Gasparilla's Treasure (Trip Mongomery Book 1) (10 page)

Trip, Josh, and Sarah surveyed Fort Matanzas from across the water.  Trip imagined a ship sailing towards St. Augustine to mount an attack, as the men at the fort fired cannons, trying to sink the attackers.  He wondered if Gasparilla’s ship ever sailed through these waters.

The fort was smaller than Trip had imagined. The Florida flag flew high atop the roof.

“The clue says we'll find the third map piece under the flag,” said Sarah.

“We’ve got to get inside and figure this out,” said Trip.  “I’m running out of time.”

“Well, I hope you have a plan to get past those guards,” said Josh.  “They look a little smarter than the guard at the Gonzalez-Alvarez house. And in better shape.”

There were two guards in vintage uniforms patrolling the outside of the fort.

“I’ll figure something out,” said Trip.  “We’ve got to get closer.”

As they approached the fort, they realized there were actually more than two guards patrolling the grounds.  They did their best to blend in with the tourists as they made their way closer to a side door.

Sarah watched as a guard came through the door, and he left it slightly ajar.

“Here’s our chance,” whispered Sarah.  “That guard didn’t close the door.”

They watched for just the right moment and they made their move, completely unobserved.  They hurried through the door and Trip closed it quickly behind them.

They blinked as they found themselves among a small group of tourists inside the fort.  Josh was beside himself when he realized they were in a public area.

“Are you kidding me!” said Josh.  “We just sneaked into a public area!”

“It’s snuck, Josh.  Not sneaked,” said Sarah.

“Are you sure?” said Josh. “Because one time when I was in fifth grade…”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Trip.  “We have to find this map piece.  Now spread out.”

They started looking around.  The room was arranged as it would have been back when the fort was in use.  There were some bunks and desks, and an old fireplace.  Trip stood in the middle of the room looking up.

“I think the flag is directly over me,” said Trip.  “About right here.  Do you see anything over there?”

Sarah stood a few feet away, looking up.  “I think we should be looking right here.  But I don’t see anything.”

She started to scuff the dirty floor with her foot, hoping it might uncover something.

“Excuse me,” Trip said to a passing guard.  “What is directly below the flag on the roof?  And I’m talking exactly below the flag.”

“I would say you are standing directly under it,” the guard said.

Trip thanked the guard, who continued on his patrol.  Sarah joined Trip as they began searching for a crack or hole in the ground.  Sarah was disgusted by all the dust.

“There’s nothing here,” said Trip.  “Anyone got any ideas?”

Josh was bored.  He sat down at one of the desks.  “I have an idea.  Let’s get out of here.  I had no idea this place was going to be so boring.”

“Sorry, Josh,” said Trip.  “But we are staying here until I have that map piece in my hand.”

Josh gave a huge sigh.  He kicked back in the chair and picked up the picture frame that was sitting on the desk.

“What about this?” asked Josh.  He showed them the picture.  It was an old black and white photo of the Spanish flag that had previously flown over the fort.

“Where was that?” asked Trip.  “Where exactly was that picture sitting?”

Josh showed them the place on the desk where he found the picture.  Trip ran his fingers across the desktop, feeling for any hidden compartments.  He got down below the desk and checked every inch of it.  He scoured the floor below the desk, hoping to find a loose stone or something.  He could not find anything.

“Wait a minute,” said Trip.  “The clue says
below
the flag, right?”

“Yeah, why?” asked Sarah.

Trip was sure he was on to something.  “Below the flag.  Give me that picture.”

Josh handed Trip the picture frame, and Trip flipped it over to remove the back.  Nestled between the back and the photograph was the third piece of the map.  Trip started to laugh.

“Below the flag,” Trip chuckled.  “It was below the flag!”

One of Eli’s goons busted in with a security guard.  Trip stood there holding the picture, the pieces of the frame, and most importantly, the map piece.

“There they are,” shouted the goon.  “They’re stealing stuff!  Look!”

Trip fumbled as he tried to put down the picture frame while also trying to hide the map piece.  He dropped the frame and the glass shattered.

“Stop right there, young man,” said the security guard sternly.

Trip, Josh, and Sarah all looked at each other, unsure what to do.  They all seemed to have the same idea at the same time.  They took off running.  The guard hesitated, weighing whether or not it was worth the chase over a broken picture frame.  He finally ran after them, but they were already out the door.

Outside, they ran full tilt.  The guard pursued, close on their heels.

“Stop!  Freeze right there!” yelled the guard.

They ran across a field and through a mud puddle, sending mud flying as their feet splashed through it.  The security guard was close on their tail until he reached it, where he slipped and landed right in the middle of the mud.

“That’s right!” said the security guard, out of breath, “And don’t let me see you back here again!”   He was completely covered in mud as he watched the kids run off in the distance.

Trip climbed up the lattice, snuck back through his window, and stashed his stuff.  Then he turned down the stereo and headed downstairs.

Trip found Mom in the kitchen setting the table for dinner.

“Mom, can I please go out after school tomorrow?” pleaded Trip.  “I've learned my lesson.  This being grounded thing is horrible.”

“Look, Trip,” said Mom calmly.  “We had a deal.  And you didn't keep up your end of the deal.  So you're still grounded.”

“But Mom, I...” Trip tried before Mom cut him off.

“No buts!” Mom snapped.  “Now go get washed up for dinner.”

Trip felt defeated.  He knew he could not win.  He left the room, and Mom noticed a muddy footprint on the floor where Trip had been standing.  She was not sure what to make of it.

Later, in his room, Trip was in the middle of a phone conversation with Josh and Sarah.

