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6:00 AM
Mornings are not good for me.
I like to stay up late, you see.
Reading a book, or watching TV.
Mornings just don't agree with me.
Walking In a Book
Open the cover,
Lifting, Inching.
Increasing the size of the gap of air
between the pages
Drink it up, now.
Delve into the words that are just strategically placed blots of ink
and find yourself--
Walking in a book
Talking, Walking, Seeing, Being
The images created by words
Words from one person's mouth,
from their head,
Forming images in another's.
from the imagination, or
perhaps reality
Fish
Fishy, Fishy in the lake
where you can hide from a snake
you have no thumbs
to play the drums
and you can't even bake a cake
Carazie Land
Where wombats fly and pigeons peer from ghastly going gondaleers
and there are no people to help the tears from flowing out like waterfalls
from the creatures eyes.
They barely despise that creatures would cry and no one to help with defending them beasts and
bogs with reaching vines of seaweed.
No sympathy for you and I no longer existing.
We weep in space floatin galong for endless flaps in time
pretending we are not scared
pretending we aren't weary
But really we are. And maybe we aren't
but no longer control our actions.
For we no longer exist, only specks of flesh upon the land from the long lost years of Tyran.
Tumbling across the land, ripping through our heartfelt joys and tears
Hearts forever beating to the beat of the footsteps of the animals controlling us.
Maybe thinking nothing of what began one million flidratons ago.
We wish we could help them but we misused our lives ruining everything, using every last bit,
not thinking of what is to come
then debating why we had to do such miserable things.
Dreaming
I rode a lake of tea
upon a silver spoon
for those of you who didn't know
the cow jumped over the moon
The moon that she jumped over
was made of cheddar cheese
the aliens that live there
have double jointed knees
They rode a flying saucer
to tiny, little Pluto
they stopped at Mars to have a snack
they wiggled their blue toe
The candy bars the aliens ate
the aliens from the moon
are like the cakes that go with tea
tea and a silver spoon
Watchful Witches
Watchful witches on the hour
wait to utilize their power
when the clocks strikes twelve times sharp,
casting, chanting, those who harp
eye of newt and fairy dust,
casting now a spell of lust
gryffin claw and pheonix snot,
witches working deep in thought
bat wing, drangon's blood, wolfbane, more
magic, magic, spells galore!
now atop their magic brooms,
filling skies with fabulous fumes
spreading magic through the land,
from sopping swamps to deserts of sand
scanning, panning, all over the world
spotting where their magic was hurled
watchful witches settle down
flying fast from town to town
till they get to where theyre from
back to home do they come
getting cozy, back in bed
there to rest each little head
dreams of tomorrow come
such is the stuff these spells are from
The Legend of Pixote Beaupre
He was a feathery chap in a bowler blue,
Short, stout and pompous too.
A man that everyone knew,
A man who’d swallow before he chewed.
I don’t like the looks of him in that old hat!
But how could you go wrong with a name like that?
The arguments about him where plentiful in amount,
Day by day, at least ten you could count.
I heard he wrestled a bear,
Bit and tore and ripped out its hair,
He won of course,
Oh of course – but can you believe he wrestled a BEAR!?!
Oh, that’s nothing –
Said Mayor Murroy,
Have you ever heard of goliath and boy?
Well that’s nothing,
Not a record at all,
Pixote met a giant that was ten times as tall.
What next?
Ooh what,
Tell us please,
About Pixote and the man as tall as trees.
Well, since you asked, I will share,
Although I ought'nt to dare,
Pixote got out his boomerang, yes,
And threw it to much success,
That gargantuan man took three blows to the head,
Boom, bang, he fell – dead.
COOL! Oooh wow, golly gee wiz,
I want to know more about who Mr. Beaupre is!
Well then, let me tell you,
Chimed Mrs. Milieu,
Librarian of our fine town,
She had overheard the chatter,
When getting her paper and milk platter,
And still stood in her cap and gown.
