{"id":132,"date":"2014-12-02T19:16:08","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T19:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/?p=132"},"modified":"2018-09-23T11:21:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T18:21:30","slug":"mystery-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/mystery-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cover<\/a>To settle a bet about pirates between Eddie and his sisters, Eddie took them down shortcut along the river path toward the harbor.\u00a0 There, in the darkest, bushiest place, a one-legged man ambushed them, and before they could escape, told them of a mysterious spot in the nearby mountains, where water runs uphill, compasses go crazy, and if you get too close you forget to dig for it.\u00a0 When their science teacher verifies that such a spot may exist, they race to find it before the pirates do.<\/p>\n

[toggle title_open=”Close Excerpt 1″ title_closed=”Excerpt 1″ hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]<\/p>\n

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One sunny July day, Albert Keenan went to his office early for an important pre-trial meeting.\u00a0 He was so concerned about the meeting that he forgot to text his three children the list of all the extra things he wanted them to do that day.\u00a0 When the children finished their daily assigned chores, they sat on the porch, smart phones in hand, and tried to decide what to do the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

Kathy, the oldest, in junior high, said, \u201cWe should download a good book to read.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy, in elementary school, said, \u201cWe should go downtown and get a Latte.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie, also in junior high, said, \u201cWe should go down to the pier and find a pirate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy wrinkled her nose.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as pirates, not since the Spanish sent all the New World\u2019s gold home on treasure ships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree,\u201d said Kathy.\u00a0 \u201cAnd besides, those ships all sailed the Atlantic Ocean.\u00a0 None of them ever came by here.\u00a0 Santa Christina is a Pacific Ocean port.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy typed on her phone, and then held it close to her brother\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cSee, no pirates in the Northeast Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care what you or Google say,\u201d Eddie snapped off his words, \u201cI bet if we went to the pier right now we\u2019d find a pirate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would you bet?\u201d\u00a0 Kathy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll bet you a latte,\u201d Eddie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey,\u201d Nancy said.\u00a0 \u201cIf you two are having a latte anyway, why don\u2019t we just go downtown and get one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fine with me because Kathy\u2019s buying,\u201d Eddie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot me, you\u2019re buying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHush you two,\u201d Nancy said.\u00a0 \u201cThis is easy enough to settle.\u00a0 We\u2019ll just swing by the pier on our way downtown.\u00a0 Then we\u2019ll know who is going to buy.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are two ways to get from the Keenan house to the pier.\u00a0 One is the boring way along the city\u2019s streets. \u00a0The other, is the overgrown path along the bank of the San Andreas River.\u00a0 Since all three of them still wore the clothes they wore to do their chores, flip flops, cut-off Levis, and T-tops for the sisters, Bermuda shorts, sandals, and a muscle shirt for Eddie, \u00a0they decided on the path along the river.<\/p>\n

The river once again ran wild.\u00a0 Salmon and trout swam in it.\u00a0 Trees and thick bushes lined its banks.\u00a0 In the summer there were sand bars to fish from, rope swings above the cliffs, and lots of good swimming holes.\u00a0 In the winter, there were floods.<\/p>\n

Eddie led them single file down the river path.\u00a0 About half the way to the pier, they entered a thick stand of trees and bushes.\u00a0 When they reached its heart, a man jumped into the path in front of them.\u00a0 Both girls screamed at the sight of him.<\/p>\n

He dressed in rags, tattered shoes, and with his gray hair and beard long and knotted, he looked like most of the Santa Christina homeless.\u00a0 A tri-corn hat perched on the back of his head.\u00a0 The bottom half of his right leg was different.\u00a0 It was a cockeyed stainless steel prosthetic.\u00a0 He supported himself by leaning on a dirty crutch.<\/p>\n

\u201cArgh,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cSee what the path brought me this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie backed up three steps.\u00a0 Nancy moved close in behind him.\u00a0 Kathy, the oldest, stepped past them both and faced the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us by.\u00a0 We\u2019re on our way to the pier,\u201d she said, her voice firm, her back straight. \u00a0Since their mother died two years before, Kathy became the watch dog for her younger brother and sister.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo find a pirate,\u201d Eddie added.<\/p>\n

\u201cShiver me timbers,\u201d a deep and raspy voice uttered.\u00a0 \u201cA pirate is what you\u2019re looking for.\u00a0 And why do you want to find a pirate?\u00a0 Is it treasure you\u2019re after?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Kathy said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re trying to decide who gets to buy lattes today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man stared at them.<\/p>\n

