by Shari Barr
“But where are they?” Kate asked, glancing about the dark countryside.
McKenzie followed her gaze, scanning the farmland around her. After looking in all directions, she still couldn’t see the two lights anywhere.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “Why are there lights in the picture but not now?”
“This is the weirdest thing,” Charity muttered. “The lights in the picture were up in the hills, right there.” She pointed to a tall pine tree barely visible in the late twilight.
“There aren’t any lights at all in that area now.” McKenzie brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I don’t even see a building up there.”
Charity sighed and glanced at her watch. “Well, the lights are gone now. It’s getting late, and I need to get home. I work the early shift at the Farms tomorrow.”
McKenzie nodded sullenly as the older girl turned the ignition and flicked the headlights on. McKenzie gazed out the windshield and gasped.
“Look!” she exclaimed. “I see the two lights!”
Charity and Kate followed her gaze. Two tiny specks of greenish lights glimmered on the distant hillside. “Where did they come from?” Kate asked excitedly.
McKenzie’s mind whirled. “When Kate was taking pictures earlier, the truck had just driven up the road. A truck with its headlights on. Charity, turn your lights off for a minute.”
Charity looked confused but did as her friend suggested. “Look, the lights disappeared,” McKenzie stated. “When you turned your headlights on, the lights on the hill appeared.”
“But what does that have to do with anything?” Kate asked, confused.
McKenzie’s heart raced as she turned to Charity. “I think I figured it out. Our headlights are reflecting on something up in the hills. I bet your great-grandpa Drake drove his car over this bridge years ago. The riddle says, ‘Beneath the shimmering Roseman’s lights, you’ll find riches sleeping where the green eyes shine.’ If we can get to those shining lights, I bet we’ll find a buried treasure!”
“Oh McKenzie!” Kate exclaimed, leaning into the front seat. “You’ve got to be right. We had guessed that ‘sleeping riches’ must mean a buried treasure, now I’m positive. But how do we get up into those hills?”
“Do you know who owns that land?” McKenzie asked as Charity drove down the road.
“Well, it is a portion of my great-grandpa Drake’s farm,” Charity answered. “It adjoins Heritage Farms and Villages. The rest of his land was sold, but that small parcel was never sold. Great-grandpa had built a house on that hillside years ago, but it’s gone now.”
“Would your family care if we went up there tomorrow and looked around? If we can find something that reflects light, we might be able to find the treasure,” McKenzie said excitedly.
“I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind,” Charity answered. “But I have to work all day, so I won’t be able to help. The balloon race and the queen contest are in the afternoon.”
“We don’t mind looking for the treasure by ourselves, do we, McKenzie?” Kate asked.
“We’ll do whatever we can to help,” McKenzie assured Charity.
Minutes later, the older girl dropped McKenzie and Kate off at the Randalls’ home. Uncle Luke and Aunt Cara were sitting in the living room watching TV when they walked in. The girls quickly filled the couple in on their latest discoveries.
“Charity said her mom wouldn’t mind if we went onto that piece of land to look around tomorrow. Since we’re finished with farm camp, could we do that in the morning?” McKenzie asked.
Uncle Luke glanced at his wife before answering. “It’s okay with me. I can drive you over there around 8:00. But remember these stories about a hidden treasure have floated around for years. If there ever was one, it’s probably gone by now.”
McKenzie knew Uncle Luke was right. But she also knew she needed to at least look for the treasure. Charity and her family deserved it.
Minutes later the girls tromped up the stairs to their room. McKenzie’s cell phone rang, showing a call from Sydney. “Hey, Syd, what’s up?” she asked, flinging herself onto the bed. She pressed the speakerphone button so Kate could hear.
“Ever since I saw the picture of the lights earlier, I’ve been researching,” Sydney said. “Mr. Drake was a stone mason at one time, right? So that means he may possibly have worked with granite or marble. A bright light striking polished stone would reflect almost like light against a mirror. And green granite or marble would cause a green reflection.”
McKenzie felt excitement ripple up her spine. “So, if we can find two large pieces of stone on the land, the treasure might be buried underneath.”
