Gasparilla's Treasure (Trip Mongomery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

trunk!”
    Trip did his best to wiggle out of the situation.  “We were just going up to look for that...umm.”
    “...old video game we used to play,” finished Josh, trying to help out.
    “Yeah, the one we played when we were kids,” added Trip. “What was it called again, Josh?”
    Mom boomed back, “DO NOT LIE TO ME!  You were going after that trunk.”
    Josh jumped back, startled, but Trip was not scared.  He was ready for a fight.
    “This is what Pappy wants!” shouted Trip.
    Mom returned the shout, “And the other day he wanted you to look after his pet dinosaur, Harry!  Your grandfather is delusional.  If he hadn't spent his whole life on that all consuming quest for God knows what then maybe he would have...”
    Trip could not contain himself.  “You never let me do anything!”
    “That’s because you’re a kid!  You have no idea what you’re getting yourself in to.”
    Trip made his final stand, determined.  “I am going in the attic and I’m getting that trunk.”
    Mom moved to block the attic stairs.  “Then you’ll have to go through me.” 
    They stood in steely silence, staring each other down, neither willing to budge.
    Josh finally broke the silence.  “Um this is a little bit awkward for me, so I think I’m just gonna go now.  So if you need anything…”
    Josh put his fingers up to his ear like a phone and mouthed call me .

CHAPTER 6
     
    Trip stared at the ceiling, listening to the silence as he lay in bed.  He looked at the clock.  It was 2:34 a.m.  There was no way he could sleep after a day like this.  First, there was Sarah, then the run ins with Eli, next Pappy was in a coma, and finally the blow up with Mom.  He went to bed over five hours ago, and just lay there replaying the events of the last couple of days.  It was driving him crazy, he had to find that trunk! 
     
    The house had been quiet since he heard Mom go to bed around eleven o’clock.  Trip tiptoed down the hallway as lightly as he could.  He paused as a floorboard shifted under his weight.  With the house as quiet as it was, the tiny little creak sounded like a gunshot.  When he was sure the house was still silent, he continued.
    A door down the hallway swung open slowly.  His heart pounded so hard in his chest that it sounded like a drum.  He ducked behind a piece of furniture for cover, and nearly sent a vase crashing to the floor.  He risked a peek down the hallway and saw the cat saunter through the door.  He took a deep breath and let his pulse return to normal.
    At the attic entry, he carefully pulled down the rusted ladder.  When he finally got it down, he took one last look around and climbed into the attic.
    With a click, Trip pulled the string to turn on the single naked bulb.  Feebly, light tried to reach across the attic, but there seemed to be more shadows than illumination.  It was spooky up here at night with all these old dusty piles. 
    Trip dug through the old junk.  He pulled blankets off musty furniture, looked in the drawers and cabinets.  Yellowing books were stacked in moldy cardboard boxes.  He pulled one blanket away to reveal a mirror, which nearly scared him to death when he saw his own reflection. 
    He searched nearly everything, and was ready to give up for the night when his foot nudged against something.  It was subtle, but the floor was definitely uneven under a faded old throw rug.  He removed it, dust clouds flying through the air.  Trip nearly choked, and he found it difficult to suppress a cough.
    He pushed on the floor and found few loose floorboards that he easily removed.  And there, in the hidden compartment under the floorboards, he saw it. A dusty old wooden trunk.
    It was smaller than he imagined; only about the size of a toaster oven, but it was masterfully crafted with a circular wooden inlay.  Around the edge of the circle were some mysterious symbols designed from a darker wood.  Right in the middle of the trunk was a solid lock