All About Max, page 11
“Wow!” said Mitzi. “So there you are. You’d be an idiot to leave now. Boy, I really believe in fortune cookie fortunes. You might say I love them.” She paused a moment, and then scowled. “But you only just got here, so how were you lucky enough to get in on that?”
“I’m arriving there,” said Max. He motioned Mitzi to sit on the edge of his cot wit him. And then, as her eyes grew wider and wider, he told her the whole story of seeing the goons with their shovels and lanterns, and the arrival of the Measley girls looking like two Halloween ghouls. He even admitted to discovering this at the outset because he was...well, all packed and ready to take off. In for a penny, in for a pound, he decided. Mitzi just stared at him with a stony face at this piece of news.
All she said was, “Well then, go on.”
So then Max went on to tell her about the Mother Goose-ites late night “stroll”, and how it led finally to the invitation to meet with them the next day. When he got to the point of telling Mitzi about the map, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled it out.
“So here it is,” he said.
“You mean they trusted you with this?” she asked.
“I have it, don’t I?” said Max.
“Well, how about me? Maybe they wouldn’t want me to know about it,” said Mitzi.
“For your information, it’s fine with them,” said Max. “I told them about how the Measley ghouls, I mean, excuse me, girls, had tried to bribe both of us, and what we intended to do about it. On top of which, they like you anyway.”
“Oh, wow! Oh, wow!” she breathed. “So, okay, open it up and let’s have a look at it.”
Map unfolded the map, and they both poured over it.
“Hard to tell because it’s so old,” Max said, “There are several suspicious marks, but the one that looks most suspicious to me is about where the cemetery is. I think, anyway, as I’ve never been there. But I figured Digger and Dork and shovels, etc. etc.”
Mitzi shuddered. “You don’t need to paint a picture. I get it.”
“And,” continued Max, “you did say something about spooky, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” said Mitzi, “only I didn’t mean the cemetery. I had another place in mind. But you may be guessing right about the cemetery. So are you ready to take off?”
“Would it be okay if we took Moxie and Mojo?” Max asked. “Moose says they love playing there.”
“Good idea,” said Mitzi. “Then if anyone sees us, it will just look as if we’re out walking the dogs.”
Max hesitated. “I’ll have to ask them first, but I’m sure they’ll want to go. I’ve never heard of a dog yet that turned down a walk.”
Mitzi stopped dead en route to the door.
“What do you mean ‘ask them’?” said Mitzi. “Are you kidding?”
Max shrugged uncomfortably. “Well... er... a... um... I... I talk to animals, especially dogs.”
“So what?” said Mitzi. “So do I.”
“I...I mean I have conversations with them,” said Max.
“Hmmm,” hummed Mitzi without even blinking. “Okay, so let’s go do it then.”
They crept from the building and raced to the garage. Mojo and Moxie were in the yard behind it, leaping up onto the fence as soon as they saw Max.
“Okay, show me about this dog conversation business,”” said Mitzi.
“Moxie and Mojo, would you like to go exploring with Mitzi and me?” asked Max.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” they both said, with tails wagging at full speed.
“They said ‘yes’,” said Max.
“What do you mean they said ‘yes’?” said Mitzi. “I didn’t hear anything. Tail wagging isn’t saying something.”
Max shrugged. “I told you. I...I talk to animals,” he said.
“And I told you so do I,” said Mitzi, “But they don’t talk back.”
“I mean I really do talk to animals,” said Max. “I told you, I have conversations with them.”
Mitzi just stood there, expressionless, rubbing Mojo’s ears. “So how come I didn’t hear anything?”
“I guess it’s...it’s more like I read their minds,” Max said, shifting his feet uncomfortably. This is the first time he’d admitted this to anyone even himself. Mitzi would probably say he was making the whole thing up, the way Pencival did.
“That’s interesting,” she said at last. “Very interesting. Pretty cool, actually. Hmmmmm,” she hummed. “Well, so shall we take off?”
Just like that!
