"As soon as the bear gets out of the truck," She said. "Cheesesticks and I will sneak our way inside through that conveyor belt at the baggage drop-off. Craig! Go find me a box big enough for me to fit inside. And make sure to punch in holes so I can breathe, but not too many. JP! Find a dog carrier big enough for Cheesesticks." The three kids and Cheesesticks got outside to do their tasks, while Mortimer and Mark stayed inside.
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After a few minutes, Craig found an empty box near a dumpster, and JP conveniently found a pet carrier next to the airport entrance. When the three plus Cheesesticks made it to the entrance, Wildernessa started giving more orders again.
"Craig!" She said. "Once I get inside, close the box, tape the top corners shut, and poke holes on top so I can breathe. JP! While Craig's busy, find a way to coax Cheesesticks into the pet crate!" While JP was getting the Mastiff inside the pet crate, Wildernessa fit herself inside the cardboard box. Craig then closed the corners on top shut and taped them. He then took out a pencil and poked holes on the left and right sides of the box so she could breathe.
"Now what?" Craig asked.
"Get me and Cheesesticks on the conveyor belt inside." Said Wildernessa. "Tell them that we need to be shipped to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve in Canada, the same destination as Nova the Bear."
"Got it!" Said JP, as he closed the door to Cheesesticks' crate. He and Craig pushed the box and pet crate inside the airport building, and they pushed them over to the drop-off desk.
"They're animals that we're shipping off to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve in Canada!" Said JP. "In the crate is, uh, a bear interbred with a wolf! The one in the box is, uh, a chimpanzee!"
"Chimps live in Africa." Said the employee.
"It's a young Sasquatch!" Said Craig. "And she's being donated to the reserve!" The employee checked the boxes to see where the stamps were.
"There are no stamps." She said.
"It's due to budget cuts." Said Craig.
"Okay." Said the employee with an uninterested tone.
"And they need to be on the same plane as Nova the Brown Bear!" Said JP.
"Any particular reason why?" She asked.
"Emotional support." Said Craig.
"Very well." She said. "You may load them onto the conveyor belt now. I will tell the other employees to put them on the same plane as Nova." Craig and JP lifted the heavy boxes and loaded them onto the conveyor belt, where Wildernessa and Cheesesticks would be shipped to Canada.
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When Craig and JP got back in the car, Mark drove the remaining kids and Mortimer back to Herkleston. Mortimer chirped and tweeted to get Craig's attention.
"What's up, Mortimer?" He asked. Craig then noticed something in Mortimer's clutches. "What do you have in your feet, there?" Mortimer chirped again to answer Craig's question.
"A letter to Kelsey's dad?" He guessed. "So he knows where Kelsey will be? And then you're going to fly all the way to Guyana to find her? You're a noble bird, Morty." Mortimer blushed upon hearing that.
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After about half an hour, the gang returned to Herkleston, and Mark dropped off Craig, JP, and Mortimer in his front yard. Mortimer then flew off to Kelsey's house to deliver the message, while Craig and JP walked back to the Creek. When the two boys made it back to their stump, Craig just sat on it and gave out a loud sigh.
"What's wrong, Craig?" Asked JP.
"How am I supposed to take a flight to Montana if I don't have enough money in my allowance?" He replied. "That would require at least 250 dollars! Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? I can't go back home because my family still thinks we're at Washington DC. Kit probably doesn't have enough money to buy a GameGuy 3D, even if it was used. Guess that badger will eat those prairie dogs on the way there." Suddenly, the two of them heard electronic beeping and a familiar voice.
"There may not be any trilobite fossils around here," The voice said. "But maybe some valuable ore is located just below our feet!" It was Wren, who helped Craig build the 'portal' to another dimension to meet Helen! This time, however, she was using what looked like a metal detector. Another notable difference was that instead of wearing her purple oversized jacket, Wren was wearing a backpack.
"Wren?" Said Craig. "What are you doing here? And what is that thing?"
"Good afternoon, Craig." She said. "I have overheard you and John Paul talking, and I think I have a solution to your dilemma. Do you know what a metal detector is?"
"I know what that is!" Said Craig. "It detects metal underground! My grandpa has one."
"Correct." Said Wren. "My parents and I have spent all summer building a machine that can detect 1,000 different kinds of rocks, including two of the most valuable gemstones in Maryland: Beryl and Patuxent River Stone. May I present to you the Ore-Detector 3000! You need 250 dollars, right?"
"Correct." Said Craig.
"Well, this baby will find enough gemstones to equal 2,500 dollars!" Declared Wren. "I have been told that you have mistaken a candy wrapper for gold, correct?"
"Yes." JP and Craig replied in unison with a melancholy tone.
"Will you show me where it is?" Asked Wren.
"Alright." Said Craig. "But we might end up on a wild goose chase."
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After a couple minutes of walking, Craig, JP, and Wren arrived at the section of the Creek where they thought gold was lying at the bottom.
"Is this where you found the candy bar?" Asked Wren.
"Yes." Said JP. "And even though it may have been expired, it was delicious!"
"Okay." Wren said with a weirded out tone. "After 50 tests, the Ore-Detector 3000 is waterproof, capable of detecting rocks as far below as ten feet underground, and only requires three AA batteries every five years! Would you boys like to see this thing in action?"
"Would I ever!" Said Craig with an excited tone.
"Then prepare to be amazed!" She said. Wren held the Ore-Detector 3000 in the water, and after two minutes, it started detecting something.
"Gentlemen," Said Wren. "You are about to experience either one of the biggest discoveries or biggest technological flops known to kid-kind! Which one of you kids is willing to go in the water and retrieve some treasures?"
"I will!" Said JP, raising his hand.
"Good." Said Wren, pulling something out of her backpack. "These goggles will allow you to see underwater clearly. You need to look for orange rocks. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, I can!" Said JP, taking off his large red shirt and grabbing the goggles. "I hope it's real treasure this time!" JP jumped into the river and started searching for Patuxent River Stone. After ten minutes, JP came out of the river and had hand-fulls of orange rocks, as well as a green one! Wren took out a microscope and started inspecting the rocks. After five minutes, she came up with a conclusion.
"Specific gravity: 2.60!" She said. "Hardness: 8! Luster: Waxy! Gentlemen, we have discovered Patuxent River Stone in our own Creek! However, because of the recent fossil episode, I will keep this a secret. Here you go, Craig. You'll need these on your trip to Montana. Just to let you know, the green gemstone is Beryl." Craig was flabbergasted when he saw real gemstones in his hands. He opened up his sack to place them inside, but he couldn't help but notice Blink in there.
"JP," Craig told the older boy. "When you get home, could you tell Laura about our recent adventure, and that I'll be back some time tomorrow?"
"Scout's honor!" Said JP, drying himself off with a towel from Wren.
"Great!" Said Craig. "But first, I'm going to drop Blink off at the library." Craig ran towards the library to ask Stacks if she could take care of his new friend.
| If you look closely, you can see Buzz's feet underneath the pet crate. |
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