The Hidden Beast (2 page)

“When you say it is farthest from the sun, is it highest in the sky?” Adam asked, impressed.

“Yes,” Watch said. “In a manner of speaking. Venus is highest—or tallest—when it is far from the sun from our perspective on Earth. Of course, it is always about the same distance from the sun. But from Earth, we see it swing close to and far from the sun.”

“How often does this occur?” Adam asked.

Watch shrugged. “A couple times a year, or slightly more often. I'd have to study my books to know for certain. But one thing I do know—Venus is reaching its farthest point from the sun in the morning sky. If you get up early tomorrow, you'll see Venus before the sun rises. It'll be high in the eastern sky, and very bright.”

“Is there a moon tonight?” Cindy asked. “Or early tomorrow morning, before it gets light?”

Watch paused. “No.”

“Then this is a perfect time to look for the treasure,” Sally said, excited.

“Hold on a second,” Adam answered. “There
are still a lot of clues here that we don't understand. Let's look at the other lines in the first verse. ‘In a line of darkness on the door of the smallest. In a hidden spot on the tallest.' ” Adam paused. “I assume this means that Venus casts a shadow on some object that points to a door that leads to the treasure.”

Watch nodded. “I think it says that and more. It's full of information. I think the smallest is the smallest peak in the Teeth chain of peaks.”

“But the hidden spot is on the tallest,” Sally said. “That contradicts the previous line.”

“Only at first glance,” Watch said. “One of the peaks could be the tallest while still being the smallest.”

“How?” Cindy asked.

“By being narrow,” Watch said. “Even if the peak is tall, it could have the least mass.”

“You're so smart, Watch,” Cindy said with pleasure.

Sally patted Watch on the back. “Very good. I'm impressed. So now we have the first verse all figured out. But how far back in the mountains are the Teeth?”

Watch frowned. “Way back. We could drive
part of the way there, but then we'd have to hike the rest.”

“Can we get there in one day?” Adam asked.

“No,” Watch said. “If we leave today, we'll have to camp out at least one night and hike the following day.”

“But then Venus won't be at its highest point,” Sally said. “We won't find what we're looking for.”

“Venus won't shift that much in twenty-four hours,” Watch explained. “I think these clues give us a window of opportunity of a few days.” He paused. “But even if we can identify the correct peak, we might look for days for the right shadow. Unless . . .”

“Unless what?” Adam asked when his friend didn't complete his remark.

“Unless the light or shadow points out another marker,” Watch said. “We can hope for that. But let's get back to the other verses. They have me stumped. Jewels that speak in dreams. Crystals that whisper words that are more than they seem. Leah, did your father describe the nature of the treasure?”

“No,” she said cautiously. “Not exactly. He just said it was very ancient.”

“The last verse speaks of an ancient pet,” Sally said.

“And it tells us to beware of her,” Adam said. “Maybe we should listen to what it says. She doesn't sound very friendly, not from her description here.”

“She
is probably dead,” Sally said. “If the treasure is as old as Leah's father believed.”

“Not necessarily,” Watch said. “The line, ‘She who remembers old debts,' implies that she lives for a very long time.”

Cindy turned to Bryce. “You're really quiet. What do you think about what Watch said?”

Bryce nodded in admiration. “I'm stunned. I think he's figured the whole thing out.”

“But I've only figured out the directions on the map,” Watch said. “Not the other meanings. Have you any idea what this ancient pet could be?”

“No,” Bryce said. “But like Sally, I believe it was something that lived a long time ago. I'm not worried about it.”

“I can get a truck,” Leah said. “And can drive us.” She smiled suddenly. “This is exciting. If we do find the treasure, I think Watch should get an extra big share.”

Watch flashed a rare smile. “I wouldn't mind one of those jewels that speaks in dreams.”

Leah's smile shrank. “I'm sure we'll find something you like.”

Cindy raised an important point. “I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to need time to convince my mom to let me go camping tonight. I won't tell her how far we're going. She'd worry too much.”

