A Tell-Tale Treasure

by Megan Marple

  “You think pirates buried treasure at a fort?”

  Okay, this time I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “The fort wasn’t there around the time of pirates, which was back in the 1700s. It was built to help reinforce the harbor here during the Civil War.”

  Bigfoot nodded along. “I guess we better get going,” he said finally, after staring at me weirdly for a moment.

  Holding up the map between us, I smiled, that hint of annoyance fading away. “‘X’ marks the spot!”

  “You know . . .” Bigfoot began, slowing down so that I could catch up. He sure did have some long legs and big feet. For every step he took, I had to take two just a keep up! “If we find this treasure, we’ll be like, famous.”

  I smiled at the thought, having already imagined the kind of attention something like finding buried pirate treasure would cause on Capers Cove. Going to bed the night before had been practically impossible with all the crazy thoughts and ideas running through my mind. “Yeah, that would be pretty cool, don’t you think? Newspapers and magazines would want to interview us. Maybe we could even go on one of those late-night talk shows!”

  “My dad likes watching Jay Leno. He would totally freak out if he got to meet him face-to-face.”

  We kept going back and forth, dreaming up how cool and awesome our lives would be once we found the buried treasure. Bigfoot claimed he would start a band, although I told him as cool as we would be, not even our popularity would land him a record deal. I couldn’t help but smile after he jokingly stuck his tongue at me, crossing his arms.

  “Here we are,” I said once we had finally made it up to the monument sitting outside the front entrance of the fort.

  “Fort Hunley. Established in 1861. Yep, that was the Civil War all right,” Bigfoot read aloud from the large bronze plaque sticking out of the ground in front of us. “So, here’s a question for you . . . This is one of those national parks, right?”

  I thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, it is. Says so right there,” I said pointing to a small emblem of the National Park Service right under the plaque. “Why?”

  He frowned as he looked back at me. “Then how the heck are we going to dig for buried treasure? Isn’t that kind of . . . illegal or something?”

  It took me a minute to process what he said, but as soon as I did I realize that he was right. The sinking feeling in my stomach wasn’t making me feel any better. “That’s why no one’s found it. Because no one can go looking for it if it’s here . . . aw, man! Why didn’t I think about that first?” I slapped my hand over my forehead, feeling like a complete dummy.

  “Well, why don’t we just take a look at the map again? Maybe . . . maybe if we lineup the map with the shape of the island . . . maybe we could get a better idea of where the treasure is. And if we’re lucky it won’t be on national park land. I mean, I’m not scared. I just figured you might not want to get in trouble, ya know,” he quickly added.

  As much as I hated to admit it, Bigfoot’s words did make me feel a little bit better. Except for him assuming I was some kind of scaredy cat. “Okay, yeah, let’s do that first.”

  I spread out the map over the top of the plaque, licking my lips as my eyes scanned over the faded lines and creases. “So, this looks kind of like a skinny ‘D’ right here,” I said pointing. “That would be the other end of the island, where the shrimp docks and everything are. Where my Dad works. But the ‘x’ here,” I said as I trailed my finger back along the broken line, “looks like it might be closer to the shore and hmm . . .”

  “Hmm? Hmm, what?”

  “We might not be that far off after all! Look at this, Bigfoot! There’s this kind of the dip in the island right here, right before the rocks start at the end of the island. Which means that the ‘x’ is somewhere around The Caves, I think!”

  He looked utterly confused as he rocked back on his heels, snorting at me. “First of all, my name is not Bigfoot, for the millionth time. I don’t know why you keep calling me that. Second of all, did you say caves?”

  I shrugged one shoulder, smiling smugly back at him. “That may not be your name, but I’m still gonna call you that. And yes, Bigfoot, I said caves. They’re actually not far off from the fort here. Let’s go!”

  I took his hand and yanked at him, trying to get him to move, my heart already racing in my chest. If we were this close to the treasure… Then we were this close to being rich and famous! And the faster we found it, the faster I’d get my new bike and everything else I’ve ever wanted in my life, and more!

