by Shari Barr
“Charity!” McKenzie cried, giving her friend a hug. “You won! I’m so sorry we didn’t see you being crowned.”
“That’s okay,” Charity said, her eyes dancing. Then she whispered, “How did things go this morning?”
“You won’t believe it, but we found a treasure box,” McKenzie said, bouncing on her toes.
“But,” Kate interrupted, pushing her mirrored sunglasses up her nose, “it was stolen from the Randalls’ shed. We think Sam and Blake took it, but we can’t prove it.”
Charity’s face fell. “You mean the treasure is gone?”
“The sheriff will find it,” McKenzie said, trying to convince Charity as well as herself.
“My family is down by Uncle Josh’s balloon. Don’t say anything to Mom yet about the treasure. I don’t want to disappoint her.” Charity continued through the crowd, mingling with the people.
The girls hurried to Josh’s balloon. He and his crew were busy with last-minute details. A woman who looked like an older version of Charity introduced herself as Mrs. Whitson. Then she introduced her twelve-year-old son, Drew, and her younger daughters, Carly and Justy.
“Hey, girls,” Josh said, beaming a great smile. “It’s perfect weather for a flight. Do you want to ride along?”
McKenzie glanced excitedly at Kate. “Sure!” both girls answered together.
“I’ll be launching in a couple of minutes.” Josh double-checked the propane tank in the basket.
McKenzie’s cell phone rang. After glancing at the name on the screen, she said, “Hey, Bailey. I’m glad you called. We’ve got news.”
McKenzie told her about finding the “shimmering green eyes,” the buried treasure, and then having the treasure stolen.
“So, you think Sky Rider stole it?” Bailey asked dismally, using the nickname she had given Sam.
McKenzie had almost forgotten that Sam was supposed to fly in the race today. He and Blake were probably miles away by now—the balloon race would be the last thing on their minds.
“We can’t prove it, but we think he stole it,” McKenzie said. After a minute, she hung up.
Sky Rider. The phrase whirled repeatedly through her mind. Was God trying to tell her something? Sam is a balloonist who likes to ride in the sky.
McKenzie and Kate hurried through the array of balloons. She stopped when her gaze fell on a balloon about fifty yards away. Sam scrambled into the basket. Blake climbed in behind him carrying a metal box.
McKenzie whispered, “Look! Sam and Blake are taking off with the treasure box!”
“We don’t have time to watch.” Kate tugged McKenzie’s arm. “Josh is ready to launch.”
McKenzie had almost forgotten. She turned and fled with Kate toward Josh’s balloon. She glanced behind her as Sam and Blake’s balloon ascended into the sky.
Josh stood beside the basket talking to a man on his ground crew. “Hop in,” he said to the girls. “I’ll be there in just a sec.”
The ropes holding the balloon down had been untied. Two men, one on each side of the basket, held it to the ground. The girls hastily climbed over the side and dropped to the floor.
A sudden gust of wind whipped the balloon above them. The basket lurched as one of the crewmen stumbled, losing his grip. Josh jumped toward the basket, straining to grab hold of the side but missed. “Hold on, Al!” he called to the remaining crewman.
Al clutched the basket, pushing down with all his might. But the far edge of the basket tipped as the wind lifted it too high for any of the men to reach. Commotion rose around them as people raced to help. But it was too late. Al lost his grip and the balloon lurched again as it lifted from the ground.
“Heeellllp!” McKenzie screamed at the top of her lungs.
Mrs. Whitson and the kids shrieked. The men tried to grab the basket, but it was already out of reach. McKenzie stared in horror as the crowd below her grew smaller and smaller. Kate stared speechless at the scene below them.
“Oh Kate!” McKenzie cried. “What are we going to do? We can’t fly this balloon.”
Josh cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled something. But McKenzie couldn’t understand a word. Her knees quivered and her stomach churned. “My ears are ringing. I think I’m going to throw up,” she cried, clutching the side of the basket.
Kate gripped her arm and turned McKenzie to face her. Her voice was cool and calm. “You’re not going to barf and your ears aren’t ringing. That’s your phone.”
“Oh,” McKenzie muttered, fumbling to pull her phone from her pocket.
