The Mystery of the Pirate's Treasure Read online

  Quinn held it by the edge and began scraping the inside of the crack. Bits of dirt crumbled down.

  Are those bits of bronze coating? Cody wondered.

  “What are you doing, Quinn?” Luke asked.

  “Children!” Mrs. Van Tassell said breathlessly when she finally caught up with them. “I don’t think you should be doing that—” She stopped, gasped, and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, goodness! Is that what I think it is?”

  “Silver!” M.E. squealed. “The bell is made out of silver! We’re going to be rich!”

  The others laughed.

  “This isn’t ‘finders keepers,’ M.E.,” Cody said. “It belongs to the Carmel Mission. Come on, we’ve got to tell someone. I just wish Chad was here to see this. He’s going to be so excited when he hears.”

  The kids, accompanied by Mrs. Van Tassell, headed for the museum to report their find. At first they were met with disbelief by the staff, then shock, then excitement. Cody insisted they call Chad at the hospital and report the news.

  “Mr. Bour,” Cody said on the phone, “we found the treasure you’ve been looking for.”

  “What do you mean?” Chad said, sounding sleepy. Cody was sorry to wake him, but thought he’d definitely want to hear the news.

  “One of the mission bells is actually made out of silver. It was hidden underneath of coat of bronze. Remember what we learned about how the missionaries melted down all their silver? They must have reshaped it into a bell and covered it in bronze to camouflage it. It looks just like the other bells that were made from old cannons—except for the crack. That’s what gave it away.”

  “Of course!” Chad said, now sounding awake and alert. “Silver is a soft metal, so it was bound to crack over time. You’ve found the treasure I’ve been looking for all these years! I don’t know what to say! I’m so glad I met such expert treasure hunters and smart code busters!”

  Cody hung up the phone, pleased that she and her friends had found the real treasure when so many other treasure hunters couldn’t. Sometimes, she thought, whatever you’re searching for is right in front of your nose.

  “How did you figure it out, Cody?” M.E. asked as they headed back to Mrs. Van Tassell’s car.

  “The silver coin that Chad gave us is what got me thinking,” Cody said. “It reminded me of the shiny crack in the bell, which I thought was weird at the time. A crack should be dark inside, not shiny. Then I remembered Ms. Stad talking about the cannons being melted down and turned into bells. That’s what the other bells are made of. But that one was made of silver, then covered in bronze to disguise it.”

  “Just like that cross Chad showed us, remember?” Luke added. “He said it was made out of iron at the mission foundry by blacksmiths, like all their tools and cannons, but it was coated in silver to make it fancier.”

  “Exactly!” Cody said. “Only this time, it was the opposite. Silver was coated in bronze to make it plain, so no one would suspect how valuable it was.”

  “Cool,” Quinn said. “Hiding silver under bronze is sort of like creating a code. It’s something hidden within something else!”

  “And we ‘cracked’ the code!” M.E. said. “But I don’t plan on going camping again for a long, long time. I’m staying in my own bed at home where it’s safe!”

  Cody returned home tired from her exciting trip, and eager to see her mom and sister and talk to her dad on the phone. After she’d started her laundry, put away her things, and called her dad, she headed downstairs for dinner.

  , her mother asked, using sign language so that Cody’s little sister, Tana, who was deaf, could be included in the conversation.

  Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page, this page.

  While Ms. Stadelhofer had explained what had happened on the trip to Mrs. Jones, Cody told her side of the story over spaghetti dinner, avoiding the dangerous parts so her mom wouldn’t worry. Mrs. Jones was especially impressed that the Code Busters would be receiving a commendation.

  Tana loved the pirate bookmark Cody bought her—Cody had bought four of the colorful bookmarks, one for each family member, as a reminder of the fun adventure she’d had.

  “Any homework?” Mrs. Jones asked.

  “Oh, yeah! Ms. Stad gave us a new code to solve.”

  Mrs. Jones smiled at Cody. “That should be easy for you and your Code Buster friends.”