\u201cA latte is not so much a treasure as a treat,\u201d Kathy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAye, a treat is it,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cWell finding a treasure is a treat too.\u00a0 Do you know there\u2019s treasure around here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no treasure around here,\u201d Nancy said.\u00a0 \u201cAll the treasure went to Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cArgh,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you be so sure.\u00a0 There\u2019s talk of treasure in the mountains close by.\u00a0 They say that when you get to it your compass goes crazy, water runs uphill, and you get so sick and dizzy you forget to dig for it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh bah,\u201d Kathy said, \u201cA compass always points north and water always runs downhill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s eyes narrowed to slits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is that place?\u201d\u00a0 Eddie asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the Mystery Spot,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cWhere it is, that\u2019s a mystery.\u00a0 And why things do what they do there, that\u2019s a mystery too.\u00a0 But one thing people say, they say the creek that runs by it flows into the San Andreas River.\u00a0 They say if you drink the water from that very creek just as it meets the river, you won\u2019t get dizzy when you get to the Mystery Spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPhooey!\u201d\u00a0 Kathy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhooey!\u201d the man shouted.\u00a0 He reached out and grabbed Kathy with the hand not holding his crutch.<\/p>\n

\u201cOuch!\u00a0 Let go!\u00a0 You\u2019re hurting me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you don\u2019t believe in treasure, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathy screamed.<\/p>\n

\u201cArgh, yell all you want girl, no one can hear you.\u00a0 Haw, haw, haw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just then, Eddie darted behind the man\u2019s back and kicked his crutch as hard as he could.\u00a0 The crutch flew into a bush.\u00a0 The man toppled toward the dirt path.\u00a0 He let go of Kathy\u2019s arm and tried to catch a branch as he fell.\u00a0 He missed.<\/p>\n

\u201cRun!\u201d\u00a0 Eddie said.<\/p>\n

The three of them dashed past the fallen man and ran until they were standing on a sandy, \u00a0beach.<\/p>\n

Nancy stopped to catch her breath.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure we\u2019re safe now.\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cIs that ugly man following us?\u201d<\/p>\n

They all peered back toward the path.\u00a0 When nothing appeared, Eddie asked, \u201cDo you suppose there really is treasure up river?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI doubt it,\u201d Kathy said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think we can believe anything that crazy old coot had to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/toggle]<\/p>\n

[toggle title_open=”Close Excerpt 2″ title_closed=”Excerpt 2″ hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]<\/p>\n

The San Andreas River path ends at a broad, sandy, beach where its fresh water meets the sea.\u00a0 Kathy, Eddie, and Nancy walked through the sand toward the nearby Santa Christina pier.\u00a0 They could see several sail boats and a few yachts anchored in the bay.\u00a0 Commercial fishing boats snuggled up next to the pier.\u00a0 An inflatable Zodiac moved around among all of them, its one-man crew first talking to sailors on one boat, and then another.\u00a0 Eddie could make out the words \u201cFish and Game\u201d painted on the Zodiac\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

When the three reached the pier\u2019s pilings, they climbed up a long ladder from the beach to the top of the pier.\u00a0 Toward the sea end of the pier they could see several parked vans with company names painted on them.\u00a0 Next to the vans were piles of crates waiting to be loaded on either a ship or into one of the waiting trucks.\u00a0 There were no people anywhere in sight.<\/p>\n

The pier, intended, but never used, as the railroad terminus for the entire central coast, was very long.\u00a0 They walked for five minutes before they came to a man leaning against a railing.\u00a0 Dressed in seaman\u2019s shoes, blue trousers, a blue shirt, and a sailor\u2019s hat, he looked every bit the part of a commercial fisherman.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me, sir,\u201d Eddie said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re looking for pirates.\u00a0 Do you know where we can find one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, now that you mention it, I myself am a pirate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSee,\u201d Eddie cried, pointing at his sister, \u201cI told you so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t look like a pirate,\u201d Kathy said.\u00a0 \u201cYou look like a fisherman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I don\u2019t.\u00a0 How do you suppose I could sneak up on people right here in the harbor if I looked like a pirate?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that your pirate ship?\u201d\u00a0 Nancy asked.\u00a0 She pointed to the trawler tied to the pier below where the man was standing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like a fishing boat to me,\u201d Kathy said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s even got crates all over on its deck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may think those are just crates,\u201d the man said, \u201cBut they\u2019re not.\u00a0 Those crates cover up my ship\u2019s guns.\u00a0 When we come sneaking up on our target we don\u2019t want them to know we\u2019re ready and able to shoot them.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to the top of the tallest mast.\u00a0 \u201cSee, we even keep the skull and crossbones flag hidden until the very last minute.\u201d\u00a0 They all looked.\u00a0 No one could see a black flag.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do the flags up there blowing in the wind mean?\u201d\u00a0 Eddie asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell the other ships that we sail as soon as the tide turns.\u00a0 It\u2019s been coming in for some time.\u00a0 We need it to be going out before we leave.\u00a0 Saves fuel, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy asked, \u201cDo you just go about capturing ships at sea, or do you also look for treasure?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man laughed.\u00a0 \u201cOh, we look for treasure all the time,\u201d he said with a wink.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just heard about some treasure buried right here in Santa Christina, or at least near here,\u201d Eddie said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s buried at the Mystery Spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is?\u00a0 Well now, you wouldn\u2019t want to tell an old pirate all about it now, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie continued, \u201cWe don\u2019t know exactly where it is, but when you get there your compass goes crazy, water runs uphill and trees grow sideways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a spot like that on Big Rock Candy Mountain,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cThere, when the water gets to the top of the hill, it turns into lemonade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re kidding, right?\u201d\u00a0 Nancy said.<\/p>\n

