The Treasure Coin

“Please, just wait a few more minutes…..” Jack pleaded George. “No, I am not waiting anymore.” George replied. “After you finish your homework, you can join us at Harry’s house.” Jack groaned. He sped up his typing speed on the computer. Two minutes later, they were all gathered in Harry’s house. “What took you so long?” Harry asked. “I was doing my class assignment on the computer.” Jack said. “Come on, let’s go down to play. I will take Buster for a walk down too.” He left Harry’s house and walked away to his house. Buster was Jack’s pet dog. He was a White Siberian husky and was very friendly with his neighbors. His white coat also made him look more like a wolf instead of a dog. Jack got Buster as a gift on his 7th Birthday by his uncle.

Back at Harry’s house, George and Harry were still waiting for Jack. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Harry went to open the door. Jack was standing at the door with his Siberian husky. Jack had brushed Buster’s coat till it gleamed. Harry turned around and yelled in the house “Mom! I’m going down to play!” “Alright!” Mom replied from the kitchen. Harry went in the inside rooms of his house and came back with a bottle filled with water and a packet of spicy chips. “Want some?” He said, showing the hand in which he was holding a chip. Suddenly, as fast as lightning, Buster snatched the chip and ate it. He couldn’t bear the spiciness and sneezed a lot. Jack turned and started walking away. “If you both are going to waste time like this, you are free to leave.” He said. George glanced at his watch. “It’s only quarter to five.” He muttered. “We are still early.”

“Come on, let’s go. The earlier we are the better.” Harry interrupted.

Few minutes later, they were all down in their apartment’s park. “So what should we do?” George asked. “Why don’t we play football with that ball there?” Harry said. “While we play, you can let Buster eat up what he wants.”

“Alright.”

Two minutes later, they were happily playing a game of football when Buster came running back with something in his mouth. “What have you got there, show me now, Buster.” Jack demanded. Buster loyally opened his mouth and placed the strange object on the ground. The ‘strange object’ was actually a shiny gold coin with drawings of kings and foreign language carved on it. “Th-That is a-a-a….” George stammered. His face had turned pale white. “That is a what?” Jack asked, puzzled. Buster stared at George, as if waiting for an answer. “That is a 200 year old Japanese coin.” George continued. “One of those things is enough to buy a Porsche.”

“Whoa.”

“How did you know all this?” Harry asked.

“They are teaching us History in school. They told us that one coin is equal to approximately $195,000.”

Suddenly, they heard Buster barking. He was barking at the way he had come from. “I may be knowing what he is barking at.” Harry said. “The coin Buster brought is worth a lot of money, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“So many people would be finding this too. Whoever Buster is barking at wants the coin very m-”

“RUN!” Jack suddenly yelled, pointing in the direction from which Buster just came. George and Harry saw what he was pointing at. A car was coming near them and the driver was about to park the car near them, the boys fled. George took the coin from Buster’s mouth and placed it in his pocket. “Into the bushes!” George yelled and charged ahead. He swiftly jumped above the fence surrounding the shrubbery. Jack dived next and Harry was last. “George, where are you?” Jack asked, forcing himself into the thick shrubbery. “I and Harry are right ahead of you, in this clearing.” The reply came. Few seconds later, Jack was there with them. “Where are we?” A puzzled Jack asked. “I don’t know.” George answered. “I don’t think Harry does too.” He added, glancing at Harry. He was completely lost in his own world, admiring the beauty of the place as he had never seen it before. Suddenly, he asked Jack. “Where is Buster?” He asked.

“Uh, I don’t know.”

“I don’t know where he is either.”

“And where is my chips packet?” Harry asked again.

Suddenly they heard a howl and several sneezes. Just then Buster jumped out of the bushes, his snow- white coat with brownish-black patches, giving Harry a fright and make him fall into the rose bushes. “Ouch!” He yelped. “That hurts!”

A sound of a car parking near them could be heard. “RU-” Jack was about to say when George suddenly put his hand on his mouth.

“Wait. Patience.”

They heard the sound of a car door close and two men saying to each other. “Where are those kids?” The first one asked. “They must have run away.” The other one replied. “We’ll keep taking rounds of this apartment. They have to come out sometime.”

“Alright.”

Then they heard the sound of two doors closing and the car driving away. After the car drove away, the three kids and Buster crawled out of the bushes. “So what should we do?” Harry asked, looking at the car driveway. “Go home.” Jack said. “Inform our parents. They’ll call the police, arrest the bad people and we could become rich.”

“How?” George asked

“The coin is worth a lot of money and we can keep it.”

“No, Jack. I have another plan. Come on, let’s go home.” Harry said.

“But what’s the plan?” Jack asked.

“I will tell you later.” George answered.

They were able to find their way home, but Mr. Jackson, their friendly security who usually used to sit near the lifts of their building, got suspicious when he saw Buster covered with brown patches. “What happened to your dog?” he asked curiously. “Um, he fell into a rabbit hole trying to catch a rabbit.” Jack fibbed, pressing the elevator button.

“Tell me what really happened to him, Jack.”

Jack sighed and explained the whole story. After Jack finished, George removed the coin from his pocket as proof. “Now those men are taking rounds of the whole complex to find us.” Jack added. As soon as Jack said that to him, Mr. Jackson got up from his chair, heading for the entrance. “Where are you going?” Harry asked. “I have a complaint to make in the police station.” he said.

“We can handle this ourselves, Mr. Jackson. There is no need to call the police.”