  “Except this one is in hieroglyphics. We’re going to a museum soon to see some Egyptian artifacts. Ms. Stad says there are all kinds of messages and codes hidden in art.”

  Cody got out the assignment sheet and showed the hieroglyphics to her mom.

  “Have you decoded it?” her mom asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t know what it means,” Cody said, showing her the answer.

  Code Buster’s Key and Solution found on this page, this page.

  “Hmmm,” her mom said. “Another mystery for you to solve!”

  “I know!” Cody exclaimed. “Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics, which are like codes. It seems like there are codes everywhere, even throughout history. I guess it’s up to us to crack them, right?”

  CODE BUSTER’S

  Key Book

  &

  Solutions

  Morse Code:

  Orienteering Code:

  Trail Signs Code:

  Phonetic Alphabet:

  Caesar’s Cipher:

  Semaphore Code:

  Finger Spelling:

  Periodic Table Code:

  Reverse Alphabet Code:

  Alphanumeric Code (2):

  Hieroglyphics Code:

  Chapter 1

  Caesar’s cipher:

  I wonder if there’s a pirate code?

  Hidden Word Search Puzzle:

  WHO WANTS TO VISIT THE CARMEL MISSION

  WHERE PIRATES SEARCHED FOR TREASURE?

  Chapter 2

  Morse code: DJ, ME

  Backward code: Monday

  Orienteering code:

  ca=camp, po=pond, st=stream, br=bridge, ro=road, ga=gate, be=bench, tr=trail, Au=gold, Ag=silver Direction code: Go northwest, 10 steps, turn right, make a U-turn, go left 90 degrees.

  Chapter 3

  Orienteering symbol code:

  1. Find your TENT and set up. 2. Gather at the beginning of the TRAIL. 3. As you walk, watch for hidden messages near each BENCH. 4. Gather at the GATE. 5. Keep an eye out for DANGER!

  Chapter 4

  Trail signs code: Right; do not go this way; left; straight ahead; do not go this way; right; left.

  Trail riddle: Pop Goes the Weasel

  Chapter 5

  Morse code:

  1. Hi there!

  2. Stop!

  3. To cheat.

  4. Pirate flag. – (Jolly Roger actually means “pretty red,” and features a skull and crossbones.)

  5. To speak. (Also to have a conversation or settle a dispute.)

  6. Wow!

  7. Pirate.

  8. Person on land. (One who does not belong at sea.)

  9. Chicken eggs.

  10. Bottom of sea.

  Pig Latin: We need to see that map!

  Chapter 6

  Finger spelling: Stay here.

  Nursery rhyme code: All I can find around this place is the path made of cobbler’s stone. There’s a bench that’s carved with the form of a monkey that I have chased until I’ve tired. The only friend a weasel who thinks I’m the one acting the monkey, but my own thought is, that soon it will I hope all be worth it. In fact, though not fun, I shall see Pop when the man goes with me into the mouth of the weasel.

  All around the cobbler’s bench the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought it all in fun. Pop goes the weasel.

  Reverse alphabet code: This is so fun!

  I want to be a pirate!

  Chapter 7

  Semaphore code: Cool.

  Phonetic alphabet code: Look!

  Where?

  Them!

  ’Sup?

 
; Morse code: Did you find map?

  Chapter 8

  Morse code: Found map. Head back.

  Text message translations: “Are you sending code?” “No, thought you were.” “What’s up?”

  “I don’t know. Something about a map.” “We’ll check it out tomorrow. Later.”

  Orienteering code: flower garden, courtyard fountain, bell tower, stone wall, cemetery, school

  Finger spelling: Quiet

  Listen

  Follow her

  Chapter 9

  Marine flag code: Help!

  Morse code: Careful

  Chapter 10

  Alphanumeric code: Treasure at museum.

  Chapter 11

  Mirror code: Hold the code up to a mirror and read the message in the reflection:

  Make new friends,

  But keep the old.

  One is silver,

  And the other gold.

  Chapter 12

  Finger spelling: How was your trip?

