said, “Yes, that’s him. Let’s get Lila.”

  “He’s either a thin man with a bushy beard,” Cam said with her eyes still closed, “or a short, bald man.”

  Cam opened her eyes and told the woman in the red dress, “I saw them standing near you when you were looking at the fireboat. That’s when Little Treasure was taken.”

  Cam, Eric, and Lila went to the port side. People were crowded against the rail, looking at the Evil Skull. But Cam, Eric, and Lila saw only their backs.

  “I see two tall, thin men,” Eric said. He pointed to both of them. “But from here, I can’t tell if they have bushy beards.”

  “And I don’t see any short, bald men,” Lila said. “It’s hard to find short people in a crowd.”

  “We have to get to the rail,” Cam told them. “Then we can turn around and look at everyone.”

  Lila tapped a woman and said, “Excuse me, I have to get to the front.”

  The woman told Lila, “I’m sorry, but I want to see, too.”

  Cam and Eric got behind one of the thin men. They tried to see if he had a beard.

  “I have an idea,” Eric whispered. Then he said loudly, “I’m just a child. I can’t see anything from here.”

  “Oh, of course,” the man said. “Let the boy through.”

  He turned and made room for Cam and Eric. Cam looked up. The man had no beard.

  A woman and another man made room for Cam and Eric. Soon they were in the middle of the crowd. They looked for the man with the bushy beard and the short, bald man.

  “There you are,” Mabel Trent said loudly. “I’ve saved a place for you.”

  Cam and Eric moved next to Mrs. Shelton and Mabel Trent. Then they turned and faced the crowd.

  “There he is,” Eric said. “There’s the man with the bushy beard!”

  Chapter Eight

  Cam and Eric hurried through the crowd. They found Lila in the back of the boat. That was where everyone would get off when the boat docked. A short, bald man carrying a shopping bag was there, too.

  Ruff! Ruff!

  “Don’t worry,” Lila told Little Treasure. “He won’t take you away from me.”

  Then she asked Cam, “Was he standing near me when Little Treasure was taken?”

  “I’ll bet he was,” Eric said. “And I bet he took Little Treasure. Everyone else is looking at the pirate ship. But he’s here. He wanted to be the first one off when the boat docked.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man said.

  Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.” She looked at the picture she had in her head of the people who were standing near Lila before. Then she opened her eyes and looked at the man.

  “Yes,” Cam said. “He and the thin man with the bushy beard were next to you when you looked at the fireboat.”

  “So what?” the man asked. “I can stand next to anyone I want!”

  The man looked around. The boat was still a long way from land. There was no place he could go.

  Cam closed her eyes again and said, “Click.”

  “He’s the same man who was standing in front of you before we boarded the boat,” Cam said, with her eyes still closed. “He saw the jewels in Little Treasure’s collar.”

  “Nancy! Nancy!” Lila called.

  An old, short woman with long white hair, wearing a long bead necklace, came from the covered area. “I’m Nancy,” she said.

  Then she looked at Little Treasure and told Lila, “We don’t allow dogs on this boat.”

  Lila pointed to the man and said, “But he stole my dog’s collar.”

  “That’s silly,” the man said. “What would I do with a dog’s collar?”

  “There are jewels on it,” Eric said.

  “Go up the ladder to the right of the snack bar,” Nancy said to Cam and Eric. “Tell Captain Kramer I need him.”

  Cam and Eric hurried to the covered area of the boat. As they climbed the ladder Cam called, “Captain Kramer! Captain Kramer!”

  Two men, one young and one old, were sitting in the small cabin. They both turned. In front of them was a large wheel and lots of dials.

  The old man said, “I’m Captain Kramer.”

  “There’s a man and a dog and jewels,” Eric said really fast. “It’s a collar, Little Treasure’s, and he has it.”

  The two men looked at each other. They didn’t know what Eric was telling them.

  Then Cam said slowly, “Nancy said she needs you.”

