Chapter 1        The Strange White Rocks
Chapter 2        The Mystery Note
Chapter 3        The Next Day
Chapter 4        The Diary
Chapter 5        A Trip Back In Time
Chapter 6        The First Mystery, Solved
Chapter 7        The Clues
Chapter 8        The Spike
Chapter 9        The Green Trunk
Chapter 10       A Midnight Adventure
Chapter 11       An Underground Death?
Chapter 12       A Search In The Dark
Chapter 13       The Treasure
Chapter 14       A Surprise Discovery
Vocabulary Words
About the Author

Note: As you read, you'll notice words that are in
bold and italics.
These are the vocabulary words that can be found at the end, with their
meaning and used in a sentence.

Chapter 1 – The Strange White Rocks

In the warm sunlight of a calm, mid July morning, the shrieks of two boys are heard echoing
through the air. Joe and Ronnie race to safety, scared to death and shivering with fright.
They've seen something horrifying and went running for their lives. What could have terrified
these thirteen year olds? Let’s go back a few days to find out.

On the first day of a family vacation, the boys planned to enjoy a beautiful lake, forest trails,
and comfortable cottages. With backpacks full of supplies, Joe and Ronnie headed toward a
wooded path for a day of exploring. They hoped to find lots of unusual specimens, along one
of the countless trails to investigate and wondered if anything interesting would happen.
Although there was just a hint of a breeze, and the birds were singing, there was an air of
mystery that lingered about, and the boys felt it.

“Hey, want some gum?” asked Joe, adjusting his old, worn Red Sox cap.
“Is it as old as that hat?” questioned Ronnie?
“Laugh all you want, it’s my lucky hat,” answered Joe, peering under the visor with his big, dark
brown eyes. He gave Ronnie a handful of bubble gum.
Ronnie had a brand new hat, which proudly sat atop his straight, chocolate brown hair.
“Oh and get a hair cut,” suggested Ronnie, noticing Joe’s curly, dark hair poking out the sides
of his cap.
“Anything else?” asked Joe.
“Yeah, you’re too short and too skinny.”
“You’re too tall and too chubby,” Joe replied.
This teasing was endless, as the boys were cousins and close in age. Joe was only a few
months older than Ronnie. Although they had much in common, there were the differences.
Ronnie was the class clown, full of smart comments, which occasionally got him sent to the
office at school. Joe would think fast and always had a good comeback. Ronnie would annoy
his cousin to the point of aggravation, knowing just when to stop, as Joe had a short fuse.
Joe's temper got him an occasional note from the teacher.

The boys both have older sisters, younger sisters, their dads are brothers, and their moms are
best friends. Joe’s older sister Genevieve, or Genie as she is called, is sixteen. Valerie,
Ronnie’s older sis is fifteen. Joe’s little sister Emily is ten, and Ronnie’s younger sister Anna
is just eight. Both families get together often, enjoying outings at home as well as vacations.
They live in a scenic area, in the Western part of Massachusetts, although they do get to the
city, especially during baseball season.

They love apple picking in the fall, with the boys climbing the highest treetops to retrieve
apples. Anna and Valerie join in, while Genie and Emily prefer to stay on the ground.
Summertime is for strawberry picking. Genie and Valerie like to make jam, and are teaching
Emily. Anna would rather stomp on berries to see how far they splat.
“So what do you want to do later?” Ronnie asked Joe.
“I don’t know. Maybe go to the campfire at the beach tonight,” responded Joe.
“Oh yeah, there’s gonna be a ton of food,” remarked Ronnie, with his big, crystal blue eyes
lighting up.
“Is that all you think about?” commented Joe.
“Most of the time,” answered Ronnie.

With a chuckle, they continued their stroll. As they headed deeper into the woods, the
sounds of music and laughter were replaced by chirping birds, with their calls ringing from one
tree to another. Furry squirrels, hopping from branch to branch stirred up the unmistakable
smell of fresh pine. This was a perfect day so far.
“Got your camping knife?” Ronnie asked Joe.
“Right here,” he replied, patting the pocket of his pants.
“Hey wait,” said Joe, stopping suddenly and digging into his backpack. “Look at this,” he
said, handing Ronnie a brand new slingshot.
“Cool! Let me try,” said Ronnie, reaching for the pellets. He carefully aimed at some berries
at the top of a tree, and with amazing skill, down came a bunch of berries.
“Not bad for a first try,” said Joe with a little envy in his voice.
“Yeah, I’m a natural,” responded Ronnie.
“You wish,” commented Joe, as they continued taking turns.

Ronnie had a bit of an edge on Joe, being a couple of inches taller, with a longer reach, but
Joe was quick on his feet, catching anything that fell from the trees before it even hit the
ground.

As mid morning approached, the young explorers were getting hungry. They dropped their
packs and sat for a snack. Ronnie relaxed in the shade of a tree. He’d piled in so much food,
that he forgot sun lotion to prevent his very light complexion from burning. Joe, on the other
hand, enjoyed the warm rays, bronzing easily with his darker skin tone. They talked about the
newest video games and collecting baseball cards that hopefully would be worth money in the
future. They were off on their own, away from everything and everyone. Not even a cell phone
would work this far out. The boys were enjoying every minute of this early day.

After their break, they resumed shooting at berries with the slingshot. Joe hit a bunch, and as
the tiny fruits came down, they noticed something in the tree.
“I think it’s a birds’ nest,” said Joe. They eagerly climbed up, expecting to find baby birds. All
they found were broken pieces of bright blue shells in the abandoned nest, most likely a
robins’ home. Since the babies were now on their own, the boys decided to take the nest as
their first specimen. Joe grabbed it and climbed down. Ronnie climbed back up to the
highest branch to have a look around. He clearly saw the base of a hill in the distance. On the
ground were some huge, white rocks, and from where he was, the rocks seemed to form a
shape.
“Joe, get up here. You’re not gonna believe what I think I see, and bring the binoculars,” said
Ronnie in a serious voice.
Joe zipped up the tree, nearly slipping twice, perching himself next to his cousin.
“Look out there and tell me what those rocks look like,” continued Ronnie. Joe looked, as
Ronnie took the binoculars.
“They look like a face,” commented Joe, confused. With a strange expression, Ronnie
handed Joe the binoculars. Joe couldn’t imagine what his cousin had seen.
“This is too weird,” said Ronnie. Joe took a good look for himself, and it certainly was weird.
The giant rocks in the distance didn’t form a face.

They formed the shape of a skull!

Could this really be? How did they get there? Should they check it out? Could there be
danger ahead?

Stop & Think
If you were Joe and Ronnie, would you check out the white rocks?
What do you think the white rocks in a skull shape could be?
(Make up your own thoughts, as if you were writing the book)

Chapter Two>>