I babysat that cavalier,
And wasn’t he the little dear,
He cuddled, snuggled, never complained,
He even could be happy when it rained,
That boy was something special no doubt,
He even smiled when he was in time out – everyone else would sit and pout,
I promise you this,
Listen hard,
Hear the tale with much regard,
Pixote is a gentleman and a scholar,
He could make two cents a dollar – in just half one hour!
Ahh, wow, you don’t say,
We all want to be Pixote Beaupre!
He sounds great,
Superb as can be,
The perfect mate,
…If only being him was that easy!
Ha, you all know of nothing yet,
Shouted out Mr. McFrett,
That man is a storyteller like you wouldn’t believe.
A magician, a prankster,
Always something up his sleeve.
He can act like there is no tomorrow,
Fill your heart with joy or sorrow –
And he can be a mime,
Without a watch, he can tell you the time,
He knows everything there is to know,
So if you ever meet him don’t row,
For he is truly a library on wheels,
We don’t even need Mrs. Milieu,
Thanks to all the things, he can tell you,
Milieu harrumphed but someone hushed out her squeals -
Here ye, here ye, -
The town crier cried,
…not now,
Mayor Murroy sighed,
- For the crier only announced when people died,
And right now, we are all too cheerful to be made glum,
But something tells us that’s not the announcement of crier Mumm.
I am not here to spill,
Words of someone who is ill,
I am here to say,
Something about Pixote Beaupre,
I know him too,
Bet your bottoms I do,
We are fishing’ pals,
My oh my,
And hunt the flesh-eating Fazzintal,
By and by.
His laugh is like the wind of twisters,
Great and loud, down in his gut it glisters,
His hair,
Is fine and fair,
Like starlight,
Shining down at night,
His eyes are of ocean blue,
Always wizened and blissful,
When peering down at you,
His nose is round and full,
His clothes are of a magnificent orange,
And – and – and – nothing rhymes with that,
BUT! His belly is as big as a boulder,
And his lips always seem to smolder,
The sight of him makes you fall to your knees,
If you saw, you would agree-
No one looks as breathtaking as that,
No one is more amazing that Pixote in his moldy hat.
That sounds so swell,
We wish we knew him that well,
Shouted a group of children nearby,
Oh, it’s so beautiful we think we might cry,
They whimpered, and wallowed,
This man was made to sound like a god,
And nearly losing my lunch I cut off Todd-
Who was preparing to share his side of the story…
If he did, I knew I’d finally puke up my Salmon Minatori.
Clearing my throat with much effect,
It was time to fix what was incorrect,
I had to set the story straight,
So I opened my mouth and began to deflate:
I, dear friends,
Know how this story ends,
For I am really the only one who knows Pixote Beaupre,
He is on his way here, this very day,
Now in truth no one has ever seen him,
No, sorry, not even one,
Not the mayor, town crier, or books master,
Not Cindy O., Sandy L., or Timmy Alabaster,
I hated to ruin this folly and fun,
But we all talk about him and his look,
And how his legend is worth a book,
However, there is something you should all know,
Before you continue with this false show,
Then someone had the nerve to stop my speech as she called:
Wait - - - here he comes,
Through the thick fog,
Then they gasped in horror – their mouths got a sour taste,
Uhhm…Pixote Beaupre is a … dog?!?
I stood laughing as bewildered, the others walked away,
And as they did I could here them say:
Heh, well our mothers always did warn dreamy minds make waste.
So let me warn you, word weavers all,
Be you short, medium or tall,
Be you young or be you old,
A good story is something to behold,
There is nothing wrong with that,
However, one should always watch,
Before it spirals into lies,
Because your story would turn out all wrong,
And you would look quite, quite unwise.
Chapter 1
***************
Kate Barlow looked behind her. She thought she had seen someone following her. It was dark out, and she had been traveling all day and night to get here. She had to be careful. If people saw her go into a house, and not end up killing the people that lived there, they would expect her to come back, and then the police would be there and she could never come and visit again. She snuck up to house number 247 and quietly tapped on the door. She heard someone coming to the door, turn the knob and it creaked open. “There you are,” the woman behind the door said, and hurried Kate into the kitchen.