Adam laughed. “If she only knew how far from home you've been other times, she wouldn't worry about this trip at all.” He was referring, of course, to the times they had been in outer space. He added, “My parents will need to be convinced, too.”

Sally stood. “My mom and dad like camping, and they'll be happy I'm spending the night with you guys. Don't forget to get your equipment together: sleeping bags, backpacks, and plenty of food and water.”

Watch also stood. “I don't have to ask anyone where I can go.”

Adam heard the sadness in his friend's voice. He knew that Watch's family was spread all across the country, although he didn't know why. Watch lived with some relative, but Adam forgot who.

“Doesn't anybody ever ask what you do?” Adam asked.

Watch shook his head. “Not usually.”

Sally patted Watch on the back and smiled.

“But if you come home with a pile of treasure,” she said, “all your relatives will talk to you plenty.”

I
t took them longer than they planned to get ready. First, Adam had no equipment, neither a sleeping bag nor a backpack. Sally borrowed stuff from other friends for him. Then Bryce and Leah went off for a long time, and didn't return until eleven-thirty. By then Watch was worried they wouldn't even get close to the Teeth before the sun set.

“It really is a hard hike,” he said as they climbed in the back of Leah's white truck. Bryce was sitting up front in the cab with his cousin. Watch continued, “The Teeth are pretty high. You have to hike on an incline for a long time.
Plus there isn't much water up there. Whenever we come to a stream, we should drink and refill our bottles.”

“Are you guys comfortable?” Leah shouted out her window.

“Yeah,” Sally said, excited. “We're ready to rock and roll.”

Leah started the truck and they headed onto the main road that led out of Spooksville, going north. They were in fact taking the same road Watch had taken when he successfully rescued Cindy from a pterodactyl. But when that road finished this time they'd have to take a dirt road to within twenty miles of the Teeth.

As the warm wind blew in their faces and they veered away from the ocean and their hometown, Adam spoke quietly so that only the four of them could hear.

“Did you notice how little Leah said at our meeting?” he asked.

Watch nodded. “Nothing we said seemed to surprise her much.”

“I think she's just shy,” Sally said.

Cindy also nodded. “I'm not sure I trust her completely.”

“You don't like her because she's prettier than you,” Sally said.

Cindy sighed. “Oh brother.”

“If I was her,” Adam said, “and my own private treasure map had just been decoded, I would have been jumping up and down.”

“Maybe she doesn't know how to jump,” Sally said.

“Maybe nothing we said was new to her,” Watch answered slowly.

“I don't understand,” Cindy questioned.

Adam and Watch glanced up front. “I think we should keep an eye on both of them,” Adam said.

Sally laughed. “Cindy is already keeping an eye on Bryce. I don't think she ever takes her eyes off him.”

Cindy snorted. “Who's the one who gushes over him all the time?”

“Yeah, but he almost got me killed,” Sally said. “And he almost destroyed the world in the process. I have trouble forgiving a guy for that.”

“Money and treasures bring out the worst in people,” Adam said. “We have to watch our backs.”

They drove for well over an hour. The bumpy
dirt road was more of a path for walking than for driving. Eventually they dead-ended at the sheer side of a rocky cliff. They had gone as far as they could on four wheels and piled out of the truck. Adam helped Cindy on with her pack. She groaned at its weight.

“This thing is heavy,” she complained.

“Wait until you're walking up a steep incline with your lips cracked and bleeding and poisonous snakes biting at your exhausted legs,” Sally said. “Then it will feel ten times as heavy.”

Watch gestured to the sheer cliff in front of them. “We have to hike around this. At first the way is really hard—rocky and steep. Then it levels off some.”

Adam tugged on the bill of the cap he had brought to keep the sun off his face. He removed the water bottle from his pack and gulped down a big drink.

“Where's the first place we can stop and refill our bottles?” Adam asked Watch.

“About four hours from here,” Watch said, once more checking his watches. “We won't get there until around five. But we can't stop there, not if we plan to get to the Teeth by tomorrow
morning, early enough to catch Venus in the dark sky.”