  “Okay, okay! Geez, don’t pull my arm out of the socket!” he groaned behind me, but I didn’t stop, and kept pushing further, the map feeling heavy in my hands. Everything inside me said that yes, this was the right way. For a moment, I almost felt like Poe gliding over the island, free as a bird. It suddenly struck me how much I missed him, wishing he was with me as we found the treasure.

  As excited as I was, I felt the prickly feeling of someone watching me. It was a feeling that I got pretty often, but tried to ignore for the most part especially since I knew it wasn’t coming from Bigfoot. Swallowing against the rising lump in my throat, I reminded myself to think smart. Now is not a time to get ahead of yourself, Edie, I tried to calmly think.

  We stopped short in front of the abandoned wreck of a building that us islanders dubbed The Caves. Even just being in the presence of such a rundown place I felt vulnerable, as if some creep could come running out and get me. And as far as I knew, Bigfoot was feeling pretty much the same way.

  “What is this place?” he whispered, even though no one else was around us. Maybe it was silly, but I secretly enjoyed knowing that Bigfoot was possibly more scared of The Caves than I was.

  “This, Bigfoot, is what I was talking about. These are The Caves.”

  Shielding his eyes, he pretended to look all around us. “Uh . . . what caves? It just looks like a big creepy building inside of a hill. With creepy old stairs, and some rotten wood here and there. Oh, and is that a dead rat laying right inside the creepy old door? Fantastic. Can we go now?”

  This time I did laugh out loud, shaking my head, still grinning. “It’s really not that big a deal. Sure, they’re pretty creepy, but I think this is where the ‘x’ might be. We might find the treasure here.”

  He hesitated but followed after me once I took off down one of the small path that led behind the old Civil War ammo pits. It was a tight squeeze, but once we made it back behind there, we were on the other side where the dirt turned to sand and random patches of grass were still springing up. “Maybe here?”

  “Okay, before we go anywhere else . . . seriously, what is this place? It looks like it should’ve been torn down like a hundred years ago or something,” Bigfoot spoke up.

  I sighed, not really wanting to get into a history lesson at the moment. “It’s just where they used to keep the cannonballs and some of the other weapons here on the island. For the fort. But legend has it that they also used to keep prisoners of war here, too. I don’t know if that’s true or not but . . .”

  I could almost see the blood fading out of his cheeks. “But what?”

  Leaning in, I looked him directly in the eyes. “Let’s just say this, I have it on good authority that this place is haunted.”

  Obviously not believing a word I was saying, Bigfoot snorted. “Oh, puhlease! Get outta here, do you really expect me to believe that?” he asked, rolling his eyes dramatically. I can understand why he would say that, but the crazy part was that I was actually right. The Caves, the Fort, heck, most of the island was sorta haunted…

  Shrugging my shoulders, I looked down at the ground. “You don’t have to believe me. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Just because you want to be a big baby about it . . . anyway, I think the best place to start looking would be over here closer to where the sand begins.”

  That was all it took for Bigfoot to grit his teeth and turn right around.

  “Hey! Where are you going?”

&
nbsp; “No one, and I mean no one, calls me a baby. Let’s see just how haunted this place really is,” Bigfoot shouted back over his shoulder at me, before disappearing around the bend of the path.

  “Of all the dumb things . . .” I muttered to myself, shaking it off. If Bigfoot wanted to be stupid and act like some tough guy, he could have at it. I wasn’t about to let some dumb boy ruin my mood, much less ruin my chances for finding buried treasure. He could go and get stuck inside the tunnels of The Caves for all I cared.

  Resting the smaller shovel against the backside of the building, I grabbed the long-handled shovel and pictured the map inside my mind, the tip of my tongue sticking out just a little bit between my teeth.