Mitzi’s reaction was equal to Moose saying, “Is that so?” For the second time ever, there was someone believing and not making fun of him!
In minutes, they had got the dog’s leashes from Moose, and the four of them, Max, Mitzi, Moxie and Mojo set off into the woods.
Having the dogs with them was, without doubt, a good idea, Max soon decided. Overhanging branches and vines from the trees definitely made things shadowy and spooky. That word seemed to fit more than just the cemetery they were approaching. But there was no doubt it really fit the cemetery when they arrived there.
It took only a glance to see that it was very old. Most of the gravestones were moss covered and many of them were tilted. Whatever grass was there hadn’t been mowed in a very long time, and it was thick with weeds.
This must have been here long before even Dolly Manor, now Measley Manor, was even thought of.
But one thing was also clear. There had been some recent serious digging going on there. There was fresh dirt around three of the larger gravestones, as if the graves has been dug up, and then probably refilled with the former contents. Why? And what exactly were they looking for?
And did they find it?
Max and Mitzi looked at one another, and they both shrugged. But neither one said anything. Who wanted to say aloud what they might both have been thinking. That maybe some millionaire a gazillion years ago might have been buried there with his big, bulging bags of money? It was too creepy, creepy, creepy!
Chapter XIX
In which Max and Mitzi go exploring further, and Moxie and Mojo make a very interesting discovery.
“I say we get out of here,” said Max. “The boys have done all the sniffing they need to do.”
“I won’t argue about that,” said Mitzi. “Are you going to tell the Mother Goose-ites about this?”
Max shrugged. “I hate to, but I guess I’ll have to. If I hadn’t stopped them the other night, they would have discovered this for themselves.
After all, they had the map, didn’t they?”
“What do you suppose they’ll do about this?” asked Mitzi.
“I expect nothing. What could they do? They’re practically prisoners,”
said Max. “Anyway, are we going to go exploring further? You asked me if I was afraid of spooky places. Was this one it?”
“Nope,” said Mitzi. “I’ve never really been here before. I always just race past it on the way to the shore. There’s a little sandy beach there that’s mostly deserted. That’s where I was going to take you.”
“Sounds great!” said Max. “You hear that, boys, water! I’ll bet you’ll love that.”
Moxie and Mojo’s tails wagged furiously.
The overhanging trees didn’t seem nearly so threatening to Max now that he knew that they were headed for a sandy beach and not an old cemetery where the goons had been digging up who knows what. It was a fairly long way to get there, but definitely worth the walk, thought Max. So did Moxie and Mojo, if their excited jumping around was any sign.
About thirty old, weathered rickety wood steps zigzagged down to a small sandy cove. The sun sparkled off small waves which that day were not much more than ripples. They lapped up on smooth sand dotted with black clamshells. Far off in the distance a sailboat was sailing by, not much more than a dot on the horizon.
“Wow!” thought Max.
As soon as they had climbed down the steps, he and Mitzi took off their shoes and socks, and Max took off Moxie and Mojo’s leashes. Then, after playing a long game of tag with the dogs, Max and Mitzi dropped breathlessly down on the sand to watch the delighted dogs still playing in the water.
“I don’t know why you said this place was spooky,” Max said. “Doesn’t seem very spooky to me.”
“Who said this was the place I meant?” said Mitzi.
“You mean there’s more?” asked Max.
“Uh huh,” said Mitzi, with a mysterious smile. “Just look around yourself.”
Max did, and didn’t see anything that remotely fit the word.
“You got me,” he said. “I give up.”
“Okay,” said Mitzi, “just go back to the steps, and look behind where the last ten of them make a turn.”
Max scrambled up and did it. “So what?” he said. “Nothing here but a bunch of bushes.”
“That’s right,” replied Mitzi. “Wild blueberry bushes. I was down picking berry’s when I happened to push one branch aside. Do it now!”
Max did, and if there is such a thing as jaws dropping, that’s what Max’s jaw did.
“D...d...did you go into it?” he asked.
