Chapter Four

Dylan and his grandpa sat at the table, eating dinner by candlelight and the light of the fireplace. The storm had gotten worse and worse, the rain pounding down and the winds getting stronger, until finally it had taken out the power. That wasn’t unusual, and the cabin had a backup generator. Unfortunately, the backup generator was one of the things Grandpa had to fix—along with a leak in the roof, a back door that wasn’t opening properly, a window that wasn’t closing and a sink that was clogged.

Dylan’s parents had both grown up in a city, where you just called a plumber or a roofer to fix whatever went wrong. Out here there was nobody to help, so you learned to do everything yourself. Grandpa had been given a list of the things he needed to fix. Tomorrow he would radio Dylan’s parents and ask them to bring the supplies and parts he needed when they returned to the island. Of course, he could only radio out if the power came back on or if he fixed the generator. No power meant no radio, no cell phones and no internet.

Outside the wind whistled loudly through the trees, and the rain pounded down on the roof. Dylan was happy to be inside, safe and dry and warm. He’d been even happier to hear that his parents had made shore before the storm hit fully. Captain Ken had radioed to tell them. Thank goodness it had been before the power went out, or Dylan would have worried all night.

“I think it’s time for your surprises,” Grandpa said. “You clear the table, and I’ll get the items.”

“Items?” Dylan asked excitedly.

“Like, I said, surprises. More than one.”

Grandpa went to the bedroom and grabbed the heaviest bag. By the time he returned with it, the table was cleared and Dylan was anxiously waiting. Grandpa put down the bag and opened it without letting Dylan see inside. He pulled out the first item.

“Wow!” Dylan exclaimed.

It was a big, beautiful kite that looked like an eagle. His grandpa put in the supports, and the eagle’s wings opened.

“It’s life-size. I brought along over five hundred feet of string. We can make it soar. And speaking of soaring…” He reached into the bag and placed the second item on the table.

“It’s a drone!” Dylan said excitedly.

It was black with silver trim. It had four little rotors with red blades.

“It has a camera, so we can take pictures and livestream video,” Grandpa explained.

Grandpa took out a big controller. “It’s remote control. Of course, we’re going to have to wait for the storm to pass. It has to be a lot calmer than it is tonight before we can launch it.”

Dylan had one more reason to hope it would be calm the next day—so he could play with the drone.

“It can fly for almost thirty minutes at a time. I’m excited that I’m going to be able to see this island in a way I’ve never seen it before,” Grandpa said. “I’m really looking forward to flying it.”

“Grandpa, will I be able to fly it too?”

His grandfather laughed. “You’re not only going to be flying it—I’m sure you’ll be much better at it than I will. Now it’s time for one last thing.”

Grandpa reached into the bag and pulled out the final item. He set it down on the table with a heavy clunk. It looked heavy. It was large and long and made of metal, and it had a handle like a broom.

“This is going to be perfect for tomorrow,” Grandpa said.

Dylan stared. “What is it?”

“It’s a metal detector.”

Dylan tilted his head to the side. “What does it do?”

“It can find things buried in the sand. There’s no telling what might be there. We could find some real treasure.”

“Treasure?”

“Over the years lots of ships sank off these islands, and some of them were carrying valuable things. Big storms like this can wash things up onto the shore or uncover things that were buried there already,” Grandpa explained.

“Really?”

“Tomorrow will be the perfect time for us to go on a treasure hunt!”

Dylan pictured treasure chests and pirates’ gold. Who didn’t want to find buried treasure?