The man quickly answered, \u201cSpeaking of compasses, have you ever seen a ship\u2019s compass?\u00a0 It\u2019s kept right there in the pilot house.\u201d\u00a0 The man pointed to a structure near the bow of the ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen one,\u201d Kathy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome with me then, all of you, and I\u2019ll show it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy said, \u201cI don\u2019t think we should\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so either.,\u201d Kathy said.\u00a0 \u00a0We\u2019d never get into a car with a stranger.\u00a0 We certainly shouldn\u2019t get into a boat with a stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie said, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t miss it for anything.\u00a0 Come on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie followed the man down a gangplank to the deck of the trawler, his sisters trailed behind.\u00a0 Two sailors, also dressed in blue clothes, met them at the bottom of the gangplank.\u00a0 They saluted and said, \u201cWelcome aboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time they all got to the pilot house, the sailors had untied the ship and were pushing it away from the dock with long poles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait,\u201d Kathy said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re moving!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cThe tide has changed.\u00a0 We\u2019re on our way to the open sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t go to sea,\u201d Kathy said, \u201cOur father would kill us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, now, don\u2019t you get so uppity with your Captain.\u00a0 You know how pirates get their crews, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 They shanghai them.\u00a0 You are all now a part of my crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to be crew,\u201d Nancy cried.\u00a0 \u201cI want to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo bad.\u00a0 Give me your phones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n

A sailor snatched Nancy\u2019s phone from the back pocket of her cut-offs.\u00a0 Then he caught Kathy\u2019s hand and wrenched her phone from her.\u00a0 The Captain swung his arm, smashed it into Eddie\u2019s wrist, and then calmly picked up the phone from the deck where it fell.\u00a0 He then dropped all three smart phones into a cloth bag, and pulled the drawstring tight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A sailor appeared from the hatch next to the pilot house carrying a pile of clothes.\u00a0 \u201cThese should fit all right,\u201d he said.\u00a0 He gave each of them a blue shirt and blue dungarees.<\/p>\n

The three of them stood on the deck, holding their new clothes, when the Zodiac drew alongside.\u00a0 It slowly turned until its bow touched the center of the trawler.\u00a0 The roar of the Zodiac\u2019s twin outboards filled the air.<\/p>\n

The Captain glared at Kathy, Eddie, and Nancy.\u00a0 \u201cGo on, get dressed, you\u2019ve work to do.\u00a0 Hurry, I\u2019ll have no lay-abouts on my ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

A crewman put his hand on Nancy\u2019s back and gave her a shove toward an open hatch.<\/p>\n

Just then, Eddie heaved the clothes in his arms into the sailor\u2019s face, and yelled, \u201cFollow me!\u00a0 Jump!\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie took three steps, climbed the rail, and jumped down onto the deck of the Zodiac.\u00a0 Nancy and Kathy leapt in right behind him.\u00a0 Eddie broke their fall when they landed.<\/p>\n

The Captain laughed out loud, and threw the bag of smart phones to the man standing at the Zodiac\u2019s controls.<\/p>\n

The three felt the Zodiac shudder as it backed away from the side of the trawler.\u00a0 A man stepped from the ship\u2019s controls to where the three lay sprawled on the deck.<\/p>\n

Nancy screamed, \u201cThat\u2019s a pirate ship.\u00a0 They shanghaied us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man looked at the trawler, now under full power, rapidly moving away from the Zodiac and its occupants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Kathy Keenan, and this is my brother Eddie and my sister Nancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you Al\u2019s children?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought so.\u00a0 He\u2019s looking for you.\u00a0 What are you doing out here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Eddie said, \u201cWe came to find a pirate.\u00a0 We did, so now Kathy owes us all a latte.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that \u201cpirate\u201d just wanted to teach you a lesson about getting onto boats with strangers.\u00a0 And, I\u2019ve got work to do.\u00a0 I think we\u2019ll all stay out here in the bay for a while. \u00a0The latte, and your father, will have to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathy said, \u201cThey took our phones.\u00a0 Could you call our Dad and tell him where we are?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man held up a cloth bag.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got your phones in this bag, \u00a0but you don\u2019t get to use them until your father gives them back to you, probably after he makes sure you\u2019ve learned your lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\/toggle]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To settle a bet about pirates between Eddie and his sisters, Eddie took them down shortcut along the river path toward the harbor.\u00a0 There, in the darkest, bushiest place, a one-legged man ambushed them, and before they could escape, told them of a mysterious spot in the nearby mountains, where water runs uphill, compasses go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","category-young-readers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions\/230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dlakewriter.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}