“McKenzie,” Josh said calmly. “I’ll tell you how to fly the balloon. You flew it the other day, so just listen to me.”
Though still shaking, she felt herself calming down. She glanced at Kate, whose eyes were shut. Her lips moved slightly in prayer. McKenzie quickly said her own silent prayer.
“Okay,” she said to Josh after a moment.
“Remember all the things I told you the other day about the controls. My crew and I will follow you on the ground, and I’ll give you instructions. I’ll get you to a field and talk you through the procedure to land the balloon,” Josh said.
Hot-air balloons floated above her, dotting the sky as far she could see. “Josh, we have another problem,” McKenzie said. “Blake and Sam have the treasure, and they’re getting away in a hot-air balloon.”
“We can’t worry about that right now,” Josh said. “We’ve got to get you girls down. Stay on the phone with me.”
“I can see their balloon way ahead of us.” Kate pointed at a red and yellow balloon in the distance.
McKenzie stared in the direction Kate pointed. A thought began to form in her mind. She just had to get the treasure back for Charity’s family. Her mind whirled with possibilities of ways to catch the two thieves.
“McKenzie, are you there?” Josh’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Uh, yes. I’m here,” McKenzie answered, peering around at all the colorful balloons surrounding her.
“There is a pasture a couple of miles ahead where you can land,” Josh said. “Let a little air out of the balloon like I showed you the other day.”
McKenzie reached up and pulled the parachute valve cord. She felt the balloon lower itself as the heat escaped.
“Okay, that’s good,” Josh said, “You’re flying nice and slow right now. Keep it there and let the other balloons fly around you. I can see you from the road down here. I’ll tell you when to give it more…”
Josh’s voice went silent. “Oh, no,” McKenzie said, glancing at her phone. “His call dropped.”
Kate glanced up quickly from her own phone. “That’s okay. I found a website I used for a science project at school. It shows the wind speeds at different altitudes. That way we’ll know whether to go up or down. We don’t want to run into another balloon and crash.”
McKenzie thought about Kate’s words. She saw the red and yellow balloon growing smaller and smaller in the distance. “Do you think we could catch Blake and Sam?”
Kate looked at her friend. “We have to do something, so I think we should at least try. We know the wind determines the speed. We can control whether we go up or down by increasing or decreasing the amount of hot air in the balloon. But what are we going to do if we catch them?”
“I don’t know. We’ll think of something while we’re chasing them.” McKenzie glanced down at the patchwork of fields and roads dotted with cows and cars. “Blake and Sam will have to come down some time. I wonder if Josh called the cops?”
“I bet he did,” Kate said, glancing around. “But right now, we need to get moving. Blake and Sam are getting farther and farther away from us. We need to raise our altitude where the wind is faster. There aren’t any balloons close to us right now. So blast the burner with more gas so we’ll go higher.”
McKenzie reached high and opened the valve. A large flame blasted hot air into the mouth of the balloon. Her stomach quivered as the balloon soared heavenward.
�
��How much higher?” she asked, keeping her hand on the valve.
Kate paused then said, “We’re at the right height now to ride on the fastest winds. Slow your flame down so we don’t go too high.”
McKenzie turned the valve slightly. “I don’t think we’re even moving.”
Kate peered at the screen of her phone. “We’re moving all right. We’re going faster than the other balloons.”
Slowly Blake and Sam’s balloon grew bigger as the girls approached. “We’re catching up!” McKenzie exclaimed.
Ahead, a large field loomed, surrounded by a wooded area. McKenzie noticed a string of vehicles creeping down the road beside it. “I hope that’s Josh following us,” she said. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like sheriffs’ vehicles too.
“Get ahead of them,” Kate said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
“They’re flying really low,” McKenzie said as an idea came to her. “Do you think we could fly close to them and knock them into the trees?”
“I think we have to go for it,” Kate said. “We have to land this balloon somewhere.”
Once the balloon was above and slightly ahead of Sam and Blake, McKenzie pulled the parachute valve cord. The hot air escaped from the balloon, and the ground grew closer and closer. The balloon sank, closing the distance between Sam and Blake. McKenzie let more air out, and their basket collided with the thieves’ balloon, tipping it dangerously.
Sam’s orange and red balloon descended a bit as he lost control of it. McKenzie bumped the balloon again, sending it closer to the grove of trees.
