Consequences and Rewards
Saturday morning found the entire family gathered at the historic library with all of the friends they had met. The family had come from Nebraska and South Dakota, even Uncle Floyd and Aunt Esther. “I’m not going to miss the end of this story,” Uncle Floyd said.
Slim’s parents had arrived the night before, and Micky, Slim’s sister, came from Denver. Miss Belle was dressed in her best outfit, including a hat with a little bluebird on it. At ten o’clock on the dot the sheriff walked in with a man dressed in a suit.
Max poked Carly and Brandon sitting on either side of him. “I bet that’s the man from the bank.”
The sheriff stood at the front of the room and the group quieted. “This is Mr. James from Wells Fargo over in Pueblo. The company has asked him to come talk to us today about your find. I’ll let him have the floor now.”
Mr. James looked around the small crowd and grinned. “This is quite a day. We’ve thoroughly examined the coins and paper money. The paper money is silver certificates, which are extremely rare. As you know, the bag kept the paper pretty dry, but there is some damage from age and moisture.”
“Some of it smelled a little.” Max leaned forward.
“That’s right. There was a little mildew.” Mr. James said. “We’ve had it appraised and I think you’ll be pleased—”
“This is just like Antiques Roadshow,” Chad said.
“Shh. . . .” Molly glared at Chad.
Mr. James laughed. “All right, I’ll spit it out. Conservative estimates are at least $40,000.”
“Wowie-pizowie,” Chad bounced right out of his chair. “That’s a lot of money!”
“It sure is,” Mr. James said. He lifted his hand to quiet the noisy group. “Wells Fargo is so thrilled this mystery was solved and the money recovered—and returned—that we have decided to give you a ten percent reward. In addition, we are donating one of the silver certificates, one coin, the note found in the bag, and the bag itself to the museum.”
Max stood up and spoke to the bank manager. “Sir, we’ve discussed what we would do if there is a reward, and we want to donate it to the museum here in Creede. Zach and Matthew helped build the depot, and we think they would want the money to help keep it going. We also think the original map belongs here too.”
Miss Helen jumped from her seat and did a little jig. Ike and Earl looked like they would explode.
Miss Belle brushed a tear from her eye and stood up to address the group. “First I want to say that I am thankful for your prayers and concern for my nephew, Dexter.” Her voice quivered. “My hope is that God will use the consequences he now faces to help him make better decisions in his life. Slim has offered to go talk to him in jail, and I’d appreciate your continued prayers.” She held her hand out toward the cousins. “You kids have made me a happy old lady. I spent my whole life wishing I could solve the mystery of the clock, and now you have helped me do it. Mr. Jay wanted to give me the clock back, but I believe it should go to the museum with the other items. I’ll keep my Grandma’s diary and give it to my niece. And finally, I think we should give these young people a hand. They did something amazing in the few days they have been here.”
As everyone else clapped, whistled, and stomped their feet, Max waved to the others and Carly, Brandon, Dorie, Molly, and Chad joined him at the front of the room.
“We’re really glad Slim e-mailed us and asked us to come,” Max said. “We were kind of scared that we wouldn’t be able to solve another mystery. But I know I’ve learned that with God’s help all things are possible.”
“It’s been the most awesome vacation ever,” Carly said. “Maybe we can come back sometime and see you all again.”
“If we ever run across another mystery here, we’ll know who to call.” The sheriff tipped his hat to them. “In fact, if any of you want a job when you grow up, come talk to me. I’d hire you any day!”