

### Mara Louis;

### Girl of Mystery

### By

### Tim Paterson

### To Catch a Thief

### Donald and Leann Louis were very proud of their daughter. She was their only child, and she was very bright. As she grew into a young woman, they learned that she was very special person, with a special gift. She was able to solve problems that some adults could not figure out. Mara often thought outside of the box.

### Over the years, Mara had solved dozens of mysteries around the country. The first mystery that she ever solved was at her elementary school, when she was in the third grade. She was just eight years old at the time.

### It all started in early November. Mara's third grade class, under the careful guidance of their teacher, Miss Curtis, and a student teacher, Mr. Gregory, was studying the holiday; Thanksgiving.

### Miss Curtis told the class that the homeless would not be celebrating Thanksgiving because they had no money to buy food and no place to stay. The students suggested that each of them could save up and collect money and donate it to a homeless shelter, so that the people staying there would have a nice hot meal on Thanksgiving.

### The children decided to collect twenty dollars each. With thirty students in the class that would mean they would raise six hundred dollars. Each of the students was to bring in a twenty-dollar bill, on the Monday before Thanksgiving. By that Monday afternoon, there were thirty envelopes with the children's names on them, sitting in a box on Miss Curtis's desk.

### When the last bell rang, that afternoon, all of the kids left the room to go home. Mara forgot a book, and had to go back to the classroom to get it. Miss Curtis was just about to lock the door, but she let Mara get her book. On her way out of the classroom, Mara noticed that Mr. Gregory had left his sport coat on the back of his chair. When she told Miss Curtis, she told Mara to try to catch up with him before he left the building. Miss Curtis knew that Mara had a secret crush on Mr. Gregory.

### Mara could not find Mr. Gregory, as he had already left the parking lot, so Mara dropped the coat off at the front office. Then, Mara ran to catch the bus.

### The next morning, when Mara arrived at school, she saw Mr. Gregory standing outside of the school and she went over to tell him that his sport coat was in the main office. When she saw that he was talking on his cell phone, she waited patiently. She overheard him tell someone that he would pay his delinquent car payments that afternoon after he got off work.

### Mara could not wait for Mr. Gregory to finish his phone call, since the bell was about to ring. She got into her seat, just as the bell rang. Mara noticed that everyone was unusually quiet and wondered why. She also noticed that Billy Decker was crying.

### Mara did not like Billy that much, because he was the class bully and he picked on the smaller boys in the class. He was the biggest kid in the class and he lied about things to make himself feel important. However, for some reason, Mara did not feel good when she saw him crying. Instead, she felt sorry for him.

### When Mr. Gregory entered the classroom, he walked over to his desk, set his briefcase on his desk and said, "Oh, this is where I left my jacket yesterday." Mara assumed that the office had put the jacket back in the classroom, after she had gone home.

### Mr. Gregory noticed that there was some tension in the classroom and he asked Miss Curtis, what was wrong. Miss Curtis told the class that all of the money that the students had turned in the day before was missing. She told them that when she arrived at school that morning, she found that all thirty envelopes were missing, and that the only person in the classroom, was Billy. She told the class that Billy denied taking the envelopes, but that when she checked his desk, she found all thirty empty envelopes stuffed under the books in his desk.

"I didn't take the money", said Billy through his tears. Mara looked around the classroom and saw that everyone was giving Billy a dirty look, everyone, except Mr. Gregory.

### Miss Curtis told Billy, that if the money was not returned by the end of the day, she would call his parents in to have a meeting with the principal.

### Later, in the day, Mr. Gregory was talking to Miss Curtis and he suggested that maybe, Billy did not take the money. Miss Curtis said that there was no other explanation.

### At lunch and throughout the afternoon, nobody would talk to Billy, because they believed he had taken the money.

### At recess, Mara went up to Billy and asked him to tell her everything that happened when he got to school that morning. Billy told Mara that his mom dropped him off at school at 7:15, as she did every morning. She had arranged with Miss Curtis to let Billy sit at his desk, and do schoolwork or read, until school started, since Mrs. Decker had to be at work before the school bus came by their house.

### Billy told Mara that usually, Mr. Gregory would be making his lesson plan, or grading papers when he got to the classroom and the two of them would sometimes chat.

"Was he here when you got here this morning?" asked Mara.

"No" said Billy, "At first, I thought he was here, because his jacket was on the back of his chair, but he arrived after you did. He said he left his jacket here yesterday."

### That afternoon, after recess, Miss Curtis asked Billy one last time where the money was. When Billy again denied taking the money, Miss Curtis told him that she had to call his mother and the three of them would meet in the principal's office. Billy started to cry again.

### Mara felt sorry for Billy. She started thinking about everything she had learned and then she suddenly got an idea. After school was over, Mara went to the office and talked with the school secretary. Then, she asked if she could call home. Mara asked her mother if she could please meet her in the front office.

### Mara was sitting on a chair in the front office, when Mrs. Decker, her son Billy, Mr. Gregory and Miss Curtis walked past, on the way to see the principal; Mrs. Jacobs.

### The meeting had been in progress for about fifteen minutes when Mrs. Louis arrived. Mara told her that she thought Billy had been wrongfully accused of stealing, and that she thought she knew who had taken the money.

### Mrs. Louis knocked on Mrs. Jacobs' door and said that she believed that Mara knew where the money was. Mrs. Jacobs invited Mara and her mother in to the office. Mara saw that Billy had been crying again.

"What do you know about the missing money, Mara?" asked Mrs. Jacobs.

"I think that Billy is telling the truth", said Mara. "I don't think that he took the money."

"Mara," asked Miss Curtis, "Are you telling me that Billy doesn't tell lies?"

"No, I'm not saying that," said Mara, "but, Billy only lies about things that make him seem tough. He is a bully, I'll admit that, but, he only exaggerates to make the other kids think he is cool, or to intimidate them."

"Well, if he didn't take the money," said Mrs. Jacobs, "who did?"

"I think that I know who took it, but I would like to talk to you in private."

### Mrs. Jacobs took Mara into another office, and let Mara explain who she thought took the money. After Mara told her everything, Mrs. Jacobs asked the secretary a few questions and then, Mara and Mrs. Jacobs returned to her office, where everyone else was waiting. Mrs. Jacobs told Mara that it was okay to repeat what she just told her in the other room.

"Billy told me," said Mara, "that every day when he arrives at school, which is an hour early, Mr. Gregory is usually in the classroom, grading papers at his desk. This morning, however, when he arrived, Mr. Gregory was not there, although his sports jacket was on the back of his chair."

### At this point, Mr. Gregory spoke up; "That's because I left it here last night. I didn't arrive today, until after school started."

### Mara continued, "Actually, the jacket you left here yesterday afternoon is in the front office. I took it there before I went home." The door opened, and the secretary brought in the other sports jacket.

### Everybody turned to look at Mr. Gregory, and then back to Mara as she continued. "I was almost late to class this morning. I wanted to tell Mr. Gregory where his jacket was, and I overheard him talking on his cell phone in the parking lot. He was telling someone that he would make the delinquent car payments this afternoon."

"Here is what I think happened," said Mara. "Mr. Gregory needed some more money for his car payments, and he knew that there was six hundred dollars in those envelopes on the desk. He came in extra early, took all of the money and put all of the empty envelopes in Billy's desk, because he knew that he was the first person that Miss Curtis would blame. Then, he left the classroom, before Billy arrived. But, he forgot that he had left his jacket on the back of the chair,"

"I have watched how Mr. Gregory has kept his briefcase with him all day and has not let it out of his sight. I believe the stolen money is in the locked briefcase."

### When Mara had finished, all eyes were on Mr. Gregory, who looked very uncomfortable.

"Well, Mr. Gregory," said Mrs. Jacobs, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I think that Mara will be good at writing fiction stories, because she has a good imagination. Everything Mara said is just a story to help Billy. I do keep money in my briefcase, and Mara has probably seen money in there in the past. The money I have in there now is for my car payments, but it is my money."

"Then, you won't mind opening up your brief case, will you?" asked Mrs. Jacobs.

### Mr. Gregory took a key from his pocket and unlocked the briefcase. He handed Mrs. Jacobs the stack of twenty-dollar bills. He explained that the ATM he had used that morning, only dispensed twenty-dollar bills.

### Mara spoke up again. "What I have to say now, is a little embarrassing. Up until now, I had a crush on Mr. Gregory. Before I put my twenty dollar bill in the envelope, I practiced signing my name and his name on it."

### Mrs. Jacobs started going through the twenty dollars one by one. When she was about two-thirds way through the stack, she stopped and held up a bill that had the signature of "Mara Louis Gregory", and "Mrs. Mara Gregory". She handed it to Mr. Gregory, who looked at it and then put his head down in his hands.

### He admitted that everything Mara said was true. He said that he was behind in his car payments his car would be repossessed if he did not make the payments that afternoon.

### Miss Curtis looked at Billy and Mrs. Decker and apologized for accusing him.

### Mrs. Jacobs asked Mara what she thought should be done about the situation, if she could decide the punishment.

### Mara thought about it for a moment and then gave her verdict; "First of all, I don't think he should ever teach at this school again. I no longer have any respect for him. Not only did he steal money from our class, but he also watched the other kids treat Billy like a thief, and he watched Billy cry all day."

"Second, since he stole money that was to go to the homeless shelter, I think that Mr. Gregory should volunteer to serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless."

### Mrs. Jacobs was very impressed. "Mara, I like the way you think, and I agree with you one hundred percent."

### Mr. Gregory, You are no longer welcome here at this school, and do not ask us to recommend you to any other school. Also, we will not call the police, as long as you complete forty hours of community service at the homeless shelter, starting with serving Thanksgiving dinner there."

### Mara raised her hand and said; "Miss Curtis, I don't think it is enough to apologize to Billy and his mother here. You accused him in front of the entire class and now, everybody thinks he stole the money. I think that you should apologize to Billy in front of the entire class as well. I also think that Mr. Gregory should apologize to the class in person."

### Miss Curtis looked at Mara and said, "You are right Mara. I will do just that, first thing in the morning, and Mr. Gregory will, as well. Mara, I am sorry for letting you down. You have taught me a valuable lesson today. You might think about becoming a lawyer when you get older."

### As Mara and her mom were preparing to leave the room, Billy's mom thanked Mara for what she did. She nudged Billy, who tried to hug Mara. Mara pushed him away, and said; "Ewww, gross, get away from me."

"I just want to say thank you for proving that I was innocent", said Billy.

"The only reason I defended you, was because it was the right thing to do," said Mara. "You are still a boy and a bully. And, if you ever tell anyone that I had a crush on Mr. Gregory, I don't care how big you are, I will beat you up in front of the entire class."

"And when she does;" said Mrs. Decker, "don't come crying to me." Then, Mrs. Decker winked at Mara.

### The next day, Miss Curtis apologized to Billy in front of the class and told them that she was wrong to accuse Billy in front of the class. When the class asked who did take the money, Mr. Gregory walked into the classroom and admitted that he did it. As he looked at all of those disappointed faces, Mr. Gregory apologized for abusing the trust they had for him. Mr. Gregory was crying when he left the classroom for the last time.

### During his community service, Mr. Gregory, saw the despair in the eyes of people, who had no jobs, no education, and he realized that the children from those neighborhoods needed to be able to trust their teachers to do the best job possible. When he obtained his teaching degree, Mr. Gregory started teaching in the inner city schools, where he could really make a difference in the students' lives. He also sent Mara a hand written letter, thanking her for turning him in.

### From that day forward, Billy was no longer a bully. Perhaps, he changed, due to Mara defending him, or maybe, his parents had something to do with it. Either way, he became a better person from that point in his life. He even became protective of the smaller kids in the school and would not let anyone else bully them. Billy become more popular and he made new friends over the next couple of years. In the fifth grade, his family moved to the west coast.

### Mara did think about becoming a lawyer; and she decided that if she did, she would defend people who could not defend him or herself.

## The Mystery at the Old Cemetery

### Mara liked to solve puzzles and mysteries. She had been solving mysteries since third grade. Now, she was nine years old and in the fourth grade. She was reading the newspaper one morning, when she found an article about some old stolen treasure that had never been recovered. That got Mara's attention and she kept reading.

### It seemed that back in June 1861, at the onset of the Civil War; there was a very wealthy man named James Grant who lived in Northern Maryland. When the war began, he became an officer in the Union Army. While he was away fighting for his country, his mansion was robbed. The robber got away with all his gold, over 50,000 twenty-dollar gold pieces

### .

### His staff at the mansion identified the robber as Daniel Walker, an acquaintance of Mr. Grant. When he was tracked down two weeks later, he did not have any of the gold with him. He had apparently buried it somewhere and refused to tell anyone where it was. He was sent to prison where he remained for the rest of his life.

### Daniel Walker died in prison in 1920 at age 79. Just before he died, he told his nephew Joe Walker Jr., that he had hidden the gold in the old Calvary Cemetery in Northern Maryland. Joe Jr. was the son of Daniel's twin brother who had died in 1862 at age 21.

### Over the years, Joe Jr. searched for the gold, but never found it. After many years, the local citizens figured that Daniel Walker must have been senile when he told Joe Jr. that the money was hidden in the cemetery. Joe Jr. died in 1940 at age 80. He had never recovered a single gold coin, nor had anyone else.

### Mara knew where the cemetery was located. It was the old Civil War cemetery about 30 miles from her house. She asked her mother if she would drive her to the cemetery so that she could look for clues. Her mother agreed, as long as Mara did not disturb anything.

### When they arrived at the cemetery, they were both shocked to find the cemetery in such a rundown condition. Some of the head stones had fallen over, or were broken, and there were weeds growing out of control. The dates on the headstones ranged from the early 1800's to the 1940's.

### Most of the headstones were about the same size, but there were a few that were much larger than the others, probably for people of wealth or power. One particular stone caught Mara's eye. It was very large and shaped like a house. The stone looked out of place. It was six feet high, three feet wide and three feet thick. Mara read the inscription on the gravestone:

### Here lies

### JoeThe SMIITH

### Buried June 15, 1861

### Mara told her mother that the person who engraved the inscription was a poor speller because he put a capital letter in the middle of a name and he put an extra I in the name Smith.

### Mara made some notes in her notebook and she took some pictures with her camera of various gravestones and of the layout of the cemetery. After they left the cemetery, Mara and her mother went to see the house that used to belong to James Grant.

### When Mr. Grant died in 1912, he had no surviving family, so he left the house and the land, including the land where the cemetery was located, to the local historical society.

### The house was built in 1785 and was over 200 years old. It was located a quarter of a mile from the old cemetery. The mansion was in need of many repairs, and the historical society was trying to raise money to restore the mansion to its original condition.

### Mara looked through some old records at the historical society and made copies of articles and records pertaining to James Grant, Daniel Walker, and his brother Joe Walker. When Mara had finished writing down the information in her notebook, she and her mother returned home.

### Over the next few days, Mara went through her notes and the photos she had taken, as well as the articles and documents from the historical society. As she read the articles, she took more notes.

### Daniel Walker had learned stone cutting from his father and he was a mason as well. He was very talented at working with stone and cement. His father had cut headstones for the local cemeteries for many years with Daniel and his brother Joe helping him.

### While looking through the photos, Mara kept thinking that something was peculiar about the stone for Joethe Smith. Mara researched courthouse files and she could find no record of a Joethe Smith, or Joseph or Joe Smith having died around June 1861. She even checked for the name Smiith, but could not find anything.

### One night, about a week later, Mara was watching the news with her parents and there was a story about the lost coins and the old cemetery. Mara listened to the story very carefully, hoping to find some new detail that she did not already know. Then she heard that one key piece of information that she was waiting for. The newswoman said that the date of the robbery was June 15, 1861. Mara ran upstairs to find her notebook. She knew that the robbery took place in June of 1861, but she did not know the exact day until now. June 15, was the day that Joethe Smith died.

### All at once, something clicked in the back of her mind. After reading all of her notes again, Mara thought that she had solved the case. She ran down stairs and told her parents that she had found the answer to the mystery.

### The next morning, Mara called the curator of the historical society and told him that she had solved the mystery of the missing gold coins. She asked him to meet her at the cemetery with certain pieces of equipment. The curator agreed to meet Mara and her parents at the cemetery that afternoon.

### When Mara and her parents arrived at the cemetery, there were over 100 people there, including people from the local newspaper and the television station. Mara started feeling a little nervous. If she were wrong, she would look like a fool in front of thousands of people.

### Mara stood in front of the crowd and began to explain her theory about the missing gold coins. "Daniel walker told his nephew that the coins were hidden in the cemetery," Mara told the crowd of people. "He never said they were 'buried'". "When I was at the cemetery last week, I was intrigued by some of the old headstones, especially this one that is shaped like a house. I noticed the misspellings on the stone."

"Last night, while watching the news, I learned that the robbery took place on June 15, 1861. That is the same day that Mr. Joethe Smith died. I did some research and discovered that there is no record of anybody by the name of Joethe, Joe, or Joseph Smith or Smiith dying that day or anywhere near that date. I think that Daniel Walker engraved this stone as a message to his brother Joe, but he never got a chance to tell his brother about the secret message, because Joe died a year later at age 21 in an attempted robbery, leaving a wife and an infant son, Joe Jr."

"When Daniel told his nephew about the gold coins being hidden in the cemetery, he was old and a little senile. He forgot to tell him about the secret message he had left to mark the treasure's location."

"Daniel had helped his father carve headstones and he had become very skilled at working with stone and cement. I am willing to bet that there is no 'body' buried in this grave."

### A man brought out a large piece of sonar equipment and after passing it over the grave a few times very slowly, he said that there was nothing buried in the grave, no body, but here was no gold buried there either.

Mara continued with her theory. "I don't think that this headstone has to do with the death of anyone. If you notice, there is no date of birth, and the stone says 'buried June 15, 1861'. It doesn't say 'Died' before the date. There are no misspellings on the gravestone. It was a coded message for his brother, Joe. If I am right, the message reads: 'Joe, The Stolen Money Is In This House."

### The curator interrupted Mara. "We have thoroughly searched the Grant House and have found no coins or hidden rooms or safes."

### Mara continued: "The money is not hidden in that house, it is hidden in 'this' house" and she put her hand on the headstone shaped like a house. "I wondered why it was so deep and wide. I am certain that this headstone is hollow and that it is full of gold coins."

### Using great care, some men started to chip away cement from both sides of the headstone. After 30 minutes, they heard a creaking and everybody stood back as the front of the headstone fell forward, revealing 50 bags of gold coins.

### The coins were all dated before 1850, and they were in almost mint condition. Everybody cheered for Mara because she solved the mystery, which made Mara felt very proud and a little embarrassed by all of the attention.

### The curator said that they would now have enough money to restore the Grant House and keep it running for many years to come. He offered Mara a reward for finding the money, but Mara turned down the reward.

### Mara looked around the cemetery, which had been neglected for many years. She said, "Instead of giving me a reward, how about using some of the money to restore this cemetery so that it will be a fitting memorial to all of the Civil War soldiers who are buried here."

### The curator said that was an excellent idea, and as he shook Mara's hand and said; "You are very mature and wise for your age. You've got yourself a deal". The crowd cheered again for Mara.

The curator insisted on giving Mara ten of the gold coins as an early gift for her 10th birthday. Mara accepted them reluctantly, but graciously. Mara then closed her notebook and said "Another case solved by Mara Louis, Private Eye." Everybody laughed and her parents hugged her and told her how proud they were of her. Then the three of them went out to get some ice cream to celebrate.

## The Case of the Missing Paintings

### Mara had become a celebrity of sorts. After she solved the mystery of the old cemetery in Maryland, the story was published in newspapers across the entire country.

### That was not the first case that Mara had ever solved, however. She had worked on several other investigations to locate missing items in her neighborhood, as well as solving many cases at school.

### About eleven months after she had found the gold coins in the cemetery, Mara received a letter, inviting her and her parents to visit the Marshall Museum in Charles City, Virginia, to help them solve a mystery.

### The museum was actually a very old Colonial mansion, dating back to 1695, that had recently become a museum. Several generations of the Marshall family had occupied the house, for a total of more than three hundred years. With each generation, the family grew smaller. In 2004, the last direct descendant of the family; John Marshall died at the age of ninety-four. He had no living relatives and he was the last of his line.

### When John Marshall died, he left the mansion, property, and all of his personal belongings, to the Charles City Historical Society.

### John Marshall had been a recluse for most of his life, and a very private person. Many people considered him somewhat eccentric. During his last few decades of life, he had carefully restored the mansion to its original condition.

### When the historical society received ownership of the house, it was ready for them to move in. The mansion became a museum, and the museum staff charged a small fee to patrons, to help defray the costs of maintaining the mansion.

### The curator of the museum read about Mara solving the case of the old cemetery mystery and thought that she might be able to help the museum solve its mystery as well. The Marshall family had been a very influential family in Charles City, over the years, and had become quite wealthy.

### There were rumors through the decades, that the family had accumulated a large collection of paintings over the years, and that all of the paintings were still in the mansion. When John Marshall died, a thorough search was conducted in the mansion, but only a few modern paintings were found.

### People speculated that over the last several decades, the family had sold the paintings to support their extravagant lifestyle. Mr. Anderson did not believe that theory. He believed that the mansion held clues to where the missing paintings were hidden. So far, no one had found those clues. He hoped that Mara might be able to help them.

### Mara showed the invitation to her parents, and after some discussion, they decided that they would drive to Charles City for the weekend. Mara's mother called Mr. Anderson and told him that they would arrive Friday afternoon.

### Mara was very excited at the prospect of solving another mystery. She started packing a backpack with things that she might need at the mansion. The items included, were a notebook, pens, a magnifying glass, a measuring tape, a small tool kit, flashlight, a mini-tape recorder, and a mini-camcorder.

### Mara was so preoccupied with the mystery that her mother had to remind her to pack a suitcase full of clothes for the trip as well.

### With just three days until the weekend, Mara started doing preliminary research on the case. In the evenings, after she finished her homework, she went on the internet to research Charles City, Virginia as well as the Marshall family. She printed out all of the information and put it in her backpack.

### Friday afternoon finally arrived. After Mara got home from school, she and her parents started on their trip to Charles City.

### During the four-hour drive, Mara carefully read all of the information she had collected for the case, and then she reread it two more times.

### By seven p.m., they had arrived at their destination, and checked into a bed & breakfast inn where Mr. Anderson had reserved a room for them. All of their expenses were being paid by the Museum/historical society.

### After a traditional Virginia style dinner of baked ham and all of the fixings, Mara and her parents retired to their bedrooms for the rest of the evening.

### On Saturday morning, Mara was up before the sun had risen. She could not sleep for another minute. She was just too excited. She waited until 6:30 am before she dared to wake her parents.

### After a quick breakfast, they drove over to the Marshall Mansion Museum. When they arrived, they met Mr. Anderson, the curator of the museum, along with six other members of the historical society and a few of the museum staff. After introductions, Mara and her parents were taken on a tour of the mansion and the property.

### At the end of the tour, they were taken to the curator's office, where Mara found the items that she had requested. On a desk were the original blueprints of the mansion, several books about the Marshall family and some old photos which showed the inside and outside of the mansion, taken over the last one hundred years or so.

### After Mara sifted through the items, she asked the curator for some privacy while she did her investigation. The first thing Mara did was to walk slowly around the property. She looked for anything that might seem out of place. Next, she carefully examined the outside walls of the mansion, which were made out of brick and stone.

### When Mara had finished with her outside investigation, she proceeded inside the mansion to continue her search. She started in the attic, looking for hidden doors, or loose boards. She found nothing. She then went from room to room, from the second floor to the first floor, and then into the small wine cellar under the kitchen, thoroughly looking for anything out of the ordinary. Mara came up empty handed.

### All of the rooms had polished hard wood floors, except for a large room on the first floor. It was in the center of the house and was used as a ballroom in the mansion's earlier days. The room was covered with a very large Persian rug, which had seen better days. According to the original blueprints, the room was twenty-five feet by thirty feet and had a ten-foot ceiling. The room had no windows and had two doors leading into it. The room was completely bare, as the museum staff had not yet furnished it.

### Mara asked her father to help her measure the size of all the rooms. Mara wrote down all of the measurements in her notebook. There was something odd about the room, but Mara could not put her finger on what it was.

### As she slowly scanned the room, Mara saw something out of the corner of her eye. In one end of the room, she saw the faint outline of a six by six foot square impression in the Persian rug. She took off her shoes and slowly walked over to the corner of the room. With her bare feet, she detected a slight rise in the corner of the floor, where she had seen the square outline.

### Mara asked her father if he would please go find the curator, as well as the rest of the staff of the museum. When everyone was assembled, Mara asked Mr. Anderson if she could pull back a corner of the rug.

### After she got permission, Mara slowly pulled back the rug where the floor seemed to be a little higher than the rest of the room. Mara noticed that a ten-inch section of the rug was folded under, and was taped underneath the rug on all sides of the room. After Mara had rolled the carpet back six feet or so, she found what she was looking for. There was a separate section of flooring about six feet by six feet square.

### From her backpack, Mara took out a screwdriver and carefully pried up one corner of the piece of flooring. When she had lifted it up about four inches, a few members of the staff lifted the piece of wood off the floor, revealing a dark room beneath. Mara took out her flashlight and shined it down into the room. What she saw surprised herself, as well as everyone else in the room.

### There, in front of them, they saw a set of stairs leading down into a secret basement. Mara tested the stairs and since they seemed solid, she started down the steps, followed by her parents and the staff of the museum. One staff member brought down two battery-operated lanterns, which lit up the entire underground room. The room was three times the size of the ballroom above it.

### The room was filled with antique furniture from different eras, dating back to the mid 1600's, as well as several old trunks. Inside the trunks were items from the 1600's, 1700's and 1800's and even a few things from the early 1900's. There were sets of china and porcelain dishes, silver serving sets, crystal, and lots of well-preserved clothing spanning three centuries. There were trunks filled with old books, family bibles, old magazines and newspapers.

### One large trunk was filled with old historical photos of the state of Virginia, Charles City, and the Marshall family dating back to the 1860's. There were several old clocks, watches and assorted timepieces dating back to the late 1600's.

### All of the antique furniture was in excellent condition and dated from the 1600's through the early 1900's. In one corner of the room, Mara found a strongbox filled with silver and gold coins.

### One of the museum staff gave Mara a big hug and thanked her for finding the secret room. "We can use this furniture to furnish this house as it may have looked over the past three hundred years. This discovery is absolutely priceless."

### Mara noticed that Mr. Anderson, the curator seemed to be searching for something specific. She asked him what he was looking for. He told Mara that he was looking for paintings. "The Marshall family supposedly had invested a lot of money in artwork over the past few hundred years, but no one recalls the family ever selling the collection. I thought that the paintings would be in this room, but I don't see any."

### Mara started thinking and after a few minutes, she told the curator that she had to check something, and then she would get back to him. Mara went back up the stairs to the ballroom and started going through her notebook and all of the notes that she had jotted down. She then looked at the original blueprints and suddenly, an idea came to her.

### Mara started going through the old photos of the house. When she got to a few photos of the ballroom, she took out her magnifying glass and looked closely at the photos. Then, she looked at the bottom of the rug, where part of the rug had been taped under. Mara stood up and started tapping the walls. From the sound she heard, Mara knew that she had solved the mystery of the lost paintings.

### She started yelling for Mr. Anderson to come back up the stairs to the ballroom. Everybody climbed the stairs back into the ballroom, to see what the excitement was all about. Mara was standing there with a big grin on her face. She could barely talk.

"Mr. Anderson" she said, "I believe that I know where the missing paintings are."

### When everybody quieted down, Mara carefully began explaining her theory. "When I pulled the Persian rug back, to reveal the hidden room, I noticed that a ten inch strip of the rug had been taped back around all sides. When I looked closely at the old photos of the ballroom, I noticed that this was the same rug in the photos, but in the old photos, I could see the border of the rug. My father and I measured all of the rooms in the house, because I was looking for a secret room on one of the main floors. When I compared the measurements that we took of this room, with the original blueprints, I found that this room had shrunk twenty inches in width and 20 inches in length, which explains why the edges of the rug were folded underneath."

"Now, since rooms can't shrink, at least not that much. Somebody would have had to make the room smaller on purpose. If you look closely at the paneling on these walls, you will see tiny screws holding the paneling on to the walls."

### Mara was getting very excited and had to stop for a moment, to catch her breath, before continuing. "I believe that the last occupant of this house, the last surviving member of the Marshall family, John Marshall, became paranoid, and was fearful that he would be robbed. I also believe that he put up false walls to cover up the original walls where the paintings are still hanging."

"If I may have some tools, I'd like to prove my theory." Mr. Anderson had a staff member bring a power driven screwdriver, and handed it to Mara. After Mara had taken out all of the screws she could reach, Mr. Anderson got on a ladder and removed the remaining screws. Other members of the staff held the sheet of paneling in place.

### When the last screw was removed, Mara and Mr. Anderson removed the sheet of paneling to reveal a two by four-frame wall sitting several inches in front of the true wall. There, hanging on the true wall, from ceiling to floor, and wall to wall were several paintings, just as Mara had predicted. The false wall framing was screwed into the floor and to the ceiling.

### Mr. Anderson looked like he was going to faint. Mara quickly got a chair for him to sit in, while someone got him a glass of water. Everybody started applauding Mara's discovery.

### As the staff began to disassemble all four fake walls, Mara checked over her notes, and the blue prints and told Mr. Anderson that she believed that there were two more false walls in the dining room, two false walls in the parlor, and in two other rooms on the first floor as well.

### When all of the false walls had been taken down in the five rooms, the staff discovered there were more than two hundred fifty paintings. The paintings had been hung floor to ceiling, and wall-to-wall, so that they could all be hidden in those five rooms.

### Mr. Anderson phoned a friend of his in New York, who was an art expert at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York City. Mr. Anderson invited her to Charles City, Virginia, to look at some paintings, giving her very few details of the discovery.

### When Dr. Garvey arrived that afternoon, she was led into the ballroom. She was speechless, when she saw all of the paintings. She spent the next several hours examining the collection. She made many notes and consulted several art books that she had brought with her.

### By eight o'clock that evening, Dr. Garvey gathered everyone together. She asked Mara if she would like to guess the value of the art collection she had uncovered. Mara guessed ten million dollars. Dr. Garvey just smiled and addressed everyone in the room. "This art collection is the biggest discovery of this century, or any century for that matter. All of these paintings appear to be originals. The oldest ones date back to the late 1400's and even the newest ones are at least eighty years old. Most of these paintings were painted by the greatest artists of history, the Masters of the art world, including Michelangelo, Raphael, Van Dyke, Rubens, Van Gough, Renoir, Rembrandt, Goya and Velasquez, to name just a few. There are even a few of Pablo Picasso's paintings".

"Most of these paintings were unknown works of these famous artists, and were probably done early in their careers. The value of this collection is priceless. If I had to place a monetary value on the entire collection, I would guess well in to the hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly over one billion dollars."

### Now, Mara needed to sit down, as her legs were starting to get a little wobbly.

### Mr. Anderson swore everybody to secrecy, including Dr. Garvey, until a decision was reached concerning the art collection. He gave Mara a big hug and thanked her for finding the paintings, as well as the room full of antiques.

### Mara was feeling very proud of herself for helping the museum to find the lost treasures. She and her parents returned home and they kept their word. They did not tell a soul about the paintings.

### About a week later, Mara and her parents were watching a movie on television when it was interrupted by special news report telling of the discovery of more than two hundred and fifty previously unknown paintings that were painted by the greatest artists of history.

### The newscaster reported that the collection was discovered in the small town of Charles City, Virginia. He added that the Marshall Art Museum would be holding a private showing of the paintings that weekend. The museum would then be open the following week for the public to see the priceless collection.

### The next day, Mara got a phone call from Mr. Anderson, inviting her and her parents to be his special guests for the private showing. The three of them arrived at the museum the day before the private showing open house.

### Mr. Anderson took them on a personal tour of the Marshall Mansion Art Museum. The paintings were hanging throughout the museum, in all of the rooms throughout the mansion.

### Mara also noticed that the artifacts and antiques from the basement had been distributed throughout the mansion as well, portraying the 1700,s, 1800,s and 1900's. The mansion looked like it would have looked in the past three centuries.

"This mansion looks beautiful", said Mara. "You did a great job of arranging the antiques and paintings."

### Mr. Anderson just smiled and told her; "None of this would have possible if you hadn't solved the mystery".

### The next afternoon, art experts from all over the world, showed up for the private viewing of the art collection. They were stunned and in awe of this magnificent discovery.

### When Mara and her parents arrived at the reception, Mr. Anderson introduced them and told the guests that Mara was the girl who had discovered the paintings and solved the mystery. She received a standing ovation. Everyone wanted to meet this extraordinary girl.

### The historical society and the museum wanted to give Mara a reward, but Mara refused. She suggested that instead, that the museum should not charge school groups for tours, or admission.

"You have the opportunity to encourage their creativity and help them learn to appreciate the arts," said Mara.

### Mr. Anderson agreed and they shook hands to seal the deal.

### One of the guests, who happened to be a millionaire philanthropist, overheard the entire conversation.

### He told Mara and her parents that he was so impressed by Mara's modesty and refusal to accept a reward that he was going to set up a trust fund in Mara's name that would pay her entire college education to include all expenses at the college of her choice. Mara thanked him and shook his hand.

### As Mara and her parents returned home the next day; Mara wondered when and where she would find her next mystery to solve, or would the mystery find her. Only time would tell.

## Making the Right Choice

### After Mara had solved the mystery of the lost paintings, she received a lot of publicity. She became quite famous for a ten-year-old child. Her Mom started a scrapbook of all the newspaper and magazine articles from around the country. Their phone was constantly ringing, with requests to do interviews.

### Mara had appeared on the Oprah Show, the Tonight Show, and David Letterman show, as well as several radio shows. Mara could hardly go out in public without somebody recognizing her.

### Mara's parents decided after six months of the madness, to take Mara on a vacation away from the pressure and the publicity. They arranged to take some time off from work and take Mara to Disney World for the last week of July.

### Mara was thrilled when she heard the news. She thought that it would be cool to celebrate her eleventh birthday while in Disney World. Moreover, she had never been to Florida before.

### When they arrived at Disney World, Mara's mother told the woman at the guest relations office their names and the three of them were escorted to the main office.

### Mara's parents had arranged a few surprises for her special day. Mara was greeted by Mickey and Minnie Mouse and after having her photo taken with them; Mara was informed that she would get to ride with Mickey and Minnie in the parade that evening as the guest of honor.

### All day long, Mara had little surprises wherever she went. It was the best birthday ever. She ate lunch with the Disney characters, and that evening, she ate dinner with all of the Disney princesses and got to sit next to Prince Charming. They even had a birthday cake shaped like Mickey Mouse.

### Later that evening when it was time for the parade, Mara was escorted to the lead float, where she stood between Mickey and Minnie.

### As the parade started, hundreds of people lined the streets, all of them waving at Mickey, Minnie and Mara. Mara was having a blast waving back at everyone. She had never been so excited in her life.

### After the parade was over, Mara and her parents watched the fireworks and then they headed back to their hotel. Mara thanked her parents for her best birthday ever.

### Over the next four days, Mara and her parents visited many other attractions in Orlando.

### On the evening of their fifth day in Orlando, Mara was watching the news with her parents and she saw something that got her more excited than Disney World. Her two favorite actors of all time; Jason and Ryan Davis who played "Wish Upon A Star" on Disney Channel, were going to be at an Orlando Mall the following morning signing autographs for their fans.

### When Mara heard that news, she got so excited that she could not speak. When she did get her voice back, she begged her parents to let her go see them and get their autographs.

### Her parents agreed to take her there the next morning. They knew that Mara was obsessed with the Davis twins. Her bedroom had posters of them covering all four walls. She also had dozens of magazines with pictures and articles about them. Mara could possibly be their biggest fan.

### When they told Mara that she could go, they did not realize what they were getting themselves into. Jason and Ryan were scheduled to begin signing autographs at 8am. Mara wanted to be the first one in line to see them. She convinced her parents to go to the mall at 4a.m. and start waiting in line.

### Mara's parents waited with her until 6:30. By that time, there were several other kids in line, as well as several parents. They left Mara in line, and then they went to their van to take a nap.

### By 7am, there were over 500 children and parents in line to see Jason and Ryan. Mara was very excited. She was just an hour away from meeting her favorite television stars. She had to keep pinching herself to make sure it was not a dream.

### At 7:45 Am., Mara started getting goose bumps. She was daydreaming about Jason and Ryan, when she was brought back to reality by a scream. Mara saw that an elderly woman had fallen in the parking lot, and was lying on the ground.

### Mara looked around and saw that no one was moving to help the woman. She hesitated for only a few seconds. She had to make a tough decision, either help the woman or stay in front of the line. In her heart, Mara knew the right thing to do. She left the line and ran to where the woman had fallen. When she reached her, she saw that the woman was about eighty years old. The woman was in a lot of pain. She told Mara that her hip hurt a lot.

### Mara yelled to the adults waiting in line, that she needed help, but no one budged. They did not want to lose their place in line. "Could someone at least call '911', for an ambulance? Mara yelled angrily.

### When Mara saw someone making the call, she turned her attention back to the injured woman. Mara took off her jacket, rolled it up and placed it under the woman's head. She started talking to the woman to take her mind off her pain.

### Mara was holding the woman's hand, as she looked over toward the mall. She saw that the doors had opened and the line of the kids and their parents was entering the mall to see Jason and Ryan.

### After talking with the woman, Mara found out that, her name was Mrs. Carter and that she was eighty-three years old. She lived in a small house with her two cats. She had two grown children, and five grandchildren, but they lived in New York and California.

### Mara was keeping the woman calm by talking to her about her cats and her grandchildren.  
About forty-five minutes later, the ambulance finally arrived. Mrs. Carter asked Mara if she would stay with her until the ambulance took her to the hospital. Mara told her that she would stay as long as the woman wanted her to.

### The siren of the ambulance had awakened Mara's parents and they went into the mall to find Mara.

### When the ambulance finally left, Mara looked at her watch. It was past 9 o'clock. She figured that Jason and Ryan might still be signing autographs, so she headed toward the mall and went to the back of the line.

### About ten minutes later, two security guards closed the line and told the rest of the kids waiting, that if they would leave their names and addresses, a photo of Jason and Ryan would be mailed to them.

### Mara wrote down the info, and then sadly walked back to the van. When she did not find her parents, she started back to the mall, to find them. She had walked half way back to the mall, when she saw her parents coming out the door. Mara ran to them. Mara wanted to cry, but she fought back the tears.

"Were they as cute in person?" asked her mom. "What did you say to them?"

"I didn't get to see them," said Mara.

"But, you were the first person in line. What happened?" asked her dad.

### None of them noticed a news crew filming them off in the distance. Mara explained about the elderly woman who had fallen in the parking lot and had broken her hip.

"I had to choose between meeting Jason and Ryan, and helping the lady," said Mara. "I chose the lady. I stayed with her until the ambulance took her to the hospital. By that time, Jason and Ryan had left the mall."

"Well, we are very proud of you," said her mother. "You had a difficult decision to make and you made the right choice."

### Mara was getting a little angry by now. "There were several grownups in that line, but not one of them would leave the line to help that lady. I had to beg them to call '911' for an ambulance," said Mara. Then, Mara asked her mom, "Can we stop by the hospital, to see how the lady is doing?"

### Her mom told her they could make a quick stop, but then they had to get back to the hotel and start packing. They had a 2p.m. flight back to Baltimore.

### Mara's dad put his arm around her and said, "I'm sorry that you missed Jason and Ryan after waiting in line for four hours. Sometimes, life isn't fair is it?"

### It became more that Mara could take. She started crying as her dad held her in his arms

### .

### By that time, the news crew had gotten closer and had filmed everything that Mara and her parents had said. When Mara saw the news team, she yelled, "Get that camera away from me." and ran towards the van. Mara's parents told the news team to back off and they followed Mara to the van.

### When they got to the hospital, Mara asked a nurse in the emergency room if she could see Mrs. Carter. The nurse had taken care of Mrs. Carter, and knew how Mara had helped her. She took Mara and her parents to see the woman.

### Mrs. Carter had been given some medicine for her pain and was getting ready for surgery. When Mara walked into the room, Mrs. Carter's eyes lit up and she said, "There's my guardian angel. Bless you my child, for helping me and staying with me."

### After Mara's parents introduced themselves, Mrs. Carter told them, "You have a sweet and caring daughter. Treasure her always."

### The news crew had snuck a hidden camera into the hospital and had filmed the entire meeting between Mara and Mrs. Carter.

### After Mara and her parents said goodbye to Mrs. Carter, Mara and Mrs. Carter hugged.

### When Mara and her parents left, the news team interviewed Mrs. Carter and got the rest of the story. That story was the feature story on the 6 o'clock news that evening. The newscast was replayed several more times over the next day or two. Mara and her parents never saw it, because they flew back to Maryland that afternoon.

### However, many people did see it, including two certain people, who decided to pay Mara a visit in Baltimore.

### Two days later, Mara was beginning to feel a little bit better, but she was still quite sad. When the doorbell rang, Mara answered the door. She could not believe her eyes. There, not two feet away from her, were her favorite celebrities; Jason and Ryan Davis.

### Mara just stood there and could not say anything. Mara's mom had to move her aside so that she could invite Jason and Ryan into the house. When Mara finally regained her ability to speak, she asked them, "What are you doing here?"

"Well," said Ryan, We saw a news story about how you waited for over four hours just to get our autographs. That has to make you our biggest fan."

### Then, Jason added, "And when you gave up your chance to see us, to help that elderly lady in the parking lot, we almost cried. You did what Ryan or I would have done, which makes us your biggest fans."

"Yea." said Ryan. "You are number one in our book."

### Mara was ecstatic to have Jason and Ryan in her house. She showed them her bedroom; with wall-to-wall pictures of them. After talking to them for a while, Mara asked, "Could I still get your autographs?"

### Ryan pulled out an 8x10 color photo of himself and Jason and wrote; "To Mara Louis, our #1 fan; Love, Ryan". Then Jason added "Love Jason" to the photo.

### Then, Jason looked at Ryan and asked him, "Should we tell her about our surprise?"

### "Mara" said Ryan, "We would like to invite you and your parents to California to spend one whole day with us, and you even get to have a walk-on role on our show. Disney Studios will pick up all expenses. Is that okay with you?"

### Mara started jumping up and down and then, she grabbed Jason and gave him a great big hug. When she realized what she had done, she let him go and said "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Then, she quickly looked at her parents and asked, "Can we go? Please?" Her parents started laughing and said that it sounded like fun

### .

### After all of the arrangements had been made, it was time for Ryan and Jason to leave. Mara asked them if her mom could take a picture of her standing between the twins. The twins agreed and after Mara's mom took the photo, Ryan suggested that she take one more photo, and he winked at Jason. Mara's mom told them to smile at the count of three. As she said "three", Ryan and Jason each kissed Mara on her cheeks, which made Mara blush.

### After Jason and Ryan left, and for the rest of the afternoon, Mara was floating on clouds.

### Later the next day, her mom had the pictures developed and she had the two photos of Mara standing with Jason, and Ryan, enlarged to 11x14's and had them framed. Mara hung both of them in her bedroom.

### The following Monday, Mara and her parents were picked up by limousine and taken to the airport. They flew to Los Angeles, first class all the way. When they landed in LA, another limousine picked them up and took to one of the fanciest hotels in Beverly Hills.

### That afternoon, Mara swam in the fancy hotel pool and that evening after dinner, Mara and her parents were taken by limo on a tour of Beverly Hills and Hollywood. The limo made many stops, so that Mara could take pictures with her digital camera.

### When they returned to the hotel, they went to bed, as they had to be up early for their big day. Mara was too excited to sleep, but she finally dozed off, and dreamt of Ryan and Jason.

### They were all awake at 5 o'clock the next morning, and at 6 o'clock, a limo pulled up in front of the hotel to take them to the Disney Studio. Ryan and Jason got out of the limo and held the doors open while Mara and her parents got in.

### When they got to the studio, Mara and her parents got to eat breakfast with Ryan, Jason and the rest of the cast and crew of the "Wish Upon A Star" show. Mara got to meet the entire cast and got a tour of the show's sets.

### After breakfast, the director gave Mara a copy of the script with her lines highlighted. Then, Mara sat down at a table with the cast as everyone read their lines. Mara practiced her three lines repeatedly, until she had memorized them.

### At lunch, Mara and her parents met the rest of the Davis family. After lunch, Mara was taken to wardrobe and makeup. Her scene would be filmed that day, since she would only be there for one day.

### At first, Mara was nervous in front of the camera, but after Ryan and Jason started making funny faces and cracking jokes, she became more relaxed. It was 6P.M. by the time they finished filming for the day.

### Mara's parents were driven back to the hotel, while Mara, Ryan and Jason were driven by limo to a teen club for dinner. It was a favorite hangout for Disney stars. Mara was able to meet many stars from other Disney shows, such as 'Hannah Montana', 'Corey in the House' and 'The Wizards of Waverly Place'.

### Throughout the entire day, and that evening at the club was no exception, a camera operator followed Mara around with a video camera and digital camera, filming her special day.

### At 10:30 P.M., Mara was driven back to her hotel and Ryan and Jason escorted her back to her room. Mara told them that it was the best day of her life, and that she would never forget it, or them. She then gave each of them a kiss on the cheek and this time it was Jason and Ryan who were blushing.

### That night, Mara dreamed of Ryan and Jason and it was the happiest dream she ever had.

### The next morning, while Mara and her parents were eating breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Mr. Gene Fisher, the director of "Wish Upon A Star" brought them a DVD that had been made of Mara's special day.

### He also gave them a photo album filled with photos of her with Jason and Ryan and the rest of the cast. There were also autographed photos from the entire cast of all the Disney shows.

### Mr. Fisher informed Mara that when that episode aired, she would receive a personal copy of the show on DVD including the outtakes of her performance.

### While Mara and her parents were looking through the album, Mr. Fisher asked Mara for a personal favor. "Mara" he said, "I've read a lot about you and about the mysteries that you have solved. If you are interested, I have a mystery for you to solve."

### Mara said "Yes" immediately and then added, "that is, if my parents say it is okay".

### Mr. Fisher told Mara that he owned a house that was over 130 years old, that he wanted to sell. He was unable to find a buyer, because people believed it was haunted. In fact, Mr. Fisher himself had noticed strange things happening in the house.

### He told Mara that he would pay all of her family's expenses for the next week while she investigated the house and tried to solve the mystery.

### Mara was a little bit scared, but also a little bit excited. Her parents gave permission for Mara to take on the case.

### How did it turn out? Did Mara solve the mystery? Read the next chapter.

## The Mystery of the Haunted Mansion

### Mara was very excited. She had just spent the previous day with her favorite actors Jason and Ryan Davis, and now, she had a new mystery to solve.

### Gene Fisher, the director of "Wish Upon A Star", drove Mara and her parents to the mansion. Mr. Fisher was trying to sell the mansion, but he could not find any serious buyers, because the mansion was believed to be haunted.

### Mara was a little bit scared, but not too scared to accept the challenge of adventure and mystery.

### As Mr. Fisher told Mara everything that he knew about the mansion and its history, Mara wrote everything down in her notebook.

### Juan Garcia and his father built the mansion in 1870. They completed the construction of the house just in time for Juan's wedding to Elena Rivera. Juan and Elena were married on June 3, 1871 at a big wedding in the front yard of their house, or hacienda as it was called back then.

### The house sat on a large estate located in what is now known as Beverly Hills, California. Juan and his family owned a vineyard and a winery, producing some of the best wine in the region.

### Three years later, in 1874, Elena gave birth to a baby girl whom they named Maria.

### Maria was the center of their life. Juan and Elena's life revolved around their little angel. In fact, Juan's nickname for Maria was 'Angel Pocita', or 'Little Angel' in English.

### Life for the Garcia family could not have been any happier. However, then, tragedy struck.

### In the summer of 1880, when Maria was six years old, she disappeared without a trace.

### As the story had been told to Mr. Fisher, Maria was playing behind the mansion. Elena heard Maria scream "No! No! Socorro!" which translated as "No! No! Help!"

### Elena ran out the back door, but Maria was not there. Elena called out for her daughter several times, but there was no answer.

###   
Just then, Juan rode up to the house. When he was informed what had happened, he rounded up all of the field hands and they started a massive search of the area. After two days of searching, they had found no signs of little Maria.

### Juan and Elena thought that Maria had been kidnapped. They kept waiting for a note demanding ransom, as they were quite wealthy, and they had a few enemies.

### Many days passed, with no ransom demands. After a month of waiting, Juan and Elena began to give up hope of ever seeing Maria again.

### Then, one afternoon, after awakening from a nap, Elena saw Maria standing in the doorway. When Elena ran to her daughter, she disappeared into thin air. It was then that Elena knew that Maria was no longer among the living. She realized that the kidnappers must have killed her little angel.

### Every day after that, Elena became more sad and depressed. She no longer had anything to live for.

### Juan had lost his daughter and did not want to lose his wife as well. He decided to get Elena away from the mansion, since it was filled with sad memories.

### Juan felt that their wealth was responsible was responsible for the loss of their daughter, so he sold the house, vineyards and winery, and they moved to a small house in Los Angeles.

### Elena remained depressed and every day, she got worse. Two years later, Elena died of a broken heart.

### Juan was so sad, over the loss of his wife, that he also died of a broken heart, less than a year later.

### In the summer of 1883, Juan was laid to rest next to Elena in an old cemetery.

### That is when strange things started happening in the old mansion. Over the years, the disturbances got more frequent and more noticeable. People reported hearing crying, and footsteps in the house.

### Over the next hundred years, the house had many owners. None of them stayed for more than a few years. People claimed they felt a sense of sadness throughout the mansion and claimed that the ghosts of Juan and Elena Garcia haunted it.

### Mr. Fisher bought the house in the year 2000. He did not believe the rumors about the old mansion being haunted. He started the slow process of restoring the mansion to its original condition.

### After a few months, he began to hear strange noises coming from the back of the house. He also found that his tools would disappear from one room, only to reappear in another part of the house. He often heard faint footsteps and crying.

### Mr. Fisher decided to sell the mansion, but by then, the stories were so well known, that he could not find a buyer for the home.

### Mr. Fisher moved out of the mansion and it stayed vacant for several years.

### He hired a cleaning service to go in and clean it once a month, but they would only enter the mansion in the daytime.

### When Mara and her parents entered the mansion, everything was quiet. Mr. Fisher showed them to their rooms. Mara was taken to a room that was decorated as though it had been a girl's room at one time. It was the only room that nobody had ever changed and it was exactly as it had been in 1880, when Maria had disappeared. It had, in fact, been Maria's room.

### Mr. Fisher told them that he would be staying in the mansion as well so that they would not be alone.

### After a late dinner, everyone turned in for the evening. Shortly after one o'clock in the morning, someone crying awakened Mara. She sat up in her bed and slowly looked around the room.

### That is when she saw her. In one corner of the room, there appeared to be a small girl crying. Mara was not scared. She felt sad for the girl. She tried to talk to her, but the girl did not say anything. After a few minutes, the little girl disappeared, and after calming down, Mara went back to sleep.

### The next morning, Mara told Mr. Fisher and her parents what she had seen.

"I think that it was the spirit of Maria, the little girl who was kidnapped," said Mara

### .

### All morning long, Mara thought about the little girl's spirit and tried to figure a way to communicate with her. All of a sudden, the answer came to her. Mara realized that the spirit could not understand Mara, because she was a Spanish speaking spirit and she did not understand English.

### Mara asked Mr. Fisher if he had a Spanish-American dictionary. He found one in the library and gave it to Mara. Mara spent the next couple of hours translating English phrases into Spanish phrases.

### That night, when it was time to go to bed, Mara could not wait to go to sleep. Her parents wanted to stay in the room with her, but Mara told them, "I'm not a baby. I am eleven years old. I can sleep in the room alone. I'll be okay."

### Shortly after midnight, the spirit of Maria once again awakened Mara. Again, the spirit was crying. Mara said "Hola, me llamo Mara". The spirit replied that her name was Maria, but her father called her "Angel Pocita", or "Little Angel.

In Spanish, Mara asked Maria why she was crying. María replied, "Yo soy muy frio, es oscuro. Yo deseo mi mama y papa." Mara wrote it all down as best as she could, so that she could translate it.

### What Maria had said was; "I'm very cold. It is dark. I want my mother and father."

### In Spanish, Mara asked Maria what had happened to her. Then, the spirit started walking down the hall, beckoning Mara to follow her. They walked down the hall, and down the stairs. When they reached the back of the house, Mara followed the spirit into the kitchen.

### The spirit stopped, pointed down to the floor and said "poso" and a few other words that Mara could not understand. Then, the spirit vanished like the night before.

### Mara went back to her room and looked up the word "poso". It meant grounds, like coffee grounds. It did not make sense to Mara. She wrote down a bunch of notes and went back to sleep.

### When she woke up, she told her parents that she had spoken to the spirit and that it was the spirit of Maria.

### That day, Mara did a lot of reading and spent a lot of time going over hew notes. She asked Mr. Fisher if any structural changes had been made, to the mansion since it was first built. He said that he could find out and then, he drove into town.

### An hour later, he returned with a man that he introduced as Mr. Robert Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez worked with the county and he brought with him, copies of the original blueprints of the house, as well as the current blueprints.

### Mara asked him if any part of the original mansion had been torn down. Mr. Hernandez compared the two sets of blueprints and said, "Nothing was torn down, but about fifty years ago, the kitchen was expanded back about twenty feet. It went right over the old pozo."

### Mara was confused. "Why would it matter if the kitchen was built on top of coffee grounds?" she asked.

### Mr. Hernandez was confused by her question for a second, and then he realized what she meant. "'Poso' means coffee grounds," he said. "But, 'pozo' means a well, like water well."

### Mara started flipping through her notes. "You mean that the kitchen was enlarged and now sits over an old well that used to be behind the house?" she asked.

"That is correct," said Mr. Hernandez.

### Mara called her parents and Mr. Fisher back into the kitchen. "I believe that I have solved the case. When she had everybody's complete attention, she began her explanation.

"First of all, the spirit of Maria told me that it was cold and dark where she was. Second, when I asked her what happened to her, she led me down into the kitchen and pointed down to the floor and said a word that I thought was 'poso' meaning coffee grounds. Actually, she was saying 'pozo', which means well. There was an old well behind the house, now covered over by the back part of this kitchen."

"Maria was never kidnapped. She fell down the well, probably hitting her head on the way down, which is why she never answered when her mother was calling for her. Maria said that she wanted her parents."

"If her bones are removed from the well, and buried with her parents in the cemetery, she will finally be at peace and the house will no longer be haunted."

### Mara walked over to the spot where the spirit disappeared and said; "This is where Maria disappeared. I'm guessing that the well is directly below the floor at this location."

### Mr. Fisher called the studio and had some of his crew bring some tools to his mansion. When they arrived, they removed some boards from the floor, and saw a well that had been capped off.

### When they broke the cap off the well, Mara pointed a flashlight down into the well. About fifty feet below them, there were some bones and some clothing.

### Within a few hours, all of the bones had been retrieved from the bottom of the well.

### Mr. Fisher located the cemetery in Los Angeles where Juan and Elena Garcia were buried, and he got permission to bury Maria's bones in her mother's grave. Upon Mara's suggestion, Mr. Fisher had a Spanish priest meet them at the cemetery

### .

### After the grave was located, some cemetery workers dug into the grave and when they reached the coffin of Elena Garcia, they stopped digging. They placed a small white coffin with the bones of Maria Garcia on top of her mother's coffin.

### The Spanish priest blessed the Garcia family, said a prayer for Maria, and then the grave was filled back in with dirt. By the time they had finished, it was dusk.

### As everybody was heading back to their cars, they heard a noise behind them. When they turned around, they were astounded to see the spirits of Juan and Elena Garcia with Maria between them standing on top of their graves.

### Maria waved at Mara and said "Mi mama y papa" as she pointed to her parents. Then she said "Gracias, Mara, mi amigo, gracias.

### Then, the three spirits disappeared into the night, never to be seen nor heard from again.

### Mr. Fisher shook Mara's hand and thanked her for solving the mystery of his mansion.

"Now, you will be able to sell it," said Mara.

### Mr. Fisher looked at Mara and said, "Now that the spirit of Maria Garcia is at peace, I think that I will finish restoring it and move back into it. I don't think I will sell the old place after all."

### Mr. Fisher's face lit up and he told Mara, "I think that this would make a terrific Disney movie. Mara, would you like to star in it?"

### Mara shook her head no, but added, "I think that Ryan and Jason Davis would do an excellent job playing the role of twin detectives. I'd like to see them in a serious drama."

### Mr. Fisher thought about it for a moment and said, "I think you're right. What do you think the movie should be called?"

