Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The kids thanked Spike and Chip and walked back along the dock. "I wonder how much those coins are worth," Josh said. "A lot!" Ruth Rose said.

Josh sighed. "Wouldn't it be cool to dive for treasure?" "Josh," Dink said, "you need to know how to use an air tank and everything. They go down deep!" Across the street, a small orange train was loading up with passengers. "There's the trolley!" Ruth Rose said. "Let's catch it!" The kids rushed over. They climbed aboard and sat right behind the driver. When most of the seats were filled, the trolley gave a jolt, then moved down the street. "Where does the trolley go?" Dink asked the driver. "We go everywhere, my man!" said the driver. He handed Dink a map. "See those blue circles? Those are my stops. You can get off at any of them, then hop back on when I come by again."

The driver stopped the train in front of a white building with overflowing flower boxes. The sign in front of the building read MEL FISHER'S TREASURE MUSEUM. SEE SPANISH GOLD AND SILVER INSIDE. "Who's Mel Fisher?" Dink asked the driver. "Mel Fisher found an old Spanish ship loaded with gold and silver," he said. "Some of what he found is in this museum." He pointed at the sign. "Why don't you kids hop off and check it out? I'll swing by again in about forty-five minutes," "All right!" Josh said. The kids got off the trolley and followed a few of the other sightseers to the museum. Inside were rows of glass cases. Each case held gleaming gold, silver, or jewelry. The kids walked around the room staring at the priceless treasures. After a while, Ruth Rose stopped in front of a picture of Mel Fisher. He was wearing a long gold chain. The real chain was displayed in a glass case below the picture.

"Listen," Ruth Rose said. "'This solid gold chain was made in 1622 and weighs 200 pounds. It is worth more than one million dollars!'" "Boy imagine wearing that around your neck!" Josh said. Dink was looking at a picture of Mel Fisher's boat. "Look, this says it took him almost twenty years to find the treasure!" "Speaking of food, let's get some lunch," Josh said. "We weren't talking about food," Ruth Rose said. "Well, my stomach was," said Josh. "Looking at treasure makes me hungry!" A few minutes later, the trolley stopped back at the museum. "What'd you think of all that gold?" the driver asked them. "Pretty amazing, huh?" "Did Mel Fisher get to keep everything he found?" Dink asked. The driver shook his head. "Some had to go to the state of Florida, but he and his investors got rich on the rest." "What're investors?" Josh asked.

"People who lent Mel Fisher money," said the driver. "Fisher had to borrow a lot to buy equipment and pay his crew. When he struck it rich, he paid his investors back with gold!" The man grinned in his mirror. "Wish he'd asked me to invest!" A few minutes later the kids said good-bye and hopped off the trolley. They raced home and rushed into Gram Hathaway's kitchen. "How was your morning?" she asked. "We rode on the trolley, Gram!" Ruth Rose said. "The driver was so nice!" "He dropped us off at the Mel Fisher museum," Dink said. "And we met two guys who dive for treasure," Josh added. "We went on their boat and saw real gold coins!" Ruth Rose's grandmother smiled. "I'm glad you got to see some treasure," she said with sparkling eyes. "Now let me tell you about our special company! Their names are Spike and Chip."