with excitement.
“This is going to be the most thrilling sleepover feast ever,” said Rosie happily.
“Come on guys,” I said. “We’re doing this properly.”
So we unwrapped all our sleepover goodies and piled them in a pretty blue bowl we’d borrowed from Auntie Roz when she wasn’t looking.
Want to know what we’d bought from the village shop?
Some of the goodies were slightly strange, actually!
We had pink and green flying saucer things with slightly stale sherbet in, a big bag ofmarshmallows which must have dated back to hippie days because they were in the
weirdest
colours, a bag of M&Ms, a packet of Eccles cakes. (I bought those. I thought it was just the kind of jolly stodge the Thingybobby kids would eat.) Also a bag of plain kettle chips and a jumbo box of Celebration chocolates, because they were on special offer!
I placed the bottle ceremonially on the ground beside our feast. “Right,” I said. “Who’s doing the honours?”
“You are, girlfriend,” grinned Frankie.
“No way!” I protested. “I never used a corkscrew in my life!”
“Now’s your chance!” said Kenny, and she calmly passed it over.
I plunged the screwy part of the corkscrew into the cork.
“Yikes,” I joked. “I feel like someone in the bomb disposal squad!”
I braced the bottle between my knees like I’d seen grown-ups do, and pulled hard. This is the dodgy part of the operation. If you get it wrong, the cork ends up inside the bottle, forever.
But if you get it right – POP!!
“Yess!” cheered everyone.
I stared at the cork, totally astonished. “It came out!”
“Erm, the message,” Frankie reminded me.
My mates crowded round, totally fizzing with excitement.
I felt like my hands had stage fright! I hooked a shaking finger into the neck of the bottle and fished out the piece of paper.
It dawned on me that I must be the first person to touch it for like, hundreds of years. Wow, I thought. This is so amazing! I cautiously unrolled the paper, and it made a dry crackling sound as if it was really old.
“Move your head, Kenny, I can’t see,” Rosie complained. “Is there a map on it, Lyndz?”
I felt a twinge of disappointment. “Uh-uh,” I said. “Poetry.”
Kenny was disgusted. “We went through all this hassle for
poetry
?”
“They often put treasure clues in poetry in olden days,” Frankie said calmly. “Read it out, Lyndz.”
I squinted at the strange loopy writing.“I’ll try,” I said doubtfully. “Erm, here goes.” And this is what it said:
“Well, that’s as clear as mud,” said Kenny crossly.
I was still peering at the message. “There’s some little numbers and letters at the bottom.”
Frankie sucked in her breath. “Of course!” she shrieked. “We are SO dense! Angels and devils. Duh!”
And PING! That little light-bulb went on inside my head, and I got it too. I started to grin. “Unbelievable! We were probablyjust inches away and didn’t even know!”
Fliss and Kenny both looked at us like we were talking Martian.
But Rosie was bubbling with excitement. “Come on, guys,” she coaxed. “
Angels above you
?”
“Oh,
those
angels,” said Kenny, instantly cheering up. “Oh wow!”
Fliss’s eyes widened. “You think the treasure’s in that church, don’t you!”
We all nodded.
“Those numbers are probably like, measurements,” said Frankie eagerly. “So we’ll know how many paces to take. They always did that with hidden treasure.”
“What do you think it actually
is
?” I said. “Gold and jewels, strings of valuable pearls and stuff?”
“Sometimes it’s like, a stash of ancient gold coins,” said Kenny.
“They dug up a Saxon king round here once,” I said. “Mum told me. He had his boat with him and all his valuables.”
“Oh, I do hope we don’t find a dead king,” Rosie shivered.
Fliss was looking doubtful. “This doesn’t really make sense, you know,” she said timidly. “I mean, why go to the bother of
“This is going to be the most thrilling sleepover feast ever,” said Rosie happily.
“Come on guys,” I said. “We’re doing this properly.”
So we unwrapped all our sleepover goodies and piled them in a pretty blue bowl we’d borrowed from Auntie Roz when she wasn’t looking.
Want to know what we’d bought from the village shop?
Some of the goodies were slightly strange, actually!
We had pink and green flying saucer things with slightly stale sherbet in, a big bag ofmarshmallows which must have dated back to hippie days because they were in the
weirdest
colours, a bag of M&Ms, a packet of Eccles cakes. (I bought those. I thought it was just the kind of jolly stodge the Thingybobby kids would eat.) Also a bag of plain kettle chips and a jumbo box of Celebration chocolates, because they were on special offer!
I placed the bottle ceremonially on the ground beside our feast. “Right,” I said. “Who’s doing the honours?”
“You are, girlfriend,” grinned Frankie.
“No way!” I protested. “I never used a corkscrew in my life!”
“Now’s your chance!” said Kenny, and she calmly passed it over.
I plunged the screwy part of the corkscrew into the cork.
“Yikes,” I joked. “I feel like someone in the bomb disposal squad!”
I braced the bottle between my knees like I’d seen grown-ups do, and pulled hard. This is the dodgy part of the operation. If you get it wrong, the cork ends up inside the bottle, forever.
But if you get it right – POP!!
“Yess!” cheered everyone.
I stared at the cork, totally astonished. “It came out!”
“Erm, the message,” Frankie reminded me.
My mates crowded round, totally fizzing with excitement.
I felt like my hands had stage fright! I hooked a shaking finger into the neck of the bottle and fished out the piece of paper.
It dawned on me that I must be the first person to touch it for like, hundreds of years. Wow, I thought. This is so amazing! I cautiously unrolled the paper, and it made a dry crackling sound as if it was really old.
“Move your head, Kenny, I can’t see,” Rosie complained. “Is there a map on it, Lyndz?”
I felt a twinge of disappointment. “Uh-uh,” I said. “Poetry.”
Kenny was disgusted. “We went through all this hassle for
poetry
?”
“They often put treasure clues in poetry in olden days,” Frankie said calmly. “Read it out, Lyndz.”
I squinted at the strange loopy writing.“I’ll try,” I said doubtfully. “Erm, here goes.” And this is what it said:
“Well, that’s as clear as mud,” said Kenny crossly.
I was still peering at the message. “There’s some little numbers and letters at the bottom.”
Frankie sucked in her breath. “Of course!” she shrieked. “We are SO dense! Angels and devils. Duh!”
And PING! That little light-bulb went on inside my head, and I got it too. I started to grin. “Unbelievable! We were probablyjust inches away and didn’t even know!”
Fliss and Kenny both looked at us like we were talking Martian.
But Rosie was bubbling with excitement. “Come on, guys,” she coaxed. “
Angels above you
?”
“Oh,
those
angels,” said Kenny, instantly cheering up. “Oh wow!”
Fliss’s eyes widened. “You think the treasure’s in that church, don’t you!”
We all nodded.
“Those numbers are probably like, measurements,” said Frankie eagerly. “So we’ll know how many paces to take. They always did that with hidden treasure.”
“What do you think it actually
is
?” I said. “Gold and jewels, strings of valuable pearls and stuff?”
“Sometimes it’s like, a stash of ancient gold coins,” said Kenny.
“They dug up a Saxon king round here once,” I said. “Mum told me. He had his boat with him and all his valuables.”
“Oh, I do hope we don’t find a dead king,” Rosie shivered.
Fliss was looking doubtful. “This doesn’t really make sense, you know,” she said timidly. “I mean, why go to the bother of
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