### Mara immediately came up with the title. "How about 'Little Angel'?" she asked.

### One year later, Mara and her parents were flown to California for the premier of "Little Angel" starring Jason and Ryan Davis.

### Mara got to sit between Ryan and Jason during the movie, with one arm around each of them. She could not have been happier.

## The Case of the Lost Violin

### Mara was very excited about going to Philadelphia. She was a big history buff and she could not wait to visit Independence Hall, where the declaration of Independence was signed.

### The main reason that they were visiting Philadelphia was that Mara's mother was going to visit an old friend that she had not seen since high school, some thirty years earlier. Mrs. Louis had lost track of her friend when her friend moved away from Baltimore after high school.

### Mara was the one who inadvertently had the two of them together. Three years earlier, Mara was on the national news, both on television and in the newspapers, when she solved the mystery of the old cemetery, in Maryland.

### Eleven months later, she solved the mystery of the lost paintings in Virginia. The collection was priceless, worth more than a billion dollars.

### Also, the next year, Mara had solved the mystery of the haunted mansion in California.

### When Sharon Giovanni saw Mara's mother on the news in California, she recognized her as her old friend from high school, Lee Ann Morris. Sharon called the news station, obtained Lee Ann's phone number, and surprised her with a phone call.

### Over the next several months, the two women exchanged letters, e-mail, and phone calls, regularly. Because of their busy lives, they found it hard to find the time to visit each other in person. They finally found a weekend at the end of summer, when Lee Ann and her family could visit Philadelphia.

### As their car stopped in front of 1216 Logan Street, Mara was impressed with the size of the house. It was a three-story red brick house, located in the older section of Philadelphia.

### As Mara and her parents got out of their car, Mrs. Giovanni came out of the house to greet them. Her husband Joe and their youngest son Tony came out, as well.

### Sharon and Joe had four children. The three older ones were away at college. Tony was thirteen and was the only one still living at home.

### Twenty minutes later, they all sat down to a traditional Italian dinner. After more than twenty-five years of marriage, Sharon had learned all the secrets of Italian cooking from Joe's family and the meal was better than any Italian food that Mara or her parents had ever tasted.

### While they ate desert, and the adults had coffee, Mrs. Giovanni coaxed Tony into paying some music on his violin. Mara loved classical music almost as much as she loved solving mysteries.

### As Tony played, it was if the violin was singing. Mara had never heard more beautiful music in her twelve years of existence. The music touched her soul and brought tears to her eyes.

### When Tony finished playing, Mara started clapping very loudly. She stopped when she realized that everybody was staring at her.

"Are you crying?" asked her mother.

"No", answered Mara, there is something in my eye. She was embarrassed, and she felt even more embarrassed when she glanced at Tony and saw him smiling at her.

### Mrs. Giovanni told them that Tony had been playing the violin since he was three years old. "His grandfather, who is also musically gifted, taught him how to play," said Mrs. Giovanni.

### For the rest of that afternoon, and evening, Mara and her parents were shown all of the historical sites of Philadelphia, including Independence Hall.

### During the tour, Mara and Tony became good friends. Mara asked many questions about Tony's music, and Tony asked Mara a lot about the many mysteries that she had solved. Even though Tony was a year older physically, they were the same age mentally and emotionally.

### The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, Tony asked Mara if she would like to meet his grandfather, Antonio Giovanni. Mara got permission from her parents to go with Tony to visit his grandfather who lived just seven blocks away.

### As they walked, Tony told Mara a little about the Giovanni family history.

### His great, great grandfather, Antonio Giovanni came to America in 1885, from Italy. He settled in Philadelphia, where he married and had eight children. The youngest child, Francisco was Tony's great grandfather, born in 1898.

### Francisco Giovanni married and had six children. The oldest child, Antonio was Tony's grandfather, born in 1918.

### Antonio and Tony's grandmother married in 1939 and raised five children, one of which was Joseph, Tony's father.

### Joseph Giovanni was born in 1958. He married Tony's mom, Sharon and they had four children, the youngest being Tony.

### Tony's grandparents had been married for sixty-seven years when his grandmother died, just one year earlier, when Tony was twelve.

### Because Tony came from such a large family, he had many relatives throughout the Eastern states.

### Mara did not know what she expected Tony's grandfather to be like, but when he opened the door, Mara was surprised at how full of life he was. For a man of eighty-nine years old, he was very agile and had a nice friendly manner about him.

### Tony introduced Mara to his grandfather. As the elderly gentleman shook Mara's hand, he told her; "You look as beautiful as your mother did at your age."

### This made Mara blush, but she managed to say; "Thank you sir. It's a pleasure to meet you."

### The three of them, engaged in small talk for a while, and Mara was a little suspicious when Tony and his grandfather kept making motions with their hands and pointing to Mara, when they thought she was not looking.

### Finally, Mara could not stand it any longer. "Is there something that the two of you want to say to me, or ask me?" she asked them.

"We have to be honest with you, Mara," said Tony. "We did have an ulterior motive in bringing you over here today. We have read the articles about all the mysteries you have solved and we have our own mystery that we thought you could help us solve."

### As soon as Mara heard the word mystery, she was all ears. It had been over a year since she solved the mystery of the haunted mansion in California. "I would love to help," she said. "What's the mystery?"

### As Mara took notes, Mr. Giovanni began to explain. "My grandfather owned a violin that had been in the Giovanni family for several generations. When he came to America, he had to sell many of his possessions to pay for room and board while he looked for work. The one possession that he refused to sell was that violin. He would have starved first."

"When I was a small child, He used to play that violin so beautifully that I was mesmerized by the music. When I was five years old, my grandfather started teaching me to play that violin. He told me that when I turned fifteen, and became a man, the violin would become mine."

"In the late 1920's, during the Great Depression, money was scarce and people would often steal anything of value that they could get their hands on and sell it to buy food for their families.

### My grandfather was afraid that someone would break into his house to steal the violin, so he hid the instrument somewhere."

"A year later, he had a stroke and died. In his will, he said that the violin was to be given to me on my fifteenth birthday. He said that the violin was in his brother's vault."

### At this point, Mara interrupted him and asked, "Did you find the violin in the vault?"

"That's where the mystery began," said Mr. Giovanni. When my grandfather came to America in 1885, he came to Philadelphia, where three of his brothers were already living. They had arrived in America years earlier. One of them was a Catholic priest, one worked in a bank, and one owned a small clothing store."

"When we checked with my great uncle at the bank, he said that there was no violin in the bank vault. My Great uncle, who owned the clothing store, said he had no vault."

"What about your uncle, the priest?" asked Mara. "Did he have the violin?"

"Well, my Great Uncle Roberto, or Father Roberto, as he was known, died a few years before my grandfather, and the church had no safe, that they would admit to, anyway."

"I haven't seen that violin in over seventy years. Before I leave this world, I would like to hear the sweet music of that violin just one more time."

### Mara called her mom's cell phone and got permission to stay with Tony and his grandfather for the rest of the day.

### Tony and Mara looked up the addresses for the clothing store, the bank and the church, where Mr. Giovanni's great uncles worked, Mara wrote some notes down in her notebook, and with a copy of the will, she was ready

### Mara and Tony took a city bus to the first of their stops. They found out that clothing store had been torn down years earlier and where it once stood; there was now a business park. Mara crossed that possibility off her list.

### Next, they headed to the bank, which was still in business at the same location. Luckily, for them, the bank was open from 8am to noon on Saturdays. When they arrived at the bank, they talked to the bank manager. They asked if they could have a tour of the bank to include the bank vault. The manager agreed to show them around.

### Mara and Tony saw that there was no place that a violin could be hidden in the vault. The safety deposit boxes were all too small. As Mara crossed the bank off her list, she began to doubt if they would ever find the old violin.

### There was one last possible hiding place for the violin; the Catholic Church.

### As the bus dropped them off in front of Cathedral-Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, both Tony and Mara were impressed by the size of the church, as well as the architecture.

### When they entered the church, they were greeted by the parish priest; Father John Roberts.

### Mara and Tony had agreed not to mention the violin, at least not right away. They had come up with a story to tell the parish priest. "Father John, I am doing a research project on my family. My great- great-great uncle; Father Roberto Giovanni was a parish priest here from 1880 until 1925. Is it okay, if we look around the church?"

### Father John smiled and said; "I've got a better idea. How would you both like a personal tour?"

"That would be cool," said Tony and the tour began. Two hours later, after they had been to every room of the large church, Mara asked Father John; "Do you have any safes where you keep religious relics or money?"

### Father John laughed and said; "We keep our money in the bank, and our religious artifacts are displayed in locked cases throughout the church."

### Mara and Tony looked very disappointed. The church had been their last hope of finding the violin. Mara was also upset, because she had failed to solve the mystery.

"Would you like to see Father Roberto's crypt?" asked Father John.

### Mara's eyes lit up and she got very excited.

"What's a crypt?" asked Tony.

"Tony", said Mara, "A crypt is a vault, a burial vault. Where is the crypt?" asked Mara.

"It's beneath the church," said Father John. He led Mara and Tony to his office and took a large book off a shelf. After turning several pages, he found what he was looking for. "According to this entry, your great, great, great uncle; Father Roberto Giovanni died in 1925 and he was cremated. The urn with his ashes was placed in his crypt."

### Mara whispered something to Tony and he nodded his head in agreement. "Father John", said Mara, we have an unusual request for you. According to Tony's Great, Great grandfather's will, he hid a family heirloom; an old violin in his 'brother's vault' for safekeeping. He hid it there, because he wanted to protect it from thieves during the Depression. He died before he could retrieve the violin."

"His will left the violin to Tony's grandfather." Mara showed the copy of the will to Father John. I know that this a very unusual request, but, could we please look in the crypt to see if the violin is there?"

"Tony's grandfather is eighty-nine years old and has longed to hold that violin again, for almost seventy-five years"

### Father John looked at the two pairs of pleading eyes of the children and a voice deep inside of him, told him that it was the right thing to do.

### Father John located the other priest of the parish and the four of them, descended the stairs that led to the crypts, or burial vaults.

### After twenty minutes, they found the burial vault of Father Roberto Giovanni. Very carefully, the four of them slid the concrete lid, halfway off the crypt.

### Tony pointed his flashlight into the crypt and the first thing they saw was a round porcelain urn. It was turquoise in color with flowers etched all the way around it.

### As Tony, started searching the crypt with the flashlight, everybody held their breath with anticipation. A moment later, the light from the flashlight shone on a long black case, the size of a violin case, with an envelope lying on top of it. Father John reached in, and took out the envelope. He opened it, pulled out a letter and began to read it aloud.

"August twenty eight, 1930. This letter shall serve as an official document, as to the ownership of this violin. I have given permission to Antonio Giovanni; age sixty five, of Philadelphia, to keep this violin hidden in his brother's vault for safekeeping, until he or his heirs deem it safe to remove it."

"This violin is a family heirloom in the Giovanni family and has been so, for several generations. This violin belongs to Antonio Giovanni and his heirs. I have given him my sacred word that the church shall lay no claim to this violin, nor charge him fees for storing it for him" The letter was signed "Father Christopher Allen, Senior Parish Priest."

### Father John reached into the crypt and carefully removed the violin case. He turned around and handed the case to Tony. "I believe this belongs to your family," said Father John. "You should have the honor of opening it."

### The four of them then climbed up the stairs and went into Father John's office, with Tony clutching the violin case to his chest.

### Tony placed the case on the desk and carefully opened it up. Mere words could not describe the joy he felt when he laid eyes on the beautiful violin. He carefully removed the violin from the case and examined it.

### Having been underground for seventy-five years had apparently done it no harm. It was very old, but it was in excellent condition for its age. He gently laid it back in the case and closed the lid.

### Mara asked Father John if he could give them a ride home, as they did not want to take the violin on the city bus.

### When Father John dropped them off at Tony's house, they both thanked him again and said goodbye.

### As Tony and Mara entered the house, they both called out to their parents, but there was no answer. Tony saw a note that his mother had left for him. It said that she and his father and Mara's parents had all gone sightseeing and would be home by that afternoon.

### Mara suggested that they examine the violin closely, for markings that might tell when it was made. Tony was hoping that it was a Stradivarius violin.

### As Tony carefully turned the violin over, he looked for any mark that would identify the violin's maker.

### Mara noticed some lettering inscribed on the bottom of the violin. Some had faded and were not visible. Mara wrote down what letters and numbers that she could identify, "ndre, Ama, I, cremona, and DLXIII." The violin was reddish brown and was made of some kind of hard wood.

### Mara asked Tony if she could use his computer to help her make sense of the partial inscription. Tony showed her where the computer was and logged her into the internet.

### While Mara was doing research on the computer, Tony began to tune the violin. After about twenty minutes, Mara found what she was looking for. She double-checked and triple checked the data, because it was just so incredible.

### Just as she printed the info, Tony walked into the room. He asked Mara if she would like to hear him play the violin. Before he could play a note, Mara held up her hand to stop him. "Tony", she said. I think that your grandfather should be here when you play it for the first time. After all, he has been waiting for almost eighty years."

### Tony agreed and he put the violin down. Just then, they heard the front door open and they hurried into the front room to tell the news. "Mom, Dad" shouted Tony "We found the violin, or rather Mara did."

### They proceeded to tell their parents the entire story. Tony opened the case and showed them the violin.

"It's beautiful," said Mrs. Louis "How old is it?"

"Mara was doing some research on the internet," said Tony. Now all eyes were on Mara.

"Well, the bad news is that it is not a Stradivarius."

"What's the good news?" asked Tony.

### Mara could not hold the news in any longer. "This violin was made by the famous violin maker Andrea Amati, in Cremona, Italy in the year 1563, long before Stradivarius was born. This violin is over four hundred and forty years old."

"Amati was one of the first one to start making the modern four string violin. One of his violins recently sold at auction for over two million dollars."

### For a moment, no one said anything. Tony was so excited that he gave Mara a big hug and kissed her smack on the lips. When he realized what he had just done, he quickly apologized to Mara.

### Mara told him that it was okay. "It was actually quite nice," she said with a dazed look on her face, which made Tony's face turn beet red.

### Tony suddenly remembered something. "Mara, how can I ever thank you for solving this seventy five year mystery?" he asked.

"Well", said Mara, "How about inviting your grandfather over to hear you play his violin. Then, I will be able to hear you play it as well, before we have to go back to Baltimore. I have never heard anyone play the violin as beautifully as you do, Tony."

### Mara was looking at Tony like a star struck fan. It made Tony blush and their mothers smile.

### That evening, when Antonio Giovanni arrived at the house, Mara told him that Tony had a surprise for him. Suddenly, music filled the air. Tony entered the room, playing on the family heirloom violin. Fifteen minutes later, when Tony finished playing the piece, Mara was not the only one with tears in her eyes. Both moms and Tony's grandfather were crying as well.

### Tony handed the violin to his grandfather. "Here, Grandpa. It took over seventy-five years to find it, but it is all yours, now.

### Antonio looked at the Amati violin, then at Tony, and then he shook his head. "No, Tony", he said. "It's not mine anymore. This violin now belongs to you."

### Tony tried to refuse it, but his grandfather insisted. "Tony", he said, "I can play the notes, But, I don't have the gift of music as you do. You can make music come out of that violin that can only be matched by an angelic choir in Heaven."

"This violin was made for you, and it has waited patiently for you. Mark my words, Tony. Someday, you will be one of the best violinists in the world."

### Then, Antonio motioned for Mara to sit with him on the couch. He gave her a big hug and thanked her. "You are a great detective, Mara, and a remarkable young woman. Because of you, I was able to hear my grandson play this violin, before I leave this world. Tony is lucky to have a friend as special as you".

### Mara and Tony explained how they found the violin, and what they had learned about the age and value of the violin.

### The next morning, it was time for Mara and her parents to head back to Baltimore, but not before Mrs. Giovanni took photos of Mara, Tony and the Violin.

### As Mara's and Tony's parents said goodbye to each other, Mara and Tony also said goodbye to each other. Mara told Tony, that when he played at Carnegie Hall, in New York, she had better get a free ticket.

"If I ever make it to Carnegie Hall," laughed Tony, you will have a front row seat."

### Mara got a serious look on her face, and she said, "I have no doubt that you will make it to Carnegie Hall and beyond. I have listened to a lot of classical music, and have never heard anything as beautiful in my life, as I did these past two days."

### The two of them hugged each other and then hugged each other's parents. Mara thanked Tony's parents for their hospitality and great food.

### Just before Mara got back into the car, she ran up to Tony, gave him a kiss, and then ran back to the car and got in.

### On the drive back to Baltimore, Mara did not say much. She was so sad because she had to say goodbye to Tony. She had never felt that way about a boy before.

### The next week, which was the beginning of the new school year, many students at Mara's school, were congratulating her. Mara asked them what they were talking about.

### One of her friends showed Mara a copy of that day's newspaper. The headline read: "Twelve year old Baltimore girl solves seventy five year old mystery and finds 440 year old priceless violin." There was a picture of her and Tony and Tony's grandfather holding the priceless violin. It was the picture that Tony's mom took just before Mara and her parents left Philadelphia. "Tony must have contacted the newspapers", thought Mara.

### As Mara read the article, an eighth grader came up to her and asked if she if she was the girl who solved mysteries.

"Yes, I am" replied Mara.

"I'm Scott Wilson. My family recently moved here from Los Angeles. My friend Betsy and I have a mystery on our hands that we could use help with if you are interested."

### As soon as Mara heard the word 'mystery', she went into autopilot; "Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?" That was all that she could say.

"Well", said Scott, "my friend, Betsy, lives in the White House, and that's where the mystery is."

### All of a sudden, Mara knew why Scott looked so familiar. "You're the boy who saved the life of Betsy Morgan, in Colorado last winter, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, but keep your voice down." he said. "You don't know what it's like to be famous."

"Oh, I don't, do I?" said Mara, as she held up the front page of the newspaper.

### Mara gave Scott her address and phone number. Scott told her that his mom and he would pick her up on Saturday and she would drive then to the White House where they would meet up with Betsy.

"Another mystery, so soon?" thought Mara. "I can hardly wait."

## The White House Mystery

### Mara was very excited as she waited in front of her house. Scott Wilson and his mother would be there any moment, to pick her up and drive her and Scott to the White House.

### Once there, she, Scott and Betsy Morgan, the President's daughter would try and solve a mystery.

### Betsy and Scott were good friends and had been friends, since Scott saved Betsy from kidnappers in Colorado, six months earlier.

### Betsy and Scott were both in the eighth grade, and Mara was in the seventh grade. Betsy attended a private school in Washington, D.C., while Mara and Scott attended the same middle school in Baltimore.

### Mara did not know which was more exciting, going to the White House, or having a new mystery to solve.

### An SUV pulled up in front of her house and Scott got out and opened the door for Mara, like a true gentleman. He used to be self-centered, thinking only of himself, but now, he put others needs first.

### Scott introduced Mara to his mother and then they were on the road, headed for the White House.

### Thirty minutes later, they drove up to the security checkpoint of the White House. When the guard saw that it was Scott and his mother, he opened the gate and waved them through.

### Mrs. Wilson dropped them off at the front entrance of the White House and told them that she would be back to pick them up at 6p.m

### .

### Before Scott could ring the bell, the door opened and there stood Betsy Morgan.

### Scott introduced Betsy and Mara to each other and then the three of them headed to Betsy's bedroom in the family's private residence.

### After Betsy had closed the door to her room, she told Mara that she had read about all of the mysteries she had solved. She had also read about Mara meeting Jason and Ryan Davis. Betsy asked Mara if Jason and Ryan were as cute in person. For the next fifteen minutes, the two girls talked about Jason, Ryan, and other Hollywood gossip.

### Scott waited patiently, but after fifteen minutes, he said, "Enough, already. I thought we were to solve a mystery, not drool over a couple of stupid actors."

"It sounds like someone's jealous," said Betsy. When Scott turned red with embarrassment, Mara decided to change the subject.

"So, what exactly, is this mystery?" Mara asked Betsy

### .

### Betsy took a folded piece of paper from her desk drawer. The paper was yellowed with age. "I found this hidden inside an old book in the White House library," she said. She handed the paper to Mara, so that she could read it.

### Mara saw that the paper was a will, and she began to read it:

"This is my last Will and Testament. Since, I have no surviving relatives, whoever finds this will; and can locate my special collection, and the rest of my belongings, will become the legal owner of them.

### This special collection was started by my great-great-grandfather, Thomas Carver. He was employed as the President's valet and he served every president from President George Washington, to Abraham Lincoln.

### When he died, my grandfather, Jonathan Carver, took over the position. He worked in the White House from 1861 to 1900.

### When my grandfather died, I, William T. Carver assumed the position as valet to the president. I have held this position from 1900 to the present and have been assured that the position is mine until my death, or until I can no longer carry out my duties.

### I am getting on in years, and since I have no children, grandchildren, nephews or nieces, whoever is lucky enough to find this will and my property, becomes the sole heir to my entire estate.

### The only clue I will give you, is that my collection is located in a nice box, within the White House. Good Luck to you, my friend. I sign this document by my own hand, this twentieth day of August 1960.

### William T. Carver."

### After Mara read the letter, she asked Betsy, "Have you started searching for this fancy box yet?"

"I just found the paper on Monday, and with school and my homework, I haven't had time to look for it. Will you help us look for it?"

"Are you kidding?" Mara asked her, "I would never turn down a good mystery."

"Great" said Scott, what should we do first?"

"First", said Mara, "we need to look through old White House records, to make sure that there were valets named Carver working in the White House. There is the possibility that this is some kind of hoax."

"Second, we have to get permission to search the White House. I don't want to get in trouble with the United States Government."

### Betsy led the way to the library. When they got there, they started looking through the many shelves of old books. After looking through many books, Mara finally found what she was looking for.

### There were several old journals listing previous staff that had worked in the White House since it was built in 1800. Mara found an entry that stated, "Thomas Carver, free Negro, son of slaves; worked as valet and cook the president from 1796 to 1861." Another entry stated, "Jonathan Carver, employed as valet and cook to the president from 1861 to 1902." The last entry that was of importance to Mara was one that stated, "William T. Carver, Personal Valet to the President from 1902 to 1963"

"Now, that we know The Carvers really did exist, we need to ask permission to search the White House." said Mara. "Who do we ask?"

"My father, of course." said Betsy. "After all, if the president can't give us permission, then who can?"

### Mara was very nervous. She was going to meet the President of the United States. The three of them, went to the oval office, where the president was working. When they walked into the office, President Morgan stood up and walked over to greet them.

"Hello Scott, this must be your friend, Mara that you told me about." Then, the president stuck out his hand to greet Mara. Mara wiped her hands on her pants, because she was nervous and her hands were sweating. When she shook the president's hand, she felt like she was going to pass out. "This was way cool," she thought.

### The President invited Mara and Scott to have lunch with his family. During lunch, Betsy, Scott and Mara explained about the will they found and the mystery involved. They asked permission to look for the special box.

"Are you the same Mara Louis that recently found the priceless violin in Philadelphia?" asked the president.

"Yes Sir, that's me," replied Mara.

"Don't forget about the other mysteries that she has also solved." said Betsy. She found the gold coins in the old cemetery, the priceless art collection and she got rid of the ghost in California."

"You have been pretty busy, haven't you, Mara?" asked Mrs. Morgan.

### President Morgan looked at the three detectives and said, "You have permission, as long as you don't pester anyone and you don't damage any property. Good Luck!"

### After lunch, Scott, Betsy and Mara began their search. Betsy had made a checklist that included all of the rooms in the White House. As they searched each room, they checked it off the list.

### As Mara went through the rooms, she was fascinated by the history of the White House. She asked Betsy, "Could I come back here sometime, when I have more time, to look at the White House more thoroughly?"

"Sure" replied Betsy, come by anytime, well, as long as my dad is the president, anyway."

### Mara was awestruck, as she realized how many presidents and other important people had walked the very halls that she was walking in.

### As the three of them searched the rooms, they looked for anything that could be considered a special box. When they found one, they searched for hidden compartments, false bottoms, and clues that might tell them where the secret collection was hidden.

### By four o'clock that afternoon, they realized that they would not finish the search before Scott and Mara had to go home.

### Betsy asked her mother, if Scott and Mara could spend the night at the White House. She said yes, as long as it was all right with their parents.

"Mom?" asked Betsy, in a pleading voice, Could you please call their mothers and ask for permission?" The first lady knew, as did Betsy, that Scott and Mara's mothers could not say no to the wife of the president. Therefore, Mrs. Morgan made the calls and both Mara and Scott were given permission to stay until Sunday evening.

### For dinner, Mrs. Morgan ordered pizza. When they were done eating, the five of them watched a brand new movie in the White House movie theater. The movie was so new, that it had not been released to the public yet

### .

### After the movie, Betsy loaned a pair of pajamas to Mara to wear. "Hey Scott" she said, "I have a pair for you too. Do you prefer pink or purple?"

"Neither," said Scott, with an irritated look on his face.

"Why not?" asked Betsy, in a teasing voice, I wore your clothes, even your long underwear. So, now you can wear my pajamas."

"I'll sleep in my clothes, thank you very much." He said.

### Mara was curious about the conversation that she had heard. "When did you wear Scott's clothes, Betsy?" she asked.

"Never mind," said Scott, and then he tried to change the subject. "We need to get some sleep, so that we can get up early and resume the search."

### The three of them slept in sleeping bags in the living room of the presidential residence.

### The next morning, after breakfast, and after they brushed their teeth with presidential toothbrushes, they quickly got dressed and were ready to resume their search.

### By three o'clock, they had searched every box, in every room of the White House and had found no treasure, no collections and no clues.

### Mara knew that she must have missed a clue in the letter. She was not ready to give up. She asked to see the piece of paper again. She read it once, then she read it again and then she read it yet a third time.

### It was during the third reading of the will, when she suddenly realized what she had missed. She went back to the library, with Scott and Betsy following close behind.

### Mara started looking through some more books. After going through six books, she finally found what she was looking for. A book showed pictures of the inside of the White House over the past one hundred years.

### President and Mrs. Morgan walked into the library. "Have you found the treasure yet?" asked the president. He did not really think that there was anything to find.

"I think that I have solved the mystery, Mr. President," said Mara. She pointed to a picture in the book that showed a small room, labeled 'the butler's pantry. "Do you know where this room would be located today?" she asked.

"I think that I do know," said the president. President Morgan led the way to the area of the White House where the White House kitchen was located. He had White House security meet them there.

### They stopped when they came to a locked room. The security officer unlocked the room and when the door was opened, they saw that it was used for storage.

### Mara quickly looked around the room and did not see what she was looking for. She started tapping on the back wall, looking for a hidden door or secret panel. Suddenly, the knocks revealed a hollow sound on one part of the wall. Mara saw the puzzled look on everybody's faces, so she began explaining her theory.

"We have been reading this paper wrong, she explained. All three of the Mr. Carvers were employed as valets and their work included preparing meals. When William Carver wrote this paper, he was quite old and his eyesight and handwriting may not have been perfect. I think that when he wrote 'the collection is in a nice box' he meant to write that 'the collection is in an icebox'."

"What's an icebox?" asked Scott.

### Mara explained that in the days before electricity and refrigeration, food was kept cold in a big wooden box with a block of ice keeping the food cold.

### Mara continued explaining her theory. "Since William wrote this will in 1960, the White House would not have been using the old ice box, because they would have used electric refrigerators. Since William stated that his collection was in an ice box, he must have kept the old ice box, possibly because of a sentimental attachment to it"

"If I am right, there is a secret room behind this wall where the old ice box with the collection inside, as well as the rest of William's belongings."

### Mara started pushing different spots on the wall where she had heard the hollow sound. All of a sudden, part of the wall popped open. Mara had hit the release switch on the wall.

### Behind the hidden door was a ten foot by ten-foot room. In one corner was an antique wooden icebox. On the other side of the room, was a wall-to-wall bookshelf with over one hundred books.

### Mara found a light switch and turned it on. The room suddenly became bright.

### Since nobody else was moving, Mara went over to the icebox and opened it. It was filled with small boxes of all shapes, as well as hundreds of envelopes.

### On the fronts of the boxes, were the names of presidents. Mara carefully took out a box labeled President Washington. She opened it and found a quill pen and a few old coins. There was a card with the box. It was a Christmas card addressed to Thomas Carver and signed by George Washington, and his wife Martha.

### By now, the others had gotten over their shock and started opening other boxes. A lot of them contained a few newly minted coins from that year, and other token gifts.

### Many of the gifts were pens, along with a hand written note explaining what important legislation was signed with that pen.

### There were gifts and Christmas cards signed by the presidents and first ladies, going from George and Martha Washington, all the way through John and Jackie Kennedy. There were over one hundred sixty gifts and over one hundred sixty Christmas cards.

Mara walked over to the shelves of books and picked up the very first volume. It was hand bound. Mara opened it and she noticed it was a journal. The first entry was dated January 1st, 1797. The entries were personal details about President Washington.

### As she looked through different volumes, she noticed that the journals were written by the three Carver men.

### They were private memories, and thoughts, and observations about the presidents. There were no scandalous events about any of the presidents, as all three of the Carver men were very loyal to the presidents. There was nothing in the diaries that would bring dishonor to the former presidents, or to the nation.

The last journal entry in the last journal was June 15th, 1963. The journals contained information on the first thirty-five Presidents of the United States. Even Mara, Betsy and Scott knew that these journals were priceless, for their historical value alone.

### After the five of them had looked through the journals, Betsy asked her father a question that she, Mara and Scott had all been thinking; "According to the will, whoever found William Carver's belongings, would become owner of them. Since Mara solved the mystery and found these treasures, this is all hers now, isn't it?"

### Besides being the President of the United States, President Morgan was also a lawyer, and a fair, honest man.

### He looked at Mara and said; "Betsy's right, Mara. Legally, all of this is yours. Do you have any idea what you want to do with it?"

### Mara thought for a moment and said; "I have an idea, but I want to talk it over with Scott and Betsy first."

### The president agreed to give them some time to talk it over. "In the meantime" he said, "let's close the secret door and keep this secret among the five of us."

### They arrived back at the private residence at five o'clock p.m. Scott and Mara would be picked up in another hour. The three of them, went into Betsy's bedroom to discuss Mara's newly acquired treasure.

### Scott was very excited. "Mara", he said, "Do you realize how rich you will be when you sell the collection and the journals? You have items autographed by every president and first lady from George and Martha Washington, to John and Jackie Kennedy. Then, there are the coins, pens used to sign historical documents, and that is not including the journals. It's all worth millions of dollars."

### Both Betsy and Mara were looking at Scott as if he was crazy. "I could never sell this collection," said Mara. "It belongs to the American citizens, and I need to find a way to share it with them forever and ever."

###   
"You could donate it to the federal government," said Betsy.

"No disrespect to your dad, Betsy," said Mara, "but I don't trust the government that much. The government has a history of hiding things from the citizens,"

### Mara discussed her ideas with Scott and Betsy and they made suggestions as well. After twenty minutes, they went to see the president.

"So, what have you decided, Mara?" he asked her

"Well", said Mara. "I plan to share it with the American citizens, but with certain stipulations."

"First, I will retain legal ownership of the collection and the journals, but they will be on permanent loan to the White House. That way, nobody can sell them, or hide them away from the people of the U.S."

"Second, I want the collection of cards, and gifts, to become a permanent display in the White House and for it to known as the 'Carver Collection', to include a history of the Carver family."

"Third, I want every page of the journals to be photographed, and then have the original journals preserved and kept in a secure location, where historical researchers can study them."

"My last request is that the one hundred sixty seven years of journal entries be condensed into a three volume set, one volume for each of the Carver men, and sold to the public. All proceeds from the sale of the books should go to a foundation to be known as the Carver Foundation. The Carver Foundation will use the money for college scholarships."

### When Mara had finished speaking, the president looked at her with admiration.

"I am very impressed with you, Mara," he said. "You are very mature and responsible for your age. I think that your plans are well thought out, and I don't think I could have made a better decision." He paused for a moment, and then asked; "Isn't there anything that you might want for yourself?"

### Mara thought about it for a moment and then said; "Well, could I ask a favor for a friend of mine?"

"If there is anything that I am able to for you or your friend, I would be glad to do it" said President Morgan.

### Mara told the president her request; "My friend, Tony, is one of the best violinists that I have ever heard. You may remember him in the article about the four hundred year old violin. Tony doesn't realize just how good he really is."

"I think that he would be honored, a little scared, perhaps, but honored, to play his violin in the White House at one of your formal dinner parties. Do you think that would be possible?"

"Not only is it possible", said President Morgan, "but, consider it done. It will be sometime in November. Are there any other guests that you would like to invite to the dinner?"

"Well", said Mara, "Besides Tony's family, I'd like to invite Scott and his family, me and my family, Jason and Ryan Davis, and a list of special guests that I will give to you later."

### When Mara mentioned Jason and Ryan, Betsy got excited, and Scott just rolled his eyes.

### The president agreed to the guest list and Mara asked that he not tell Tony that he will be performing. "Just tell him that you are interested in seeing the priceless violin," said Mara.

### When Scott's mom picked up Mara and Scott, Scott told her about Mara's latest solved mystery and about the upcoming VIP dinner. When Mara got home, she told her parents the good news as well.

### A week later, after Tony read the invitation to his mother, he asked her, "Do you think this for real?"

### His mom looked at the formal invitation and said, "It looks official. But, why would we be invited to the White House?"

"I think I know why", said Tony as he held up the front page of the newspaper. There, was a photo of Mara Louis and two other kids, standing with the President of the United States. The headline read, 'Twelve year old girl makes historical discovery in hidden room of the White House.'

"I'm guessing that Mara had something to do with this invitation," said Tony and then he smiled as recalled their time they spent in Philadelphia.

"Now, now, don't be upset with Mara." said Mrs. Giovanni. I'm sure she did it because she is your friend."

"I'm not angry," he said. "I am so thrilled, that I could kiss her. I, Tony Giovanni, am going to have dinner with the most powerful man in the world

### .

### Later, that week, the Giovanni family got a phone call to verify arrangements for the White House dinner, as well as arranging for them to be screened for a security check.

### The secretary told them that they would be contacted two days before the dinner, to go over White House protocol, so that they would feel more comfortable and at ease during the dinner.

### The Giovanni family reserved four hotel rooms in Washington D.C., for the night before the dinner. Tony and his grandfather would stay in one room, his parents in the second room and the other two rooms were for Tony's brothers and sister, who were able to get away from college for a few days.

### The day of the White House dinner, finally arrived. Tony and his family went sightseeing around the city in the morning and at three p.m., they returned to the hotel to get ready for the dinner.

### This was Tony's first time wearing a tuxedo. He felt rather uncomfortable in it, until he saw himself in the mirror. He thought that he looked cool and grown up.

### At four o'clock that afternoon, they arrived at the White House in a limousine that picked them up from their hotel, courtesy of the president.

### Tony was starting to get nervous. While they were waiting for the president to arrive, Tony and his family sat and talked.

### When they heard the door start to open, they quickly stood up, thinking it was the president. The door opened and there stood Mara and her parents.

"Hi, Tony" said Mara. "It's about time you got here."

"I knew that you were behind this invitation." He said and he gave Mara a hug.

### When Tony noticed that his family was watching, he quickly let go of Mara and introduced her and her parents to his two brothers and his sister.

### It took Tony a few seconds to notice that Mara looked different from the last time he saw her. In Philadelphia, she had worn a t-shirt and blue jeans, and her hair was in a ponytail. Now, she was in a long beautiful dress and her hair was down. Tony was stunned by how pretty she looked. "You look great, Mara"

### .

"You don't look so bad yourself." she replied. "Did you bring your violin?"

"It's on the table by the door," he said. "Thanks for getting us invited to the White House, Mara. This is so cool."

### While Tony went to talk with his mother, Mara quickly talked to Tony's grandfather. She told him that Tony would be asked to play his violin at dinner and that Mara needed his grandfather to help encourage him. Mr. Giovanni said that he would do whatever it took.

### A moment later, President and Mrs. Morgan entered the room and greeted the Giovanni family.

### After introductions were made, and they had all shaken hands with the president and the first lady, the president walked over to Tony and asked him for a favor.

"Mara tells me that you are a gifted musician and you play a mean violin. Would you mind playing something at dinner, for us and our guests?"

"I don't know if I can, Sir," said Tony.

### Tony's grandfather excused himself and Tony, and they went into the corner of the room, away from everyone else.

"Tony, I know that you must be terrified of performing for the president", said his grandfather, "but, it will turn out just fine. Trust me."

"But, what if I make a mistake?" said Tony.

"So what, who cares?" asked his grandfather. "Do you want to look back on today, as the day you said no to the President of the United States?"

### Tony thought about it for a minute and said, "No, I don't."

### Then, he walked over to the president and said, "Mr. President, it would be an honor to perform for you and your guests."

### While the dinner guests arrived and were being seated, Tony, Mara, and their families waited in the library and talked.

### Tony was starting to get hungry. "I wonder what we are having for dinner," he said. "I'm starving."

"Well" said Mara, "the adults are having duck, and trout, but the younger guests are having a special treat made just for us."

### Scott Wilson and his parents walked in, along with Betsy Morgan and Mara introduced them to The Giovanni family.

### After introductions were made, it was time for them to go into the dining room. The adults were seated at three larger tables, while Mara, Tony, Scott and Betsy were seated at a smaller table, off to the side, where two special guests that Mara had also invited were already seated; Jason and Ryan Davis.

###   
Jason and Ryan both stood up when the other's approached the table and remained standing, until Tony and Scott had seated Mara and Betsy. Jason and Ryan thanked Mara for including them at the White House dinner and Mara introduced everyone.

### Both Betsy and Mara were excited to see the Davis twins. Tony and Scott were a bit jealous at first, but once they all started talking, the six of them became good friends.

### After the president said grace, the dinner was brought out. The first course was wild mushroom and rice soup, followed by a spinach salad. Then, while the adults were served trout, duck and asparagus, the younger guests, were served deep-dish pizza, along with breadsticks and root beer.

### Tony began to feel more relaxed, as he ate pizza and chatted with Mara and the others at their table.

### After everybody was finishing their desert; lemon gelato, and the adults were being served coffee, President Morgan stood up and addressed his dinner guests.

"You may have read about a young man from Philadelphia, named Tony Giovanni, who with the help of a friend located a family heirloom that was missing for seventy five years. The heirloom is an 'Amati' violin that is around four hundred fifty years old. Well, Tony is here tonight and he has brought his violin with him. I have asked Tony to play something for us, and he has graciously agreed. So, let's give a warm welcome to Tony Giovanni."

### As the dinner guests started applauding, Tony walked up to a small platform in front of the room and opened up his violin case. The platform had a chair, music stand and a microphone.

### Tony pulled some sheet music out of a folder, and as he was setting it on the music stand, he looked out at the guests, and he got the shock of his life. He recognized many of the guests. They were the top classical musicians in the world. Tony saw Yo-Yo- Ma, one of the best cellists in the world, and several of the world's greatest violinists, including Joshua Bell, Isaac Stern, Zino Francescatti, David Ostrich, Nathan Milstein, David Juritz and Itzak Pearlman, to name just a few.

### Tony was a little bit nervous before, but now, he was a lot more nervous. Mara saw that he looked like he was having a panic attack, so she walked over to him and quietly spoke to him.

"Tony, you are as good as any of these musicians here. You know it and I know it. I believe in you and so does your family. Now, just believe in yourself."

### Then, Mara leaned over and kissed Tony on the cheek, and returned to her seat.

### The room got very quiet, while Tony tuned his violin. He hesitated for a few seconds, and then he began to play.

### He started out playing "Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, by Mozart, followed by Concerto Grosso in D Major by Handel.

### After he finished the second piece, the entire room erupted in applause. Then, Mr. Bell stood up, followed by Isaac Stern and Itzak Pearlman. Then, everybody was on their feet, giving Tony a standing ovation.

### Tony was so pumped up with adrenaline, that he played a final selection; 'Concerto for Violin, Strings and Continuo No. 2 in E major by Bach.

### After a second standing ovation, Tony returned to his seat. It seemed as if he was floating on a cloud.

### After the applause died down, the president stood up and began to speak, "We have another remarkable young person here today. Mara Louis has solved quite a few mysteries over the past few years. However, that is not what makes Mara so remarkable. She has been offered rewards for solving the mysteries, but has turned them down, suggesting that the reward money be donated to charities instead."

"When she solved the most recent mystery, here at the White House, she had legal claim to a fortune in historical artifacts. She has loaned them to the citizens of the United States, indefinitely. Any profits from the sale of the published 'Carver Diaries', will go towards scholarships, to students around the nation."

"When I asked her what she wanted for herself, she asked for this dinner so that the best classical musicians from around the world could hear her friend Tony, play the violin."

"Well, Mara, there are several people here this evening who want to show their appreciation to you for solving mysteries for them."

### Mara thought that some of the guests had looked familiar from a distance. Now, she knew why.

"Mara," said the president, "in December, after school is out for winter break, you and your parents are going on a week-long vacation to Hawaii. And, since you might get lonely, Scott and his parents, Tony and his family are also going as well as my wife, my daughter and I."

### Mara was very excited. She had never been to Hawaii and had always wanted to go there

### .

### The president continued, "Mara, your mother has informed me, what your secret desire is. I know how much you like dolphins. Well, in Hawaii, you will get the chance to swim with the dolphins."

### While Mara was thanking the president, as well as the people who were paying for the trip, Tony was carefully showing his Amati violin to the world famous violinists.

### All of them said that they would write letters of recommendation to help Tony get into Julliard's School of Music.

### They told Tony that he was a musical prodigy and would one day be one of the greatest musicians of all time.

### As music started to play, people began to dance. Scott asked Betsy to dance, and Tony asked Mara. Tony and Scott let Ryan and Jason cut in a few times, because they knew how much Mara and Betsy liked them.

### Tony was a few inches taller than Mara and as they danced, Mara laid her head on Tony's shoulder. The two of them danced for over an hour.

### Tony was the first boy that Mara had felt this close to. She could say anything to him and not be embarrassed.

### Later, Tony, Mara, Betsy and Scott talked for a couple of hours about the trip to Hawaii, about school and as well as many other things that teens talk about.

### The next morning, Tony, Scott, Mara, Betsy, and their parents all met at the White House for breakfast, before the Wilson's and Giovanni's headed home.

### On the ride home, Mara daydreamed about Tony, and about Hawaii. She knew that it would be the best winter break ever. The best part was that her new friends would be with her.

### What she did not know, was that it would also be when she would face her biggest mystery yet.

## The Hawaiian Mystery

### Mara awoke suddenly. She had that dream again. Over the past several weeks, she had dreamt the same dream at least eight times. The dreams were composed of flashes of different scenes. They showed Mara being in a cave of some sort and the ceiling started to collapse around her. There were other people in the cave with her, but they were faceless. Mara always awoke from the dreams, just before the rocks landed on top of her.

### Normally, the dreams would mean nothing to her, other than being scary nightmares, but over the past few months, there had been some changes in her everyday life.

### Since the age of nine, Mara Louis had solved many mysteries around the country, with the latest one taking place a few months earlier, in the White House. About a month after she returned to Baltimore, Mara noticed that she had somehow acquired some psychic ability, or maybe she had it all along and now, it was becoming stronger.

### The first time that she discovered that something strange was happening to her, was when her mother could not find her car keys. She was running around the house frantically looking for the keys because she was late for work. All of a sudden, Mara had a clear image pop into her head, showing the keys sitting at the bottom of the kitchen wastebasket. Mrs. Louis walked into the kitchen, just as Mara was pulling the keys out of the trash.

### Mara told her mother that she had a vision, in which she saw her mother throwing away a disposable coffee cup, and the keys fell out of her hand by accident. Mrs. Louis was amazed. Over the next several days, Mara saw things in her mind that later came true. She also saw things from the past, things that had already happened.

### Mara and her parents decided to keep this to themselves, as Mara was already a celebrity of sorts, because of the mysteries she had solved. In addition, Mara did not want her friends to think she was some kind of freak, if they found out that she had psychic powers.

### Mara got a little frightened when she thought about her recurrent dream, because it could be showing her a disaster in her future. She did not tell her parents about this dream, as it would only worry them.

### When Mara went downstairs to breakfast, her mother asked her if she was getting excited. "Winter break starts tomorrow, and we'll be heading to Hawaii for a week," she said.

### Mara pushed the dream out of her mind. This was not just any old trip to Hawaii. Mara and her parents were going to Hawaii, aboard Air Force One, the presidential jet, with the President Morgan and his family, Tony Giovanni and his family, and Scott Wilson and his family.

### Ever since the last time they had seen each other, at the White House dinner, Mara, Betsy, Scott and Tony had stayed in touch through phone calls, email and Facebook.

### That afternoon, after school was over, Mara and her parents packed their suitcases into their car and headed to the White House. When they arrived, the White House staff carried their luggage into the White house, where they would be spending the night.

### Scott and his parents were already there, and Tony and his parents arrived an hour later, after driving from Philadelphia.

### Scott's parents, Mara's parents, and Tony's parents slept in three of the White House bedrooms, while the Betsy, Scott, Mara and Tony slept on the living room floor of the Presidential residence.

### Early the next morning, four black limousines drove the families and their luggage to Andrew's Air Force base; with a Secret Service escort of course.

### Mara was very excited as she boarded the jet, as was Tony. Even Scott was excited, and he had already ridden the jet before.

### After the jet was airborne, Betsy gave Tony and Mara a tour of the "Flying White House". Mara had never seen such a big plane before. After the tour, the four of them watched a new movie that had not even been released to the theaters yet. Then, Mara and Betsy watched music videos, while Scott and Tony watched a football game from the jet's archives, with their fathers, Mara's father and President Morgan.

### Mara noticed that almost everything on Air Force One had the Presidential Seal on them, from playing cards to towels, to dishes. Even the individual boxes of M&M's® had the seal on them.

### Mara loved being waited on by the staff on board the plane. She felt so relaxed, that she even fell asleep and took a nice long nap. She awoke as the plane was preparing to land on the Big Island of Hawaii. They arrived in the late evening, as to draw less attention to Air Force One, and President Morgan.

### The four families were met as they exited the plane and were driven by limousine to the hotel where they would be staying. The entire top floor had been reserved for them and the security detail for the First Family.

### After Mara and her parents were shown to their room, they got cleaned up and went to bed, to rest up for the next day.

### In the morning, after a quick breakfast, Mara, Betsy, Scott and Tony changed into their swimsuits and headed for the beach near the hotel, with Secret Service escort of course.

### The four of them had a great time on the beach. The sun was shining and the water temperature was perfect. They swam for quite a while, and later, they walked along the beach. At the same time, Scott took Betsy's hand; Tony gently took Mara's hand in his. Mara was having a great time. She felt so comfortable around her three friends.

### Later that morning, as they were laying on the beach, getting some sun, Mara started getting quick flashes of pictures in her mind. She was having a vision. She saw a man and his two children being held captive inside a cave, by a man with a gun. She saw certain landmarks that she had not seen before. Several names also flashed into her mind.

### Before she realized it, she was thinking aloud. "They are in trouble. They are being held captive. They are in danger."

### Betsy asked Mara what she was talking about. When Mara realized that she had been talking aloud, she decided to tell her friends about her psychic gift.

### After a quick explanation, Mara told her friends what she had seen in her vision. She told them that she had seen the names; "Motohito, Cooper and Mauna Loa" in her vision as well.

### Scott, who was very smart when it came to geography, told Mara that Mauna Loa was an inactive volcano on the island.

### Betsy said that Motohito was the name of the Japanese Emperor.

### Mara decided that this time, her vision must be wrong, since Japan was so far away from Hawaii, and she tried to push the vision out of her mind.

### After lunch at the hotel, the four families were taken on a private tour of the island, showing them all of the historical sites. When the group passed the volcano called Mauna Loa, Mara looked at Betsy, Scott and Tony. Mara could not help but think that there was a mystery out there waiting for her to come along and solve it.

### On Sunday evening, they were invited to a traditional luau, or Hawaiian feast. When they were asked to join the dancers, Mara and Betsy pulled Scott and Tony with them, even though the boys did not want to dance. After grass skirts were put on them, they started doing the Hula dance. They ended up having a great time, laughing and really enjoying themselves.

### On Monday morning, Betsy had to stay with her parents, so Tony, Scott and Mara ventured out on their own. They promised Betsy that they would take pictures for her.

### The three friends spent the morning, walking around the island using a map that they got from the hotel. By eleven o'clock, they reached the Mauna Loa volcano. Just as they were admiring the size of it, they saw Betsy running towards them. She was nearly out of breath, when she reached them.

### When Mara asked Betsy what she was doing without her Secret Service detail, Betsy told them that she had sneaked away. "I've got some big news," Betsy told them. My dad was supposed to have a meeting with Emperor Motohito, who is here, visiting Hawaii. His two children are here with him as well. He did not show up for the meeting and no one knows where he is. On a hunch, I checked at the hotel desk to see if anyone named Cooper was registered. The clerk told me that a man named George Cooper checked into the hotel yesterday."

### Mara and her friends went over the details of her vision and then started slowly walking around the volcano, looking for a cave, or entrance into the volcano. Scott was the one who first spotted the opening. Mara suddenly felt terrified, as she thought of her dream of the cave-in. Tony and Scott assured her that it was safe.

### The four of them, quietly walked into the opening, and it appeared to be a tunnel in the lava. Scott said that the tunnel must have formed when the lava cooled many years ago. As they followed the tunnel, they began to hear voices. They stopped and listened.

### They heard an angry voice telling someone that he was avenging the death of his father. "I was only six years old," said the voice, "when my father was tortured and killed in a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines, during World War 2. Now, you will see what it feels like to be tortured."

### Mara whispered to Betsy that she needed to call her father and get help as soon as possible. As Betsy pulled the cell phone out of her purse, it slipped out of her hand and it fell onto the lava floor. The sound of metal on rock, echoed throughout the tunnel. Just as Betsy had picked up the phone, a man appeared, holding a gun, and motioned for them to go ahead of him into the cave. Betsy was able to slip the cell phone into her back pocket.

### When they walked into the cave, they saw the hostages. There were three people; a man and two teenagers, a boy and a girl. They were Japanese.

### The man introduced himself as Emperor Motohito, and his children as Prince Toshihito and Princess Katsu.

### The man holding the gun was an older man in his sixties or seventies. Mara was nervous, but she managed to ask the man who he was. He identified himself as George Cooper. He apologized to Mara and her friends, but told her that he could not let them go, because they knew too much. He told them that the cave and volcano were rigged with explosives and that he would kill them all, if anyone attempted to rescue them.

### As Scott tried to comfort Betsy, Mara went over to Prince Toshihito and Princess Katsu and told them not to panic, that they would think of a way out.

### Two hours later, as Mara looked at her watch; she realized that she had missed her appointment to swim with the dolphins.

### Mara looked around the cave, trying to locate another way out. In the furthest end of the cave, she saw a pool of water. As she slowly edged towards it, a bunch of pictures flashed through her mind. When she put them all together, she formulated a plan. Mara knew now, that the pool of water connected to an underground stream that flowed under the volcano and out to the Pacific Ocean.

### Mara was an excellent swimmer and her visions had always been one hundred percent accurate, except for the recurrent dream of the cave-in. Mara realized by now that Mr. Cooper was mentally unbalanced and she knew that six lives were in serious danger. She must act quickly.

### Mara told Betsy that she had a plan. After she explained, Betsy told Mara that it was too dangerous. "What if the pool leads nowhere?" Betsy asked. "You will drown." Mara quickly explained her vision to Betsy.

### Reluctantly, Betsy agreed to distract Mr. Cooper while Mara attempted to escape. Betsy gave her cell phone to Mara and told her that her dad's cell phone number was on the speed dial. Mara put the phone in a waterproof pouch and put it in her pocket.

### As soon as Betsy had distracted Mr. Cooper, Mara hesitated for only a moment, and then dove into the pool. Everybody heard the splash and turned towards the pool.

### Mr. Cooper realized that one of the girls was missing and he was noticeably agitated. When the girl had not surfaced after six minutes, he said; "She probably drowned. It serves her right, for trying to escape."

### Scott, Tony and Betsy looked at one another, wondering, if indeed, Mara had drowned. Betsy quickly filled Scott and Tony in on Mara's plan.

### Once Mara had dived down deep enough, she located the lava tunnel that she had seen in her vision. She swam into it, and surfaced. In the tunnel, there was about a foot of air above the level of the water. Mara started swimming with the current, under the volcano, to the ocean. After ten minutes, she saw light at the end of the tunnel and headed towards it. Soon, she was out of the tunnel and in the Pacific Ocean.

### Mara was tired and as she rested, she realized that her soaked clothes and her shoes were weighing her down. Since she was wearing her swimsuit under her clothes, she kicked off her shoes and after tucking the cell phone into her swimsuit, she quickly removed her t-shirt and shorts.

### By the time Mara had gotten rid of the extra weight, she realized that she had drifted quite a ways from shore. Mara started swimming towards the island. Because she was swimming against the current, it was very difficult, and Mara was beginning to tire.

### As she rested, and tread water, she saw something in the water coming towards her. As they got closer, Mara realized that she was looking at the dorsal fins of two sharks, which were heading towards her.

### Mara began swimming as fast as she could, praying that she would make it safely to shore. She could sense that the sharks were getting closer and she was terrified. Then, she heard some clicking noises behind her and a commotion in the water. When she turned around, she saw four dolphins chasing the sharks away.

### Once the sharks were gone, one of the dolphins swam up to Mara and started making noises. Mara realized that the dolphin wanted to help her. Mara grabbed hold of the dolphin's dorsal fin and rode the dolphin, as it swam towards the shore.

### When Mara was close enough to the beach, she started swimming to the island. When she was standing on the sand, she told the dolphin thanks and waved goodbye to it. She could not believe her eyes. The dolphin was bobbing its head up and down, as if to say, "You're welcome".

### Mara took out the cell phone and called the president. She explained about the kidnapping of the emperor and his children and how Mara, Betsy, Scott and Tony had found them and had were being held captive as well. She gave President Morgan the exact location of the cave.

### President Morgan told Mara to stay where she was and wait for someone to get her. Mara got scared. She was afraid something would go wrong.

"No, Mr. President," she told him. "I have to go back the way I came. I have to distract Mr. Cooper. Otherwise, he will detonate the explosives when he hears anyone coming into the cave."

### As President Morgan started to forbid Mara from going back to the cave, Mara hung up on him. She knew that she was running out of time. She dived back into the ocean and with her psychic instinct; she found the lava tunnel that led back into the cave.

### Mara swam as fast as she could, going against the current. Fifteen minutes later, she swam up to the surface of the pool in the cave. When her head came out of the water, Mara saw that Mr. Cooper was pointing a gun at her.

"Where did you go?" he asked her angrily. "Nowhere" Mara fibbed. "There is an underground stream, but it leads to a dead end. That's why I had to come back."

### Mr. Cooper told Mara to join the other hostages. When Tony, Scott and Betsy rushed up to Mara, she whispered that help was on the way. Mara knew that she had to calm Mr. Cooper down, before the federal agents arrived in the cave.

"Mr. Cooper", said Mara, "You can't hold Emperor Motohito responsible for something that happened over sixty years ago. He was not even alive then. In war, people die, leaving behind wives, children and other family and friends as well."

### Mr. Cooper seemed to be listening, so Mara continued talking in a soothing calm manner. "Would your father want you to avenge his death? How about your mother, how would she feel about it?"

### Then Mara got an idea that she thought might work. "Mr. Cooper," she said, "Do you remember how sad you were when you were told that your father had died? Well, think how sad the Emperor's children would be, if you kill their father, or how sad our families would be if you blow us all up."

"I love my father and I know that I would feel very bad if he were killed. I cannot imagine how frightened and alone you were when your father was killed. You were only six. That was very young. I am so very sorry for your loss."

### Mr. Cooper began to cry. "I grew up without a father", he said. "I cried myself to sleep for several months after he died."

### Just then, they all heard noises coming towards the entrance to the cave. Mr. Cooper grabbed the detonator of the explosives and pushed in the button, holding it down with his thumb.

"I don't have a chance now", said Mr. Cooper. They will kill me for sure now. However, I will not go alone. When my thumb comes off this button, we all die."

### Mara slowly walked towards Mr. Cooper. "We will make sure that you get the help you need. We understand why you did this. No one will kill you. We promise," said Mara. Then, Mara gave Mr. Cooper a hug. She slowly reached for the detonator and carefully pushed Mr. Cooper's thumb off the detonator, while replacing his thumb with her thumb at the same time.

### Mr. Cooper sat down and started crying. Suddenly, several federal agents rushed into the cave, with their guns drawn and pointed at Mr. Cooper.

"Stop", shouted Mara. "Don't shoot him. He just has emotional problems. He is not dangerous. He is just a boy emotionally, who never got over the loss of his father."

### Betsy, Scott and Tony moved in front of Mr. Cooper, so that no one could shoot him. Prince Toshihito and Princess Katsu joined them in protecting Mr. Cooper.