  It didn’t seem to matter where I started first, so I just randomly picked a spot further away from the building and started digging. Hopefully no one would know we were back there, much less digging on private property. Set far back past the dune and disguised behind the building from the street, I didn’t think I’d have a problem.

  Even though it was only in the upper 70’s, little beads of sweat trickled down the sides of my face as I put all my weight into digging a hole in the sand, the shovel rough under my fingertips. It probably would’ve been a good idea to bring some gloves, I thought, frowning as I saw the small blisters starting to form on my fingers. But I wasn’t about to be persuaded to stop, and kept on digging anyway.

  I don’t know how much longer I was standing there, but I was already chest deep in the hole, wondering if maybe I shouldn’t try a new spot. There were plenty of other spaces to check out, and it probably wasn’t necessary to dig any further down, not that close to the water. Chucking my shovel a couple feet away from the edge of the hole, I reached up to pull my upper body up, the sand starting to shift all around me. I stopped for a moment, looking down to see that the sand was already covering up my ankles as I moved, and I swallowed hard as I attempted to try and push my whole body out of the hole in one big jump.

  My tennis shoes kept slipping as I tried to edge my way over and out, but the sand seemed to throw me back into the hole, the entire side of the hole collapsing in on top of me as I fell back down right on my butt. I tried to yell out for Bigfoot’s attention, but I had to hurry up and try to stand before I was completely covered.

  Panic raced through me as I realized how stupid it was to try and dig a deep hole in the sand with no one else around me. I didn’t even know how many times Mama and Daddy had warned me not to do that, yet there I was anyway, about to be suffocated by a wall of sand.

  I grunted, trying to pull myself to a stand. The sand had spilled all inside the hole and I could barely move, everything below my chest completely stuck in the heavy, crushing weight. I took a few big gulps of breath, spitting out the sand that had blown into my face. What in the world was I going to do? If Bigfoot couldn’t hear me… Then who would find me? What if he didn’t come back? How on earth was I supposed to get out of there?

  I bit my lip as the tears welled up in my eyes. It was not how that was supposed to happen, and I felt so stupid, so absolutely childish for thinking it was a good idea. I could picture Mama, shaking her head at me over another silly idea of mine. “Baby, why do you always get yourself in these kinds of messes?” she would’ve said.

  “Bigfoot! BIGFOOT! HELP!” I shrieked at the top of my lungs, the pressure pushing up against me uncomfortably. My throat was already hoarse from the sand I had managed to swallow, and I kept coughing little bits of it up. “BIGFOOT!”

  A chill ran up my spine even though I was surrounded by warm sand. I looked all around me, wondering if I was alone after all, and hoping that I was right when I decided that I might not be. “HELP ME!” I screeched, my voice breaking into a desperate sob as I frantically scooped at the sand, trying to dig my way out.

  The overwhelming scent of ocean water started hanging in the air. I couldn’t see past the side of the sand dune, but I knew that sometimes high tide would rush past the edge of the dunes and cause little tide pools around them. If the water rushed past there....

  There was a whistle on the wind and I looked all around, trying not to freak out even worse. “Who’s there?”

  “The tide will wash the sand away soon, Edie. You need to get out of there now,” a voice was gruff in my ear as I cautiously clawed away at the sand.

  The voice was familiar, and even though there was nobody around, I knew I wasn’t alone, just as I had hoped. I took in a deep breath. “Help me, Carter!” I called out to him, still feeling ridiculous and scared all at once.

  Another breeze whisked past my face, and I could feel his presence as if he were standing right next to me in his old gray uniform.

  Lt. Carter Ruskin. He was the first one I had ever heard, at least the first one that I remembered.

  The very first ghost to speak to me.

  “First you need to calm yourself. If you struggle against the sand you will tire yourself. Then you need to carefully reach for the spade over there. Are you ready?”

  I bit my lip. This had to work... “Okay,” I whispered before closing my eyes and trying to relax my body.

  “Good girl. Now try to grab onto the spade,” he repeated, his southern drawl low and barely there.

