Chapter Two
As Rachel and I crawled through the dusty attic, our miners’ headlight beamed across an old trunk and some forgotten boxes. Suddenly, my light landed on a worn leather-bound book hidden halfway behind a stack of weathered newspapers. We exchanged a curious glance before I took the journal from its resting place. I blew off the thick layer of dust; the pages held many mysteries. The handwriting was calligraphic and cryptic, but one riddled page caught our attention.
My eyes sparkled with excitement as I read the words on the page aloud. Rachel’s eyebrows perked up in amazement.
“Abigail, could this lead us to a golden treasure?” Both our faces lit up as our minds raced with endless possibilities. Who had written this journal, and what other secrets lay hidden within its pages? I thought.
“Maybe so, Rachel, maybe so.” Then we climbed down the ladder to show Mama.
“Where did you two find this?”
“Up in the crawl space of the attic.” Replied Rachel.
“Mama, what does the second riddle mean?”
“Let me see.” As she read it, she looked intrigued. “I think it is an old, abandoned adit.”
“What is that?” We asked.
Then she explained. “The short answer is an adit is a level or nearly horizontal passage driven into the side of a mountain that allows access to an underground mine for water drainage, ventilation, and mineral extracting.”
“Abigail, could this lead us to a golden treasure?” Both our faces lit up as our minds raced with endless possibilities. Who had written this journal, and what other secrets lay hidden within its pages? I thought.
“Maybe so, Rachel, maybe so.” Then we climbed down the ladder to show Mama.
“Where did you two find this?”
“Up in the crawl space of the attic.” Replied Rachel.
“Mama, what does the second riddle mean?”
“Let me see.” As she read it, she looked intrigued. “I think it is an old, abandoned adit.”
“What is that?” We asked.
Then she explained. “The short answer is an adit is a level or nearly horizontal passage driven into the side of a mountain that allows access to an underground mine for water drainage, ventilation, and mineral extracting.”