Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Dink yawned and looked out the kitchen window the next morning. "Fog," he muttered. He finished his cereal and put the bowl in the sink. Just then, the doorbell rang. It was Josh, standing on the porch holding a shovel. "You ready to go?" he asked. "It's so foggy," Dink said, looking over Josh's shoulders. "I can hardly see across the street! We won't find the island, let alone a treasure." "If there's more money out there, I'll find it," Josh said, scratching his ankle. "Let's get Ruth Rose."

"I'm already here!" Ruth Rose said, appearing out of the fog. When she saw Josh scratching, she said, "You better put something on that poison ivy, Joshua!" "My mom said the same thing," Josh said. He scratched his arm. "She gave me money to buy some calamine lotion. Now let's get going!" Balancing the shovel over one shoulder, Josh led his friends through Ruth Rose's backyard and across Meadow Road. The tall, dewy grass on the other side soaked their sneakers and legs. Near the river, the fog was even thicker. It hung in tree branches like miniature clouds. The kids' faces and hair were wet. "I can't even see the river," Dink muttered. "It's right here," Josh said, splashing the water with his shovel. "Yeah, but where's the island?" Ruth Rose asked. The kids gazed out to where they thought Squaw Island should be. All they could see was more fog. One patch looked a little darker than the rest. "That must be it," Josh said, stepping into the water. "Come on, guys, I can almost smell the money!"

"Like a hound dog," Dink muttered. The river was quiet. No birds sang. The kids' legs splashing through the water was the only sound. Dink began to imagine some fog monster creeping toward him. It had slimy green tentacles and six-inch-long teeth! Dink was glad when the water became shallower. Suddenly his foot struck dry land. They were on Squaw Island again! The kids stopped and looked around. Wisps of fog hung over everything. Dink could barely make out the mound of boulders in the center of the island. He remembered yesterday's sun on his back and shivered. "This place is creepy in the fog," Ruth Rose said. "I hope the sun comes out soon!" "Okay, Joshua," Dink said. "You got us out here. Now what?" Josh dropped to his hands and knees. "Help me find the big footprints again," he said. The kids quickly found the prints and followed them to the squat, vine-covered boulder. "So where'd Bigfoot go from here?" Josh muttered.

"It looks like the guy walked right into this big rock," Dink said. "Maybe he climbed over it," Ruth Rose said. Josh poked his shovel into the poison ivy vines covering the boulder. The shovel clinked against stone. Josh tried another spot. This time the shovel went straight in. "Hey, guys!" Josh said. "I think I found something!" Using the shovel to keep the vines back, Josh peered into a dark space. "There're two boulders here!" he said. "And look," Ruth Rose said. "A little path goes right between them!" The path was hidden, covered with poison ivy leaves and vines. "He must have gone through there," Dink said. "But it's all poison ivy!" Ruth Rose said. "Wait a sec," Josh said. He chopped at the poison ivy with his shovel until he had cleared a passage. "Just be careful," he said. Single file, the kids walked down the narrow path. Enormous boulders loomed over them on each side.

Soon they came to a small, sandy clearing in the middle of the rocks. The rocks were thick with poison ivy. The dew-covered leaves were dull green in the fog. "I feel like I'm in some jungle!" Ruth Rose said. "More prints!" Josh said, dropping down on his knees. Dink got down next to Josh. "They look like they're from the same guy" Dink said. "But there are so many! And they walk all over each other." "Now what, Josh?" Ruth Rose asked. "Now we search for treasure," Josh said. "We'll take turns and dig all over this place!" They began digging hole after hole. Ruth Rose found a rusty nail, but no treasure.

Soon the kids were sweaty and covered with sand. Josh started filling the holes back in so no one would step in them. Dink flopped down against one of the boulders. "WATCH OUT!" Ruth Rose yelled. Dink jumped away from the rock. Something was sticking him through his shirt! "Ouch! What's poking me?" he asked. He turned around so Josh and Ruth Rose could see his back. "Can you see anything?" Josh grinned. "Just a hunk of poison ivy," he said. "Stop grinning and get it off me!" Dink yelled. "I'll get it," Ruth Rose said. She brushed at the twig with the shovel handle. "Is it gone?" Dink asked, trying to see over his shoulder. "This is amazing!" Ruth Rose said. "Look, Josh!" "I don't believe it," Josh said. "What's amazing?" Dink cried. "What're you guys doing back there?" He was already feeling itchy. "This poison ivy is fake!" Ruth Rose said.