“About four steps,” said Mitzi. “I’m not so brave...or stupid...that I’d go into a cave hidden behind bushes on a deserted beach nobody even knew I’d been visiting. But now that you’re with me, what do you think?
Shall we check it out? We might find some interesting shells, or whatever.”
“Sure, why not?” said cool-guy Max, whose heart had actually begun to race. Exploring a cave...wow! “But we’ll have to take the boys. I can’t leave them out here alone.”
“Good idea!” said Mitzi.
“We should have a flashlight,” Max said. “Except I don’t even own one, not any more at any rate.”
“I brought my mini. Don’t forget,” said Mitzi, “I’ve been here before.”
“Then let’s do it!” said Max.
As soon as Moxie and Mojo has been leashed, Max and Mitzi pushed the bushes aside, and started into the cave. After going just a few feet, they were in pitch darkness except for the tiny light from Mitzi’s mini flashlight. The dogs for some reason started straining at their leashes.
“Look, boys,” said Max. “This isn’t necessary. Just where do you think you’re going.”
“The boys aren’t telling,” said Mitzi. “How far do you think we ought to go? There’s two of us, but we could be falling into a deep hole.”
“Okay, boys, that’s enough,” said Max.
But Moxie and Mojo kept on whining and pulling. Max was having trouble holding them back.
And then, all at once, they stopped and started sniff, sniff, sniffing at a crack in the cave wall. Then they both began to whine and scratch at the wall.
“Do you suppose it’s some dead sea creature got caught in there,” said Mitzi.
“Is that what it is, you two?” asked Max.
“Yes, and no,” said Moxie and Mojo. “But there might be something else.”
“They think there’s something else,” said Max. “Come on, flash your light on the wall and I’ll help them dig.”
The wall was crumbly, and in moments, Max pulled out the empty shell of some kind of sea creature, just as Mitzi suspected. This was disappointing, but what did they expect?
“Probably an old crab that got lost,” Mitzi said.
But Max saw something else there as well.
“We told you!” said the dogs.
What they had found besides the empty shell was a cord of some kind. Max pulled on it, and nearly fell backward when with a sudden swoosh, out came the whole cord attached to a dark sack, stained and filthy. Both the cord and sack appeared to be leather.
“Wow!” said Mitzi under her breath. “What in heck is that? I...I hope it’s not got something in it...well, sort of like...old bones!”
Max was thinking the same thing. They probably both had cemeteries and shovels on their minds. But then it could be just a bunch of crab shells from formerly dead crabs like Mitzi’s first thought.
“Should we open it?” she asked.
“Well, yeah, naturally,” said Max. “It...it would be loony not to.”
He began to tug at the cord while the dogs danced excitedly around him. All at once, he almost toppled backwards, catching himself just in time as the cord snapped off the sack. He righted himself, took a deep breath, and pulled on the cord. It broke off in his hand. Then, after a long look at Mitzi, he took both hands, pulled the sack open, and peered into it.
“Is it o…o…old bones?” asked Mitzi, shuddering.
“No way!” said Max. “Here, take a look.”
Mitzi looked. “Omigosh!” she breathed
What the two of them were looking at with popping eyes was gold coins. A whole, great sack of them!
“These look really old,” said Max. “Probably gold doubloons, or something like that. I mean, I have no idea what gold doubloons look like, but they must be something like this.”
“Do you suppose this is what the Measley witches have been looking for?” Mitzi said.
“Who knows,” replied Max. “I wouldn’t be surprised.” He dug the map out of his jeans pocket and unfolded it. “Mitzi, shine your flashlight on this.”
The tiny light moving around the map found what they had thought might be an X where the cemetery was. On second thought, maybe it was just a symbol of some kind. But looking further at the point where the cove might be was a genuine X. It was where the map was creased from being folded, and thus was easily missed.
“Wow!” said Max. “This definitely must be what the Measley’s are looking for. But how do you suppose they even knew there was such a thing as a map?”