### The agents put away their weapons and handcuffed Mr. Cooper. Mara told everyone to leave, except the bomb squad. Scott and Tony refused to leave.

"Please get out of here", Mara shouted at them, trying not to cry, as she held down the button to the detonator with her thumb.

### As everyone left the cave, four agents started to disarm the explosive device. As they worked, one of the agents looked over at Mara and noticed that she was very scared. "How much longer can you hold that button down?" he asked her.

### Mara looked at him, with tears in her eyes and replied; "For the rest of my life."

### As the agents held their breath, they cut the last two wires. Then, they told Mara to let go of the button. Mara stood perfectly still for a moment, closed her eyes and said a little prayer. Then, she released the button and nothing happened.

### An agent removed the detonator from Mara's hand and she started to shake and sob uncontrollably. The agent held her tight and told her that it was all over.

### When the agents walked out of the cave with Mara, Mara's parents and friends ran towards her and started hugging her. The president told Mara that he was very proud of her for what she did. "You stayed calm and kept a clear head. We can never thank you enough."

### Emperor Motohito bowed to Mara, out of deep respect for her and thanked her for her bravery, and her quick thinking. "If there is anything that I can do for you, please tell me", he said.

### Mara bowed in return and said; "Please don't let them put Mr. Cooper in jail. He needs help. He is not a criminal, just a deeply troubled old man."

### Both the emperor and the president promised that Mr. Cooper would get the help he needed. Emperor Motohito also invited Mara, her friends and their parents to visit Japan, as his personal guests.

### Princess Katsu hugged and thanked Mara, as did Prince Toshihito, who also kissed Mara on the cheek.

### Mrs. Louis told Mara that she was sorry that Mara did not get a chance to swim with the dolphins. Mara smiled and said; "But. I did swim with the dolphins". Mara then proceeded to tell them of her shark adventure, and about the dolphins who rescued her.

### Tony looked at Mara, shook his head and said; "Mara, I have to tell you something. With you around, there is never a dull moment." Everybody started laughing.

### Mara asked the emperor if he and his children could stay in Hawaii a few days longer, so that her and her friends could get to know the prince and princess a little better.

### The emperor agreed, and over the next few days, Mara, Betsy, Tony and Scott spent a lot of time with the prince and princess, just doing normal teenager things, with double Secret Service protection, while their parents spent time getting to know the emperor. The incident brought the United States and Japan closer together.

### President Morgan and Emperor Motohito agreed to keep the cave incident a state secret. Mara did not think the publicity would be good for Mr. Cooper and Mara did not want the publicity for herself either. Everyone else agreed to keep quiet about the incident as well.

### On Thursday, everybody said goodbye to the emperor and his children, and then they boarded Air Force One for their flight back to Washington.

### During the flight, Mara relaxed and reflected on the events of the week. She was beginning to realize that her visions were not just a special gift, but a responsibility as well. She wondered when and where she would be called upon next, to solve more of life's mysteries.

### Three days after Mara returned home, she received an airmail package from Japan. It contained a letter from Emperor Motohito, thanking her once again, along with a very delicate porcelain tea set, a silk kimono, and a box full of 'Hello Kitty®' products from Japan. These gifts helped to remind Mara that the best part of the vacation was making new friends and being with old friends.

## The Case of the Missing Gold

### Even though Mara loved Hawaii, she was glad when she was back in Baltimore, in her own house, in her own room and sleeping in her own bed. The first night sleeping in her bed was a comforting experience. When she woke up, it was Christmas Eve. Because she had a two week winter break, Mara was able to spend a week in Hawaii, and be back home for Christmas.

### That evening, Mara and her parents attended the Christmas Eve Service at their church. Mara was filled with the true meaning of Christmas. Before they went to Hawaii, Mara had told her parents that the trip was all she wanted for Christmas and that she wanted no other presents.

### As Mara listened to the Christmas music, and looked at baby Jesus in the manger, Mara was filled with the true spirit of Christmas. She was full of love and peace, as she stood between her parents, singing and feeling a warm sensation in her chest, which she knew was God's love.

### On Christmas morning, Mara gave her parents the presents she had made for them. She had written several poems for her father and had painted a picture of a horse for her mother. Her parents loved their gifts. After they had opened their gifts, Mara's parents gave Mara an envelope with a ribbon and a bow on it.

"I told you not to get me anything for Christmas", said Mara. Her parents told her that it was something for her summer vacation. Mara opened the envelope and found a brochure for a dude ranch in Texas. It was called the Red Rock Ranch.

### Mara loved horses, so her parents had arranged for her to spend two weeks at a ranch in Texas. Mara was thrilled with the gift and hugged both of her parents.

### After the holidays were over, Mara returned to school and life was back to normal for a while. She saw Scott every day, and she saw Betsy often. She slept peacefully at night for the next two weeks. Then, one night, Mara woke up in the middle of the night terrorized. It was the dream about the cave again. Mara thought that after nothing happened in the cave in Hawaii that the recurring nightmare would stop. She was sadly mistaken.

### In early March, Mara began having a vision, a particular vision, several times over a period of a week. She had the visions during the daytime while she was awake, and Mara realized that she was having the visions for a reason. They were trying to tell Mara something.

### From the visions, Mara began piecing together the clues. There was a man named Douglas Conway, who lived in Hartford, Connecticut. He was upset about something. Mara also sensed that a man named Greg was involved, as well a tree, a padlock, a pile of bricks and chicken soup. Mara thought that she must have misread her visions, because the pictures she saw in them made no sense.

### Spring break was scheduled for the following week, and Mara convinced her parents to take her to Hartford. When she told her parents the reason why, they agreed. They had two reasons for their decision. The first reason was that Mara had a knack for solving mysteries, and the second reason was that they were curious how a pile of bricks and chicken soup would help solve a mystery.

### Mara searched the internet for someone with the name Douglas Conway, and she found a billionaire by that name that lived in Hartford. He had worked hard all of his life, building a publishing firm that was worth billions of dollars.

### Mr. Conway was eighty-nine years old and had been president of the company until he turned eighty, and then he retired. Having grown up during the Great Depression, Mr. Conway was known to be tight fisted with his money.

### When Mara and her parents arrived in Hartford, they checked into a hotel and began making inquiries as to where they could find Mr. Conway.

### The next morning, the Louis family drove to Mr. Conway's estate. Mr. Louis knocked on the door, and when a security officer answered the door, Mr. Louis asked to speak with Mr. Conway.

### The officer told him to make an appointment and then he closed the door. Mara was not going to give up so quickly. She knocked again, and when the door opened, Mara politely asked to speak with Mr. Conway. When the security officer refused to let her in, Mara began pleading, "Please tell Mr. Conway that Mara Louis is here to help him solve his mystery." The security officer just shut the door in her face.

### As Mara slowly walked to the car, she turned around to look at the mansion one last time. She saw a curtain was pulled back and an elderly man was watching her. Mara waved at the man, and then continued walking to the car.

### Mara heard the door open up and the security officer told Mara and her parents to stop. "Mr. Conway will see you now", he said. "I apologize for turning you away."

### Mara and her parents were escorted into a large room, where they were introduced to Mr. Conway. When the security officer did not attempt to leave the room, Mara asked if they could meet in private. Mr. Conway asked the security officer to leave the room.

### Mara introduced herself and her parents to Mr. Conway. "Aren't you the little girl who has solved several mysteries?" asked Mr. Conway. Mara was a little irritated at being called a little girl, but she let it go. "Yes" she told Mr. Conway, "That's why we're here. Over the past several months, I have begun having psychic visions, which have helped me solve mysteries."

"I know that this will sound strange, but over the past week or so, I have had visions concerning you. Sometimes, my visions are a series of images that flash through my mind like a puzzle. Sometimes, I can put the puzzle together, sometimes I cannot.

### Mr. Conway listened patiently, as Mara continued. "From my latest vision, I sense that you are deeply troubled by something. The images I see in my visions do not make a lot of sense. Maybe you can shed some light as to what they mean. Besides your name, and the name of Hartford, I see the name Greg, a tree, a padlock, a pile of bricks and chicken soup."

### When Mara had finished, she noticed that Mr. Conway looked surprised. "Are you in some kind of trouble, Sir?" asked Mara

### .

### Then Mr. Conway began telling his story; "I own a storage locker in town. In it, I kept a large pile of gold bricks, which I have been accumulating over several years. There were over three thousand gold bricks, each worth approximately four hundred thousand dollars."

"I had not been to the storage locker in over a year. A couple of weeks ago, I went to check on the gold bricks, and they were all missing."

"Did you go to the police?" asked Mara.

"No, I didn't, because it is very embarrassing. You see, I grew up during the Great Depression, and I have always been afraid of the stock market collapsing again, leaving me with nothing. So, I have been investing in gold bars, in case such a disaster should occur. If people knew of my fear, and my obsession with gold, they would think I was eccentric, or worse, crazy."

"By my calculations, the gold is worth over a billion dollars," said Mara.

### "Who else knew of it?"

"Nobody that I know of", said Mr. Conway. I have only one living relative; a great nephew named Greg Lockwood."

### Mara was busy writing everything down in her notebook. "Could Greg have found out about the gold?" she asked

### .

"Maybe." said Mr. Conway. "He has borrowed my truck from time to time, and the key to the storage locker is on the same key ring as my truck keys."

"What does Greg do for a living?" asked Mara. "Is he wealthy?"

"I'd say that he is probably worth twenty million dollars," said Mr. Conway. "He is a building contractor. He laid brick for several years, and he gradually started his own construction company."

"Where does he live?" asked Mara

"Here in Hartford" said Mr. Conway. "He is currently finishing the construction of a house which will be auctioned off, to raise money for charity. I paid for the building materials, and his company did the labor free of charge. Greg is also personally doing the brickwork on the house himself."

Mara started comparing the notes, with the notes she had made about her vision. "How could I have been so dumb?" asked Mara. When I saw the word 'bullion' in my vision, I automatically thought of chicken soup. However, the real meaning was 'gold bullion'. The images of the tree and the padlock meant Lockwood. I also saw an image of a house and a street sign for 89th Street. Does that street name mean anything to you?"

"That's the street, where Greg is building the house," said Mr. Conway.

"Will you please take me to that house?" asked Mara. "It has to be when Mr. Lockwood isn't there. I have a very bad feeling that he is involved with the theft of your gold."

"Well then, right now would be a very good time" said Mr. Conway, "because Greg is out of town for the day."

Mr. Conway had his driver bring the car around, and he, Mara and her parents, drove over to the house on west 89th Street. When they got to the house, Mara noticed that there was a very tall fence surrounding the house. When she asked Mr. Conway what it was for, he explained that it was to keep the public away, until the day of the auction, to build anticipation, and suspense. He had been auctioning off houses for charity for several years, and he found that more bidders turned up on the day of the auction because of their curiosity. It also brought a higher price for the house.

### When Mr. Conway unlocked the gate that led to the property, Mara and her parents got their first glimpse of the house. It was a two-story house with oak siding around the second story and the top two thirds of the first floor. The bottom three feet of the house was red brick, going all around the house. There were several large windows with blue shutters. Mara thought that it was one of the most beautiful houses that she had ever seen.

### As Mara and her parents were given a tour of the house, Mara looked carefully at each room. She was looking at it in two ways. First, she imagined that her family lived there. It was without a doubt, the most extraordinary house that Mara had ever been in before. Secondly, Mara was looking for any clues, anything that did not seem to fit; something that might help her locate the missing gold.

### There was no basement, and no secret room where the gold could be hidden, if it was on the property at all. After the tour, Mara asked Mr. Conway if there were any blueprints readily available. Mr. Conway led her to the kitchen, opened a drawer, took out a stack of papers, and handed them to Mara.

### Mara's parents and Mr. Conway went into the living room, to let Mara have some time to study the papers. After a while, Mara walked into the living room holding some papers. "There are two sets of blueprints," she told them. "The first set is dated fourteen months ago, and the second one is dated four months later. As far as I can see, there are only two differences."

"In the second set of blueprints, the foundation is wider and deeper, all the way around the house. Also, the second set of plans shows the brick trim around the house is twice as thick as in the original plans."

"I have a hunch where the gold is." Mara then asked her parents and Mr. Conway to follow her outside. Mara took a chisel that was lying on the porch, and after getting permission, she chipped away at the brick trim. After a few minutes, one of the bricks came loose.

### Behind the brick, they all saw something shiny. Mara reached in, and removed a very heavy brick made of pure gold.

"This is what I think happened," said Mara. "I think that your great nephew saw you visit the storage locker last year, and he got curious. He made an excuse to borrow your truck, so that he could hold of your keys. After he unlocked the storage locker, and saw the gold, he formulated a plan to steal it from you without you getting suspicious. He made a copy of the key, so that he would have his own key."

"Mr. Lockwood made the new set of plans, reinforcing the foundation for the added weight of all that gold, which according to my calculations would weigh almost five tons. He also modified the design, to make the brick trim twice as thick, to hide the gold bricks behind the red bricks. Since the house is secluded, and surrounded by the fence, he brought loads of the gold bricks from his hiding place, and he did his own brickwork, in private, when everyone else had finished their work on the house."

"But, it doesn't make sense" said Mr. Conway. "This house was to be auctioned off and then he would lose all of the gold."

"I think that Mr. Lockwood was planning on bidding on the house himself," said Mara. "That way, he could keep the gold hidden for several years if he had to."

"Thank you very much, Mara," said Mr. Conway. "Now, I have the unpleasant job of calling the police."

"Not necessarily" said Mara. When she saw the puzzled looks on their faces, Mara explained. She suggested a way to keep Mr. Lockwood out of jail, and teach him a lesson about stealing. After she told Mr. Conway, her idea, Mr. Conway nodded his head in agreement, saying that it just might work.

###   
Mr. Conway started making some phone calls. In order to carry out the plan, Mr. Lockwood had to be kept away from the house for the entire week before the auction. Mr. Conway convinced his great nephew to accompany him to Los Angeles, on business.

### Once Mr. Conway and Mr. Lockwood were on a plane to LA, some of Mr. Conway's trusted friends from the publishing firm, arrived at the house with plenty of trucks. Under Mara's supervision, they disassembled the outer brick wall and loaded the gold bricks onto the trucks. When they were finished and all three thousand gold bricks had been loaded, they transported them to the storage locker, which had a new lock.

### After the gold was securely locked up, Mara headed back to the house with her parents. They returned, just as some bricklayers arrived at the house. With a crew of ten men, the double thickness of brickwork was completed in less than a day.

### After the scraps were cleaned up, Mara could not tell the difference between the old and the new brickwork. By the time, Mr. Conway and his great nephew returned from LA, the mortar had dried.

### On Sunday morning, the day of the auction, the fence was removed. Everyone got his or her first view of the newly completed house. Tours were given to all interested persons.

### At one o'clock p.m., the auction began. Within thirty minutes, the bid was up to three hundred thousand dollars. The auctioneer reminded the bidders that all proceeds would go to charity. By the time the bid was up to five hundred thousand dollars, the bidding was starting to slow down.

### It was at this point, that Greg Lockwood started bidding. When he bid a million dollars, he said it was because he had become sentimentally attached to the house. Just as the bidding was about to close, another person bid two million dollars. Greg got a little nervous, as he recognized the bidder as a millionaire philanthropist who supported worthy causes.

### The bidding progressed to nine million dollars. Greg had good reason to bid so high. He knew that the hidden gold bricks alone were worth over a billion dollars. When Mr. Lockwood bid ten million dollars, the other bidder dropped out and the house was awarded to Mr. Lockwood. He wrote out a check to the charity foundation, and the papers were signed, giving him possession of the house.

### Later that day, as Mara and her parents were saying goodbye to Mr. Conway, the gentleman noticed that Mara seemed troubled by something. "What's the matter, Mara?" he asked. "Is there something that you want to ask me?"

"Yes," said Mara "but it's none of my business."

"Nonsense" replied Mr. Conway, "Ask away".

"Okay then," said Mara, "Are you happy? I mean, with all of your money, are you truly happy?"

### Mr. Conway pondered the question for a moment, and then replied, "Well, to tell you the truth, I thought that money and power would make me feel good, but I'm not really that happy."

"Mr. Conway, when you die, who will get all of your money?" asked Mara.

"I'll probably leave it all to charity," said Mr. Conway. "I have no family, except for my great nephew and he is a crook."

### Mara smiled and said; "I know how you can become extremely happy for the rest of your life. Why wait until you are gone to give your money to charity? Why not give it away now? From what I have read, you are worth as much as twenty billion dollars. It would take you at least ten years to give it away."

"Do you have any charities in mind?" Mr. Conway asked Mara.

"Well, there are a lot of schools around the nation that do not have enough books, and a lot of schools cannot afford computers, music, art and sports programs. Some schools do not have adequate playgrounds or libraries. In addition, many kids do not have proper clothing, or enough to eat."

"Mr. Conway, you would be able to see the results of your donations immediately, and believe me, you would be happier than you have ever been in your life."

### Mr. Conway looked at Mara with a big smile and said; "Mara, you are a very wise girl. You have helped me to see how foolish and selfish I have been all of these years."

"You just had your priorities mixed up.," said Mara.

### Mr. Conway hugged Mara and thanked her, before she and her parents drove back to Baltimore.

### The next morning, Mr. Conway met with his lawyers and his accountants. The first thing he did was to make out a new will, leaving everything he had left at the time of his death, to charity. He specifically excluded his great nephew Greg Lockwood from inheriting any of his estate. Then, he started planning the distribution of his fortune.

### On Wednesday morning, Mr. Conway invited his great nephew to accompany him to a press conference. When they arrived at the conference, Greg noticed that it was being held at the storage locker. He became very nervous, but he tried to act as if he knew nothing about the storage locker, or its contents.

### Mr. Conway began the press conference, by telling the reporters about his life. "For years, I have had the perfect life", he said. "I had the best of everything; more money than I could ever want, and the power that went with it. But, recently, a very special person pointed out that I have never been really happy."

"I am now eighty-nine years old. I may die tomorrow, or I may live for another twenty years. From this day forward, I will dedicate the rest of my life to helping the children in this nation, who are living in poverty, and who don't have the means of getting a good education."

"In this storage locker behind me, I have been storing gold bars for several years, hoarding them, because I was afraid of the stock market crashing and becoming poor. I was a child during the Great Depression, and I know what it is like to be poor. I never wanted to live through that again. However, while thinking only of myself, I ignored the poverty around me. Well, no more, will I ignore it. This gold is the first of my money that will go to helping schools and children around the nation."

### As Mr. Conway unlocked and opened the door to the storage locker, Greg Lockwood planned to act surprised when everyone saw the room was empty. However, as it turned out, Greg actually was surprised, when he saw that all of the gold was back in the storage locker.

### Greg told his uncle that he had a meeting to go to, and took a cab to the house that he had just bought in the auction. Using some tools, he quickly chipped a few bricks loose and he was horrified at what he saw. Behind the front layer of bricks, was a second layer of bricks. The gold bricks were gone. Frantically, he removed several more bricks, and found just more bricks.

### Greg realized that he had spent ten million dollars, half of his money, to buy a house that was not even worth one million dollars. He was too ashamed, embarrassed and humiliated to confront his uncle.

### A month later, Mara received a nice letter from Mr. Conway, telling her how happy he was. He was getting hundreds of letters from schoolchildren, thanking him for his generosity, and for making them feel important, like they actually mattered to someone.

### Mara was very happy for Mr. Conway. She was also happy for herself, because in less than three months, she would be going to a dude ranch in Texas, for a much-needed vacation.

### I Am Not Worthy

### After Mara had used her psychic dreams to solve the mysteries in Hawaii and Connecticut, Mara began wondering why she had been given this great responsibility. Therefore, she decided to meet with Pastor Joe, from her church. Since she often volunteered to help around the church, her mother was not suspicious when Mara told her that she was going to ride her bike over to the church.

### When Mara got to the church, Pastor Joe invited her into his office and asked her what was on her mind. Mara did not know just how to begin, as she did not know if Pastor Joe would believe in psychic phenomena.

"Pastor Joe" she began, "for several months now, I have been having psychic dreams and visions, where I can see into the future. I know that it sounds crazy, but it is true. Do you promise that what I tell you stays between us?"

### Pastor Joe promised to tell no one else. "Can you elaborate more about these psychic dreams?" he asked.

### Mara explained how she first noticed her newfound ability. Then, she explained what happened in Hawaii, where she had dreamed about the man who would later kidnap the Japanese emperor, and his two children. She explained how she was able to swim through an underground cave and call for help and about the dolphins that saved her from the sharks. Pastor Joe did not say a word as Mara told the story.

### When Mara had finished telling about the Hawaiian mystery, she told him about the most recent incident in Connecticut, where she not only located the stolen gold, but how she convinced the billionaire to use his money to help children throughout the country.

### Mara sensed that Pastor Joe was not quite convinced that she actually had any psychic powers. Mara wished that she could somehow prove it to him. At that very moment, Mara had a vision. She saw a house, with a woman and her three young children in it. Mara sensed that something was wrong. She sensed that there was a gas leak in the house and that the woman had to get her children out of the house immediately. In the vision, Mara saw a phone number. She immediately wrote down the number.

### As the vision faded, Mara asked Pastor Joe if she could use his phone. Mara called the phone number from her vision and when a lady answered, Mara told her that there was a gas leak in her house and that she needed to get her children out immediately. The lady sensed that Mara was telling the truth and she immediately took her children outside and across the street. Then, Mara called the fire department and told them to get to the address as soon as possible. Mara somehow, knew the address as well.

### After Mara hung up the phone, Pastor Joe was staring at Mara, not knowing what to think. Less than five minutes later, Mara and Pastor Joe heard a very loud explosion. When they went outside, they saw smoke coming from a few blocks away. Pastor Joe and Mara got into his car, and headed in the direction of the fire. When they arrived, they saw that a house had exploded and was totally engulfed in flames. When Pastor Joe asked a firefighter whether anyone was in the house, he was told that a woman and her three children had gotten out just before the house exploded.

###   
Pastor Joe and Mara went over the woman and her children to comfort her. The woman told her that someone called her and told her to get out of the house immediately, before it exploded. She told Pastor Joe that she knew it was an angel who called her. Mara looked at Pastor Joe, her eyes begging him not to tell the woman the truth.

### Pastor Joe asked the woman if she had a place to stay, and she told him that she could stay with her sister. Pastor Joe gave her his card and told her to call him and that he would help her find temporary housing.

### When the fire was under control, and the woman's sister had picked up the woman and her children, Pastor Joe and Mara returned to the church. When they were again seated in the office, Pastor Joe told Mara that he now believed her. He noticed that Mara seemed scared. "What's the matter, Mara?" he asked. "Why are you frightened?"

"I am just a twelve year old girl," said Mara. "Why was I given this gift? I am not worthy for such power as this. I am nobody special. There are so many people who are more important than I. Why me?"

### Pastor Joe looked at Mara with a big smile on his face. "Mara" he said, "I have known you since you were born. You have always been kind and generous towards others. You have a good heart. Why does God have to bestow his gifts upon important people? He sees into your heart and soul, and knows you better than anyone does. Listen to God with your heart. He will show you how to use this gift that he has bestowed upon you."

### Pastor Joe felt that there was something else that Mara was not telling him. "Is there anything else troubling you, Mara?" he asked.

"Yes, Pastor Joe. I have been having a recurrent dream, where I am in a cave and the ceiling collapses around me. I always wake up before I am buried alive. I wonder if this is something that will happen to me in the future. Please do not mention this dream to my parents. I do not want to worry them. They already look at me differently, since I received the gift of the visions and dreams."

### Pastor Joe promised to keep Mara's secret, and said that he was available to talk whenever she needed spiritual advice.

On Sunday, Pastor Joe started a collection for the woman and children who lost their house. He soon found her a place to live and she and her children began going to church every Sunday. She was certain that God was responsible for saving her family. Only Mara and Pastor Joe knew that she was correct. H

### The Mystery at the Red Rock Ranch

While Mara was packing for her two-week visit to a dude ranch in Texas, her mother told her to leave her IPod and her laptop at home. "Mara, it will do you good to get back to nature", Mrs. Louis told her daughter. "Once you smell the fresh air, and are riding horses, you will forget all about your techno devices."

"But Mom," said Mara. "I told my friends that I would call them every night and talk to them on Facebook. What will I tell them?"

"You can tell them that there has been a change in plans. If it will help, tell them that I told you no."

"Mara, with all of the excitement that you have had over the past few months, you need some time to yourself, to commune with nature. You will not have to solve any mysteries. You might even make some new friends. You can take your cell phone with you, but use it only for emergencies, or if you get homesick. Can you get by without technology for two weeks? Can you do it for me?"

"Okay Mom" said Mara; "I guess I can manage for a couple of weeks. But, when I get back, can I invite Tony, Scott and Betsy to our house to help me celebrate my birthday?"

"Okay, it's a deal!" said Mrs. Louis.

### Mara went to her room and logged onto Facebook to leave messages for her friends.

### That night, before Mara went to sleep, she lay awake in her bed thinking about what her mother had said. "Maybe" she thought, "if she were in a peaceful environment with no distractions, she wouldn't have any more dreams about the cave-in".

### The next morning, Mara said goodbye to her parents at the airport, and she headed to the gate to board the plane bound for Houston, Texas.

### It was an uneventful flight, and when Mara's flight landed in Houston, she collected her luggage and left the terminal, to find a taxi to take her to the ranch.

### As Mara was waiting for the taxi, she saw a man in his early sixties, stepping off a curb, to cross the street. Mara saw a car speeding towards the man, who could not hear the car because of the jet engines. Before Mara could think, she reached out, grabbed the man's arm, and pulled him back onto the curb, just as the car sped by. The car brushed against the man's arm, as it raced past.

### The man thanked Mara for pulling him to safety and asked her for her name. "My name is Mara", she said. Just then, a taxi pulled up and as Mara got in, she said goodbye to the gentleman as she closed the door of the cab.

### About thirty minutes later, the taxi pulled through the main gate of the 'Red Rock Ranch'. Two of the owners of the ranch, Craig and Shawna King came out of the main house to greet Mara. They explained to her that since she was the only female guest and the only guest under twenty years old, that she would be staying in the main house with them and their two children, Karen and Jake. Mara said that it was okay with her.

"You can share a room with our daughter Karen. She is about your age. Is that okay?"

### Mara told Mrs. King that it was okay with her, and Mrs. King took her to Karen's room so that she could unpack.

### As Mara was putting her clothes in two empty drawers, Karen King walked into the room and introduced herself. As the two girls were talking, a tall boy walked past the room, on his way downstairs.

"Who was that?" asked Mara.

"Oh, that's just my brother, Jake," said Karen. "He thinks that he is so grown up, but he is only one year older than me."

### Karen and Jake gave Mara the grand tour of their ranch. Then, the three of them went horseback riding. Mara kept staring at Jake, who pretended not to notice. Mara caught Jake glancing in her direction a few times also. Mara was almost thirteen and Jake would turn fourteen in September, so they were about a year apart in age.

### That evening, Mara went to bed early, as she was exhausted. While she slept, Mara dreamed of a man dressed in western clothes of the past. He was trying to tell Mara something. He wanted her to find a book that was hidden somewhere on the ranch.

### When Mara woke up, she thought that the dream had come from her imagination, since she was so excited about being on the ranch, and because she had not solved a mystery in a while.

### Over the next few days, Mara was busy learning how to rope, brand and hogtie cows. She worked closely with Mr. and Mrs. King, as well as Karen and Jake. Mara learned that there was a lot of responsibility involved in running a ranch.

### When Mara and Karen were alone, Mara practiced trick riding, and roping. Mara was soon able to rope and hogtie a calf, in no time at all. One afternoon, while Karen and Mara were riding around a corral, Jake joined them and offered to teach Mara how to rope a calf. Karen started to tell her brother that Mara was already an expert at roping, but Mara quickly replied that she would like Jake to teach her.

### Mara pretended to be clumsy at first, but under Jake's expert teaching, she became quite good. When Jake went into the house, Karen asked Mara why she had pretended to be helpless.

### Mara's face turned red, as she explained; "I like Jake and I didn't want to embarrass him, if I was faster or better than him. He would feel bad and then he wouldn't like me."

### That Friday night, Mara dreamed about the cowboy again. This time, he pointed to a hidden compartment behind an old desk in a building with many bunk beds. The next morning, Mara, once again pushed the dream out of her mind. She was having too much fun on the ranch to think about dreams.

### After breakfast, Mara, Karen and Jake heard Mr. and Mrs. King talking quietly in another room. Therefore, as any typical nosey teenagers, they listened in on the conversation. They learned that there was a chance that the King family might lose their ranch.

### The owner of the neighboring ranch; John Norman, was trying to convince the court that he was the rightful owner of the land that the Red Rock Ranch occupied. There was to be a court hearing the following week. At noon, the next day, the other co-owners of the Red Rock Ranch; Franklin and Esther King arrived home. They were Craig King's parents and had just returned home from a Caribbean cruise.

### When Craig filled his parents in on the details of the lawsuit, Frank became extremely angry. "If anything" said Frank, "John Norman is the one who is on shaky ground. My grandfather told me that the Norman family didn't have clear title to their ranch."

### When Craig asked his father where the title to the Red Rock Ranch was, Frank just looked at his son with a worried look on his face.

"I don't know where the title is" he replied. "My great grandfather, Robert King was in charge of the ranch, back in 1899. He was the only one who took care of the legal papers and the finances. In June of 1899, he disappeared and no one ever saw him again. Some people speculated that he may have abandoned his family and the ranch, to see the world, but my grandfather believed that someone or something kept him from returning home. He suspected foul play."

### Frank went into a closet and took a large box from the top shelf. From the box, he took several old photos of the King family. He was sitting on the couch looking at the photos and reminiscing, when Jake, Karen and Mara entered the room. They had been out riding and didn't know that Jake and Karen's grandparents had returned. After Jake and Karen hugged their grandfather, they introduced him to Mara. Frank invited the children to join him on the couch, so he could show Karen and Jake photos of their ancestors.

### As they looked at the photos, Frank told Mara the history of the ranch. "This ranch has been in our family for nine or ten generations, beginning with Thomas King, who purchased the land from the Mexican government back in 1810. Later, when Texas declared its independence from Mexico, the land was granted to Thomas by the President of Texas; Sam Houston, for Thomas's loyalty to Texas, and for fighting for Texas' independence. When Texas became part of the United States, The President of the United States deeded the land to Thomas King and his heirs."

### The story as well as the old photos fascinated Mara. She suddenly felt a chill run down her back, when she saw a photo of the man from her dreams. "Who is that man?" Mara asked Mr. King.

"That was my great grandfather, Robert King," said Frank. "I never met him because he disappeared in 1899, long before I was born." Then, Frank repeated the story that he had just told his son. Soon afterwards, Craig entered the room and told his children about the lawsuit.

### When Frank and his son had finished telling the children everything, they knew about the ranch and the court case. Mara told Karen and Jake that she needed to talk to them in private, immediately.

### When they were far away from the house, Mara told Karen and Jake that she often had psychic visions, which had helped her to solve mysteries within the past few years.

"I thought your name sounded familiar!" said Karen. "I remember reading about the haunted house in California and the White House treasures that you found."

"Well, when I got here" said Mara, "I had a dream in which a man was trying to show me where a special book was hidden."

"So?" said Jake. "It was just a dream."

"I had that dream again last night," said Mara. "The man in my dreams was Robert King, your great, great, great grandfather. I think that he wants me to find the book, because he knows that it can help save this ranch."

### Jake, Karen and Mara talked it over and decided to start searching for the book, but secretly, to surprise the adults. For the rest of the week, after their chores were finished, the three teens began systematically searching the ranch, starting with the ranch house itself.

### By Sunday afternoon, they had found nothing. Karen's parents asked Mara if she would like to go to a barn dance with their family. Mara told them that she would love to go. Mara, Jake and Karen decided to take a break from their search, and began getting ready for the dance. Karen let Mara wear one of her dresses, since Mara had not packed one of her own.

### Mara was very excited, because she had never been to a barn dance before. Mara and the King family arrived at the dance at five o'clock p.m. The dance hall was colorfully decorated and every family had brought a casserole or salad to pass around. There was also plenty of barbecue beef, beans and bread for everyone, plus iced tea and lemonade.

### When the music started, Jake asked Mara to dance and a boy named Kirk asked Karen to dance. Karen had not seen Kirk around town before. When she asked him if he was new to the area, Kirk explained that his mother had recently married a man named John Norman, and they had allowed him to stay with relatives in Philadelphia, until the school year was over. Kirk also told Karen that he did not care for his stepfather very much.

### Karen found out why Kirk disliked his stepfather later that evening. After their second dance, Mr. Norman saw Kirk and Karen dancing, and pulled Kirk by the arm and told him to stay away from the King family. When Kirk tried to protest, Mr. Norman smacked him across the face with the back of his hand.

### When Kirk's mother asked Kirk what happened to his eye, John quickly answered for Kirk and said that he ran into a door. Kirk was about to tell his mother what really happened, but when he saw the mean look his stepfather was giving him, he reluctantly agreed that he had walked into a door.

### It was late when the King family and Mara returned to the ranch. Mara could not fall asleep right away, because she was thinking about the evening. She had danced almost every dance with Jake, who she thought was very cute and a good dancer.

### When Mara did finally fall asleep, she once again dreamed about Robert King. This time, Mara asked Mr. King some questions about the book and where it was hidden. She saw that the book was hidden behind a loose board in an old building. At first, she saw images of bunk beds, and then she saw images of old tools, saddles and harnesses.

### Then, the scene changed, and Mara was standing near a cave that was in the side of a small mountain. Tumbleweeds and cacti surrounded the cave. The scene changed again. This time, she was somewhere near the cave, and Mr. Norman was pointing a gun at his stepson Kirk.

### The next morning, Mara told Jake and Karen about her latest dream. After breakfast, the three of them continued the search of all of the buildings on the ranch. By late afternoon, they had come up empty handed. They decided to take a break and went into an old harness room in the stable. Mara thought it looked familiar. She thought she had seen it in her dreams. "Did this building ever have a lot of beds in it?" she asked Jake and Karen. Jake told her that many years earlier, it had been a bunkhouse for the hired hands

### .

"This is the room from my dream," said Mara. The book is hidden behind a loose board, somewhere in this room." The three of them started searching for a loose board. After twenty minutes, Mara went to one corner of the room and began moving some old crates away from the wall and then she started checking for a loose board. When she felt a board begin to move, she yelled; "I think I've found something".

### As Jake and Karen crowded around her, Mara pulled the board to one side, reached behind it, and pulled out a small black book. Mara opened it and realized that it was Robert King's journal.

### Mara told Karen that she was worried about Kirk, after what she had dreamed about him and suggested that they ride over to the Wagon Wheel Ranch and make sure that Kirk was okay. Karen and Jake agreed. Mara put the journal in her purse and the three of them saddled up horses and headed for the ranch next door.

### When they arrived at the Norman's ranch house, Kirk's mother answered the door. Mara asked her if she could talk to Kirk. Mrs. Norman told them that Kirk went with her husband that morning to check on their livestock. She said that she expected them home any time.

### As they were about to leave, Mr. Norman drove up in his truck and asked the teens what they were doing on his property. Lynn Norman asked her husband where Kirk was, he replied, "Kirk and I got into an argument and he told me that he hated the ranch, and then he ran off. I figured that he would be here before me." Mrs. Norman was worried. "Don't worry" said John, "he will come home when he gets hungry."

### Then, John turned to the teens and told them, "Go back to your own ranch, while it still belongs to you. After tomorrow, I will have your whole family thrown off of my land."

### That evening, when Mara, Karen and Jake returned to the ranch, they went straight to Karen's room. Mara took the journal out of her purse and began to read the journal aloud. She was hoping to find some clue that could help the King family save the ranch. Also, in the back of her mind, she sensed that Kirk was in danger.

### The journal was filled with the major sales of cattle, major expenses, and mentioned important events on the ranch. One of the things it mentioned was a cave on the property that was well hidden. It was used as a vault for the family's valuables. Robert's father had stored many gold coins there for safekeeping before Texas fought Mexico for independence.

### Mara found the last few entries to be very interesting. In June of 1899, Robert wrote that William Norman's lease had expired and Robert was going to meet with him near the cave, to discuss the sale of the property. Robert mentioned that the legal papers, including the lease and the property deeds and other legal papers were in the cave.

### Robert had put the papers in the cave, after there was a mysterious fire at the courthouse that had destroyed several files. The main house at the Red Rock Ranch had been ransacked soon afterwards, as if someone had been looking for something specific. Fortunately, Robert had already moved the legal papers to the cave.

### Jake wanted to show the journal to his parents, but Mara told him that without the legal documents, the journal would not stand up in court. "We have to find the cave and get those documents to the court house by two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. We will have to start searching for the cave early in the morning."

"Do you have any idea how big this ranch is?" asked Jake. "It covers over one hundred thousand acres. It could take days to find that cave, if it does exist."

"We don't have days" said Mara. "We have less than twenty-four hours."

### That night, Mara dreamed about the cave again. This time, she made mental notes of landmarks near the cave, to help them find it the next day. Mara also saw something in her dream that disturbed her a great deal. She saw Kirk lying motionless on the ground, near some large rocks.

### Early the next morning, Mara, Karen and Jake were up before sunrise, and they were very quiet, so they would not wake up the grownups. Mara and Karen packed a lunch for the three of them and Jake filled three canteens with cold water. Before they left, Karen wrote a note, saying that they were going riding and that they would meet their parents and grandparents at the courthouse at two o'clock that afternoon. Then, they quietly went to the stables, saddled up the horses and rode away from the ranch house.

### By nine o'clock, they had seen no sign of any caves. After another half hour, Mara began to recognize landmarks from her dream.

"What kind of tree is that?" Mara asked. "I think it is a Willow, Mara," said Karen. "Me too" said Jake. Mara knew they were close to the cave.

### After another twenty minutes, they stopped near a pile of rocks that had slid off the mountain. "I think that the cave is here, under this pile of rocks," said Mara. "I think that a rock slide has covered the cave entrance."

### The three of them dismounted and began moving the rocks. After working for over an hour, they found the opening to the cave. They moved more rocks, to enlarge the opening.

### Mara hesitated at the entrance of the cave, as dozens of dreams about a cave-in made her quite nervous around caves. She finally got up the nerve, and ventured into the cave. Jake and Karen followed close behind her. When they were inside the cave, they turned on their flashlights and began looking around the cave. In the back of the cave, they saw something lying on the ground.

### Mara walked closer and saw that it was a body, or rather what was left of a body. It was now just a skeleton. It was wearing boots, blue jeans, a red cotton shirt and a brown leather vest. Lying beside the body was an old cowboy hat. Mara walked closer and knelt beside the body. Karen and Jake stayed behind Mara. Neither of them wanted to get any closer to the body.

### Mara had a good idea as to the identity of the body, and as she touched the bones, a flood of images filled her mind. The body was indeed, that of Robert King. From her mental images, Mara soon knew what had happened to him. Mr. King had gone to the cave to get the legal papers. Before he could retrieve them, William Norman; John Norman's great grandfather, ambushed him.

### Mara saw two holes in the vest and when she unbuttoned the vest, she saw two bullets lying inside the ribcage. Mara picked up the bullets and put them in her pocket. As she was closing the vest, she felt something. She looked inside the vest and saw a pocket with some folded papers inside. Mara took out the papers and carefully unfolded them. She read them aloud to Karen and Jake;

"To whoever finds my body, this is my last will and testament. I came to this cave to meet with William Norman to discuss the purchase price of his ranch. Fifty years ago, William's grandfather leased one hundred thousand acres of land from my grandfather. According to the agreement that William's grandfather signed, his family would lease the land for fifty years, and then pay full market price for the land once the lease expired. The lease was due to expire this month- June 1899. If he chose not to purchase the land, the land would revert to the King family.

### I came to retrieve the original lease and the deeds to the land before my meeting with William, but, before I could do so, William shot me, telling me that with the documents in the courthouse destroyed by the fire, that he had set, no one would ever know about the lease agreement and the land would be his forever. William caved in rocks in front of the cave, so that if the bullets did not kill me, I would be buried alive, and nobody would ever find my body.

### I know that I am dying, but hopefully, someone will find this will and set the record straight as to the rightful owner of the land. I hereby bequeath all two hundred thousand acres of land, which the Red Rock Ranch and the Wagon Wheel Ranch currently occupy, to my family; my wife Agnes and my son Randolph. The deeds and other family papers are hidden in this cave, along with the family gold.

### I want my family to know that I leave this life reluctantly, and that I love them very much.

Robert J. King June 24th, 1899"

### Mara carefully folded up the will and placed it in her backpack, and then the three of them began looking for the gold and legal papers. After searching, and not finding anything, they were ready to admit defeat, when Mara glanced up, and noticed that near the roof of the cave, there was a rock ledge. She tried to reach it, but she was too short. Jake tried also, but even he was not tall enough. Since Mara was the lightest of the three, Jake gave her a boost, and she was able to grab hold of the ledge and pull herself up.

### When she was up on the narrow ledge, she saw two iron boxes. She opened the first one and found several legal documents. She put them in her backpack and then opened the other box. It was filled with gold coins. Some were Spanish gold doubloons and some were U.S. twenty dollar gold pieces dating from 1800-1840. The box was too heavy to lift, so Mara took a handful of the coins and put them in her backpack as well.

### Jake helped Mara climb back down. Mara, Karen and Jake went outside to look at the documents in the light. They realized that the documents would save the ranch. They mounted up, and prepared to head for the courthouse. Suddenly, Mara got a vision that was like her dream the night before. She saw Kirk lying motionless on the ground. Her psychic instincts kicked into high gear, and she rode off, with Jake and Karen following her.

### Fifteen minutes later, they spotted Kirk lying on the ground, partly concealed by some small boulders. They quickly dismounted and ran over to Kirk. Mara felt for a pulse, and Kirk began to move. Jake gave him some water from his canteen, because he looked quite dehydrated.

### Mara asked Kirk what happened. "I was shot by my stepfather" replied Kirk weakly. "He also broke my leg."

"Why did he shoot you?" asked Karen.

"I was snooping around his office" said Kirk, "and I noticed that his safe was not closed all of the way. I found a document that proved that the ranch did not belong to him. His ancestors only leased the property from your ancestors. The lease expired in 1899."

"John came into the office, just as I was putting the document back into the safe. He thought that I was taking it out. He took it away from me, put it back in the safe, and locked it. He had no idea that I had already photocopied the document."

"Yesterday, he drove me out here and told me that I would never tell anyone about the lease. He planned to kill me. I stalled for time. I got him to admit that he knew about the lease and that his great grandfather was the one who stole the legal documents from the courthouse and then burned a bunch of files to cover his tracks. I taped the entire conversation on my mini- tape recorder. It's in my pocket."

"Where did he shoot you?" asked Jake.

"In the chest" said Kirk, "but my cell phone deflected the bullet into my shoulder. You have to stop my stepfather from getting away with this. You must stop him from taking your ranch."

### Karen looked at her watch. "It is one thirty now. We will never make it to the court house in time."

"Mara can get there in time," said Jake. "She's the fastest rider that I have ever seen."

### Mara tried to look surprised, but John added; "Mara, I have seen you riding and I know that you tried to make me look good. I know that you are a better rider than I am. Now go and save the ranch. Karen and I will stay with Kirk, until you can send help."

### So, Mara took Kirk's cell phone, the tape recorder, and the backpack with all of the evidence and got up on her horse. She spoke softly to the horse. "Come on, Justice, I need for you to ride like the wind. A lot of people are counting on you."

### The horse nodded, as if he understood, and he began running as fast as his legs would go.

### Mara's psychic instinct directed her in the right direction. Mara used her cell phone to call for an ambulance, as soon as she could get a signal.

### When Mara arrived at the courthouse, it was half past two. "Was she too late?" she wondered. Mara jumped off the horse and told the horse to wait for her. Then, she ran into the courthouse and headed for the courtroom that her instinct told her was the right one. When she got to the courtroom, the guard would not let her in. She started shouting, "Please, you have got to let me in there. Tell Mr. King that Mara has some very important information. Please, it's an emergency."

### Judge McPherson heard the commotion outside the courtroom and asked the bailiff to investigate. When the bailiff returned, he told the judge, that a teenager named Mara Louis was insisting on speaking with Mr. King.

### When Judge McPherson heard the name 'Mara', he told the bailiff to let the girl into the courtroom. When Mara walked in, Judge McPherson smiled because it was the same girl who had pulled him out of the path of the speeding car several days earlier. Mara smiled as well, when she recognized him.

"What can we do for you, young lady?" asked the judge.

"I have information that is very important to this case," said Mara

### .

### Mr. Norman's attorney started to object, but the judge told him to sit back down, and then he asked Mara if he could see the information.

### Mara opened her backpack and carefully took out all of the documents, and handed them to the judge. Judge McPherson was shocked when he read the documents. "Where did you find these papers?" he asked Mara.

"Karen, Jake and I found them in a cave located on the Red Rock Ranch" she said. "We also found the skeleton of Robert J. King in the cave as well."

### The judge began to read each of the documents aloud to everybody in the courtroom, beginning with the land deeds from the Mexican government, Texas President Sam Houston, and President Polk, all three documents granting the two hundred thousand acres to Thomas King and his descendants. Then the judge read the lease agreement, as well as the will of Robert King, which named his killer.

### Judge McPherson asked Mr. Norman if he had any prior knowledge of the lease or the deeds. Mr. Norman denied any knowledge of them.

### It was at that point that Mara turned on the tape recorder. Everyone in the courtroom heard John Norman confess to knowing about the murder of Robert King, the lease agreement and the deeds, as well as confessing that his great grandfather had stolen documents from the courthouse before starting the fire that destroyed hundreds of records.

### After the confession, they heard Kirk's voice. He told his stepfather that he would not get away with it. Then, there were two gunshots, and John's voice saying, "We'll just see about that."

"Where did you get that tape recorder?" asked the judge.

"From Kirk" said Mara. Then, she proceeded to tell everyone that they found Kirk with a broken leg, and two bullets in his shoulder. "He would have died, if the bullets hadn't been deflected off his cell phone and into his shoulder," she added. Then, Mara held up the cell phone with two dents in it.

### Lynn Norman started hitting her husband. "If Kirk dies, I will kill you, John." Then, through tears, Mrs. Norman asked Mara; "Is Kirk okay?"

"He has lost some blood, but his condition is stable," replied Mara. "Jake and Karen are waiting with him until the ambulance gets there."

### Judge McPherson made a phone call, and a moment later, a sheriff's deputy entered the courtroom and arrested John Norman for attempted murder and several counts of fraud.

### After Mr. Norman was taken to jail, Judge McPherson thanked Mara for her help in bringing Mr. Norman to justice. He also thanked her again for saving his life a few days earlier.

### As Mrs. Norman was asking questions about her son, Craig and Shawna King, and Craig's parents began asking many questions. All five of them were talking at the same time. When Mara's cell phone rang, she had to yell, to tell everyone to be quiet so that she could answer her phone. Mara talked on the phone for a few minutes, and then hung up.

### The five adults were anxious to hear about their children. "That was Karen," said Mara. "She and Jake are at Houston Memorial Hospital with Kirk. Karen said that Kirk is going to be fine. As soon as his mother gets there, they will take him to surgery to fix his leg and remove the bullets from his shoulder."

### Mara went to the Hospital with Karen's parents, while Mrs. Norman rode with Karen's grandparents.

### At the hospital, Mrs. Norman was able to talk with her son before he went to surgery. While all of them were waiting for Kirk to come out of surgery, Mara, Karen and Jake told the adults the complete story of Robert King, including the discovery of the cave, the gold coins; which Mara pulled out of her backpack and gave to Mr. and Mrs. King.

### Craig and Shawna King, and Frank and Esther King thanked Mara for saving their ranch. As they found out later, John Norman had forged some changes on the copy of the lease he had in his possession, to make it appear that the King family had leased the land from the Norman family, instead of the other way around. The court might have believed Mr. Norman's story, if Mara had not found the original lease, deeds and will.

"I don't know if we will ever be able to thank you for what you have done, Mara" said Mr. Frank King, as he hugged Mara. Then Agnes, Shawna and Craig all hugged Mara as well.

### Mrs. Norman was in tears as she hugged Mara, Jake and Karen. "The doctor told me that if had not found Kirk when you did, he would have died before morning. Thank you all, for saving my son's life."

### Mara suddenly thought of something. She looked at Karen's grandfather and asked; "Mr. King, could we go back to the cave in the morning to bring the remains of your great grandfather back to the ranch for a proper burial? I think that he would like to be buried beside his wife."

"Of course we can" said Mr. King. "I'll call the pastor from our church to officiate at the ceremony."

### The next morning, they all returned to the cave. They put the remains of Robert King in a nice casket and loaded into the back of a pickup truck. They also loaded the iron box full of gold coins into the truck as well, and then headed back to the King family cemetery behind the ranch house.

### Mara thought that the ceremony was beautiful, and she cried as Robert was buried beside his wife. They were finally together at last. After the King family returned to the house, Mara remained at the grave. As she was standing there, she had a vision. In the vision, Robert thanked Mara for all she had done. He also told her some more useful information.

### Back at the house, Mrs. Norman told the King family that as soon as she and her son found another place to live, they would get off their land.

### Craig told Lynn that he did not hold her responsible for her husband's crimes. He told her that he they would deed one thousand acres to her and her son, so that they could be neighbors to the King family forever. Mrs. Norman, who had already filed for divorce from her husband agreed to stay.

### The King family offered to share the gold coins with Mara, but she refused, saying; "I cannot take money for what I did. However, I do have a suggestion for some of the additional land that you now own. Why not turn it into a working western town from the 1800's. Then, instead of running a dude ranch, you could invite teens that are troubled, or have no confidence, or low self-esteem to spend time working on the ranch. They would work hard all week, for ranch dollars, and then, on the weekends, they could go into the authentic working western town, and spend their earnings. It would teach them responsibility, and pride in their work."

"During the rest of the week, the town could cater to tourists who want to experience life in the 1800's."

### Frank and Craig were impressed with Mara's idea. "That's a great idea Mara," said Craig, but it would take a lot of money to build the town, a lot more than these gold coins are worth."

"I know," said Mara, but I also know of a way to pay for the town and keep it running for several years. At Robert's grave, I had another vision. Robert told me some information that will help to finance the project. If all of you can saddle a horse, and follow me, I can show all of you something that will blow your minds away."

### When they were all saddled up, Mara, Karen, Jake took the lead, and the adults followed closely behind. After riding for forty minutes, Mara stopped abruptly and dismounted. After everyone else was standing around her, Mara took Robert's journal from her purse.

"In my vision" said Mara, "Robert told me that the answer to all of your problems could be found on page seventy five of this journal" Mara began reading the page, which described a canyon on part of the ranch, where Robert had found some dark greasy substance oozing out of the ground. He took it back to the barn and found that it worked very well as a lubricant for hinges and axles of wagons.

"He was describing oil," said Frank. "There's oil on this property?" he asked Mara.

"Yes" said Mara, and remembering the directions that Robert had given to her, she led everyone to a pile of rocks, a short distance away. After Mara rolled some of the large rocks out of the way, they all saw a small pool of black oil.

### While everyone was staring in amazement, Mara asked; "If there is enough oil, can you build the western town?" Craig and Frank promised that if there as much oil as they thought there was, they would begin making plans for the town.

### Kirk was released from the hospital on the day that Mara was flying back to Baltimore. Kirk and his mother and the entire King family went to the airport with Mara, to see her off.

### As Kirk was saying goodbye to Mara, he suddenly hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you for saving my life, Mara" he said. "I shall never forget you."

### Mara blushed and then told Kirk, "Karen really likes you and I know that you like her. Make sure that you treat her right. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Mara" Kirk replied. "Don't worry. I am a gentleman"

### Mara hugged all of the adults and then she hugged Karen. Jake helped carry Mara's suitcases to the check-in counter, and waited while her bags were checked. Jake then walked Mara to the boarding area. When he could escort her no further, he turned to Mara and said; "Mara, I really like you. I have never met a girl like you before." Then, he reached over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Mara gave him a peck on his cheek as well and said; "I like you too, Jake". Then, after giving him a hug, she headed for the boarding gate.

### As Mara got on the plane, she reflected on the two weeks she had spent in Texas. She had made new friends, solved a mystery and found a way to help teens with the Western town that would be built. She was sad to be leaving. She cheered herself up, by remembering that she had exchanged phone numbers, email and snail mail addresses with Jake, Karen and Kirk.

### When Mara got off the plane in Baltimore, her parents met her. "How was your vacation in Texas?" asked her mother

### .

"Oh, pretty uneventful," said Mara with a mischievous grin.

### Several days later, Mara got together with Scott, Betsy and Tony, at the White House to celebrate her thirteenth birthday. Mara's mother agreed that it would be easier to have the party in the White House, than to have Secret Service agents around their own neighborhood.

### When Mara and her friends were alone, she told them about her adventure at the Red Rock Ranch. Tony was a little upset when Mara mentioned kissing Jake at the airport, but he said nothing. He did not want Mara thinking that he was jealous.

### The four friends had a wonderful time. They talked and laughed all afternoon, and ate pizza and birthday cake for dinner. That evening, they had a slumber party in the Presidential living room.

### The next morning, Mara said goodbye to Scott when his parents came to pick him up. Before Tony drove off with his parents, he gave Mara a big hug and did not want to let go. He kissed Mara on the cheek, and Mara pulled away embarrassed. Tony told Mara that he really liked her a lot.

### On the ride home, Mara could not get Tony out of her mind. She wondered why she felt funny inside, every time she was with him. She was smiling, as she fell into a peaceful slumber.

### The Magical Mystery

### Fall Break had officially begun. It was very early on Thursday morning. Mara and her parents were packing the car, for their three-day trip to New York City.

### Mara was in the eighth grade. Her friends Scott, Betsy and Tony were now in high school and Mara sometimes felt all alone. She called them on the phone, texted them and talked with them on Facebook, but it just was not the same as seeing them in person.

### Mara was still in contact with Jake, Karen and Kirk, the friends that she had made in Houston over the summer. When Karen's mother called Mara's mother to tell her how grateful her family was to Mara, Mrs. Louis was somewhat confused. After she got off the phone, she asked Mara why she did not tell her about the excitement she had at the Red Rock Ranch. Mara told her mother that she did not want to worry her

### .

### Mrs. Louis had a long talk with Mara, telling her that she could tell her parents anything. "I know that you were given your gift for a reason" said Mrs. Louis, "and we accept the fact that you can't ignore your visions. But, we need for you to tell us what's going on." Mara promised that she would not keep any more secrets from her parents.

### After they arrived in New York City, they checked into a hotel, and then they went to see some of the sights. They rode buses and trains around the city. They visited Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building. They also visited the site of the Trade Center explosion where Mara placed some flowers in honor of the many people who lost their lives there on September 11, 2001

### .

### After eating dinner in a fancy Greek restaurant, Mara's parents surprised her, by taking her to a magic show, as Mara was fascinated by magic. She owned several books on the subject, as well as books on Harry Houdini, who Mara considered the greatest magician of all time.

### Mara thoroughly enjoyed the magic show. She thought that the magician; 'Mark the Magnificent' lived up to his name. After the show, he handed out autographed photos to the children. Mara got in line and when she received the picture, she shook the magician's hand.

### When their hands touched, Mara's mind was filled with a flood of mental images. Besides the photo, the magician handed Mara a packet of information about becoming a good magician.

### As soon as Mara and her parents were in a cab headed back to the hotel, Mara began writing down as many of the images as she could remember from her vision.

### Mrs. Louis glanced down at Mara's notebook and was puzzled by the list of words that Mara had written down. The list included; desk, paper, notebooks, handcuffs, secrets, trunk, ropes, Houdini, and Museum of Magic. "What's that you are writing, Mara?" she asked.

### Mara hesitated for a second, but she had promised to keep no more secrets from her parents. "When I shook that magician's hand" said Mara "I had a vision and these are the images that I can remember from my vision. I think that there is a mystery that I need to solve for him."

### Mara saw the look that her parents were giving each other, and she said, "Mom, we talked about my responsibilities that come with my psychic gift. I have the visions for a reason, and I have to help in any way that I can. Besides, you and Dad will be with me."

### When they were back in their hotel room, Mara began reading the packet that the magician had given her. Mostly, it was a collection of beginner magic tricks that kids could perform for their friends and families. Then, Mara came to a page that listed advice for aspiring magicians. Mara read them very carefully.

