I quickly told Doratea all about Fran.

“I had planned for us to land and search for Roberto together,” said Doratea. “But from what you say, I do not think we want this Señorita Kenstein to join us.”

I definitely agreed with that.

“So we need a new plan,” said Doratea. “How will we get to Roberto? First, I will drop you off with the map. Next, I will fly over the ship to lead Señorita Kenstein away. Then, I will fly back and join you. And that’s how we will get to Roberto.

“Now,” she added, “are you ready to jump out of this airplane?”

I was too surprised by the question to answer.

“Great!” she nodded, as if I had said yes. “Count down with me . . . cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, uno, go!”

“Wait, you want me to jump out of this plane right now?!” I exclaimed.

“No, I wanted you to do it when I told you to GO!” she replied. “But now will have to do.”

With one sharp kick, Doratea shoved me out of the plane with her boot.

“Stay where you land. I will meet you as soon as I draw Señorita Kenstein away!” she yelled as I fell. “Hasta luego, amigo!”

At least, that’s what I think she said. I was too busy looking at the white ground rushing up at me.

A hot jolt of panic spread down my arms.

It warmed the inside of the parka the explorers had given me, even though I was falling through air that was way below freezing.

WHOOOMP! Suddenly, I got a mouthful of snow as I face-planted in the tundra. But Doratea had brought me in just low enough. I was okay.

I got to my feet. From where I was standing, all I could see was snow and ice.

As I tried to think of what to do, a loud, rattling noise kept distracting me. I looked around for where that noise was coming from. And then I realized it was my teeth chattering.

I was Freezing!

Just as I was starting to feel sorry for myself, I remembered my cousin. He had been lost out here for who knows how long.

If I was freezing, he was probably feeling worse.

A lot worse.

I opened my journal to where I had stuffed the copy of Robert’s map. There were a dozen paths traced on it. I had no idea which Robert had taken. I also didn’t know how long it would take Doratea to come back. If I waited for her to start looking, it could be a long time before we found him.

I didn’t know if he had that long.

Each path was marked with a different symbol — a pickaxe, a pile of coconuts, a canteen. I didn’t know what they meant. And yet, there was something familiar. But what? If one of the symbols was reminding me of something I’d seen, there was probably a clue on one of the pages of my journal.

And that’s when it hit me. Robert’s email! Doratea had shown up right after the explorer handed it to me at the club. Things had been so rushed, I had shoved it into my journal and forgotten all about it. It had to have the clue I needed.

My hands were shaking with excitement (or maybe frostbite) as I read it:

Robert was holding a glass of champagne in the photo. Was that the clue I was looking for? On his map, one of the trails was marked with a canteen. That wasn’t exactly a glass of champagne, but it was pretty close!

I raced to follow that path. With my big feet, it was kinda like having a pair of snowshoes, and I made good time across the snow. Pretty soon, I came across some footprints. I’d done it!

Yeah, I’d done it all right — I had managed to get myself completely lost!

The footprints I had found were mine. Somehow, I had gotten turned around and crisscrossed my own tracks. I wasn’t on the right path. The champagne glass in the photo hadn’t been a clue after all.

And just as I realized I had no idea where I was, it started to snow. Hard.

“Don’t panic,” I told myself. “I’ll figure something out.” But all I could think was: what was I thinking?

I was no explorer! I had trouble following a map to get across my hometown! Which it looked like I’d probably never see again.

I didn’t know how far I was from where Doratea told me to wait for her. I’d probably freeze before she could find me.

A WHOOSH of wind and ice ripped past me.

I may not have been an explorer, but I knew a blizzard when I felt one.

Snow poured down on my journal, soaking the pages.

I knew what I had to do. I wrapped up my journal as carefully as I could and buried it deep in the snow. Maybe someone else would find it and the map — someone who could figure out what object marked the right way to go.