As the Aldens left Lovan's cottage they felt a cool wind. Clouds were
beginning to sweep across the sky. The day that had been so sunny was
suddenly very dark. A storm was brewing.
Mr. Alden said, "We will go to the motel first and then go and talk to
the rangers."
"I'll stay at the motel," said Violet. "I'll put the flowers in water
before supper. There must be some vases someplace."
Everyone knew that Violet was perfectly happy arranging flowers. The
rest of the family went back to the store. There was only one man there.
He was not a ranger.
"Where is everybody?" asked Mr. Alden.
"They've all gone off in their jeeps to find an Indian boy. I'm keeping
the store."
Grandfather nodded. "They don't waste much time, I see. The rainstorm
will soon be here. I only wish we could have gone with them."
"Listen!" said Jessie. "Dr. Osgood's storm!"
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The rain blew a few small spatters in at the open door. Then it came
down like a sheet of water. It simply poured.
"Too bad the rangers started out," said Benny. "They'll get soaking
wet."
The man said, "They knew it was going to rain. They all wore raincoats.
I think they thought the Indian boy would be easier to find in the
rain."
"How?" asked Benny.
The man shrugged. "I don't know. They know more about finding people
than I do. They do it all the time."
Then in the pouring rain Dr. Osgood and his workman came in the door.
"Oh, everything is happening at once!" cried Benny. "Here come the
jeeps!"
Dr. Osgood came in at exactly the same time as a ranger jumped down from
a jeep. Then another ranger jumped out. Then another person jumped down.
He had no raincoat and no hat. Water streamed down over his face. He
kept his eyes down.
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CHAPTER 10
David Explains
When the rangers led the Indian boy into the store, Jessie was near the
door. Quickly she put her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't be afraid,"
she said. "We want to help you."
The boy did not look up, but he pushed back his wet hair.
A ranger said, "This boy belongs in Maine. When he heard about Flat Top
on a radio program he begged rides and got here in no time. He's
interested in the cave, but so far I don't know why."
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They all sat down. The boy was on a wooden chair. His clothes dripped on
the floor.
The chief ranger took off his raincoat and sat down at a desk. He said
to the boy, "This is a very small village, son. We always notice any
strangers. We want to know why you came here, what you expect to find,
and also why you ran away. You will save time if you tell the exact
truth. If you tell a lie, we will find it out. First, what is your
name?"
The boy waited a minute. "David Walker," he said.
"That's not an Indian name," said the ranger.
"No, my Indian name is David Walking-byNight."
"A nice name," whispered Jessie to Henry. "But Lovan's last name is
Dixon."
The ranger went on, "Why were you interested in Flat Top?"
David Walking-by-Night drew a long breath. He seemed very tired, but he
seemed to be telling the truth.
89
"I was born in Maine," he said. "But I don't belong in Maine. My mother
came from another tribe down here. She told me stories about Flat Top."
"What stories?" shouted Benny.
David looked at Benny. He did not smile. He said, "The stories may not
be true. But one story is about
90
some treasure that belongs to my tribe. I thought I might get it
sometime."
The ranger said, "That treasure would belong to your mother's people
first, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, but they are all dead long ago. I'm the only one left in that
tribe. My mother is dead, too."
Nobody spoke for a minute. It was not hard to guess that this boy
without a family had no one to care about him.
The ranger said, "Did you ever go to school, son?"
"A little, not much. I went for a few weeks and then I'd go hunting.
Then I'd go to school for awhile."
"Yes," said David. "I had a lot of jobs. I didn't like any of them. I
chopped wood and shoveled snow and worked in a garden. I liked that the
best."
"How did you plan to live down here?" asked the ranger. "Have you any
money?"
"No. I thought I could carry things up the mountain. I'm a good mountain
climber. But everyone kept looking at me, so I was afraid and ran."
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Mr. Alden spoke for the first time. He said, "Now, David, I am beginning
to make some guesses. If I am right, I think a new life is open to you
if you want to take it. Right now I know you are tired. We have heard
enough for tonight."
David looked at Mr. Alden and no one needed to tell the boy that he had
found a friend. He said, "Thank you, sir."
Benny said, "I can guess as well as Grandfather. Can't we take David to
the motel and get him some food and dry clothes?"
"There is an extra bed in my room," Mr. Carter said. "David can sleep
there. How about it, David?"
The boy nodded, but Grandfather said, "Let's be sure our plan checks
with the ranger." Then he said, "Is this plan all right with you, sir?
I'll take this boy with me and take good care of him. I'll see that he
comes to no harm."
"Perfectly all right," said the ranger. He had learned that John Carter
was an ex-F.B.I. man. "The boy hasn't done anything wrong."
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"We'd better go right along," said Jessie. "David needs something to
eat."