"These are pearls of wisdom that were given to me when I was a small child. My father gave them to me, and he got them from his uncle. Over the years, this advice has helped me immensely. I hope that it may help you as well: 'Learn by using all of your senses. Observe every detail of life. Open your mind to all possibilities. Keep the secrets of magic to yourself. Investigate all possible solutions to your problems. Never doubt your abilities. Meditate daily, to clear the mind and heal the body. Your reputation is always on the line. Dexterity is very important. Entertaining others can be hard work, but also fun. Suspense is vital to any trick. Keep your mind sharp and clear. Be polite at all times. Expect the unexpected. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Ignore the skeptics. Never turn your back on your friends or family. Dazzle the crowds with your magic. Take people at face value. Have faith in God, yourself, and family. End your show with a big finish. Do not reveal your secrets to anyone. Remember that your fans are everything. Always respect your colleagues. Work hard and play hard. Earn the respect of your audience. React to criticism in a positive manner. Study the art of magic your entire life'"

### After Mara read the advice, she felt that there was a clue in it somewhere, but she could not figure it out that night, as she was very tired. Later, while Mara slept, she dreamed that she was a magician's assistant, assisting the great Harry Houdini. In the dream, Mr. Houdini told Mara that he regretted that he never had the chance to publish his memoirs. He wanted the world to know and understand the real Harry Houdini. Mara asked Mr. Houdini if he had a message for her. Harry thought for a moment and finally, he said; "The beginnings are much more important that the ends."

### When Mara woke up the next morning, she remembered her dream. She got out of bed and looked at the advice that she had gotten from Mark the Magnificent. She remembered Houdini's advice and she began writing down the first word from every sentence. When she looked at the list, it made no sense.

### Mara looked at the list, and the first letters from each sentence were almost jumping out at her. When she wrote down the first letters, Mara realized that it spelled out a message.

### Mara was so excited, that she screamed, waking her parents up as she did so. Mara told her parents that she needed to speak to Mark the Magnificent. She looked through the packet and there was an address of a magic shop in New York City, owned by a Mark Weiss. For some reason, the name sounded familiar to her.

### Later that morning, Mara and her parents took a taxi to the magic shop. When they walked into the shop, Mara recognized the owner as Mark the Magnificent. Without his cape and makeup, he seemed much older. Mara guessed that he must be in his late fifties.

"I loved your show last night," Mara told Mr. Weiss. "Is it okay if I ask you some questions?"

"Of course!" said Mr. Weiss, "Anything for a fan."

### Mara pulled out the list of advice for young magicians, out of her purse. "Who gave this list of advice to your father?" she asked.

"His uncle, the Great Harry Houdini, himself" said Mr. Weiss.

"Wow!" said Mara. "You mean that Harry Houdini was your great uncle?" She suddenly knew why the name Weiss was so familiar to her. Harry's last name at birth was Weiss. He later changed it to Houdini.

"Mr. Weiss, did your father inherit anything from his uncle?" asked Mara.

"Just a few magic props and an old desk" said Mr. Weiss.

### When Mara heard that, she got very excited. "Where is that desk now?" she asked.

"It's in my office." Mr. Weiss replied. "Would you like to see it?"

"Yes, please!" replied Mara.

### Mr. Weiss escorted Mara and her parents, to his office. Mara recognized the desk as the one in her dream. "Mr. Weiss" she asked, "Did you or your father ever find anything of value in the desk, such as papers, or notes?"

"No" he replied, looking curious. "Why do you ask?"

### Mara began to explain. "Over the past four years, I have solved several mysteries around the country. Recently, I have begun having psychic visions and dreams that have helped me to solve puzzling mysteries. Last night, when I shook your hand, I had a vision that involved you and Harry Houdini. Last night, I had a dream, in which I talked to Mr. Houdini. He gave me some answers to help me to solve a mystery."

"When Mr. Houdini originally made that list of advice for your father; his nephew, he also left a hidden clue for him. This morning, when I woke up, I studied the list of advice and discovered the hidden message. The first letter of each sentence, put together, spell out the following message: 'Look in my desk, behind the drawers.' Do you mind if I look there?"

### Mr. Weiss helped Mara remove the three drawers from the right side of the desk. Mara noticed that the desk was deeper than the length of the drawers. The difference in depth was almost a foot. Since Mara was the only one small enough to reach back into the desk, she used a flashlight and stuck he head into the opening. She noticed that there was a back panel held in place with four screws, one in each corner.

### Mr. Weiss brought out a screwdriver and Mara began to remove the screws. When Mara lifted the panel out, she saw several papers and notebooks held in place with leather straps. Mara pried the straps loose, and removed ten notebooks, and several sheets of paper. She handed them to Mr. Weiss.

### As Mr. Weiss looked through them, he was speechless. He had to sit down, because he felt dizzy. When he was able to speak, he said; "These are journals written by my great uncle, Harry Houdini. They tell his life story, his memoirs. There are also secrets to some of his best tricks. These journals and papers are priceless, and have a very special meaning to me. Mara, how can I ever thank you?"

"I think that Mr. Houdini wants you to publish his memoirs," said Mara. "He also wants you to build a museum that will tell the story of magic over the centuries."

"I think that when his story is published, it will be a best seller and the money can be used to build the Houdini Museum of Magic," said Mr. Weiss

### .

### Mara made Mr. Weiss promise not to mention to anyone that she was the one who solved the mystery. Mr. Weiss agreed, and then he asked Mara; "How would you, like to be my assistant in tonight's show?"

### Mara looked at her Mom and asked; "Could I, Mom?"

### Mrs. Louis laughed and said, "I think that you have earned it."

### That afternoon, Mara and Mr. Weiss rehearsed for over three hours, with Mr. Weiss sharing the secrets of some of his tricks. Just before the show, Mr. Weiss presented Mara with her own black cape, that he had a seamstress friend of his make on very short notice. On the back of the cape were the words; 'The Remarkable Mara'

### .

### Mara had a terrific time doing the show. She was not a bit nervous. Doing magic tricks in front of a live audience, was more than she could have hoped for.

### After the show, Mr. Weiss asked Mara for her address, so that he could mail her an autographed copy of his book when it was printed. He also let Mara come up with the title; "The Magical Life of Harry Houdini"

### That night, Mara had another dream about Mr. Houdini. In the dream, Mr. Houdini was performing his magic show on stage, but Mara was the only person in the audience. When the show was over, Harry bowed to Mara, and thanked her for her assistance in making his memoirs available to the world. Then, with a puff of smoke, Mr. Houdini disappeared.

### When Mara woke up the next morning, there was a knock on the door. When Mara opened it, she was handed a large bouquet of flowers and balloons. The card said "Thanks Mara" and was signed "H.H.". Mara thought that they were from Mr. Weiss, but when she called his store; he had no idea what she was talking about.

### Mara had read a lot about Mr. Houdini and knew that he had always believed it was possible to communicate between the living world, and the afterlife. Mara was convinced that Mr. Houdini had proved his theory, as he had sent her flowers from beyond the grave.

### The Mystery of the Indian Maiden

### When Mara got home from school, she took the mail out of the mailbox and unlocked the front door. Her mother would not be home for another hour. She was still at school, where she taught science. Mrs. Louis had always been a science teacher, but she had put her teaching career on hold when Mara was younger. Now that Mara was in the eighth grade, Mrs. Louis started teaching seventh grade science at the middle school.

### Mara's father was the regional sales representative for a major pharmaceutical company and often traveled around the country as part of his job. Currently, he was in Ohio on a business trip.

### As Mara looked through the mail, she noticed that there was a letter addressed to her. There was no return address on the letter, but it was postmarked: Los Angeles. Mara got excited. "Maybe it was from Ryan and Jason Davis," she thought. She had already received a few letters from them over the past two years.

### When Mara opened the letter, she was disappointed that it was not from Ryan or Jason, but as she began reading the letter, Mara got excited

### .

"Dear Miss Louis," the letter began. "You don't know me, but I know a lot about you. Recently, when my family and I visited my mother in Florida, I found a scrapbook filled with articles about you and the mysteries that you have solved. When I asked my mother about it, she informed me that you were the girl who had helped her when she fell and broke her hip two years ago, in the parking lot of a Florida mall. You probably remember her as Mrs. Carter."

"My mother had never told me your name before this, because she knew that you didn't want any more publicity. However, now that I do know who you are, I want to repay you for your kindness that you showed to my mother, when no one else would help her."

### Mara thought back to that day two years earlier. She had just turned eleven and she was line to see Ryan and Jason. Mara continued reading the letter.

"I am the CEO and president of a corporation that owns much real estate around the world. Currently, my company is involved in a project in Hollywood. We are a major investor in a new film that is being produced by Mr. Gene Fisher, whom I believe you are acquainted with. He told me all about the mystery that you solved at his residence."

"My family would like to invite you to be our guest over the winter break, if it is okay with your parents. Mr. Fisher would like to see you again, as would Ryan and Jason Davis."

"My mother told me that you are very interested in history. Well, my wife is an archaeologist and our family is planning a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona during winter break. We have three children; twin daughters, Heidi and Bethany, who are fourteen and one son, Nick who is twelve."

"Please accept our invitation, as we will be very hurt if you don't come. We will pay all of your expenses. Enclosed you will find my cell phone number if you or your parents have any questions." The letter was signed; "Sincerely, Jeffrey Carter"

### When Mara's mother arrived home, Mara showed her the letter. Mara told her mother that she really wanted to go to California and the Grand Canyon.

### That evening, when Mara's father called from Cleveland, he and Mara's mother discussed the invitation. The both decided that Mara could go. Mara was very excited. She called Mr. Carter and accepted the invitation. Mr. Carter gave Mrs. Louis all of the information and told her that he would send the airline tickets by express mail.

### That night, Mara had a hard time falling asleep, because she was so excited. It was December tenth and winter break was only seven days away. She would fly to California on the eighteenth, and would spend the twentieth through the twenty-third at the Grand Canyon. She would fly back to Baltimore in time to spend Christmas with her parents.

### When Mara finally fell asleep, she had a very strange dream. She was standing in a canyon, and she saw a beautiful young woman dressed in a deerskin dress and moccasins. She looked very sad and when Mara asked her why, the girl pointed to the wall of the canyon.

### At first, Mara did not understand, but then, she saw a flashback to a scene in the same canyon many years earlier. There was a cave in the wall of the wall of the canyon. There was a Native American ceremony and somehow, Mara understood that an Indian maiden who was about fourteen, was being put in the cave with other items to appease the gods and ensure a mild winter.

### The rest of the tribe began to seal up the entrance of the cave with rocks and adobe bricks, and then caved in sandstone to hide the entrance to the cave. That was why the young girl was so sad. She had been buried alive in the cave. From the way the Indians were dressed, Mara guessed that it had happened hundreds of years earlier.

### Mara felt the loneliness that the young girl had felt, being separated from her family and her tribe.

### The next morning, when Mara woke up, she began doing research on the history of the Grand Canyon, as well as the history of the Native American tribes that were in that area of the country. From pictures of how scientists believed the natives to be dressed in early centuries, Mara guessed that the girl in her dream was a member of the Anasazi tribe, the ancestors to the modern day Hopi Indians.

### A few nights later, Mara had another dream about a cave, but this time it was her recurrent nightmare about herself being in a cave when the ceiling began to fall on her. As before, Mara woke up just before the rocks landed on top of her.

### Mara tried to put the second dream out of her mind, but she could not help worrying that the Grand Canyon was where her dream might finally come true in real life.

### On Saturday, December eighteenth, Mara hugged her parents, goodbye at the airport and one hour later, she was on her way to Los Angeles. With the time change, it was three o'clock in the afternoon when she arrived in L.A.

### When Mara walked into the terminal, she saw two teenage girls holding up a sign that read "Welcome, Mara!" Mara walked over to them and Mr. Carter introduced himself and his wife; Dr. Ruth Greathouse (She had kept her maiden name), and their three children; Heidi, Beth and Nick. After Mara claimed her luggage, the six of them got into a van and headed towards the freeway.

### That was when Mr. Carter told Mara that his family had a surprise for her. He told her that they were going to take Mara somewhere special before going to their home. He would not give her any hints about the surprise.

### Thirty minutes later, they pulled up in front of a very fancy restaurant and while a valet parked the van, Mara and the Carter family walked into the restaurant. As soon as Mara entered the restaurant, she saw Ryan and Jason Davis, who came over to welcome her to the Disney Channel Christmas party. Mara hugged both of them and as she looked around the room, she saw that it was filled with stars and staff of several Disney shows.

### Mr. Fisher welcomed Mara to the party and then escorted her around the room, introducing her to everybody that she did not already know. Mara had a great time at the party. It was after nine o'clock when Mara got another surprise. She was talking to Beth and Heidi, when she heard a familiar voice call her name. When Mara turned around, she saw Mrs. Carter standing there. She looked the same as she did when Mara last saw her, accept she was standing instead of lying in a hospital bed.

### When Mrs. Carter saw Mara, her eyes lit up and she looked a lot younger than eighty-five. Mara got a chair for her and helped her to sit down. The two of them talked for quite a while. It was after midnight, when Mara and the Carter family left the restaurant. Mara said goodbye to everyone and Ryan and Jason kissed her goodnight.

### Over the next two days, Mara became very friendly with Beth, Heidi and Nick, who acted as tour guides as Mr. Carter, his wife, and his mother took Mara around to see all of the sights.

### On Monday afternoon, December twentieth, Mara and the Carter family drove to the airport. After they all received their boarding passes, they escorted Mrs. Carter to her boarding gate and waited until she boarded the plane that would take her back to Florida. Mara gave Mrs. Carter a big hug and told her that it was great to see her again.

### After the plane took off, they proceeded to the boarding gate for the plane that would take them to Flagstaff, Arizona. When they landed in Flagstaff, they rented an SUV to take them to the Grand Canyon.

### On the flight, as well as on the road, Mara asked Dr. Greathouse many questions about the history of the Grand Canyon, as well as information about the various Native American tribes from that area. Dr. Greathouse was impressed with Mara's knowledge and her insatiable curiosity.

### When they arrived at the motel near the canyon, it was late and they were all exhausted from the long day. They ate a late dinner and then they all went to bed, as they had a long day ahead of them on Tuesday.

### That night, Mara had another dream about the Anasazi maiden. Mara asked her many questions and though the girl did not speak English, Mara found that through mental telepathy, they could communicate.

### The Grand Canyon usually had a lot of snow during the winter, but fortunately for the Carter family and Mara, there had been very little snowfall and no more was expected for a week or so.

### The six of them and their tour guide would be riding donkeys on the winding trail that led to the bottom of the canyon. Before they started their descent, Mara asked Dr. Greathouse if she had her camera with a lot of film.

"I have my digital camera, and several empty memory cards. Why do you ask?" Dr. Greathouse asked Mara. "I have a hunch that we will make a very important discovery in the canyon today," said Mara.

### Dr. Greathouse and Mara let the others go ahead of them and when they were alone, Mara explained her dream. "I have dreams and visions that have almost always come true. Twice now, I have dreamed of a concealed cave in the side of the canyon wall, where Native American maiden, an Anasazi, I believe was sacrificed and was buried alive, hundreds of years ago, to guarantee a mild winter for her tribe. I don't think that her spirit is at peace."

"Do you think that you could locate the cave?" asked Dr. Greathouse.

"I think so," said Mara.

### Mara and Dr. Greathouse rejoined the group and when they were on the floor of the canyon, Dr. Greathouse spoke with the tour guide and he agreed to let Mara and Dr. Greathouse lead the group. After an hour of riding, Mara suddenly had a vision of the maiden standing by the wall, pointing to a certain spot on the canyon wall.

"That is the spot," said Mara. "The hidden cave is there." Everybody stopped and Mara explained about her dreams.

### Dr. Greathouse took two whiskbrooms out of her backpack and handed one to Mara. They both began sweeping sand off the wall of the canyon at the spot that the maiden had pointed to. Within twenty minutes, they began finding loose rocks, and then adobe bricks that been used to seal up the cave.

### Dr. Greathouse realized that they had found something important. Since she was from Los Angeles, and had no jurisdiction in Arizona, she called an old friend of hers who worked at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She explained everything to him and asked if he could bring an archaeological team to the canyon. She gave him their exact location.

### Two hours later, the archaeological expedition arrived by helicopter, and landed on the floor of the canyon. After taking a number of photographs, the team began carefully dismantling the wall that blocked the entrance to the cave.

### When the wall was completely removed, Mara insisted that she be allowed to go in first, to make sure it was safe. Dr. Greathouse gave Mara a strange look, but agreed to her request. Mara took a flashlight and cautiously entered the cave.

### The cave turned at a right angle and when Mara was inside the cave, she studied the ceiling of the cave. It looked solid, and it did not look like the ceiling in her dreams, the dreams where the ceiling collapsed on her. She felt more relaxed and began exploring the cave. As she aimed the light at the walls, and she saw, many drawings and symbols painted on them.

### As Mara went further into the cave, she saw the remains of the Anasazi girl from her dreams, lying on the ground. Beyond the body, were dozens of woven baskets, painted clay pots with lids, tools and other artifacts, as well as piles of animal furs.

### Mara returned to the entrance of the cave and invited the team into the cave. "Dr. Greathouse, I think that you will be very surprised at what you find in this cave".

### Moments later, a couple of battery operated lanterns lit up the entire cave. The team of archaeologists was speechless, when they saw the walls, the skeleton and the treasure trove of artifacts.

### As the team began to investigate, they found that the baskets and clay pots were filled with all kinds of seeds, including wheat, corn, squash, sunflowers, beans, pumpkins and several other types of seeds.

### Mara saw the maiden pointing to another room off the main cave, that contained several clay dishes that were unbroken, as well as dishes made out of copper and silver. There were also several figurines and woodcarvings. The detail of the items was very good, with the colors bright and not faded, as they had not been exposed to sunlight or the elements for several centuries.

### When Mara showed the second room to the rest of the group, they told Mara that she had discovered the greatest archaeological site in the whole southwest.

### Mara insisted that her name not be mentioned when the discovery became public. She explained that she could do without more notoriety. Then, Mara added another request. "Since there is no way of knowing where the rest of this girl's family or tribe is buried, could she please be buried with her descendants, the Hopi people? That way, she will finally be at peace." The team agreed with Mara's request.

### The spirit of the girl pointed to a necklace that she was wearing and then pointed to Mara. Mara turned to Dr. Greathouse and said, "The maiden wants to give me her necklace." The body was lying face down, so that nobody could see the necklace. Mara then proceeded to describe the necklace in detail as she looked at the spirit of the maiden.

### Some of the workers photographed the body as they found it, and then carefully, turned the body over. Everyone was amazed to see the necklace that Mara had described to the tiniest detail.

### After taking several photos of the necklace, the lead archaeologist from the university carefully removed the necklace from the skeleton and handed it to Mara.

"If you hadn't told us where to find this cave, it might have been buried for a few more centuries," he told Mara. "Keep this necklace with our eternal gratitude."

### As Mara put the necklace around her neck, the maiden smiled, bowed her head and then vanished.

### Over the next few days, the artifacts were transported to a laboratory at the university in Flagstaff. Research later proved the artifacts to be between five hundred and a thousand years old. The seeds were very valuable, as they would provide information about the diets of the Anasazi Indians, and if they were allowed to grow, scientists could compare today's plants to their ancestor plants.

### The Indian maiden was buried in sacred Hopi burial grounds in a traditional ceremony. Mara was glad that she could finally rest in peace.

### On the flight back to Los Angeles, Dr. Greathouse asked Mara why she insisted on going into the cave first. Mara hesitated, but then she told Dr. Greathouse about her recurrent dream of the cave-in. "Knowing that it might have been the cave from my dream, I couldn't risk any other lives."

"Mara, you are a very thoughtful and intelligent young woman," said Dr. Greathouse. "I know that whatever career you choose for yourself, the world will be a better place because of your contributions. You are using your special gift to help others and not yourself. I am so proud of you."

### At the Los Angeles airport, Mara said goodbye to everyone and then got on another plane to take her home to Baltimore.

### Several hours later, Mara met her parents at the Baltimore airport. Her mother noticed her new necklace and asked her where she got it.

"It's a long story," said Mara. "I'll tell you all about it on the way home."

### As Mara related her latest adventure/mystery, her parents listened with eagerness. They had realized long ago, that their daughter was an amazing girl who was still able to amaze them from time to time.

### After they returned home, they got ready for the Christmas Eve service at church. Later, during the service, as Mara stood in front of the manger, she said a special prayer for the soul of the Indian maiden, and then she said another prayer for all of the children around the world. Finally, Mara thanked God for her special gift that he had bestowed upon her, and asked that he help guide her to use it to help others in need.

### Mara did not care if she got any gifts for Christmas. The look of happiness in the eyes of the Indian maiden and the smile on her face was more than enough gift for her.

### The Mystery of the Old Cookbook

### Mara was glad when school was out for the summer. It was another milestone in her life. She was no longer in elementary school. In the fall, she would be starting high school.

### Both Scott and Betsy attended her graduation ceremony. Afterwards, they accompanied Mara and her family back to her house, where her parents threw her a graduation party. By that time, Mara and her parents had become used to Betsy's Secret Service agents wherever she went. Since the incident in Hawaii, when Betsy ditched her Secret Service detail, the agents stuck to her like glue.

### While Scott, Betsy and Mara would spend a lot of time together during the summer, the three of them would be apart for at least three weeks, when Mara and her parents were on vacation in the southwestern United States.

### When Mara told her parents how beautiful Arizona was, they decided to visit Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada in June. Mara was especially excited about the vacation because they would have a guest with them.

### Tony's parents were taking a trip to Europe to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary and they asked Mara's parents if Tony could stay with them in Baltimore while they were away. When Mara's parents asked her if it was okay with her if Tony went on vacation with them, Mara said yes immediately.

### Mara and her parents met Tony at the airport. After he picked up his luggage, the four of them headed to another gate, and a couple hours later, they were on their way to Reno, Nevada.

### After landing in Reno, and picking up their luggage, they rented a car and drove to Virginia City, where they would spend the next five days.

### Virginia City came into existence about the time silver was discovered, in the late 1840's. The Comstock Lode was the biggest of the silver mines. At its peak, Virginia City was a bustling town in the old west, with many saloons, hotels and a general store.

### Modern Virginia City was mainly a tourist attraction, with less than one thousand residents actually living there. It was Saturday afternoon when the Louis family and Tony arrived. They checked into a small bed and breakfast inn that had been remodeled to look like a boarding house from the 1800's. As they began walking around the town, Mara and Tony discovered that the residents had tried to keep the town, looking like it had in its glory days, by restoring the buildings to their original condition.

### One thing that Mara and Tony had in common was their fascination with history. When they visited the town museum, they were intrigued with all of the historical artifacts. One item that caught Mara's eye was an old cookbook. The caretaker of the museum told Mara that she could look at it, if she was very careful.

### As soon as Mara picked up the book, her mind became flooded with visions of the past. She saw an older man with a gray beard, cooking flapjacks and steaks, for a dining hall filled with miners and cowhands. The name "'Big Mike' O'Brien" came to Mara from out of nowhere. She also saw donkeys, shovels, picks and huge bins filled with rocks. She also saw several metal bars. Mara saw a floor made out of flat rocks pieced together.

### As Mara opened the cookbook, she saw the name 'Mike O'Brien' written inside the cover. As Mara carefully turned the pages, she noticed that someone had made a lot of notations in the margins of the pages. There were also some handwritten recipes in the back of the book. Mara took a notebook out of her purse and copied the notations as well as the handwritten recipes, as she sensed they were of importance to someone.

### When Tony saw Mara with her notebook and pen, he asked her what she was doing. When she explained, Tony became very excited, because he knew that Mara was hot on the trail of a new mystery.

### The next morning, Mara and her parents and Tony attended services at a Lutheran church located about ten miles outside of town. The church served several communities, including Virginia City. Mara noticed that there were several teenagers who were not with their parents. She also sensed that the pastor, known as Pastor Mike, was a very dedicated and devoted pastor.

### Mara read an announcement in the church bulletin that explained the possible closing of the youth center, unless they were able to raise enough money to pay the expenses. Mara learned that the youth center was a place that took in runaway teens, getting them off the streets. The center offered hot meals, a place to sleep and counseling services for the teens.

### Pastor Mike had started the center fifteen years earlier and had helped hundreds of runaways to be reunited with their families.

### After the service was over, Mara's parents told Pastor Mike how much they had enjoyed the service. When Mara saw his nametag, she noticed that his last name was O'Brien. "Are you by any chance related to 'Big Mike' O'Brien?" she asked the pastor.

"Why, yes I am" replied Pastor Mike. "How do know about him?"

"We saw his name in the cookbook in the museum" said Mara.

"Big Mike was my great- great-great- great-great uncle" said Pastor Mike, "but, he wasn't always a cook. He was a schoolteacher in New York, and came to Virginia City to strike it rich. Legend has it that he had a silver claim that was one of the richest in the area. After several attempted robberies and after several people tried to kill him, He supposedly hid all of his silver and then, with the little silver that he kept, he built the restaurant where he became famous for his delicious flapjacks. If you are interested, I can show you his restaurant. I bought the building when I moved here thirty years ago. It is now part of the Youth Center for Lost Teens; that is, for teens who have lost their way. At the center, we help teens to find God, and help them find out who they are and who they want to be."

"I'd love to see the center," said Mara. Tony nodded in agreement.

### Pastor Mike gave Mrs. Louis the directions and address to the teen center. Pastor Mike told them that he and two women who worked at the center would be taking the fifteen teenagers back to the center in a remodeled school bus. He told Mara that he would see her and her family at the center at eleven o'clock for a tour.

### When Mara, her parents and Tony arrived at the youth center, Pastor Mike gave them the grand tour. The building was quite large. There was a boy's dormitory that could hold twenty-five boys, at one end of the building, and a girl's dormitory that could hold thirty girls at the other end, with the main part of the center situated between them. Besides staff offices, and conference rooms, there was a recreation room, a large library and vocational center. There were rest rooms as well as shower rooms in each dormitory.

### The very center of the building was the original restaurant that 'Big Mike' had built back in the mid 1860's. It was now used as the kitchen and dining room for the center.

### When Mara walked into the dining room, she felt like she was walking into the past. In her mind, she saw the room as it had been back in the 1860 is, with miners and cowhands sitting at the tables, eating and carousing. Mara could even see 'Big Mike' serving the customers.

### The walls of the dining room were made of logs and oak planks and the floor was made up of pieces of sandstone, tightly butted up against one another, so that there was no space between the stones. The floor was quite polished after over 140 years of use. As Mara walked across the floor, she found it to be quite solid, and very level. 'Big Mike' had spent a lot of time and work, building the eating establishment.

### Mara sat down at a table and opened her notebook. She started studying the notes that she had copied from the old cookbook. One recipe that was written in the back of the cookbook caught Mara's attention. She felt that there was a hidden clue in it somewhere. The recipe was titled 'Sourdough Bricks'. Mara thought that it must be some kind of bread. The directions included; "cook aurum until it becomes liquid. Boil away any impurities. Pour into loaf pans and allow them to cool completely. When cool, remove from pans. Place loaves in stone ovens and cover with flour. Next, cook argentum until it becomes liquid. Boil away impurities, pour into loaf pans, and allow them to cool. When loaves are cool, remove from pans and put loaves in stone oven on top of aurum loaves, and cover with more flour. Place stones on top of the loaves and keep covered until needed."

### Mara had helped her mother in the kitchen several times and this recipe seemed very strange. She did not know if aurum and argentum were plants native to Nevada in the 1800's, or spices, or some kind of exotic foods.

### Mara asked Pastor Mike if he had a computer that she could use. He took Mara to his office, where the computer was located, and then he left her alone to do her research.

### Mara entered the words; 'aurum' and 'argentum' into the computer and was flabbergasted at the results. She ran back into the dining room where Pastor Mike was telling Mara's parents and Tony that he did not want to close the center, but without funds, he could not pay the bills.

"I think that I have found a way for you to keep this center open and running for many years to come," said Mara.

""That would take a miracle at this point. What is your idea?" asked Pastor Mike.

"Well, I think I know where Big Mike buried his silver and possibly some gold that he dug out of his mining claim" said Mara. "He wrote the location in the back of his cookbook, in the form of a recipe."

"Where is it buried?" asked Tony, getting more excited by the minute.

"If my calculations are correct" said Mara, "it is buried under this floor."

### At the look of disbelief on everyone's face, Mara explained her reasoning. "After several robberies and attempts on his life, I think that Big Mike melted down the silver and perhaps gold, made them into bars, and buried them under the floor of his restaurant. His restaurant became so successful that he never needed to dig up the silver and gold. It must still be there."

### Mara showed Pastor Mike and her parents the copy of the recipe. "'Argentum is the Latin word for silver and 'aurum' is the Latin word for gold. Big Mike used to teach school, so he would have known Latin."

"I know that this building is a historical landmark, but if you don't find more funding, you will have to close down the center. What do you have to lose?" asked Mara.

### Pastor Mike thought for a moment and then said "You're right, Mara. We have nothing to lose. I'll go get some tools." A few minutes later, he returned with a chisel, a hammer and a crowbar. He handed the tools to Mara and Tony and said, "Go for it".

### Mara chose a small stone in the center of the floor and using the chisel and hammer, she broke the stone in two pieces. The pieces of stone were six inches thick. Tony used a crowbar and loosened a few more stones, to widen the work area. After he and Mara had removed the stones and placed them to one side,

### Mara began digging with her hands through a layer of coarse sand beneath the floor. She got a big smile on her face as she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a crudely formed bar of a shiny metal. It was so heavy, that she almost dropped it. Tony helped her carry it over to the table, where everybody agreed that it looked like silver.

### Mara and Tony removed several more bars of silver and then Mara dug down a little further and found what she was looking for. This time the bar that she pulled up out of the ground, was yellowish, shiny, and a bit heavier than the silver. Everyone agreed that it was gold.

### Pastor Mike called the rest of the staff and the teenagers, to help remove all of the furniture from the room and then carefully remove the rest of the stones. Mara told Pastor Mike that they could replace the floor after all of the bars had been removed.

### Once the last of the stones had been removed, everybody, including Pastor Mike and Mara's parents began digging up the bars of silver and gold. When the last bar had been removed, they counted the bars and found that there were over one hundred fifty bars of gold and over one thousand bars of silver. Each bar weighed between forty and fifty pounds.

### Mara was using a garden rake, to check the sand for any bars that they might have missed. In one corner of the room, she hit something with the rake. She dug down into the sand and found a cast iron box. After she brushed the sand off it, she opened the box and found some notebooks and an envelope. Mara opened the envelope, carefully unfolded a letter and read it aloud to everyone:

"If you have found my treasure, then either I didn't need it, or I died before I could dig it up again. This treasure has caused me much trouble and that is why I have buried it under the floor of my restaurant. I have been cheated and robbed and people have tried to kill me to get at my fortune. Being wealthy is not what I thought it would be. I pray that you use this treasure wisely, and that you use it to help others less fortunate than yourself. Do not let greed destroy you.

### The journals that you see here, describe my journey from New York to Virginia City in 1853, and my search for gold and silver. May God be with you.

### Michael O'Brien, July 16, 1866"

### That evening, before the evening meal of flapjacks (Big Mike's special recipe) and ham, Pastor Mike gave thanks to God for sending Mara to him, to find a way for the center to stay open and to allow him to keep helping troubled teens.

### When Mara tasted the flapjacks, she felt like she was in Heaven. She had never tasted pancakes that good before. She was so absorbed in eating the delicious flapjacks, that she did not hear Pastor Mike talking to her until Tony shook her. "Mara, Pastor Mike just asked you a question."

### Mara was embarrassed. She apologized, and asked Pastor Mike to repeat his question. "I asked what I could give you as a reward for saving the center." Mara suddenly had a big mischievous grin on her face. "I'll tell you what, Pastor Mike, if you give my mom the recipe for these heavenly flapjacks, we can call it even." Pastor Mike agreed and everybody laughed.

### Over the next few days, Mara and Tony spent most of their time with the other teenagers at the youth center. Soon, it was time for them to leave, to go see the Grand Canyon.

### Before they left, Pastor thanked Mara once again and told her that God could not have chosen a better person to bestow the gift of special visions, than Mara. As they drove towards the Grand Canyon, Mara felt good about what she had accomplished in Virginia City. She knew that because of her discovery, many runaway and troubled teens would be reunited with their families, and would receive the help that they needed.

### The value of the gold and silver was later determined to be worth over eighty million dollars, more than enough to keep the center open for many years to come. Pastor Mike had Big Mike's journals published, with all proceeds going to the center. He dedicated them to Mara Louis and sent her a set when they were published six months later.

### The Case of the Lost Child

### Three hours after Mara, her family and Tony left Virginia City, they were checking into the motel near the Grand Canyon. When Mr. Louis told the desk clerk his name, he took out his credit card to pay for the rooms. The clerk told him to put away his credit card. "Your rooms have already been paid for" she told him. Then she handed him an envelope full of meal coupons. "These coupons should cover all of your meals while you are here."

"I don't understand," said Mr. Louis. "Who paid for all of this?"

"Dr. T.J. Paterson has paid all of your expenses," said the clerk. About that time, Mara walked up to the front desk and had overheard the end of the conversation. She told her dad that Dr. Paterson was the archaeologist from Northern Arizona University. "He was the person in charge of the Grand Canyon excavation."

### When the clerk realized who Mara was, she handed her an envelope with her name on it. While Mara's parents and Tony waited impatiently, Mara read the letter aloud.

"Dear Mara,

"When I heard that you and your family were visiting here on vacation, I was very pleased. I wanted to thank you again for finding that lost cave in the canyon. As you may have read, in the newspapers, it is one of the greatest discoveries of the century. We are learning so much about the Anasazi culture that we did not know. Some seeds from the cave were planted and have already sprouted. Soon, we will be able to learn about the crops from hundreds of years ago.

### The Grand Canyon National park has had a very large increase in visitors, because of your discovery. This, in turn has done a world of good to our economy in Northern Arizona.

### It is my pleasure to pay your vacation expenses. It is only a small token of what we owe you. Please plan to visit the Grand Canyon museum and see the newest exhibit.

### Sincerely,

### Dr. T.J. Paterson, PhD"

### Mara's parents and Tony were very impressed that Dr. Paterson was so impressed with Mara's abilities. Mara became self-conscious when she saw everyone staring at her and she decided to change the subject. "Let's get checked into our rooms, so that we can go swimming," she said.

### After they had unpacked, and Tony and Mara had changed into their swimsuits, everyone went down to the pool, where Mara and Tony went swimming and Mara's parents read the newspaper by the side of the pool.

### A couple of hours later, after changing into some cooler clothing, they went to an authentic Mexican restaurant for lunch and then drove around, looking at the sights. They even did a little shopping.

### That evening, they went out to a drive-in movie, and when they returned to the motel, they turned in for the night, as it was late, and they had to be up early in the morning.

That night, after she fell asleep, Mara had a very disturbing dream. In her dream, Mara saw a small girl who was four of five years old, trapped in some kind of storeroom. The girl was very frightened and was crying. She was speaking Spanish and was calling out to her mother and father. Mara also saw pictures in her dream. She saw ice cream, bags of chicken feed, a large pile of junk, and several old buildings. Several names flashed through her mind as well, including Carlos Sanchez, Johnnie Yazzie, Gisela, Albuquerque, and Mendoza.

### When Mara woke up, she was crying because she felt so bad for the little girl who was lost or trapped in a storeroom. Mara quickly wrote down everything that she could remember, in her notebook, before she forgot any of the details.

### Just as Mara was putting away her notebook, her mother knocked on her door and told her that it was time to get up and head for the canyon.

### After a quick breakfast, they drove to the Grand Canyon. It was seven o'clock when they arrived. They had been advised to go to the bottom of the canyon early, because it got quite hot by midafternoon. The four of them were each given a donkey to ride. Tony was a little wary of riding a donkey, but he reluctantly mounted up on one.

### When the park trail guide was ready to take them down the trail, Tony's donkey decided that he did not want to move. Mara rode her donkey over to Tony and talked softly to the donkey, and patted it on the neck. The donkey perked right up, and began moving down the trail. Tony just stared at Mara with his mouth hanging open. Mara was constantly amazing him.

### Three hours later, they reached the bottom of the canyon. In a short while, they reached the cave that Mara had discovered. It was roped off, but the guide allowed the four of them to enter the cave and walk around, and look at the cave drawings.

### By twelve thirty p.m., they were back where they started, at the top of the canyon. They proceeded to the museum. When they finally got to the newest exhibit, Mara was surprised to find her name in print. There was a plaque at the exhibit that read: "This exhibit would not have been possible without the help of Mara Louis, a very special young lady."

### The exhibit consisted of artifacts that were found in the newly discovered cave, along with several photographs of the cave and the Indian maiden. Tony pointed out a photo of Mara standing with Dr. Greathouse and Dr. Paterson at the cave. "Look Mara, you're famous. Well, more famous, that is."

### After the four of them left the museum, they returned to the motel, where Tony and Mara went swimming again. They were all tired from the trek to the Grand Canyon. After dinner, they watched a movie in the lobby of the motel and then returned to their rooms and went to bed.

### Mara fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had the same dream as the night before, except that this time, Mara felt a sense of dread, as if the little girl's life was in serious danger.

### The next morning, Mara awoke feeling sad. She could not tell her parents about the dream, because she did not have many details. She knew that the vision was about Albuquerque, New Mexico and that was where they were going for the last part of their vacation.

### It was late afternoon, when they checked into a very nice hotel in Albuquerque. That evening, while Mara and Tony swam in the hotel pool, they befriended a Hispanic boy who called himself CJ. CJ was fourteen, almost the same age as she was and one year younger than Tony was. The three of them had a great time. CJ told Tony and Mara that his mom worked as a maid in the hotel and he was allowed to swim there sometimes.

### At nine o'clock p.m., CJ's mom told him that it was time to go home. After CJ pretended not to hear her, she got angry and said "Carlos Jose Sanchez, you get out of that pool this instant". CJ reluctantly got out of the pool, and told Tony and Mara to meet him at the video arcade on the second floor the next day. Mara and Tony agreed to meet him there at 9 a.m. the next day.

### When Mara and Tony were on their way back to their rooms, a while later, Mara had a nagging feeling that she had knew CJ from somewhere. Suddenly, it came to her. "Carlos Sanchez" Mara shouted. This made Tony jump and he turned to her and asked, "Are you all right Mara? Were you out in the sun too long today? What in the world are you shouting for?"

### Mara explained the dream that she had the past two nights. Tony agreed with Mara that they should meet with CJ the next morning in the arcade to see if they could find more clues.

### The next morning, Mara woke up from the same dream feeling sad again. She knew that she had to help that little girl. At breakfast, when Mara's mother suggested that the four of them spend the day sightseeing, Mara protested. She said that she and Tony wanted to spend the day swimming and going to the arcade with a new friend that they had met in the hotel. After some pleading, Mara's parents finally gave in, as long as they did not leave the hotel, and that they checked in with the front desk every few hours. Mrs. Louis told Mara that they would be gone most of the day, and that if she needed anything, she would have her cell phone with her.

### After Mara's parents left the hotel, Mara and Tony went up to the arcade on the second floor and started looking for CJ. When he showed up, Mara asked him if he knew anyone named Gisela, or Johnnie Yazzie.

"I don't know anyone named Gisela, but I have a best friend named Johnnie Yazzie," said CJ. "His grandmother is a cook here at the hotel, and we both hang out her a lot, while our parents are working. In fact, here he comes now"

### A boy about their age, walked up to them and CJ introduced him to Mara and Tony. "How did you know about Johnnie?" asked CJ.

### Mara and Tony explained to them about Mara's dreams and visions as well as her most recent dreams. When Mara mentioned the images that she had seen in her dreams, Johnnie said, "That sounds like those old deserted buildings on the other side of town. They are scheduled to be torn down later this week." CJ agreed and suggested that the four of them go there and try to find the girl, before she got hurt. When Mara agreed to the plan, Tony reminded her about what her mother had told them about leaving the hotel.

"We'll be back long before they return to the hotel," said Mara. Tony did not like disobeying Mara's parents, but he knew that Mara was going to go, either with him or without him, and he agreed to go along, so that he could keep an eye on her.

### Since the desk clerk would notice the four of them going out through the lobby, Johnny led them through the hotel kitchen, which had a back door. When Johnnie's grandmother caught them sneaking through the kitchen, Johnny introduced her to Mara and Tony.

### As Mara shook the hand of the elderly Navajo woman, the woman's eyes got bigger and she whispered to Mara; "I also have visions of the past and the future. I see what you see. Be very careful. There is extreme danger involved. You must hurry."

### As they headed for the bus stop, Johnnie told Mara that his grandmother also had visions and they were always accurate. The four teens got on a bus that was headed across town, towards their destination. Mara noticed that the area of town they were passing through was very run down. Some of the houses and even the school looked like they were falling apart. Johnny and CJ mentioned that many neighborhoods, including theirs, were as poor as the ones that they were passing through. They told Mara and Tony that the schools were overcrowded and did not have enough books and hardly any computers.

### When they reached their destination, Mara, Tony, CJ and Johnnie began searching the deserted area of town for the clues in Mara's dreams. As they passed a collapsed building, Mara recognized it as the pile of junk that she had seen in her dream. Mara knew they were close. Tony noticed a faded sign on the side of a building that said 'Feed Store'. Next to that building, was a building that CJ recognized as an abandoned ice cream factory.

"This is the place where Gisele is trapped," said Mara. They began checking all of the doors to the building and they found one door that was unlocked. They entered the building with caution. Mara turned on a flashlight that she had brought with her, because the factory was pitch black. The building had been abandoned a long time judging by the musty odor.

### Mara began calling out the little girl's name; "Gisela, are you here? We want to help you." Soon, the others were calling out to her as well. Mara thought that she heard a sound coming from the other end of the building. As she walked toward the sound, she heard it more clearly. It was a child's tiny voice. Mara saw a door that had a chair pushed up under the doorknob, so that the door could not be opened from the inside.

### Mara removed the chair and carefully opened the door, so as not to scare the girl. She saw a small-frightened girl, the one that she had seen in her dreams. "It is okay, Gisela," said Mara. "We will take you home."

### The little girl ran up to Mara, put her arms around her, and would not let go.

"How did you get trapped in here?" asked Mara.

### Through tears, the girl told them her story. "Two bad men took me from the playground of my preschool. They told me that I would never see my mommy and daddy again."

### Suddenly, as she held Gisela, Mara had a vision of what had happened. The two men who kidnapped Gisela were trying to collect a ransom from the girl's parents who were very wealthy. Mara knew that the kidnappers planned to kill Gisela after they had they had received the ransom money. Mara knew that the kidnappers could come back at any moment and that they had to get out of there as soon as possible.

### Before they left, Tony put the chair back under the doorknob, so that the kidnappers would think Gisela was still in the room. After they left the building, Mara put Gisela on her back and the four teens ran as fast as they could.

### After running six blocks, they saw a police car and they flagged it down. Mara explained that they had found the girl in an abandoned building and that the girl had been kidnapped. The officer recognized the girl from a flier that he had in his squad car, and he called for assistance.

### When three more police cars arrived, Mara repeated her story. Mara told Gisela that it was okay to go with the nice police officer. "He is going to take you home to your mommy and daddy." Gisela hugged Mara one more time before going into the police car. After the teens showed the police officers where they had found the girl, Mara glanced at her watch and realized how late it was getting. "We need to get back to the hotel now."

### The police gave all four teens a ride back to the hotel. Mara and Tony arrived at the front desk, just as Mara's mother called to check up on them.

### Mara told her mom that she and Tony were getting ready to go swimming, which was true, because Mara and Tony spent the next two hours at the pool with CJ and Johnnie. After that, they went to the arcade, which is where Mara's parents met them.

### During dinner, in the hotel restaurant, they were watching the news on a big screen television. The big story was about a four-year-old girl, the daughter of a local billionaire, had been kidnapped, but had been reunited with her parents and the kidnappers had been apprehended. The newscaster mentioned that the safe return of the little girl was due to the assistance of four good Samaritans who rescued her.

"That's why I didn't want you wandering around the city by yourselves," Mrs. Louis said. "It can be very dangerous." Mara and Tony just looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

### Later that evening, Mara and Tony were in her parent's hotel room watching a movie, when there was a knock at the door. When Mrs. Louis answered it, a man asked to speak to Mara Louis. Mrs. Louis invited the man in, along with his wife and daughter. As soon as the little girl saw Mara, she ran over to her and gave her a great big hug.

### Mr. and Mrs. Louis looked quite puzzled until the gentleman offered an explanation. "I am Francisco Mendoza. This is my wife Elena and our daughter Gisela. From the looks on your faces, I am guessing that your daughter hasn't told you what happened today."

### Mara and Tony both had looks of kids being caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They were busted. Mara and Tony explained everything, beginning with Mara's dreams, to meeting up with CJ and Johnnie and ending with turning Gisela over to the police.

### Mrs. Louis looked at Mara with a look of worry and disappointment. Mara had never seen her mother look so upset before. "I'm sorry for disobeying you, Mom" said Mara, "but in my dreams, Gisela's fears were real and I knew that she was in real danger. I could not have lived with myself if anything had happened to her. I know what I did was wrong and I am ready to accept whatever punishment that you give me."

### Mrs. Mendoza turned to Mrs. Louis and said; "Mrs. Louis, please don't be too harsh on Mara. She saved the life of our little girl. The police had planted a listening device in the ransom money and they overheard the kidnappers planning to kill our daughter before crossing the border into Mexico. The police caught the kidnappers just fifteen minutes after Mara and her friends had rescued our daughter." Gisela was still holding tightly onto Mara all of this time.

### Mrs. Louis looked at Mara and said; "I want you to promise me that you will never try to solve another mystery without telling your father or me, or at least another responsible adult. We could have lost you forever and I don't ever want to feel that way again."

### Mara promised her parents to always tell them about her visions and dreams whenever possible.

### Then, Mr. Mendoza spoke to Mara; "Mara, as you probably know, I am a very wealthy man. If there is anything that I can do for you, just say the word."

### Mara responded very quickly. "I don't need anything, but the kids in this city do. I have seen how run down some of these neighborhoods are. The houses and schools are falling apart. The schools are overcrowded and there are not enough books to go around. There are hardly any computers in the schools. If there is anything you can do to help them, I know that they would appreciate it."

### Mr. Mendoza looked at Mara, as if seeing her for the first time. "Mara, you are a pretty amazing young woman. You see the problems that I have tried not to look at. You see, I grew up in Albuquerque, and when I was a child, my family struggled to survive. I was in such a hurry to get out of the old neighborhood and become successful, that I have forgotten my roots, and my own people."

"Today, we almost lost our daughter, the most precious part of our lives. We have been so busy making money and a name for ourselves, that we have forgotten what is important. From this day forward, I give you my word of honor, that we will use our money and our status in the community, to help those in need. We will help rebuild the neighborhoods and schools, and improve the living conditions of the children, including giving them the best education possible."

"Thank you Mara, for not only giving us back our daughter, but for showing us how selfish and stingy we have been with our money. Money and power are not important. Helping those less fortunate than us is."

### When Mr. Mendoza shook Mara's hand, she whispered to him, "If you can, could you please help out Johnnie's family and CJ's family? If they hadn't helped Tony and me, we would never have found Gisela in time."

"Don't worry Mara," whispered Mr. Mendoza. "They will be well taken care of.

### Mrs. Mendoza hugged both Mara and Tony and Gisela hugged them as well. Mr. Mendoza shook Tony's hand and whispered to him, "Don't let Mara get away from you. She's quite a remarkable young lady."

### Tony's face turned a shade of red. Later, when Mara asked him what Mr. Mendoza had said to him, Tony replied, "He was just thanking me again," and then he quickly changed the subject. He was too embarrassed to tell Mara what he had really said to him.

### After the Mendoza family left, Mrs. Louis hugged Mara tightly and started to cry. Mara had never seen her fall apart like that. "Mara, you could have been killed today. I couldn't have gone on living without you."

### At that instant, Mara knew how her mother felt. It was the same helpless feeling that she had in her dreams, when she knew Gisela was in danger, but she was unable to help her. "I'm so sorry, Mom" said Mara. I was not thinking. It will not happen again. Then, Mara started crying as well.

### That day, Mara grew up a little bit more. She realized that her gift did not make her invincible. It was at that moment, that Mara left childhood behind forever.

### While Mara was sitting on the couch, still crying, Tony sat down beside her, put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder. Tony told Mara what a remarkable woman she was. "I hope that we can always be good friends, Mara," he said.

### Over the next few days, Mara, Tony, and Mara's parents spent a lot of time with CJ and Johnnie and their families, as they saw the rest of the city. Before Mara and her family flew back to Baltimore, she and Tony exchanged phone numbers and addresses with CJ and Johnnie and Tony and Mara gave them their email addresses as well, so that when CJ and Johnnie did get computers, they could stay in touch.

### Within two months, both CJ and Johnnie did receive new computers, and their families moved into new houses. Mr. Mendoza gave their parents jobs within the companies that he owned. CJ and Johnnie were soon added to Mara's growing list of Facebook friends.

### The day after Tony and Mara returned to Baltimore, they called Scott and Betsy and agreed to meet at the White House. After they had been together for less than five minutes, Scott looked at Mara and said, "I can't put my finger on it, but you're different somehow. Did you cut your hair or something?"

"No" said Mara, "I'm still the same old Mara, just a little bit older and a little bit wiser." Then, Mara winked at Tony and he winked back.

### Neither Tony nor Mara wanted to say goodbye when it was time for Tony to fly back to Philadelphia. At the airport, Mara put her arms around Tony and the two of them just stood there hugging for a long time.

"I'm really going to miss you, Mara," said Tony. With misty eyes, Mara replied, "Not half as much as I'm going to miss you." Then she kissed him on the cheek, and this time, Tony returned the kiss.

### On the ride back home, Mara asked her mother, "Mom, How did you know that you were in love, the very first time?" Mrs. Louis and her husband looked at each other and then Mrs. Louis said, "When we get home, why don't you and I go out for ladies only afternoon and we can have a long talk?"

### Mara smiled and said, "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

### The Mystery of the Restless Spirits

### In September, Mara started high school. She now went to the same school as Scott again. Even though he was a year older that her, they had become good friends.

### Mara now had friends all over the country. Every time she went on vacation, it seemed that she was solving a new mystery or two and she made new friends. She stayed in touch with all of them through Facebook.

### As the school year progressed, Mara made more new friends at school, but Scott was her closest friend in the school.

### One day in early October while Mara was eating her lunch in the cafeteria, Scott and a girl that Mara did not know, walked up and sat down with Mara. Scott introduced his friend to Mara. Her name was Jordan Travers and she had recently moved to Baltimore from Idaho. Scott told Mara that he thought she could help Jordan.

### Jordan explained that she had twin cousins who lived in Cincinnati. Her cousins; Brenda and Kenny Jackson were both thirteen and had begun having strange dreams. Recently they had also begun seeing and hearing strange things in their house.

"Scott told me that you have solved quite a few mysteries and I was wondering if you could help my cousins," said Jordan.

### Mara was intrigued. Fall break was coming up and she had never been to Ohio before.

### Jordan gave Mara the phone number of her cousins' house and Mara told her and Scott that she would let them know what she could find out.

### That evening, after doing her homework, Mara got permission to call Brenda and Kenny. After Mara had introduced herself, Brenda got very excited. "I know all about you, Mara," she said. "I've read about all of the mysteries that you have solved."

### As the two girls talked, Mara took many notes. After an hour or so, Mara told Brenda that she would do some research and then email her with what she had found out. The two girls exchanged email addresses and Mara gave Brenda her phone number.

### After Mara hung up the phone, she began reading through the notes that she had written down in her notebook.

### Six months earlier, both Brenda and Kenny had begun having very unusual dreams. Brenda dreamed about a man in a funny looking uniform. She later located the same uniform in a book about the Revolutionary War. In her dreams, the soldier looked very sad and Brenda got the impression that he was asking her for help, though he never said a word.

### The morning following her first of many dreams, Brenda told Kenny about her strange dream. Kenny was taking a drink of milk the time and when he heard about Brenda's dream, he spit milk all over her. After he helped her clean up the spilled milk, he told Brenda that he had a very similar dream, but the soldier in his dream was wearing a Civil War uniform. He also got the feeling that the man was asking for help, but did not speak in the dream.

### Over the next several nights, they both had the same dreams. Then, strange things began to happen when they were wide-awake. They both heard noises and began seeing people that would disappear into thin air. Brenda and Kenny recognized two of the apparitions as people from their dreams.

### According to Brenda, her ancestors built the house in the early 1830's and that their many generations of her family were the only people who had ever lived there.

### Brenda also mentioned that she and her brother were extremely close and as young children, they discovered that they could sometimes communicate without talking, sort of like twin telepathy. They did not tell anyone about the dreams and the ghosts, except for Jordan, because they did not want their family to think they were crazy.

### Mara was very intrigued by the case and she asked her parents if they could go to Cincinnati over fall break. Her dad informed her that he would be out of town on business and that Mara's mother would be at educational conferences at the school for most of the four-day weekend.

### At school the next day, Mara told Scott and Morgan that both of her parents had to work during fall break. She told them that if she could go to Cincinnati, she might be able to figure what was going on in the old house.

"My family is going to Cincinnati to see my relatives during fall break," said Jordan. "I'll ask my parents if you can come along with us."

"I'd like to go too" said Scott, "If that's okay with your parents. I would love to help Mara solve another mystery."

### Mara tried to contain her enthusiasm. "Call me as soon as you can, so that I can get my parents' permission to go," she said.

### That evening, when the phone rang, Mara ran to it and answered it before the second ring. Jordan told Mara that her parents said it was okay for Mara and Scott to Cincinnati. While Jordan waited on the phone, Mara asked her parents if she could go to Cincinnati with a friend and her family. "Scott is going too", she said.

### After Jordan's mom and Mara's mom talked on the phone for a while, Mara's mom gave Mara permission to go to Cincinnati.

### Mrs. Louis called the airlines and was able to get Mara a seat on the same flight as Jordan's family and Scott.

### After Mara called Scott and told him the good news, she called Brenda and told her that she would see her in a few days.

### Over the next few days, Mara did some research on the history of Cincinnati, as well as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

### Fall break started on the second Thursday of October. On Wednesday evening, Morgan's family drove up in an SUV to pick up Mara. Scott was already onboard. Mara hugged her mom goodbye and got into the SUV and then they were headed for the airport.

### On the flight to Ohio, Mara sat between Scott and Jordan. Scott told Mara that Betsy was very upset that she could not go with them. She expected a full report when they returned.

### After they landed in Cincinnati, the Travers family and guests claimed their luggage and rented a car. Soon, the five of them were headed to the Jackson ancestral home.

### When they arrived, Mara got her first glimpse of the house. It was nothing like she had imagined. It looked like a mansion to Mara. It was a three story white house with brown shutters. There were tall white columns in front of the house. The house sat on twenty acres of land.

### Brenda and Kenny came running out when they heard the car pull up. Their parents; Kyle and Lori Jackson came out as well. After introductions were made, everybody went into the house. While Mr. Jackson showed his sister-in-law and brother-in-law to their bedroom, Kenny and Brenda showed Morgan, Scott and Mara to the rooms where they would be sleeping.

### That evening, after a late dinner, everybody retired for the night. When Mara finally fell asleep, she had a very strange dream. In the dream, Mara saw a man dressed in a revolutionary uniform. Mara sensed that his name was Matthew. He was writing a letter, dated 1810. When he finished writing the letter, he put it in a thick brown envelope, which already contained several more sheets of paper. He then, wrapped the envelope in a large piece of white cloth and tied it securely with some brown string. He placed the bundle in a hole in a brick wall and carefully replaced bricks and cement to fix the wall.

### Mara woke up suddenly and saw the man in her dream standing at the end of her bed. He motioned for Mara to follow him. Mara quickly put on her robe and slippers and followed Matthew to the third floor. At one end of a hall, he pointed to the ceiling and then disappeared.

Mara returned to her room and went back to bed. She was barely asleep, when she had a second dream. This time, she saw a man dressed in a different uniform. Mara somehow knew that his name was Thomas. He was writing in a journal and the date was June 3rd, 1860. After he was finished writing, Thomas placed the journal in a black wooden box, hid it in a hole in the floor, and placed a large stone tile on top of it. If Mara did not know the box was there, she would not have guessed that there was a secret vault in the floor.

### Mara woke up and saw Thomas standing at the end of her bed. "Here we go again," thought Mara, as she put on her robe and slippers. She followed the ghostly apparition down some stairs that led to the basement. Thomas pointed to a brick wall at one end of the basement and then, he too, disappeared.

Once again, Mara returned to her bedroom and got back into bed. When she fell asleep, she had her third and final dream. She saw a boy about sixteen or seventeen, writing a letter. Mara noticed the date was June 10th, 1864. After the boy finished the letter, he folded the three sheets of paper, placed them in an envelope and sealed it. Then, he removed a board from the ceiling, placed the envelope in a hiding place, and replaced the board. Mara sensed that his name was Daniel, but Mara also knew that his mother called him 'Danny Boy'.

### Again, Mara awoke suddenly, this time, to find Daniel beckoning her to follow him. Mara was soon walking back upstairs to the third floor again, this time following Daniel. Daniel led her to the opposite end of the hallway, and pointed to a wall, and then, like each of the preceding ghosts, he too disappeared.

