An Interesting Treasure

“If you two don’t quiet down, I will throw you out of this library!”

Mae and Jack jumped. They hadn’t noticed Ms. Wilson, the old ratchedy librarian, walk up behind them. They were terrified of her; the whole school was! There were rumors that the reason she wasn’t married was because she had killed her previous husband for talking too loudly. She seemed as though she was older than the school itself, but she was still as strong and fierce as a young lady. Mae once saw Principal Silva try and use one of the computer’s without signing the sign-in sheet first and Ms. Wilson yelled at him! The Principal! If there was one person you didn’t want on your bad side, it was Ms. Wilson. Mae grabbed Jack’s hand in a moment of fright. Jack couldn’t help but smile.

“I swear, kids these days! Think they can just come into my library and treat it like a playground! Always yelling at each other or kissing each other. You guys think I don’t notice! Well, I’ve got news for you! I do notice! Always on your iPhones, snapbooking each other. It makes me sick!” Mae tried to interrupt her, but couldn’t get a word in. “You shut your mouth while I’m talking to you! Don’t they teach you kids how to respect your elders?

“You know, back in my day, if we interrupted a teacher we’d get a smack with a ruler. Oh, yes we would, you better believe that. And our parents would thank them for it! Nowadays, if you even look at a kid wrong you get a complaint. It is un-be-lieve-able I tell you!”

“We also used to use the library for reading! Can you imagine that? The library used to be a place where you would sit down and get some peace and quiet while you read a nice book. Nowadays, it’s just a glorified computer lab! Hmmmph! Computers are the death of society, I tell you. Kid’s used to get excited while reading books together. Now they just get excited about something they see on the inter-web. Ri-dic-u-lous!”

Ms. Wilson stared off into the distance. She was catching her breath after her long rant. Mae looked at Jack, who shrugged. Mae gulped, and barely whispered, “But, Ms. Wilson, we were reading a book.”

Ms. Wilson snapped her head around and looked at Mae. “What’s that’s young lady? I need you to speak up! Kid’s these days, always mumbling. My hearings not what it used to be, you know.”

Mae cleared her throat, “I said, we were reading a book. We aren’t on her phones!”

Ms. Wilson took a step back, her face filled with mock surprise, “What’s that you say? Two children, actually reading? I don’t believe it!”

“She’s not lying! We were reading! Look!” Jack stood up and held out the book they were looking over. “Sorry we were so loud; we were just getting excited.”

“Let me see that.” Ms. Wilson snatched the book out of Jack’s hands. “Blackbeard’s Lost Gold”. Black Beard? The Pirate? Is this about Phillip Masters? The man who discovered Blackbeard’s treasure? You know, he was born in Newbury. In fact, my sister dated him. He was a smart man, but a horrible boyfriend. Yes, he was always on the move, could never settle down. Very handsome, though, let me tell you. He was the talk of the town for a while. Broke my poor sisters heart, yes he did.”

Mae and Jack looked at each other. They couldn’t believe that Ms. Wilson was actually being nice to them. They also couldn’t believe that she knew the man they were reading about! This was so exciting, but, also weird.

“Well, it is kind of about him.” Mae said, “He found Blackbeard’s boat, obviously. But that’s not what they were originally looking for! Did you know-”

“That they were looking for the El Salvador?” Ms. Wilson interrupted, “Yes I did know that. They never did find it. But Blackbeard’s boat was almost a better find. People love to hear pirate stories, don’t they? What was his boat called again? I can’t quite remember.”

“Queen Anne’s Revenge.” Jack answered quickly.

“Yes, that’s the one. Too bad there was no treasure on it, or Phillip would have been a very rich man. Not that he was poor, of course, he made enough discoveries. But…. pirate treasure sure would have been nice. Maybe then he would have settled down and married my sister.”

Mae and Jack were silent, unsure if she would continue talking. When it seemed as though she had said all that needed to be said Mae timidly spoke up, “Well, that’s kind of why we’re reading about it. We’ve heard stories that there is treasure right here in Newbury! Apparently, that is how Phillip Masters got interested in treasure hunting. He heard the same story we did! That the Vikings left loot buried on the coast. Somewhere near Gooseneck cove. He gave up looking for it, but apparently, right before he died he found proof that it really exists!”

“Is that so?” Ms. Wilson asked, “So you two are on the hunt for buried treasure. What an adventure! But I do have one question, why were you using a book and not a computer? I thought young people like yourselves would use the internet.”

“Well, we did try Google.” Jack responded, “But there wasn’t much info. We found out when Masters was born and how he died, and what kind of adventures and treasure he found. But nothing on Viking treasure. People only care about pirate treasure! So we thought, maybe there is a book that could help us out. And that one,” He pointed to the one Ms. Wilson was holding, “Mentions that Master’s started hunting treasure because of a rumor about Viking treasure in his hometown!”