“We’re going to crash!” McKenzie cried. “Please, God, save us!”
McKenzie closed the parachute valve, praying the balloon would stop sinking. She closed her eyes and prepared for the crash. A large bump sent her to her knees, and Kate toppled over her as the basket hit the ground. Voices cried out around her.
Opening her eyes cautiously, she saw Josh and his crewmen clutching the basket, holding it to the ground.
“You girls okay?” Josh asked, jumping over the side of the basket.
“I’m fine,” McKenzie said, standing on wobbly legs.
“Me too,” Kate said, shoving her glasses back up her nose.
“Let’s get you both out of here then.” He helped the girls out of the basket as the crew held it steady. “I have a race to win,” he added with a grin.
The girls stepped aside as Josh blasted the flame in the burner and disappeared among the other balloonists.
A cloud of dust on the road caught her eye. “Uncle Luke is here!” McKenzie exclaimed, noting his black pickup.
Seconds later he raced to meet the girls, hugging them both at once. “Josh just called me. I’m so glad you’re okay.” McKenzie felt his arms trembling as he hugged her.
She turned at the sound of angry voices coming from the grove of trees. The sheriff and two deputies surrounded a wicker basket lodged in the treetops. The balloon hung in the branches like a limp parachute.
Minutes later, Blake and Sam dropped the metal box to the ground and climbed from their mangled basket. The deputies moved forward, placing handcuffs on them. The thieves glared at the girls as they were ushered into the official truck. The sheriff tucked the metal box into his truck to hold as evidence.
After the girls assured the sheriff that they were okay, he thanked them for their actions and drove away with Sam and Blake. The girls crawled into Uncle Luke’s pickup and several miles later pulled up beside a large, empty field. Vehicles lined the road, waiting for the balloons slowly drifting toward them.
The moment they arrived, Drew spotted them and rushed over. “We’ve been watching you fly the balloon, and you did great. And guess what? Uncle Josh is winning!”
Minutes later, Josh brought his blue, purple, and green balloon down into the field. The basket wobbled but stayed upright as his crew ran to his aid. Josh climbed out as his sister and her family rushed to meet him.
After congratulating her brother, Mrs. Whitson hurried over to McKenzie and Kate. “Josh wants you to join us this evening for the afterglow time.”
“What is that?” Kate asked, looking bewildered.
“Wait and see,” Mrs. Whitson said, her eyes twinkling. “Come back to the launch area at dusk.”
When the girls returned later with Uncle Luke and Aunt Cara, McKenzie gasped at the sight before her.
The dark sky was ablaze with color. Hundreds of hot-air balloons were staked to the ground, once again filled with hot air. The flames in the burners caused the balloons to glow in brilliant shades of red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, and green.
“Isn’t it gorgeous, Kate?” McKenzie cried.
Soon Charity made her way through the crowd to meet them. “Come join us over on the hill.”
The foursome followed Charity to a couple of blankets on the ground. “Fireworks start in a few minutes. Mom wants to thank you for finding our family’s treasure.”
Mrs. Whitson hugged each girl. She told them the sheriff had informed them that the coins were real. “We don’t know how much they’re worth, but it’s such a blessing to our family. We are so thankful for the way things turned out.”
“The sheriff told us that Sam is a treasure hunter,” Charity said. “He researches stories about lost treasures and then searches for them. He heard the rumor about Mr. Drake’s treasure being hidden around Heritage Farms. So he hung out around the Farms, looking for the perfect employee to help him steal the treasure. Blake was happy to assist.”
“So, what will happen to Sam and Blake?” McKenzie asked.
“Sam will probably go to jail,” Charity answered. “But we asked the sheriff not to press charges against Blake. We’ve forgiven both of them, but Blake deserves a fresh start. We all feel so blessed that you found the treasure and that Josh won the prize money. It was an answer to our prayers.”
McKenzie smiled as she settled onto a blanket beside Kate, Charity, and Drew. She had been angry with Sam and Blake until she saw how easily Charity forgave them.
McKenzie looked upward as a brilliant firework exploded in the night sky and felt a burst of thankfulness in her heart. Thanks to God’s guidance, the Camp Club Girls had done it again! Another mystery solved!
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