The Mystery of the Pirate's Treasure (15 page)

The others laughed.

“This isn't ‘finders keepers,' M.E.,” Cody said. “It belongs to the Carmel Mission. Come on, we've got to tell someone. I just wish Chad was here to see this. He's going to be so excited when he hears.”

The kids, accompanied by Mrs. Van Tassell, headed for the museum to report their find. At first they were met with disbelief by the staff, then shock, then excitement. Cody insisted they call Chad at the hospital and report the news.

“Mr. Bour,” Cody said on the phone, “we found the treasure you've been looking for.”

“What do you mean?” Chad said, sounding sleepy. Cody was sorry to wake him, but thought he'd definitely want to hear the news.

“One of the mission bells is actually made out of silver. It was hidden underneath of coat of bronze. Remember what we learned about how the missionaries melted down all their silver? They must have reshaped it into a bell and covered it in bronze to camouflage it. It looks just like the other bells that
were made from old cannons—except for the crack. That's what gave it away.”

“Of course!” Chad said, now sounding awake and alert. “Silver is a soft metal, so it was bound to crack over time. You've found the treasure I've been looking for all these years! I don't know what to say! I'm so glad I met such expert treasure hunters and smart code busters!”

Cody hung up the phone, pleased that she and her friends had found the real treasure when so many other treasure hunters couldn't.
Sometimes
, she thought,
whatever you're searching for is right in front of your nose
.

“How did you figure it out, Cody?” M.E. asked as they headed back to Mrs. Van Tassell's car.

“The silver coin that Chad gave us is what got me thinking,” Cody said. “It reminded me of the shiny crack in the bell, which I thought was weird at the time. A crack should be dark inside, not shiny. Then I remembered Ms. Stad talking about the cannons being melted down and turned into bells. That's what the other bells are made of. But that one was
made of silver, then covered in bronze to disguise it.”

“Just like that cross Chad showed us, remember?” Luke added. “He said it was made out of iron at the mission foundry by blacksmiths, like all their tools and cannons, but it was coated in silver to make it fancier.”

“Exactly!” Cody said. “Only this time, it was the opposite. Silver was coated in bronze to make it plain, so no one would suspect how valuable it was.”

“Cool,” Quinn said. “Hiding silver under bronze is sort of like creating a code. It's something hidden within something else!”

“And we ‘cracked' the code!” M.E. said. “But I don't plan on going camping again for a long, long time. I'm staying in my own bed at home where it's safe!”

Cody returned home tired from her exciting trip, and eager to see her mom and sister and talk to her dad on the phone. After she'd started her laundry, put away her things, and called her dad, she headed downstairs for dinner.

, her mother
asked, using sign language so that Cody's little sister, Tana, who was deaf, could be included in the conversation.

Code Buster's Key and Solution found on
this page
,
this page
.

While Ms. Stadelhofer had explained what had happened on the trip to Mrs. Jones, Cody told her side of the story over spaghetti dinner, avoiding the dangerous parts so her mom wouldn't worry. Mrs. Jones was especially impressed that the Code Busters would be receiving a commendation.

Tana loved the pirate bookmark Cody bought her—Cody had bought four of the colorful bookmarks, one for each family member, as a reminder of the fun adventure she'd had.

“Any homework?” Mrs. Jones asked.

“Oh, yeah! Ms. Stad gave us a new code to solve.”

Mrs. Jones smiled at Cody. “That should be easy for you and your Code Buster friends.”

“Except this one is in hieroglyphics. We're going to a museum soon to see some Egyptian artifacts. Ms. Stad says there are all kinds of messages and codes hidden in art.”

Cody got out the assignment sheet and showed the hieroglyphics to her mom.

“Have you decoded it?” her mom asked.

“Yes, but I don't know what it means,” Cody said, showing her the answer.

Code Buster's Key and Solution found on
this page
,
this page
.

“Hmmm,” her mom said. “Another mystery for you to solve!”

“I know!” Cody exclaimed. “Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics, which are like codes. It seems like there are codes everywhere, even throughout history. I guess it's up to us to crack them, right?”

Morse Code:

Orienteering Code:

Trail Signs Code:

Phonetic Alphabet:

Caesar's Cipher:

Semaphore Code:

Finger Spelling: