out of her pockets and dropped them into the indentations. Once the marbles were in place, it was easier to see that indentations did indeed form the shape of an arrow.
They all waited expectantly, their eyes fixed on the dias. However, nothing happened.
After a few moments, Kit said musingly, “That last hole looks like a keyhole. Do you have the key that we found in Tundra City, Molly?”
“Yuh-huh,” the little bearess mumbled, digging into her pocket again.
When the little brass key was fitted into the slot at the base of the ‘arrow’ where the stem met the head, there was a click. The middle portion of the dias top popped up slightly as if a spring had been released. It was now able to swing freely like a lazy Susan, meaning that the ‘arrow’ could be rotated to point at one of the four jeweled figures.
“‘Turn to what you treasure most’,” Rebecca murmured. “What would Juan Toomanie treasure most?”
Baloo shrugged. “Pirates treasure...treasure.”
Kit glanced at Ignatz, who was watching them from above, for help. Instinctively, he knew what Captain Juan Toomanie had meant. “Try the bird shape, Miz Cunningham.”
Trembling with excitement mixed with a healthy dose of nervousness, Rebecca gingerly grasped the key and used it to turn the arrow so that it pointed to the emerald bird.
Almost immediately, the loud rumbling and earth quaking that they had come to know so well began.
The Higher for Hire gang, huddling together in order to keep their balance, gasped in fright when the lake began to bubble and froth. Slowly but steadily, something started to rise from it. At first, it appeared to be a sea monster, but as it continued to surface, they could see that it was a large, round structure. More specifically, it looked like a giant marble adorned with blue and bronze swirls.
As door-sized partition of the massive marble unfolded to create a bridge from the treasure trove to the shore, Rebecca gasped breathlessly, “Oh, my!”
“Wow...” Kit murmured.
Molly echoed his sentiment. “Double wow!”
“Why, it’s made entirely out of marbles!” Baloo exclaimed, taking a closer look at the exterior of the structure. “A whole mess of little marbles.”
Ignatz, who had alighted on Kit’s shoulder, explained, “Captain Juan Toomanie was good with details, and he had a lot of time on his hands.”
“Well, we’re going to take some treasure off his hands. Come on!” As giddy as a schoolgirl, Rebecca tripped lightly across the bridge.
Molly scooped up the marbles and followed her mother with Baloo and Ignatz right behind.
Kit got halfway across the translucent bridge, then paused when something below in the lake caught his eye. Through the rippling water, he could see outlines of what looked like a network of pipes.
“Coming, Kit?” Ignatz said from just inside the door.
“Uh, yeah.” Puzzled by what he had just seen, Kit followed the parrot inside.
Inside the treasure trove, blue and bronze light danced over the dazzling spectacle of mounds upon mounds of jewelry, precious gems, gold, and silver gathered from the four corners of the earth.
When Kit entered, Baloo was letting a handful of jewels trickle through his fingers while Molly tried on a tiara. Rebecca flitted from pile to pile, stuffing whatever she could into her pockets or could drape around her neck.
“Wow, look at all this loot. It’s Karnage’s dream come true,” Kit murmured, gazing around at the overwhelming piles of pirate plunder. Finally, his eyes were drawn to a large pillar in the middle of the room. It was encrusted with marbles and reached almost to the ceiling. Taking a step backwards, he could see that there was something large and sparkly perched on top of the pillar. “What’s up there, Ignatz?”
“That was Captain Toomanie’s most prized possession, the famed Hopeless Diamond.”
Rebecca dropped the brooch she had been holding. “Did you say the Hopeless Diamond? The Hopeless Diamond? The one that’s worth millions?”
“Billions,” Ignatz corrected.
“B-b-b-b-billions?” Baloo stammered.
Baloo and Rebecca turned wary, suspicious eyes towards each other. Tension hung thickly in the air for a moment before Rebecca made a dash towards the mound of jewels closest to the pillar and started to scramble up it.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Baloo yelled, snagging her cardigan.
“Oh, yes, I do!” Rebecca gave his hand a savage pinch.
“Yeow!” Baloo yelped, releasing her sweater. Scowling, he clambered up the pile, dislodging coins and jewels from their resting places with each step.
When Rebecca reached the top, she had to shield her eyes from the light radiating from the humongous jewel. “Goodness, what a lovely diamond!” she gushed, peeking through her fingers at it.