“We were worried about you. What took you so long?” She was dressed in a night gown and had a cap over her head, but her long blonde hair hung loosely over her soft shoulders. Kate didn’t answer, but hurried over to a crib that was sitting in the corner of the room. She leaned over the side and gazed at the tiny child that rested peacefully under a knitted blanket. She raised her hand, stroked his cheek and smiled. “I made sure he got to bed early, so you could hold him. He’s had plenty of sleep,” said the woman in the nightgown. “There’s no need.” replied Kate. She got up and the woman in the nightgown said, “would you like some coffee or anything?”
“Why, that would be lovely, Tess,” said Kate and she sat down at the table. “Thank you for having me so late. I had to hide for a couple of hours. The police were hot on my trail. Now you see why I can’t take little Sammy Jr. with me everywhere!” She looked lovingly over at the crib in the corner and smiled to herself. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. “Police! Open up!” said a voice from behind the door.
“Quick, Kate, go to the back room!” Tess grabbed her coffee mug and dumped out the contents into the sink. She hurried to the door.
Kate hid herself under the bed. Tess’ husband was asleep, but when Kate came in the door, he had woken up and helped her hide. Kate slowed down her breathing and tried to listen to Tess’ conversation with the Sheriff. “Well, officer,” Tess said, “what brings you at this hour?”
“You know what brings us, Mrs. Tennyson. We got a complaint from Trevor White that he saw a young woman coming to your house. Now, who might you -- Mrs. Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s Sister -- be havin’ over at this time?”
“Why, that is completely preposterous, officer! I went out to check on the garden. You know that there’s been rabbits goin’ around town and tearing up everyone’s vegetables!” Kate heard the floor creak as the officer stepped inside.
“Why might there be one mug on the table and one mug in the sink, Mrs. Tennyson, if it’s just you, all by your lonesome?” Kate guessed he had walked over to the sink and had seen her mug.
“That was my Husband’s mug, Officer Folley, and he had some coffee when he came home this afternoon. I just haven’t had the time to wash it, with Little Sammy and all.” Kate heard the floor creak again and guessed he walked over to the crib in the corner of the room. She had memorized every creak and moan in the floor, since she had to be careful not to make too much noise when she made her trips here. She heard a cry break out and swore about the officer for holding Sammy. “Don’t you touch my Sammy” she said under her breath.
“He don’t look much like you, Mrs. Tennyson,” she heard the officer say.
“Officer, please put my child down this instant!”
“You know, Tess, everyone thinks it sure is strange that you didn’t have no midwife here when you claim to have had this baby.”
“They shouldn’t think it strange officer, you know I was away. I wouldn’t have a midwife to the house when I wasn’t here! Now give me that child!” he eyed her questioningly
“You’re off the hook, this time, Tess, but I’ll be back!”
Kate heard the door slam and eagerly got up from under the bed. She went into the kitchen and took the baby boy from Tess. She sat down in a rocking chair by the fireplace and hushed him. She began to rock back and forth and sang:
If only, If only,
The woodpecker sighs
The bark on the tree was a little bit softer
The wolf waits below, hungry and lonely
He cries to the moo—n
If only, if only.
Tess looked over at her and asked, “where did you hear that song?”
“From a gentleman I met.” Kate replied.
“And stole money from?” Tess asked as she smiled at Kate.
“Yes, but I didn’t have to kill him. He didn’t know who I was at first, and we became friends, but then… he saw a wanted poster and that was the end of that. I stole his money and ran one night.”
The clock struck two and Kate put the child back in the crib. “I’ll be back for you someday, my little one”, and she kissed him on the forehead, the second time she had kissed anyone without shooting them first, and headed off.
Chapter Two
**************
“You will have two weeks to finish your report,” chirped
“Yes, I just wanted to ask if the report could be about ANYONE in our family, even if they aren’t alive?”