“I'm confused,” Cindy said. “I thought we weren't going to try to search until the morning after?”

“We'll see how far we get today,” Leah interrupted.

“Yeah,” Bryce agreed. “Let's play it by ear.”

They started off. As Watch had said the way was grueling at first. Several times Cindy slipped on loose gravel and scratched her knees. Because it was hot, she was wearing shorts and the scratches were rather nasty. They had to stop while she bandaged them. Luckily Sally had remembered to bring a first-aid kit.

Sally was the most comfortable hiking. In fact, she was the most experienced climber, even though she didn't know these mountains as well as Watch. For the most part it was Sally and Watch who led. Sally talked about what she'd buy if they did find the treasure, as they moved steadily upward.

“The first thing I want is a house in a town other than Spooksville,” she said. “Then I'd be able to sleep peacefully at night and not have to
worry about whether I'd be dead in the morning.”

“But if you moved to another town,” Adam said, trudging along behind her, “we'd miss you. And you would miss all our great adventures.”

Sally laughed. The mountain air seemed to put her in a good mood.

“I could come back and visit whenever you needed me,” she said.

“But we need you every day,” Cindy gasped, bringing up the rear.

“We're forgetting that some of this treasure might be of historical significance,” Watch said. “In that case we might be obligated to donate at least a portion of it to a museum.”

“We're not donating any of my treasure to a museum,” Leah interrupted.

Watch was not taken aback. “I was speaking of our half. I assume we can do whatever we want with it.”

Leah glanced at him and her pretty green eyes flashed with light. But whether it was a harsh light or a gentle one Adam wasn't sure. Leah gave a quick smile and spoke in a gentler voice.

“Of course you can do whatever you want with your share,” she said.

The area had been largely dry and barren, but now they were beginning to pass some trees. The high green branches, although sparse, provided welcome shade. The ground began to level out and even Cindy got a second wind. They began to walk faster, and talk less, and for three continuous hours made excellent time. Indeed, they came to the waterhole Watch had described twenty minutes ahead of schedule. It was a shallow but clear pool that was formed by a spring that seemed to shoot straight out from the side of a cliff. As they kneeled to refill then-bottles, Adam was pleased to see their reflections in the pool.

“Look!” he exclaimed. “Before anyone touches the water. There we are—there are two of each of us now.”

Sally crouched beside him and made a face at her reflection. “I wish I'd brought my camera,” she said. “It's beautiful here.”

“It is very peaceful,” Cindy agreed, picking a flower and smelling it.

Bryce threw his pack down beside the pool.
“We mustn't take any pictures of the treasure,” he said. “We mustn't ever let anyone know what we have found.”

“We understand,” Watch said.

Bryce glanced at him. “Just wanted to make sure we're on the same wavelength.”

They rested for half an hour before starting out again. Now, according to Watch, they were entering an area even he didn't know well. Yet he apparently did have an idea of where he wanted to camp for the night.

“There is a large bowl-like valley at the foot of the Teeth,” he said. “We'll be sheltered from the wind and hopefully from any wild animals.”

“Are there wild animals up here?” Cindy asked nervously.

“Just mountain lions and brown bears,” Sally said. “Adam, did you bring your laser pistol?”

“No,” Adam said.

Leah frowned. “Do you really have a laser pistol?”

“Yeah, he does,” Sally said with a laugh. “He stole it from an alien seventy million years ago.”

Bryce turned to Leah. “I told you they had been interesting places,” he said.

They reached the bowl-like valley at eight o'clock. Now they had less than half an hour of light left to set up camp. It would be hardly enough. But the group worked well together, and soon they had their tents and sleeping bags nicely laid out. They even started a fire and heated up a dinner of soup and beans in the crackling flames. Cindy had brought along bags of chips to share.

Above them the black silhouette of the Teeth waited for them. There were six peaks altogether, but the farthest one was clearly the tallest and the narrowest. Cindy pointed to it as they ate.