by Charles Tang
“My name’s Jack Ford. I used to work for Winston Walker,” said the man. “I was with him in Brazil when he found the third piece of the map. I have a feeling you’d like to know what it looks like.”
Tom just stood there, speechless. Then he invited Jack Ford inside.
They all went into Tom’s study. Jack sat in the comfortable chair by the fireplace, his knapsack lying beside him like a sleeping dog.
“First of all, you should know that Winston Walker is a bit crazy. He’s obsessed with that treasure,” Jack began.
“Obsessed?” Benny repeated, not sure what the word meant.
“He thinks about it all the time,” Jack said, pointing to his own head. “It’s like the only thing in the world that he cares about.”
“Oh . . . yeah,” Benny said. “We already noticed that.”
“Why were you in Brazil with him?” Henry asked.
“I was a digger, which means I was good with a shovel,” said Jack. “I’d been all around the world doing that kind of work. But working for Winston Walker was a horrible job. He made us sleep in ratty tents and eat lousy food. We had to work nonstop ten hours a day, and we didn’t get Saturdays and Sundays off.”
Violet said, “That’s terrible.”
“That’s exactly what he was,” said Jack, nodding.
“Then why did you keep working for him?” Jessie asked.
Jack frowned. “Because I thought there’d be a big payoff. I thought as soon as the job was finished, he was going to give us all a huge chunk of money.”
“Why did you think that?”
“He told us whoever found the next piece of the map would get a huge bonus.”
Benny said, “You found it, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. It was under a big banana tree, about a foot down in the ground.”
“In a bottle?” Benny guessed.
“Uh-huh, the exact same type of bottle you found,” Jack told him. “I was by myself, and I ground out the cork with a stick. I wanted to make sure the piece of paper inside was part of John Finney’s treasure map before I went yelling about it. About a year earlier, some other guy thought he’d found it, but he was wrong. Winston Walker fired him.”
“How mean,” Jessie said.
“Winston Walker could be very mean when he was angry. Like I said, he wasn’t the nicest guy in the world. But anyway, I shook the paper out of the bottle, and sure enough, it was the third piece of the map,” Jack said.
“What did Walker do?” Henry asked.
“Well, I went over and showed it to him, and he was as excited as a little kid. All the other workers cheered and carried me around on their shoulders. That night, Walker took us to a nice restaurant. The next morning he gave us our money and sent us back to the United States. But I never got that bonus he promised. He said he’d send it to me, but he never did. In fact, I never heard from him again.”
Grandfather said, “Was it a lot of money, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“It was five thousand dollars. That might not be a lot of money to him, but it sure was a lot to me. Still is.” Jack went on to tell them that he had been sending money to his mother back in the United States. She lived alone and didn’t have enough money. He had told her about the bonus, then called her when he found the piece of the map. They were both very excited. He promised to give her the money so she could finish paying for her house.
“That’s so awful,” Violet said sadly. “And to think I felt sorry for Winston Walker.”
“Oh, you still should,” Jack replied. “His greed is a disease, just as bad as any other, and worse than some. It controls him.”
“So then why have you come here?” Tom asked. “I mean, why are you so willing to tell us what the third piece looks like? How come you’re not interested in getting the piece Benny found so you can have the treasure for yourself?”
“Because I don’t want to end up like Walker,” Jack replied. He became thoughtful. “If I found the treasure and became rich, I might start acting like him and thinking like him. He thinks money brings you happiness, but he’s one of the unhappiest people I’ve ever known. And because he’s so unhappy, he makes other people unhappy. I’m not saying all rich people are unhappy, but he certainly is.”
Suddenly Violet did feel sorry for Walker all over again, although she didn’t say so.
“I made a promise to myself—if I was alive when the last piece was found, I swore I would go to the people who found it and let them know what the third one looked like. I know Winston Walker hasn’t let anyone else see it. Only two people in the world know what it looks like—Winston and I.” Jack took a sip of the lemonade Tom had given him. “Either way, I’ve always had a good memory, and I know exactly what’s on that third piece. I’ll be glad to tell you about it. I saw Benny’s picture in the paper while I was at my home in upstate New York. I’m glad that someone else has a chance to find that treasure.”
Tom took out the drawing that Violet had made of the three pieces of the map and laid it on the table. The missing part was in the lower left-hand corner.
With pencil in hand, Jack slowly and carefully began adding the final images. There were some more trees, a few rocks, and, strangely, a bird sitting on its nest. He drew six of these, all of equal size.
“Is that a . . . a nesting bird?” Jessie asked.
“Yes. I was surprised by that, too. I’m not sure what it means. Birds nest all over the world,” said Jack.
“This is probably the first time anyone’s seen this map in its complete form in two hundred years,” Tom said almost in a whisper.
“Can you tell where the treasure is, Mr. Harrison?” asked Henry.
Tom scratched his head. “No, not yet. I guess it would be safe to say this is the ocean over here,” he said, pointing to the squiggly lines. “And these trees . . . well, they could be any trees. Same with the rocks. But the birds . . . why do they seem familiar?”
