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indecipherable at first. Slowly, though, things began to take shape. “What in
     the world?”
    “What is it, Brooklyn?” Robin asked.
    “It’s a whole bunch of . . . stuff. Different things. Furniture. A big inlaid wood
     wardrobe with a beautifully beveled mirror built into its front door. There’s an antique
     table with a fancy candelabra on it. A bookshelf with lots of things on all the shelves.
     Silver candlesticks. A silver teapot. At least, they look like silver from here.”
     I leaned in farther. “There’s more over in this corner. Another table with some small
     statuary. A couple of busts. I can’t tell who they are. There are two bronze horses.
     Oh, the horses are bookends. And there are books.” I flashed Derek a quick smile,
     then returned to scan the space. “A glass-fronted cabinet. It’s got some more silver
     pieces inside. Another set of candlesticks and . . . is that another silver pitcher?
     On a tray of some kind. It all looks like hammered silver. It must be a set.”
    “And there’re some gold pieces over there,” Austin said, pointing. He towered over
     me and was able to gaze around without my blocking his view.
    Robin, shorter than me by almost six inches, asked Austin to give her a boost up.
     I stepped aside so she could take a look.
    “Here you go, baby,” he said, holding her by the waist and easily lifting her up to
     see through the opening.
    Derek handed the flashlight to Austin, and he held it steady as she took a look around.
     “It’s an old curio cabinet.”
    “Can you see the silver inside?” Austin asked.
    “Yes. It all looks beautiful.”
    “Do you see the bookends?” I asked.
    “Yes. And books, too.”
    “I know,” I said, grinning. “How cool is that?”
    Robin slid back down. “It figures you’d see books before anything else.”
    “Books and possibly artwork,” Derek said, taking the flashlight back and aiming it
     in another direction.
    I got closer and found what he was looking at, a spot along the interior wall where
     several rolled canvasses stood leaning against the curio cabinet like drunken soldiers.
    I moved away so Dad could take a look. After a minute, he stepped back, and Jackson
     took his turn.
    “What is all this stuff?” I asked. “What’s going on here?”
    Derek shook his head. “I have no idea.”
    “It’s a treasure trove,” Dad said. “Just got to figure out where it came from.”
    “I wish we had a better light,” I muttered.
    At that moment, Stan walked up and handed me and Robin our own hard hats.
    “Thanks.” I put the rigid plastic hat on my head and felt safer instantly.
    Then Stan pulled a long, black, industrial-strength flashlight from his tool belt
     and handed it to Derek. “Maybe this will help.”
    “Thanks, mate.” Derek pushed the button on the heavy foot-long torch, and the powerful
     light filled the room.
    “Like night and day,” I said, smiling at Stan. “Thanks.”
    He nodded and strolled back outside. A man of few words.
    Derek aimed the big flashlight’s beam into the interior space.
    “We need to get this wall knocked down,” Dad said.
    “Just what I was thinking,” Jackson said, glancing toward the front of the cave. “I’ll
     go talk to Stan.”
    I stretched up on my toes and poked my head farther through the opening. Derek continued
     holding the flashlight above my head. “Wow, over there in the other corner. It’s another
     full-sizeddresser with a mirror. There’s a wooden box on top of it that looks like a jewelry
     box.”
    Derek turned the beam toward the left to allow me a better glimpse.
    “It’s beautiful,” I said. “Looks French. Inlaid wood and lots of ormolu.” I was able
     to recognize the finely gilded decorative detailing along the edges of the piece,
     thanks to Guru Bob, who had an antique desk in that style that I’d admired for years.
     He’d been kind enough to describe the history of the design to me.
    “Pricey,” Dad said.
    “It’s