Mr. Carter said, "I'll take Dave and Benny and Jessie in my car. Henry,
you take Mr. Alden and Dr. Osgood."
The two cars soon arrived at the motel. Benny had chattered most of the
way. Jessie and Mr. Carter had talked pleasantly. But the Indian boy had
not said a word.
Henry said, "The first thing we'll do is find dry clothes for you while
you're taking a shower."
Henry went at once to his clothes drawer. He got out dry clothes for
David. They were all too big, but they had to do. Benny's shoes were
just right for him.
When everyone was washed and dressed they met in the dining room.
"He's a good looking boy," thought Violet when she met him.
"Let's all have hot soup," said Mr. Alden. "I'm just as tired as David
is."
93
John Carter thought to himself, "That boy has not eaten anything for a
good many hours. I hope he doesn't faint."
David looked first to see how Henry ate his soup, and then he did the
same.
"He cares," thought John Carter. "He wants to do things right." He had a
question to ask, but he waited until the soup was gone and a tiny bit of
color came into the boy's face.
Then he said, "You know, David, we hear there is a big leather bag in
some cave, with treasures in it. It belonged to an Indian who died long
ago. Have you heard this story?"
"Yes, sir!" said David eagerly. "I heard more than that. I heard that a
foreign man had it first. He gave it to an Indian who was afraid
somebody would follow him, so he got a big bundle of corn, and hid the
bag under the corn."
All this time Dr. Osgood had been eating soup and smiling to himself. He
waited until the roast chicken dinner came. Then he cleared his throat
and said,
94
"Ahem!" just to be sure that everyone was looking at him.
"I just want to say," he began, "that all this is very important and
interesting. But nobody has said a single word about Old Flat Top!"
"Tell us! "they all shouted.
"Well, the staging is all done," said Dr. Osgood. "And I crawled inside
for twenty-five feet."
"Any bag?" yelled Benny.
"Well, no," said Dr. Osgood, smiling. "There are some things right on
the floor of the cave that are very interesting to me. The walls seem to
be just big smooth rocks."
Benny said, "Oh, Dr. Osgood, there must be some place where something
could be hidden."
"You'll have to see for yourself," Dr. Osgood said. "Maybe your sharp
young eyes will see something my old ones missed."
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CHAPTER 11
Benny Finds the Way
Dr. Osgood promised the family that they could all explore the cave in
the morning. They went to bed feeling very much excited.
Mr. Carter and David talked awhile before they went to sleep.
"David, what's on your mind? What are you afraid of?" Mr. Carter asked.
There was a long silence. At last David said, "I climbed Flat Top the
night before you did. I heard about the rockslide and the hole on a news
program, so I came down from Maine fast. I thought I was the
96
last Indian to know about the treasure and it could be mine. I was going
to take it, and no fuss."
"Now supposing this treasure was yours and somebody else found it.
Didn't you think they would give it to you?"
"No, I didn't think they would."
"Well, I don't really blame you," said Mr. Carter. "Were you afraid of
the rangers after you climbed Flat Top? Did you think they knew your
secret?"
"I wasn't sure. But I thought they wouldn't believe anything I said. I
didn't make a sound, either. I can walk through the woods and up the
mountain without making any noise. But I thought they found out somehow.
They looked at me so funny that I hid in the woods."
"Nothing to eat?"
"No. I didn't dare take anything with me. I thought later I would find
out about any treasure, but the rangers found me first."
"Is that all?" asked John Carter.
"Yes, sir," said David.
97
"You couldn't get up to the cave? You didn't even look in?"
"No, I couldn't. There wasn't any way to get close. I just saw the hole.
Then I had to come down."
"Dave, I want you to understand the Aldens are your friends," said John
Carter. "They are fine people. They want to help you. You must not let
them down."
"No," said David. "I like them. They wouldn't cheat me, I know."
Everyone was up early next morning. They ate breakfast and then drove to
the foot of Flat Top.
Soon everyone was climbing up the old trail again. Benny came right
after Dr. Osgood. The doctor did not climb so fast today. All of a
sudden he looked around at Benny.
"Young man, don't get your hopes up on that treasure. I didn't see a
single place where it might be. We are going still further into the
cave, but I don't think I missed it."
"Oh," said Benny. "Lovan will be disappointed. I was so sure it was
right here. That's where I would
98
have put it, just as far back as I could. And that would be the front
now."
"Well, you're not an Indian, son, and this isn't two hundred years ago.
Maybe the man had other ideas."
"I hope not," said Benny. "Just for Lovan's sake."
David was behind Benny. "Did you say Lovan?" he said. "I have heard that
name. But she is dead."
"Our Lovan isn't dead," said Benny. "She is ninety years old, though.
