We were all silent for a moment. “Leo Nackley?” Zander asked. “Leo Nackley was with you, too? In Arizona?” “Of course. Didn’t you know that? When you said you heard him in the basement of the Explorer’s Society, talking about your father’s map, I thought you knew that he was after the treasure, too. Yes, Leo was there when your father, John, and I went to Drowned Man’s Canyon the first time. He was a good friend of ours from the Academy… back then, anyway.”
“Do you think he knows where it is?” I asked. M.K. had stopped working on the leg braces. She had them standing up and was testing the joints.
“No, if he’d found it you can bet we would have heard about it. Leo is one of those Explorers who does it for the glory. The money and the resources, too, but always the glory.” The dark look passed over Raleigh’s face again.
I thought for a minute. “Why would Dad want us to have that map, Raleigh? Do you think he wanted us to find the treasure? Did he say anything to you about leaving it to us?”
Raleigh tried to stand up, as though he’d forgotten for a minute that he couldn’t. Beneath his beard, his face was red and his eyes were angry.
“God forgive me. You have to understand. After my accident, I… well, I’ve kind of kept to myself. I let self-pity get the better of me. Alex visited me a couple of years ago. I think he had something to tell me. He kept circling around it, waiting for me to be in the mood to listen. But I couldn’t stand seeing him. He was so. . . vigorous. So full of life. He just reminded me of all the expeditions I’d never go on. I picked a fight, basically drove him away. If I could go back and…”
I don’t know what made me do it, but I glanced at Zander and said, “Raleigh, I found the map because Dad left us a code in Mr. Mountmorris’s book. A man brought me the book when I was out in the market. He was being chased by agents and I think he got away, but…”
Raleigh struggled in his seat again. “Who was he? Who was the man?”
“We don’t know,” I said. “Just a man, an Explorer, I think, no one I’d seen before. He had a clockwork hand. Do you know who he is?”
There was a long, long silence before Raleigh said, “No, I don’t know who he is, but I think I know what he is.” He settled back into his chair, looking defeated.
“What he is?” I repeated. “What do you mean?”
Raleigh didn’t say anything, and it was M.K. who broke the silence. “I’ve got these done for you,” she told him. “Here, let’s try them on.”
Once M.K. helped Raleigh buckle them on, Raleigh stood up and the IronLegs started moving, walking him around the room as he engaged the clockwork gears at the top.
He grinned, though the look of pain was still there beneath his smile. “I should have known one of Alex’s kids would turn out to be a mechanic.” He sat down again and looked at me.
“If I’m not mistaken,” he said, his eyes very serious, “that man is a member of the Mapmakers’ Guild.”