The First Mate Knew Better
Brian Armer
Captain Lucy had drawn the treasure map herself, which made it especially embarrassing when her first mate ate the corner marked START. Finn sat beside the garden gate in his green bandana, a scrap of paper dangling from his whiskers. She took it gently out of his mouth. “That is classified information.” His tail swept three leaves off the path.
The neighborhood Halloween treasure hunt began at the pumpkin with one tooth, continued past the enormous spider on Mrs. Bell’s hedge, and ended somewhere Lucy had sworn not to peek. Dad had hidden the treasure while she put on her pirate hat. Finn had supervised. This, Lucy suspected, gave him an unfair advantage.
At the first stop, she raised her cardboard telescope and announced that they must search for a message beneath a stone. Finn found a tennis ball. At the second, she counted seven paper ghosts hanging from a tree while he proudly carried a stick twice as wide as the gate. Getting it through required three attempts, a backward shuffle, and Dad quietly moving one end. Lucy entered “excellent problem-solving” in the ship’s log.
By the time they reached Mrs. Bell’s hedge, other pirates were hurrying toward the last clue. Lucy tried to follow, but Finn planted his feet. He turned toward the front window instead, gave one hopeful wag, and sat down. Inside, Mrs. Bell lifted her hand. She usually handed out the clues herself, but this year she was watching from her chair with a blanket across her knees.
Lucy looked at the little treasure hunters disappearing around the corner, then at her first mate. “You found somebody.” She climbed the front steps with Dad and knocked. Mrs. Bell opened the door slowly, smiling before Lucy had finished explaining that their ship was making an unscheduled visit. Finn leaned against her legs as if he had booked the appointment weeks ago.
They stayed long enough for Mrs. Bell to admire Lucy’s hat and hear the complete account of the difficult stick passage. She laughed so hard at Dad’s version that Lucy insisted on correcting the official record. Before they left, Mrs. Bell fetched an old ribbon from a drawer and tied it beside Finn’s bandana. “For services to the captain,” she said. He accepted his promotion with his entire backside wagging.
The treasure chest was nearly empty when they finally reached it. Lucy chose a chocolate coin for herself and let Dad carry Finn’s new tennis ball. On the walk home, she tucked her hand into the fur at his neck and decided the map needed another mark. Not an X. A little house, with a first mate sitting at the door. Tomorrow they could bring Mrs. Bell the ship’s log. She would probably want to check her part.
Who turns every walk into an adventure? For the best buddy beside you, AniSport Companion Gentle Wound Balm brings care for everyday scrapes and rough skin when exploring leaves its little marks. First-mate privileges include being looked after, too.