“That’s just an idea,” Sydney said. “It makes sense to me that this treasure could have something to do with Mr. Drake being a stone mason. And Liz thinks the treasure could be buried in an out-of-the-way place. Those hills where you saw the lights look pretty isolated to me.”
McKenzie agreed with Sydney’s suggestion. The girls chatted briefly then hung up to get ready for bed.
Sunlight was streaming through the window when she awoke the next morning. She grabbed her pillow and thwacked Kate on the back. “We overslept. We’ve got to get going.”
Slipping into a pair of old jeans, McKenzie quickly pulled a faded yellow T-shirt over her head. After pulling her hair into a ponytail, she shoved her cap on her head. By the time she was dressed, Kate had already changed into knee-length plaid shorts and a green polo shirt.
Uncle Luke and Aunt Cara had already left for work at The Farms, so the girls ate a quick breakfast alone. Soon McKenzie had rummaged through an old shed and found a spade.
At 8:00 Uncle Luke drove up the lane in the Farms’ utility vehicle. “Let’s hop in the truck,” he said, motioning for them to follow him to his black pickup parked in the front driveway.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Roseman Bridge. Uncle Luke drove into a narrow overgrown lane off the gravel road. “I called Mrs. Whitson this morning. She said this lane and the property between the fences belong to her family. So, don’t venture outside the fenced area. Call me when you’re finished, and I’ll send someone over to pick you up. Okay?”
The girls agreed and grabbed their tools out of the truck. Kate grabbed the spade, while McKenzie carried a backpack of supplies holding leather gloves, binoculars, and snacks.
“It’s hot already,” Kate muttered, dragging the spade behind her in the tall grass.
“Just wait,” McKenzie said, trudging behind her, heaving the heavy pack over her shoulder. “This afternoon will be a scorcher.”
“Where are we going to look first?” Kate asked when they reached an old rotted wooden gate.
McKenzie peered up the hill, trying to remember exactly where they had seen the lights last night. “Let’s go over there,” she said, pointing to her right about a hundred yards up the hill in the timber.
The gate was so rundown, McKenzie simply stepped over the broken slats. She motioned for Kate to follow, and they continued up the hill. Pushing aside the prickly bushes, she stepped into the overgrown timber.
The air was cooler in the shade, but the breeze couldn’t reach them as they walked deeper into the timber. The girls stepped over fallen trees and branches. McKenzie wiped the sweat from her forehead and swatted at the gnats flying about her head.
“I don’t see anything up here that could reflect anything,” Kate said dismally. “Are you sure we’re in the right place?”
McKenzie paused and glanced around. The timber looked like an overgrown jungle. Dead branches and leaves littered the ground. Thorny bushes grew everywhere. Squirrels and birds chattered in the treetops. She heard skittering sounds nearby. Probably just rabbits, she thought, weaving her way through the trees.
She stopped to catch her breath, sniffing the musty, earthy smell. “Let’s go farther up the hill,” she said, heading for a small clearing in the trees.
As she neared the open space, a flash of greenish light c
aught her eye as the sunlight struck a shiny object. “I see something,” McKenzie cried. She hurried through the maze of brambles and branches, arriving in an overgrown clearing. A pair of small, emerald green granite benches sat side by side at one end of a rectangular-shaped rock wall.
“Look, Kate,” she cried, wandering through the large stones littering the ground. “It looks like some kind of old garden. And look at those benches. They’re beautiful. These must be the shimmering green eyes mentioned in the riddle.”
She walked over to them and traced her hand over one of the seats. Though partially covered with a layer of dirt, portions of the polished granite shone through.
Kate turned and glanced down at the road far below them. “Do you think a car’s headlights would reach up here at night and reflect on the benches?”
“That’s got to be it.” McKenzie grabbed the spade Kate had dropped to the ground. She climbed onto the raised ground inside the rock wall. With a quick thrust, she shoved the spade into the hard ground and began to dig. She scooped out the black earth until her shoulders ached. She was about ready to give up when she heard a thud as the shovel hit metal. “I found something!” she cried, beaming at Kate.