“There's no way my Mom is letting me out of this house,” Trip said.  “And sneaking out again is too risky.”

“We've got to figure out where that last piece of the map is,” said Josh.

“All right,” said Sarah.  “We’re coming over.  We’ll figure it out at your house.”

“No good,” said Trip.  “My Mom's not letting anyone in here.  We’ve got to find another way.”

“You snuck out,” said Sarah.  “So why can't we just sneak in?”

“It's sneaked, not snuck,” said Josh.

“What?” said Sarah.

“You said snuck again,” said Josh.  “It's sneaked... never mind, look Sarah's right.  We'll come over and if your mom comes up, we'll just hide.  Simple.”

“Fine,” Trip agreed.  “Give me an hour for dinner, and I'll tell Mom I've got tons of homework.  Then we'll get back to work.”

Sarah and Josh stood outside Trip’s window.  It was nighttime now, and they looked at the latticework.

“We have to climb up that thing?” asked Josh in disbelief.

“Why?” asked Sarah.  “Is that a problem for you?”

“Well, no,” said Josh.  “I was just making sure I understood the plan, that’s all.”

Josh was never much of a climber.  In fact, Josh was not interested in anything that involved physical coordination or exercise.  But Josh also did not like to lose at anything, which was why he avoided anything physical, like running, football, or climbing.  As he looked at the latticework, he decided that it might as well be a three hundred foot rock face in front of him.

A distance away, in the bushes, one of Eli’s goons watched Josh and Sarah.  He was on the phone with Eli as Josh followed Sarah up the latticework.  The goon laughed as he watched Josh struggle to climb.

“It looks like they’re sneaking in, Eli,” the goon said into the phone.  “They're climbing up one of those things the bushes grow on.”

“They're up to something,” said Eli, in a slightly evil tone.  “You find out what they're doing, or else.”

“There's no way to listen in without them seeing me,” said the goon.

“If they're sneaking in,” said Eli.  “Then they don't want to get caught, right?

“Yeah, I guess so,” said the goon, confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes,” said Eli, losing his patience.  “If they don’t want to get caught, then you make sure they get caught!  If you're not smart enough to listen in and get me some useful information, then the least you can do is make that little twit's life miserable!”

Eli slammed the phone down, nearly breaking it.

Trip held the third map piece and scribbled down some letters on a scrap of paper.  The back of the map piece had a bunch of letters arranged in circles.  Each circle of letters was written inside a bigger circle of letters.  It looked like a target.

“Do you have it yet?” asked Sarah impatiently.  “Do you want me to try?”

“I'm almost there,” said Trip, in a calm, focused voice.  “I've figured out the key, and it's just a matter of writing out each character.”

Sarah could hardly contain herself.  “OK, OK.  Are you sure you don't want me to do it?  I could do it if you want me to.”

“Come on, Sarah.  Let the man work,” said Josh.  “It's amazing he's getting anything done with you on him like that.”

Trip wrote down the last couple of letters.  He smiled as he read the message to himself.

“Here we go again,” said Trip, taunting the others.

“What?  What does it say?” said Sarah.

“It's another riddle or something,” said Trip.  He read the clue, "
tread 219 pace 10 of iron
.”

Josh grabbed the paper from Trip and studied it.  “I'm glad it's you guys having to figure this stuff out, 'cause that is just messed up.”

“Tread and pace are both about walking, or stepping,” said Sarah, unable to contain her excitement.

Trip had a huge grin on his face.  “I think I know this one.”

“Are you kidding me?” asked Josh.  "
tread 219 pace 10 of iron
and you suddenly know it?”

“I'm pretty sure on this one,” said Trip with confidence.  “I think Pappy was preparing me for this.  He used to take me to the old lighthouse when I was a kid.  I loved to go up so high and look around.  We used to count every step on the way up.  It's exactly 219 steps.”

“That explains the
tread 219
,” said Sarah.  “It’s two hundred and nineteen stairs to get to the top of the lighthouse.  But what's this
pace 10 of iron
mean?”

“There are 219 steps to the observation level,” said Trip.  “And then ten more iron steps that lead to the lamp room.  The lamp room is off limits to the public.”

“It all fits,” said Sarah.  “I guess we have to go to the old lighthouse and find the next map piece.”

A knock on Trip’s bedroom door startled them all.

“Trip!  Open up,” came Mom’s voice through the door.

They panicked, and Trip scrambled to hide the map pieces and papers.  More knocks at the door.  Trip was grounded, and Mom would freak if she found out Trip was still working on the quest, and she would freak even more if she knew Josh and Sarah were here.  They clambered out the window as Trip tried to stall for time.

“Just a minute, Mom,” said Trip in the most natural voice he could manage.  “I'll be right there.”

“Well hurry up, would you,” came Mom’s voice from the other side of the door.

“Yeah Mom, I'm just trying to finish this one last thing on my homework.”

Trip looked around his room.  Everything seemed in order, and Sarah and Josh should have made it to the ground by now.  Trip heard a dull thud followed by a groan as Josh fell the last few feet to the ground outside.  Trip opened the door and found not only Mom, but Eli’s goon as well.  The goon looked totally pleased with himself.

Trip gave the goon a death stare.  This was crossing the line.  It was one thing to pick on Trip at school, but he was standing here in Trip’s house.  Trip knew it was on Eli’s orders, and Eli had gone to far.

“It's about time,” said Mom.  “Your friend here really needed to see you.”

“Oh, really,” said Trip, annoyed.  “
My friend
… really needed to see me.”

The goon gave Trip a self-satisfied look, as if to say got
ya.  Then he looked past Trip to survey the room.