“Well, sure, I suppose so. If you can find out about that person, go for it!” She smiled and went on to answer another kid’s question.
“Great!” he thought. “I’ll write about how my grandfather was robbed by Kissin’ Kate Barlow!”
The bell rang and he headed out the door of the classroom. He had switched schools since he had found his great grandfather’s treasure. He was happy. He loved his house, his school -- he loved everything about his life. “Hey,
“Do you know who you’re going to write about for your report?”
“I’m just worried I won’t be able to find any relatives,” said Zero. “You want to head to Peachey’s?” Peachey’s was an ice cream shop, and it was their favorite place to go.
When they got to Peachey’s, they sat down at the counter and
“So, what did you want to talk about?” asked
“Nothing,” replied Zero. “I just wanted a hot fudge sundae.”
“Zero, really, tell me, what is it?”
“OK. You know how I dropped the shoes on you and we both knew those songs…you know, those “If Only” songs?”
“Yes, of course I know.”
“Well, do you think that, if at all possible, maybe, possibly, it could have been our destiny?” asked Zero.
“Yes. Yes, I do think it was destiny.”
Chapter Three
***************
For four months after all the boys had been evacuated from
It was the perfect place for a Girl Scout camp after that. The lake was refreshing and a filled with clear, blue water that reflected the puffy white clouds and they filled it with lots of beautiful fish. There were peach trees all over, which supplied the perfect amount of shade, and there was a big rock mountain, which was perfect for setting up a high ropes course and a rock climbing wall. It was also very shady on the top of the mountain, because there was another rock section that stuck out and shielded the swimming hole at the top of the mountain from the sun. Maggie and Terry always thought it was funny that there was water at the top of the mountain, and what was even funnier was that there were wild onions growing around the water, which they transplanted so they could have a garden for the girl scouts to grow.
Sometimes, Maggie and Terry would pick peaches and take them to the local farmers’ market. Also, Maggie could make spiced peaches, which she became known for pretty quickly. People said they were the best peaches in all of
Chapter Four
***************
A white Cadillac pulled up in front of the administration office at Green Lake Girl Scout Camp. A tall woman with red hair and freckles got out, followed by a short skinny man with black hair and a tall, blonde-haired man wearing large sunglasses.
They walked toward the door and the woman knocked. Maggie opened the door and told them to come in. The woman and the blonde-haired man sat down at two chairs in front of a desk, and the short man sat in a chair at the other side of the room. “We’re the high ropes course inspectors you called for.”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t call for anyone to come,” replied Maggie from behind the desk. The woman with red hair and the man sitting next to her smirked.
“Well, we did you a favor and came anyway.”
Maggie smiled and said, “Well, in that case, follow me!” She led them outside “but, might I aske you your names first?” “My name is Kelly Mackinshyre” said the woman, this is Carl Mansfield, my assistant she said, pointing to the blonde-haired man and that’s Toby Reynolds, our Helper. Now, could you show me to the high ropes?” Maggie took them down to the boat house and pointed across the lake. There was a large island with a mountain and a building next to it. “It’s just across there. Behind the mountain. The rock climbing wall is on the mountain, and there is a swimming hole on top of it. The zip line also starts at the top of the mountain. You can take a boat out there and park it at the dock.”
“What’s a zip line?” asked the man with black hair. The woman, Maggie, looked at him questioningly. Kelly elbowed the black-haired man.
“Uh…he had a little too many to drink last night.” she said to Maggie. “Oh dear.” Maggie replied and asked “are you sure you wouldn’t like some help…to reinforce everything..?”
“no, no, we will be fine.” Said Kelly and whispered to the black-haired man, “A zip line is part of a high ropes course.” She smiled at Maggie and laughed nervously “he he… all right, well thanks!” The three inspectors walked to the boat house and took a paddleboat out to the island. They climbed to the top of the mountain and the woman took out a piece of cloth with a map printed on it.
“According to this map, what we’re looking for should be around…here.” And she pointed to the center of the swimming hole.