“Children, these men you are handling could be very dangerous. Your parents will be very worried, if those people caught you and took you away.”

“Ok, Mr. Jackson, but can we teach those horrible men a lesson?” Harry asked.

“Sure. Now that you all are 12, I guess you can handle things on your own.”

Suddenly, the lift door opened. “Oh!” Harry exclaimed. “Got to go! Bye Mr. Jackson!”

“Take care, kids.”

They all got into the lift. Jack pressed their floor number, which was 7. “Woof woof?” Buster suddenly barked. “He is asking you what the plan is, Harry.” Jack translated. Harry patted his head. “I’ll tell you later, Buster.” He said. The lift suddenly opened. They got out of the lift. “This way.” Harry said pointing towards his house. He rang his doorbell. His mother opened the door. “What happened, dear?” she asked.

“Where’s Theo?” Harry asked Mom. Theo was his big brother.

“He’s listening to music in his room.” She replied, opening the door for them. “Go and see him if you want.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

They all entered Harry’s house and went inside. Harry tried the doorknob. It was locked. He knocked on the door. Theo opened the door. “What happened, Harry?” Theo asked.

“Can you come down to the garden with us for a minute?”

“Why?”

“Please?” Harry pleaded.

“Alright, I will come down.”

When they all reached down, there was no sign of the men with their car. Suddenly, a car whizzed past them, which happened to be a BMW X3 . (This of course, was the evil men’s car.)

“Crazy drivers.” Theo muttered.

“We need to go in those bushes.” Harry said.

When they all hid into the bushes, Harry took a handful of soil and threw it into the opposite direction. “Fetch, Buster!” He said. Buster immediately took off, kicking dust behind him. “Now watch.” Harry said. The BMW once again passed by, and everyone except Theo knew why it had returned. The two men got out of the car. “You’re mad, James.” rumbled the driver. “First you say that 12 year old kids took the treasure. Now you say that you saw the same kids out from the car window. You ought to take an eye test, James.”

“I saw what I saw.” The other man said, looking around him. Suddenly, he pointed at a clump of moving bushes. “What’s that?” he said.

“Let’s see.” The driver said.

Unfortunately, for the men, the ‘moving bushes’ was just Buster trying hard to return the clump of soil which Harry had thrown, and, in the excitement of finding the kids, they forgot to lock the car too. When the men were very close to the bushes, Harry gestured everyone to follow him and be quiet. He tiptoed out of the bushes, followed by Theo, George, and finally Harry. “Get into the car. Theo, sit in the driver’s seat.”

“Why?”

“Because, uh, there’s no space.”

With a puzzled look, Theo sat in the drivers’ seat. “Okay, now start the car.” Harry said.

“What!?”

“Wasn’t it your greatest dream to drive a fast car?”

“This is stealing someone’s fast car, not driving one!”

“Well, those are bad people, and they need to be taught a lesson!”

Theo sighed. “Take a decision fast!” Harry said, impatiently. Few seconds later, Theo finally started the engine. “Uh, Theo the men are coming towards the car!” Jack suddenly said from behind. Harry and Theo had completely forgotten that Jack and George were sitting in the backseat. “Hold on to your seats!” Theo warned.

The men behind Theo and the others had finished their search and couldn’t find anything because, as soon as Buster heard footsteps, he ran away. When the driver saw him running away from the patch of bushes, he shook his head and started walking towards the car, but what a shock he got! The car started slowly moving away! He started to run after it, but suddenly, WHOOSH! The car sped away before the helpless driver could catch it. “Hey! COME BACK HERE!” He yelled. But the car showed no sign of stopping.

In the car, Theo had a doubt. “Where do we go?” He asked, doubtfully.

“The car parking.” Harry replied.

“Why?” George asked.

“That is the nearest place of paradise for Theo.”

“Paradise?” Jack said, dumbfounded.

“Just wait and watch.” Theo said.

When they reached the car parking, Theo slammed the brakes. “Ready?” he asked. “Go!” Harry shouted. The engine roared to life. The car lunged forward going at a speed of almost hundred kilometers per hour. Few seconds later, Theo sped, leaving Jack on George’s seat and George on the floor, and Harry thought that one of the tires was about to burst from the sound it made. “THEO! STOP TH-”

Harry suddenly was interrupted from his sentence by the sound of breaks squealing-

SKKKRRRRREEEEE!!!!!

Harry looked at what made Theo stop the car this violently. Theo was as pale as a ghost. Police cars surrounded the BMW. Out of one car, a policeman came out. He was a thin man with a moustache on his face. He had a very friendly smile on his face. The car’s rear door opened too, and Mr. Jackson came out. The man with the moustache knocked on the door. Theo opened it. “Yes?” Theo said, trying his best to keep his voice steady. “Thank you for helping us to catch two wanted criminals! My name is Mr. Max Miller, the city inspector.” he said.

“But Mr. Miller, where are the criminals?” George asked.

“Right now they are at the police station.” Mr. Miller answered. “And there was a prize for whoever caught them, a Porsche. So that prize goes to you!”

“Hooray!” All the four kids cried.

So the next day, all the four kids, including Harry’s parents, were seated in a Porsche, cruising through the city, enjoying the scenic view. Harry’s parents were told about what they did. Although they were still a bit annoyed with Theo and Harry for driving a car which they didn’t own, they were at the same time proud of them too. “Why don’t we let Theo drive?” Harry’s father said, grinning. “No please don’t let him drive, Mr. Johnson!” Harry and George chorused together. Everybody laughed.