### Mara walked back downstairs and went back to bed, and slept until morning. At eight o'clock a.m., Scott, Kenny, Brenda and Morgan woke Mara up, when they went into her bedroom. "Wake up sleepy head" said Scott. "We've been up for an hour already."

### Mara was still tired, and she just glared at Scott. "I didn't get much sleep last night," said Mara. "I kept getting awakened up by pushy ghosts. It was like being trapped in 'Dickens' book; 'The Christmas Carol'."

### When the others stared at Mara as if she was crazy, she replied, "I'll explain everything after breakfast. I worked up quite an appetite walking around the house all night long."

### When the five teens walked into the dining room, Mara noticed that there were some new faces around the table. Brenda introduced Mara and Scott to her grandparents; Howard and Stella Jackson, who appeared to be in their late fifties, her great grandparents; Robert and Mary Jackson, who looked to be in their seventies and her great-great grandfather; Samuel Jackson who turned ninety seven that day.

### Mara thought that it was cool that Brenda's grandparents, great grandparents and her great-great grandfather, all lived together in the same house, just a few blocks away from the Jackson ancestral home.

### A few minutes after the introductions, Samuel Jackson smiled and said, "I know who you are", he said to Mara. You're the girl who found that hidden room in the White House, aren't you"

"Well, I did have help from my friends," said Mara. "In fact, Scott helped me."

### Mr. Jackson looked at Scott and then said, "Aren't you the lad who rescued the president's daughter from the kidnappers?" Scott blushed when he realized that everyone was staring at him. "Yes, I did" he replied. "Betsy and I are very good friends now."

### What Samuel Jackson said next surprised both Mara and Scott. "I know President Morgan quite well," he said. "In fact I knew his father and grandfather as well. I was a United States Senator for thirty years. I also personally knew William Carver when he worked in the White House."

"That was a noble thing you did, Mara, by making the Carver journals available to the public."

### During breakfast and afterwards, Mara and Scott were mesmerized by stories that Brenda's relatives told them. Mara was fascinated to learn that every generation of the Jackson family from Brenda's father, back to Matthew Jackson; the first generation to come to Ohio, all served in the military, with at least one member of the family serving in every war clear back to the Revolutionary War. Some of them even made a career of the military.

### Brenda's father was an Army reservist who had served in Iraq and in Desert Storm. Her Grandfather served in Desert Storm and Vietnam, her great grandfather served in Korea, Vietnam, and his father served in WW2 and Korea, before becoming a United States Senator.

### Suddenly, Mara remembered her nighttime visitors. Mara started thinking aloud. "Maybe that explains the ghosts I met last night," she said. The room got quiet and When Mara noticed everybody looking at her, she realized that she had said that last thought aloud. She had no other choice, but to explain everything to the Jackson family.

"The reason that I came to Cincinnati in the first place, was to help Kenny and Brenda solve a mystery of weird things that have been happening over the past several months."

### After Brenda and Kenny explained about their dreams and the strange things that they had seen and heard, Brenda said, "We didn't mention this to anyone, because we were afraid that you would laugh at us, or worse, think we were crazy."

"Their dreams were real," said Mara, "and I can prove it. Since I was twelve, I have had psychic visions, while awake and asleep. Last night, I had three separate dreams, where I saw three different men in military uniforms. After each dream, I woke up to find the men in my dreams standing at the foot of my bed, beckoning me to follow them. Each time, it was to a different location of the house where they wanted to show me something."

### Not one word was said by anyone as Mara told her story. Mara could not tell if they all believed her or not, and she continued with the story.

"The first soldier I met was named Matthew and he wore a uniform from the Revolutionary War. The second soldier that I met was named Thomas. His uniform was from a later period than the Revolutionary War. The last soldier I met wore a blue Civil War uniform. His name was Daniel, but his mother called him Danny Boy."

### Samuel Jackson interrupted at this point in the story. "My great grandfather was Daniel Jackson and his nickname was 'Danny Boy,'" said Samuel. "He served in the Union Army during the Civil War. The other two descriptions fit two more of my ancestors as well; Matthew Jackson and Thomas Jackson."

### Mara was excited to hear this information, because she suspected that the spirits might have been of people who used to live in the house.

"Why do you think they appeared to you?" asked Kenny.

"I think that they left something behind that they want me to find for your family," said Mara.

### For a moment, nobody said anything. Then, Samuel spoke up; "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's start this treasure hunt."

### Brenda's father; Kyle asked Mara if she could remember everything that she had seen during the night.

"Are you kidding?" asked Scott. "Mara is the best mystery solver ever, and she never forgets a clue."

### Mara's face turned a light shade of pink, with embarrassment. She stood up, and with nine adults and four other teenagers behind her, she headed up to the third floor. When she got to one end of the third floor hallway, she pointed to the ceiling. "This is where Matthew wanted me to find something," Mara told the others. "I think there is a secret room up there."

### Kenny and his father got a stepladder and Kenny climbed up and started tapping on the ceiling. He heard a hollow sound and when he looked closely, he noticed there was a gap between two of the boards, with a couple of screws holding it on. With a screwdriver, he removed the two screws and then he began prying the board loose. Slowly, a four foot by four-foot panel of ceiling came loose. It was hinged on one side, with the hinges hidden on the other side of the panel. Apparently, the door had not been used in several years. Kenny and his dad swung the secret door all the way down and open, revealing an open space above the hall.

### Kenny climbed down the ladder and after repositioning the ladder under the opening, he climbed up into the dark abyss that lay before him, followed closely by Brenda and Mara. Kenny noticed that there was a wooden floor. He tested it and after he found it sturdy, he helped his sister and Mara up into what seemed like another room. Mara turned on a flashlight and the three of them started looking around the room.

### They saw several old trunks, as well as old rifles and various miscellaneous items. Because they did not think the floor would hold much more weight, they passed the trunks, rifles and other items down to the adults below.

### When the room was empty, Kenny was about to start climbing down the ladder. Mara stopped him and pointed the flashlight at a far wall. "There's something hidden in that wall" she said.

### Mara, Brenda and Kenny walked over to the wall, which was made of brick. As Mara scanned the wall with the flashlight, she spotted an area where the bricks looked a little crooked. Taking the screwdriver from Kenny, she began chipping away at the cement between two of the bricks. After a couple of bricks became loose, she removed them. Using the flashlight, she searched behind the bricks and she found what she was looking for. She removed a bundle wrapped in aged faded cloth, tied with old string.

### After they checked the room again to make sure they did not miss anything, they climbed down the ladder. Kenny and his Dad closed the secret door and put the screws back in.

One by one, the trunks were opened, revealing their contents, which had been hidden for many years. They were full of military uniforms and men's and women's clothing from the 18th century, old books, dishes, tools and many miscellaneous items.

### Mara carefully opened the packet wrapped in cloth, to reveal a large brown envelope stuffed with old papers. Samuel, Robert and Howard began examining the papers. Samuel announced that they were military papers and other personal papers of Matthew Jackson who lived from 1734 to 1823.

### In one of the trunks, under some of the clothing, Kenny found two small wooden boxes. One contained military medals that had been awarded to Matthew Jackson and the other one was filled with an assortment of colonial and early American coins.

### Everyone was so excited about the treasures they had found, that they had forgotten about the other two hiding places. Scott quickly reminded them. "Hey, what about the other two ghosts?" he asked everyone.

### Samuel looked at Mara and with a twinkle in his eye, he said; "Lead on, Mara. Take us to the next treasure."

### Mara led the group down into the basement. When she got to one end of the basement, she stopped. Mara walked along the wall, touching the bricks as she did so. She had her eyes closed and when she stopped, she opened her eyes and said, "There is something behind this wall."

### Scott, Kenny and Kenny's father got some chisels and a pickaxe from a tool bench and began chipping away at the wall. When they had removed about a dozen bricks, they looked through the opening with a flashlight. They discovered a room approximately fifteen by twenty feet. They began removing bricks faster, until they had made a doorway in the wall. Mara entered first, with the others following closely behind her.

The room looked like a room in an antique shop. There were a number of pieces of furniture and clocks from the early 19th century, several trunks, and what the teenagers thought were odd-looking contraptions. Brenda's grandmother explained what most of the items were, including a butter churn, an old washboard, and many obsolete kitchen utensils.

### The trunks were filled with more uniforms and clothing, this time from the 1800's to the 1850's. As the adults were looking at the furniture, Scott noticed that Mara was searching for something. "What are you looking for Mara?" Scott asked. Mara was not listening, as she was concentrating on her search for a loose stone in the floor. As she neared the far end of the room, she found what she was looking for.

"Scott, can you help me?" Scott helped Mara pry loose a large stone out of the floor and together, they lifted it up and carefully set it aside. Mara saw what she was looking for, a large black wooden box. As they lifted the box out of the ground, everyone gathered around. As Mara opened the box, she saw the journal that she watched Thomas place in the box. She opened the journal to the last entry dated June 3rd, 1860. The entry was signed 'Thomas A. Jackson'

### The rest of the contents of the box were papers and medals relating to the military service for Thomas Jackson as well as his father Otis Jackson, and his grandfather Frederick Jackson. The papers and medals spanned three wars, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the war for Texas Independence in 1836.

### Brenda's great grandfather; Robert Jackson, was becoming anxious about finding the last treasure. "Let's go, Mara", he said. "I'm not getting any younger you know" he said with a laugh.

### Once again, everyone followed Mara as she led him or her back up to the third floor again, but this time, she headed to the opposite end of the hall. Mara closed her eyes as she moved her hand along the wall. When she stopped, she opened her eyes and said, "The third secret room is behind this wall."

### This time, Brenda and her cousin Jordan used hammers and a crowbar, to pry boards off the wall, revealing the secret room. When enough boards had been removed to provide a doorway into the room, they entered to find a room that had been used as an office and a nursery.

### On one side of the room, they found a cradle, and a lot of baby clothes, toys, and accessories. On the other side of the room, there was a bookshelf filled with old books, mostly first editions of many classic novels of the 1800's. There was also an antique desk. In the drawers, Mara found a lot of legal papers, including birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as land records and deeds from the early 1700's through 1860, showing a complete family history of the Jackson family through Daniel Jackson.

### There was also a closet filled with men's and women's clothing from the 1800's to the 1860's.

### Before Mara left the room, she went to a corner of the room and from the ceiling; she removed a board and located the envelope that Daniel hid there.

"This must be the letter that Daniel placed here in 1864," Mara told the others. Mara and the others went back downstairs to the dining room and Samuel insisted that Mara open the envelope and read the letter.

### Very carefully, Mara opened the envelope, unfolded the letter and began to read it aloud to the entire Jackson family.

"June 10th, 1864

### To whoever finds this letter; greetings,

### My name is Daniel Jackson (though my mother calls me Danny Boy). Tomorrow, I shall leave Cincinnati, to join the Union Army. I am only sixteen years old, but I look at least eighteen. My father; Richard Jackson and my Grandfather; George Jackson have both fought valiantly in this War Between the States. Sadly, both of them have given their lives trying to reunite our great nation.

### I will continue fighting on their behalf. I will serve my president as best I can. Mr. Lincoln wants to preserve our nation as do I and I am prepared to give my life, if necessary, to achieve this goal.

### In case the rebel army shall get as far as Cincinnati, I shall not let them steal any of my family's treasures. My mother has already been sent away to live with family until I return. I have hidden the family treasures on the property.

### If you are lucky enough to find this letter, I am leaving a puzzle to help you locate our treasure. If I do not return from the battlefields, the treasure is yours to keep. I would hope that you would share it with others.

### Now, I bid you a fond farewell. May God protect our great nation and reunite it.

### Sincerely,

### Daniel Jackson"

### Then, while everyone eagerly listened, Mara read the second part of the letter; the puzzle.

"Gold and silver are quite rare, but this treasure is; who, what, when and where.

### To locate the treasure, think very hard; how many feet are in a yard?

### If you take the time to look, you can learn a lot from a book.

### From our treasure, out the door, you will see how we lived in 'sixty-four'

### Learn as much as you can, from life's pages; you will gain valuable knowledge from the ages.

### Gold may make your spirits lift; but family is the greatest gift.

### What you do, and what you see; becomes part of your history.

### Whoever finds this treasure map; may find my knife and favorite cap.

### Look between the li'ns and dig very deep; the treasure you find is yours to keep.

### This treasure should not be squirreled; please share it with the rest of the world."

### Brenda asked her great-great grandfather the question on everyone's mind. "Grandpa Sam, did Daniel return home after the war and recover his treasure?"

"Well" said Samuel; "It's hard to say. Daniel was injured in the war, and when he returned home, he had some memory loss. As far as I know, no one in the family ever mentioned a hidden treasure, so it could still be hidden."

### By this time, it was late afternoon and it was getting dark. It also like a storm was approaching. While everyone agreed that the treasure was most likely buried outside, they all agreed that it was better to wait until morning to start their search.

### That evening after dinner, Mara started looking for clues in Daniel's letter. She went into the living room, where Samuel was resting. "What can you tell me about Daniel Jackson" Mara asked him.

"Well, he and I had a lot in common," said Samuel. "Danny Boy was very interested in photography and took a lot of photos during the end of the Civil War, and after the war, he continued taking photos until his death in 1949, at the age of 102. When I was a boy of thirteen, I also became interested in photography and my great grandfather Danny Boy taught me everything he knew. For the two of us, photography was more than a hobby. It was a way of preserving moments of history. Neither of us took posed photographs. We took action photos, candid photos, without the aid of props. We took photos of people, places, and nature."

### Do you still have any of those photos?" asked Mara. Samuel's eyes lit up when Mara showed an interest in the photos. "I have thousands of photos," said Samuel. Danny Boy taught me to always keep a copy of every photo I ever took. My collection goes back to 1926, and I also have Danny Boy's collection of photos dating from 1864 to 1949. Would you like to see them?"

"Oh, yes," said Mara. "I'd love to see them." Since the photos were stored in the house from when Samuel had lived there, a few years back, he took Mara to a room, where there were several boxes filled with photos. Mara got Scott, Brenda, Jordan and Kenny to help her carry all of the boxes down into the living room. Then, the five of them and Samuel started looking through the photos.

### Mara fell in love with the photos immediately. They captured the character of the subjects in the photos. Mara was surprised to see a photo of Teddy Roosevelt, and there on the back, was written, T. Roosevelt, 1898- Sp. Am. War. "Wow", she said. This was taken of him before he became president. As she continued looking at the photos, she saw many such photos, of famous people, before they became famous. She even saw some photos of President Morgan as a child.

### In Samuel's collection, there were photos of almost every president since 1900, and almost all of them taken before they became president, either when they were lawyers, in the military or just entering politics.

### Mara and Scott were looking at some of Daniel's photos, when they got very excited. They found hundreds of photos he took during the Civil War including photos of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, taken at Lee's surrender. Not only were there several photos of the top generals of the Civil war, but ones of several Army officers who would one day become a U.S. President. They even found several photos of President Lincoln, including some that were taken just days before was assassinated.

### The last boxes of photos that they looked in were marked 'family photos'. There were several photos of the Jackson family, including one taken in 1949, that showed six generations of the Jackson family, from Danny Boy aged 102, down to Brenda and Kenny's grandfather Howard Jackson when he was just a baby. Samuel remarked that it was taken a couple months before Danny Boy died.

"Do you have any photos taken before 1864?" asked Mara.

"No" replied Samuel. "I wondered about that myself, but I searched and searched this house and never found any photos before Danny Boy went to fight in the war."

### When they finished looking at the photos, it was after eleven o'clock p.m.

### As Mara lay in her bed, she began thinking about Danny Boy and his treasure, and after a while, she finally fell into a peaceful slumber.

### When Mara woke up early the next morning, she began carefully going through Daniel's letter looking for clues. She was concentrating on it so intensely, that she did not hear Scott and the others enter her room. When Scott spoke to Mara, she jumped up and dropped the letter. "You startled me, Scott," she told him.

"Did you figure out where the treasure is yet?" asked Kenny.

"Not yet" said Mara. "There are some things that I understand, but there are things that are puzzling me. For example, there are three feet in a yard, but how does that help? Does it mean we should go three feet in a certain direction? Which direction? Then the clue, 'read between the lines and dig real deep', does that mean that we should look for a clue in a book? What book? Maybe it refers to a hidden meaning in the poem?"

### At breakfast, Mara mentioned her frustrations to the adults at the table as well. "Just relax. I'm sure that it'll come to you," said Samuel. "Maybe, if you walk around the yard after breakfast, something will pop into your head."

### Suddenly, Mara picked up the letter and read it once again. She had a big grin on her face. "I know that look," said Scott. "You've figured it out, haven't you?"

"Yes" said Mara, "or part of it, anyway. I was reading the letter wrong. Samuel gave me the right clue. The puzzle doesn't refer to a measurement of feet in a yard, but rather people's feet in a yard, such as a front or back yard."

### The room became very quiet as Mara concentrated on the rest of the puzzle. The adults were just as excited as the children were. "Where is the box of family photographs that we were looking at last night?" asked Mara. "I need to see them right away." Kenny ran to the living room and brought the box of photos to Mara. Mara began carefully looking through the photos. She stopped when she found the photo she was looking for. It was taken a few years after the Civil War. Mara's eyes got very big and she started screaming, "I know where the treasure is buried".

"Where is it?" asked Scott and Kenny at the same time.

### Mara had to take a moment to calm down, and then she began explaining. "I thought that the clue in the puzzle; 'look between the li'ns' meant read between the lines. But it actually meant 'look' between the 'lions' In this picture taken after the Civil War, it shows that there used to be two lion statues in front of the house, one on each side of the front porch. The treasure is buried in the front yard, directly in front of the porch, between the places where the statues used to sit."

"What are we waiting for?" asked Kenny. He and his father went to get some shovels out of the tool shed, as Mara and the others went out into the front yard. The recent rains had softened the ground, making it easy to dig. Mara carefully studied the photo, and then after estimating where the lion statues had been, she pointed to the spot where Scott and Kenny should start digging.

### Scott and Kenny began digging, while everyone else anxiously watched. When they had dug down two and a half feet, they found something. After digging around the object, they lifted it out of the hole and onto the ground. The object was wrapped in some kind of protective fibers, and under that layer, it was wrapped in several layers of cloth. When Mara and Kenny had unwrapped all of the layers, they found a rectangular box two feet by three feet, and one foot high.

### Everybody held their breath, as Brenda lifted the lid of the iron chest. Inside the chest, they found three old fruit jars filled with coins, a very old pocket watch, a pocketknife, a boy's cap, carefully wrapped in layers of cloth, and a few journals that belonged to Danny Boy when he was a teenager.

### Kenny, who was a coin collector, was very excited to find the coins, because all of them were about 150 years old or older.

### Kenny's dad started to fill the hole back in, when Mara yelled; "Stop, Mr. Jackson. Do not fill in the hole yet. This chest is not the main treasure. It's only part of it."

"Why do you say that, Mara?" asked Samuel.

"The puzzle said to dig real deep. Two to three feet is not very deep. Also, the puzzle said not to squirrel away, or keep the treasure to yourself, but to share it with the world. Nothing in this chest is all that exciting, that it would be worth sharing it with the world."

### Samuel and the other adults agreed with Mara and Scott, Kenny and Brenda begin digging the hole deeper and wider. When they had reached almost six feet, Kenny suggested that they stop. "I'm sorry Mara, but there is no more treasure. This time, your psychic instinct was wrong." At that very moment, Scott thrust his shovel into the bottom of the hole and everybody heard a dull metallic sound.

### Kenny looked at Mara and said "I'm sorry that I ever doubted you, oh great and powerful one" and then he bowed to her. Everybody laughed, including Mara and the digging continued. They widened the hole to find the edges of the box. Scott could feel handles on the box, which was much larger than the first chest. It was also much heavier.

### Scott and Kenny attached ropes to both handles and with the adults pulling on the ropes, and Scott and Kenny, guiding the chest up; they lifted the chest out of the hole. The chest was much bigger than the first one. It was three feet by four feet and two feet high. It was wrapped the same way as the first chest. After it was unwrapped, everyone just stared at the enormous chest, imaging what treasures it contained.

### Samuel said that since Mara was the one convinced them to keep digging, that she should be the one to open it.

### Before Mara opened the chest, she said "I believe I know what is in this box, and if I am right, it is more valuable than gold." Mara then opened the chest and saw hundreds of large envelopes. She opened one envelope, and pulled out several old photographs, all with the dates and names on the back. Mara replaced the photos in the envelope. She noticed a smaller envelope in lying on top of the others, in one corner. She opened the envelope, pulled out a letter, and read it out to the others gathered around her.

"These photographs represent the life work of my father; Richard Jackson and my grandfather; George Jackson. They traveled around the country, photographing people, places and events, so that people in future generations can not only read about the history of their nation, but also see pictures of it as well. This large collection dates back to the beginning of photography in 1830 and goes up to 1864.

### Both my father and grandfather died in battle, while trying to help reunite this great nation of ours. Within the next few weeks, I too, will join the fighting. If I do not return, please know that I consider it a great honor, to fight alongside thousands of my fellow soldiers fighting in this great Civil War.

### Please share these photographs with the world.

### Sincerely,

### Daniel Jackson"

### Mara helped the others carry the contents of the chest into the living room, where they began looking at the photographs. All of them were labeled with names, dates and places.

### The photos were taken all over the country, from the Wild West, to the wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, from Washington D.C., to California. There were photos of the people who helped build our great nation, from railroad workers, to soldiers and sailors, to miners and cowboys. There were photos of early legislators, both local and national. There were photos of big cities and small towns and early Civil War photos.

There were photos of all of the retired U.S. Presidents from John Quincy Adams, to Abraham Lincoln, as well as photos of future presidents Andrew Johnson to William McKinley. There were early photos of the White House and several state capitol buildings, as well as several more historical and famous buildings. There were even rare photos of President Lincoln taken while he was giving the famous Gettysburg Address.

### There were group photos of elderly men who had once fought in the Revolutionary War in the 1770's. Samuel found a few envelopes filled with more family photos of the early Jackson family, from Matthew who lived from 1734 to 1833, to Daniel as a young boy. There were even photos of Daniel's father and grandfather, before they went to fight in the Civil War.

### Because the photos had not been exposed to the elements for over 140 years or so, they were in excellent condition. That evening, as everyone talked about what to do with the collection of photos, which were priceless, Mara sat quietly by herself. Samuel walked up over and sat down beside her on the couch. "Let's see what Mara thinks?" he said aloud for everyone to hear. "After all, if it weren't for her, we would never have known about any of the secret rooms or the hidden treasure."

### Everyone waited for Mara to speak. When she finally started talking, Mara was a little nervous. "I know that I am not part of your family, but I think that you should honor Daniel's wishes, and share the photos with the world. You should open a museum, and display not only the photos of Daniel's father's and grandfather's collections, but those of Daniel's and Samuel's collection as well. Do you realize what you have here? You have a collection of thousands and thousands of photographs spanning 180 years, many of which are one of a kind. They tell the story of our nation's history. These photos should be preserved and displayed so that future generations can see how our country became such a great nation."

### When Mara had finished speaking, no one said a word. They did not know what to say. Samuel smiled at Mara and said "Mara you are a bright and sweet girl and everything you said is true, except for one thing. You may not be part of our family by birth, but as of this moment, you are part of this family. Feel free to visit us any time you can. You will always be welcome here. I think that your idea for a photographical history museum is an excellent idea. Everybody cheered for Mara, which made Mara start to cry. Scott put his arm around her and held her for a while so that she could regain her composure.

### When Mara was able to speak again, she thanked Samuel for his kind words and then made another suggestion. "It would be a shame to keep all of those beautiful clothes and uniforms stored away," she said. "Since you have the photos of your ancestors wearing the clothes, why not have mannequins made with the faces of your ancestors and have them dressed in the clothing and uniforms and medals, and have them displayed in protective cases in the museum as well? Maybe even include some of the antiques too." Everyone agreed that it was an excellent idea.

### After everyone had eaten a late dinner, Mara said that she was tired and decided to turn in for the night. That night, the three ghosts in her dreams visited Mara. Matthew, Thomas and Daniel were all there. Mara spoke to them, telling them that she had carried out their wishes. They still looked sad. Mara asked them why they were still sad. The three spirits remained silent. "How can I communicate with you?" Mara asked them. At that moment, the three all joined hands and then they disappeared.

### The next morning at breakfast, Mara informed the family about her latest dream. "I get the distinct impression that they still have something they want to tell you," Mara said.

"Maybe we could hold a séance," said Scott.

"Of course" said Mara. "That is what they were trying to tell me by holding hands with each other. When they appeared to Brenda and Kenny, and later to me, there was not enough energy to speak to us, but with all of us together, maybe they would finally be able to give us their message."

### Everybody agreed that it was worth a try. Mara sat between Kenny and Brenda, holding hands with each of them, to unite all of their psychic energy. Then, everyone else around the table joined hands to complete the circle. There were no doubters in the room, after everything that had happened over the previous days.

### Mara realized that everyone was waiting for her to start the séance. Mara took a deep breath and began speaking; "Thomas, Matthew and Daniel, we know that you have something to tell us. We are not afraid. We welcome you to join us at this time."

### At first, nothing happened, but then, three shadows began to form across the table from Mara. The shadows became clearer and then everybody turned to look at the spirits of three of their Jackson ancestors. Brenda and Kenny recognized them as the ghosts that they had seen in house.

### The room became very quiet and Matthew turned to Mara, Kenny and Brenda and spoke to them; "My name is Matthew Jackson. I came to this country in 1740 with my parents. I was six years old at the time. Soon after our arrival, my parents became sick and died, leaving me alone in a strange new world. A family who really did not want me took me in. I grew up and fell in love with a wonderful woman and we married and started a family. My new family was the most important part of my life. Over the generations, the branches of my family have died out. Kenneth and Brenda, the two of you are the last of my descendants. As you grow up and start families of your own, please continue our family values. Learn as much as you can from your parents, as well as the three generations of grandparents. Learn about your family's traditions, stories and feel the love that has this family so close over the years. Remember, my children, this family has always remained strong because of love, faith, loyalty, companionship and friendship. Pass these principles on to your children and subsequent generations."

### Then, Daniel turned to Samuel and said, "Samuel, I am so proud of the man you have become. We will be together again someday; but not for several years. Teach your family as much as you can about your family history and keep taking photographs. It will keep your mind sharp and clear."

### Then, Matthew spoke once more; "It is now time for us to leave you. You will not see us again, while here on earth, but eventually, we will all be together again, when your days on the earth are done." Then, the three spirits disappeared.

### For a few moments, nobody spoke; then, Samuel walked over to Mara and gave her a great big hug. Mara noticed that there were tears in his eyes. "Thank you Mara, for everything that you have done for our family. You have reconnected us in so many ways." Then the rest of the family hugged Mara as well, even Kenny.

### The next day was Sunday, and after everybody returned home from church, Samuel set up his camera to take some photos of the Jackson family. When Mara tried to move out of the way, the entire Jackson family insisted that Mara be in the photos, because she had become part of the family.

### As Jordan, her parents and Scott and Mara prepared to leave for the airport, everybody told Mara that they wished she could stay longer. As Mara was about to get into the car, Samuel Jackson pulled her aside to talk to her in private. "Mara" he said, "You will never know how much this weekend has meant to me. Thank you for coming. God has truly blessed you with your gift of insight. Embrace it always, and if you ever begin to doubt yourself or your gift, just open your mind and ask God to show you what to do."

### When Mara got into the van, she was crying. She was filled with love, peace and happiness. Scott put his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder

### .

### Later, on the plane, Scott told Mara, "Betsy will be so mad when I tell her about this mystery that you solved. It was really wonderful being a part of it."

### Mara was silent for a moment and then she said "I have no control over my abilities, but I have a strong feeling that there are many more mysteries ahead. Then, Mara closed her eyes and soon fell fast asleep.

### Mara had been asleep for an hour, when she woke up suddenly, shaking all over. "Are you okay Mara?" asked Scott.

"Yes," said Mara. "I just had a bad dream." Mara had not had the cave dream for several weeks. It made Mara realize that there were some things that even she did not have any control over.

### Anything for a Friend

### When Mara and Scott returned from Ohio, and told Betsy all about the latest mystery, she was very upset. "I miss out on so much, just because I am the president's daughter," she said. Mara and Scott begged Betsy not to be mad at them. After a while, Betsy forgave them for having so much fun without her. Then the three of them went to the basement of the White House to watch a movie.

### After Mara returned to school after fall break, things seemed to return to normal. In November, Mara joined the high school track team. She also became involved in other school extracurricular activities, including the school newspaper and she joined the coin-collecting club, because of her interest in old coins.

### The next couple of months passed with very little excitement, which Mara loved. She was enjoying just being an average teenager for a change. Unfortunately, it would not last for long.

### One night in mid-February, Mara had a very intense dream. She found herself in the basement of a house. Her surroundings looked familiar, but she could not remember where she knew them from. As Mara walked through the various rooms in the basement, she felt a sense of dread come over her, and she could not figure out why.

### When Mara walked into an office in one corner of the basement, she saw somebody lying face down on the floor. Next to the body was a textbook, with the last several pages in many pieces, as if the book had exploded.

### Mara's heart began to race and she felt her hands getting cold and sweaty. Slowly, she turned the body over and when she saw the face of the body, she froze. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sounds came out. The person on the floor was her friend, Scott Wilson.

### Mara heard a noise behind her and when she turned around, she saw a man standing there. He was dressed in white and he seemed to have a glowing light around him, like some kind of ominous aura.

### The man spoke to Mara; "My name is Joseph," he said. "You must help your friend immediately. There is no time to waste. He will not survive without medical attention."

### Mara was in a state of shock. She glanced quickly around the room, to find some way to help Scott. On the desk was a pad of paper with a telephone number written on it. Mara locked the number in her memory. Again, the man spoke; "Mara, you must act at once. Wake up!"

### Mara woke up, drenched with perspiration and she was terrified. She ran downstairs, into the kitchen and called Scott's house. The phone continued to ring. When nobody answered, Mara glanced at the clock and noted that it was a few minutes after midnight. Mara began to panic. "What should she do?" she thought to herself. Then, she remembered the phone number written on the pad of paper. She quickly dialed the number. Mara recognized the voice of the person who answered the phone. It was Scott's mother. "Mrs. Wilson, thank God," said Mara. "Where is Scott?"

"He is home in bed, which is where you should be also," said Mrs. Wilson. "Why are you up so late?" she asked Mara.

"I just had a very strange dream," said Mara. "Scott is in trouble. He is hurt and he needs to go to the hospital right away."

### Mrs. Wilson told Mara that Scott was at home by himself. She and her husband had gone out to dinner and a late movie. She told Mara that they were on their way home. "Mara" said Mrs. Wilson, "what exactly did you see in your dream?"

### Mara told Mrs. Wilson about finding Scott on the floor in the basement office, lying face down next to a textbook that looked like it had exploded. Mrs. Wilson could sense the fear in Mara's voice and told her that she would call her back after she checked on Scott.

### As Mara hung up the phone, her mom walked into the kitchen and asked her what she was doing up so late. Then, Mr. Louis walked in as well. Mara explained to both of them, about her dream and told them about the phone conversation with Scott's mom.

### Mrs. Louis could see that Mara was terrified and tried to calm her down. Thirty minutes later, the phone rang. Mrs. Louis answered the phone, talked with Mrs. Wilson for about five minutes, and hung up the phone.

### Mrs. Louis looked at Mara and said; "Get dressed; we're going to Mercy Hospital. That's where the ambulance is taking Scott." On the way to the hospital, Mrs. Louis told Mara that Scott's parents found him exactly where Mara said he would be. "He had a high fever, and they could not wake him up." Then, she added. "Mara, Mrs. Wilson said that there wasn't a textbook anywhere near Scott and no signs of any explosion. What did she mean by that?" Mara told her parents the details of her dream.

### Mara took out her cell phone and called President Morgan's private number. When Mara's mother asked her whom she was calling, Mara replied; "I'm calling President Morgan. I know that Betsy will want to know about Scott." When the president answered his phone, Mara told him about Scott and he told Mara that they would meet her at the hospital.

### During the rest of the drive to the hospital, Mara tried to figure what the book in her dream meant, as it was obviously some kind of clue for her to figure out on her own.

### Mara and her parents arrived at the emergency room at the same time as the presidential limo pulled into the parking lot. The two families walked into the hospital together. As they walked into the emergency room, Mara suddenly realized what the book in her dream was trying to tell her. Mara ran into the room where the doctor was examining Scott. "He has a ruptured appendix," she shouted at the doctor. "He needs surgery immediately."

### Just then, a nurse walked into the room with the results of the lab tests. The doctor looked at the results, then examined Scott's abdomen. He called the operating room and then he had a surgeon paged. Within twenty minutes, Scott was being taken into surgery.

### While Scott was in surgery, his parents waiting in the surgical waiting room with Mara and her family and President Morgan and his family. Mrs. Wilson hugged Mara and thanked her for taking her dream seriously and calling when she did. "We would have assumed that Scott was sleeping in his room and we wouldn't have found him until it was too late. But, how did you know that he had a ruptured appendix?"

"When you told my mom that there was no textbook on the floor near Scott, I realized that it must have been a psychic clue" said Mara. "Then, all of a sudden it came to me. The back pages of a textbook contain key words in the book and what page to find them. You know; the appendix. So it was not the book that had exploded, just the appendix."

### Mara was sitting next to Betsy and she could see that she was very scared. "Scott has to be all right," said Betsy. "He saved my life. I wish that I could save his."

### Mara thought of a way to take Betsy's mind off Scott's surgery. "So, how did Scott save your life anyway?" asked Mara. "Scott will never give me a straight answer when I ask him. He just changes the subject".

### Mrs. Wilson began telling the story to Mara and her parents. "Three years ago, when Scott was twelve, we were living in a suburb of Los Angeles. We had a great life. Scott had the best of everything. You might even say that we spoiled him rotten."

"Well, then things started to go bad for us. First, I slipped on a wet floor in a restaurant, and hurt my back. The restaurant refused to pay my medical bills, saying that I faked my fall and my pain. We contacted a lawyer and he told us that the case might not get to court for a year or more, and that it might be several years and several thousands of dollars before we received any compensation."

"Meanwhile, the store where I worked fired me because I had missed so much work due to my back pain. My husband's medical insurance only paid half of my medical bills. Things continued to get worse. There was a financial crisis at the company where my husband worked as a computer programmer. In order to cut costs, the company decided to get rid of the highest paid employees, no matter how skilled they were. My husband was the first to be let go."

"There were not many jobs available at that time for computer programmers because of the economy, and my husband had to take odd jobs, just to make ends meet. We had no health insurance, and our medical bills continued to pile up. After missing a few house payments, the bank took our house. Our church found us temporary free housing."

"Scott had gotten used to the good life and when we first started cutting expenses, his private school, his allowance and other extras were the first to go. Scott became angry with us, blaming us for all of our financial troubles."

"When we heard that a big company in Chicago was hiring experienced computer programmers, we decided that it was our best bet for employment and since the interviews were for one week only, we began selling off what few possessions we had left, and within two days, were ready to leave LA. We planned to drive to Chicago, making only one stopover; in Aspen, Colorado. We had only three days to get to Chicago. We had accumulated hotel points over the years, and used them for a motel in Aspen. We reserved two rooms at the Aspen motel, one for us and one for Scott."

### At this point, Mr. Wilson continued with the story. "When we arrived at the motel, we noticed that there were several men in dark suits searching the hotel for something. We later learned that they were federal agents and Secret Service agents, looking for Betsy, the president's daughter. She had been kidnapped by two men at a ski resort in Aspen."

"That evening, my wife and I were talking about our situation and I mentioned that if we hadn't spoiled Scott so much, giving him everything that he wanted, we might have been able to put aside enough savings to keep our house. Scott overheard our conversation and thought we were blaming him for losing the house. He became very angry and decided to run away and go back to California. He sneaked out of the motel late that night, after we had gone to sleep."

### At this point, Betsy began telling her story. "One of the two men, who kidnapped me, had been fired from the White House staff and blamed my father for it. He and his brother were trying to get him to pay five million dollars ransom for me. At the ski resort, they switched me with another girl and covered my mouth so I couldn't scream and drove off with me in the back of their van."

"They drove to a deserted cabin in the woods, about thirty miles from the resort. Once we got there, they removed my coat, shoes and socks and taped me to a chair with duct tape. Then, they opened the window of the room I was in. They told me that it was their insurance policy in case they were caught. If the police did not make a deal with us, then they would not tell them where I was and within a couple of days, without food or water, in subzero temperatures, I would die. The kidnappers had left a note for my parents, telling them that if they made the kidnapping public, they would never see me again. So, the public didn't know that I had been kidnapped."

"After two days in the cabin without food or water, or heat, I began to get delusional. I thought I heard someone outside the cabin, so I started rocking my chair to make noise. Scott heard the noise and when he looked through a window, he saw me. He broke the door down and came to my rescue."

"Scott was dressed in many layers to protect him from the cold. Besides his boxers and t-shirt, he wore a set of long underwear, two shirts, jeans, a sweatshirt, sweater and a winter coat. He also had a hat, gloves, three pairs of socks and waterproof hiking boots. After he cut through the tape, he saw how cold I was and he immediately began undressing. After he had stripped down to his long underwear, he removed them and handed them to me. He told me to put them on under my clothes."

"He turned around to give me some privacy and while I was undressing, he was putting his jeans and the two shirts back on. Meanwhile, I put on the long underwear, and my shirt and jeans. Then Scott gave me one pair of socks, his boots, sweatshirt and sweater, and his coat, hat and gloves. I was starving and thirsty, so Scott took several candy bars and three bottles of water from his backpack. I ate all seven candy bars and drank all of the water."

"Scott told me that we had to leave before the kidnappers returned. Since he did not have any shoes, Scott layered his feet with about ten layers of garbage bags and newspapers and duct taped them around his legs to make them waterproof. Before we left the cabin, Scott took a miniature walkie-talkie out of his backpack and taped the button down. He hid it in the room and then he took another one from his pack and turned it to the same channel as the other one. Then, he clipped it on his belt. The last thing he did before we left the cabin, was to call the White House, who connected him to my dad's cell phone. Scott told my dad where we were and said that we were leaving the cabin, but he would leave his cell phone turned on, so that they could locate us through the GPS navigation on his cell phone."

###   
"Scott put the remaining pair of socks on his hands and we left the cabin. I tripped on a rock and as I fell, I grabbed a hold of Scott, and pulled a chain off his neck. As Scott put the broken chain and a large medal into his backpack, he told me that it was his good luck charm. It was a bronze medal that his grandfather had won in the 1952 winter Olympics."

### "After we had been walking for more than an hour, the snow began coming down so fast and hard, that we needed to seek shelter. Scott led me to a dense grove of aspen trees. The trees were so close together, that the branches formed a roof to keep the snow off us and it also cut down the amount of wind. Since I was so tired, Scott made me a bed of tree branches and leaves and I lay down and was soon fast asleep, while Scott kept watch".

###   
"After I had been asleep for a while, Scott heard voices on his walkie-talkie. The kidnappers had returned and were very angry to find me gone. Since we had a three-four hour head start on them, Scott decided to let me sleep a while longer. Scott called my father, told him our approximate location, and told him that the kidnappers were on our trail. That's when the phone went dead."

"At some point, Scott cuddled up next to me for warmth and he fell asleep as well. He was awakened by voices down the trail. He woke me and told me to be very quiet, because the kidnappers were very close. We got up very quietly and started walking as fast as we could. We heard footsteps behind us and when we turned around, we were face to face with the kidnappers, who were both pointing guns at us."

"Just as the kidnappers fired their guns at me, Scott jumped in front of me. The blast of the bullets knocked Scott onto me and we both fell to the ground. A moment later, the woods were full of federal agents, who grabbed the kidnappers and handcuffed them. Scott and I stood up and realized that the bullets must have missed us, since neither of us felt any injuries. We were both transported to a hospital where we were given warm clothing and blankets and some food to eat."

"My parents arrived just moments later. While my parents and I were in the room with Scott, the doctor entered the room and told us that Scott's medal around his neck had saved our lives. She held up the medal, which had two bullet slugs in the center of the medal. If Scott had not jumped in front of me, I would have been killed. After my parents gave Scott and me a few moments of privacy, Scott started to cry. He reminded me that the chain had broken and he had put it in his backpack. We both believe that God had put the chain and medal around Scott's neck just before we were shot."

### Betsy started to get emotional just thinking about that moment and her mother comforted her. Scott's mother continued with the story. "The police had located us and escorted us to the hospital. While we were in the hall talking to President and Mrs. Morgan, a federal agent brought us a mini-tape recorder that they had found in Scott's backpack. Scott had taped an apology to both of us, telling us how sorry he was for all of the problems he had caused us. At the end of the tape, we heard a prayer that Scott had prayed, asking God to keep Betsy safe and to watch over us, after he was gone."

"The next day, President Morgan asked Scott what he and his wife could do for Scott to repay him for saving Betsy's life and the only thing Scott asked for was to help me and his father find new jobs and a place to live. Scott felt responsible for my husband missing his job interview in Chicago."

"Well, you know the rest of the story. President Morgan helped us both find jobs and housing in Baltimore. Scott and Betsy have been best friends ever since that day."

### Mara was glad that she finally knew the complete story. She had liked Scott before, but now she liked him even more.

### Two hours after Scott had been taken to surgery, the surgeon appeared in the waiting room and informed Mr. and Mrs. Wilson that it was indeed a ruptured appendix and that if they had not found Scott when they did, Scott probably would not have survived. "He still isn't out of the woods, though," the doctor said. "We got most of the infection, but we have to use large doses of antibiotics to fight the rest of the infection. It will be a few hours before he wakes up. We will come get you when we get him settled into his room."

### After the doctor left, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson both hugged Mara again and thanked her again for saving Scott's life. You are an angel sent to us from Heaven," Mrs. Wilson told Mara.

"I can't take all of the credit," said Mara. "Joseph, the angel in my dream was the one who told me that Scott needed help."

### While the adults went to get coffee, Betsy and Mara went to the hospital chapel to thank God for saving Scott's life. When they walked into the chapel, Betsy started sobbing uncontrollably, when she realized that Scott might have died. She grabbed hold of Mara and would not let her go.

### As Mara sat there comforting Betsy, she had a vision. In the vision, Mara saw a woman in Scott's room. She was giving Scott something. Mara looked closer and saw that it was a jar filled with moldy pennies. As the jar got closer to Scott, he grew weaker. The woman kept moving closer to Scott, but she moved as if she were a robot. She said; "Come on, take this gift from your Auntie."

### Mara had a very bad feeling about this vision. "Let's go, Betsy," she said. I think that Scott is still in trouble. The two of them ran down the hall and met their parents and Scott's parents who were being taken to Scott's room.

### Mara asked Mrs. Wilson if Scott had an Aunt living in the area. Mrs. Wilson looked at Mara oddly and replied that neither she nor Mr. Wilson had any siblings. At that moment, they all walked into Scott's room where the doctor was writing in Scott's chart. Suddenly, Scott began to have a violent seizure.

### Mara thought of the Auntie in her vision who had been moving like a robot and the jar of moldy pennies and suddenly, the answer came to her. "Scott's having an allergic reaction to the medicine," Mara told the doctor. "Doctor, was Scott given any penicillin?" When the doctor said that Scott had been given penicillin, Mara said, "I think that Scott is severely allergic to it." The doctor quickly gave Scott another medication to counteract the penicillin and the seizures stopped.

"Mara" he said, "I think you are right. He did have an allergic reaction. How in the world did you know?"

"When Betsy and I were in the chapel, I had another vision," said Mara. "In the vision, a lady who said she was Scott's auntie was walking like a robot was giving Scott a jar of moldy pennies and as she got closer to him, he got weaker. When Scott's mom said that he had no aunts, I realized that it was a clue for me. Auntie and robotic put together meant antibiotic. The pennies referred to penicillin and penicillin was originally discovered from mold."

### The doctor, who by this time, looked worn out, shook Mara's hand and said; "Well Mara, Scott is truly lucky to have you for a friend. You have saved his life three times in one day". After the doctor left the room, everybody hugged Mara and thanked her repeatedly.

### After Scott was resting comfortably, everybody went home to get some sleep.

### The next morning, when Mara and Betsy went into Scott's room, he was awake and sitting up. Mara and Betsy both gave him a hug and told him that they were glad he was okay. Sitting next to Scott on the bed was an old teddy bear. Scott tried to hide it under the covers, but Mara grabbed it out of his hand. "Oh, what a cute teddy bear" she said. "What's his name?"

"His name is JoJo", said Scott. "I've had him since I was three. I named him after my special friend." Then, Scott's face got very serious. "As I got older, I realized that Joseph was an 'imaginary friend', but after last night, I'm not so sure any more. I had a dream, where I saw Joseph again and he looked exactly as I remember him when I was three".

"I saw him in my dream also, Scott. He is the one who told me that you needed help. I think that Joseph is your guardian angel."

### Scott looked at Mara and for a second, it looked like he was going to cry. "My parents told me that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Thank you for saving my life."

"I'd do anything for a friend" said Mara, "and you, Betsy and Tony are my best friends in the entire world. I know that you would do the same for me or Betsy, like you did for Betsy already." Then, Mara giggled and added; "I'm sorry that I didn't have any underwear for you to borrow."

### Scott looked over at Betsy with a frown on his face. Betsy started laughing, which made Mara start laughing as well. Then, Scott started laughing also. "Stop making me laugh," he said, "It hurts too much to laugh", which made Mara and Betsy laugh even more.

### As Mara, Betsy and Scott looked at each other, they were all thinking the same thing. They realized that years from now, they would look back and realize that they were the best years of their lives. They realized how lucky they were to have such great friends. Over the next few days, Scott had many friends visit him in the hospital, but none of them meant as much to Scott as Mara and Betsy did.

### Mara had sent a message to all of their friends around the country via Facebook, telling them about Scott and he received many emails and get-well messages, which cheered him up immensely.

### After Scott returned home from the hospital, Mara decided to let him rest for a couple of days before visiting him again. Mara also needed to just relax and get some rest. As much stress and excitement her special gift caused her sometimes, this was one time that Mara felt truly blessed, because she was able to save the life of a good friend. Life was good; no, make that great.

### The Mystery of the One Room School House

### Scott returned to school the next week and life for Mara returned to normal. For a while, that is. A week later, Mara woke up in the middle of the night, terrified. She had dreamed 'the dream' again. Luckily, she always woke up before the ceiling collapsed. Mara still had not told her parents about the dream, because it would just cause them to worry more. The only people who knew about the dream were Tony, Scott and Betsy and they were sworn to secrecy.

### In late March, Mara began having very strange dreams, that is, even stranger than usual. It seemed that a lot of names and places and random words filled her dreams. Each morning, Mara wrote down as much as she could remember. After a few of these dreams, Mara was no closer to learning what they meant.

### As Mara looked at the list of names that she had seen in her dreams, she was very confused. "What did Jesse, Samuel, Mark, Jedidiah, Ezra, Henry, Rachel, Edwin, Sylvester, Daniel, and James, have in common?" wondered Mara. The list of last names was just as puzzling. That list included 'Carter, Bradford, Higgins, Johnson, Brady, Long, Jones, Pickford, Rogers and Ford'

### .

### At least the list of cities was shorter. The cities mentioned in her dreams included 'Vincennes, Chicago, Detroit and Hannibal'. Then, there was the list of items that Mara had seen in her dreams. The list included such random words as coins, school, bank, church, auto, garage, vault, to name just a few.

### Mara began to think that her psychic visions were going haywire. She was having the strange dreams at least once a week and it frustrated her that she could not make heads or tails of them. Mara decided that she should focus on the cities. Since they were all in the Midwest, she decided to talk to her parents.

### So, one evening at dinner, Mara asked her parents; "Could we take a two week road trip this summer, when school gets out?"

"Where would you like to go?" asked her mother.

"I don't know. How about the Midwest, maybe Vincennes, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan and Hannibal, Missouri?" asked Mara.

### Mrs. Louis looked at her daughter rather strangely and asked; "This trip wouldn't have anything to do with your visions, now would it?"

"Yes Mom, I have had the same really strange dreams over and over again for the past couple of months. I cannot explain it, but I know that I need to go to each of these cities and the visions will become clearer to me. I only have these visions when there are people who need my help. I have to use my gift to help people when I can."

### Mara's parents looked at each other and in their hearts; they knew that Mara was right. "Okay" said her father. "Maybe, along the way, we can stop in Cincinnati and visit the Jackson family and also visit the new museum. I am interested in seeing your latest discovery." Mara thanked her parents many times and hugged both of them.

### On the first Saturday in June, the Louis family loaded up their car and started driving to Ohio. They arrived in Cincinnati on Tuesday morning. When they pulled into the driveway of the Jackson home, Kenny and Brenda came running out of the house to greet them.

### When Mara walked into the house, she was delighted to find that all five generations of the family were there for the visit. Mara introduced her parents to the Jackson family and they all visited for a while. Then, they all got into their cars and drove to the Cincinnati Museum of Photographic History. Both of Mara's parents were interested in seeing the museum. Mrs. Louis was an amateur photographer and Mr. Louis was fascinated with history. They were very impressed with the thousands of historical photos, as well as the antiques, uniforms and old clothing.

### There was so much to see, that by the time they finished the tour, it was almost five thirty p.m. Kyle Jackson insisted that Mara and her family spend the night at the Jackson estate. Before either of Mara's parents could reply, Mara accepted his invitation.

### After dinner, Mara spent the evening with Kenny and Brenda, while her parents visited with the rest of the Jackson family. That night, Mara had a dream that was clearer than the ones she had been having over the past several weeks.

### In the dream, an older gentleman named Jedidiah was standing outside an old building that looked like the school on the "Little House on the Prairie" television show. It was as if Mara could read the man's mind. She knew that he wanted her to help him save the school from being torn down. She also saw the names; Bradford, Brady and Rogers, as well as the names; Rachel, Chantel, Helen, Angela, Elizabeth, Linda, Rhonda and Tom. Mara knew that the building was in Vincennes, Indiana. When Mara woke up, she wrote down everything in her notebook.

### After breakfast, Mara and her parents said goodbye to the Jackson family and then they headed towards Vincennes. As they were driving, Mara's mother asked her if she had any idea where in Vincennes they were going. "Actually, I do" said Mara. "Last night, I had a dream vision. It told me that we need to find a very old school that the city wants to tear down."

### They arrived in Vincennes by 2 o'clock that afternoon and after making inquiries at the visitor center, Mara learned the location of the one room schoolhouse.

### When the car pulled up in front of the schoolhouse, Mara recognized it immediately as the building in her dream. As she and her parents walked into the building, the caretaker excused himself to use the restroom which was in a building a block away. "Feel free to look around", he said. "I'll answer all of your questions when I return."

### Mara and her parents were not the only visitors at the time. There was also an elderly couple and six teenage girls who were a year or so older than Mara.

"This is the school from my dreams", Mara told her parents. "Somebody wants me to keep it from being torn down." The other visitors overheard Mara's words and when they turned around, one girl asked Mara "Aren't you Mara Louis, the girl who solves mysteries?"

"Yes, I am" said Mara. These are my parents; Don and Leann." The other girl identified herself as Chantel Bradford and introduced her five cousins; Helen, Angela, Elizabeth, Linda, and their great grandparents; Tom and Rachel Bradford.

"Do you really think that you can find a way to save this school?" asked Mrs. Bradford.

"I am sure going to try," said Mara. "In my dream, a man named Jedidiah told me that he used to teach here and that if I looked carefully, I would find a way to save the school forever."

### Then, the woman spoke up. "My teacher's name was Jedidiah Brady, when I attended school here. It may have been him that you dreamed about."

"Your maiden name wouldn't be Rogers by any chance, would it?" asked Mara.

"Why, yes it was" said Mrs. Bradford. "How in the world did you know that?"

"I saw your name in my dream as well" replied Mara. "What can you tell me about the history of this school? Has it changed structurally since it was first built?"

"Well. Let me think for a minute" said Mrs. Bradford, as she looked around the room. "There used to be a large fireplace at that end of the room, but it was removed many years ago and replaced with a Franklin stove. That was before I attended the school. The space where the fireplace used to be was turned into a cloak room, and eventually it too was removed."

### It was at this point, that Mara's parents told Mara that they were going to see some of the sites of Vincennes and that they would be back in a couple of hours. They had seen Mara solve many mysteries, and they knew she worked better without her parents hovering over her.

### Mara walked to the end of the room, where the fireplace used to be. Mr. and Mrs. Bradford and their six great grandchildren were right behind her. Mara placed her hands on the wall and closed her eyes. Slowly, she walked along the wall, until she got to one corner. There was a file cabinet separating the end of the wall, from the adjoining wall. Mara found it curious that the back wall did not go all the way across. Mara put her hand on the back wall alongside the file cabinet and closed her eyes again, to see if she saw any visions. After sensing that there was something strange about the corner, Mara asked the other girls to help her move the file cabinet away from the wall.

### As the girls were moving the cabinet, the caretaker returned and asked them what they were doing. The man appeared to be in his seventies. Mara explained about her dream, in which a man named Jedidiah asked Mara to help him save the school from destruction. She explained to the gentleman that she frequently had psychic visions and dreams.

### All of a sudden, the caretaker became very interested. He explained that he had been fighting the city for almost two years, trying to save the school from demolition, and have it declared a historical site to be preserved forever. "The city wants to tear it down, so that they can build a new city hall on the land," said the caretaker. "I welcome anything that you can do to help. But hurry, time is running out."

"What can you tell me about the school's history?" asked Mara.

"Well, this school was built in 1825" he said. "The first schoolmaster was John Brady. He was the headmaster from 1825 to 1850. When he retired, his grandson; William Brady took over the job and held the position until 1890. When he retired, his grandson, Jedidiah Brady was appointed headmaster. He was headmaster until the school closed in 1938. He remained the caretaker of the building until he died two years later, at the age of seventy-three. That was when the building was boarded up".

### Mara and the Bradford family were eagerly listening to the caretaker's story.

"A mysterious fire burned down an old shed in back of the school, a few weeks after Jedidiah died. I believe that all of the old school records were stored in that shed. Those records may have proven the historical significance of the school, giving us enough reason to preserve the school, and save it from demolition."

"Why are you so interested in saving this school?" asked Mara. "Did you ever attend school here?"

"Well, it's like this," said the caretaker. "My name is James Brady. Jedidiah was my grandfather. My family taught at this school for the entire one hundred fifteen years of its existence. This school is very near and dear to my heart."

### After hearing that story, Mrs. Bradford added more information. "My great-great-great grandfather helped to build this school and both my family and my husband's family attended the school for five generations. That is why we want to save it as well."

### Mara put her hands on the side of the wall where the file cabinet used to be, and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and asked Mr. Brady, "Do you have a crowbar, or a claw hammer?"

### Mr. Brady went out to his truck and brought in his toolbox.

"May I have permission to remove a few boards from this wall?" asked Mara. "I think that there is something behind this wall."

### After receiving permission, Mara carefully began prying a couple boards from the wall. There was a lot of excitement in the room, for they could see storage shelves full of boxes behind the wall. The other girls began helping Mara remove the remaining boards. After the boards had all been removed, nobody said anything. They just stared for a moment. They were all speechless.

### Very carefully, everyone began removing boxes from the shelves and putting them on the floor of the schoolroom. When the closet was empty, everybody began examining the contents of the boxes. There were several grading books, which recorded all of the grades for all of the students from 1825 to 1938. There were several old textbooks dating back to the late 1700's, and early 1800's. They found antique writing slates, chalk, which the students used to practice their numbers, letters and their arithmetic. They found old lunch pails, kerosene lamps and many other valuable antiques from the 1800's. One box was filled with old photographs, most of which were class photos dating way back to the late 1830's. All of the photos were dated on the back, along with the names of everyone in the photos.

### Mr. Brady thanked Mara for finding the historical treasures. "I guess the records weren't in that shed after all," he said. "This looks like a complete collection of school records, to me." As Mr. Brady looked at the names on the back of the photos, he was amazed at how many names he recognized. He saw names of many Indiana's early lawmakers, as well as ancestors of the current governor of Indiana. There were also names of the ancestors of Indiana's most prominent citizens.

### Suddenly, Mara closed her eyes again and said; "There is still something missing" she said, "something very important that Jedidiah wants me to find. It's a thick brown envelope."

### Everybody thoroughly searched the boxes, but no brown envelope was found. Mara started carefully checking every shelf in the closet. Finally, she got down on her hands and knees and felt under the bottom shelf. There, she found an envelope taped to the bottom of the shelf. Mara carefully removed it and set it on a table in front of Mr. Brady. Mr. Brady told Mara that she should open it, since Jedidiah wanted her to find it.

### Mara opened the envelope and removed several documents. Mara read the documents very carefully, while everyone waited impatiently.

