Under ordinary circumstances, Milton wasn’t known for his secret-keeping ability. He was known, in fact, for his blurt-everything-out-immediately tendencies.
These, however, were not ordinary circumstances.
Something decidedly extraordinary had happened behind Dr. Paradis’s house, and Milton felt sure that the only appropriate response was to do something extraordinary himself. The problem was, he had no idea what had happened or what he should do. He definitely needed some time to figure it all out.
So he plopped onto a stool and said loudly, “If you’re wondering about this box here, it’s not mine. It’s Fig’s. She let me borrow it after a long day of expeditioning in the great outdoors.”
Milton had never been a very good liar, but Uncle Evan seemed so pleased that he didn’t even notice how unnaturally high Milton’s voice was and how wide and unblinking his eyes were.
“You spent the whole day exploring and you made a friend, Milton?” he asked.
“I go by Sea Hawk now,” Milton informed him. “But yes, I did. At least, I think I did. We’re going to explore some more tomorrow too.”
Uncle Evan smiled a slightly-wider-than-smallest smile across the table. “That’s really great, Mil—I mean, Sea Hawk,” he said. “How about the day after that you and I go for a hike? I can—I should take a morning off. I should try to enjoy the island every once in a while.”
“Okay, but first, I need to ask you something very important,” Milton said. “Where can I charge my HandHeld? I searched your entire cottage this morning, and there are no outlets.”
Uncle Evan gestured to the oil lamp and then to the camp stove. “I thought you knew,” he said. “There’s no electricity over here.”
Milton lowered his head to the table with a thunk. “How do you live?” he groaned. Then he lifted his head slightly. “Perhaps we can search for the Milton Macaw on our hike,” he said. “That’s a new species I found today.”
“There’s nothing I’d like more,” replied Uncle Evan.
After dinner, Uncle Evan sat at the table and sorted through the paper-filled cardboard box he had brought back from the research station. Milton peered over his shoulder for a while, reading snippets of the field reports and research papers the Lone Island scientists had produced over the years. When he got bored, Uncle Evan gave him a copy of Dr. Paradis’s Glacial and Glorious: The Desolation Islands to peruse. Milton wished there were a few more pictures and a few less words, but all in all, it wasn’t the worst way to pass the time until his uncle said good night and went through the beaded curtain.
Only when the cottage-shaking snores started did Milton bring the green metal box onto the pull-out couch.
He’d assumed the latches would be rusted shut or at least a little jammed. He’d imagined using pliers or a wrench or whatever kind of tools people used for hard-to-open things. But the latches lifted easily, and when he pulled the lid up, there was a suctiony sound that told him the box had been airtight.
Inside was a thin pile of pages. Milton thought these pages were paper, but on closer inspection, he found that they were actually some sort of large, cream-colored leaf. The leaf-pages were bound together with pieces of Truth-Will-Out Vine, and there were words on them written in black ink.
Carefully, he lifted the stack of leaf-pages from the box, and in the flickering light of the lamp, he whisper-read the first one:
The Adridged Lone Island Field Guide
By Dr. Ada Paradis
Milton clutched his vest-covered heart. “I say,” he breathed. “What a discovery.”
He adjusted his glasses, took a deep breath, and turned to the next page:
Dear Guide Finder,
If you arr reading tis, I am dead, and the magnifycent island I have loved and comserved for fifty years is in terrible janger.
Put feer not! Somewhere in the jumgle, I have left vou a treesure that will keep the Lone Islard prodected and fwee. To find this treasure, yoo will have to follow dhe clues along the way and wittin the pagez of this field guide. If you succeed, yuu will have broved yourself to the island and truly earnud the treasure and all it entails.
So off you go, Guide Finder, on a wild and wondrous adventure. The Lone Island awaits!
Simcerely,
Dr. Ada Paradis