  I took in a deep breath and tried to reach as far as I could, my fingertips just brushing along the handle of the shovel. “I’ve . . . almost . . .”

  Grunting, I gave one last push against the sand that was trapping me, and my hand closed around the edge of the shovel’s handle, just enough for me to pull it alongside the hole. I looked up, hopeful that Carter was still there.

  “Use the spade to dig your way out, not straight down, but along the edges of the hole where it’s still intact.”

  I did exactly as I was told, sweating like crazy as I finally pulled myself to safety, shaking the sand out of my socks and shoes once I was far enough away from the hole. “Thank you, Carter,” I called out to him. When I didn’t hear an answer, I frowned.

  I never knew when I’d hear the voices again... it was something I’d always known was different about me. So that made every time I did hear them, extra special. While I didn’t understand why I was the only one who could hear them, I learned when I was even younger to never bring it up with anyone else. Not unless I wanted them to think I was nuttier than a squirrel.

  Grabbing the smaller shovel, I took one last look around before walking down the narrow path to the front of the rickety old building. A few minutes later, Bigfoot came tearing out of one of the far tunnels, his eyes wide and crazy looking, his face red.

  “You okay?” I laughed, trying to shake off my nerves, the adrenaline in my veins making my palms itch. If I could dig myself out of a potentially deadly sand trap, he could stand a few minutes in The Caves.

  Bigfoot leaned over, his hands on his knees as he looked straight ahead at the road. “That . . . was insane. I can’t wait to tell my friends about this place!” Turning to look at me, he paused before standing back up. “Did you have any luck out there? Find anything?”

  I shook my head. “I think we might need to look somewhere else. Even closer to the end of the island than I thought before. We’ll probably need to head down to the lighthouse. I think that makes more sense, anyway.”

  “After you,” he said, taking the longer shovel before gesturing with it.

  As we started back down the sidewalk, I turned to look over my shoulder when Bigfoot wasn’t looking, and said a silent thank you to Lt. Ruskin for helping save my life.

  6

  I tried not to think about the seriously scary situation I’d just gotten myself out of, and Bigfoot carried on as if he wasn’t seriously traumatized by exploring the inside of The Caves by himself. We both pretended everything was cool and kept on walking along down the road that led way back to the overflow parking lot next to the Capers Cove Lighthouse.

  It was silly, but I kept getting this feeling like maybe the sand trap thing was a sign. A sign that I shouldn’t be snooping aro
und looking for buried treasure. What if the pirate who buried it put booby traps around it? That was a real thing, wasn’t it? It would certainly fit right in with my usual pattern of getting myself into messes, that was for sure. And as badly as I wanted to be rich and famous and wear a fancy, expensive bracelet with my own name on it... I had to remember that I wasn’t the only one there. Bigfoot may have been super annoying from time to time, but at least he was looking for the treasure with me. He didn’t think I was some weird freak. Or at least not a total weird freak. Still, I didn’t want to get him in trouble too if things went bad.

  Just like in the movies, I imagined a little devil and a little angel sitting on my shoulders. The devil would twirl his little mustache and smile, whispering for me to keep going no matter what. I’d find that treasure and Andrea and her stupid friends would wish they were half as cool as me. But the angel on the other side would shake its finger at me, telling me that I didn’t want to get stuck in another dangerous situation and for me to stop while I was ahead. Sometimes... I really hated growing up.

  Reaching out to grab Bigfoot’s shoulder, I paused. “Hey. I’ve been thinkin’ . . . Maybe we should—“

  “Find a metal detector? Because I was just thinking that! I mean, the treasure is bound to have some metal in it right? Like the latches or something? It would, if it held up this long. I wonder where we could go rent one . . . I bet you guys don’t have anything like that on the island though . . .”

  It was like the little devil poked the little angel right in the behind with his pitchfork, scaring the angel off. Bigfoot bringing up the metal detector turned on a lightbulb in my head. “Actually, my Granddaddy has one.”