Mystery Map (4 page)

“Maybe we should write up our other case,” he joked. “You know—the mystery of why Mom and Dad are acting weird lately.”

Frank grinned. “Good idea.”

He drew a line to make a second column beside the
W
words. Next to the words “Who” and “What,” he wrote “Mom & Dad” and “Acting weird.” Next to the word “How,” he wrote “Mom cleaning” and “Dad shopping.”

“You can fill in When,” Joe pointed out. “They seemed perfectly normal until the last day or so. And Where is easy too. Right here at home.”

Frank scribbled all that down on the board. “The only thing we need to figure out is Why,” he said.

“I think I know the answer to that one too.” Joe rolled his eyes. “They're probably just acting nutty because Aunt Gertrude's coming to visit.”

“I don't think that's it,” Frank replied. “You're
the only one Aunt Gertrude drives nuts. Besides, she comes to dinner at least once a month, and sometimes for the weekend. Mom and Dad have never acted this way about her visits before.”

“I guess you're right.” Joe popped the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth. “Then I guess we really do have two mysteries to solve. But right now we'd better get back to the park so we can solve the one that might help us buy some cool new skateboarding posters for our new room over the garage!”

I hope those jerky guys didn't find our treasure,” Joe said as he and Frank walked toward the park.

“Me too.” Frank was still thinking about the other mystery. “Hey, what if we're moving to a new house or something?”

Joe looked confused. “What do you mean? Do you think we'll find enough treasure to buy a whole new house?”

Frank laughed. “No, I'm talking about the
other
mystery,” he explained. “What if the reason Dad fixed up the spare room and Mom is cleaning everything is because they're going to sell our house and move to a new one?”

“If that was the reason, why wouldn't they tell us?” Joe shook his head. “No, I still think they're planning some kind of surprise, like giving us the spare room.”

“But why would they clean up the rest of the house for that?” Frank asked, kicking at a rock in the path.

Joe shrugged. “Okay, maybe Dad's going to have another story written about him in the newspaper,” he said. “Maybe he's out buying new clothes and Mom is cleaning so everything will look extra good in the photos.”

Frank thought about that. It seemed possible. Their father and his crime solving had been
written up in local newspapers and magazines several times in the past.

“Could be,” he said. “But I don't know why that would be a big secret either.”

“Maybe they don't want to tell us until after Aunt Gertrude leaves,” Joe suggested. “She's always saying Dad's work is too dangerous. What if they don't want her to know about the story, and they're afraid we might forget and say something in front of her?”

“Maybe. If that's it, I guess we'll find out after she goes home.”

By now they'd reached the park. Chet was there waiting for them with Iola.

“Hi, Hardys,” Iola said. “I can't wait to go treasure hunting!”

“You brought your sister?” Joe asked Chet with a frown. “Does that mean we have to split the treasure with her, too?”

Iola made a face at him. “It was my brother who found the map,” she reminded Joe. “You're just lucky we're sharing with
you
!”

“Come on.” Frank was already heading toward the woods. “If those punks are still hanging around, there might not be any treasure to share.”

They followed the dirt trail they had started
down earlier. When they got close to the clearing, they slowed down and kept quiet.

“Do you hear anything?” Chet asked Joe.

Joe glanced back at him. “Only you yelling in my ear,” he whispered back. “Be quiet or they'll hear us!”

But when they reached the edge of the clearing, there was no sign of the teens. Just a few soda cans and empty food wrappers lying around.

“What litterbugs,” Iola said with a disapproving shake of her head. “Should we pick up their trash?”

“We can do that later,” Frank said. He bent over the map, tracing the dotted line with one finger. It was kind of hard to see, but he was pretty sure it led into the woods on the far side of the clearing. “Come on, I think it's this way.”

All four of them headed back into the trees. Frank kept his finger on the dotted line on the map, following along as they went.

“Over here,” he said, ducking under a tree branch to follow a smaller trail.

“Are you sure?” Chet panted.

Frank checked the map again. “Pretty sure,” he said. “Everyone watch for a creek.”

“There it is!” Joe pointed to a trickling stream that crossed the trail up ahead.

Iola jumped over it. “Now what?” she asked.

“Keep going straight for a while, and keep a lookout for a big tree with a V-shaped trunk,” Frank directed, peering at the map. “At
least, I'm pretty sure that's what's drawn here.”

