Iva Honeysuckle Discovers the World (9 page)

In that instant, Iva knew two things. She knew that Heaven had overheard her talking about Braddock's gold.

And she knew she needed Heaven to help her find it.

“H
eaven!” Iva tried to make her voice light. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” Heaven came out on the porch.

“I was just going to ask—”

“I know what you're going to ask,” Heaven said flatly. “I want half the treasure.”

“Half! But I've done all the work! I figured out the clues…and I've looked all summer for the right spot. How about—” Iva calculated quickly. How many people had she promised to give gold to? At this rate, she wouldn't have any treasure left. Still, she needed Heaven.

“How about a hundred dollars?” she said.

Heaven folded her arms. “Half. And I want to be a full partner.”

“
I'm
the discoverer. Only
one
person can make a great discovery.” She could still be a member of the National Geographic Society, but her cousin would want to horn in on that too.

“No dice.” Heaven headed back inside.

Iva practically leaped across the porch. Heaven was her last chance.

“Wait! Okay, you can have half the gold.” It was only money, Iva thought with a pang. The important thing was that she had found Ludwell's treasure. “And you can be my partner, but you have to be a
silent
partner.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you can't talk about it. It's my discovery,” Iva said. Sensing Heaven was backing off again, she added, “Fifteen thousand dollars will buy a
lot
of pot holders and embroidered pillowcases.”

“Deal,” Heaven said. “I'll tell Miz Compton we're leaving.”

Iva knew she had made the right decision. Heaven might be a pain, but nothing stopped that girl when she made up her mind to do something.

Heaven came out of the house and clipped briskly down the steps.

“There's a lamp I want to get at Cazy Sparkle's yard sale tomorrow,” she said. “The shade is a clear plastic tub with butterflies. You put it on your TV, and the warmth from the TV makes the tub go around. The butterflies look like they're flying.” She shot Iva a meaningful glance. “I want it bad.”

A sharp pain flickered through Iva's right temple. The treasure had better be there. She hated to think what Heaven would do to her if it wasn't.

Heaven dropped the shovel Iva had borrowed from her father's shed, and waved her arms at the mountain of steaming garbage.

“The
dump
?” she exclaimed. “
This
is where that old guy buried the gold?”

“It wasn't the dump back when General Braddock was here,” Iva told her. “It was a pretty field with trees and flowers.”

“Well, it's not so pretty now,” Heaven said with disgust.

Iva had planned to find the treasure in an hour or so, before the worst heat of the day. Her picture would be splashed across the front page of the evening edition of
The Uncertain Star.

But by the time she and Heaven had walked to Iva's house to get the shovel, and then stopped at Heaven's house because Heaven wanted a brown-sugar-and-butter sandwich, and Iva decided she wanted one, too, and then walked all the way to the dump, the sun was at its sizzling midafternoon peak.

Stinky steam rose from the garbage pile.

Iva glanced up the road at Swannanoah Priddy's little house. Swannanoah was working on the engine of her yellow pickup truck. She didn't see Iva and Heaven sneak across the parking lot.

“How do you know this is the right place? Where's the map?” Heaven demanded. “I want to see it.”

“I don't have it with me. I memorized the clues,” Iva said. “Trust me, this is the spot.”

“Can we get started?” Heaven asked. “Before I have a heat stroke?”

“Excuse me, please.” Iva brushed past Heaven. “I need to pace off again.”

She marched to the old oak tree, turned smartly, and began counting out loud as she strode toward the dump. Up the hill, past the stump, across the parking lot. She stopped at the very edge of the garbage mound.

Forty-five steps. Same as last time. She estimated another five steps inside the garbage heap, picked up a rock, and placed it in the center of a particularly ripe pile of used kitty litter.

“Start digging right here,” Iva said.

Heaven stabbed the shovel downward, like a spear. She scooped up a shovelful of kitty litter and expertly tossed it over her left shoulder.

“You could do this for a living,” Iva said. Discoverers were supposed to praise their workers. It made them feel good.

“Let's see if this shovel fits in your mouth.”

“Ha-ha!” Iva stepped back, just in case.

Heaven dug and dug. She cleared out used Kleenexes, burned toast, moldy hot-dog buns, and what looked like a mess of beef stew that somebody had eaten and then spit out.

She dug through onion peels, watermelon rinds, corn cobs, green cheese, and a squashed birthday cake. Iva decided she would never eat again.

After a while, Heaven said testily, “How far down is this so-called treasure?”

“Just a foot.” Iva peered into the soupy hole Heaven had dug so far.

