“No, thank goodness,” Amy said.

  “Thank goodness? I thought you liked animals.”

  “I love animals,” Amy replied. “But out here…”

  I shook my head. “You’re not still worried about Andrew’s bear story, are you?”

  Amy sighed. “Bears, snakes, spiders, bugs. You name it.”

  “Really? It hasn’t been that bad, has it? As for bears, everyone strung the food up in trees away from camp just like you showed them.”

  “Can I tell you a secret, Tom?” She almost whispered the question.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  “I. Hate. Camping.” I couldn’t see it, but I heard her jaw clenching behind every word.

  That hadn’t been what I was expecting. “What are you talking about?”

  “I hate sleeping on the hard ground. I miss my bed so much. And I miss taking two showers a day. There’s no hot water here, and have you seen the showers?”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean.” The campground showers weren’t much more than four walls with openings at the top and bottom. I guess those were for airflow, but it also meant an easy flow of spiders and mosquitoes, too. I didn’t know of anyone from our group who’d actually used them yet.

  “I hardly got any sleep last night,” Amy continued. “You can hear everything through the walls of that thin tent. Every rustling animal, every twig snap, the loud crickets. It was horrible.”

  I always thought the sounds of the forest at night were kind of soothing, but I could see what she meant, especially if I were homesick and wanted to be in my own bed, safe in my own house.

  I checked my watch and the compass before pushing the wheel forward, and we dove another meter.

  “But you’re so good at camping, Amy.”

  “I’m good at cleaning our cat’s litter box too, but it doesn’t mean I like doing it.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at that one. After a moment, Amy joined in. When our laughter died, Amy sighed. “I’ve been going through the motions, doing all the things I researched, trying to take my mind off everything.”

  “Well, you had me fooled. You’re a natural.”

  “Sam thinks so too,” Amy said, her voice rising again. “She invited me to go camping with her family sometime. And they really go camping. I’m talking digging-a-hole-for-a-bathroom camping.”

  “Just tell her the truth,” I suggested.

  “I’m going to have to. This is my first and last camping trip.”

  I checked my readings again and smiled. “Well, if you want to take your mind off camping for a while, how about checking out this?” I slowed the sub and hit the external lights, revealing the armored truck directly in front of us.

  Amy gasped. “Wow!”

  Slowly I maneuvered the sub around the wreck. Amy didn’t grab any pics with her phone. (We had plenty of those already, anyway). Instead, she gazed out her clear dome as I slowly circled the sunken vehicle. Just as before, I ended the tour at the back of the truck. Our lights barely shone through the open door. And just as before, we were completely alone with the wreck. There wasn’t a scuba diver in sight.

  “That’s so creepy,” Amy finally said. “Can you send your drone in there?”

  “Nope,” I replied.

  “Oh, is something wrong with it?”

  I shook my head. “It’s just that Noah and I agreed that we wouldn’t test the drone until we were together.”

  “Totally get it,” she said. “Not that there’s any money in there anyway.”

  “I know, right?” I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t bought into my dad’s ghost story.

  “If I were the bandit, I would’ve buried the money somewhere on the island,” she added.

  I rolled my eyes. I guess I was still the only one.

  “Of course, it wouldn’t have been an island back then,” Amy continued. “Before the lake was filled in, it would’ve been more like a mesa. The bandit could also have stashed the money in a cave in the side or something, I guess. Have you and Noah searched for underwater caves?”

  “Uh, no.” Truth be told, I hadn’t even thought of that. “We just checked out the truck.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  I glanced down to check the power level. “We’re down to sixty percent,” I said as I turned the wheel and the wreck disappeared from view.

  “Is that enough to get us back?” Amy asked.

  “Definitely.” The compass spun until we were pointed toward the dock. “Just better safe than sorry. Relax and enjoy the ride.”

  “Uh, Tom?” Amy asked. “Don’t tell anyone about what I said, please.”