“I’ll bet they didn’t,” said Mitzi. “I think they’ve just been guessing. But Mum told me she’d heard this was once a smuggler’s cove, and there were rumors that they’d hid their loot somewhere around here. But she was sure it was all just native gossip.”
“Whew!” breathed Max. “I wonder how the Measley girls heard about it. They must have, and then just got a good deal no doubt stealing Measley Manor from the Dolly’s at some stupid low price. I’m just surprised they didn’t go nosing around here.”
Mitzi giggled. “Wild blackberry bushes is probably why! So they’ve been trying the cemetery. Who looks behind bushes? Anyway, so now we’ve found the doubloons, what are we going to do about it? If Measley Manor actually includes all the land down to the sea, don’t these doubloons really belong to the Measley’s whether we like it or not? Are we going to have to tell them about it?”
“What do you think, fellows?” Max asked Moxie and Mojo. “Do we have to tell the Measley’s?”
“Absolutely not!” they both replied. “Who you have to tell is the Mother Goose-ites. See what they have to say.”
Max repeated this to Mitzi.
“So what do they think we ought to do with all the doubloons?” asked Mitzi.
“You heard that, you two,” said Max. “What should we do with them?”
“Too risky carrying the sack back. First, take one of the doubloons and stick it in your jeans pocket so you’ll have proof to show them” advised Moxie. “Then you’d better pack the rest of the doubloons in their sack right back where you found them.”
“Absolutely!” agreed Mojo.
“I have a good idea,” said Moxie. “Take one of these things and leave it at the cemetery where the goons have been digging. Get them all excited thinking they’ve found the Measley Manor treasure!”
Max passed all this on to Mitzi, who thought planting a gold doubloon in the cemetery was the greatest idea yet. She just grinned as Max took one of the doubloons and stuck it in his jeans pocket along with the map.
It wasn’t easy, though, trying to shove the sack back into the wall, and then packing sand and rocks against it to look as if it was the way they’d found it. The dogs, of course, were very excited about this whole event. But Mitzi and Max finally decided they’d done the best they could. They also remembered to fix up the blackberry bushes so it looked as if they hadn’t been touched. After that they raced back to Measley Manor, stopping only to place a gold coin on one of the cemetery gravesite where nobody but a blind idiot could miss it.
“When are you going to see the Mother Goose-ites about this?” asked Mitzi.
“Probably this evening after their dinner hour,” replied Max. “The sooner the better!”
“As long as you haven’t decided to run away first,” said Mitzi, grinning.
“Oh, shut up!” said Max.
Those plans were certainly now on hold until the matter of the gold doubloons had been settled. But what if he showed up at Mr. Fitzbottom’s desk with those in his pocket, who knew where that might lead. All this, of course, was if he decided to run away. And that had now definitely become a very big IF!
Chapter XX
In which Max has to do a good acting job with the Measley’s, then consults with Mrs. Dumpty and is asked a surprising question about Moose.
M ax was tiptoeing down the hall toward Mrs. Dumpty’s room that evening, and never heard the silent footsteps coming up behind him.
“And what, may we ask,” said Ruby Measley, “is the reason for tiptoeing down the hall, young man, at this hour? We trust you are not up to mischief?”
“Oh...oh...oh, no!” said Max, whispering, and at the same time thinking fast. “I...I...I’m practicing...my spying techniques!” He was quickly getting very good at out-Measley-ing the Measley girls!
“Splendid!” said Ruby. Then she turned to her twin. “We were quite right, Pearl, to allow Moose to bring this boy here.”
“We were, indeed, sister dear,” replied Pearl. “So go along now, boy, and we hope you will soon have something interesting to report to us.”
“You...you haven’t in your spying duties heard anything about a kind of...of a map, have you?” asked Ruby, with a raised-eyebrow glance at her twin. “I believe we may have mentioned this subject to you before.”
Max frowned as if thinking deeply.
“No,” he said, chewing on his lip. “But there are scraps of paper in the waste bins. Do you think I should check all those?”