“A foot starting
where
?” Heaven asked. “How far down does the garbage pit go before it's regular ground?”

“Not too far,” Iva said, though she didn't really know. “If we dig a little more, we should hit real dirt, and then it'll be a foot down from that.”

“What's this
we
stuff?” Heaven said. “When are
you
going to take a turn?”

Iva pretended she didn't hear. “Ludwell's map said General Braddock buried the gold in a cannon sticking up. The end had a wooden plug in it.”

“Yeah? So?”

“I think the hole should be wider.” Iva spaced her hands apart. “Like this. That way we have a better chance of finding the cannon.”

Heaven actually agreed. “Makes sense.” She went back to digging, widening the hole. Soon she said, “I hit red dirt.”

The red clay General Braddock wrote about, Iva thought. “Keep going!” she said encouragingly.

Heaven dug and dug and dug. “Okay. This is one foot down.”

“How do you know?” Iva asked.

“I have a ruler leg.”

“A what?” Iva wondered if the sun was making Heaven funny in the head.

“Remember when we were studying inches and feet and all that stuff?” Heaven said. “At least
I
was. Who knows what you were doing in your class.”

“I studied that stuff, too,” Iva said, indignant.

“Anyway, I measured my leg with my ruler. From my knee to the top of my foot is exactly twelve inches long.” Heaven flexed her leg to demonstrate. “I figured it would come in handy if I wanted to know how long a foot was.”

Iva was astonished. Why hadn't
she
ever thought of that? If she wasn't careful, Heaven could turn out to be a better discoverer than her.

“Okay,” she said. “Check and see how deep it is.”

Heaven stuck her leg in the hole. “Exactly one foot. But I don't see any cannon.”

“General Braddock could have been off an inch or two,” Iva said. “Keep digging.”

Heaven puffed her damp bangs upward and jammed the shovel in partway.
Ching!
went the shovel. “I hit something!”

“Must be the cannon!” Iva stooped so quick she got a stitch in her side. The shovel had revealed a sliver of yellow metal. “Gold! Dig!”

With the shovel, Heaven scraped around the edges. Then she reached down and tugged it free. “It's awful big for a gold coin.”

“Money was bigger in those days.” Iva felt like she was going to keel over as Heaven pulled out a flat dirt-encrusted object.

“Here's your treasure.”

It was a brass plaque that said
Office
.

Iva's hopes dropped to her toenails. A door sign! A stupid door sign!

“Maybe,” she said thinly, “we need to dig in a new spot.” The handle of the shovel was slapped into her palm. “What's this?”

“Your turn,” Heaven said.

“But you're the strong one! That's why you're helping me!” Iva protested.

“I'm hot and tired. And I have blisters on my hands.”

“You're my silent partner!” Iva said. “You're not supposed to complain.”

Heaven plunked down on a patch of grass. “Let me know when you find the cannon. I'll help you count the money.”

Iva jabbed the shovel into the hole. Maybe it was better this way.
She
would discover the treasure first.
She
would get all the credit, which she deserved.

She scooped a shovelful of dirt and threw it over her shoulder. Dirt spattered Heaven's shirt.

“Hey!” Heaven jumped up. “You did that on purpose!”

Iva held the shovel out in front of her like a weapon. “No I didn't! Honest! The shovel slipped.”

Heaven grabbed a rotten plum and threw it on Iva's shirt. “Oops! My hand slipped.”

“Okay, this is war!” Iva looked around and found a delightfully smelly fish.

As she bent to pick it up, she slid in the muck. She put her hand behind her to support herself but plunged backward into the hole. Her fingers touched something rough…and wooden.

“The plug!” she cried. “I found the wooden plug on the cannon!”

Heaven dropped a mushy grapefruit. “What?”

“Help me!” With her hands, she cleared away crumbs of dirt, revealing a round piece of wood.

Heaven kneeled beside her, scrabbling in the hole.

“We should feel the outside of the cannon soon,” Iva said, eager to touch cool cast iron.

They scratched and scraped feverishly until sweat streamed off their faces.

Finally Iva quit digging. Her hands and clothes were filthy. She felt like crying. “Where's the iron part of the cannon? There's only a long stick of wood. I don't get it.”

“There's only one thing left to do,” Heaven said, sitting back on her heels. “Pray.”

“What?” Iva blinked at her. “Right now? Pray for
what
?”

“For the treasure.” Heaven's grubby hand took Iva's. “Look up at the sky and close your eyes.”

“I thought you looked
down
and closed your eyes when you prayed.”