The kids raced back up the stairs. Quickly, they pulled the painting away from the wall and unlocked the hidden door. Then they grabbed hands and clomped up this brand-new set of stairs.
“Oh, wow,” Marly said as they entered a small, square room with windows all around. It was the tower room!
“This is it,” Isla said, rushing to one of the windows. “The hidden room that looks out over the city.” The whole town of Sandford lay below them, looking small from this height.
“So, where’s the treasure?” Sai looked around. There wasn’t much in here. Just a couple of boxes beside the stairs and an overstuffed green chair by one of the windows.
Sai crouched down in front of one of the boxes and searched through it. “Just old clothes in here,” he said.
Marly checked the next box. “Looks like photo albums in this box,” she said. She took the top album out. “Maybe our next clue is in one of the photos.” As she sat down with the album, something on the wall caught her eye: a picture of a telephone.
She quickly stood back up. “Uh, you guys?” she said, turning in a slow circle. There were also pictures of a bear and a globe and a vase of daisies on the walls. “Where else have we seen pictures of a telephone, a bear, a globe, and daisies?”
“The tree house!” Isla and Sai exclaimed.
“That can’t be a coincidence,” Isla said.
Marly agreed. There had to be a reason Mr. Summerling had the same pictures on the walls in the tree house and in this hidden room. She moved to the center of the room. “I don’t think the treasure is in the boxes,” she said.
“I bet it’s like the tree house,” Sai said. “We have to figure out where imaginary lines between all the pictures make a T, and that’s where we’ll find the treasure!”
Marly was already standing on that spot. But unlike in the tree house, there was no rug beneath her feet here. Just plain wood slats.
They all knelt down and pushed their fingers into the gaps between the slats.
“Here we go,” Isla said as she lifted the first piece of wood from the floor. There was something metal and blue tucked in there.
“Another secret compartment!” Sai cried. He pulled two more boards up, then Isla lifted the box out and set it on the floor between her and Marly. It was identical to the other two boxes they’d found on the first treasure hunt.
Sai was practically bursting with excitement. “What’s in there?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.
Isla unlocked the clips and lifted the lid. A brown envelope lay inside the box.
Marly grabbed it and tore it open. Inside was a folded sheet of paper From the Desk of Harry P. Summerling, three plane tickets to Seattle, Washington, and three tickets to Summer Island. “What the—?” she said, holding them up.
“Where’s Summer Island?” Sai asked.
“Probably near Seattle?” Marly guessed. “There’s a map of it in the dining room.”
“Those tickets are for us,” Isla said. “They have our names on them.”
“And they’re dated August 25,” Marly pointed out. “That must be why the letter Ms. Lovelace gave us said we had until August 25 or the treasure would be lost forever. These tickets will probably expire if we don’t use them.” She waved the tickets in the air.
“Read the letter!” Isla nudged Marly.
Marly unfolded it, and Isla and Sai leaned in while she read it out loud. “‘Dear Treasure Troop. Congratulations! You are one step closer to the buried treasure. Please call Stella Lovelace on her private phone (219-555-0155). She will be your guide on your next adventure. Pack your digging clothes. And whatever you do, don’t let my son know where you’re going. Sincerely, Harry P. Summerling.’”
“So . . . that’s our treasure?” Sai said. “A trip to a place called Summer Island?” Marly couldn’t tell if he was happy or disappointed.
But Isla’s feelings were clear. “I’ve never been on a plane before,” she said with delight.
“I’ve only been on one once,” Marly said.
Finally, Sai leaped to his feet. “We’re going on a trip! We’re going on a trip!” he said, jumping up and down.
“I wonder what we’re going to do on Summer Island,” Marly said.
“Duh,” Sai said. “We’re probably going to go on another treasure hunt!”
Another treasure hunt, Marly thought. Really?
“You’ll be hearing from my attorney,” Jay Summerling grumbled. His hands were handcuffed behind his back.
“Yeah, yeah,” the police officer said as she pushed Jay’s head down and helped him into a squad car. Then they drove away.
Marly, Isla, Sai, and all of their parents stood around on the sidewalk.
“We should never have let you all go into that house by yourselves,” Isla’s mom said as she bounced the baby in her arms.
“Yes, you should have,” Sai argued. “We caught a bad guy!”
“And we found the treasure,” Marly said, holding up the envelope they’d discovered hidden in the floor.
“Right. Now, what’s this about a trip?” Marly’s mom asked.
Marly handed the envelope over. Her mom opened it while the other parents moved in closer to see what was inside.
“Before you say anything, can we just call Ms. Lovelace?” Sai asked. “Please?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Marly’s mom said, passing the tickets to the other parents. “We need to see what this is all about.”
They all went over to Marly’s house and sat down on the front porch. Marly’s mom pulled out her phone and punched in Ms. Lovelace’s number. Then she put her phone on speaker and set it down where everyone could hear it.
“Hello?” Ms. Lovelace said.
“Hi! It’s us! Marly, Isla, and Sai! The Treasure Troop!” They all spoke over one another.
Ms. Lovelace laughed. “Well, hello, Treasure Troop! Are you ready for your next adventure?”
“Yes!” they shouted.
“Wait a minute.” Sai’s dad rested a hand on Sai’s shoulder. “What do you mean by ‘next adventure’? How many adventures and treasure hunts are there?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Isla’s mom said with some concern. “Our children have already been on two treasure hunts. How many more are there?”
Marly’s excitement fizzled just a bit. Were the parents going to say no to this trip? They couldn’t do that. They couldn’t!
“I can’t answer that,” Ms. Lovelace said. “But you must allow your children to come on this next one. Please! It’s the most important one yet!”
The most important one yet? Marly, Isla, and Sai eyed each other curiously. What did that mean?
Marly couldn’t wait to find out!
THE END