“We should keep a lookout for those mean guys too,” Chet added. “We don't want to run into
them
again.”

“Do you think they know about the treasure?” Iola asked.

Joe shrugged. “Who knows? But if they don't, we definitely shouldn't tell them.”

They walked a little farther until they spotted the V-shaped tree. It was in the middle
of a small, sunny clearing. “Okay, what's next?” Joe asked his brother.

Frank checked the map. He traced the dotted line along the narrow path. Over the creek, past the V-shaped tree…

“Oh no!” he exclaimed as he saw where the line went next. “It goes right off the page!”

“What do you mean?” Iola grabbed the map to look. Then she gasped. “He's right!” she cried. “The end of the trail is on the part of the map that's chewed off. It's a dead end!”

But we've got to find that treasure!” Joe looked around in dismay. “How much farther could it be? We should just start digging!”

“Are you kidding?” Iola handed the map back to Frank. “We can't dig up the whole forest. That's crazy. Let's forget about the stupid treasure and go back and see if anyone wants to play dodgeball.”

Chet was gazing at the ground. “I could try looking for tracks,” he said. “Maybe I can trace
the steps of whoever hid that treasure.”

“Hey, that's a good idea!” Frank said.

Joe and Iola both turned to stare at him. Even Chet looked surprised.

“Huh?” Joe said. “You mean you really think Chet can follow tracks to the treasure?”

Iola shook her head. “Get real. He's only even been into tracking for like a day and a half.” Then she glanced at her brother. “No offense.”

Chet just shrugged.

Frank was grinning. “No, not Chet,” he said. “But I think I know of someone who maybe
can
track down that treasure.”

“You do?” Joe asked. “Who?”

“Come on.” Frank turned back down the trail. “I'll show you.”

“What do you want with Biff, anyway?” Phil asked Frank.

“Yeah,” Joe put in. “Who's Biff, and how's he going to help us find that treasure?”

Frank smiled as he walked along the sidewalk near Phil's house with his friends. He still hadn't told anybody his plan. First he needed Phil to show them the way to Biff's house.

“Biff's that really tall kid who goes to the other elementary school,” he told his brother, Chet, and Iola.

“Yeah,” Phil said. “I know him from soccer camp. He's cool. But what's this about a treasure?”

Chet quickly explained about the map. “But the part with the final hiding spot got chewed off by an animal or something, so we didn't find the treasure,” he finished.

Joe nodded. “And I still don't get how this Biff kid is going to help us do it,” he complained.

“Not unless he's the one who chewed off the corner,” Iola said with a giggle.

Frank laughed. “I don't think so,” he said. “But anyway, it's not really Biff we need.” His eyes lit up as they turned the corner. In a yard up ahead a tall, blond kid their age was playing with a lively puppy. “It's
him
!” He pointed to the puppy.

Joe's eyes lit up. “That's a bloodhound!” he cried. “Of course! I should have remembered.”

That was Frank's plan. Like Joe, he'd seen Phil's friend walking his new dog around town the past week or so. He also remembered his father talking about how a bloodhound had helped him solve one of his cases by using its super-sensitive nose to track down a missing person. Now Frank was hoping Biff's bloodhound could follow his nose to the treasure, even if they couldn't follow the map.

Biff heard them talking and wandered over. “Hi, Phil,” he said, tugging on the leash as the puppy jumped around. “What's up?”

“To be honest, I'm not sure,” Phil said. Then he introduced Biff to Frank, Joe, Iola, and Chet. “They all go to school with me,” Phil explained. “I think they might need your help. Or Chuck's help, anyway.”

Biff glanced down at the puppy. “His name
isn't Chuck anymore,” he said with a sigh. “I just can't decide what to call him. None of the names I think of seem right.”

Frank wasn't too interested in the puppy's name. He was much more interested in what the puppy could do. “Does your bloodhound know how to track yet?” he asked eagerly. “Because we have a mystery we need him to help us solve.”

Biff looked interested. “I don't know,” he said. “My mom says he tracked down the dog treats she tried to hide in a drawer. So I guess he does know how to follow his nose. What kind of mystery?”

Taking turns, they all told Biff about the map. By the time they finished, he was just as excited as they were.

“I can't believe there might be a real hidden treasure right here in Bayport!” he exclaimed. “That's awesome!”