  “Don’t worry,” I assured her. “Your secret is safe with me, pioneer woman.”

  Amy laughed. “Thanks.”

  Until Amy had mentioned it, I had forgotten all about what she’d said about camping. Instead, my mind had been turning over her idea about hidden caves on the side of the island. If someone were searching for a bandit’s stash, they probably wouldn’t mess with the truck itself. But the sides of the island—that would be the perfect exploration job for scuba divers.

  After we docked, I disconnected the snorkel and reconnected the solar panel. Amy returned to her work area while I split off, heading for the boys’ campsite. Luckily, I was the only one there.

  I stood beside Noah’s and my tent, dug out my phone, and took it from its dry bag. Just as Noah had said, I was able to get a decent enough signal to get on the Internet.

  I ran a search for Boldero Security and robbery. To my surprise, I found an old news article from the nineties. I was even more shocked when I read past the headline. Everything my dad said was right there: the police chase through Shopton, the authorities finally finding the truck crashed in the rock quarry, that there were no survivors, and… how the truck had been empty.

  My mouth fell open as I lowered my phone. The story of the Boldero Bandit was true.

  10 The Improvisation Reversion

  “DUDE, WE SO HAVE TO check that out,” Noah said as he shoved another empty soda can into his trash bag.

  Even as I helped other students with their projects and took Kevin Ryan on a quick sub trip, the story about the Boldero Bandit had consumed my thoughts. I finally got a chance to show Noah the article once we were back in the woods, stuck on trash duty. I’d told him Amy’s theory about hiding the money in a cave. “I was thinking that would be the perfect reason to test our new drone.”

  Noah nodded and extended a gloved fist. “You read my mind.”

  I returned the fist bump before bending down and plucking a faded food wrapper, which had been half-buried in some pine needles. “If the scuba divers haven’t found it first,” I added. “That’s probably why we never saw them diving. They’re not even bothering with the truck.”

  Noah shook his head. “Man, they could’ve been swimming right above us the entire time, checking out the island itself.”

  “I’m guessing they don’t have a cool underwater drone that can slip into tight places, though,” I said.

  “You know it.”

  After we’d filled the bags with more litter, I mentioned the other thing that had been on my mind all day. “So, what does J. J. Jefferson have to do with all this? He documents everyone’s inventions, then sneaks out to see the divers and tries to steer Amy and me away from visiting the truck, pushing us to check out that old shed instead. It can’t be a coincidence.”

  Noah gave me a skeptical look. “What? You think J. J. Jefferson, celebrity engineer, not only wants to steal our designs, but he also hired scuba divers to search for lost money?”

  “I don’t see why he would. The guy is super rich already.” I threw my hands up. “Why would he even pay people money to find… more money?”

  Noah shrugged. “I don’t know. Bragging rights? I’ve seen a few reality shows where crews search for legendary treasure.”

  I shook my head. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  Noah’s eyes went wide. “I know. Maybe he’s the great-grandson of one of the original Boldero Bandits, and he wants to clear his ancestor’s name somehow.”

  I laughed. “Dial it down, Scooby-Doo,” I said. “We’re not talking about a stagecoach robbery. This took place in the nineteen nineties, not the eighteen nineties.”

  Noah chuckled. “Oh yeah.”

  I picked up another crumpled can, shook the dirt from it, and dropped it in my bag. “Either way, I say we suspend sub tours tomorrow and check out the island for ourselves.”

  “Deal,” Noah said with a grin. “This is going to be so cool!”

  It took a while to finally fill both our trash bags. Between everyone’s inventions and Noah’s and my elbow grease, our little part of the park was cleaning up nicely. We dropped off the bags for Jessie’s Super Sorter just in time for dinner.

  Once again, everyone was impressed with Amy’s camping skills. She’d lashed together a rig that suspended several pots over the campfire so a bunch of things could cook at once. The delicious aroma of Mr. Edge’s camp stew made everyone even hungrier and more eager to dig in by the time we had gathered to eat. Amy and I shared a knowing glance as he bragged about her natural camping abilities.