With renewed energy, she dug faster until Kate lifted a dirty metal box from the hole. “Oh, it’s heavy!” Kate said, lugging the box to a smooth area of the ground.
“Can you open it?” McKenzie wiped her forearm across her sweaty forehead and flung her spade to the ground.
Kate fiddled with the hinge on the side. “It’s locked.”
“I guess we probably shouldn’t unlock it anyway. It’s not ours,” McKenzie said, kneeling in the dirt beside Kate. “But can you believe it? We actually found the treasure.”
McKenzie pulled out her phone and quickly texted her uncle, telling him they were finished. A moment later, he replied saying he was sending Ross out to pick them up.
Kate scrambled over to the backpack McKenzie had dropped by the benches. She pulled out two cans of strawberry pop and handed one to her friend. McKenzie grabbed it eagerly and popped the top. She guzzled it, not even caring that it was now lukewarm.
Gazing down the hillside, she saw a truck parked alongside the road in front of the bridge.
“Hey, Kate. Grab your binoculars. Do you recognize that truck down there?” McKenzie sat up, shielding her eyes against the sun.
Kate held the binoculars to her eyes. She lowered them and looked at McKenzie, her eyes wide. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s Sam and Blake.”
McKenzie grabbed the binoculars and peered down the hill. “I think you’re right. And, I also think that’s the truck that we saw out here last night. Oh Kate, I think we’re being followed.”
McKenzie set the binoculars down, fear creeping into her stomach. “I hope Ross started out right away. I don’t like being up here, knowing we’re being watched.”
“If Blake and Sam are watching us, how are we going to get this box down the hill?” Kate asked, her voice trembling slightly. “What if they come up here after it?”
“Let’s see if we can fit it in the backpack. That should at least hide it,” McKenzie said, dumping the contents onto the ground. She groaned as she lifted the box. Kate held the backpack open while her friend shoved it inside.
“It won’t zip completely,” McKenzie said. “But that’s okay.”
“What are we going to do with the junk we dumped out? It won’t fit in there now,” Kate said.
“We can take care of that,” McKenzie said, ripping open a bag of nacho cheese chips. She shoved a couple in her mouth and crumpled their empty pop cans with her foot. After sliding them into the backpack, she lifted the pack with both hands. “Can you carry everything else?”
Kate grabbed the spade and gathered up the gloves, binoculars, and remaining snacks. “Got it,” she said, following McKenzie back into the timber.
When they reached the bottom of the hill, the girls stopped, staying hidden in the timber. McKenzie’s arms ached. She slid the bag to the ground and gazed down the lane toward the bridge. The truck with Sam and Blake inside still sat on the side of the road. “Please, Ross, get here soon,” McKenzie pleaded softly.
She peered down the road at a cloud of dust rising behind a vehicle. She recognized Ross’s brown truck.
Thank you, God, McKenzie prayed when she saw Sam and Blake get in the truck and drive off.
They walked through the tall grass, arriving at the end of the lane as Ross pulled up. Kate stowed the spade in the back, and the girls crawled into the front seat beside him. McKenzie sighed with relief as the air conditioning washed over her.
Ross laughed as McKenzie heaved the heavy backpack to the floor. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you girls just found some buried treasure. Do you always carry a spade around?”
“Well, to be honest,” McKenzie said, “we did find something. But we don’t know what’s in it yet. It doesn’t belong to us anyway.”
Though McKenzie knew she could trust Ross, she didn’t feel comfortable telling him much about their discovery. After all, the metal box could contain rocks for all she knew. She groaned inwardly.
She glanced in the rearview mirror, anxious to see if anyone was following them. She breathed a sigh of relief at the stretch of empty road behind them.
The minute they arrived back at the Randalls’ house, the girls thanked Ross and headed to a shed behind the house. As Kate put away the spade, McKenzie dropped the heavy backpack to the concrete floor.
Crrraashhh! The metal lid popped open, spilling gold coins across the floor!
Kate turned, her jaw dropping open. She scooped the coins into her hands and let them slip through her fingers. She picked up a few and glanced at the date on the front. “Look, McKenzie. These are antique coins. Charity’s family will be rich!”
