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USING THE GPS SYSTEM and the topographical map, it didn't take long before Chet and Corry were able to mark the exact location of the cross carved into the bark of the tree. They also marked a line with the direction it was pointing in. Then everyone piled in, Rory put the Range Rover into gear and they began searching for additional signs. Rory drove slowly between the trees and everyone kept an eye out on the front, back and sides. The windows were down and the scent of pine mixed with the smell of the rich earth. Dry leaves crunched under the tires, songbirds serenaded their passage and chipmunks chattered, telling them they were trespassing on their domain. It took twenty minutes of slow, methodical driving in patterns back and forth before the treasure hunters found something.
It was Emma who yelled, "There's one."
Rory quickly pulled to a stop and everyone piled out.
"It's an arrow," Corry yelled back over his shoulder as he ran hard for an old, Red-Maple tree. His hand caressed the carving in the bark.
Chet stood back, looked at the sign and stuck his arm out, "It's pointing in that direction. And it looks like it's going to cross with the direction line of the other one we found."
Corry nodded eagerly, "You're right. Let's mark this one on the map and see if it does. Or where else it goes."
Chet agreed. Back at the Range Rover, he worked with Corry to mark the exact location of this new treasure sign on the topographical map. Chet drew a line across the map.
Emma jumped up and down in excitement, "It does cross the other one. It's almost like an X on a treasure map."
Rory looked at Chet and Corry, "Emma is right. Should we head for that spot where they intersect?"
Corry didn't hesitate and he shook his head no, "Nope. I think we should go look for another sign."
"I agree," Chet said. "Even though we're getting the exact longitude and latitude for each sign, the lines we're marking are still fairly approximate. The more signs we can find that converge on a spot, the more accurate an area we have to search."
"Okay, then lets all climb aboard and start looking again," Rory said.
***
IF WAS THIRTY MINUTES before another sign popped up.
And again it was Emma who yelled, "I see one. I got another. We just passed it."
Corry quickly looked to where she was pointing. "Yeah, I see it. And I think it means we have to go back," Corry said to Rory.
Rory stopped, reversed and drove backward.
"Stop," Emma yelled. She jumped out with Corry as soon as Rory applied the brakes. Together, they ran eagerly back to another Red-Maple tree.
Chet and Donna-Lou jumped out to join the kids with Rory not far behind.
Everyone spent a few minutes feeling the carving in the bark.
"That one looks like a backwards three," Donna-Lou murmured as her fingers followed the indentations.
"It is," Chet confirmed. "And Corry is right. It means we have to go back, we missed something back there."
Rory looked surprised, "I thought you just meant you wanted me to back up to the sign. You mean we really have to backtrack?"
"Yep," Corry said. "We missed a sign or signs back there somewhere."
"Okay," Rory said, "we can do that. Do you want to mark this one down first?"
Chet nodded his head, "We should. We can always start back here if we don't find something."
Corry and Chet marked the spot for the sign on the map then everyone climbed back into the Range Rover.
"Head back that way," Chet instructed as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
Rory nodded and he turned the vehicle in a circle around the Red-Maple and headed back through the trees. He went slower this time, threading his way through and around the trees. Everyone was quiet as they all intently focused on every possible mark in the bark on every tree they passed.
"I see one," Donna-Lou yelled after 10 minutes. She was looking out the window and towards the back of the vehicle.
Rory stopped and everyone turned, looking at where she was pointing.
"Where mom?" Corry asked as his head swiveled back and forth.
"I see it," Chet said and he was instantly out of the vehicle.
"Oh yeah, I see it too," Corry said finally. "Good eye, mom," he said as he sprang from the vehicle and ran for the tree.
Everyone else piled out of the vehicle and joined Chet and Corry as they examined the image carved into the bark of a large, old tree.
"That one is pointing back away from the river," Donna-Lou said. "We have to go back again?"
Corry looked at his mother, shaking his head with a big grin on his face.
"Why not?" Donna-Lou asked. "The arrow is pointing back that way–"
"That's what they want you to think," Corry said.
Chet looked at Donna-Lou and nodded his head, a smile on his face as well, "Remember the other arrow didn't have the tail like this one?
Donna-Lou looked at the sign for a moment and then nodded to Chet, "Okay...?"
"That means this one is a reverse sign. When you first go looking for treasure, the other kids who know how they work, they usually have a great time watching you going in the wrong direction."
"Mom. There are other ones, like the turtle one that's also a reverse sign," Corry said. "You just have to know these things."
"Even I know that one," Emma announced.
Donna-Lou looked at Rory, raising her eyebrows, "Did you know that?"
Rory shook his head, "Nope. Not a clue. Not...a...clue."
"So, I'm not the only one," Donna-Lou said and she stuck her tongue out at Emma.
Emma giggled.
Chet hitched up his pants, "Let's get this one marked on the map and see what we have." He and Corry determined the coordinates for the sign, placed it on the map and then they drew another line.
Donna-Lou was watching them work and she said, "All three signs cross and make a small triangle on the map."
Corry gave her a confident nod, "And that is the area we need to search for another sign."
Looking over at Rory, Donna-Lou gave him a playful smirk, "Another one I figured out."
Rory just held his hands out and shrugged, "I'm just the driver so I don't have to have a clue. Right, Emma?"
Emma put her hands to her mouth and giggled.