The treasure was not one thing but two. The largest item was a satchel that was almost the size of Fig’s hiking pack. It appeared to be made of woven Enmity-Amity leaves, and it was so heavy that Milton dropped it onto the mossy ground right away.
The other item was a book. The book was made of Yes-No-Maybe-So leaf-pages and tightly bound in Truth-Will-Out Vine, like the guide that had led them there. Instead of being a thin stack, however, this book was hundreds of pages long.
“The COMPLETE Lone Island Field Guide.” Milton read the title aloud. “By Dr. Ada Paradis.”
That was as far as Milton got because then Fig was there next to him. He handed the book over. He wanted her to be the first one to see what was inside.
With everyone watching, Fig opened the book. Her eyes grew impossibly large as she read what was written there and then began to flip through the pages, one after another, faster and faster. Milton started to wonder if perhaps she was planning on perusing the entire massive tome before giving them some answers, when she burst out, “Do you realize what this is?”
“That’s what we’re waiting for you to tell us,” Rafi said. “Is it another field guide or what?”
Fig shook her head, then nodded it, then shook it again. “Yes!” she cried. “But look.” She hoisted the book up in both hands. “The Prince-Frog, Orange-You-Glad Orangutan, Combustible Gerbil, Luminescent Liana, Silliest Goose, DoorWay Tree, Indescribably Weird Thingamabob.” She turned the pages, showing them the detailed illustrations and lengthy entries for each. “There are hundreds of plants and animals in here. Maybe thousands!”
“It’s the whole Lone Island!” yelped Gabe. “In a book.”
“It really is,” Fig said. “And it’s way more detailed than the original field guide. Detailed enough, I think, to be the proof we need—proof that this island is bursting with brand-new species and should be protected at all costs.” She hugged the enormous tome to herself. “Which means … we did it!”
She let out a shout of joy and spun around in a circle. Milton threw his magnificent hat high in the air and birdcalled his own excitement. Rafi and Gabe high-fived and hugged. Finally—finallly!—they had found the treasure. They had saved the island!
They all gathered around Fig to take a closer look at the new guide. Pictured on the first page was none other than their favorite Beautimous Lemallaby, Lord Snarlsy, but this entry contained far more information than the one in their original guide, complete with a suggested Latin name (Lemallabus dulcis).
“I would probably be the most famous naturalist in history if I turned this in as my nature survey,” Milton remarked, tapping the smooshie-faced illustration.
“Seriously, Sea Hawk?” Fig said.
“Hypothetically, of course,” Milton assured her. “This treasure is for island-saving purposes only.” He poked the leaf-bag with one hiking-booted toe. “What about the bag?”
Rafi knelt down and started to untie the vine, then paused. Attached was a small leaf-card with a message written on it. “No species were harmed in the collection of these samples,” he read aloud.
Then he stuck his hand into the bag and pulled out—
A skull!
Not a human one (thank goodness!). Not a lemallaby one either. The skull was the size of Rafi’s fist, with two large canine teeth and a tag that read, Three-Eyed Sloth: Bradypus tri-oculi.
“Yowzers,” Gabe breathed. “Is the whole bag full of bones?”
Carefully, Rafi and Fig emptied the satchel, laying its contents out on the ground. There were more bones, each labeled, but there was much more. There were flowers and leaves, carefully pressed and stored in wooden boxes. There were fossils and shells and the molted exoskeletons of insects (so gross). There were jars and bags and leaf-page envelopes, each containing samples.
“Look at all this treasure,” Milton said, gazing around.
“Environmental groups and scientists around the world will support Dr. Greene if they see this,” Fig said.
“Plus we have Lord Snarlsy in the flesh,” Milton added. “Everyone loves cute, little”—he paused and glanced over at the lemallaby, who was baring his (alarmingly sharp) front teeth—“er, I mean, fierce wild animals.”
“Whoa!” Rafi suddenly started dumping the samples back into the satchel. “Give me that,” he said, snatching the foot-long talon that Gabe had been using to pick his nose.
“Whadaya doing?” Gabe asked, replacing the talon with a finger.
“We haven’t been watching the time,” Rafi said. “The sun sets in about four hours, and we’re still a long way from home. If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it back before dark.”