“In the swimming hole? There is no way I am going to the bottom of that hole and digging up a treasure chest!”
“Excuse me, are you saying we came all this way for nothing?
“No, but I don’t—“
“Excuse me, but Darryl over here didn’t pay $5,000 bail for NOTHING! Get to work!”
“What?” whined the black-haired man.
“Did I stutter?” asked the woman.
“Dang water hole!” said the tall man and he spat, sending sunflower seed shells everywhere.
Chapter Five
***************
Two months later, Theresa Tennyson received a letter. It was addressed to Sammy, but Tess opened it. There were two pieces of paper. One was a letter to all three of them, and the second was a map. “Hmm… look at this.” She handed the map across the table to her husband.
Just then, Trevor White was walking up to the house to apologize for suspecting Mrs. Tennyson. He was just about to knock on the door, when he heard Mr. Tennyson say
“It looks like a treasure map. It’s probably for Sammy.”
Trevor leaned in farther and listened intently.
“We should just save it and give it to him when he’s older. Put it in a box of things for him.”
“Tess, if this is what I think it is, maybe we should just forget Sammy!”
“Forget Sammy? What a horrible thing for you to say! I will keep it for Sammy. We’ll make sure it never gets lost. Kate is my younger sister, and I would never just give up on her like that, even if she is an outlaw. Besides, I love Sammy. I will keep a hold of this.”
“What does Kate have to do with Sammy?” thought Trevor.
“But Tess, if this is a treasure map, like I think it is, it’s probably money for Sammy, and wouldn’t she want to save a lot of money for Sammy? Besides, we do take care of Sammy, and we could buy him nice clothes and such. We could build a big house with a big room for Sammy and get him a good education. He knows us like parents, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind us sharing his money. What do you say?”
“Oh, Richard, I just don’t know. Sammy is so little. Couldn’t we wait awhile to go on a treasure hunt, at least till he’s at least four?”
“Tess, that’s too long! He could be living with Kate by then, or something could happen to the map. The treasure could even be gone by then!”
“Richard, how could the treasure be gone? We have the map -- if it even is a treasure map -- and I hope Sammy will be living with Kate. That would be good for them. You just want the money for yourself, besides, what if when he gets older he is mad at us for taking his money? We can’t take a chance like that. Poor little Sammy could get sick out on the road. Don’t you care about Sammy?”
“Tess, of course I care about Sammy. That’s why I want to see if it’s a treasure map.”
“But, Richard, he could get mad at us!”
Tess, he couldn’t get mad about the money if we didn’t tell him.”
“You horrible man! I am taking that map from you and guarding it until the day I die or until Sammy gets older. I will NOT let you rob our nephew of money you don’t even know is there! What if it isn’t a treasure map? What if it’s to show us where she is hiding?”
Trevor’s eyes bugged and his jaw dropped. NEPHEW? So Sammy was Kate’s son!
“Tess, if she’s hiding and she sent us a map, she probably wants us to go see her. We could check, and then when we got there, we could check if it is treasure. Please, Tess, If you love me, you’ll let me go, and you’ll go with me, and we can take Sammy! Tess, I love you more than any money, and I wouldn’t take you anywhere if I thought it wasn’t safe! Please! Trust me on this.”
“Okay. We’ll go. In three days.”
“Thank you, Tess! You will not regret this!” He kissed her on the cheek.
Chapter Six
***************
Trevor stood outside the Tennyson’s door. He smiled and thought to himself you’ll pay for the carriage and I’ll get the money. He started walking home and devised a plan.
A couple days later, Tess and Richard started packing for their trip. They were going to have to pay for the carriage, and bring plenty of food. “I sure hope it is a treasure chest” thought Tess one day when she was making bread for the trip, “because this sure is going to cost us a lot.” She sighed to herself, and looked out their window. Then she smiled to herself. She was so lucky. She had a loving husband, a nice house, and little Sammy. She looked over at his crib. He wasn’t there. “Richard, please bring Sammy out here. He might be hungry.” Tess called to Richard.