He walked around the room, stroking his chin while the others kept studying the map. He stopped at the window and stared into the backyard. There were some birds fluttering around the feeder he had hung from one of the trees. He watched them for a moment, hoping they would help him remember. But nothing happened.
And then it hit him.
“The nature trail!”
Everyone turned at once. “Huh?” Henry grunted.
“There’s a nature trail over near the bicycle path. I used to go there with my students. About a mile down, there’s a bird sanctuary. The Department of Environmental Protection declared the area a protected nesting site so no one could build on it. Birds have been nesting there for hundreds of years!” Tom rushed over and looked at the completed map again. “That has to be it. It has to be. And this part here, where the X is . . .” He tapped the spot with his fingers. “That must be the little grove of pine trees. They’re very, very old. That has to be it,” he said again, softly to himself. “It has to be. . . .”
CHAPTER 8
The Final Offer
“Okay, so do we have it all figured out?” Tom asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning. It was nearly ten o’clock now.
Jack Ford had been gone for about two hours. Before he left, he wished them all good luck. He had shown no interest in finding the treasure.
Henry nodded. “I think so. We all get up before sunrise. You and I go to the shed in the backyard and get the shovels. Then we load them into Grandfather’s station wagon, which is parked around the corner.”
“Right” Tom said.
“While we’re doing that, everyone else can gather up some food and something to drink,” Henry said. “And then we all sneak out to the car and head for the nature trail.”
“Now, what happens if we don’t—” Jessie began, then was abruptly cut off.
“Well, isn’t this nice?” said a deep, powerful voice. All heads jerked up, and there in the doorway stood Winston Walker.
“How did you—” Tom began.
“The fron
t door was open, so I let myself in,” Walker replied.
“What do you want?” asked Grandfather.
Walker folded his arms and smiled. “I think you all know why I’m here. You have something that I want.”
“The last piece of the map,” Henry said.
“Exactly right. I’m guessing the reason you didn’t take my latest offer was because it was too low. I should’ve known. Two thousand dollars doesn’t buy much these days. So, I’m prepared to make it three thousand.”
Walker let his offer linger for a moment.
“No? Then how about four? I’m afraid that’s my final offer.”
“What do you think, Benny?” Grandfather asked. “You found the bottle, so it’s your decision. Whatever you want to do is fine with us. Right, kids?” They all agreed that it was.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Walker, but I don’t think I’d like to do that,” said Benny. After all that had happened, he wanted to find the treasure for himself.
Walker began tapping his right foot, and his hands went into his pockets. Suddenly his smile seemed forced. “May I ask why, Benny?”
“I . . . I just don’t want to,” Benny answered.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Walker,” Tom said, “but since Benny obviously isn’t interested in making a deal with you, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to—”
“I don’t understand!” Winston Walker said forcefully, his face turning red. “I’m offering you four thousand dollars! In cash! No kid has that kind of money! All you have to do is give me that lousy little piece of paper that you found on the beach!”
“But he doesn’t want to,” Jessie said angrily
“Mr. Walker—” Tom started saying, but the millionaire didn’t seem to hear him.
“I’ve been looking for that treasure longer than anyone! I have a right to it! I’ve spent thousands of dollars and half my life trying to find it! It belongs to me! ME!”
No one said anything. They just stared. Walker looked as though he were about to explode.
Then Grandfather stood up, walked to Tom’s desk, opened the top drawer, and took out the piece of the map that Benny had found. Winston Walker’s entire manner changed instantly. His eyes widened and his smile returned.
“Is that it?” he asked excitedly.
“Yes, it is,” Grandfather answered. “This is the fourth and final piece to Captain John Finney’s treasure map.”
“Can . . . can I have it?” Walker asked, reaching toward it from the other side of the room.
Grandfather shook his head. “No, you can’t. My grandson found it, which means it belongs to him, and he already said you can’t have it.”
“Now, look here,” Walker began sternly, taking a quick step toward Grandfather Alden.
Grandfather grabbed the telephone off its cradle and held it up. “Mr. Walker, my good friend Tom, who I might remind you is the owner of this house, has already asked you once to leave. I’m now asking you a second time. If you don’t do so at once, I will have no choice but to call the local police. They are as aware of all this treasure business as you are, and I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate a wealthy and important gentleman like yourself giving a group of innocent youngsters a hard time.” Grandfather’s face was serious.
A heavy silence hung in the room. All eyes shifted to Winston Walker, but no one moved. Walker seemed to be thinking over Grandfather’s statement.
Walker’s expression was transformed from one of helplessness back to thinly contained rage. “All right, Mr. Alden. You win. I can see I’m not going to get anywhere with you people.”
“Maybe if you had been a little kinder, things would be different,” Grandfather Alden told him.
For just a brief moment, Walker seemed confused again, as if the idea of being kind were the most bizarre thing in the world. Then he smiled and said, “It doesn’t really matter what might have been, Mr. Alden, because I’ll find another way. I didn’t become such a wealthy and successful man by giving up a fight this easily.” He stormed across the room toward the door. “This isn’t over yet, not by a long shot!” he growled. He seemed to be talking to himself. “You’ll hear from me again!” he called out just before he slammed the front door shut. And then he was gone.