  Egyptian hieroglyphics: steganography

  Finger Spelling:

  Chapter Title Translations

  Chapter 1 A Pirate in California

  Chapter 2 M Is for Map

  Chapter 3 Following Clues

  Chapter 4 A Puzzle Within a Puzzle

  Chapter 5 Mystery of the Mission

  Chapter 6 Pop Goes the Puzzle

  Chapter 7 Longbeard and Jolly

  Chapter 8 A Flash in the Night

  Chapter 9 The Lost Treasure

  Chapter 10 Avast, Ye Sea Dogs!

  Chapter 11 Who Is Chad Bour?

  Chapter 12 The Code Is Cracked!

  How to Make Your Own Invisible Ink

  1. Lemon Juice

  Write your message with lemon juice using a cotton swab on plain white paper. Let it dry, then send it to a friend and have him or her hold it over a lightbulb. The message will be revealed!

  2. Milk

  Instead of lemon juice, use milk. Follow the instructions above.

  3. Baking Soda

  Mix a few spoonfuls of baking soda with water to make a paste. Use a cotton swab to write your message. To read the message, hold the paper over a lightbulb or dip a cotton swab in grape juice and rub it over the paper.

  4. White Crayon

  Write a message on white paper with a white crayon. Have your friend color over the paper with a marker to see the secret message.

  5. Banana

  Write a message on a banana peel with a toothpick. About an hour later, the message will magically appear.

  Suggestions for How Teachers Can Use the Code Busters Club Series in the Classroom

  Kids love codes. They will want to “solve” the codes in this novel before looking up the solutions. This means they will be practicing skills that are necessary to their class work in several courses, but in a non-pressured way.

  The codes in this book vary in level of difficulty, so there is something for students of every ability. The codes move from a simple code wheel—a Caesar’s cipher wheel—to more widely accepted “code” languages such as Morse code and semaphore.

  In a mathematics classroom, the codes in this book can easily be used as motivational devices to teach problem-solving and reasoning skills. Both of these have become important elements in the curriculum at all grade levels. The emphasis throughout the book on regarding codes as patterns gives students a great deal of practice in one of the primary strategies of problem solving. The strategy of “Looking for a Pattern” is basic to much of mathematics. The resolving of codes demonstrates how important patterns are. These codes can lead to discussions of the logic behind why they “work” (problem solving). The teacher can then have the students create their own codes (problem formulation) and try sending secret messages to one another, while other students try to “break the code.” Developing and resolving these new codes will require a great deal of careful reasoning on the part of the students. The class might also wish to do some practical research in statistics, to determine which letters occur most frequently in the English language. (E, T, A, O, and N are the five most widely used letters, and should appear most often in coded messages.)

  This book may also be used in other classroom areas of study, such as social studies, with its references to the California mission system, messages hidden in rhyme, and codes employed during wartime. This book raises questions such as, “Why would semaphore be important today? Where is it still used?”

  In the English classroom, spelling is approached as a “deciphering code.” The teacher may also suggest the students do some outside reading. They might read a biography of Samuel Morse or Louis Braille, or even the Sherlock Holmes mystery “The Adventure of the Dancing Men.”

  This book also refers to modern texting on cell phones and computers as a form of code. Students could explain what the various “code” abbreviations they use mean today and why they are used.

  —Dr. Stephen Krulik

  Dr. Stephen Krulik has a distinguished career as a professor of mathematics education. Professor emeritus at Temple University, he received the 1721 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to Colleen Casey, Janet Finsilver, Staci McLaughlin, Ann Parker, and Carole Price for their expertise. Thanks to the Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. And a special thanks to Code Busters Club members: Avery Aplanalp, Jack Borovitz, Connor Brien, Erin Casey, Tara Casey, Sydney Closson, Isha Desai, Mikayla Freeman, Joshua Frendberg, Sequoia Hack, Melissa Hernandez, Ryan Hillary, Ty Littlefield, Courtney Lyons, Jake McLaughlin, Jodie Pike, Miranda Stewart, Lauren Strong, and Shaun Woods.