Mimicking Mae East, Ignatz said, “Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.” In his own voice, he added, “I wouldn’t touch that if I were you. Captain Toomanie wouldn’t even let his men touch it under penalty of death.”
“But he’s not here now, is he?” Rebecca retorted, becoming greedier by the minute. She started to tug on the diamond, which was bigger than Molly, but it wouldn’t budge. “Don’t just stand there gaping, Baloo, help me!”
“I really wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Ignatz warned.
“Why, is Captain Toomanie gonna come back from the dead and stop us?” Baloo said with a scornful laugh.
When they had finally wrenched the diamond from the pedestal, Shakenquake Island once again lived up to its name.
“You could say that.” Ignatz sighed sadly.
Amid the clinking of jewels and coins falling to the floor came Molly’s very frightened, “Mommy!”
“It’s okay, honey,” Rebecca reassured her as she and Baloo clung to the top of the pedestal. “It’s just another earthquake.”
Ignatz quipped, “Or that fat bear’s stomach.”
“Hey!” Baloo said angrily.
Just when they thought that the situation couldn’t get any worse, water started spraying from out of the top of the pedestal with the force of a fire hose. Simultaneously, the door began to close and the marble treasure trove slowly sank.
Over the roar of the water, Kit yelled, “This is no ordinary earthquake. Run!”
Everyone sloshed through the rising water towards the swiftly-closing door, except Rebecca. She was still stubbornly struggling to move the huge diamond.
“Leave that!” Baloo shouted up to her. “Gettin’ the Hopeless Diamond outta here is hopeless.”
“I’m not leaving this,” she retorted through gritted teeth, continuing to futilely tug at the gigantic jewel. “Think of the money.”
“Think of the drowning!”
“Well, when you put it that way...” Rebecca said reluctantly after she finally acknowledged the dangerous situation. Leaving the diamond, she slid down the mound of coins and jewels and splashed into the waist-deep water. She then tried to get to her feet. However, because she was laden down by the weight of the loot that she had in her pockets and around her neck, she was sucked under the surface. “Bal...glug!”
“Beckers!” Baloo glanced at the closing door, the rapidly rising water, and made a split-second decision. “You kids get to the Duck.”
Kit protested, “But...!”
“Now!” Baloo commanded in a tone that left no room for argument.
Ignatz said, “For once, the fat bear is right. Let’s get out of this place.”
After the cubs and Ignatz squeezed through the door, Baloo mumbled, “Talk about gettin’ in over your head.” He took a deep breath and dove under the water just as the door slammed shut with an ominous, resounding boom.
Outside, things weren’t much better. The shaking, rumbling island was literally crumbling beneath them as they headed for the seaplane and safety. All around them trees were being uprooted and fissures were forming in the earth where water was blasting through like geysers.
Kit led a wide-eyed Molly through it all, relying on his inner compass, his quick reflexes, and the aerial view of his feathered friend.
Ignatz quickly dodged around a geyser and shouted, “This way!”
“Whoa!” the cubs cried as they suddenly found themselves on the edge of a ravine. A river had sprung up that hadn’t been there a second before.
Seeing a palm tree that had just toppled over, thus forming a bridge across the river, Ignatz said, “That way!”
Unhesitatingly, they crossed the river via the tree trunk and ran up, up, up the hill, jumping over fallen trees, dodging around rocks, and weaving around geysers. Kit didn’t know which was shaking more - the ground or himself.
At the top of the hill, they paused for a moment to catch their breaths. Below them, they could see the churning lake where only the top half of the giant marble was visible. There was no sign of Baloo and Rebecca.
Molly said nothing, but her chin trembled. Kit swallowed a lump in his throat. The kids shared a look, then started to hurry down the hill towards the cove where the seaplane was moored.
Meanwhile...
The Treasure Trove
Baloo and Rebecca splashed to the surface, coughing and spluttering. The ceiling was close above their heads and the light was quickly diminishing as the giant marble sank beneath the waves.
“Where are the kids?” Rebecca asked, wiping her hair out of her face.
Tapping water out of his ears, Baloo replied, “Back at the Duck...I hope.”
“You hope?” she shrieked, causing the pilot to wince in pain. “You don’t know?”
“I woulda known if I haven’t stayed behind to save you, lady,” he growled.
Clinging tighter to Baloo’s neck, Rebecca snapped petulantly, “We’re not saved yet. We’re trapped and we’re sinking!”
“Tell me somethin’ I don’t know.”
“Well, think of something.”
“I’m thinkin’! I’m thinkin’!” Baloo
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