“I don’t have Sammy,” Richard replied.
Where was Sammy if Richard didn’t have him? Where could he have gone? “Sammy?” Tess called. “Sammy, where are you?” she called. “Richard, come out here, quick!” Richard ran in from the back room.
“What?” he asked.
“Sammy is missing!”
“He couldn’t have just crawled away, or at least too far.”
Tess went outside to look around. The streets were empty, except for Mrs. Thomas, who was closing up her shop, and Trevor White, who was walking down the street.
Tess went around to the garden. She looked under the lettuce, between the rows of potatoes, and any other plant she couldn’t see the ground around. She looked behind the wood pile, under bushes, and then she realized: Trevor White was the one who had accused her of having Kate over in the wee hours of the night! Did he know that Kate was Sammy’s mother? Had she let all the signs just slide away and paid no attention to them? Now the worst thing that could happen was happening. What if he was holding little Sammy ransom? Tess’s eyes teared up and she went to the front of the house. “Oh, Richard!” she cried. “How could I let this happen?”
“Let what happen?” he asked worriedly, and she told him everything.
Chapter Seven
***************
Stanley and Zero had finished their snacks, and they were walking down the street when they heard a car come up behind them. “Yo,
“Well, I think you can squeeze in between these two fine ladies, unless you don’t feel up to it…” the girls in back smiled and
“Not much.” said
“I was wondering, I’m having a party on Saturday, and I would like you to come. Do you think you can make it?” Stanley and Zero looked at each other and nodded.
They chatted for awhile, catching up on each others lives. They were dropped off at the end of the street and talked the rest of the way. Zero lived right next to
Chapter Eight
***************
It was three hours later and the three high ropes course “inspectors” had found nothing.
“It must be gone,” said the short man.
“Just keep looking, Leo.” said the red-haired woman. “Its got to be around here!” She got up from her spot lying on the grass and looked out over the lake. It was almost midday and her stomach grumbled. “God, it sure is beautiful with a lake, ain’t it? Maybe we should head back…we’ve been out here a long time.”
“What will we say so we can come back?” asked Leo.
“That’s the easy part” replied the woman. “we say the zip line is insecure and we will agree to fix it.”
“What if it turns out the high ropes course isn’t secure, and Maggie finds out we’re frauds?” asked Leo
“Leo, Leo, Leo, you, sir, are a hopeless case. You always say what if, what if… well, you know what, I don’t care! We are going to have lots of money then, and we can afford to pay real inspectors to come if we have to, but we’ll be long gone by then, and possibly even famous.”
“More like infamous,” Leo said under his breath. He had dug under water, four feet down, and found nothing. They had made him dig in a couple spots around the hole and anywhere else it could be if you turned the map a little or you figured the person who made it got some measurements wrong, but it didn’t show up anywhere. They were all exhausted (even though the tall man and woman didn’t do anything) and agreed to go down there and tell her that something went wrong, and they needed some food so they could get right back to work
“I’ll bet,” said the tall man with blonde hair “that all we have to do is ask Maggie where a good place to eat is at, and she’ll be too kind not to feed us!”
The woman looked over at him and smiled and nodded her head. And the black- haired man, Leo, did the same thing.
They walked down the long wooden stairs to the dock at the end of the island and started the quick boat ride back to the shore.
“Hey, Jessie, how long are we gonna keep doin’ this for?” asked Leo
“As long as it takes, Leo. Oh, and by the way, you can still call me Warden. I’m still your boss, remember?” said the woman.
Chapter Nine
***************
Tess and Richard sneaked around the corner of Trevor’s house and peaked in the window. There was nobody there. They went around to the front and there, on the door, was a note that said:
I’ve got your little Sammy and
I know he isn’t your kid.
Give me the map, I’ll give
him back, and I won’t
Blow his cover. I know about everything.
Trevor + Sammy
“Oh, Richard, how could we do this! How did he find out?”
Richard studied the note carefully.
“We were horrible parents! Get the map! Get the map!”