And she is the one who told us about the treasure."
"My grandmother told me everyone was dead but me," said David.
Benny said, "Do you know your grandmother's first name?"
"Yes, it was Susan."
Henry was right behind David and he heard the name. He said, "Lovan had
a sister Susan. It looks to me as if you are Lovan Dixon's grandnephew.
That would be great, because you could help her. She is getting old now,
and she lives all alone."
"What is she like?" asked David.
99
Benny Finds the Way
"She's swell!" said Benny.
The family climbed and climbed. It was almost noon when they reached the
staging. The workmen were there. They had put a strong light inside the
cave for Dr. Osgood. They were just finishing the wiring.
"I'll go first," said Dr. Osgood. "And you can all follow me. First you
have to crawl in, but soon you can stand up. You'll see."
The cave was bigger than the Aldens had expected. There was plenty of
room for everyone. Dr. Osgood began at once to chip out another fossil.
This time it was a fern, an important find. The fern told him how old
the cave was.
Benny watched him for a few minutes. Then he went back and crawled to
the door of the cave. David went, too.
"Let's see if these stones can possibly be moved," said Benny. He looked
at one side of the opening. The big rocks came out to make a large
square.
"That looks like a chimney," said David.
"So it does!" cried Benny. "It looks like a closet
100
in a corner of a room." He stuck his head out of the cave and called to
a workman, "Hey! Please come and look. Do you think anything could be
hidden there?"
The man laughed. He said, "We can find out." He got a small crowbar and
a hammer and went to work. Soon he said, "You're right, Sonny. These
rocks don't belong here. They were moved here."
Benny didn't like to be called Sonny, but this was no time to say so.
Henry came over to watch. Then he called the girls and Mr. Alden and Mr.
Carter.
The workman said, "When this stone falls, there will be clouds of dust.
Better cover your eyes."
They all did so. The man was right. There was such a crash and so much
dust that nobody could see or hear what had really happened. When the
dust cleared they all looked in the "chimney thing." And there it was!
It was a large black leather bag lying on the ground behind the stone.
Everyone shouted.
"Don't touch it," said the workman. "I'll get Dr. Osgood."
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[PICTURE NOT SHOWN]
The doctor could hardly believe what he saw. "I did miss it after all,"
he said. "And now let's see what's in the bag."
Everyone watched as Dr. Osgood worked carefully and slowly. Even so, the
leather cracked under his gentle fingers. At last he got it open and
pulled out an enormous teapot as black as coal
102
"Solid silver," he said quietly.
"Silver?" cried Benny. "It looks more like iron."
"It's silver, just the same," said the doctor. "Wait until it is
polished and you'll see-a real French piece that belonged to royalty."
Then he drew out a candlestick with six branches. It, too, was black. A
large black pitcher came next, all covered with the same deep, fancy
pattern that decorated the other pieces. Then Dr. Osgood pulled out a
black box. A little black key hung on a black chain.
Dr. Osgood turned the key very gently. Inside was a necklace of gold,
set with red and green stones.
"That's a queen's necklace," said Dr. Osgood. "That thing alone is a
great treasure."
Under the necklace were gold coins of France. There was only one more
thing in the bag. It was a roll of heavy paper.
"I may not be able to open this," said Dr. Osgood. "I shall stop if it
begins to tear."
But he was so slow and gentle that the paper did not tear. He took one
look. "It's in French," he said. "Of
103
course it would be."
Both Henry and Jessie could read French. The old faded message was
short. ,
"This is for my Indian friend Running Deer who saved my life. Louis Paul
Deauville."
"That settles it!" said Benny. "This belongs to Lovan. And now who will
tell Lovan?"
Nobody spoke for a minute. They all looked at each other.
Then Grandfather said with a smile, "David Walking-by-Night will tell
Lovan."
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CHAPTER 12
The Treasure
David looked puzzled when Mr. Alden chose him to tell Lovan.
"Mr. Alden, why me?" he asked.
Mr. Alden answered, "You know all about it, David, and you remember your
grandmother. That will please Lovan. She is a fine person to have for a
great-aunt."
Just then they heard the helicopter.
"Lunch!" cried Benny.
Henry looked at his watch. "Did you know it was two o'clock? How did you
ever stand it, Ben?"
105
"I was so interested in that chimney thing," said Benny, "and the
leather bag. I never thought of lunch."
"Now you know how I feel," said Dr. Osgood. "I forget all about eating."
Mr. Carter said, "Jessie, give me one sandwich. I'll go right back with
the helicopter. I have some telephoning to do."
They all wondered what it was about. But nobody asked a question. They
just said goodbye. And back went the helicopter down the mountain.
Mr. Carter carefully held the leather bag. Mr. Alden had given it to