“Which is why we were so excited and loud.” Mae added. “Sorry, about that.”

“Yes, sorry about that.”

Ms. Wilson smiled (much to the amazement to Mae and Jack, her smile was warm and friendly), she looked at the two children and saw a look that she remembered having long ago. It was a look of excitement and an eagerness to learn. It had been a long time since Ms. Wilson had been excited about something, but seeing these two kids with looks of pure hopefulness and wonder stirred something inside her. She started to talk, but was cut off by the bell signaling that lunch was over. She looked around, and said “You two come right back here after school. I have something you may enjoy.”

Mae and Jack liked the sound of that. The two quickly promised they’d be there right at 2:15. The gathered up the belongings and hurried off to class. As they left, Ms. Wilson watched them with a dazed smile on her face. She looked about ten years younger than she did at the beginning of the period. Principal Silva walked by the library and abruptly stopped, he walked in and asked, “Are you alright Ms. Wilson? You look like you could use some air.”

“I’m better than ever, Scott. But can you let everyone know the library will be closed after school? I have a matter to attend to.”

“Yes, of course. Are you sure you’re okay? I can get someone to cover the library if you need me to.”

This shook Ms. Wilson out of her daze, “I haven’t needed a substitute in over 30 years, Scott. And I’m not gunna start now. So can you just make sure everyone knows the library’s closed? Thank you.” She snapped, and turned and walked away.

Mae and Jack were sitting next to each other in their AP Language class. They spent the entire period staring at the clock, not taking in anything Mrs. Martinez was saying. As soon as the final bell rang the grabbed their backpacks and hurried to the library.

Ms. Wilson was waiting for them when they got to the library. They were both out of breath, as they had practically run the whole way there. Ms. Wilson smiled again, “Glad you could make it. Please, come in.”

They walked in as Ms. Wilson taped a sign that said “Library closed. We will be open again tomorrow. Please place any book returns in the bin below.” She then closed the door and locked it. She turned and walked towards the two students, who were standing in front of her desk, anxiously watching her.

 “How long have you two been on the hunt for treasure?” She asked.

“Well, ever since I watched a YouTube video about lost treasure, like three months ago.” Jack responded, “They said something about Masters, and how he was inspired by a local legend in his home town. So, I googled him, and saw that he was from here!”

“Yep. And then he told me the story, and I thought it was a great idea! Imagine how awesome it would be if we found treasure!” Mae added.

“I see.” Ms. Wilson said. She put her hand to her chin, “Well, when you guys mentioned local treasures it brought back a memory that I had long forgotten. About ten years ago, maybe fifteen, it’s hard to keep track, I was reorganizing the books in the library. I found one that seemed interesting and I tucked it away in the back drawer of my desk. I must have gotten distracted, as I haven’t thought about it until today, when you mentioned a local treasure mystery. I think this may give us some answers.”

She held up a dusty book. Its pages were yellow, the cover was barely hanging on by a thread. The words of the title were faded, but still legible, they read Legends of Newbury, Vol 1, 1895.

“Woah” Jack and Mae said in unison.

“Woah is right.” Ms. Wilson replied. “It took everything in me not to read this whole thing while I was waiting for you, but I figured since it was you two that reminded me that it even existed, I should wait and see if there is anything of note. So, shall we?”

Mae and Jack emphatically nodded their heads, and rushed to either side of Ms. Wilson as she opened the book. She opened to the Table of Contents, and put on her reading glasses.

“Let’s see here. Haunted houses…escaped witches…inventions…notable crimes…ah! Here we go! Buried Treasure, page… can one of you read what page? My eye sight isn’t what it used to be, you know.”

“I think it says 69.” Mae said.

“Fantastic!” Ms. Wilson replied as she began to turn the pages.

“Ah. Here we are…short chapter. Let’s see what it says.” She began to read, “While pirate treasure may be a more popular find for treasure hunters to seek out; there is another treasure that is just as valuable: Viking treasure. There have been tales of Vikings exploring the shores of Newbury for centuries, but one tale leads many to suspect there may be some sort of treasure hidden on this island. It started in 1796 when…” Ms. Wilson paused, “let’s skip ahead none of this is that important. Yada, yada, yada, ah! Here is the good stuff. ‘Historian Matthew Walsh claims that there is substantial evidence that a Viking ship wrecked in Gooseneck cove, which led to many believe the ships treasure is buried. Walsh claims that-’” Ms. Wilson stopped reading and looked up,”Huh, that’s strange. There are pages missing.”

“What’s Gooseneck Cove? That must be where the treasure is! Is that what they used to call Gooseneck Beach?” Jack asked

“Maybe…But maybe not. We need to find these missing pages! We can’t make assumptions off of the little bit that we read.” Ms. Wilson responded.