McKenzie stared in awe, then she spoke in a rushed voice. “We have to hide this right away. If Sam and Blake were spying on us earlier, they must know we were looking for the treasure. They could still be following us.”
McKenzie and Kate scooped the coins back into the box as quickly as they could. “Where are we going to hide it?” Kate asked, bending to help McKenzie.
“I don’t know,” McKenzie said, flipping the lid shut after they had returned the coins. She lifted the box and stuck it inside a large empty crate, placing an old wicker laundry basket on top. “We need to go find Uncle Luke or Aunt Cara. I think they were helping with a special exhibit today at the round barn. They should still be there. The treasure box is safe for now. We’ll be back in less than five minutes.”
The girls hurried from the shed and headed toward the lane leading to the Farms. “I’m going to tie Biscuit outside while we’re gone. He hasn’t been out all morning,” Kate said, racing to the house. Seconds later, Biscuit sat on the back step watching them leave.
Fortunately, Uncle Luke was in the round barn talking with a photographer setting up to take pictures of the staff at work. He smiled at the girls as he greeted them.
“Uncle Luke, you have to come with us. We found the buried treasure,” McKenzie said excitedly, trying to keep her voice down. “Come with us, please!”
Uncle Luke told the photographer he’d be back in a few minutes.
“Wait up,” he called, racing up the lane after the girls.
McKenzie darted across the yard, past Biscuit barking on the porch, and into the shed. She stopped at the sight before her. The wicker basket lay on its side on the floor. “Oh, no!” she cried, running to the large crate to peer inside. “The treasure is gone! Someone stole it!”
The Race Is On!
“Oh McKenzie! Do you think Blake and Sam stole it?” Kate cried.
“Okay, girls, slow down,” Uncle Luke said, raising his hands. “Tell me everything.”
The girls relayed the events of the morning to Uncle Luke.
“But you don’t know if they followed you here?” he asked, raking his fingers through his blond hair.
Mc
Kenzie looked sheepishly at Kate. “Well, I guess we didn’t exactly see them after we got home.”
Uncle Luke sighed as he looked toward the house. McKenzie followed his gaze. Biscuit strained on his leash, yipping furiously.
“Biscuit’s upset about something,” Kate said. “He barks like that around strangers. I know somebody was here and just left.”
“I’m calling the sheriff,” Uncle Luke said. “Hopefully, we can locate them before they get too far away.”
McKenzie glanced at her watch. “What about the balloon race? We were supposed to watch Josh launch.”
Uncle Luke quickly made a call. “Aunt Cara will be here in about twenty minutes to take you over there.”
After the girls climbed into Aunt Cara’s car, McKenzie texted the Camp Club Girls about their latest discoveries. Moments later Liz responded.
I HAVE FAITH THAT YOU TWO CAN SOLVE THIS. I’LL BE PRAYING FOR YOU THIS MORNING. KEEP US POSTED. BFF LIZ.
The girls smiled as they read Liz’s encouraging remarks. Soon Aunt Cara arrived at the launching grounds and glanced about the sea of vehicles parked in the lot.
“Can you find Mrs. Whitson in this crowd?”
“Sure,” McKenzie said, stepping out of the car. “We’ve got her cell number too.”
“Do you think the sheriff can find the treasure?” Kate asked, leaning into the open car window.
“He’ll do the best he can.” Aunt Cara smiled reassuringly. “Unless we find the treasure in Sam and Blake’s possession, though, we can’t prove they stole it. I’ll let you know the minute we find out anything.”
The girls waved as Aunt Cara drove off. They walked through the entrance where hundreds of people sauntered about. Some sat in lawn chairs, and some stretched out on blankets on the ground. Others stood in line buying cold drinks and snacks from vendors beneath red and white awnings.
The girls continued until they reached the edge of a huge field. Dozens of colorful hot-air balloons dotted the landscape, bobbing in the wind.
McKenzie turned as she heard someone calling her name above the chattering voices and laughter. Charity hurried through the crowd toward them wearing an emerald green dress. A sparkling tiara sat on top of her head and a blue sash was draped across her chest.