“We’re going to have to keep our eyes and ears open,” Tom said. “One thing he said was absolutely true—he’s not the kind of man who gives up easily. I have a feeling we’ll hear from him again.”
“Probably” Grandfather said.
“So what do we do now?” Henry asked.
Grandfather replied, “We stick to our plan for tomorrow.”
“Really?” Benny said with great enthusiasm.
“Really Winston Walker’s not the only one who doesn’t give up, right?”
“Right!” Benny cheered.
“Okay, then, let’s go over the plan one more time,” Grandfather told them.
CHAPTER 9
What You See Is What You Get
“We’re almost there,” Tom said, huffing and puffing. It was a very hot day.
“I hope I have enough strength left to dig!” Benny said.
“You will,” Henry told him. “If no one digs, we won’t find the treasure.”
The Aldens’ plan to escape early in the morning so none of the newspaper people would see them had worked perfectly. There hadn’t been a single reporter or photographer in sight.
“I wish I’d brought my camera,” Violet said as she walked down the sunlit trail. The tall reeds on either side of the path created a sort of natural corridor, hiding the group from plain view. “This is such a pretty place.”
The path brought them to a small footbridge that spanned a shallow stream, then curved sharply to the left before leading them into an open field.
“And there are the birds,” Tom said.
There were hundreds of them scattered all over the place, sitting on their little nests made of twigs and straw. They looked up curiously at the visitors, but none of them seemed too alarmed.
“Wow,” Violet said in a whisper.
“I’ll bet John Finney saw the very same thing,” Henry said.
“Maybe he stood just where we’re standing just now!” Benny guessed.
“That’s possible,” Tom replied. “And look over there.”
He pointed a little farther down the path. There in the distance, standing out from the other trees, was a small crowd of crooked pines.
“The pine trees!” Benny said.
“Yep,” Tom told him. “If the treasure’s not buried in there somewhere, then I have no idea where it is.”
“Are we ready to find out?” Grandfather asked.
“Ready,” Henry said, patting his shovel.
Checking the map one more time, Tom made his best guess as to exactly where the treasure was buried. Then he and Grandfather sat back and let the children do the digging. The loose, sandy soil was easy to cut into, but the growing heat of the day made the work exhausting.
After about an hour the children had made a hole nearly four feet deep and just as wide. Then they stopped to take a rest and have a drink.
“Boy, I’m beat!” Henry said as he poured out a cup of the ice-cold lemonade for Jessie. “And that hole’s pretty deep. How far down could the treasure be?”
“Maybe we’re not digging in the right place,” Violet pointed out.
Tom studied the map again. “Well, if it’s not here, then I know one or two other places it might be, but that’s about it. I still think it’s here, though.”
“What if we don’t find it?” Benny wondered.
“Then we don’t find it,” Jessie answered. “We’ll be no worse off than we are now.”
Benny considered this for a moment, then nodded. “That’s true.”
Grandfather smiled. He was proud of his grandchildren for not being so concerned with finding the treasure. They were happy on the inside, and finding or not finding the treasure wouldn’t change that.
Henry took another long sip fr
om his cup, then set it aside and said, “Well, I’m going to get back to work. If the treasure’s down there, we’ve got to find it.”
Then a voice—an unpleasantly familiar one—said, “Yes, you do. You’ve got to find it so you can give it to me.”
Once again Winston Walker appeared out of nowhere. “So nice to see you all again,” he said with his usual charm. “And it’s even nicer to see that you’ve started digging already.”
“How did you find us?” Jessie asked. She couldn’t help it. “You never had the last piece.”
“I know, but shortly after I left you all, I was paid a visit by a charming little photographer lady.” He pulled a picture out of his pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “And look what she had for me—a very nice shot of the last piece of the map. Seems she was in the right place at the right time a few nights ago.”
“Meredith Baker,” Jessie said.
“Yes, I believe that was her name,” said Winston Walker. “She’s quite a businesswoman. This picture cost me a pretty penny, but at least it led me here. I congratulate you youngsters on your detective skills. It seems as though you have solved the mystery of the pirate’s map. And I was hoping to do that myself,” Walker told them.
“They haven’t found the treasure yet, Mr. Walker,” Grandfather said sharply.
“I can see that. But if they do, I know they’ll be sensible and hand it over to me. After all, I’m the one who’s spent half of his life searching for it.”
The children looked at one another as they stood in the hole they’d dug. Then Benny sighed and said, “You can have whatever we find, Mr. Walker. It seems like you want it a lot more than we do. We don’t need it.”
A smile spread across Winston Walker’s face. “That’s just what I wanted to hear.”
Grandfather and Tom both smiled, too, but not for the same reason. They were proud of the children, proud of the way they decided not to fight with Winston Walker over the treasure. They weren’t controlled by greed like he was.
So they went back to digging, and Walker watched them with great eagerness. No one spoke, no one laughed, no one even smiled. The fun seemed to have gone out of this treasure hunt for the Aldens. Now all they wanted to do was find the treasure so they could be done with this business. There were still a few days of their vacation left that they could enjoy.