A Ghost Beckons

After she got into bed that night, Nancy opened the drawer of the bedside table and took out the feather. She held it lightly, studying it, wondering what the morning would bring, then she laid it gently on the other pillow before she went to sleep.

Thanks to her impatience, she woke early in spite of the late night. When she was dressed, she armed herself with some stout clippers from the pool storage shed and made her way around to the far side of the old, stone building.

It took her several minutes to locate the small painting. Once she did, she spent nearly half an hour clearing away the worst of the growth in front of it. Even when she’d finished, she wasn’t surprised that no one had found the painting before. It was in a hidden spot, shielded by the very unevenness of the wall itself. If it hadn’t been for her guide, she would never have found it.

Suddenly, there was a sound behind her, and she whirled around, startled.

Ngyun had come up to her and pointed at the picture. “What that? ” he asked.

“I found another Kachina painting, ” Nancy replied, then told the boy about her mysterious guide the night before.

“It not like others, ” Ngyun observed after he’d inspected the painting.

“I know, ” Nancy agreed. “Is your Aunt Maria awake yet? ”

“She fixing breakfast.”

“Would you mind asking her to come out here when she has a free minute? I’d like to know what this Kachina represents. Then maybe I can figure out why it is in such a hidden spot. ”

“I go ask, ” Ngyun agreed, and disappeared around the stone wall at a dead run.

Nancy busied herself clearing away more thorny limbs. She had a fair space opened up by the time Maria and Ngyun came to join her. She got to her feet and moved to one side so that the Indian woman could have a clear view of the small but surprisingly well-preserved picture.

Maria leaned down, then gasped and stepped back, almost involuntarily. “It’s Hilili! ” she whispered.

“Hilili? What’s that? ” Nancy asked. “Is it some special sort of Kachina?

“It is a Witch Kachina brought to our tribe from the Zuni. You see the wildcat skin draped over its shoulders? It’s a mark of fierceness. It is often a guard at our ceremonials.”

“A guard? ” Nancy frowned. “But why would it be painted here? ”

“To guard the house? ” Maria suggested.

“I don’t think so. A guard would be near the door.” Nancy studied the painting again, then asked, “Is it authentic? Jake didn’t add or change anything, did he? ”

Maria bent down and examined the picture carefully. “I’ve seen several, and this looks exactly like the old ones, ” she declared. She peered at the heavy growth of cactus and thorny bushes on each side. “How in the world did you find it? ”

“The Cloud Kachina brought me here last night, ” Nancy answered. “It was trying to tell me something, and—” she added with a sparkle in her eyes, “I think I know what it was! ”

Maria stared at her, realizing what Nancy meant. But her dark face showed no emotion. Instead, she firmly took Nancy’s hand. “Before you go any further, I think you should come in and have some sausage and pancakes.”

Nancy giggled. “I might as well.”

“What you think? ” Ngyun inquired curiously, tugging at her hand.

“You’ll find out in a little while, ” Nancy told him.

When they joined Bess, George, Heather, and Chuck around the kitchen table, the others sensed immediately that Nancy was up to something.

“Are you going to tell us what is on your mind? ” George asked. “You’ve been sitting there looking like a cat with canary feathers on her whiskers. ”

“Have you made a discovery? ” Bess added curiously.

“As a matter of fact, I think I have.” Nancy smiled at them. “As soon as you’re all through with breakfast, I have something to show you.”

With such a promise, plates were quickly emptied, and everyone followed Nancy out into the sun and around to the side of the house. She pointed out the small painting and explained how she’d been guided to it by the ghostly Kachina.

“I don’t understand how you can follow those things, ” Heather said with a shiver. “I’d be scared to death to even see one up close.”

“But it has been helping us! ” Nancy reminded her. “First, it showed me where to look for the journal, now this.”

“What does it mean? ” Chuck asked. “Have you figured that out?

“Well, Maria gave me the best clue, ” Nancy answered. “She says this is Hilili, a guard Kachina.”

“So? ” George asked, when Nancy paused.

“So I think it was painted here because it’s guarding something, ” Nancy replied.

“The treasure? ” Bess gasped.

“Nancy, really? ” Heather asked.

Nancy shrugged. “We won’t know till we do some digging, ” she told them.

“I’ll get the shovels, ” Chuck said. “You decide where to dig.”

Nancy studied the area, trying to judge the age of the various plants. Then she noticed that Hilili was holding a single thin, green, yucca leaf whip in one hand and that it seemed to be set at an odd angle, unlike the several whips in its other hand. With her eyes, she traced the direction in which the painted leaf was pointing and marked the sandy soil with her toe.

“Is that where the treasure is buried? ” Heather asked.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to dig to find out, ” Nancy admitted.

“So let’s get started, ” Chuck said, handing a shovel to Nancy. “You can take out the first shovelful.”

“We’re going to have to take turns, ” Nancy warned as she started digging. “It’s hard to tell how deep we have to go. She hesitated, then added, “Provided there is something buried here. I can’t guarantee that, you know.”

“So dig, ” he teased. “We’ll never find anything speculating. ”

Soon, the laughter died away and was replaced by serious work. The hole was growing, but the earth was so hard they had to fight for every foot. Chuck and Nancy had soon given their shovels to Bess and Heather, and they in turn yielded to George and Ngyun. Maria was kept busy bringing out cold drinks and other refreshments to keep the workers going.

As it neared noon, Nancy and Chuck once more took up the shovels and stepped down into the hole. Nancy worked on one end, her hands sore and perspiration forming on her face as the day grew warmer. However, as she forced the shovel in for the fourth time, there was a dull, clanging sound, and the shovel refused to move when she leaned her weight on it.

“Hey, ” Chuck shouted, “you’ve hit something! ”

“I hope it isn’t another rock, ” Nancy said.

“That didn’t sound like a rock, ” Chuck told her. “Let me see if I can uncover it.”

Excitement made the soil fly, and in a moment the top of an old, metal trunk was uncovered. Everyone was anxious to help, and in a short time, Chuck was able to free the small trunk from the clinging earth and lift it out of the hole.

For a moment, they just stared at it. Then Mr. McGuire, who’d been watching the entire proceedings from a lawn chair in the shade, called, “Break the lock on it, Chuck. Let’s open it up! ”

Chuck stepped forward and used a pick to hack away the old lock, but instead of opening the trunk himself, he turned to Nancy. “I think you should do it, ” he said. “You’re the one who found it.”

Everyone nodded agreement. Nancy took a deep breath and moved forward to touch the metal lid that was warming now from the sun after being so long in the cool depths of the earth. Her hand shook as she began lifting the rusty lid!