The Case of the Explorer’s Map
Encyclopedia Brown opened his agency door one morning to find ten-year-old Sarah Jenkins sitting outside. “Wow!” he said. “You’re here early.”
“I wanted to make sure I was first in line,” Sarah said.
Encyclopedia looked both ways. There was nobody else in sight. “No problem there,” he said.
“Good,” said Sarah. “I need your help right away.” She took out a quarter and placed it carefully on the old gasoline can. “You may not know this, Encyclopedia, but we’ve started a new club this summer. We’re calling it the Lost and Found Club.
“The club members are all interested in explorers. The Explorers Club seemed like a boring name. Since explorers often get lost, and usually get found, we settled on the Lost and Found Club.
“Anyway,” she went on, “we’re very interested in old maps. If you look at an explorer’s route on a map today, it doesn’t look so amazing because we now know where everything is. In the old days, explorers had no idea what was waiting for them beyond the horizon. They had to be brave and skillful.”
“And careful, too,” said Encyclopedia. “A lot of them died before achieving their goals.”
“Exactly,” said Sarah. “So you can understand how excited we were when Nate Switcher got in touch with us. He thought we would be interested in buying a map drawn by a Spanish mapmaker who accompanied Columbus on his historic voyage of fourteen ninety-two. Imagine what that trip must have been like. Sailing into uncharted waters . . . worrying about falling off the edge of the earth. . . .”
“Columbus wasn’t concerned about that,” Encyclopedia said. “Knowledgeable sailors knew the earth wasn’t flat.”
“That’s a fact. I can picture it in my head. I see their faces peering into the mists,” Sarah said.
“They had to deal with more than mists,” Encyclopedia declared. “Certainly they had plenty of real things to worry about. Running out of food or fresh water. Fierce storms. Attacks from sea monsters . . .”
“Sea monsters?” said Sarah.
“That’s the picture in my head,” Encyclopedia said.
Sarah laughed. “We figured you could help, you being a detective and all.”
“I can try,” Encyclopedia said. “I think I’ve seen Nate around town. He’s a high school senior, isn’t he? Where would he get a map like that?”
“He says he found it at a flea market on a trip his family took to Spain. I checked on that,” Sarah said. “The Switchers did go to Europe last summer. Since he bought it with his own money, his parents say he can do whatever he wants with it.”
“Why is he singling you out?”
“I guess he figures the Lost and Found Club has the most interest.” Sarah smiled. “And we do. He wants me to come over to his house for a look. I figured it would be good to get your opinion.”
“Okay,” said Encyclopedia. “Let’s go.”
When Nate saw them coming, he smiled broadly. “Glad you could make it, Sarah. Obviously, you know a good opportunity when you hear one. I see you brought a friend. How nice.”
“So where’s the map?” Sarah asked excitedly.
Nate laughed. “I understand your excitement. Imagine how I felt coming across the map under a pile of dusty papers. I have it right here.” He took it out of a box carefully and laid it out on a small table.
“Behold!” he cried. “Columbus and his New World.”
The map was yellow and stained. It was brown at the edges.
“Hmmm,” said Sarah. “There isn’t much on it. Just a few islands and the words ‘Atlantic Ocean’ printed in fancy letters.”
“That’s what makes it authentic,” Nate said. “You have to remember that Columbus did not go too far north or south on his first voyage, so naturally the map doesn’t show much of North or South America. Any map that showed all that might look truthful, but it would be a fake.”
“Behold!” he cried. “Columbus and his New World.”
“True enough,” said Encyclopedia.
“Exactly,” Nate said smoothly. “Your friend knows what he’s talking about. Don’t forget that the word ‘America’ itself did not show up on a map until fifteen hundred and seven, and it had nothing to do with Columbus. A German mapmaker named America after another explorer, Amerigo Vespucci. He didn’t really do that much for the honor, but the name stuck.”
“Nate seems to have his facts straight,” said Sarah.
“He’s on a roll,” Encyclopedia allowed.
“As I said on the phone,” Nate went on, “I could sell this map to a museum if all I cared about was the money. The way I figure it, museums have way too much stuff already. They can’t even display most of what they own. I don’t want this map to be hidden in some dusty vault. I want it to be bought by people who will enjoy it openly—like the Lost and Found Club.”
“This map would be a real inspiration for us,” Sarah admitted. “What do you think, Encyclopedia?”
“Keep your money in your pocket,” the detective said. “That map will only take you in the wrong direction.”
WHAT MAKES ENCYCLOPEDIA THINK THAT?
(Turn to page 83 for the solution to “The Case of the Explorer’s Map.”)