“Tess, we can’t give in that easily! We should make a fake map, and give it to him. Then we could get Sammy back and keep the money!”
“Good idea!” said Tess and they hurried back to their house. When they got there, they went inside and took out a piece of cloth.
“I couldn’t find any paper,” said Richard. “We’ll have to use cloth. He might even believe it more if we gave it to him like this.” Richard carefully copied every detail on the map, except the location of the treasure. “Lets put it…on top of this mountain,” said Richard and Tess agreed.
Chapter Ten
***************
Tess and Richard walked to Trevor’s house and knocked on the door, putting on their solemn faces. Trevor answered the door and laughed. “heh, heh, heh…I was expecting you. Do you have it?” he looked around the corners of his door to make sure no one was coming down the street.
“We have it,” said Richard
“Let us see the baby first!” said Tess. Trevor backed up and picked up a bundle of white cloth that had been resting in the middle of the floor and brought it to the door.
“Oh…” sighed Tess when she looked at the small face that was asleep under layers of blankets.
“Give me the map. Now.” added Trevor. Richard reluctantly held out the map. And Trevor held out the baby. Tess quickly grabbed Sammy and Trevor snatched the map away from Richard. “Thank you. Nice doing business with you this day,” said Trevor, and with that, he slammed the door.
Tess and Richard walked back briskly and immediately started getting ready for their trip. They would leave tonight. They had to. If Trevor found out the map wasn’t real, he would be enraged, and maybe blow Sammy’s cover. They had to plan this very carefully.
Chapter Eleven
***************
This was going to be a long and tedious job.
Chapter Twelve
***************
It was already night out when Tess and Richard got done packing. Richard had gone to the stable man and asked to rent two horses and a large carriage from him. They got all the stuff packed up in the carriage and Richard lit a match and threw it inside the door of the house and slammed the door shut. Tess had Sammy, and Richard had the last of their money, but neither of them had the map.
They started off with tears in their eyes.
Chapter Thirteen
***************
A couple days later, Tess, Richard, and Sammy were nearing
Chapter Fourteen
***************
Trevor looked at the map. He was heading south. Good. He needed to be just outside the town of
The next morning, he was awakened by the pain of someone kicking him in the rib. “Get up!” the someone yelled at him, and he opened his eyes to see a man and a woman standing over them. “you one of Kate Barlow’s lil’ helper-people?”
Trevor sat up quickly “no, sir, I’m out lookin’ for her treasure!” he said.
“Treasure?” asked the man interested.
“It’s buried somewhere by the town of Green Lake.” said Trevor. “Would you like to come with me?” It would mean less money for him, but there was probably a lot of it, and it would mean less digging for him.
“Hey! We’re from the town of Green Lake!” said the man. “I could take you to it, if you agree to give me some of the money! Of course, it ain’t much of a town now, it’s all dried up.”
“That would be great! Let me just pack up some of my things!” Trevor replied.
“my name is Trout”, the man said, “and this here is my wife, Linda.”
Chapter Fifteen
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“Hmm..” thought
Chapter Sixteen
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Maggie called a construction company. They were coming today and were going to be building bathrooms over the next month. “There are some high ropes course inspectors who are fixing the high ropes course today. It that okay? They shouldn’t be in your way. They will be out across the lake.” A man replied and she hung up the phone. Good. She thought, she wouldn’t need to bother the three, then.
The next day, they had started digging, when Maggie got a phone call. “We found something, Maggie. You better come out here,” said her husband who had been with the workers on the site. She hurried out to the site of the bathrooms, and her eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped at what she saw.
Chapter Seventeen
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Trevor, Trout, and Linda traveled for two hours to Green Lake, but all they saw was a vast desert with a couple of buildings that had been left still intact. “Now where do we go?” asked Trout.
“Southeast. To the big mountain out there,” said Trevor.
“I’ve seen that mountain,” said Trout. “It looks like a big fist, with a thumb sticking up.”