"Well, what do they say?" asked Mrs. Bradford. "Don't keep us in suspense."

### Mara had a huge smile on her face. "It looks like the city can't tear this building down" she said, "that's because; the city doesn't own the building or the property."

### Everybody was stunned by Mara's statement. Mara continued. She turned to Mrs. Bradford and said; "If Samuel Rogers was your ancestor, then the property and school now belong to you. You see; when the early settlers of Vincennes decided to build a school, in 1824, Samuel Rogers; one of the founding fathers of the city, offered a parcel of his land to be the site for the school, but under certain conditions."

"This document states that the land could be used by the city of Vincennes, for ten dollars per year, as long as the building was being used for the education of students. It also stated that if the school was ever closed, the lease would automatically be cancelled and the property and any buildings on it would revert back to the Rogers family that is, turned over to the oldest member of the Rogers family still residing in Vincennes at the time."

"The city agreed to pay any taxes levied on the property and school as well as pay to maintain the building."

"This other document deeded the land that the school sits on, to Samuel Rogers in 1820. I believe that both of these documents will stand up in any court of law."

"What this means" said Mara, "is that in 1938, when the school closed, the property and school reverted back to the Rogers family, probably the parents of Mrs. Bradford, and would have passed on to Mrs. Bradford, upon their death."

"What about the taxes that the city has paid on the property since 1938?" asked Mrs. Bradford. "Will I have to pay back that money to the city?"

### Mara shuffled through the documents and pulled one out of the stack. "This document answers that question" said Mara. "In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, the city fell upon hard times and Ezra Rogers, Samuel's son agreed to defer rent payments, with interest added, until a time when the city could afford to pay the back payments and interest. Mrs. Bradford, do you know of Ezra Rogers?"

"Yes, I do," said Mrs. Bradford. "He was my great-great grandfather. He died while fighting in the Civil War. As far as I know, nobody in my family since that time was ever paid any money by the city."

"That means," said Mara, "that the city owes your family over one hundred forty years of back rent plus interest, since it never turned the land over to your family in 1938. I think that comes to a lot more than the back taxes that you might owe them for the past sixty or so years."

"I suggest that you hire a lawyer immediately," said Mara. "Get an injunction to keep the city from tearing down this building while you settle the legal dispute. However, when the city is faced with the evidence, I don't think they will risk a fight in court."

### As everybody was congratulating Mara; for solving the mystery and saving the school, her parents returned from sightseeing. Mr. Brady told them what Mara had done to save the school. Mrs. Louis put her arm around Mara and said, "That's my girl".

### Mr. Louis looked around the room and said; "All that's missing are the original desks." This got Mara thinking and she went to the back wall, placed her hand on it, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she had a big grin on her face. She picked up a crow bar and with her father's help, she began prying off a board.

### Mara looked into the opening and then she and her father quickly pried off the rest of the boards. There, stacked up, were all of the original desks and chairs from the school, as well as the old school bell, black board and the teacher's desk. The old fireplace had not been torn out after all. It was still there. Only the chimney that came out of the roof had been removed.

### Mrs. Bradford promised Mr. Brady that the school would remain open as a historical landmark forever. Then, she turned to Mara and said; "Mara, we owe you a debt of gratitude to you for solving this mystery. I'd like to give you a reward."

"Mrs. Bradford, I cannot accept a reward for helping you. It was God, through Jedidiah who showed me what I needed to do. However, if you could keep my name out of the newspapers, I would appreciate it. I am starting to get tired of all the publicity." The Bradford family and Mr. Brady promised that Mara's name would not be mentioned outside the schoolhouse. Mrs. Bradford and the girls said that they would like to stay in touch, so Mara exchanged email addresses and phone numbers with all of them and promised to invite them to her Facebook page. Mara hugged everyone goodbye and then, Mara and her parents left and drove to the hotel.

### That night, before Mara went to sleep, her mother kissed her goodnight and told her; "I am so proud of you for all you do to help others. You have shown us that you can handle responsibility nicely." That made Mara feel very good inside and she thanked God for her gift, as she did every night.

### The Mystery of the Hidden Vault

### Mara had solved yet another mystery, this one in a one-room schoolhouse in Vincennes, Indiana. As she lay in bed recalling the events of the day, she was glad that God had bestowed the gift of her special dreams and visions, which helped her, solve mysteries, which also allowed her to help other people.

### Mara thanked God for everything he had done for her and her family, and she fell into a blissful sleep. She was barely asleep, when she began dreaming. She was walking through a very poor neighborhood. She passed by an old Methodist church that was falling apart, as was much of the neighborhood. She made note of the street name as well as the name of the church. As with many other dreams, there were a lot of puzzling clues that by themselves, meant nothing to her, but later, when she put them all together, they would make more sense.

### When Mara woke up, she quickly grabbed the notebook and pen that she always kept by her bed and wrote down as many clues as she could remember. Mara knew that the mystery would take place in Chicago. The clues did not make much sense. The list of clues included: a long house, Al Capone and the names; Henry, Kelly, Gary, Morgan and Sylvester Carter. There were also several words that came to Mara in her dream, including; vault, coins, the numbers; 1895 and 1905.

### After breakfast, Mara and her parents were headed for the windy city; Chicago. By this time, Mara's parents had realized that Mara had no control over her gift and they let her make plans according to her visions and dreams.

### They arrived in Chicago that afternoon and after checking into their hotel room, Mara looked up the address of St. Christopher's Methodist Church, in the phonebook. The address was on the street that Mara had seen in her dream. Mara called the church and made an appointment for her and her parents to visit the church the next day, which was Friday. Mara felt that once she walked into the church, she would find more clues.

### The next morning, Mara and her parents met the pastor of St. Christopher's Methodist Church. Reverend Long gave them the grand tour of the church. When Mara made a comment about the condition of the church building, Reverend Long told her that the neighborhood was very poor and there was no money to make repairs in the church, or to help fix up the neighborhood.

### Since it was the summertime, the church was always open and there were many teenagers there. As Mara and her parents walked down one hall of the church, Mara heard music coming from somewhere. When they reached the source of it, Mara saw a boy who looked about fourteen playing the piano. He was good, like he had been playing for twenty years. There was a girl listening to the music.

### When they walked into the room, Reverend Long introduced the teens to Mara and her parents. Once Mara was in the room, Mara noticed things that she had not seen from the hallway. Gary Jones, the boy playing the piano was blind, and the girl, Kelly Pickford was sitting in a wheel chair. Both of them were very friendly. Mara met several other teenagers that day, but for some reason, Kelly and Gary stuck in Mara's mind. Even with their physical disabilities, they had very upbeat attitudes. Mara also realized that she had remembered their names from her dream the night before.

### Reverend Long invited Mara and her parents to his home that evening, so that they could meet his wife. During dinner, Reverend Long and his wife told their story to Mara and her parents.

### Reverend and Mrs. Long had arrived in Chicago thirty years earlier. They wanted to help inner city youth. They were both twenty-five years old at the time. They got so involved in working with troubled teens and kids at risk, that they never had any children of their own. Then, Reverend Long said that he did not know how much longer he could stay at that church.

###   
"I don't think that I am making a difference in lives of my congregation, especially the younger crowd, any more. I feel like I have failed them, Maybe, it's time that I retired and let the church find a younger pastor that can reach the congregation."

### Mara thought long and hard about the situation. "Reverend Long" she said, "For the past few years, I have been having dreams and visions that have allowed me to help people. Last night, I had a vision about this church and you. I know that I am here to help you and your church. I do not yet have all the answers, but God has always steered me in the right direction before. Do not make any decisions about retirement until I figure this thing out. Do we have a deal?"

### Reverend Long looked at Mara as if seeing her for the first time. "Mara, if God sent you to help me and this church, then I will wait before I make any decisions.

### Before the Louis family left Reverend Long's house, he invited them to the Sunday worship service. Mara graciously accepted on behalf of her family.

### That night, Mara had another dream, which was a little different from the night before. When Mara woke up on Saturday morning, she knew that she was there to help the church and neighborhood, but also to help Reverend Long see that he was still needed by his congregation.

### That day, Mara and her parents went sightseeing around Chicago for most of the day. Mara did request that they make a stop at the main branch of the public library, so she could do some research. She had realized that she had misread one clue from her dreams. When she saw long house, she was thinking of some kind of Native American dwelling, when it actually referred to Reverend and Mrs. Long's house. At the library, Mara did research on the house itself.

### After looking at several books, Mara finally found the one she was looking for. She located information about the house Reverend and Mrs. Long lived in. It was built in 1858, by a man named Sylvester Carter, who made his fortune from railroad investments. He owned the house until 1906, when he passed away in his sleep at the age of eight-seven. His wife had died five years before that. He had no children and since he left no will, the house was sold at auction, with the proceeds going to the state of Illinois.

### Mara looked up the list of all people who had lived in the house since. Mara thought that Al Capone might be on the list, since his name and Mr. Carter's name had both been in her dreams. Al Capone was not on the list, but Mara wrote down the names of the people who had lived in the house between 1906 until Reverend and Mrs. Long purchased the home. Mara entered each name on the internet to see if anything of significance showed up. The only thing she found was that one owner; Johnny Biagi, who lived in the house in the late 1920's and early 1930's, was an accountant for Al Capone. Now, Mara knew why Al Capone's name had been in her dream.

### The next morning, Mara and her parents attended a beautiful worship service at St. Christopher's. Afterwards, while Mara's parents were drinking coffee and visiting with the other adults, Mara joined the teenagers in Sunday school.

### Kelly introduced Mara to the rest of the class. After Mara felt a little more comfortable around the other teens, she asked them how they felt about Reverend Long and the work that he did in the church and the community. They all had something nice to say about him as well as his wife. They told Mara all of the ways that Reverend and Mrs. Long had personally reached out to them and so many others as well.

"He really cares about us like we were his own kids," said Kelly. "I was eleven when I was paralyzed in an automobile accident. I thought that my life was over. It was Reverend Long that helped me to pray to God, asking him to help me focus on my abilities, rather than my disabilities. Now, I tutor middle school students who are struggling. I also help coach the girls' basketball team in the middle school. Reverend Long has taught me that my wheel chair only limits me if I allow it to."

"I have been blind since birth," said Gary. "When my parents realized I was blind, they abandoned me here at this church. Reverend Long knew a family at the church who could not have children of their own and he suggested that they adopt me. Once they laid eyes on me, they fell in love with me at once. You see, I was a very cute baby. And, as you can see, I am still very cute."

### Everybody laughed, including Mara. Then Gary continued with his story. "When I was six years old, Reverend Long found me playing the organ keys and saw how much I enjoyed it. He found a music teacher who could teach me to play the piano. He even bought me some sheet music written in Braille. He let me use the church organ whenever I wanted to. I kept practicing, and as I got better. I became more confident in my everyday life. You see Mara; I am really a shy guy."

"Yeah, right!" shouted Kelly. This got more laughs from the rest of the class.

###   
After hearing several more testimonials, Mara felt very confused. "Reverend Long doesn't think that he is making a difference in this church or in this neighborhood," said Mara. "He is contemplating retirement."

### When the class heard this, they became quite upset. "Reverend and Mrs. Long coming to this church is the best thing that ever happened to this neighborhood," said one teenager. "We cannot let them leave" said another teen.

### Mara suggested that they contact as many people who had attended the church as a teenager or young adult, and have them meet at the church on Tuesday evening. "I'll make sure that Reverend and Mrs. Long attend the meeting as well" said Mara. "In the meantime, I have to find a way to pay for the repairs that this church desperately needs, as well as funding to keep the youth services going."

### After class was over, Mara asked Gary and Kelly to stay behind, so that she could talk to them in private. When they were alone, Kelly asked; "Are you by any chance, the same 'Mara' who has solved mysteries all around the country?"

"Yes, I am" replied Mara. "But, please try to keep it between us, as I'd rather not have others know." Then, Mara told Gary and Kelly, that since they knew who she was, maybe they could help her solve a mystery in their own community. Kelly and Gary were more than willing to help Mara.

### Mara took out her notebook and began reading the clues aloud. Mara had not looked at the clues from her vision, since she first wrote them down. Now, she realized that Gary and Kelly were two of the clues. When Kelly heard Mara say the words coins and vault, she suggested that there were old coins buried in the basement of the church.

Mara asked Gary and Kelly if there were any Indian tribes in the area that may have built long houses long ago.

"The only long house that I know, is the house that Reverend and Mrs. Long live in," said Gary. Mara told them that she was thinking the same thing, but she wanted to think of all possibilities.

### When their parents arrived to take them home, Mara asked Gary and Kelly if they could meet her and her parents at Reverend Long's house that afternoon. Their parents agreed to drive them to the house.

### On the way to the hotel, Mara told her parents about her Sunday school experience. She asked them if they would drive her to Reverend Long's house that afternoon. Her parents agreed. By this time, Mara's parents realized that they would be in Chicago for a couple more days. They had decided to leave the itinerary of the trip in Mara's hands, since God had apparently chosen Mara for a reason.

### After eating lunch at the hotel, Mara and her parents drove to the home of Reverend and Mrs. Long. When they arrived, they found Kelly and Gary waiting with their parents. When they all got out of their cars, Mara led the way to the front door and rang the doorbell. When Reverend Long opened the door and saw the group of people, he looked surprised, but he invited them all in.

### When everyone was seated in the living room, Mara began to explain why they were there. "As I told you on Friday evening, Reverend Long, I had a dream that concerned you and your church. This morning, I remembered that your house was also in my dream. I believe that there is a treasure involving a vault, or coins in this house or on the property. Could I have permission to walk around the house and see if I can sense anything?"

"If you can find treasure, be my guest. The church sure could use the money to make repairs," said Reverend Long.

### Mara began slowly walking from room to room, with a trail of eight adults and two teenagers behind her. As Mara entered each room, she placed her hands on the walls and closed her eyes. By the time Mara had checked the last room, she had sensed nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, she was sure that there was treasure, just waiting to be found.

"Does this house have an attic, or a basement?" asked Mara.

"There's no attic, but there is a very small basement," said Mrs. Long. "In fact, it is so small, that we don't even use it.

"May I please see the basement?" asked Mara. Reverend Long led them to a closed door, opened it and led the group down the stairs. Kelly wanted to go down too, but she could not go down the stairs in a wheel chair, so her dad carried her down and set her in a folding chair that was in the basement.

### When Mara first entered the basement, she realized what Mrs. Long meant about the basement being small. It was an unusual shape for a basement. It was approximately sixteen feet long, but only eight feet wide.

### Mara felt that something did not seem right. As she scanned the room, she glanced up at the ceiling light fixture. It looked out of place. In most rooms, basements being no exception, ceiling light fixtures were usually located in the center of the ceiling. However, in this case, it was located about a foot away from the back wall. Then, Mara noticed something else. Three of the walls were composed of red brick, but the back wall was made of plywood. Some shelves had been installed on the back wall for storage.

### Mara walked over to the back wall, placed her hand on the wall, and closed her eyes. Slowly, she moved her hands along the wall. When she opened her eyes again, she had a big grin on her face. "It's behind this wall," she said. "This basement is actually twice this size. I believe that there is some kind of vault behind this false wall." She turned to Reverend and Mrs. Long and said, "With your permission, I'd like to prove my theory."

### Reverend Long went upstairs and returned with a hammer and a screwdriver. Within a matter of minutes, Mara and her father had taken down the shelves and Mara was able to pry one sheet of plywood loose. When it was removed, the ceiling light shone into another room that was just as big as the first one. Mara was right. The room had been divided in half by the false wall. Behind the false wall, there were cabinets from floor to ceiling all along the outer walls. All of the cabinets had doors on them, so nobody could see what was in them.

### Mara and her father quickly removed the rest of the plywood, and then, they dismantled the two-by-four frame. Mara opened the cabinet closest to her and discovered it contained several bins. Each bin was filled with coins, mostly silver and gold coins. As the others checked the other cabinets, they found that they too, were filled with bins of coins.

### Mara checked the dates on coins from several bins and saw that they ranged from the 1850's to the early 1900's. The latest date that she found was 1905. Most of the coins were in mint condition. In fact, Mara did not think that any of them had ever been in circulation at all.

### Everyone was very excited, except for Reverend Long. "What's the matter?" Mara asked him. "Now you have enough money to build a new church and help the community".

"Mara" said Reverend Long, "You don't know this, but in the 1920's, this house belonged to a member of the Chicago mob. In fact, the owner of the house was an accountant for Al Capone. If this money belonged to him, then it came from illegal gambling, bootleg alcohol, and other criminal activities. I cannot use tainted money to do God's work. It doesn't feel right."

"First of all" said Mara, "If it did belong to him, than by using the money to help people, would cancel out the bad things that happened over seventy years ago. Second, I do not believe that the money belonged to him. This money is much older than that. There are no coins with dates past 1905."

### Mara knew that Reverend Long would feel uneasy unless he knew for sure that the money had nothing to do with organized crime. Mara began searching through the cabinets for clues as to its original owner. On the top shelf of one of the cabinets, she found the proof that she needed. It was an envelope with a letter in it. Mara first read it to herself, and then she read the letter aloud for all to hear:

"Congratulations to you my friend, for finding my secret vault. It is now yours. Perhaps I should explain. My name is Sylvester Carter. I was born on the 2nd day of April in the year of our Lord 1819. I was born in County Cork, Ireland. My family was very poor. I was one of nine children.

When I was eighteen, I decided to seek my fortune in America. Therefore, on June 5th, 1837, I set sail for New York.

### For many years, I worked in New York City putting aside as much of my earnings as possible. I bought only the bare necessities. In 1849, I suddenly got the itch to travel and see more of the country. I headed for Chicago.

### When I arrived here, I found a job working with the railroad. I was a visionary in those days, and I could see a prosperous future in the railroad industry. I listened carefully when I heard people talking about financial matters and I invested as much money as I could spare in buying railroad stock.

### As my investments grew, so did my status in society. As my knowledge of the railroad industry grew, I was quickly promoted up the ranks, until I was superintendent of the railroad.

### In 1857, I began building this house. It was completed a year later. In 1860, I married Dorothy Clark, who like myself, had emigrated from Ireland. We wanted a family, but when two of our children died shortly after birth, we decided that it was not meant to be. Instead, we adopted the neighborhood children, so to speak, and used the money to help them.

### Neither my wife nor I trusted banks, and instead, we converted a lot of our wealth into silver and gold coins, which you will find in these cabinets here in our private vault. Even with all of the money we spent on helping others less fortunate, our wealth continued to grow.

### After my wife died four years ago, I was suddenly all alone. With no family to leave my fortune to, I decided to hide it and give it to whoever was lucky enough to find it. Over the last four years, I have quietly sold all of my railroad stock. Some of the money was used to help children in the neighborhood, and the rest was converted into gold and silver coins for my vault.

### The only thing that I request of you is that you use some of this money to help the children in the community. Be careful! Many men have been corrupted by greed. The most happiness that my wife and I have had with our money is when we shared it with others.

### Good luck and God bless you,

### Sylvester Carter

### July 29, 1905"

### Mara put the letter down and added; "According to the records that I found at the Chicago Public Library, Mr. Carter died December 16, 1906. What this means, Reverend Long, is that all of this money is yours and it isn't 'tainted'."

### Reverend Long looked thoughtfully at Mara for a long time and then he said; "No, Mara. It is all yours. You are the one who found it."

### Mara refused to take the money. "Reverend Long, use this money to help your church and your community, as you have been doing for the past thirty years. It is what Mr. and Mrs. Carter did. You are just continuing the work he started back in 1860. You are continuing his legacy as well as doing God's work."

### Mara got permission to use Reverend Long's computer, and then she began collecting an assortment of the coins from the vault. She wanted to get an idea of their approximate value by looking them up on the internet.

### Mara was surprised to find that they were worth more than she had expected. After searching for the values of several of the coins, Mara came to the last few coins; all of them were 1895-P Morgan silver dollars. Two of them were extra shiny, but all three appeared to be in mint condition. What she found almost made her faint. She had to check quite a few coin sites before she believed what she had read.

### Mara took the coins back into the basement. When she saw everyone handling the coins, she very calmly told them to put down the coins gently. Then, she began searching the bins to find if there were any more 1895-P Morgan dollars. She realized that the bins were in chronological order. There were at least 100 Morgan dollars from each year they were minted and all appeared to be in mint condition. Then, she found the 1895-P dollars. There were a few hundred of the extra-shiny or proof coins, but there were four bins full of the regular 1895-P dollars. Mara was stunned. She realized that there were several thousand of them. Everyone was staring at Mara when she screamed.

"How much do you think all of these coins are worth?" asked Reverend Long.

### Mara did not know where to start. "There are thousands of coins in this vault, and most of them are in extra-fine to mint condition. They range from twenty-dollar gold pieces and silver dollars, to other silver and gold coins. They range in date from the 1850's to 1905. Most of them would sell from one hundred dollars, all the way up to a couple thousand dollars. In this vault, there are probably one hundred complete Morgan silver dollar sets. In the past few years, some of these exact coins have sold for over a quarter of a million dollars."

### As everybody was beginning to realize the total value of the complete collection of coins, Mara took a few deep breaths. "The gems of this collection are right here," said Mara, as she held up the three coins. "In 1895, eight hundred proof coins were minted of the 1895-P Morgan dollars. Only about one hundred are known to exist. One of these proof coins recently sold for over one hundred thousand dollars. There were also twelve thousand regular issue coins minted at that mint that year. Of those, not one has ever been found in circulation. Some experts believe that they were never put into circulation, but were melted down for the much needed silver in them."

### Mara held up one of the regular coins and said, "There are three bins filled with these coins. If I am right, there are twelve thousand of these 1895-P Morgan dollars here in this vault. I believe that Mr. Carter was in the right place at the right time and he purchased every one of the coins. This is a coin that every serious coin collector would love to get his or her hands on. They are in mint condition because they have been hidden here for over a hundred years."

"Reverend Long, the total value of these coins in this vault, could be worth well over one hundred million dollars. You can do so much for the kids of this community and city as well as help children around the country."

"Well, of course I'll use the money to help as many kids as I can" said Reverend Long, "but, I think that it's time for me to step aside and let the church find a younger pastor who can has more to offer spiritually than I do. I don't think that I am making a difference anymore."

### Kelly, Gary and their parents tried to tell Reverend Long that he was mistaken, but he would not listen to them.

### Mara told Reverend Long that she knew the names of some people who were experts in old coins and that she would contact them and have them meet with Reverend Long on Tuesday at the church.

### After Mara, Kelly and Gary, and their parents left Reverend Long's house, they drove over to the church. The church secretary was still there doing paperwork. When Mara told her about Reverend Long and their plan to show him that he was needed, she was eager to help. She located the church membership records of the previous thirty years.

### Mara, Gary and Kelly started calling the rest of the teens in their Sunday school class and told them all to meet at the church as soon as possible. When everyone was assembled, Mara, Kelly and Gary explained their plan. The list of all former children, who had attended the church in the previous three decades, was divided up between the teenagers.

"We only have a day and a half to find as many of them as we can," said Mara. "Use the internet, contact their former neighbors, do whatever is necessary. Have them all meet here at the church on Tuesday evening by seven o'clock."

### On Monday morning, Mara and her parents visited one of the top coin experts in Chicago. Reverend Long had allowed Mara to take a few hundred coins; a few of each type coin, to show to the expert. Mara had been very careful to wrap each coin in soft cloth, so she would not scratch them.

### When Mr. Duncan, the coin expert saw the collection of coins, he was very excited. Mara told him that there were thousands of coins in the collection.

### After carefully examining the coins, Mr. Duncan agreed with Mara's assessment that the entire collection was worth more than one hundred million dollars, through private sales and auctions. Then, Mara pulled a wrapped coin out of her pocket. When she revealed the coin, Mr. Duncan's eyes almost popped out of his head. He still had his cotton gloves on and picked up the proof 1895-P Morgan dollar. "Is the only one that you have of this coin?" he asked.

### When Mara told Mr. Duncan that there were three hundred seventy-five proof coins in the collection, he almost fell off his chair. "If these are authentic, and I believe they are, they could be worth a fortune all by themselves".

###   
Then, from her other pocket, Mara pulled out the regular issue 1895-P Morgan dollar, and handed it to Mr. Duncan. When he opened the cloth that it was wrapped in, he was speechless. He examined it for over ten minutes before saying anything. "This is the first of its kind to ever be seen," he said. "Do you have any idea how much it would be worth?"

"Probably as much as the other eleven thousand nine hundred ninety nine of them that are also in the collection" said Mara. "This collection contains all twelve thousand of the coins that were minted."

### Mr. Duncan asked Mara if he could bring a few colleagues to see the entire collection. Mara told him to bring his colleagues to St. Christopher's Church on Tuesday evening.

"You must not tell anyone else about this incredible discovery," said Mr. Duncan. "A discovery of this magnitude would cause a riot."

"Duh!" said Mara. "Do I look stupid to you? That's why Reverend and Mrs. Long want to sell the coins as quickly as possible, so that they don't have to worry about the safety of the coins, and so that they can start using the proceeds to help the children of the city."

### On Tuesday evening, Mara called Reverend and Mrs. Long and asked them to meet her at the church. When they arrived, they found the parking lot full of cars and cars parked on the streets around the church. Mara met them at the door and Reverend Long asked; "Mara, what is this all about?"

### As they walked into the church, Reverend and Mrs. Long saw hundreds of people applauding them. Mara began explaining; "Reverend Long, you don't think that you have made a difference in anyone's lives. Well, these people have gathered here this evening to tell you that you are wrong."

### One man stood up and said; "Reverend Long, twenty-five years ago, I was a gang member at the age of fourteen. You took me in, when my parents kicked me out of the house. You helped get me out of the gang and helped me to change my life around. If it were not for you, I would either be in prison or dead. Today, I teach high school in the inner city and I help teens to turn their lives around. You inspired me to help others."

### Then, one by one, the others took turns telling Reverend and Mrs. Long how they had made a difference in his or her life. Over four hundred people told Reverend and Mrs. Long, how they had enriched the lives of so many people over the past thirty years.

### Mara saw that the outpouring of emotion in the church that night overwhelmed Reverend Long and his wife. "See, Reverend Long," she said, "you have made a difference, then and now. You cannot retire. You are still needed. There are still a lot of kids who need your help."

"I guess you are right, Mara" said Reverend Long. "I don't think that I will be retiring any time soon." The entire church full of people started cheering.

### Reverend and Mrs. Long mingled with the people, for the next few hours. By nine o'clock, they were all gone. Shortly after nine, Mr. Duncan and three of his colleagues entered the church. Mara introduced them to Reverend and Mrs. Long. After a few minutes, everybody got into their cars and followed Reverend and Mrs. Long to their house.

### After Mr. Duncan and his colleagues examined several coins in the vault, they told Reverend Long that they believed the coins would bring in as much as three hundred million dollars through auction and private sales. Reverend Long authorized Mr. Duncan to set up the auctions for the following month.

### Reverend Long looked at Kelly, Gary, and their parents and said; "After a new church is built, there will be enough money for sports programs, tutoring programs and so much more. Not only will we be able to help the children in this community, but all over Chicago as well. Everybody cheered. By eleven o'clock, Reverend and Mrs. Long were alone in their house. Reverend Long thanked God and begged for forgiveness. Reverend Long realized that by doubting himself, he had also doubted God's ability to help him help people.

### The next morning, when Mara and her parents said goodbye to Reverend and Mrs. Long at the church, Reverend Long told Mara that he knew God had sent Mara to him. "Not only did you help the community, Mara, but you reminded me that I am a servant of God and you helped me to realize that I am still making a difference in the lives of our young people. Thank you and thank God."

### Mara said goodbye to Gary and Kelly. Mara gave Kelly her email address and promised to invite her into her Facebook page.

### As the Louis family drove to Detroit, Michigan, Mara noticed a box on the floor of the back seat. "What's in this box, Mom?" she asked. "Oh, that's from Reverend Long. He put it in the car and told us that it was a small gift for you from them."

### Mara tried to pick it up and almost dropped it, because it was so heavy. When Mara opened the box, she saw that it was filled with a few hundred assorted coins from the vault. There was a note that said Mara should add the coins to her coin collection. Mara realized that the coins included some of the Morgan proofs and regular issue Morgan dollars. This would be a big addition to her collection.

### Mara had received coins from every mystery that she had solved where a cache of coins was found.

### The Mystery at Ford Theater

### Mara and her parents arrived in Detroit, Michigan in the early afternoon. After they checked into their hotel room, Mara went for a swim in the hotel pool. Mara was not exactly sure why they were in Detroit, but she knew that all would be clear to her in the morning.

### After dinner, Mara watched a movie on the television and then turned in for the night. Mara had been asleep for less than fifteen minutes when her head started filling with flashes of words, names and pictures. When she woke up, she quickly wrote down all of the clues from her dream. As she looked at the dreams, Mara became very confused. She had been certain that there was a mystery to be solved in Detroit, but all of the clues pointed to Washington D.C.

### The clues included Ford Theater, warehouse, doctor, booth, and the names; Lincoln, John, Mudd and Abraham. All of the clues pointed to the assassination of President Lincoln. This was the first time that Mara's dreams had ever been wrong. Mara was about to tell her parents that they did not have to stay in Detroit, when she glanced down at a section of the newspaper in her parent's hotel room. It was the entertainment section. The item that caught Mara's eye was a movie theater in Detroit named Ford Theater. Mara looked up at the ceiling and asked; "Are you playing games with me?"

"Who are you talking to, Mara?" asked her mother. Mara explained about her strange dream. After breakfast, Mara and her parents drove over to the Ford Theater. It was not yet open for business, but when Mara knocked on the glass door, an elderly man opened the door. He told them that the first movie didn't start until eleven o'clock a.m.

### Before the gentleman could close the door, Mara stopped him. "Excuse me, Sir; I would just like to get some information about the theater. Is the owner here?"

"Yes, young lady" the gentleman said. "I am the owner. My name is John Lincoln." Again, Mara looked skyward and quietly asked; "Are you kidding me?"

"Mr. Lincoln, what can you tell me about the history of this theater?" asked Mara. "Why is it named Ford Theater, if your name is Lincoln?"

"Well, it's this way," said Mr. Lincoln. "When I was a small boy, I became very close to Mr. Henry Ford, the automotive genius. When he died in 1947, he left me a warehouse in his will. Since I was only fifteen at the time, my parents took care of the property until I turned eighteen. I did not do much with it, until I turned thirty. At that time, I tore down the warehouse and built this movie theater. I named it Ford Theater to honor the man who was a major influence in my life."

"Is there anything left of the original warehouse?" asked Mara.

"I kept the floor of the warehouse, to use as a patio outside of the theater. On cooler days, movie patrons sit out and drink coffee or tea before the movie starts."

"Mr. Lincoln, did you receive anything else, besides the warehouse, when Mr. Ford died?" asked Mara.

### Mr. Lincoln thought for a moment and then replied; "Come to think of it, I did get a letter from Mr. Ford. It did not make much sense to me, though. It was quite puzzling actually."

"Do you still have the letter?" asked Mara.

"It's around her somewhere," said Mr. Lincoln. He invited Mara and her parents into the theater and led them to his office. He began rummaging through the desk drawers. After a few minutes, he brought out an envelope that was yellowed from age. He handed it to Mara.

### Very carefully, Mara took the letter out of the envelope and carefully unfolded it. She then read it aloud to her parents:

"July 12, 1946

### Dear Johnny,

### I have treasured our friendship immensely over the past ten years. You are like a grandson to me. My family will be taking over my company after I am gone, but I wanted you to have something that is very special to me. I am giving you the warehouse where I first started developing the automobile, over fifty years ago.

### I would also like to offer you some advice. While you are searching for your fortune, leave no stone unturned. When you get your first job, remember, there is no dishonor in working under someone else. Do not feel that it is beneath you to help others. When you finally do achieve greatness, always examine your options. Hard work is the foundation of success, even though you may have to sometimes start digging below that level. Have a good life and do whatever makes you happy.

### Affectionately yours,

### Henry Ford"

### As Mara finished reading the letter, a young man walked into the theater. Mr. Lincoln introduced him to Mara and her parents; "This is my grandson Abraham Mudd."

### Again, Mara looked up at the ceiling, but did not say anything.

"Abe just finished his sophomore year of college," said Mr. Lincoln. "He wants to go to medical school, but his parents can't afford to send him. His grades are good enough though. Abe is working two jobs this summer. He works here in the evenings and he works on the tollway from one a.m. to nine a.m."

### At this point, Mara interrupted Mr. Lincoln and asked, "By any chance, he doesn't work in a toll booth, does he?"

"Why, yes I do," said Abe. "How did you guess?"

"This is just too weird," said Mara "Don't you realize how much your lives have in common with President Lincoln's assassination?" Mara asked Abe. "John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln in Ford Theater and hid in a warehouse. Later, Doctor Mudd set his broken leg. Your grandfather's name is John Lincoln. He owns the Ford Theater, which used to be a warehouse. Your name is Abraham Mudd and you work in a toll booth."

"I really never thought about it, that much" said Abe. "You are a pretty clever girl, Mara."

"I don't know if you have ever heard of me," said Mara, "but I have solved several mysteries around the country in the past several years. Sometimes, I get help from psychic dreams or visions."

### As Mara told Mr. Lincoln and Abe about her most recent dream, she could see that they were very interested.

"So, what's the mystery here?" asked Abe.

"I think that this letter is the key to the mystery," said Mara. "There has to be a clue in here somewhere. I just have to find it."

### Everybody remained quiet while Mara read and reread the letter, looking for clues.

"I think that Mr. Ford left you something besides the warehouse," Mara told Mr. Lincoln. "Did you find anything out of the ordinary hidden when you tore down the warehouse?"

"No" said Mr. Lincoln. "I used some of the wood to build this theater, so that I would always have part of the warehouse in my life, but I found nothing valuable."

### Mara reread the letter again, and this time, certain words seemed to jump off the page, as if Mr. Ford wanted her to see them. Mara smiled a big smile. "I know where the rest of your inheritance is, Mr. Lincoln. I just don't know what it is."

"Where is it?" asked Mr. Lincoln and his grandson at the same time.

"In this letter, Mr. Ford made several references to where something was hidden," said Mara, "words such as under, below and beneath. He also referred to foundation, and 'to leave no stones unturned. I believe that your real inheritance is in a basement beneath the patio of your theater, or what used to be the floor of his warehouse. Would it be okay if we removed some stones from the patio to see what is below them?"

### Mr. Lincoln quickly agreed to Mara's request and went to get some tools from his truck. A few minutes later, he returned with a crowbar and some hammers and chisels. As the five of them walked around to the patio, Mara's mind was already contemplating what might be in the basement. When Mara saw the size of the patio, she realized that the warehouse had been rather small. The patio was only forty by sixty feet in size.

### Mara selected a stone in the center of the patio, and began chiseling the cement from around a stone. With her father and Abe also chiseling away, they soon had loosened three stones. Mara carefully lifted the stones out and placed them to one side. She found a layer of black plastic. When she cut away the plastic sheet, she found plywood. She tapped on it and from the hollow sound; she realized that there was indeed some sort of room beneath the plywood.

### Mr. Lincoln gave permission to remove the rest of the stones. Soon, all five of them, including Mara's mother began removing the rest of the stones. By this time, it was almost ten-thirty a.m. and people began arriving to catch the early matinee. Mr. Lincoln soon put them to work removing stones.

### By twelve-thirty p.m., all of the stones had been removed. Mara and Abe rolled up the sheets of plastic, exposing several sheets of plywood. Mara began searching for a piece of plywood that was loose, like a door. She soon found what she was looking for. At one end of the patio, there was a square of plywood that appeared to be hinged. Mara lifted the door, and flipped it open. Below was a set of stairs.

### Mr. Lincoln had brought several flashlights and he handed one to Mara. Mara started down the stairs, followed by her parents, Mr. Lincoln and Abe, all carrying flashlights. What they discovered shocked everyone. For, there in front of them, was what appeared to be a brand new Model-T Ford automobile. They quickly discovered that there were three other autos similar to the Model-T, but each was slightly different. There were also several antique bicycles and a vehicle that resembled a dune buggy. Mr. Lincoln said it was called a quadricycle, built around 1893; it was a gasoline-powered buggy.

### On one wall, were several shelves filled with various auto parts, all in excellent condition. Mara saw a desk off in the corner and went over to investigate. While she was looking through some notebooks and papers that she found in the drawers of the desk, Mr. Lincoln walked over and asked, "What have you found there, Mara?"

""Well, from what I've read so far" said Mara, "these are design plans and ideas for Mr. Ford's first automobile. As far as everyone else knew, Mr. Ford's workshop was upstairs, but his secret workshop was down here. When Mr. Ford put down the stone floor, he cemented all of the stones in place, except those around the trap door and he kept his desk over the trap door, so no one else knew that there was a basement. He must have cemented the last stones in place sometime before he died. There are documents down here that were signed in 1946, about the same time he wrote out his will. I also found a letter written to you, Mr. Lincoln" said Mara.

"Please read it to me," said Mr. Lincoln. "I left my reading glasses in my office."

### By this time, the others had gathered around them and they all listened as Mara read the letter aloud:

"Dear Johnny,

### My dear boy, I hope that you solve my riddle and locate this secret workshop. I leave all of the contents of this workshop to you; John Lincoln, and to you alone. Feel free to do whatever you wish with the contents. Go to college, and sell these items to pay your expenses, or do whatever makes you truly happy.

### I am leaving all of this to you, because in the ten years I have known you, you never asked me for anything except my friendship, while everyone else always wanted my ideas, my company or my money.

### Among my things, you will find several notebooks. Some of these contain my research and my ideas for the development of the automobile, while others contain notes and daily entries about my life.

### In ten of these journals, I have attempted to explain my life's work, sort of an autobiography, if you will. You have my permission to publish them, if you so choose, and keep all the proceeds from their sale.

### The bicycles in this shop are my personal collection. They were what first gave me the idea for the automobile.

### The Model-T that you see before you is the very first one I ever built, in 1907. I built it down here and it has never left this room. I do not know if it still works or not. The other three automobiles are models that I built between 1896 and 1900. They were my first attempts at the automobile. Since I was not satisfied with them, they have never been seen by anyone else besides me, until now, that is.

### I am having this letter witnessed by a local judge and a Catholic priest, both of whom are good friends of mine and have been sworn to secrecy. This letter should keep my family and my company from claiming anything in this room. It is all yours, Johnny, and yours alone.

### Affectionately yours,

### Henry Ford"

"Grandpa" said Abe, "What are you going to do with all of this? It has to be worth millions."

"Well, first, I will publish his autobiography like he wanted," said Mr. Lincoln. Some of this will go to museums, and some will be go to auction. I will have enough to send you to medical school, as well as set you up in your own practice afterwards."

### When Abe started to object, his grandfather put his hand up top stop him. "I am merely following Mr. Ford's wishes. I am doing what truly makes me happy, and Abraham, my dear grandson; nothing makes me happier than you." Then, Mr. Lincoln turned to Mara and said; "Now, young lady, what can I offer you as a reward for your incredible discovery?"

"I didn't do this for me," said Mara. I believe that my visions are a gift from God and I am just doing his work. But, if you make a lot of money from the autobiography and the auction, you might consider making a donation to your community, to help with the education of the children."

"Consider it done, Mara," said Mr. Lincoln. Then, he turned to Mara's parents and said; "You both must be very proud of this sweet child. Enjoy the time you have with her. Children grow up so fast. Mara's parents were both beaming with pride as they looked at their daughter.

### Mr. Lincoln realized that he had to secure the items, until he could get some of the items to auction and the other items to a museum. He and Abe covered the plywood floor with the sheets of plastic and then Mara and her parents helped place stones on the plastic to keep it from blowing away.

### When that was done, Mr. Lincoln and his grandson insisted that Mara and her parents stay and watch a movie in the theater. They would not accept any money from the Louis family. Abe insisted that they have popcorn and sodas as his treat.

### It was after seven p.m., when Mara and her parents returned to their hotel room. Mara was so tired; that she went right to bed, after hugging both of her parents, goodnight.

### As Mara lay in her bed, she was filled with happiness, because she was able to help Abe go to medical school. She also thought of the children who would get a better education with any money that was donated by Mr. Lincoln. She also wondered what mystery, the next day would bring, for it would probably be the last one for that trip. She knew that they were headed for Hannibal, Missouri, but that was all she knew so far.

### Mara slowly drifted off to sleep, with a big smile on her face. Then, Mara began to dream.

### The Secret of Mark Twain Cave

### When Mara woke up, she found that she was still shaking. She had a dream about a cave, but this dream was different from the rest. In this dream, Mara saw a group of children visiting the cave. Mara sensed that one of the kids had not exited the cave after the tour. Mara knew that she would have to enter the cave to find the child.

### Mara wrote down all of the information that she could remember from the dream. Mostly, it was a list of names that included; Jesse, Samuel, Omar, Daniel, George, Harry, William, Meriwether and Troy. Mara knew that the cave was located in Hannibal, Missouri, but not the name of the cave, or where it was located.

### After breakfast, Mrs. Louis asked Mara; "Okay Mara, where's the next stop on our mystery vacation?"

"We need to go to Hannibal, Missouri," said Mara. When we get there, I will know more."

### They drove all morning and most of the afternoon. When they entered Missouri, Mara picked up some brochures on caves that were located near Hannibal. As Mara looked at each brochure, she tried to find something that she might remember from her dream. When Mara picked up the brochure for the Mark Twain Cave, she knew instantly that it was the cave from her dream. She handed it to her father and asked him to drive to the address listed for the cave.

### It was five o'clock in the afternoon when they arrived at the cave. The brochure stated that the last tour was at six p.m. Mara got out of the car and walked to the main office located in the building near the cave. She asked if any groups of children were scheduled to go through the cave that afternoon. Mara did not know how far in the future the child would become lost.

"We just had our last group tour for the day," said Kevin Riggs, the owner of the cave. "It was a group of eight year olds. I am glad that they are gone, too. They were a very obnoxious bunch."

### As Mara's parents walked up to the office, Mr. Riggs asked them if the three of them would like a tour of the cave. Mara just froze. She could not move. Her fear of caves had suddenly taken over her entire body. She was seized by pure terror.

"Mom, can we come back tomorrow?" asked Mara. "I don't feel so good right now." As they began walking back to the car, a school bus, going rather fast, pulled into the parking lot. Mr. Riggs came out of the building, as the bus came to an abrupt halt. A frantic woman got off the bus and walked over to him.

"We're missing one of the children", she said. "We thought that we had all of them when we left, but we must have miscounted. Troy Kruse is not on the bus."

### Mara soon discovered that Troy was an eight-year-old Cub Scout. His troop had been studying caves and had visited Mark Twain Cave that afternoon as a field trip.

### Mr. Riggs made a few phone calls, and within minutes, three other tour guides arrived and the four of them began carefully searching the hundreds of feet of tunnels in the cave.

### After forty-five minutes, they tour guides came out of the cave empty handed. Mr. Riggs immediately called the sheriff's department to send officers to help in the search. Soon, there were sheriff's deputies and police officers searching the area all around the cave.

### Mr. Riggs told Ms. Jameson, the troop leader, to keep all of the other cub scouts together, so that they would not lose any more children.

### Mara forced herself to go to the entrance of the cave. As she physically touched the cave, she had a vision of a small boy lying unconscious on the ground, somewhere inside the cave.

### As Mara stood there, a car drove up and a woman got out. She ran up to the cave entrance, as Mr. Riggs approached the cave.

"Please find my son," said the woman. "Troy is a diabetic and he forgot to take his insulin this morning. He could die, if he doesn't get it soon." Mrs. Jameson had called Mrs. Kruse, to inform her about her lost son.

"Mr. Riggs" said Mara, "Troy is inside the cave and he needs help right away."

"We thoroughly searched the cave and he is not in there" said Mr. Riggs.

### At this point, Mara's mother had walked up to them and overheard the conversation. "Mr. Riggs", she said, "If Mara says the boy is in the cave; then he is in there. My daughter has a gift of psychic visions, and she is never wrong."

### Mr. Riggs did not know what to think, but he had no other options. "Can you show me where he is?" he asked Mara.

### Mara knew that the boy did not have much time left. She had to go in the cave, even if it meant risking a cave-in. She took a deep breath and forced herself to walk into the cave, with Mr. Riggs, Mrs. Kruse and her parents close behind her. Though Mara had never been in the cave before, she instinctively knew which way to go. After ten minutes, Mara knew that they were getting closer. As she turned the corner, into another tunnel, she knew that she was very close to Troy. As she walked further into the tunnel, she sensed that she was going further away from the boy. She turned around and started retracing her steps.

### When Mara returned to the spot where she felt Troy was very close, she started scanning the tunnel walls. She was looking for a hidden tunnel, when she saw a hole in the wall of the tunnel. It was no more than an air vent, but it was big enough for a small boy to fit through.

### Mara placed her hands through the opening and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she said, "Troy went through this opening. I think that I am slender enough to get through as well, if you can help me, Dad."

### Mr. Louis and Mr. Riggs helped Mara get her feet through the opening and then carefully lowered the rest of Mara's body through the opening. When Mara was able to stand up, she noticed that she was in another tunnel. Mr. Riggs handed Mara a flashlight through the opening, and Mara began walking down the tunnel. Gradually, it opened into other tunnels.

### As Mara searched for Troy, she heard voices and saw glimpses of people out of the corner of her eyes. When she would turn around, she saw no one there. Mara was also puzzled by letters and numbers carved in the sides of the tunnel.

### Mara's psychic compass led her in the right direction. After twenty minutes of searching, she found Troy. He was laying on the ground, just as she had seen in her vision. Mara tried to wake Troy, but he would not respond. She saw that he was breathing.

### Mara knew that time was critical. She had to get him out of there fast. Mara put the flashlight in her pocket so that she could use both hands to carry the boy. She carefully picked up Troy and started carrying him towards the hole that led to the other cave. Even though it was pitch black in the tunnel, Mara relied on her psychic compass to guide them to the entrance.

### Even though Troy was small, he was solid and he was very heavy. By the time she made it to the hole in the tunnel wall, she was exhausted. She handed Troy through the hole, to her dad and Mr. Riggs, who pulled him through, and laid him on an ambulance gurney that was waiting for him. A paramedic gave Troy some insulin and gradually, he began to come out of his coma-like state.

### When they left the cave, there was a large crowd of people who started cheering for them, when they saw Troy come out. Mrs. Kruse gave Mara a big hug and through many tears, she thanked Mara for saving Troy's life.

### Mara noticed that there were two television cameras pointed at them, and she quickly turned away from them. When one of the reporters insisted that Mara answer some questions, Mara reluctantly agreed.

"I will answer your questions on two conditions. First, you can only use my first name, and second, that you keep the interview short."

### The reporter agreed. "Mara, where do you live?" she asked her.

"I live out of state" said Mara.

### Then the reporter asked; "Why did you come to Mark Twain Cave?"

"I had a dream that I was needed here. I knew that a boy was in trouble and needed help," said Mara.

### "Have you had dreams like this before?" asked the reporter.

### Mara hesitated, and then explained. "I have been having these dreams and visions since I turned twelve, three years ago. Now, that's the end of the interview."

### Mara quickly walked away. Troy had regained consciousness and walked over to Mara and gave her a big hug. He thanked her for saving his life. When Mara noticed that the television camera was pointed at them again, she put her hand over the camera lens and said, "Leave us alone. Please, Troy and his mother have been through enough today."

### A sheriff's deputy escorted the camera operator and reporter away from Mara and Troy, and the two of them continued talking. Mara made Troy promise that he would never leave the group in the future and that he would always tell an adult where he was going.

### Gradually, the crowds disappeared and the only ones remaining were Mara and her parents, Troy and his mother, and Mr. Riggs.

"I can never thank you enough for what you have done Mara" said Mrs. Kruse. If you had not been here, they would never have found Troy. They did not even know about the other tunnels. If there is anything that we can do for you or your family, just let us know."

"You can thank God," said Mara, because he is responsible for your son being found. I just helped God. There is a favor that I would like to ask of Mr. Riggs, though."

"Just name it," said Mr. Riggs.

"Could you meet us here at eight o'clock in the morning? And, please contact the public television station and have them bring a television camera."

### Mr. Riggs agreed to Mara's requests, but when he started to ask a question, Mara held up her hand and said "Please, no questions." Then Mara asked Mrs. Kruse if she could bring Troy back in the morning as well. She said that she would bring Troy, as well as his father who would get back later that night from a business trip.

### Mr. Riggs tried to pry more information out of Mara, but all she said was, "Trust me, Mr. Riggs, tomorrow morning will be one of the best days of your life."

### On the way back to the hotel, Mara's parents asked her what that was all about. Mara replied; "Sorry, Mom and Dad, but you will have to wait as well." Mara had a big smile on her face. "All shall be revealed tomorrow."

### That evening, Mara watched her interview on the news and even though she had not mentioned her last name, or where she lived, she wondered if it was a mistake to tell others about her special gift.

### When Mara went to bed that night, she had another dream about the cave. This time, there were additional clues, which included a journal with the initials SLC on it, and a cloth bag with the words; 'Bank of Kansas City' stamped on it.

### The next morning, Mara was up at six o'clock, writing down the additional clues in her notebook.

### Mara and her parents arrived at Mark Twain Cave at seven-thirty. Soon after, Mr. Riggs arrived, followed by Troy with his mom and dad, a few minutes later. Finally, a few minutes before eight, a camera crew from the local public television station arrived.

### When everybody gathered around Mara, she began explaining what she had in mind.

"When I was in the newly discovered tunnels yesterday, I realized that I was not the first person to walk in them, and neither was Troy. Along the way to finding Troy, I saw names, initials, and dates carved in the walls. I believe that at one time, there was another entrance to that cave. Over time, it must have been buried, or covered over. While I was in the tunnels, I had glimpses back into the past. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw people from past centuries. I also heard voices."

"I would like to go back into the tunnels, with Troy as my cameraman and as he films the adventure; I can tell you what I see with my psychic sense. Is this okay with everyone?"

### Mr. Riggs agreed, and Mr. and Mrs. Kruse agreed to let Troy assist Mara. The camera crew gave Troy a small hand held camera with a light attached and showed him how to use it. They set up a camera monitor outside the opening in the wall, so that the adults could see what Troy filmed.

### After Mara and Troy were lowered through the opening into the new cave, the camera was passed in to Troy. The first thing Mara did was to place her hands on the walls of the cave. She closed her eyes and said, "These tunnels were used from the 1700's until 1906, when a small earthquake collapsed the entrance of the cave. It was never found again.

### When Mara opened her eyes again, she began walking along the tunnel, with Troy behind her, focusing the camera on her. Five minutes later, she came up the first names carved into the walls. Mara touched the carved letters and closed her eyes. "These names were carved here in 1875 by the James-Younger gang", she said. Troy pointed the camera at all of names on the cave wall. There were eleven names in all; "J. James, F. James, C. Younger, Jim Younger, John Younger, B. Younger, C. Pitts, J. Jarrette, and B. Chadwell." The date, "June 3, 1875" was also carved into the wall.

### Outside the opening in the cave, Mr. Riggs was shocked. He was a history buff and knew a lot about the James-Younger gang. "That's the entire gang alright," he said.

### Inside the cave, Mara closed her eyes and when she opened them, she walked over to a pile of rocks in the corner. She got down on her hands and knees, and began removing rocks from the pile. Finally, she found what she was searching for. From a hole in the ground, Mara removed a cloth sack. Troy pointed the camera at the writing on the bag, which spelled out 'Bank of Kansas City'. Mara reached inside and pulled out some old paper money as well as some silver and gold coins. Mara also found a note that said 'Empty the safe quickly or we'll shoot you where you stand.'

"This money was stolen by the James-Younger gang from the Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, on May 29th, 1875," said Mara. The adults, who were watching the monitor, were very excited about the discovery.

As Mara and Troy continued walking through the tunnels of the cave, Mara pointed out more names, initials and dates that were carved in the walls, explaining who had carved them, including HST-July 2nd, 1903(President Harry S. Truman), GC-March 16, 1900(George Washington Carver), ONB-June 21,1906(General Omar Bradley), and TSE-May 14, 1900(poet T.S. Elliott).

### Then, Mara found a tunnel with much older initials, names and dates, which excited her as well as the adults who were watching. The carvings included; D. Boone and D.M. Boone-October 11, 1803(Daniel Boone and his son; Daniel Morgan Boone), W. Clark-March 3, 1807(explored William Clark), and M. Lewis-May 17, 1810(explorer Meriwether Lewis).

### Then, Mara found a name that literally astounded her; Sam L. Clemens-July 29, 1849 age 14. This was one of Mara's favorite authors, better known to the world as Mark Twain. Mara sensed that there was something else of value near the carving. As she walked around, she was drawn to a large rock against the side of the cave wall. She looked behind the rock and saw something. She reached down and pulled up a notebook. She recognized it from her dream. On the front of the cover, were the initials SLC; which stood for Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

### Mara carefully opened the notebook, which was more than one hundred fifty years old. It was a journal describing Mark Twain's cave explorations and adventures from 1847 to 1849. There were even a few short stories he had written as a teenager. To Mara, this notebook was worth much more than the bag of money. She carefully placed it in her backpack where she had also placed the bag of money.

### As Mara had explored each tunnel, she was also looking for the original entrance. In the tunnel where she found Mark Twain's journal, she also saw a huge pile of rocks and dirt at one end. Mara sensed that it was the opening, and she began to move the rocks. She had Troy stand off to one side, as she rolled the larger rocks away from the pile.

### After twenty minutes, Mara was starting to get tired. She rested for a few minutes and then continued working. Finally, she started to reach gravel sized rocks and sand. She took a collapsible size shovel from her backpack and started digging away at the pile. After ten more minutes, Mara saw some light coming into the cave. Using her feet, she began pushing on the pile. Finally, the pile of dirt and rocks gave way and it collapsed outside the cave, revealing the opening.

### Mr. Riggs was watching on the monitor and when he saw that Mara had found the opening to the cave, he and the other adults got into their vehicles and drove around, behind Mark Twain Cave, until they located the opening that Mara had discovered. Since the opening was still on his property, Mr. Riggs owned the cave and could include it in his cave tours.

### When he walked into the cave, Mr. Riggs saw Mara and Troy sitting down, taking a much-needed rest.

"Mara", he said. "I can't thank you enough for location this cave. It is spectacular. We would have never known it was here if it were not for you. Just think, you and Troy are the first people to step foot in the cave in over a hundred years, and, so much history. Jesse James, Daniel Boone, Mark Twain, Lewis and Clark, President Truman, and so many other great Americans have been in this cave."

"Don't forget to thank Troy; my cameraman" said Mara as she put her arm around the boy's shoulders, "I couldn't have done it without him." Troy had a big smile on his face.

### When everybody returned to the office, Mara took the bag of money and the journal out of her backpack. She hesitated to hand them to Mr. Riggs.

"Mr. Riggs" she said, "Promise me that you will never sell this journal to a private collector. If you do not want to put in on display at your cave, donate it to a public museum, for all to enjoy it. Don't let it be put in someone's safe and be buried again."

### Mr. Riggs promised to donate the book and the moneybag with some of the money, to museums and said that he would sell the rest of the money to collectors and donate the proceeds to the local school system. He told Mara that he would keep her last name and address out of the story, when the film was shown on the news and the public education channel.

### Mara and her parents said goodbye to Mr. Riggs and Troy's parents. Then, Mara turned to Troy and said, "Try to stay out of trouble, Troy."

### Troy ran up to her and gave her a big hug. "Thanks again for saving my life, Mara" he said. "I will never forget you." Somehow, Mara knew that he meant that.

### Before Mara got in the car, Mr. Riggs handed Mara a handful of coins and some of the paper money from the bank bag. "I heard that you have a coin collection. I hope you can use these." Mara thanked him, and then got into the car.

### Mara was very relaxed over the next few days, as she and her parents took their time driving back to Baltimore. Mara had more restful sleep then she could remember.

### When they arrived home, Mara checked her email and found that she had messages from friends all over the country. Almost everybody on her Facebook page had seen her interview on the news. They told her how cool it was that she had saved the life of the little boy. Mara trusted her friends to be discreet when it came to her private life, so she did not have to worry about any of them talking to the press.

### Mara was also pleased to see several emails from Tony. She saved his for last, so that she could take her time reading each and every one of them.

### Mara was daydreaming and thinking about Tony, when Scott called. He told Mara that he and Betsy wanted to get together with her. After Mara talked to her parents, they gave her permission to spend the night at the White House with Betsy and Scott.

### When Mara arrived at the White House the next day, she was met by Scott and Betsy. They told her that they had seen her on television. "I see you have been very busy over the past couple of weeks," Betsy told Mara.

"What do you mean?" Mara asked her.

### Betsy held up several articles she had saved for Mara. They were about the mysteries that were solved in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Michigan. "I know that you were the one who solved all of these mysteries, even though they didn't mention your name."

### Mara confessed that Betsy was right, and then proceeded to tell her and Scott all of the details that the newspapers left out.