  “Take the wheel, Josh,” Captain Kramer told the young man. Then he followed Cam and Eric.

  “He stole my dog’s collar,” Lila said, and pointed to the short, bald man. “There are jewels on it.”

  The man said, “You should tell her that dogs are not allowed.”

  Captain Kramer stepped toward the man.

  “I don’t even have a dog,” the man said. “What would I do with a collar?”

  Captain Kramer took another step toward the man.

  “I didn’t know it had diamonds and emeralds,” the man said.

  “She said it had jewels!” Cam said, pointing to the woman in the red dress. “That man knows what jewels they are because he stole them!”

  Chapter Nine

  “May I look in your bag?” Captain Kramer asked.

  The man smiled and said, “Sure.”

  He gave Captain Kramer the shopping bag. Captain Kramer reached into the bag and took out two books.

  “Look at this,” Cam said. She found a few short hairs on the books. “Gray hairs, just like Little Treasure’s.”

  Captain Kramer said, “Please empty your pockets.”

  The man looked over the edge of the boat. They were still far from the dock. Then he slowly reached into his pocket and took out the collar and gave it to Captain Kramer. The captain gave it to Lila.

  Ruff! Ruff!

  “Don’t you go anywhere,” Captain Kramer told the man.

  People started to gather, to be ready to get off when the boat docked.

  “There you are,” Mrs. Shelton said to Cam and Eric.

  “You missed the best part of the ride,” Mabel Trent told them.

  “No, they didn’t,” Lila said. “They caught a real pirate.” She pointed to the thief and said, “He stole Little Treasure’s collar.”

  Then Lila took some money from her pocket and gave it to Eric.

  “No, thank you,” Eric said. “We don’t need to be paid.”

  “I just want to thank you,” Lila said. “And I want each of you to buy something, a book or a toy.”

  Cam and Eric said, “Thank you.”

  Just then the boat moved close to the dock. The man in the sailor uniform was standing there, ready to help people get off the boat. The thief jumped onto the dock and started to run.

  “Get him!” Captain Kramer yelled. “Call the police!”

  The man in the sailor uniform grabbed and held the thief. Then he blew a whistle. Two police officers came quickly.

  Then the boat docked and people started to get off.


  “Please,” Captain Kramer said to Cam, Eric, Nancy, and the others, “stay here for a few minutes.”

  They watched Captain Kramer talk to the police. One of the police officers asked Lila to join them. They spoke some more. Then the police put handcuffs on the thief and took him away. Lila went with them.

  Captain Kramer came back on the boat. He said to Cam and Eric, “Lila told us how you helped catch the thief.”

  He took four tickets from his pocket and gave them to Cam. “You were too busy to see a lot of the sights,” he said, “so I’d like you to come back, as my guests.”

  Cam, Eric, and Mrs. Shelton said, “Thank you.”

  Mabel Trent said, “I’m going home tomorrow.”

  “You can go on our next tour. It starts in one hour,” Nancy said.

  “Can we go again?” Mabel Trent asked Mrs. Shelton.

  Mrs. Shelton looked at Cam and Eric. Then she smiled and said, “Sure, we can go again.”

  “Good,” Mabel Trent said. She put her arm over Nancy’s shoulder and told her, “You are so lucky! I’ll help you give the next tour. I’ll tell people about the sights and I’ll tell jokes. And I don’t even need the speaker box. I can talk really loud.”

  “She sure can,” Mrs. Shelton said, and laughed.

  Cam and Eric laughed, too, and so did Mabel Trent.

  Cam Jansen has a great memory. Do you?

  Look at the picture on page 53.

  Blink your eyes, say, “Click!”

  and then turn back to this page.

  How much do you remember?

  1. How many people are on the boat?

  2. Is anyone wearing eyeglasses?

  3. Is Mrs. Wood on or off the boat?

  4. Who is carrying the thief’s shopping bag?

  5. Who is holding the tickets?

  6. Can you describe Captain Kramer?Is he wearing a jacket? A necktie?