They traveled out to the mountain and had to climb all the way to the top. They didn’t get there fast, though. They had to rest, but after awhile, they reached the top and started digging. They dug and dug and dug until they had a hole that was ten feet around, and about eight feet deep. They were utterly exhausted. Trevor was angry at himself. It had to be here somewhere, so he started digging more, and more, and more. He dug until it was fifteen feet deep. He couldn’t really dig any farther around, though, because it got very rocky, and he figured Kate couldn’t have dug over there. Besides, the dirt around here was fresh and slightly muddy. It was the prime place for burying treasure!
Trevor dug and dug and dug, and Trout and Linda dug and dug and dug. They dug until one day, they had dug so much, their bodies ached, and they couldn’t stand it any longer. They looked in the hole they had dug once again, and their eyes bugged out, and their jaws dropped at what they saw.
Chapter Eighteen
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There, on Stanley’s bright red computer screen, was a face. A face he recognized , a face he knew, all too well. And that face, was the face of his fellow juvenile delinquent, X-Ray, or Rex. Same glasses, same hair, same nose. It had to be him, and it WAS him.
Chapter Nineteen
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Maggie stood there, struck with surprise, unable to move, and whispered “oh, my lord, I’m RICH!” for there, in front of her, was a chest. Not just any chest, but a large, wooden, leather-covered chest, that had a heavy metal padlock on it. One of the workers got a metal cutting machine out and cut through the bars holding the padlock on. It fell off and all the workers cheered. She and her husband ran over and helped them open the chest. There were piles of rings, necklaces, bracelets, deeds to land, certificates of ownership of stock, and old coins from at least a hundred years ago. What shocked her the most, though, was what was engraved on the sides. On one side was the name Kate Barlow and on the other was Samuel Tennyson.
Chapter Twenty
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Trevor, Trout, and Linda had worked for days to dig that hole, long hours of nothing but digging, and there, in the hole, was nothing. Completely empty. Bare. Sloppy mud filled the bottom about five inches. There was no way they could have missed anything, but they must have, or someone must have dug it up before them, but that was impossible. Trevor was the only one with the map. “Unless,” Trevor said, “they gave me a fake map. Aaaaaargh!” He screamed. “How could I be so clueless? How could I have believed them?”
“Let’s make camp at one of the buildings in town,” said Trout, and they walked down the mountain, and rode their horses to the cluster of buildings that remained. They were about to go into the old town hall, when they saw a light inside one of the buildings. They walked over to it and were shocked to see none other than Texas’ most-feared outlaw, Kate Barlow. Trout grabbed a gun, and they bolted inside. They told her to tell them where the treasure was, but she kept her mouth shut. They forced her to walk across hot, burning sand and gave her no water, when all of a sudden, they ran into a yellow spotted lizard. Kate fell down and said to them, “You’ll never find out where my treasure is!” and she died laughing.
Chapter Twenty-one
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The warden led the two men down to the main camp a couple nights later. They had been sleeping in tents on top of the mountain and were surprised that Maggie had believed them long enough to let them stay. “The treasure is in their house. We have to get it tonight, because they are taking it to the bank tomorrow. There isn’t a lot left in there, because she already sold most of it, but there should be quite a bit of money in all those papers.” Leo and Darryl had already known that, but they didn’t say anything.
They sneaked into the house. There was a safe under a side table next to the couch. They waked quietly over to the safe and began to turn it, listening for a “click.”
All of a sudden, there was a light that shone in the window, and Leo got up and looked out the window. “You bumbling idiot, get over here! We have to get out!” said the warden.
“Gulp” said Leo. “It’s too late. It’s the police.” He said.
“What!? We came this close and -- “
The warden was interrupted by a voice on a megaphone. It said: “Come out, we know you’re in there! Come out with your hands up!”
They slowly went toward the door and walked out. They were handcuffed and Maggie and her husband came out. “I never believed you,” said Maggie. “I knew you were frauds the minute I saw you. Guess I’ll have to get new inspectors, huh?” she laughed as they were driven off.
(c) Zoe Muehleip