"Where you scared about entering the cave?" asked Scott.

### Mara was silent for a moment and then confided to her friends, "I was terrified, Scott. I thought that my dream was finally going to come true."

"Then why did you go in?" asked Betsy.

"Because, I knew that a small boy's life was at stake," said Mara. "Something deep inside of me, something stronger than my fear, told me it was the right thing to do. Besides, I couldn't live with myself, if I had done nothing and the boy had died."

### Mara hesitated and then continued; "But, do you know what really scares me?" she asked. "I don't think that was the cave from my dream. The cave in my dreams is still out there, somewhere in my future. I just know it. At some point, I will have to face my fears head on."

### Betsy realized that Mara did not want to talk about it anymore, so she quickly changed the subject. "Mara, guess what?" she said. "Scott and I have some news of our own. "We are officially dating."

### Mara's eyes lit up and she hugged Betsy and Scott. "Congratulations" she said. "When did this happen?"

"Well, unbeknownst to me, Scott asked my father for his permission to go on a date with me," said Betsy.

"How did that go, Scott?" asked Mara.

"Well" said Scott, "her dad told me that he trusted me as long as the Secret Service went along on our date. Then he smiled a sinister smile and said that if I hurt his daughter, he would have me deported. You know what, Mara? I believe that he meant it."

### Mara, Betsy and Scott all laughed. Then, Betsy asked Mara how things were going with Tony. Mara got nervous and Betsy realized that she did not want to talk about Tony, while Scott was in the room.

"Scott, get lost, so that Mara and I can talk," said Betsy. Scott knew better than to argue with Betsy, so he went to find something else to do.

### When Betsy and Mara were alone, Mara opened up a bit. "I really like Tony" she said, "but I am afraid that if I tell him how much I really like him, I might scare him away. I would rather have him as a good friend, then to risk losing him forever." Betsy did not agree with Mara's logic, but she did not want to make Mara feel uncomfortable, so she suggested that they go find what trouble Scott had gotten into.

### Mara realized that she had a lot to think about in her life, about Tony, about her future and about her fear of caves.

### A Father's Final Gift

Mara enjoyed the rest of the summer. She had no prophetic dreams during the entire month of July. On July 29th, her 15th birthday, Mara got a surprise present. Tony arrived in Baltimore with his parents, for a visit. That afternoon, Tony and Mara went out to a movie. They spent the rest of the day catching up on their summer activities.

### Tony had played the violin at many competitions and was quickly becoming one of the nation's greatest violinists.

### Mara told Tony about her vacation and the mysteries that she had helped solve. She also showed him the latest coins in her collection.

### There were some awkward moments for both of them as well. Mara almost told Tony her true feelings for him, but she stopped herself, just in time. Then, at one point, it looked like Tony was going to say something, but at the last moment, he changed his mind.

### When it came time for Tony and his parents to leave, Mara and Tony hugged for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of them wanted to let go.

### They stood there hugging for over ten minutes. Finally, Mara forced herself to let go of Tony. That night, Mara cried herself to sleep. She missed Tony already, and he had only been gone for a few hours.

### When Mara finally fell asleep, it was not a restful slumber. Mara had the cave-in dream again. It had been over six months since she last dreamed it.

### As the month of August arrived, Mara started training for the track team. By the time school started, she was running between five and ten miles per day. When she ran, she felt good. It gave her time to think, but it also gave her the ability to let go of all of her worries, to be free.

### When school started at the end of August, Mara immersed herself in her schoolwork, running, and other school activities. She made many new friends. Everything was going great.

### It was the end of September, when Mara had another prophetic dream. It was a little different from her usual dreams. In the dream, Mara was sitting in the audience of a concert hall. The famous Country music singer Eddie Phillips was up on stage singing. Suddenly, Mara was all alone in the hall and Eddie was singing just to her. Then, Mara noticed that Eddie was talking to her. He told Mara that he had hidden a gift for his baby girl to give to her on her tenth birthday, but he died before he could give it to her.

### Mara asked Eddie where he had hidden it. Eddie said he could not remember exactly, but he knew that it was in his mansion. Mara then asked Eddie how she could get in contact with his daughter; Leanne Phillips. Eddie told Mara that Leanne would be in Nashville that weekend.

### When Mara woke up, she wrote down everything from her dream. At breakfast, she asked her parents if they could go on a road trip that weekend.

"Okay, let's have it" said her mother. "What's your assignment this time?"

###   
Mara laughed at her mom's nonchalant attitude. "How would you like to visit Nashville, Tennessee?" she asked. "Mr. Eddie Phillips wants me to find a gift that he never had a chance to give to his daughter."

"Well, your father will be out of town" said her mother, "but I don't see why we can't fly to Nashville for the weekend. We can use some of your father's frequent flier miles, to purchase the airline tickets."

### So, on Friday evening, Mara and her mother flew to Nashville. At the airport, they rented a car and drove to the hotel. That night, Mara had another dream. Eddie told Mara to give Leanne a message. "Tell her that I am sorry that I wasn't there for most of her life, but that I have been watching over her and my four grandchildren," said Eddie. "Tell her that I am very proud of the woman that she has become." When Mara woke up, she wrote down the message, just as Eddie said it.

### At nine o'clock, Mara and her mother drove to the mansion/museum. Daily tours did not start until eleven o'clock, but Mara hoped to find the hidden gift, before the mansion was filled with tourists.

### Mara knocked on the front door, and a security guard told her to come back at eleven o'clock for the first tour of the day.

"I'm here to see Ms. Leanne Phillips; please" said Mara.

"She's not here," said the security guard.

"But, I was told that she would be here today" said Mara. "Would you please tell her that Mara Louis is here to see her?"

"Sorry kid." The guard said, and then he shut the door.

### At that moment, Ms. Phillips walked into the room and asked, "Who was that?"

"Some teenage girl" said the guard. "She said that she was told you would be here today. It was one of the better excuses that I have heard," he said.

"What was her name?" asked Leanne.

"Mara something or other" said the guard.

"Mara Louis?" asked Ms. Phillips.

"Yeah, that's it" he replied.

### Leanne walked over and opened the front door. She called out to Mara just as she and her mother were getting into their car. When Mara and her mother walked back to the house, Mara introduced herself and her mother to Ms. Phillips.

### After they walked into the mansion, Ms. Phillips invited them to sit down in her office. I know that this is going to sound crazy," said Mara, "but your father's spirit visited me in my dreams over the past few days. He wants me to find a gift that he hid in the mansion. He wanted to give it to you for your tenth birthday, but he died before he could give it to you."

"That doesn't sound crazy at all," said Ms. Phillips. "You see, I wasn't planning on being here this weekend, but in two of my dreams, I was urged to come and meet with a girl named Mara Louis."

"Did my father say where he hid the gift?" asked Leanne.

###   
"He doesn't know exactly where he hid it because it was over thirty years ago" said Mara. "He just remembers that he hid it here in the mansion. Ms. Phillips, I have been blessed with psychic visions, and I have the ability to sense where items are hidden sometimes. If you will take me around the mansion, I may be able to locate the gift through a vision.

### As Mara, her mother and Ms. Phillips walked from room to room, Mara could sense memories of Eddie in each room. As they entered the music room, Mara got a vision that there was a secret safe in the room. Very slowly, Mara started moving her hands slowly along each wall. On one wall, there were several gold records. Mara sensed that the safe was on that wall. Mara carefully checked each gold record, to see if there was a safe behind any of them, but nothing happened.

### Mara placed her hands on the wall again and closed her eyes. She slowly moved to the end of the wall where the doorway started. Mara instantly knew that there was a hidden switch along that edge. She opened her eyes and began tapping on the wall, up and down the wall. She heard a click, and she felt the front part of the wall pop open. She pulled it and it swung open, revealing a hidden set of bookshelves. There, on the middle shelf, was a wrapped present that was labeled; "To Leanne, From Daddy".

### Leanne opened the gift and found a videotape. Since there was a videotape player in the room, she played the tape. The video was a one that Eddie had recorded for Leanne. He told her how much he loved her and that she would always be his baby girl. Then, he sang her a song that he had written just for her, titled "Leanne".

### After the tape had finished playing, Mara noticed that Leanne was crying tears of happiness.

### Mara noticed that there were several other things on the hidden shelves, including Eddie Phillips's personal journals, an autobiography that was nearly completed, and several love songs that Eddie had written, but had never recorded.

### As Leanne read the songs, she realized that they were just the kind of songs that she liked to sing. Leanne Phillips told Mara that she could never thank her enough for finding her father's final gift to her, as well as his last songs that he had written and his journals. "If there is anything that I can do for you Mara, just let me know" said Leanne.

"Ms. Phillips" said Mara. "I have read about all of the work you do with your charitable foundation. You do so much to help the homeless people of Nashville. I am proud to know you. You have helped so many people. I know that your father would approve."

### Then Mara suddenly remembered something. "I almost forgot to tell you. The other night, when your father came to see me in my dream, he asked me to give you a message. He said that he was sorry that he missed so much of your life, but that he has been watching over you and his four grandchildren. He also said that he is very proud of the woman that you have become."

### Mara could tell that Ms. Phillips was about to start crying, so she quickly said goodbye and then she and her mother left the mansion. Mara and her mother drove to the airport to wait for their flight to Baltimore.

### Mara felt good inside. She was able to reunite Leanne with her father again, after more than thirty years.

### Colorblind

### It had been only a week since Mara and her mom had returned home from Nashville. Mara was watching the evening news with her parents when she saw that Leanne Phillips had released a new album of eight songs, written by her father, the late Eddie Phillips.

### In an interview, Ms. Phillips said that she was dedicating her new album to "Mara, a very special teenager"

"I want to get that CD when it comes out", said Mara.

### Just as she said that, Leanne faced the camera and spoke to the television audience; "Mara, don't you dare buy one, because I am sending you an autographed copy."

"That was really freaky," said Mara. "And I mean freaky, even for me." Both of Mara's parents started laughing.

### That night, Mara had another dream about the south, but this time it was about the state of Mississippi, instead of Tennessee. Mara received many images that flashed through her mind, including the cities of Jackson and Natchez, as well as the names Lynch, Johnson, Green, Bradley, Keith, Wesley, Margo, Nellie and Amanda. Mara also saw a big mansion, a train, a garden of thorns and a secret dungeon.

### When Mara woke up, she wrote down all of the clues in her notebook. As she walked downstairs to breakfast, Mara was trying to figure out a way to suggest a trip to Mississippi without her parents figuring out that it was about a mystery to be solved. As she sat down at the table, she got an idea.

"Mom, can we go to Mississippi for fall break? I hear that it's really beautiful this time of the year, with all of the leaves changing colors."

### Mara's parents just looked at each other and then they both burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Mara.

"I have to admit," said her mother, "you are getting more imaginative with your stories. "What's your assignment this time?"

"I don't know exactly," said Mara. "All I know is that we need to go to the cities of Jackson and Natchez."

### By the time fall break arrived, Mara had learned a lot about Mississippi. She pieced together some of the names from her dream. Bradley Lynch was the governor of Mississippi and was trying to be elected to a second term. His opponent was Wesley Johnson. Governor Lynch was white and Mr. Johnson was African-American. Governor Lynch was forty-one years old and Mr. Johnson was fifty-nine.

### Mara realized, from the news stories on the internet that the campaign was really heating up. Recently, a newspaper had printed a story that one of Governor Lynch's ancestors had owned one of Mr. Johnson's ancestors as a slave, back in the 1800's. This had stirred up controversy among the people of the state.

### Mara was still confused about the thorn garden, train and the dungeon. She did not know how they fit into the mystery, but she was getting the general idea of what she needed to investigate.

### When fall break started, Mara was eager to get to Mississippi. Their flight left Baltimore at seven a.m. on Friday morning, and they arrived three hours later in Jackson. Mara's plan was to go to the state capitol first, and try to get an interview with Governor Lynch. She knew that it might not be that easy, but she knew she had to start somewhere.

### When they arrived at the state capitol, Mara asked to meet with Governor Lynch. She introduced herself and her parents, to the governor's aide. The aide called the governor and asked if he was available to meet with a teenage girl from Baltimore named Mara Louis.

### The governor was about to say no, but the girl's name sounded familiar. He turned to his daughter who was in his office with him and asked her if she had ever heard the name Mara Louis before.

"Yes" said his daughter Amanda. "She is the girl who has solved so many mysteries around the nation, including the one at the White House and the one two weeks ago at Nashville."

### Governor Lynch invited Mara and her parents into his office. He introduced himself and his daughter. Amanda was fifteen, the same age as Mara. The two of them quickly became friends.

### Mara explained about her dream. "I think that I am here to help find the true connection between your ancestor and Mr. Johnson's ancestor. What can you tell me about your ancestors?"

### Governor Lynch took a file out of his desk and placed it in front of Mara. "This is what I know so far "he said. "David Lynch was my great-great-great grandfather. He lived in a mansion called the Briar's Mansion from the 1830's until his death in 1865. From what I have discovered, he did have an African-American woman named Anna living in the mansion. At this point, I don't know if she was a slave, or a free woman hired as a servant."

### Mara looked through the papers, hoping that would find something to help her, but she came up empty handed.

### Governor Lynch invited Mara and her parents to have lunch with him his daughter and his wife; Jenna, at the Governor's Mansion. That afternoon, after lunch, two friends of Amanda arrived at the Governor's Mansion to hang out with Amanda. When Amanda introduced them to Mara, as Keith Johnson and Margo Green, Mara immediately recognized the names from her dream.

### A thought suddenly occurred to Mara. "Keith, are you by any chance related to Mr. Wesley Johnson, who is running for governor?"

"Yes"-said Keith, "he's my grandfather". Mara soon learned that Keith, Margo and Amanda had been good friends for six years, since the fourth grade. They did not let the rivalry between the governor and Mr. Johnson drive a wedge between the three of them.

### Amanda and her friends gave Mara a tour of the executive residence, telling Mara all about the history of the building. Mara told them about her dream and as she was reading the clues from her notebook, she realized that the thorn garden must represent the "Briar's Mansion". Briars or briers were other words for prickly thorns. The Briar's mansion was where David Lynch had lived over a century ago.

### Mara learned that Briar's Mansion still existed and had been turned into a bed and breakfast inn. "I wonder if Briar's Mansion has a basement or dungeon like cellar," Mara said aloud. "Is there a train station near there?" she asked Amanda.

"There's no train station that I know of, but the mansion itself sits on the Mississippi River," said Amanda. "The mansion offers a great view of the river."

### Mara looked at the additional names in her notebook and asked, "Do any of you know someone named Nellie?"

"My grandmother's name is Nellie Green," said Margo.

### When they returned to the dining room, the four teenagers found Amanda's parents and Mara's parents having a friendly conversation. "Well, how goes the investigation, Mara?" asked Mrs. Louis.

"I think that we need to go to the Briar's Mansion in Natchez," said Mara. "Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, could you meet us there, tomorrow afternoon?"

"I think that I can clear my schedule for the afternoon" said Governor Lynch. "We will meet you there tomorrow at one o'clock p.m."

### Before Mara and her parents left, she told Keith and Margo to bring their grandparents to Briar's Mansion as well.

### That night, Mara had another dream, which was different from the one she had before. In the new dream, Mara was at the mansion in the 1800's. Mara saw several people entering and leaving the mansion, but only when it was dark. She saw the train again, but this time, she also saw boats on the river. In another part of the dream, Mara saw an African-American woman in a cemetery, placing flowers on two graves. Mara looked closer at the names and saw that they were the graves of David and Emma Lynch.

### When Mara woke up, she added the new dream details into her notebook. After breakfast, Mara and her parents drove to Natchez. Mara had called the night before, and had obtained permission to walk around the mansion and do some investigating.

### They were the first ones to arrive at Briar's Mansion and it gave Mara an opportunity to talk to the current owner of the mansion, Caleb Burke. Mara wanted to know more about the history of the mansion.

### Governor and Mrs. Lynch and Amanda were the next to arrive, followed by Keith Johnson and his grandparents and Margo Green and her grandparents.

### Mr. Burke seated the adults in the dining room and served them coffee. Then, he gave the four teenagers a tour of the mansion. As Mara walked through each room, she looked for clues that might help her. She also closed her eyes, to see if her psychic sense could tell her anything.

### After the tour was completed, Mara was disappointed. She had learned nothing new. "Mr. Burke, does this mansion have a basement or cellar?" Mara asked their host.

"Yes it does," said Mr. Burke. "Would you like to see it?" All four teens shook their heads up and down. Mr. Burke led the teens down the winding stairs to the basement, and then left them on their own, while he went to check on the adults.

### Mara had a feeling that there was a secret room in the basement. She placed her hands on each wall and closed her eyes. When she checked the third wall, she sensed that there was something behind it. She pushed hard against one end of the wall, but nothing happened. Then, she pushed on the other end. The wall seemed to move a little.

"Help me push on this wall" Mara told her friends. As all four of them pushed, the wall began to move. As one end of the wall went in, the opposite end came out. The wall appeared to pivot in the middle.

### When the wall was open, Mara turned on a flashlight and began to explore. Behind the wall, they found a hidden room that was quite large. In the room, there were four beds, a table and chairs. There was also a chest of drawers, and a pitcher and basin sitting on a smaller table. In one corner, there was an anvil, some chisels and a sledgehammer. Nearby was a pile of chains, and what appeared to be broken leg irons. In another corner, there was a barrel full of old ragged clothing.

"What is this room?" asked Amanda.

"I think it is a safe room," said Keith. "I think that this was part of the Underground Railroad. Slaves stayed here during the daytime, hidden out of site, and they traveled at night. These chains and leg irons were cut or broken off the slaves and those rags were probably the clothing that they came here with. They rested, ate and after washing up and changing into new clothes, they would proceed to the next safe house along the Underground Railroad which would eventually take them into the northern states, where they would be free."

"That explains the train in my dreams" said Mara. "It represented the Underground Railroad." Mara searched through the drawers and found that the three bottom drawers were filled with clothing from the 19th century. The top drawer was filled with towels. Underneath the towels, Mara found three books.

### The first book was a list of the names of all of the slaves who had passed through the house, on their way to freedom. It included their ages, where they escaped from and where they were headed, as well as the date that they passed through.

### The second book was David Lynch's journal and the third book was Anna's journal. Mara also found several documents in the drawer, as well as an old-fashioned key. Mara sat down at the table and started reading the documents and the journals, while the other three teens looked around the room.

### Mara found the documents and journals fascinating. When she had finished reading them, she finally understood what her purpose was in coming to Mississippi. She shared what she had learned, with her three friends, and then they climbed the stairs and headed into the dining room. Mara was surprised to find the adults engaged in a civilized conversation, discussing Mississippi politics.

### When the adults heard the teens come into the room, they became quiet, waiting to hear if they had discovered any answers. "Did you find anything, Mara?" asked Governor Lynch.

"Yes. We did," said Mara. "We found out the truth and the truth is really wonderful. Mara and the other teens sat down at the table and Mara began her story.

"In the basement, we found a secret room" Mara began. "One of the basement walls pivots in the center and behind it, we found the hidden room. The room is furnished with four beds, a table and chairs, and a chest of drawers full of clothing from the nineteenth century. We also found an anvil and various tools such as chisels, and a sledgehammer. On the floor, we found scraps of chains, and broken leg irons and wrist shackles."

"You found a safe room?" asked Mr. Johnson. "This mansion was part of the Underground Railroad?"

"It appears that way, Mr. Johnson," said Mara. We found a ledger with names of slaves who passed through here, as well as dates and where they escaped. We also found the personal journals of David Lynch and Anna."

"Was Anna, a slave that belonged to David Lynch?" asked Mr. Johnson.

"Yes and no" said Mara. "Basically, this is what happened. David and Emma Lynch inherited this mansion from his father. They moved into the mansion in 1850, after they were married. Shortly after they moved in, they were in town, picking up supplies. They came upon a slave auction. One of the slaves was Anna, a girl of just fifteen. One man, who was bidding on her, was a very cruel man and Emma could not bear the thought of what would become of Anna if he bought her. She encouraged her husband to bid on Anna as well. Well, David loved his wife dearly and out of his love for her, he bid on Anna and when the bidding was over, Anna went home with them, as their property."

"When they arrived at the mansion, David and Emma told Anna that she was free to go. They were granting her freedom. Anna told them that she would be caught as a runaway slave and sold again. She persuaded them to let her stay with them as their housekeeper. David and Emma agreed and within a couple of years, Anna had persuaded them to help other slaves escape, by using their basement to hide runaway slaves."

"David and Emma realized that they would not be suspected of helping runaway slaves, because everyone thought that Anna was their slave. Therefore, David and Emma would sneak the slaves into their home under the cover of darkness, feed them, clothe them, and offer them a place to sleep. When it was safe, they would sneak them out at night, to awaiting boats on the Mississippi River, where they would make their way to the next safe house."

"David and Emma became so involved in helping the slaves that they put off starting their own family. Finally, in 1860, Emma gave birth to a son, Jonathan Lynch. By this time, Anna had become part of the family. She helped take care of Jonathan, as if he were own son."

"A year later, Emma became very sick and died. David was heartbroken. Anna offered him help with the household, and the task of raising Jonathan. She comforted him as much as she could. Gradually, David and Anna fell in love. David found a minister who was opposed to slavery and he agreed to secretly marry the two of them. He performed a simple marriage ceremony in the mansion. The marriage certificate is here among the legal papers."

"One year later, Anna gave birth to a daughter named Sarah, and in 1863, she gave birth to another daughter named Grace. David wanted to let everyone know that he and Anna were married, but Anna insisted they keep it a secret, so that they could continue to help runaway slaves. It hurt David a lot that everyone thought Anna was his slave, but he respected Anna's wishes and told no one about their marriage."

"In 1866, three years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, David Lynch died. The bank officials lied and said that David had owed money on the mansion and they took possession of it. Jonathan Lynch, who was six years old, was shipped off to relatives in Jackson, and Anna took her two daughters and found work as a free woman working for another family."

### Mara took a break, to give the adults a chance to let the story sink in. Mr. Johnson looked at Governor Lynch and said, "Well Bradley, I guess that makes us family. Sarah Lynch was my great-great grandmother."

"Grace Lynch was my great-great grandmother," said Mrs. Green. "I guess that I am related to both of you as well."

### Amanda, Keith, and Margo realized that they were all related to each other as well. They thought that it was cool.

### Mara cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "There's just one more document that you might be interested in as well," she said. "It's David's will. He was a very wealthy man. Before he died, he decided to hide most of his money. In his will, he stated where all of it was buried. He wanted all of the money to be used for the education of children who could not afford it, no matter what color skin they had. He hoped that someday, America would be colorblind and not judge people by their skin, but by their hearts and souls."

"Where is the money buried?" asked Mr. Green.

### Mara turned to Mr. Burke, the owner of the mansion and said, "The money is buried on your property. Will you go along with David Lynch's wishes and allow all of the money to be used for the education of the needy?"

### As everyone looked at Mr. Burke, he replied; "I am in my late sixties, with no family left. I make enough money from this bed and breakfast inn to support myself comfortably. I will honor Mr. Lynch's wishes. The future of our state and of our nation depends on our children having a decent education."

"Well then" said Mara, "what are we waiting for? Let's go on a treasure hunt." With Mara leading, the group went outside, and by using the map, and Mara's psychic ability, she quickly located the spot where the money was buried.

### Governor Lynch and Mr. Johnson both began digging. After thirty minutes, they hit something metallic. After ten more minutes, they lifted an iron chest out of the hole. There was an old padlock on the front of the chest. Mr. Johnson was about to break it off with his shovel when Mara said, "Wait, I have a key that was with the will."

### Mara cleaned off the lock, inserted the key and turned it. The lock popped open. Governor Lynch opened the chest and everyone was speechless when they saw that it was filled with twenty-dollar gold pieces. They carried the chest into the mansion and they counted out the coins, there were more than ten thousand coins. The face value of the coins was two hundred thousand dollars, but with the historical value and the price of gold, they would be worth more than twenty million dollars. All of the coins were dated before 1860.

### While everyone else was very excited, Mara was very quiet. "What's the matter, Mara?" asked Mr. Johnson. "Aren't you excited?"

"I was just thinking about that newspaper that wrote the story about Governor Lynch's ancestor owning your ancestor. I thought that our nation had started to really become one nation, instead of a bunch of individual groups of people living on the same continent. Then, you have some guy who wants to stir up trouble all over again, just to sell newspapers. I think that you and Governor Lynch need to hold a press conference and put an end to this controversy before it does harm to the state."

### Mr. Johnson looked at Mara and then at Governor Lynch. "How about it Bradley, are you up to it?"

### Governor Lynch agreed and told Mara; "I would like for you, Amanda, Keith and Margo to join us at the press conference."

"I'd like to be there," said Mara, "but I have to be back to school tomorrow."

"Don't worry about that, Mara" said Governor Lynch. "I will write you a note to excuse you from class."

### At nine o'clock Monday morning, the news conference began, at the state capitol. Both Governor Lynch and Mr. Johnson stood at the podium. Governor Lynch told the reporters the true story of David and Anna Lynch.

### Then, Mr. Johnson told them that the election was not a racial issue, but a political one. "I respect Governor Lynch as a person. I may not agree with him on the issues, but it is not because he is white. As our great-great-great grandfather said, almost one hundred fifty years ago, 'Why can't we become a 'colorblind nation', a nation where the color of one's skin isn't important? Judge people by their actions and what's in their hearts, and not where they come from, or who their parents are."

"My grandson, Keith has been good friends with Governor Lynch's daughter Amanda for several years now. Kids have the right idea. We should learn from their example."

### Then, the governor spoke again. "Mr. Wesley Johnson and I have both agreed to fully support the winner of this election in November, to help Mississippi become a better place to live."

### Margo, Keith and Amanda walked up to the podium and told the reporters about the family treasure. Margo told the reporters, that as soon as the money was sold at auction and or to private collectors, the money would be used to set up scholarships to those in need, regardless of race, religion or gender.

### Margo, Keith and Amanda stood at the podium with their arms around each other, all of them smiling. "We have just learned that we are related," said Margo, "but we have been best friends for over six years. Now, we have a new best friend. Mara, come up here and join us."

### Mara walked up to the podium and put her arm around Margo. As the four of them stood arm in arm, Governor Lynch pointed to them and said, "Our children are our future. Let us lead by their example."

### The reporters gave everyone at the podium a standing ovation. Mara knew that she had accomplished her mission. She had started the process of uniting the people of Mississippi. Now, it was up to them.

### That afternoon, Mara and her parents said goodbye to everyone. Mara exchanged email addresses with Amanda, Margo and Keith. Before Mara got in the car, Mr. Johnson handed her a small box and told her that everyone agreed that Mara should have some of the coins for her coin collection. Mara graciously accepted them and wished him good luck in the election.

### When Mara handed the governor's note to the principal, he read it and laughed. He told Mara that he had seen her on television and would have excused her even without the note.

### As Mara headed to class, she passed Scott in the hallway. He told her congratulations on her latest solved mystery. "It was good to be home," thought Mara.

### Time is Running Out

### When Mara returned from Mississippi, she was more popular than ever, at school. Most of the students had seen Mara on the news, when she had saved that boy in Missouri, and they saw her again on the news when she was the Governor's press conference in Mississippi.

### Mara always downplayed her good deeds. She looked upon her psychic gift, as a gift from God, and she never took full credit for anything she did.

### Mara was a sophomore in high school and was very active. Besides running on the track team, she had also started playing the flute in the high school band, was on the newspaper staff, and belonged to a few clubs as well. Her grades were usually all A's and B's. At her church, she was active in the high school youth group, and helped with elementary grades of Sunday school as the need arose.

### In November, Mara saw on the news that Governor Lynch was reelected in Mississippi. Mara saw Mr. Johnson congratulating the governor and offering his full support.

### At school, Mara joined a group of students who tutored middle school students after school. The first time that Mara went to a tutoring session, she had such a good time that she wished she had started a long time ago. Mara saw how those young boys and girls looked up to her. They were very impressionable. They worked harder, when Mara praised their efforts. It was at that point, that Mara considered a career in helping children, either in a teaching position, or as a counselor. Mara saw that working with children could be very rewarding.

### Mara was so busy with school, church and tutoring, that she had not realized that she had not experienced any dreams or visions for the entire month of November.

### In mid-December, the dreams were back. Mara had a dream that was very troubling. Mara had the feeling that someone was in serious danger. The clues that flashed before Mara in her dream were very disturbing. When Mara woke up, she wrote down everything in her notebook. She remembered a dark, late model automobile, a fishhook, the letters BF& EH, a man pouring salt into a pond, and a pile of potatoes in a farmer's field. Then, there were the disturbing clues; some rope and tape, guns and knives.

### Usually, Mara was able to get some idea what the dream was trying to tell her, within a day or two. However, three days later, she was no closer to solving the mystery.

### Then, on the twentieth of December, Mara's life got a whole lot more complicated. It was the last day of school before winter break. When Mara got home from school, she retrieved the mail from the mailbox, as she did every day. As she flipped through the bills and junk mail, she found a letter addressed to her, with no return address. She sat down at the kitchen table and opened the letter.

### As Mara read the letter, she got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Dear Mara,

### You do not know me, but I have read a lot about you over the past few years. I know that you have psychic abilities and that is why I am writing to you. I need your help with something. I have been writing to a guy that I met in a chat room. He has asked me to meet him in person.

### A friend of mine says that it is too dangerous. She thinks that the guy may be a creep and that I should not meet with him. Therefore, I have decided to let you tell me if you get any bad vibes. If you think that I should not meet with him, then I will not. If I do not hear from you, I will assume that the guy is okay and I will plan to meet him.

Since you are psychic, I am not including my name or address in this letter. All I will say is that I am sixteen and the guy is eighteen. EH will pick me up in his car on December 20th, and take me to meet his family. If I do not hear from you by then, I will meet with him as planned.

### Sincerely,

### BF"

### Mara noticed that the letter was written on December 12. It had taken eight days to reach her. Mara felt terror fill her body. She knew that something was wrong. She knew that the girl, who wrote the letter, was in serious danger. Mara ran to her room and grabbed her dream notebook. The initials that she saw in her dream were the same two sets of initials in the letter. Mara realized that the dream was about the girl who had written the letter.

### Mara held the letter in her hands and closed her eyes. She concentrated as hard as she could. Suddenly, the name; Bailey Fuller popped into her head. Mara quickly wrote the name down. Mara noticed that the letter was postmarked Salt Lake City, Utah. As Mara read the notes from her dream, he realized that the man pouring salt in the pond meant Salt Lake City. Suddenly, Mara knew that the potatoes in the field, represented Idaho, and Boise, Idaho popped into her mind. She suddenly knew that the initials EH and the fishhook, meant Eddie Hook, the guy who Bailey was planning to meet.

### Mara read the letter again, and this time, a phone number popped into her head. Mara wrote the number down and then grabbed the phone. She quickly dialed the number and when the phone stopped ringing, an answering machine turned on. The message told Mara that she had reached the Fuller residence. Mara left a message with her name and phone number and asked Mr. or Mrs. Fuller to call as soon as possible. "Please call me," she said. "It's about Bailey", and then Mara hung up the phone.

### At dinner, Mara just picked at her food. She was not hungry. When her mother asked her what was wrong, Mara just sat there, not hearing a word her mother had said. Her mind was elsewhere.

### The phone rang and Mara jumped up to answer it. It was Mrs. Fuller. She said that she was calling from Salt Lake City. Mara asked Mrs. Fuller if Bailey was there. Mrs. Fuller told Mara that when she got home from work, Bailey was not at home. When she called the school, she was told that Bailey never showed up at school.

### Mara calmly asked Mrs. Fuller to check Bailey's computer for any emails that she may have received from a guy named Eddie Hook. Secretly, Mara was hoping that she was wrong, but Mrs. Fuller returned to the phone and said that there were several emails from Eddie Hook. Mara told Mrs. Fuller to call the police. She told Mrs. Fuller that she believed that Eddie Hook had taken her daughter somewhere in his car.

### When Mara hung up the phone, she saw the puzzled looks on her mom and dad's faces. She quickly explained the situation.

### Mrs. Louis was very worried about Mara. She had never seen her so upset over her psychic dreams before. She suggested that Mara take a nice hot bath and try to relax. Mara was willing to try anything, to take her mind off Bailey. Mara soaked in the tub for a while and tried not to think about Bailey, but it did not work. After Mara got her pajamas on, she drank a cup of hot cocoa and went to bed.

### Mara tossed and turned for a long time before she finally fell asleep. It was not a very restful sleep, however. Mara had another dream about Bailey. This time, she saw a dark blue, late model Honda Civic, with license number VX374. Mara also saw a dark room located in a basement. She saw a girl tied up, with tape covering her mouth, and a look of terror in her eyes. Then, Mara saw a man about fifty years old, standing in the room, holding a knife.

### Mara woke up screaming. Her parents ran into her room to see what was wrong with Mara. Mara explained her dream and she insisted on calling the police department in Boise, Idaho, because she was now sure that was where Bailey was being held captive. Mara's mother gave her permission to make the phone call.

### When Mara told the police officer that she was calling from Baltimore and the story of the abduction, the police officer told Mara that it was just a dream. Mara gave him the description of the car and the license plate number and the name of the man. The police officer told Mara to go back to sleep and hung up on her.

### As Mara hung up the phone, she had a vision of an address, 2735 Jackson Street. It was an old abandoned apartment building in a crime-ridden part of Boise. Once again, Mara called the Boise Police Department and gave the officer the additional information, and once again, the officer told Mara that it was just a dream and hung up on her again.

### Now, Mara was getting very angry. A girl's life was in danger, and no one would take her seriously. She knew that she was too far away from Idaho to do anything herself. She had to talk to somebody in power. She knew that time was running out and that Bailey was in grave danger.

### Mara decided to go straight to the top. She called President Morgan on his private phone. At this point, she did not care that she woke him up. Mara told the president about her dream and about her phone call to Bailey's mother and about the resistance that she was getting from the Boise Police Department. President Morgan told Mara that he would take care of the problem.

### After President Morgan hung up the phone, he called the governor of Idaho, who called the mayor of Boise, who called the Boise Police Department. Mara had set the wheels of justice in motion.

### Mara could not go back to sleep. She hated feeling helpless. She had to wait, and hope that the police found Bailey before it was too late.

### It was times like this that Mara's parents wished that Mara had never been given psychic abilities. Mara was already a sensitive and caring young lady, but when she knew that someone was hurting, or in trouble, she wanted to help them immediately. Mrs. Louis tried to comfort her daughter as best she could.

### Mara asked her parents to pray with her. The three of them held hands and Mara started praying. She asked God to watch over Bailey and keep her safe.

### Finally, at seven o'clock a.m., the phone rang. It was President Morgan. He told Mara that the police went to the address she had given them, and they found Bailey. Like in Mara's dream, she was tied up in a basement room of a deserted building. President Morgan told Mara that Bailey was safe and that Mr. Hook was in custody. The president told Mara that Mr. Hook was already wanted by the police in connection with another kidnapping in Idaho, a few months earlier. The other victim had not been as lucky as Bailey.

###   
President Morgan asked to speak with Mrs. Louis. After the two of them spoke for a few minutes, Mrs. Louis hung up the phone and hugged Mara. "You did it Mara!" she said. "You saved that girl's life. I am so proud of you." Then, Mrs. Louis told Mara that President Morgan had invited them to the White House for the day.

### Mara showered, got dressed and was eating breakfast, when the phone rang again. When Mara answered the phone, she recognized the voice of Mrs. Fuller, Bailey's mother, whom Mara had called the previous evening.

### Mrs. Fuller was crying. She told Mara that she had just received a phone call from the president, who told her that her daughter was safe. The president told Mrs. Fuller what had happened.

"Mara" said Mrs. Fuller, thank you so much for saving Bailey's life. If you hadn't gotten involved and been so persistent, the police would never have found Bailey in time." Then, Mara heard a lot of sobbing on the phone, and Mrs. Fuller's neighbor told Mara that Mrs. Fuller would call back when she had calmed down.

###   
After Mara hung up the phone, all of her emotions; her fear, terror, and relief came flowing out all at once. The floodgates opened, and Mara stood there and cried. She thanked God for saving Bailey from the monster.

### Mrs. Louis helped Mara to the couch and sat down beside her. She held her and comforted her as only a mother could do.

### Later that morning, when Mara and her parents arrived at the White House, they were greeted by President and Mrs. Morgan, as well as Scott and Betsy. President Morgan told Mara how proud he was of her. He told Mara and her parents that he had a long conversation with Bailey's mother.

"Bailey's parents divorced over two years ago" said President Morgan, "and her father has had no contact with her since then. Mrs. Fuller thinks that is why Bailey started turning to the internet to meet people. Mrs. Fuller thinks that Bailey was trying to fill the void in her life that was created when her father left."

"Mom" said Mara, "Do you think that we could invite Bailey and her mother to spend Christmas with us? I think that Bailey could use some distraction in her life. Besides, I would really like to meet Bailey and who knows; maybe I could even help her."

"They might not be able to afford the airline tickets," said Mrs. Louis.

"Don't worry about the cost of the air travel" said President Morgan, "We will pay for the tickets."

### On the way to the White House, Mara had been thinking about all of the internet predators. "Mr. Morgan," she said, "There is a big problem with predators on the internet. Maybe, we could produce a public service video, aimed at children and teens, telling about the dangers out there in cyberspace, and use Bailey's experience to stress the point. We could distribute it to all as the schools across the nation, as well as to churches and youth groups as well."

### President and Mrs. Morgan thought that it was an excellent idea. They told Mara that they would set up a meeting with the Secretary of Education, and that Mara could help with the project.

### Mara called Mrs. Fuller and invited her and Bailey to fly to Baltimore and spent Christmas with her family. She told Mrs. Fuller that the president would be sending them the tickets.

### Mrs. Fuller said that it sounded wonderful and that they would be on the next flight to Baltimore.

On December 22nd, Mara and her parents met Bailey and her mother at the airport. As soon as Bailey saw Mara, she ran up to her and hugged her. Through tears, Bailey thanked Mara for everything that she had done. "You saved my life," said Bailey. "How can I ever repay you?"

"You can be my friend," said Mara. All this time, Bailey was still hugging Mara and suddenly, Mara started feeling Bailey's loneliness, and Mara realized how much Bailey missed her father. Then, Mara was flooded with Bailey's other emotions and her memories of her terrible experience in Boise. Mara knew how terrified Bailey had been while she was being held captive.

### Mara started crying and told Bailey; "I am so sorry that you had to go through such a terrifying ordeal."

### On the drive to the Louis home, Mara told Bailey about the project that she and the president were planning to warn other kids about the dangers of child predators on the internet.

"I want to be the spokesperson on the video," said Bailey. "Maybe, if they heard me talk about my experience firsthand, then it would seem more real to the kids watching the video."

### When Bailey saw her mother looking at her and she knew what her mom was thinking. "Mom, I can do it," said Bailey. "If I talk about it, it will also help me to deal with my fears as well."

### For the rest of the day, the two families talked and visited. Mara and Bailey listened to music, talked about boys and became closer by the minute. That night, Mrs. Fuller slept in the spare bedroom, and Mara and Bailey slept in sleeping bags on the living room floor.

### The next morning, Mara told Bailey that she had a surprise for her. "We are going someplace very special. I know that you will just love it."

### Mara's dad had to go to work, but Mara and her mother, and Bailey and her mother got into the car and drove to the secret location. When the car turned down Pennsylvania Avenue, Bailey realized that they were going to the White House. She was very excited that she was going to meet the president.

### Mara introduced Bailey and her mother to the President and the First Lady, and to Betsy and Scott. After some small talk, Betsy, Mara and Scott gave Bailey a tour of the White House. By the time they returned to the First Family residence, the four teens acted as if they had known each other for years.

### When Mrs. Fuller saw how happy Bailey seemed, she asked her how she would feel about moving to Baltimore.

"Are you serious, Mom?" asked Bailey. "That would be so cool." Mrs. Fuller had been telling Mrs. Louis and the Morgans that her family lived in New York. They had only moved to Utah, for her husband's job. Mrs. Louis suggested that they move back to the east coast.

### On Christmas Eve, Bailey and her mother accompanied the Louis family to church for the Christmas Eve service. Mara introduced Bailey to Pastor Joe and Bailey felt very comfortable in the church. Mara and Bailey stood side-by-side; singing Christmas carols and Mara knew that Bailey was going to be okay. She silently prayed to God thanking him for watching over Bailey.

### On Christmas morning, Mara and Bailey exchanged gifts. Bailey gave Mara a necklace with a dolphin pendant and Mara gave Bailey a silver friendship bracelet.

### Two days after Christmas, Mara and Bailey went to the White House with their mothers, to start working on the internet predator video.

### On the video, Mara and Bailey introduced themselves, using just their first names. Bailey explained that she had been feeling lonely since her father left, two years earlier, and that she had been lured into a friendship with someone who pretended to be an eighteen-year-old guy. She explained how she started trusting him and then explained what happened when she went to meet him, including being drugged, and then driven to Idaho. She told of the torture and the terror that she felt, as she was held captive. By the time she was finished, she was crying.

### After Bailey had regained her composure, Mara began speaking to the audience, explaining to the younger kids that they should tell their parents about anyone or anything on the internet that makes them feel uncomfortable. Then, Mara spoke to the older kids and teens, telling them that if they were feeling lonely, or depressed, to talk to their parents, or other relatives, or clergy or a teacher.

### It took four hours to complete the half hour video. When it was completed, everyone agreed that it was a very powerful video. The video was sent to be mass-produced. Copies would be sent to schools and churches all over the country.

### By the end of January, Bailey and her mother moved to Baltimore. They bought a house just a few blocks away from Mara's house. Bailey began attending the same high school as Mara and Scott, and she quickly made many new friends.

### Mara had made a new friend, and as in each new adventure she had encountered in her life, it helped her to mature a little bit more. It also reminded Mara how lucky she was and how wonderful her life was.

### A Strange Twist of Fate

### In early January, Mara got a registered letter from Governor Charles Stockton, the governor of Idaho. He wrote to Mara, to apologize for the problems that she encountered when she was trying to save Bailey Fuller's life. He informed her that policy changes had been made in the Boise Police Department, so that justice was not halted in the future.

### He also told Mara that the State of Idaho was implementing stricter controls on the internet in Idaho, to protect minors from child predators. He also added that he was encouraging the governors of the other states to do the same thing, as well as petition the federal government to impose stiff penalties for child predators who lured children on the internet.

### The next day at school, Mara showed the letter to Scott, Jordan, and Bailey. Bailey came up with a brilliant plan. She urged the rest of her classmates to write letters to Congress in Washington, to enact legislation to protect minors on the internet. Mara urged the sophomores to do the same. By the end of January, every student in all of the schools of Baltimore had written to Congress. They also urged their friends on their Facebook page to do the same. Gradually, the letter writing campaign spread across the nation, with students, parents, teachers, clergy, and relatives, writing letters, emailing and calling their congressional representatives.

### By the beginning of March, Congress was inundated with millions of letters, emails and phone calls. Congress began to take the issue seriously, and began drafting legislation to protect the children.

### Meanwhile, the video that Bailey and Mara had made was being shown in schools and churches across the nation. Parents were encouraged to watch it as well and discuss the topic with their children. Teens around the nation, who personally knew Mara and Bailey, cheered when they saw them on the video. President Morgan told Mara and Bailey that child safety on the internet was the hot topic in Washington.

### A week before spring break, Mara had another dream. In the dream, Mara heard pleas for help that seemed to be coming from children, but Mara could see no one. She saw pictures flashing by. The pictures included pebbles, Noah's Ark, a tin can, and a crosscut saw. She also saw a diamond necklace, a high school, and algebra and chemistry symbols. She saw the names Murphy, Dunlap, Nelson, Alex, Marissa, and John Adams. She saw a sign with a picture of a hotel, a blue bird and the number 105 on it. She also saw a table with half-empty bottles of alcohol and drug paraphernalia on it.

### When Mara woke up, she wrote all of the clues in her notebook. At breakfast, she asked her mother if she had made any plans for spring break. "Not so far" said Mrs. Louis. "Where would you like to go?" "I'm not sure, yet" said Mara, "but I should know by this evening. I have to do some research first."

### That morning, when Mara got to school, she saw Scott, Jordan, Bailey, and she asked them to meet her in the library during lunch. When the four of them met in the library, Mara told the others that she needed their help figuring out clues to a mystery. Scott was always anxious to help with a new mystery, and Jordan wanted to help as well. Bailey thought that helping Mara was a good way to help repay her for all that she had done for her in December.

### Mara read the clues aloud and each person took certain clues and started searching the internet with the clue words, for possible answers. Bailey was a quick learner. She put the words Noah's Ark, the tin can and the crosscut saw together, and Ark-can-saw jumped out at her. "I think that the mystery will be in Arkansas," she told Mara. "That makes sense" said Mara, "because I think that the pebbles represent little rocks, as in Little Rock, Arkansas". Scott located a high school in Little Rock named John Adams High School. Jordan located a list of hotels in Little Rock and saw that there was a 'Blue Jay Motel'.

### Mara tried to make sense of the rest of the clues. She asked Scott to see if he could find a list of teachers at John Adams High School. When Scott found the list, Mara told him to look for either a science or a math teacher named Dunlap, Nelson, or Murphy.

### After a few minutes, Scott yelled "Bingo! There is a math teacher named Mr. Simon Murphy and a science teacher named Mrs. Jane Murphy."

"Well" said Mara. "I think that I have enough information to get started. Hopefully, I will learn more once I get to Little Rock."

"I wish that I could go with you," said Scott, "but I am going with Betsy's family to Europe." Jordan told Mara that she could not go, because she and her parents were going to Vancouver for the week.

"We're not going anywhere" said Bailey, "because my mom has to work. Do you think that your parents will let me go with you? I'd love to help you solve a mystery."

"I'm sure that it will be okay," said Mara. "I'll have my mom call your mom tonight."

### When Mara got home from school, her mom was reading the newspaper. The middle school, where she taught only had a half day, so Mrs. Louis has to go home earlier than usual.

"Can we go to Little Rock, Arkansas for spring break?" asked Mara. "Bailey wants to go with us. Could you call her mother and see if she can go?"

### After Mara had showered and changed her clothes, she returned to the kitchen. Her mother told her that Bailey's mom said that Bailey could go with them. She was pleased that Bailey would not have to stay at home while Mrs. Fuller worked.

### Mara noticed that her mother had made a list of motels in Little Rock. Mara crossed them all out except for the Blue Jay Motel. Next to it, she wrote; 'room 105'.

### Mrs. Louis looked at Mara strangely, as she called the motel to make reservations. She asked for a room on the first floor, and then said; "Would room 105 and the room next to it be available?" The clerk told her that rooms 105 and 107 were available.

### Mara called John Adams High School in Little Rock and found out that their spring break was not until the week after her spring break.

### When school got out on Friday, Mara went home to finish packing her suitcase. That night, Bailey's mom dropped Bailey off at the Louis home, so that the Louis family would be able to leave early the next morning.

### By seven o'clock the next morning, the Louis family and Bailey were on their way to Little Rock. Since it would take over sixteen hours to reach their destination, they decided to stop in Knoxville, Tennessee that evening.

### On Sunday morning, they continued on their way, arriving in Little Rock that afternoon. After they checked in to the motel, Mara and Bailey went swimming in the heated pool. That evening, Mara and Bailey got permission to order dinner from room service and eat dinner in their room while they watched a movie. The girls ordered pizza and root beer. There was so much pizza, that there was still two slices left when they were both full. Mara put the tray with the dishes and the remains of the pizza on the sidewalk outside of her door.

### Fifteen minutes later, Mara realized that she had forgotten to put some silverware on the tray. She opened the door and as she was placing the forks on the tray, she noticed that the pizza was gone from the tray. As she closed the door again, she told Bailey; "There must be stray dogs around the motel. The pizza was missing from the tray."

### The next morning, when Mara was getting directions to the high school from the desk clerk, she asked if they had a problem with stray dogs at the motel, eating food left on the trays. The clerk mentioned that some other guests had also mentioned it over the past few days.

### Mr. and Mrs. Louis knew that Mara liked to work on the mysteries alone, so they dropped her off at John Adams High School and told her and Bailey that they would be back to pick them up in three hours.

### Mara and Bailey had decided what they were going to say, ahead of time. They walked into the front office and asked to speak to the principal. When they walked into his office, he recognized them right away.

"I'm Mr. Alonzo," he said. "What can I do for you young ladies?"

"We are spending our spring break in Little Rock and while we were here, we wanted to see if our video we made was making an impact on the students," said Mara. "Would it be possible to meet with some of the teachers to see what they think?"

"A few teachers have a free period at the moment," said Mr. Alonzo. He escorted the girls to the teacher's lounge. As Mara and Bailey walked through the school building, they peeked into the classrooms. They saw that the classrooms were overcrowded with students and the building itself could use some repairs. When Mara asked Mr. Alonzo about it, he agreed with her, but told her that they did not have enough money.

### When they walked into the teacher's lounge, there were six teachers drinking coffee and going over lesson plans or grading papers. Mr. Alonzo introduced the teachers to the girls. Mara and Bailey were in luck. Both Mr. and Mrs. Murphy were in the lounge. As it turned out, they were husband and wife.

### Mara and Bailey answered questions about the video and then listened to comments about the video as well. They told the girls that Bailey's story really scared many of the students, and they really paid attention to the lesson that Mara and Bailey tried to teach on the video. Each time the video was shown; there was a lively discussion afterwards.

### When only Mr. and Mrs. Murphy remained in the lounge, Mara and Bailey talked with them for quite a while. The girls learned that both teachers started teaching at the school twenty-seven years earlier. They had been married for twenty-five years. Because they were both so dedicated to teaching and loved working with the students so much, they had never gotten around to having children of their own.

### Mara and Bailey both got the impression that both teachers were very popular with the students. As the four of them were talking, a student walked into the lounge to ask Mr. Murphy a question about an algebra problem. As he explained the problem to the student, he seemed to really care about the student and the student felt very comfortable with Mr. Murphy. Mara could tell that the student really looked up to Mr. Murphy.

### Mr. and Murphy gave Mara and Bailey permission to sit in their classrooms while they taught. The students had a chance to talk with both of the girls. It was difficult for Bailey to talk about her experience at first, but the more she opened up, the easier it became. She realized that if she could prevent even one student from becoming a victim, then it was worth it.

### At noon, Mara's parents returned to the high school to pick up Mara and Bailey. While they were eating lunch, Mara's mother asked her if she had solved the mystery yet. "Not yet" said Mara. "There are still a few pieces missing from the puzzle".

### After lunch, they returned to the hotel. Mara and Bailey swam and lounged by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. While they were sitting in the lounge chairs, Mara noticed a boy about eleven or twelve and a girl who looked eight or nine, playing on a playground behind the motel. When Mara called out to them, they ran off. When Mara went looking for them, they were nowhere in sight.

### Something clicked in Mara's brain. That evening, she begged her parents to let them order room service again that evening. Reluctantly, they agreed.

### Mara ordered two hamburgers and two orders of fries, and at Mara's urging, Bailey ordered the same thing. They each ate half of what they had ordered. Mara put the rest of the food on the tray and set it outside the door. By this time, it was dark outside. From inside the room, Mara peeked out from behind the curtain. Fifteen minutes later, she saw a boy pick up the hamburgers and fries and wrap them in a towel. Then he quickly walked in the direction of a large storage shed behind the motel. Mara recognized him as the boy she had seen on the playground.

### Mara and Bailey put on their shoes and snuck out of their motel room. They walked very quietly towards the shed. When they got there, they could hear muffled voices inside. Mara carefully opened the door and was shocked by what she saw. Both the boy and the girl that they had seen on the playground were devouring the hamburgers and fries as if they had not eaten in days. Mara looked around and guessed that they had been staying in the shed for a week or more.

### When the little girl saw Mara and Bailey, she began to cry. "I don't want to go back, Alex," she said to the boy. "I'd rather go to jail."

"Don't worry, Marissa" said the boy. "We are never going back there." Then, Alex put his arm around Marissa to protect her.

"Everything will be okay," said Mara. "We're not going to hurt you, Marissa". It was at this point that Mara realized that Alex and Marissa were two names from her dream.

### Mara and Bailey both sat down so that they seemed less scary to Marissa. Mara asked Alex why they were living in an old shed. After she convinced him that she and Bailey wanted to help them, he began to tell their story.

### Alex was twelve and his sister, Marissa was nine. Two years earlier, their parents were both killed in an automobile accident. Since the children had no other known relatives who could take care of them, they were put into foster care.

### A month after the car accident, they were both placed in the home of John and Vickie Nelson. At first, they seemed okay. They were very polite to the social workers who evaluated them and evaluated the home. However, once they were approved to take Alex and Marissa, everything changed. They had only taken in the children because of the money that they would receive from the state. They used most of the money on drugs and alcohol and very little of it on Alex and Marissa.

### The Nelsons could not allow the children to tell other people about their home environment, so Vickie convinced the social workers that she would home school Alex and Marissa. The Nelsons never allowed both of the children to play in the yard at the same time. They figured that one of them would not run away while their sibling was still living there.

### That is precisely why Alex put up with the situation. He knew that he and Marissa could be split up and put into two different foster homes. Even if they were mistreated, at least they were together. Alex took most of the abuse. After the Nelsons had been drinking or doing drugs, they would sometimes become violent. They beat Alex often. Alex put up with it, so that he and Marissa would not be separated.

### One day, that too changed. John had become angry with Marissa and was about to strike her. Alex jumped in front of his younger sister to protect and ended up being hit in the face instead. Alex realized that Marissa was no longer safe. He waited for the right time to put his plan into action. One evening, both John and Vickie were passed out in the living room. He collected what cash he could find in the house and then he and Marissa quietly left the house and ran as fast as they could. They ran until they could run no further.

### They found themselves near the Blue Jay Motel. They hit behind an old shed behind the motel and when it got dark, they opened the door of the shed and they saw that it was not being used for anything except storage. Alex decided that they would hide out in the shed until he could figure out what to do next. Alex took scraps of food from room service trays he found outside the rooms of the guests. He made sure that Marissa had enough to eat, and he would eat what was left. Over the next few days, he took blankets, sheets and towels from maids' carts, to make a more comfortable sleeping area on the floor of the shed.

### Mara asked them how long they had been hiding in the shed. Alex told her that they been there for five days. He begged Mara and Bailey not to tell anyone. "Please" he begged them, "we can't go back to the Nelsons. They would kill us and we can't go to the police because they might split us up." Alex was trying hard not to cry. "I have to take care of Marissa," he said. "I promised Mom that I would."

### Mara and Bailey convinced Alex and Marissa to follow them into the motel room. Mara ordered more food from room service. When it arrived, Alex and Marissa gobbled it down in a matter of minutes. Mara told Alex and Marissa that they could share one bed and Mara and Bailey would share the other bed.

### Alex and Marissa were so tired that they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

### That night, Mara had another dream. In the dream, she saw Mr. and Mrs. Murphy sitting alone in their living room. Then, Mara saw Alex and Marissa in a room with two adults whom Mara is instinct told her were the Nelsons. They were yelling at Alex and Marissa threatening them that if they ever ran away again they would not have long to live. Just as Mr. Nelson was about to strike Alex, Mara woke up.

### As Mara woke up, she heard someone knocking on the door rather loudly. Mara woke up Alex and Marissa and told them to hide in the bathroom. Then, Mara heard her father's voice outside the door. "Mara" he said rather loudly. "Open this door, please".

### When Mara opened the door, her mom and dad walked into their room. Her dad was holding a motel bill in his hand. "Would you like to explain to us how the two of you were able to run up a seventy-five dollar room service bill last night?" he asked. "Did you have a party? You could have at least invited us, since we are paying for it."

### Mara quickly explained about Alex and Marissa. "This is the reason that we came to Little Rock," she said.

"You do realize that we have to notify the police, don't you?" asked her mother.

"Yes, I do," said Mara, "But this situation has to be handled just right. These foster parents are monsters. I had a dream last night that showed me how to handle the situation. Can you please trust me with this?"

### Mara told Alex and Marissa that it was okay to come out of the bathroom. When the two children saw Mara's parents, they both looked frightened. Mara convinced Alex and Marissa that it was going to be okay. "No one will ever beat you again," said Mara. "I promise you that."

### Mara's mother noticed how dirty the children were. They had been wearing the same clothing for six days and they had not bathed in a week. Mrs. Louis wrote down their clothing sizes, went to a clothing store across the street from the motel, and bought each of the children a shirt, pair of pants and new underwear. When she returned to the motel room, she told Marissa to take a shower in Mara's bathroom and then put on the clean clothing. Mr. Louis took Alex and the new clothing to the bathroom in the other motel room, so that he could shower and change into his new clothes. Mrs. Louis took their dirty clothes, put them in a plastic bag, and tied the bag shut.