  Afterward, there weren’t any big campfire activities like the night before. No one else had any other spooky stories, and there wasn’t a lot to recap about the day’s events. Everyone seemed exhausted from all their hard work. There was some discussion among my dad, Mr. Jefferson, and the teachers on whether we should move camp since our area was almost completely litter-free, but like the rest of the students, Noah and I didn’t wait around to see how it turned out. Instead, we headed back to our tent and got ready for bed.

  While Noah scrolled through his phone, taking advantage of our secret high-reception area, I mentally went through my checklist for the next day’s expedition. I thought we should test the drone as well as the drone launcher while the sub was still docked. Maybe we could tether the drone somehow on the first test, just to make sure it didn’t end up at the bottom of the lake. After all, we were here to pick up litter, not add more.

  I dug out my phone and began jotting down notes. I didn’t even bother taking it out of the dry bag, tapping through the plastic before I forgot any of my ideas.

  Then I remembered the antenna. I dug through my backpack and pulled out the special antenna Noah had built for the drone. The small device would attach to one of our phones so we could use an app Noah had programmed to control the drone remotely. That way we wouldn’t have to carry yet another device. Plus, it was way cooler being able to drive the drone with a phone and see what the onboard camera saw on the screen. I smiled as I dropped the antenna inside the dry bag with my phone.

  I had to admit that I was very proud of myself. This entire trip, I’d really been turning over a new leaf when it came to planning ahead.

  I was going over how many spare batteries we’d brought along for the drone when I remembered our sub’s battery.

  I gave Noah a nudge. “Hey, did you disconnect the solar panel after dark?”

  He looked up from his phone, brow furrowed. “Uh… I don’t think so.”

  I shook my head. “Me neither.” I got to my knees and unzipped the tent. “I’ll do it real quick.”

  I slipped on my shoes and switched on my phone’s flashlight, then padded down the trail toward the lake. Sometimes charging systems will actually drain a battery if you leave them plugged in after the battery is fully charged. I wasn’t sure if our solar panel system worked that way, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I wanted a nice full charge for our drone test tomorrow.

  When I reached the tree line, just like the night before, I spotted movement beside the docks. Someone crouched by J. J. Jefferson’s kayak. I switched off my phone, and my eyes adjusted to the moonlight. I was certain that it was Jefferson again.

  I turned and made my way back up the trail. When I was far enough away, I switched on my phone’s flashlight and sprinted the rest of the way to our camp. Although I heard muffled voices coming from some of the tents, I didn’t see anyone else walking around outside. Easing up to our tent, I unzipped the flap.

  “That was quick,” Noah said without looking up from his phone.

  “He’s doing it again,” I whispered.

  Noah’s head snapped up. “Who’s doing what again?”

  “J. J. Jefferson. He’s kayaking out to that boat again.”

  Noah sat up and switched off his phone. “Really?”

  Right then and there, I had an idea that would definitely break my preparedness streak. I grinned. “Let’s follow him.”

  Noah answered me by shuffling out of his sleeping bag and pushing past me to scramble out of the tent. While he put on his shoes, I zipped up the tent behind me.

  Now, I knew that going out in the sub at night was not the smartest idea, but to be fair, we’d given so many tours by then that driving the Advance was like second nature to both of us. What was actually gnawing at me was that we didn’t have a safety backup. I wished we could leave the radio with someone on the shore like we’d done all day. My mind raced for a solution. I wasn’t giving up on my streak that easily.

  I unzipped the tent again and reached in to grab the radio. Switching it on, I turned it up to full volume before setting it on the picnic table in the middle of our campsite. I didn’t think anyone would mess with it, and if we needed to make contact to get help, someone in the campsite should hear our transmission. Just like Amy said, tent material is very thin—somebody would definitely hear “Mayday” being shouted from the radio at full volume.