“Well, maybe we have a little more. Jack and I may not have told you everything.” Mae reached into her backpack and pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper. It was yellow and stained with dark splotches. The paper was very crinkled, and had clearly been in and out of many pockets. She held it up, “The real reason we started this treasure search is that Jack found this in his attic. On the back it says ‘P. Masters’ so we googled ‘P. Masters treasure map’ and found out about Phillip Masters.” Mae turned the paper around to reveal what was on it. It was faded, but still very easy to see that it was a map. “We think this is Newbury, but we can’t really tell.”

           “Why’d you guys not tell me about this?” Ms. Wilson asked.

           “Well, truthfully you’re a little scary.” Jack responded. “And this was our own secret so we wanted to make sure you were serious about helping us. You’re the only person we’ve told.”

           Mae nodded in agreement.

           “I see.” Ms. Wilson said. “Well, put that on the table. I’ll go grab a lamp. We’ll see if I recognize it.”

           Mae put the map on the table and began to flatten it out. Jack started to help her. By the time Ms. Wilson returned, the map was as smooth as it could get, and the Jack and Mae were hunched over it. Ms. Wilson plugged the lamp in, put on her glasses, and began to study the map.

           “Oh yes, this is certainly Newbury. This was made a very long time ago. Or at least it depicts how Newbury looked a very long time ago. Look, there are hardly any streets. Now, let’s see.” She began to trace her finger along a line. It led to an X, “So this must be what got you guys so excited?”

           “Yes! It has to be treasure map!” Mae excitedly responded. “But it looks so different from Newbury today, we couldn’t figure out where it was!”

           “Yeah, we assume that it’s by the water.” Jack added. “But that’s we got.”

           “I see. Well, I wish you brought this to me sooner.” Ms. Wilson said. “I believe I know that spot.” She checked her watch, “I think we have enough time to investigate. But please don’t get your hopes up, this is only a hunch.”

           Mae and Jack couldn’t hide their excitement. They both smiled from ear to ear. Ms. Wilson led them to her car, where she made them both sit in the back seat, with seatbelts on. She drove them to Mackerel Cove. On her way she explained what she knew, “In 1950, Gooseneck Beach was founded. The mayor, a real interesting fellow, declared that there could not be a Gooseneck Beach and a Gooseneck Cove, so he held a contest to rename the cove. The winning name was Mackerel, as it used to be a popular place to fish. Not so much anymore, but I digress. It makes sense that the book called it Gooseneck Cove, as it obviously hadn’t been renamed. The only question is, did Phillip, or someone else, know that? That X is pretty clearly marked at the cove, but I suppose if you didn’t really know what you were looking at, you could convince yourself that it was Gooseneck Beach. The X looks like it may be in the bluffs, but we can look at that a little more closely when we get there.”

           When they arrived, the three of them quickly jumped out of the car. Mae and Jack were ready to run, but when Ms. Wilson reminded them of her age, the slowed down. After all, they did have to follow her. She stared at the map as she walked, looking down at it and then looking up. She was clearly trying to navigate the landscape. After walking for about three minutes she stopped abruptly, and turned right. “I think it’s this direction.” She said.

           They all began walking, slowly, searching for anything that may lead them to some treasure. They were walking right toward a giant tree, an eventually they had to stop, as it was right in their path.

           “I believe this is where the X is.” Ms. Wilson said.

           “Man, this big tree?” Jack asked.

           “Yes. It is entirely possible that whoever did bury this treasure, then planted this tree to hide.” Ms. Wilson replied. “It’s quite brilliant if you ask me.”

           While they were talking, Mae had gotten on her hands and knees. She was digging around the base of the tree, and began pulling on a rock.

           “What on earth are you doing?” Ms. Wilson asked.

           “This rock looks out of place!” Mae replied, “Look how white it is!”

           Indeed, the rock was very white, and did not look as though it belonged on this east coast beach. Jack bent down and helped her dig it up. Ms. Wilson looked on, intrigued, but not intrigued enough to get her skirt dirty. Finally, after ten minutes of struggles, Mae and Jack lifted up the rock. There was a note tied to the bottom of it. Mae untied it and opened, “What does it say?” Jack asked.

           Mae read, “To whomever finds this, I hope you have had quite the adventure searching for this treasure, I know I sure did. Despite this trees location, I can assure you that there is no treasure beneath its roots. So, no treasure for you today, but I hope you continue searching! And remember: The real treasure is the friendships we made along the way. Cheers, PM.”

           They were silent, until Jack broke it, “That’s bullshit!”

           “Jack, watch your mouth!” Mae quickly said, nervously looking at Ms. Wilson.

           “That’s quite okay.” Ms. Wilson said, “It is bullshit. I was hoping we would find some wonderful treasure. But, I do hope you take his words to heart, as I would like to think I did make two new friends today.”