### After everyone else had showered and dressed, the six of them all went to the restaurant to eat breakfast. Mara asked the desk clerk for directions to the nearest police station.

### As the car pulled up in front of the police station, Mara saw that Alex and Marissa looked worried. She promised them that it would all turn out okay.

### Mara asked to speak to the person in charge and she was taken to see Captain Brown. Mara explained all about Alex and Marissa and explained what she had in mind. It was fortunate for Mara that Captain Brown had heard of her and her psychic abilities.

### Captain Brown started the plan in motion. The first thing that he did was to call John Adams High School and request that Mr. and Mrs. Murphy report to the police station. He told the school that there were two children who needed help. Captain Brown also called Children's Protective Services and requested that they send an investigator over at once.

### The last people that Captain Brown called, was Mr. and Mrs. Nelson. He informed them that Alex and Marissa were found hiding in an abandoned building and were being held at the police station. Captain Brown told the Nelsons that they needed to pick up the children.

### When Mr. and Mrs. Murphy arrived at the police station, the first person they saw was Mara. "Are you in some kind of trouble?" asked Mr. Murphy.

### Mara explained the situation to them. She told them that the children needed a temporary home until they could find another foster family. "I know that both of you are compassionate and understanding people" said Mara. "You are exactly what these kids need right now."

### While Mr. and Mrs. Murphy were thinking it over, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson arrived to take Alex and Marissa home. They were taken into a room where Alex and Marissa were seated. The police officer left the four of them alone. What Mr. and Mrs. Nelson didn't know, was that the mirror in the room was a two way mirror, and in a room on the other side of the mirror, quite a few people were watching Mr. and Mrs. Nelson; including Mara and her parents, Bailey, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, Captain Brown, the investigator from Children's Protective Services and another police officer. There was a video camera and a microphone recording everything that took place in the room.

### Mr. and Mrs. Nelson started threatening the children with bodily harm. They told Alex and Marissa that they were both going to be beaten when they arrived home. They were swearing and becoming more belligerent.

"I've seen and heard enough," said Captain Brown. As he was about to open the door to the room, Mara said "Let me go in there first. I have to get the children away from those monsters." Mara walked into the room, just as Mr. Nelson was about to punch Alex in the face. Alex and Marissa ran over to Mara and hid behind her. Alex was shaking with fear. As Mara put her arms around him, to calm him down, all of his anger, fear and the memories of the two years of terror started flowing from Alex into Mara. Mara had never felt more terrified in her life.

### At the same time, the police officers and Mr. Murphy entered the room. As the police were placing handcuffs on Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, Mr. Murphy looked at them and said; "If you ever lay a hand on either of these children, you will answer to me".

### As the investigator from CPS started to take the children with him, Mara could see the look of fear in Alex's eyes. Mara quickly glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, her eyes pleading with them to help.

"Officer" said Mr. Murphy, "Would it be okay if my wife and I took these children home with us until you find a suitable home for them? We have both taught at the high school for over twenty-five years and the school will vouch for our character."

### The officer looked over at Captain Brown, who gave a nod of approval. While the paperwork was being filled out, Mrs. Murphy got her first close look at Marissa. "Simon" she said to her husband, "Did you notice that Marissa looks a little like Beth Webster?"

"Yes, I did," said Mr. Murphy. "I also think that Alex reminds me of Brian Phillips a little bit."

### When Alex heard this, he said; "Brian Phillips was our father and Beth Webster Phillips was our mother. They were both killed in a car accident two years ago. How do you know them?"

### Mrs. Murphy looked like she was going to cry. "Alex, Marissa, come over here and sit down," she said. "I want to tell you a story. Mr. Murphy and I both started teaching at Adams High School twenty-seven years ago. We were both fresh out of college and it was our first teaching assignments. We were both attracted to each other, but we did not pursue it, because we did not want to jeopardize our jobs.

### Your parents were both freshmen that year. They had been best friends all through grade school. When they looked at us, they saw what we were trying to deny; that we should be together. Finally, one day, they got tired of us resisting the chemistry that they knew was there. Over the next six months, they kept devising devious plans to get the two of us together. Then, one day after they got tired of playing games and resisting the force pulling us together, they sat us down and gave it to us straight; 'Just go out on one date', they told us. If you don't feel the sparks, then we will leave the two of you alone.'

### Well, we decided to take their advice, if for no other reason, than to get them to leave us alone. Well, that one date turned into another, then another. Six months later, we were engaged. Your mother was my bridesmaid and your father was Mr. Murphy's groomsman at our wedding.

### We stayed close to them through high school and into college. After college, they began their own life and we lost track of them."

### Mara was very surprised by this strange twist of fate. Her dream had not just united two children with a good set of foster parents. It had reunited four people who were all connected to a couple of compassionate people whose lives had been cut short by an accident.

### After Mrs. Murphy had finished her story, Mara told Alex and Marissa that she had a story to tell them as well. "For more than three years now" said Mara, "I have been blessed with psychic visions. Usually, I assume that the dreams come directly from God, but the other night, I had a dream that included all four of you. Alex, Marissa, I think that your parents wanted you to live with Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, because your parents trust them with your lives. I think that your parents are responsible for my dreams this time."

### Mara put her arms around Marissa and Alex and said; "Your parents love you both very much and they are still watching over you."

### It was at that point, that Mr. and Mrs. Murphy asked Alex and Marissa if they would allow them to become their parents and adopt them. Alex and Marissa both said "yes", immediately.

### Bailey had witnessed all of this and thought everything turned out perfect, but she was thinking about the additional clues in Mara's notebook.

"Mara, how do the other clues; diamonds and Dunlap fit into all of this?"

""Did you say diamonds and Dunlap?" asked Mr. Murphy. "I have a good friend, named Roger Dunlap who is in charge of Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. It is a state park about ninety miles from here, where you can search for diamonds and keep whatever you find. I believe that the park is open until five o'clock. I will call ahead and let him know that you are coming."

"That sounds like fun," said Mara. "Thank you!" So, after Mara, her parents and Bailey said goodbye to Alex, Marissa and Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, they headed to Crater of Diamonds State Park.

### When they arrived at the park, it looked deserted. It was a little after four p.m. and all of the other visitors had gone for the day. Mr. Dunlap met them and told them that he was not going to charge them admission, or tool rental, because of the wonderful thing they had done in helping Alex and Marissa.

### Mara, her parents and Bailey each went in different directions. Mara realized that she was there for a purpose, so she closed her eyes and prayed; "God, I know that I came here for a reason. Please let me see what you request of me." Mara suddenly felt completely at peace. When she opened her eyes, she sensed where she should start digging. It was in an area where the soil looked undisturbed.

### When Mara had dug down almost five feet, she hit something with her shovel. A big blue stone looked like glass. When she brushed off the dirt, she realized that it was a diamond. It was bigger than a softball. Mara put it in her backpack.

### Mara started walking again, with her eyes closed, using her inner compass. This time, at three feet below ground level, she found a beautiful red diamond. She did this twice more and found two more giant diamonds, one was yellow and the other one was pink. After she had found the last one, she knew that she had completed her heavenly task. Then, everything became clear. She knew how the diamonds were connected to Alex, Marissa, Mr., and Mrs. Murphy.

### When Mara met up with her parents and Bailey at the park office, she saw that her mom and Bailey had each found a small diamond. Her father had found some other minerals, but no diamonds.

### As Mara was admiring the diamonds, Bailey asked her if she had found any diamonds.

"Before I answer that question" said Mara, "I have a few questions to ask Mr. Dunlap. First, am I allowed to keep any diamonds that I find?" Mr. Dunlap assured her that she could keep anything she found.

"Second," said Mara, "is there a limit to the number of diamonds that I can keep?" Mr. Dunlap assured her that there was no limit. "Last question," said Mara, "Can I request that my photo and name be kept out of any press releases?"

"Would you let me photograph the diamonds?" asked Mr. Dunlap.

"Yes, that would be okay," said Mara.

### Mara's parents knew that something was up, with Mara being so serious. They were trying to be patient, but Bailey was not the patient type. "Okay, Mara" she said. "Let's see what you found".

### Mara reached into her backpack and pulled out the yellow diamond. Mr. Dunlap's mouth dropped open and he was speechless. When Mara handed it to him, he almost dropped it. "This must weigh at least a thousand carats," he said, when he was able to speak.

### Then, Mara proceeded to pull out the blue, pink and red diamonds, which were all larger that the yellow one. Mr. Dunlap was in shock. He had to sit down for a minute. He took out his digital camera and took several photos of each diamond at many different angles.

"Mara, do you have any idea how much these diamonds are worth" asked Mr. Dunlap.

"Not exactly, but I know that they are worth millions of dollars," said Mara

### .

"If these stones are cut correctly, all of the polished diamonds would be worth over fifty million dollars," said Mr. Dunlap.

"You're rich, Mara" said Bailey.

"No, I am not," said Mara. "I can't keep these diamonds. I did not find these by myself. God directed me to find them. I know what to do with the proceeds from the sale or auction of these gems."

"What are you thinking, Mara?" asked Mrs. Louis.

"After talking with the staff at John Adams High School, I learned how little money they have to properly educate the students in the state of Arkansas. The buildings are falling apart and they are overcrowded. There aren't enough books, and very few computers."

"Do you realize how happy that money would make you, Mara?" asked Bailey.

### Mara looked at Bailey and said; "Do you know how happy those students would be to have new books, and computers and buildings that aren't falling apart? Those smiling faces are what would make me happy."

"Could you do me a favor, Mr. Dunlap? Could you wait for one day before you go to the press with this discovery? I want to meet with Mr. Murphy and a lawyer in Little Rock, to arrange for the disposition of the diamonds."

"That's not a problem Mara," said Mr. Dunlap. Then, Mr. Dunlap shook Mara's hand and shook his head in disbelief. "If this doesn't beat all" he said. "I have never seen anyone as unselfish and caring as you. To top it off, you do not even live in Arkansas. You could just as easily spend that money on the schools in Maryland."

"I know that I was meant to find the diamonds and to keep the money in Arkansas," said Mara. "By the way, I filled in the holes where I found the diamonds, so that future diamond seekers will just have to take their chances. You might want to suggest an increase in the admission price, as this place will become a lot more popular. You could even earmark the increase for the educational system."

### Mara, her parents and Bailey checked into a local motel that evening. Mara called Mr. Murphy and told him that she would like to meet with him and Mr. Alonzo the next day at the school. Mara also asked Mr. Murphy to find the best attorney in the city and have him be at the meeting as well.

### The next morning, after Mara and her family checked out of the motel, they drove back to Little Rock. When they arrived at John Adams High School, Mara met with Mr. Alonzo, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy and an attorney.

"What's this meeting for?" asked Mr. Alonzo.

"Well" said Mara, "Thanks to Mr. Murphy, I figured out the meaning of the rest of my dream. We went to Crater of Diamonds State Park and with God guiding me, I was very successful". Mara reached into her backpack and pulled out a bundle, wrapped in a towel. When she unfolded the towel, there were all four of the diamonds. Mr. Alonzo, the attorney, Mr., and Mrs. Murphy were stunned, to say the least.

"Mr. Dunlap from the state park told me that if these diamonds were cut the right way, that the polished diamonds might be worth fifty million dollars or more. Mr. Murphy, I would like for you to be my agent, and handle the process of having them appraised, finding the right expert to cut and polish them, as well as arranging for the auction/sale of them. That's why I asked you to contact an attorney, to assist you in this process."

"What do you plan on doing with that money?" asked Mr. Murphy.

"First" said Mara, "after the diamonds are sold, I want you to set aside enough money in trust funds for Alex and Marissa to cover all of their college expenses. The rest of the money will go towards the education of the children of Arkansas. The money can be used for any aspect of education, such as books, computers, building repairs, music, art programs, etc., as long as it directly affects the students. If you have any money left, set up scholarships to be used state wide."

"You trust me with all of that money?" asked Mr. Murphy.

### Mara looked at Mr. Murphy and said; "God also trusts you, or else he wouldn't have placed Alex and Marissa in your care."

### Mara asked the lawyer to draw up the appropriate paperwork and FedEx it to her in Baltimore. She added that she would sign the papers and have them notarized, and FedEx the papers back to him. "The other thing I ask of all of you is that my name is kept out of the press. As far as the public knows, the donations came from an anonymous donor. Nobody outside of this room needs to know my part in all of this. Is that okay with everyone?" Everyone nodded and agreed to Mara's request.

### Just then, there was a knock on the door. When it opened, there stood Alex and Marissa. When they saw Mara, they ran in and hugged her. "Are you getting settled into your new home?" asked Mara.

"Yes"-said Alex. "We each have our own room. At the Nelson's house, we had to share one small room with only one bed."

### Mr. Murphy asked Alex and Marissa to wait in the hall while they finished some business.

"Okay Dad" said Alex as they stepped into the hall.

### Mara noticed that Mr. Murphy was overcome with emotion. "They said that they wanted to call us Mom and Dad," said Mr. Murphy. "They said that if their parents trusted them enough to take care of their children, then it was good enough for the two of them."

### Mara shook hands with everyone and then Mara joined her parents and Bailey in the waiting room of the office. Once they were in the car, Mara told her parents and Bailey about the meeting. Mara noticed that Bailey was very quiet. Mara knew what she was thinking.

"Bailey" said Mara, "There's something that I never told you before. When we first met at the airport, something happened to me when we hugged. All of your terror and fear and emotional pain surged into me at that moment. Well, the same thing happened when Alex grabbed hold of me that day in the police station. However, in his case, two years' worth of abuse, anger and fear flowed into me. He and Marissa deserve the best life possible, and if a top college education will help, then so be it. Hopefully, with therapy, they will one day be able to put their memories of fear out of their minds."

### Bailey understood what Mara meant. She told Mara that she was sorry that she was jealous. Then Mara told Bailey that she always planned to sell a few coins from her collection to pay for Bailey's college expenses. Bailey hugged Mara and thanked her.

### When Mara and Bailey returned home, they still had the weekend off before they returned to school. Mara called Betsy and talked her into having a sleepover at the White House. When Mara and Bailey arrived at the White House, Scott, Betsy and Jordan began asking all sorts of questions. They had watched the national news broadcast and they knew all about the diamonds. They also knew that Mara was responsible. So, Mara and Bailey filled them in on the details of the vacation.

"I can't believe that you just gave away one hundred million dollars," said Scott.

"You mean fifty million dollars," said Mara.

### Scott held up that day's newspaper. The headline read 'Good Samaritan donates diamonds valued at one hundred million dollars to help the Arkansas School system.' It turned out that Mr. Dunlap had underestimated the weight of the diamonds. Each actually weighed more than fifteen hundred carats.

"Scott" said Mara, "You would have done the same thing, if you had been there and God wanted you to do it that way."

"I guess so" said Scott, "but that sure was a lot of money."

"Scott" said Mara, "I have two of the best parents in the world, several good friends and five friends who are like brothers and sisters to me. What could make me any happier? Certainly, not money!"

### Unquestionable Faith, Unconditional Love

### Mara had no more prophetic dreams for the rest of the school year. Well, that is not completely true. She did have several dreams, but they were all about Mara and the cave-in. She must have dreamed about the cave-in at least a dozen times over the next three and a half months.

### Even though the dreams made Mara wake up shaking with fear, she never told her parents about them. She knew that it would only make them worry more about her. Besides Scott, Betsy, and Tony, the only person she talked to about her dreams, was Pastor Joe. Pastor Joe told Mara that God loved her unconditionally and that he would watch over her. "You must have unquestionable faith in him," said Pastor Joe. "Trust in him with all of your heart and soul. God will protect you."

When School was out for the summer, Mara got a job working in a day care center. She loved children and they loved her. Since she could not yet drive, her mother usually drove her to work. Mara could not wait until July 29th, when she would turn sixteen and finally get her driver's license.

Mara's parents were also looking forward to July 29th. They were planning a big surprise party for her. They felt that Mara needed a vacation from her dreams and from her visions. Scott and Betsy were in on the plans and they provided Mrs. Louis with a list of all Mara's friends from Facebook.

### Mrs. Louis knew that it would be hard to have a party without Betsy Morgan being there. When she talked with Mrs. Morgan, she discovered that that the National Governor's Conference was going to be held in Denver the last week of July, and that she and Betsy would be going with the president to Denver. So, Mrs. Louis selected Denver for the location of the party.

### Mrs. Louis also called Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After Mara had saved their daughter's life the year before, they had promised to help Mara in any way they could. When Mrs. Louis spoke to Mr. Mendoza, her intention was to ask for his clout in reserving the banquet room of the Denver Ritz Carlton Hotel, but as soon as she mentioned that she was planning a surprise birthday party for Mara, he immediately volunteered to cover the cost of the entire party, including paying for transportation and hotel rooms of all Mara's friends and their families, the catering, banquet room, etc. ]

### Mrs. Louis tried to argue with Mr. Mendoza, but he would not take no for an answer. "Mara saved our daughter's life," said Mr. Mendoza. "Without her in our lives, nothing would matter to us. We are worth several billion dollars. What is a few hundred thousand? It is our pleasure to do this for you. Please let us pay for the party".

Mr. and Mrs. Louis did not tell Mara about the party, but on July 15th, they told her that it was time that they picked the vacation spot. They told Mara that the three of them were going to Denver, Colorado the last week in July. "What about my birthday?" asked Mara.

"We can celebrate your birthday on July 31st" said Mrs. Louis. "We could only get reservations for the 26th through the 30th of July."

### When Mara later complained to Scott the next day, he told Mara what Mrs. Louis told them to say, "Don't tell your mom that I told you, but your parents are throwing you a surprise party in the White House when you return." Mara promised that she would not say a word. She felt a lot better, knowing that her parents had not blown off her sixteenth birthday.

On July 26th, Mara and her parents were on a plane bound for Denver International Airport. Mara fell asleep during the flight and woke up suddenly. She had her dream, or rather her nightmare, again. She remembered what Pastor Joe had told her; "unquestionable faith in God, He loves you unconditionally. He will watch over you."

### Mara and her parents were driven from the airport to the Ritz Carlton Hotel by an airport limo. After they checked in, they just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon in the room. That evening, after a late dinner, Mara took a nice long bubble bath and then went to bed.

### During the night, Mara had a dream about five children who were in trouble on a mountain. Mara got flashes of names, including; Logan, Reeves, Adam, Patrick, Maureen, Eddie, Grant, Chris, Jeffrey, Ashley, Lizzie and Hannah. She saw a sign with the words; Prospector's Cavern Mine. She saw the words Idaho and Colorado, and saw gold bars.

### When Mara woke up, she secretly wrote the clues in her notebook. She did not tell her parents that she had a dream, because they wanted this vacation to be mystery-free.

### After breakfast, Mara asked the front desk clerk what sights there were to see around Denver. The clerk listed several things. When he mentioned an old gold mining town named Idaho Springs, Mara asked for a brochure about it. Mara read the brochure and discovered that the town was about 30 miles from Denver.

### Mara told her mom that she was interested in seeing Idaho Springs and said that the hotel limo could take her there, free of charge. Since Mrs. Louis needed to finalize some last minute plans for the party, she was glad that Mara found something interesting to occupy her time. She gave Mara permission to go to Idaho Springs. Mrs. Louis told her daughter to take her cell phone with her and call when she was on her way back to the hotel, so that they could make plans to go to dinner. The real reason, of course was that she did not want Mara walking in on any party planning.

### Mara arrived in Idaho Springs at 9:30 a.m. She walked up and down Main Street, stopping to visit many of the shops and boutiques. Mara was hoping that a vision would come to her, while she ate lunch in a cute little café, but she saw nothing. After lunch, she went out for a leisurely stroll.

### As she looked up at the mountains that rose up behind the town, she realized how much she took for granted the beauty of God's artwork. As Mara admired beauty of the landscape, she suddenly had a vision of five children, all under the age of twelve. They were standing near the entrance of an abandoned gold mine in the mountains. She also saw two older boys who Mara sensed were older cousins to the five younger children.

### Mara remembered the name of the mine from her dream was called; 'Prospector's Cavern Mine'. Mara knew that the five children would be in extreme danger if they entered the mine. Mara asked a shopkeeper for directions to the mine. Since it would be a good twenty-minute walk, Mara decided to jog instead.

### As Mara jogged, she had another vision. She saw the two older boys dare their younger cousins to go into the mine. The older boys told their cousins that according to legend, there was a pile of gold deep inside the mine. It was as if Mara was eavesdropping in on their conversation. The older boy, Eddie told his eleven-year-old cousin, Chris that if he did not go in, it meant he was a chicken. Chris did not want to be called a chicken, so he accepted the dare.

### Mara ran faster. As she got near the cave, she saw Eddie and his brother, Grant running away from the mine, laughing.

### When Mara reached the mine, it looked vaguely familiar to her, but she did not know where she had seen it before. From the outside, it did not look like a mine, but a natural cave in the side of a mountain. As Mara entered the mine, she suddenly knew where she had seen it before. She had seen it dozens of times in her dreams. This was the cave where the ceiling would cave-in on her. Mara did not hesitate for a second. She knew that there were five children who were in danger. She had to find them and get them out of there immediately. She could have walked away and changed the future, but the thought never crossed her mind.

### Mara was shaking with fear, as she entered the cave. She started calling out to the children. After she had gone in a couple hundred feet, she located them. They had gotten lost with all the turns in the mine and could not find their way back out. Mara started leading them back towards the entrance.

### They were within forty feet of the entrance, when they heard a rumbling throughout the mine. Mara told the children to get back. In the mine tunnel where they had been standing minutes earlier, rocks were falling, blocking the tunnel. The falling rocks would have killed them all, if Mara had not remembered the cave-in from her dreams. When the dust settled, Mara and Chris started moving rocks and after thirty minutes, they had made an opening big enough for the smaller children to crawl through.

### The four youngest children crawled through and Mara widened the hole enough for Chris to crawl through. Mara could not fit through the opening, but she sensed that the mine was very unstable. She told Chris to take his brother and sisters and get out of the mine as fast as they could.

### Just as the five children made it safely out of the cave, the mine tunnel started to collapse even more. The tunnel behind Mara collapsed and the tunnel in front of her collapsed as well. Mara was trapped in a section of tunnel about ten feet long. She prayed that the children made it out safe. Mara knew that there were over forty feet of rock-filled tunnel that separated her from the tunnel entrance. Mara was very scared, but, then she remembered what Pastor Joe had told her; "unquestionable faith in God". Suddenly, Mara felt a peaceful feeling fill her body as she began to pray to God, asking for strength to endure. Then she asked him to watch over her parents.

### Mara began picking up rocks and moving them. She noticed that some of the rocks were very heavy, for as small as they were. She looked at one of them with her flashlight and saw why. She put one of the larger rocks into her backpack, and then she began moving rocks that blocked her way out.

### Meanwhile, Chris and his siblings had reached their aunt's house where they were staying. Their parents, their uncle, aunt, and two cousins; Eddie and Grant were all there. Grant and Eddie started laughing at them, saying "What took you so long?"

### Chris was so scared, angry and exhausted, that his adrenaline was really pumping. He did not care that he was a foot shorter and five years younger than Eddie was. He walked over to him and began pummeling him with his fists as hard as he could. If Chris's parents had not pulled him off his cousin, Eddie would have been seriously hurt.

"What's gotten into you Chris?" asked his mother.

"Eddie and Grant tricked us into going into Prospector's Cavern Mine. They told us that there was a pile of gold in the mine. When we went in, it was dark and we got lost. Eddie and Grant ran off and left us. If it wasn't for Mara, we would still be in the mine."

"Who's Mara?" asked Chris's dad.

"She was a girl who came looking for us," said Chris. "She was leading us out of the mine when a minor cave in blocked the tunnel. She and I were able to move enough rocks for the five of us to crawl through, but she could not fit through the opening. She told us to run as fast as we could. We were barely out of the mine, when there was a rumbling deep within the tunnel and then, the rest of the mine tunnel collapsed. Mara is trapped behind tons of rock. We have to get her out."

### Eddie's mother was looking at him and his brother with anger in her eyes. "How could you put your cousins in danger like that?" she asked. "Now, because of you, an innocent girl's life is at stake. I have never been so disappointed in you two as I am now".

### Chris's mother called 911 and told them about the cave-in at the mine. Then, she and her husband and children got into their truck and drove to the mine. By the time she arrived, the police had also arrived. Within twenty minutes, there was a camera crew filming the story for the news.

### The reporter interviewed Chris and his siblings, they told him how a girl named Mara had saved their lives, and now she was trapped in the mine, behind tons of rock.

### The police contacted the owner of the mine, to find out if there was any other way into the cave. Adam Logan, the owner, was in his mid-seventies. His great grandfather was the original owner of the mine, back in the 1860's.

### The news story was quickly picked up by the national networks and was being shown all over the country. Back at the Denver Ritz Carlton Hotel, Mr. and Mrs. Louis were in the lobby of the hotel making party plans when they saw the news special report. When they heard Mara's name mentioned, they had the hotel limo take them to the cave as quickly as possible. When they arrived, they asked the police for a description of the girl who was trapped in the cave. Chris described her to them. When Mrs. Louis showed Chris a photo of her daughter, Chris said; "That's her. That's the girl who saved our lives."

### A news correspondent from NBC was standing nearby. He and his news crew filmed the conversation between Chris and Mrs. Louis, including showing the photo of Mara. The video footage soon went live to stations all over the nation.

### A police officer helped Mr. and Mrs. Louis find some place to sit down.

### Betsy and Scott were watching television in the presidential suite when the news report interrupted the movie they were watching. When they saw Mrs. Louis crying and heard about Mara, they just looked at each other, not saying a word. They were both thinking the same thing; "Mara's dream had finally come true".

### They ran to the door and insisted that the secret service agents drive them to the convention center where the president was addressing the governor's conference. When the car pulled up in front of the convention center, Scott and Betsy got out and ran in with the secret service agents close behind them. Betsy and Scott burst into the hall and everybody turned to look at them to see what the noise was. Betsy and Scott ran up to the podium where the president was speaking. "Dad" said Betsy, "There's been a cave-in at a gold mine in Idaho Springs."

### Before Betsy could continue, her father interrupted her. ""Can we talk later?" he asked.

"No, Dad" shouted Betsy. "Mara is trapped in the mine, behind tons of rock. We have to help her."

### President Morgan's face suddenly got very serious. "Are you sure?" he asked.

### Scott went over to a large monitor that was hooked up to a television and turned it on to NBC. The network was showing a picture of Mara Louis and talking about the cave-in.

### President Morgan turned to the governors in the room and said; "We will have to finish this meeting later. Right now, a very close friend is in trouble."

### Governor Lynch from Mississippi and Governor Stockton from Idaho had the same reaction as the president. "We're going with you, Mr. President," they told him.

### Before long, the rest of the governors realized that the trapped girl was Mara Louis, the girl who had done so much to help so many people over the years. Using several limousines and state police cars, they followed the presidential motorcade to Idaho Springs. When they arrived, there was already a large group of people removing rocks from the tunnel. President Morgan removed his jacket and began moving rocks himself. Soon, all of the governors were moving rocks as well.

### In Albuquerque, Mr. Mendoza learned about the cave-in from the news and he quickly made some calls to some associates in Denver and arranged for some heavy construction equipment to be sent to the site of the cave-in. Then, he ordered his private jet be fueled and ready to fly to Denver.

### In Hartford, Connecticut, Mr. Douglas Conway was also arranging for his private plane to fly him to Denver as well.

### In Virginia City, Nevada, Pastor Mike O'Brien had been informed of the situation in Denver, and after saying some prayers, he was headed to Denver.

### Jeffrey Carter and his wife, Dr. Greathouse were at the airport with their three children, waiting for their flight to Denver, when Heidi showed her dad the text she had received from Betsy Morgan. Betsy had sent a text to all of Mara's friends. Dr. Greathouse called Dr. Paterson at Northern Arizona University, to inform him of the situation and have his staff start praying for Mara. Mr. Carter called his mother in Florida as well.

### Around the nation, as the news reports of the tragedy in Denver were announced, families who knew Mara became very worried and upset. In New York City, Mr. Mark Weiss, the magician closed his magic shop and called the airport to purchase tickets to Denver.

### In Houston, Texas, The King and Norman families were awaiting their flight to take off. Judge McPherson cancelled the rest of the court cases for the day and headed for the airport.

### In Hollywood, Mr. Gene Fisher was directing a movie when he heard the news. He chartered a private plane and flew to Denver.

### People across the country who knew Mara dropped what they were doing, and headed to Denver, including Mr. Anderson, the curator from the Marshall Museum in Charles City, Virginia; Mr. Baldwin, the curator of the Grant Museum in Northern Maryland; Reverend and Mrs. Long from Chicago; John Lincoln and his grandson, Abe Mudd from Detroit; and Mr. Riggs from Hannibal, Missouri.

### Jordan Travers and her cousins from Cincinnati were already on their way to Denver with their families as were Bailey Fuller and her mother. Keith Johnson, Margo Green and their families were on their way from Mississippi.

### When Alex Phillips and his sister, Marissa heard about Mara, they insisted that their new parents, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy go to Denver to help. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy agreed and a few hours later, they were in a plane bound for Denver.

### In Vincennes, Indiana, Mrs. Bradford was on the phone to her six great granddaughters around the country telling them about Mara and asking them to pray for her.

### In Baltimore, a message was sent by phone and by email to all of the students of the elementary, middle and high schools, encouraging them to pray for Mara Louis.

### In Los Angeles, an elementary teacher named John Gregory thought back to eight years earlier and recalled how Mara had caused him to re-evaluate his life. He was soon on his way to Denver as well.

### Pastor Joe said a special prayer at the church, before he made his travel arrangements.

### Emperor Motohito had arrived in Denver with his wife and two children. His security detail drove them to the Ritz Carlton Hotel. When the emperor inquired about his five o'clock meeting with President Morgan, he was told that the president had been unavoidably delayed, and the meeting would have to be rescheduled until the next day. The emperor was irritated at first, until his daughter, Princess Katsu showed him the news coverage of the cave-in. When he discovered it was Mara Louis who was trapped in the mine, he ordered his driver to take him and his family to Idaho Springs.

### It was beginning to get dark at the mine and portable lights were set up to help illuminate the rescue operation. Mara's parents were getting more upset. Mrs. Louis tried to call and text Mara, but no signals were getting through all of the rocks in the tunnel. She and her husband were constantly praying.

### Tony Giovanni and his family were in the air. As the plane reached cruising altitude, and leveled off, the pilot announced that the passengers could resume the use of their laptops and cell phones.

"May I please have my cell phone back now?" asked Tony

### .

### Mrs. Giovanni looked at Tony and asked, "Do you promise to listen to me the next time I tell you to clean your room?"

"Yes, Mom" he replied. "I promise." Mrs. Giovanni handed her son his cell phone. Tony powered up the phone and started scrolling through the text messages that he had received over the past forty-eight hours, since his phone had been confiscated.

### Tony saw a text from Betsy Morgan. When he read the text, he became very upset. "No, this can't be happening" he said rather loudly.

"Tony, keep your voice down," said his mother. "You're disturbing the other passengers. What is wrong?"

"It's Mara," said Tony, trying to keep his composure. "Betsy Morgan sent me a text. Mara is trapped in an abandoned gold mine, with tons of rock blocking the tunnel. There was a cave-in."

"Oh no" said Mrs. Giovanni, "Tony, I am so sorry. When did she send the text?"

"About three hours ago" said Tony. He quickly sent Betsy a text asking for an update on the situation. Betsy quickly responded, saying that the work was progressing very slowly, because the size of the rocks and the fear that more of the mine tunnel will collapse.

"I can't believe that Mara's dream finally came true," said Tony. "I thought that it was just a recurrent nightmare."

"You mean that Mara has had premonitions about the cave-in?" asked Mrs. Giovanni.

"Yes"-said Tony. "Mara has had the dream at least a few dozen times over the past four years. She only told Scott, Betsy and I. She didn't tell her parents, because she didn't want them to worry about her all the time, and watching her every minute of the day."

### Tony just sat there as if in a trance. "She has to be okay," said Tony. "She just has to be."

### Mrs. Giovanni's heart ached to see Tony like that. She tried to comfort him, but nothing she did seemed to help.

### Mara had moved several rocks from the tunnel, throwing them behind her as she worked her way towards the entrance of the mine. She had barely made a dent in the huge pile of rocks that was blocking her path. She had been trapped for over six hours by that time. She had no idea if the other children had gotten out of the mine in time and if they did, she did not know if they had called for help.

### Mara was trying to conserve battery power on her flashlight, and she only turned it on occasionally. She had tried to use her cell phone to call or text for help, but she could not get a signal. Mara began to worry about her parents. "They must be going out of their minds with worry," she thought.

### An hour later, Mara was beginning to get a little scared. She wondered if she would die in that cave. Then, Mara began to pray; "God" she said, "I am putting my life into your hands. I have complete faith, that you have a plan for me. Can you please watch over my parents? They have to be so worried about me by now. That is why I never told them about my recurrent dreams about this cave-in that I have had over the past four years. I hope they can forgive me for not telling them about it before. Please take care of them. They are the best parents in the entire world."

### As Mrs. Louis, paced back and forth outside the entrance of the cave, she heard a beeping noise in her purse. She reached in and took out her cell phone. It showed that she had a text message. When she read the message, she realized that it was from Mara. When she tried to reply to it, she got a message that the message would not go through.

### Then, a thought came to Mrs. Louis; "Could it be possible that Mara's thoughts were coming across her phone as text messages? And if so, could it work both ways?"

"Mara" thought Mrs. Louis, "If my thoughts are coming across as texts on your phone, please respond by telling me what special name I had for you when you were little."

### A few seconds later, Mrs. Louis received another text; "Yes Mom, I got your message. I do not know how it is happening, but I guess that we are texting telepathically. I am so glad you are here with me. Does anybody know where I am? By the way, when I was little, you called me your little pookie."

### Both Mara and her mother felt a little better knowing that they could communicate now. Mrs. Louis told her daughter that there were over three hundred people working to get her out of the mine, including President Morgan and almost every governor in the nation.

### Scott and Betsy saw Mrs. Louis reading a text on her phone and they asked her whom it was from. She explained that she and Mara were able to mentally text messages onto their cell phones.

"Tell Mara that we can't wait to see her" said Scott.

### Mara's next text was directed at Scott, "Maybe if I had kept those diamonds, I could buy my way out of this mine."

### Scott replied; "Tell Mara that I understand what she meant, now: 'If you having loving family and friends, you have more wealth than all the money in the world.'"

### Evening had turned into night and night had turned into early morning. Mara had not eaten in over twelve hours. She was hungry and thirsty. She kept sending and receiving mental texts with her mother, to help her stay awake, but by three a.m., she was getting sleepy and having trouble breathing. "I'm getting sleepy. It's getting harder to breathe" she mentally texted to her mother.

### As Mrs. Louis read the text, Tony and his parents arrived. Scott and Betsy had been keeping Tony updated on the situation, and when Tony saw the texts, Scott explained that it was mental texting.

### Mrs. Louis was beginning to panic. By this time, she was thinking aloud; "Mara, please stay awake. You must stay awake."

### Then, Tony tried; "Mara, it's me; Tony. I am here. Concentrate on my thoughts. We will be seeing each other again very soon. Do not give up. There is something I must tell you, but I have to say it to you face to face. It is nothing bad. It's good news."

### The next text on Mrs. Louis's phone came across immediately; "Tony, I'm so glad you're here. I will try to stay awake. I want to see you too."

### A few minutes later, another text came through; "I hear noises in the tunnel. I think that they are close. Please tell them to hurry."

### Word was passed along the tunnel, from one worker to another, all the way down the tunnel, to the ones closest to Mara. The workers began to work faster, and finally, they broke through into the part of the tunnel where Mara was trapped. They found her lying on the ground, cell phone in hand. The last text that Mrs. Louis received told her that Mara had been found. It said; "Thank you God! I owe you one!"

### President Morgan was the person who broke through to Mara. He carefully picked up Mara and started to carry her out of the tunnel. As he picked her up, Mara grabbed her backpack and held it to her chest. When President Morgan walked out of the mine, carrying Mara, everyone began to cheer for them. President Morgan carefully laid Mara onto an ambulance stretcher and she was given some oxygen and some water.

### The first people that Mara saw were her parents. She looked at them, with tears in her eyes and said, "I love you." When she saw Scott and Betsy, Mara handed them her backpack and whispered, "hold onto this for me. Don't open it." Scott promised that he would not open it.

### As Mara was being loaded into the ambulance, Tony walked over to her and said; "Mara, I have to tell you something."

### Mara put her finger to his lips and said; "Not now, Tony. I am very tired and need to sleep. We'll talk soon."

### Tony sighed and said "Okay, Mara. I guess it can wait a while longer."

### As the ambulance drove to the hospital, Mara's parents followed in the presidential limo with the first family and Scott. Betsy sent texts to all of Mara's friends, to let them know that Mara was okay.

### Mara was completely worn out, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally as well. The last thing she remembered was being loaded into the ambulance.

### Soon, Mara was dreaming. She saw Mr. Logan, the owner of the mine, speaking at a press conference, saying that he was going to blow up the tunnel so that no one else would be trapped in there again. Then, Mara found herself inside the mine again. It glowed so bright, that it the entire mine was lit up. Mara was amazed at what she saw. Then several numbers and measurements filled Mara's mind.

### A few minutes later, Mara had another dream. Mara found herself in a beautiful garden. It was the most beautiful garden that Mara had ever seen before. The colors were so vivid. There were more varieties of flowers, trees and plants, than Mara could name. There was a stream running through the middle of the garden, and at one end, Mara saw a breathtaking waterfalls. The stream was filled with clear sparkling water. Mara could see fish of all colors and sizes swimming in the stream. The trees were filled with colorful birds that made beautiful music. Mara watched as animals walked up to the stream to drink the cool water. As Mara watched the animals, a gentle rain began to fall. The air was filled with the aroma of the flowers natural perfumes, and the rain. Mara felt at peace, a kind of peaceful feeling that she had never known before.

### Mara saw a man dressed in a simple white gown coming out of a forest, on a path leading to her. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked Mara. ""He's quite an artist."

### Mara hesitated and then asked; "Are you God?" The man laughed and replied, "Oh no, I'm just one of his angels that work with him. My name is Michael."

### As Mara stood there, mesmerized by him, he continued to speak; "God is very pleased with your work on the earth, Mara."

"Why did God choose me?" asked Mara. "Why did he give me psychic abilities?"

"Because you have always put other people's needs ahead of your own," said Michael. "God knew that you would use your abilities wisely and unselfishly. You are a kind soul, with a heart of pure love." Then Michael added, "Personally, you are one of his best workers on earth"

"You mean there are others like me that help God?" asked Mara.

"Yes" said Michael, "many others, but you are one of my favorites."

"Why did I have so many dreams about the cave-in, when it didn't actually happen until four years later?" asked Mara.

"God was testing your faith," said Michael. "Each time you had to enter a cave-like structure, you hesitated, but as time progressed, your hesitation became less and less. When the dream finally came true, you did not hesitate. You were afraid, but you put the safety of those children ahead of your own. You had unquestionable faith that God would watch over you. You see Mara, God loves you no matter what you do, because you are one of his children."

"So, what now?" asked Mara, "what happens next?"

"God has big plans for you Mara," said Michael. "Remember this; no matter how difficult the task may seem, God is with you. Trust in his love for you. There will be times ahead when you will doubt yourself. There will be times in your life when you will fail. However, you must never give up. Never accept injustice. Remember, God is always with you and he will not abandon you."

###   
Mara was suddenly filled with a pure love, God's love that she had never felt so intensely before. It was as if her whole body was love itself. She knew that she was in the presence of God at that very moment. She fell to her knees and started crying. "Thank you God" she said. "I promise to serve you always. I will try not to disappoint you. I will do my best to please you."

### Then, from somewhere deep inside her, she heard a voice answer her; "I know you will, Mara, my child."

### Michael helped Mara up to her feet and he handed her a square piece of soft white cloth, to wipe away her tears. She wiped her eyes and closed hand around the cloth. When she opened her hand again, she saw that it had turned into a pure white rose petal.

### Michael hugged Mara and told her that it was time to go. "Your family and friends are waiting for you. Go in peace. Go with love. Go with God."

### Mara opened her eyes and when she looked around; she thought she was still dreaming. If she was awake, then she should be in a hospital room, but the room that she was in resembled no hospital that she had ever seen. She was wearing silk pajamas and she was lying on satin sheets, and was covered up with a fine wool blanket. They were all decorated with oriental design, as were the other furniture in the room. If Mara did not know better, she would swear that she was in Tokyo.

### A tall handsome boy wearing a red lab coat walked into the room and placed a vase full of flowers on her bedside table. "Where am I?" Mara asked the teenager.

"You're at Denver Memorial Hospital" he replied. "How are you feeling Mara?"

"How do you know my name?" asked Mara.

"I knew you years ago," said the boy. "I wasn't such a nice kid when we first met in third grade. It was because of you that I quit acting so tough. You defended me when I was accused of stealing money from the classroom."

"Now I know you," said Mara. "You're Billy the bully."

"Actually, I prefer Bill Decker" he said. "I left Baltimore in the fifth grade when we moved to Denver. I volunteer at the hospital two afternoons per week. I hope to become a doctor someday."

"Well" said Mara, "It's good to see you again Billy, I mean Bill. Could you please get my parents for me?"

### When Mr. and Mrs. Louis walked into the room, Mara had a big smile on her face. "What time is it?" she asked them.

"It is seven-thirty p.m. on Friday July 28th," said Mrs. Louis. "You have been sleeping for over fifteen hours."

### Mara's next question was; "Why does my room look like a hotel in Japan?"

"The emperor of Japan shipped it here for your sixteenth birthday," said Mara's father. "He told us that he never had the chance to thank you properly for saving his life and the lives of his children in Hawaii. This entire bedroom set with everything in this room is for you. He is also paying to have it packed up and shipped to our house in Baltimore."

### Then, Mrs. Louis asked; "Are you up for some more visitors? Pastor Joe, Pastor Mike and Reverend Long have been here all day long waiting to see you."

"Yes"-said Mara. "In fact, there is something that I want to tell them and you and Dad as well."

### When the three clergyman and her parents were standing around her bed, Mara began telling her story; "While I was asleep, I had the best dream of my life. In the dream, I was in part of Heaven and God touched me. I could feel his presence within me."

### As Mara told them the story about Michael the angel, and what God wanted her to do, they were simply amazed. They had no doubts that it was true. As she was finishing the story, she told them; "and when I opened my hand, I was holding a beautiful white rose petal."

### As she was saying it, Mara opened her hand and there, was the white rose petal from her dream. She had brought it out of her dream. Mara started crying again. Her parents hugged her and they knew that Mara was going to be okay, because God was indeed watching out for her.

### Suddenly, Mara remembered the other dream. "Mom" she said, "I must see Mr. Logan right away, before he speaks at the press conference."

"How did you know about the press conference?" asked Mara's mom, but then she laughed, because she forgot who she was talking to. Mrs. Louis went to the phone to call Mr. Logan. Mr. Logan told her that he would be up right away.

### Five minutes later, Mr. Logan entered the room and Mara asked; "Mom, where is my backpack?"

### Mrs. Louis got the back from the closet and handed it to her. "What do you have in here?" She asked, "rocks?"

"About your mine" Mara started to say.

### However, Mr. Logan interrupted her. "Don't worry Mara," he said. "That worthless mine will be blasted shut this afternoon. No one will ever get trapped in there again."

"No, you mustn't do that," said Mara. "Do you own the entire mountain?"

"Yes, I do," said Mr. Logan. "Why do you ask?"

"Because, not only is the mine not worthless, but it is the most valuable gold mine in the nation's history."

"What are you talking about Mara?" asked Mr. Logan. My great grandfather dug that mine, and he never found so much as a single nugget of gold."

###   
That's because the main shaft of the mine was located just beneath the mother lode," said Mara. "That's why the tunnel collapsed, from the weight of the gold." Mara opened her backpack and took out a chunk of gold twice the size of her fist. "According to my dream, there is over one thousand tons of gold in that mountain," said Mara.

"I am seventy-five years old" said Mr. Logan, "and I have no family. I don't need the money."

"There are children all over the country and around the world who could use the money, to pay for food, clothing, education, medicine. You could do so much good with that gold."

"You're right, Mara" said Mr. Logan. "That's an excellent idea".

### After Mr. Logan left, Mara suddenly remembered something else. "Was I dreaming, or did I see Tony when I was carried out of the mine?" she asked her mother.

"Yes, he was there," said Mrs. Louis. He and his parents flew in from Philadelphia."

"Can I see him?" asked Mara.

"The doctor said that if you get enough rest you could leave the hospital tomorrow morning," said Mrs. Louis. "Why don't you try and eat something and then get some more rest. You can see Tony, Scott and Betsy tomorrow. Okay?"

### Mara was hungry, but she did not want to eat hospital food. When the food was brought in, she was surprised to see that it was brought in from an outside restaurant, and it included all of her favorites, macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, and root beer. After eating dinner, Mara's parents kissed her goodnight and turned out the light.

### Mara slept through until six o'clock the next morning. When she woke up, she found her parents sitting by the side of her bed. "Happy Birthday" they said together. "We have a special present for you". Mr. Louis handed his daughter a set of keys.

"I told you that I didn't want you to buy me a new car," said Mara.

"Who said anything about a new car?" asked her father. We got you an eight year old Honda Civic with 85,000 miles on it."

### Mara laughed and said; "In that case, I am happy to accept it."

### There was a knock at the door and President and Mrs. Morgan, Betsy and Scott walked into the room. They all wished Mara a happy birthday. Mara thanked the president for helping to get her out of the mine. He asked Mara and her parents to meet him at the convention center at eleven o'clock, as some people wanted to meet Mara.

### After the First Family and Scott left, there was another knock at the door. There were four adults and seven children standing there. Mrs. Maureen Reeves walked over to Mara, hugged her, and thanked her for saving the lives of her five children. Then, the children hugged her and thanked her as well.

### Next, Mrs. Peggy Reeves told Mara; "My children have something to say to you." She pushed her sons, Eddie and Grant towards Mara.

"We're sorry that you got trapped in the mine because of us," said Eddie.

### Mara was quiet for a moment and then asked Eddie and Grant; "How would you have felt if your five cousins had been trapped in that cave-in? That was a very dangerous and mean thing to do. Your cousins got help for me right away. If I had not come along, how long would it have been before you went looking for them? Would you have gotten to them in time? How would you have felt if they had all been killed?"

### By this time, both Eddie and Grant were crying. "I said I was sorry," sobbed Eddie.

"Saying you are sorry doesn't excuse what you did. It does not erase what happened. Would 'I'm sorry' have brought back your five cousins? Would it have made your uncle and aunt forget what happened, or bring back their children? You are both old enough to know that what you did was not only foolish, but dangerous as well."

### By now, both Eddie and Grant were really feeling bad and were just bawling their eyes out.

"I hope that the next time you think of playing a mean trick on anyone, you will remember how you feel at this moment."

### At that point, both boys ran out of the room crying. Their mother followed them out. Their father thanked Mara. "I think that you got through to them. Their mother and I told them the same thing, but I think you made them see it differently."

### As the rest of the family was leaving, Mara asked to speak with Chris privately for a moment. Once the two of them were alone, Mara said; "Chris, just because someone is bigger that you or older than you doesn't always mean that they are wiser than you. You do not have to do something just because someone dares you to do it. Your younger siblings look up to you and they expect you to look out for them and protect them. You need to do what is right, which means keeping them safe, even if someone calls you a chicken. Do you understand?"

"I know that now, Mara. I'm sorry," said Chris. Mara gave Chris a hug and then Chris kissed her on the cheek and said "Happy Birthday Mara", and then ran out of the room with his face a little red from embarrassment.

### After Mara's parents went back in the room, the doctor arrived to examine Mara. He told her that she was healthy and could leave that morning. As he was leaving the room, he turned around and said, "By the way, I hope you have an excellent birthday."

### The nursing staff informed Mara that everything in the room would be packed up and shipped to her home the next day, courtesy of Emperor Motohito.

### By 10:45 a.m., Mara and her parents were on the way to the convention center. As they drove out of the hospital parking lot, Tony flagged them down. "I need to tell you something, Mara," he said.

### Mara told him that they were late for a meeting. "I'll see you this evening," she told Tony. "We'll talk then, Okay?"

"Okay" said Tony. He was becoming more exasperated, by the minute.

### When Mara and her parents arrived at the convention center, they were stopped by security. When Mara told the officer who she was, he asked them to wait for a moment. When he returned, he escorted them into the main hall. When they walked in the door, Mara received the royal treatment. Everybody stood up to honor her. Besides President and Mrs. Morgan, the only person that Mara recognized was Governor Lynch. Mara was escorted to the podium, where President Morgan introduced her; "Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my privilege to introduce Mara Louis." Everybody gave Mara a standing ovation.

"Mara" began President Morgan, these fifty men and women here today, are the governors of our fifty states. They would like to honor you for all that you have done for so many people over the past several years."

Governor Lynch walked to the podium and after giving her a hug, he handed her a very large birthday card signed by all fifty governors. "On behalf of the other forty-nine governors and myself, we'd like to wish you a very happy sixteenth birthday. Then, he pulled out another envelope from his coat pocket and handed it to Mara. Mara opened the envelope and saw a check for five hundred thousand dollars. "This check is a gift from all of us. Please donate it to a children's charity of your choosing," said Governor Lynch. Then he told Mara that August 1st would be 'Mara Louis Day' in all fifty states, by proclamation of all fifty governors.

### Mara thanked all of the governors, not only for the donations and he card, but also for pitching in and helping to rescue her from the mine. Mara spent the next half hour shaking hands and receiving hugs from the governors.

### By the time they were ready to leave, it was two o'clock in the afternoon. A limo pulled up and drove Mara and her mother to a day spa, where they received the works, haircuts, facials, pedicures and manicures. When they returned to the hotel, Mara got another surprise. Her mother had bought her a beautiful gown and new shoes. Mara was told that they were having dinner with President Morgan and his family, Scott and the Giovanni family.

### That evening, instead of going to the hotel restaurant, Mara was escorted to the banquet room. When Mara walked into the room, she saw that she was surrounded by her friends from around the country. They all shouted "Happy Birthday Mara" as she entered. Mara was so surprised and overcome by emotion, that she began crying.

### Mr. Louis escorted Mara to a chair reserved especially for her. Then, Mr. Mendoza walked to the front of the room and picked up a microphone. The room got very quiet as he began speaking. "We are here to honor a very special lady on her sweet sixteenth birthday. In one way or another, Mara has touched the lives of each and every person in this room. Whenever she has done good deeds for others, saved lives, or uncovered hidden fortunes, she has refused any rewards, and has insisted that the money, instead be donated to a children's charity."

"Well, Mara, several of us have joined together to create a charitable foundation to help children across the nation. The name of this foundation is the 'Mara Louis Foundation for Children' This foundation has been started with $200 million dollars."

### Mara was speechless as everybody started cheering. Then, one by one, people went to the microphone and told their story, of how Mara touched their lives.

### Craig and Shawna King and Frank and Esther King told how Mara saved their ranch and showed them where oil was located on their property. "Upon Mara's recommendation" said Craig King, "next summer, we will have the grand opening of our new dude ranch which will cater specifically to teens that lack direction and self-confidence. Along with the dude ranch, an authentic replica of a western town from the 1800's, currently under construction, will open. The name of the town will be Mara, Texas." He handed Mara a brochure for the camp and the town. Mara was very pleased.

### Then, a man who looked vaguely familiar to Mara took the microphone. "My name is John Gregory," he said. "I first met Mara eight years ago. I was a student teacher in her third grade class. In a weak moment, I stole money that her class had collected to help a homeless shelter, and I made it look like a student stole the money. Mara figured out the truth and it turned my life around. In the process of doing community service, I realized how some of the poor students were not getting a decent education. I now teach students in the inner city of Los Angeles. I would never have realized my true calling if Mara had not exposed my crime."

### Mr. Anderson from Charles City, Virginia told how the Marshall Art Museum had so many visitors go through there each year, because of the lost artwork that Mara had discovered, that they had begun donating money to schools throughout the state to help support art and music programs.

### Emperor Motohito bowed to Mara, and told how she had saved his life and the lives of his children in Hawaii. President Morgan told how Mara had discovered the Carver family treasures in the White House and made them available for everyone to see. He also mentioned how Mara had saved his daughter's life, in Hawaii.

### Mr. Conway from Hartford told the story of the missing gold. "Now, I am having so much fun donating money to help kids all around the nation."

###   
This went on for over an hour, as everybody told his or her personal connection to Mara.

### Mr. Logan walked up to the microphone. "I was planning on sealing off the mine forever with explosives, until Mara informed me that it was full of gold. All of the proceeds from the mine will go to the Mara Louis Foundation, if Mara is right, it will be well into the billions of dollars.

### Next, Alex stood up and told everyone, that thanks to Mara, he and his sister had found a loving home. "She saved our lives," said Alex.

"Mine too" said Judge McPherson.

"Mine too" said Kirk.

"Mine too" said Gisela Mendoza.

"Mine too" said Bailey.

"Us too" said Scott, Tony and Betsy.

### After everyone had spoken, Mara walked up to the microphone, with tears streaming down her face. "I am the luckiest girl in the world to have so many special friends as all of you. However, I cannot take full credit for anything you have said here today. I was just acting on God's behalf. I have received ten times more than I have given. I want to thank all of you for being my friends.

### The clapping and cheering continued for over fifteen minutes. Then, while people were lining up at the buffet, Mara walked around talking to her many friends. Mara saw two teenagers that she did not recognize. When she went over to them, they pulled off their disguises and revealed their identities.

"Jason, Ryan," said Mara, thanks for coming." Then she hugged them both.

"We wouldn't have missed it for anything," said Ryan.

"Yea" said Jason, "look at all this free food." They all laughed. When the rest of Mara's friends saw Jason and Ryan Davis, they were all over the two teen stars.

### Tony saw that Mara was alone and he headed towards her to talk to her.

### Unfortunately, Gary and Kelly from Chicago got to her first. Tony was beginning to think that he would never be alone with Mara.

### A short time later, a band started playing music, and when everyone looked up, they saw Leanne Phillips at the microphone.

"May I have your attention?" said Ms. Phillips. "Because of Mara, I recently received a wonderful gift from my father. So, I would like to dedicate my first song to Mara as she and her father have the very first dance."

### As Ms. Phillips sang, Mara and her father danced around the dance floor. Mara, who had always been very close to her father, cried as they danced.

### After the first dance, everyone started dancing. Everyone wanted to dance with Mara. Tony decided that that was his chance to talk with Mara, but getting to her was more difficult than he thought it would be.

### First, Scott danced with Mara. Then the rest of the boys took turns cutting in; Kenny, Gary, Abe, Keith, Alex, Prince Toshihito, Jake, Kirk, Nick, CJ, Johnnie, Ryan, Jason, Chris and Jeffrey.

"Finally" thought Tony, after everybody had a chance to dance with Mara, he cut in and started dancing with her. After a few minutes, Tony started to tell Mara what he wanted to say to her, when Bill Decker tapped him on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" he asked Tony.

### That was the last straw. "No!" yelled Tony, "You may not cut in."

### As everybody turned to look at Tony, Mara asked, "What's the matter Tony?"

### Tony escorted Mara to the side of the dance floor. "Mara" he said, "When I was on the plane to Denver, and I got Betsy's text saying that you were trapped behind tons of rock, I was devastated. I thought that I would never see you again. There is something that I have wanted to tell you for a long time, but I kept putting it off. On the plane, I told myself that the next time I saw you, I would tell you. Well, every time I have tried to tell you, I kept getting interrupted."

"What do you want to tell me?" asked Mara.

"We can't change the past, and unlike you, I can't see into the future," said Tony. "All we have is the present, this day, this moment. Mara, at this moment, I want to tell you, no, I need to tell you that I love you so much. I have loved you such a long time."

### Mara started to cry as she looked at Tony and said, "Oh, Tony, I love you too."

### Then, just like in a fairy tale, Tony and Mara kissed. It was not what Mara had imagined at all; it was so much better. She had always heard that when you kiss for the first time, with the one you love, that you would see fireworks. Well, Mara did not see any skyrockets. As she and Tony kissed, everybody else disappeared. It was just her and Tony standing there, a soft glow of white light all around them, with romantic music playing in the background.

### The kiss was the best gift that Mara had ever received. A slow song started playing and Tony escorted Mara onto the dance floor. Mara felt like she was floating across the floor. There was a spotlight on the two of them, and the rests of the guests stood all around the edge of the dance floor watching Tony and Mara dance. However, Mara and Tony did not see anyone but each other.

### Mara knew that she night not end up marrying Tony, but what mattered was that right now, her life was perfect. She was in love and God was watching over her. She was surrounded by family and friends who loved her.

### Mara had unquestionable faith in God and she knew that God loved her unconditionally. She did not know what the future held for her, but for now, for this moment; she laughed, she loved and she danced.

### The End

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