  Noah nodded in approval and then followed me up the trail. I didn’t want to risk a light this time, so we moved slowly as our eyes adjusted to the darkness. At the tree line, I stopped and pointed at the dock. Mr. Jefferson was just beginning to paddle away from shore.

  “There he goes,” Noah whispered.

  When he was several meters away, we hustled over to our dock and prepared to set sail. Noah untied the front line and climbed into the front hatch while I disconnected the solar panel and attached the snorkel. I didn’t bother arguing with him about who drove (I think it was actually my turn), since I didn’t want Mr. Jefferson to hear us. Instead, I gently lowered the float into the water, untied the rear line, and climbed into the stern hatch.

  Noah reached out and pushed us away from the dock. The bow slowly swung out, angling toward the island as we closed and latched both hatches. I hit the power switch, and the interior light came on. What was a tiny red dome light, just bright enough to see the controls, now seemed like a floodlight in the dead of night.

  “Man, turn it off. If he looks back, he might see us,” Noah said.

  “Then let’s hurry and get underwater.”

  Noah hit the throttle and pushed the wheel forward. We were thrown back in our seats as we did what I think was our quickest dive so far. The moonlit water briefly splashed over our domes, and then we were surrounded by darkness. The motor vibrated through the hull, and we gently rocked back and forth like always. With the dark void around us, it felt as if we were standing still. I glanced up to see the dim surface slowly passing above just to make sure we were, in fact, still moving.

  “Well, this isn’t creepy at all,” Noah said.

  “You watching the time and the compass?” I asked. “Can you get us to the truck like this?”

  “After all the trips I made today, I can get us there blindfolded.”

  I gave a nervous chuckle. “You kinda are.”

  Noah pushed the wheel forward, taking us deeper. “You have to admit this is pretty cool. It’s like we’re flying through space.”

  I watched the rippling surface fade into darkness. “I think we can hit the external lights once we’re at the truck,” I suggested. “That should be deep enough that no one above us will notice them.”

  “Good idea.”

  We cruised in silence for a while with only the soft hums of the motor and air pump in the background.

  “Almost there,” Noah announced. “So what’s the plan once we get to the truck?”

  “We… uh…” Okay, it was official. I was back to making it up as I went along. The trouble was, I hadn’t actually made up anything yet. “Uh… I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?!” Noah glanced back at me. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  My mind raced to put something together. If we surfaced too early, Jefferson might see or hear us. If he made it to the boat, we surfaced, and we opened our hatches, would we be able to overhear any conversations being held up on deck? What if he ended up going to the island, instead? Should we tie off the sub and follow him? Was there even a place to tie off the sub?

  “Well?” Noah demanded impatiently.

  My jaw tightened. “You can come up with a plan too, you know.”

  “I thought you had a plan when you said you wanted to follow him,” Noah shot back.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t know.… I thought something would just… come to me.”

  “Well, if anything’s coming, now’s the time to share it.”

  That’s how my superpower usually worked. I’d jump in with half a plan, and the rest worked itself out as I went. It happened all the time. Had I been too focused on seeing that character trait as a flaw? Had I worked so hard to break that cycle that I couldn’t do it anymore?

  Noah was right. If I was going to come up with something, now really was the time. We had to be close to the truck, so we would have to figure something out quick or just turn around and go back.

  In fact, the whole timing thing really nagged at me. It was hard to tell in the dark, but we seemed to be going faster than usual. Noah hadn’t been calling out depths like we usually did. Was he even paying attention? I felt a bowling ball form in my stomach.

  “Dude, I think you should hit the lights now.”

  “What?”

  “Hit the lights!” I shouted.

  Noah flicked the switch, and I squinted as a bright sphere instantly encircled our sub. As my eyes adjusted, the first thing I saw was the wrecked armored truck racing past us. The second was a wall of rock looming in front of us.

 

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