Chapter Two - The Mysterious Note

The possibility of solving a real mystery thrilled the boys.  Yes, they would investigate, safe or
not.  With the help of a compass, they headed east, walking through thick woods to reach the
clearing.

After a fifteen-minute hike, the woods came to an end, and the clearing lay just ahead.  Joe
climbed a nearby tree to make sure this was the right spot.  From the treetop, a full view of the
skull shape was before them.  At ground level, the rocks in the distance didn’t look like anything.
“Ronnie, it doesn’t look like a skull or a face from here,” said Joe.
“Maybe that’s why no one found it before us,” responded Ronnie.  You have to be up here to
see it.”
“Yeah, you’re right.  Let’s go!” exclaimed Joe.

They ran across the clearing, not thinking about who might have put the rocks there.  Could it be
a warning with terrible danger?  Neither of them cared.  They reached the base of the hill where
the rocks were, and although it didn’t look special, the boys knew this was the mysterious
shape seen from the tree.  Sitting on a large boulder, they tried to make sense of it all.
“So, what do you think?” Joe asked.
“I’m not sure,” sighed Ronnie.  “Maybe it’s aliens messing with us earthlings.”
“Yeah, ok, Ronnie.  You go look for aliens then,” said Joe, with a roll of his eyes.  Ronnie was
rarely serious about anything, which drove Joe nutty.

Searching for clues, the boys checked under rocks and bushes for any shred of evidence.
“Nothing here,” said Joe.
“Nothing here either,” Ronnie replied, noticing some tall bushes framing a path along the
hillside.  “I’ll look over there,” he said, moving in a different direction.
“Ok, but let’s stay close,” replied Joe.
“Good idea,” said Ronnie, ducking his head to avoid some low branches.
“Wait Ronnie, I’m coming too,” shouted Joe, realizing that he didn’t want to be alone in the
creepy woods.  Moving quickly to catch up, Joe caught his pant leg on a thorny shrub.  Bending
down to free his clothing, he noticed something odd way under the bush.  Joe carefully inched
his hand under the branch, getting scratched a few times.  With a stretch, he removed a small,
worn leather pouch.  It was thin and looked aged.  The leather must have been protected under
the bushes, which were so thick that even the rain would have a tough time getting through.

Very gently, Joe opened the pouch.  Inside was an old piece of paper, with only the top portion
visible, but the date was clear, 1710.  He couldn’t believe it.
“Hey Ronnie,” he yelled.  “Can you hear me?”
“Yeah,” Ronnie called back.  
“Come here, I found something,” continued Joe.
“Me too,” said Ronnie.
“What?” asked Joe, curiously, as he put the delicate paper away in a plastic bag.
“More rocks, only smaller, in an X-shape,” Ronnie answered.
“I’ll be right there,” Joe responded, anxiously.

Joe carefully tucked away the paper.  Clear of all thorns, he joined his cousin, telling him about
the pouch and old, fragile paper.  Ronnie had the flashlight pointed to the set of white rocks.  
They were formed into an X, about a foot long.  Just as Joe was about to shine his flashlight, he
got a stomach cramp and sat on the ground.
“What’s wrong, Joe?”
“I feel a little sick,” sighed Joe.
“Me too,” agreed Ronnie, clutching his stomach.  Looking at their watches, they realized that
their stomach troubles were a simple case of missing lunch.  Their search would continue after
food and a break.  Finding their way out of the path to a sunny spot, they ate peanut butter
sandwiches, apples, and cookies, relaxing for a well-earned rest.
“Joe, what do you think that X is about?”
“Don’t know, but look at this,” answered Joe, as he delicately retrieved the old paper from his
pack.  Through the plastic bag, faded handwriting could be seen.
“Look Ronnie, it says 1710 on the page.”
“Yeah?” What else?” Ronnie asked, not quite sure what to believe yet.
“Don’t know.  It’s pretty faded,” answered Joe.
“Let me look,” said Ronnie, knowing he had more patience than his cousin.  After a few
moments of Joe tapping his fingers, Ronnie had a clue.
“Look Joe, this word is clear.  It says HIDDEN.  Joe agreed.  There were two more words with
clear letters and smudged ones in between.  The next word looked like an S, T, and L.  The last
word read, R, S, U, and R.  Joe picked up a stick and etched the clear letters in the dirt.  
“Let’s figure this out,” said Joe.  They wrote and erased vowels for the missing letters.  “STALE,
STILL, no, STOLE.  Ronnie, the word is STOLE.”  They were sure of it.

Trying to figure out the second word, Joe had an idea.  He etched the word HIDDEN, and the
word STOLE, next to each other.  Then he kept repeating it softly, when a light bulb went off in
Ronnie’s head.  He grabbed a stick and put the letter “T” in front of the third mystery word.  It
now read, “TRSUR.”  “Joe, I’ve got it!” He scratched out the word “TREASURE,” in the dirt.   
Now it made perfect sense.  HIDDEN, STOLEN, TREASURE.

The boys couldn’t believe what they may have stumbled upon and desperately wanted to go
back for a closer look.  As it was late, they headed back, promising to return the next day.  On
the way, the boys marked notches on the trees to guide them.  No one would be told about this
for now.  Joe and Ronnie seemed to be hot on the trail of a real life mystery.

After a nice meal back at the cottage, they played video games, watched TV and headed for
bed early.  They talked about what a fantastic day it was and thought they’d never get to sleep,
but there exhausted and quickly drifted off.  Tomorrow would be another day.  What would it
bring?

Stop and Think
Do you think there really is a treasure?
What kind, and who put it there?
If you wrote this book, what kind of treasure would it be?
The Secret Cave