Searching For Treasure Read Online Free Page A

starry-eyed expression. Dana and Jack were wearing almost identical expressions of something akin to hero worship.
    Once Oscar was sure everyone had eaten their fill, he brought them to the library where Brett and Austin were already waiting. There he went over how the upcoming weekend would play out.
    "There are many stories of treasure surrounding this castle, some of which I quite frankly discredit. Such as the train and bank robber, who between robberies lived with the family, posing as the children's schoolteacher. He supposedly left some of his loot somewhere in the castle. Or the story about the pirate burying some of his gold on the property, but I wouldn't put much stock in it.
    However, one story that may have some credence concerns one former owner who died mysteriously. He reportedly kept a small fortune in gold, silver and jewels that was never found after his death."
    Austin stirred from where he had been leaning against the mantel. "So you do believe there is treasure here?" Austin asked.
    "I believe it is possible, yes, but perhaps not the grand treasure troves of your imagination. In the old days, many hid their valuables on their own property, rather than trusting banks. It is possible there may be some of those types of treasure. Gold coins, silver coins, small jewels, knives, weapons, belt buckles, pocket watche s– all are valuable to museums and collectors. However, one will not become rich off of that kind of discovery.
    "As to the rules. As you can imagine, I cannot allow significant property damage to occur while searching for treasure. After all, this is something of a resort or has aspirations to be, and others will be coming to try their luck after you are gone. So no tearing down walls or dismantling fireplaces."
    Mark raised his hand, tentatively, as if he was sitting in school. "Excuse me, Mr. Gaston, but can we dig holes?"
    Oscar smiled warmly at the boy. "Yes, Mark, holes can be easily refilled. You cannot tear up trees or bushes while digging, but you can dig."
    "So we can only look in the yard?" Grace wondered. Dana had to smile at the notion that the vast grounds surrounding the castle could be considered a yard.
    "No, not at all. There may be many hiding places inside the castle. But please use your common sense. People who hid their belongings for safekeeping would still want them to be easily retrieved if need be. It would be foolish to tear down a wall each time you wanted to pay the window cleaner. It would make much more sense to have secret hiding places in easily accessed areas."
    "Like where?" Mark asked. He was eager to know.
    Brett smiled with smug superiority. "Why the hell would we tell you? Figure it out for yourself."
    Creep, Dana thought.
    "You know ,” Jack said, who thought the same as Dana ,“ like if someone hid something outside they'd want to be able to see the location from their bedroom window and be able to find it without the aid of a lamp. That way they wouldn't tip off the neighbors when they tried to get their money."
    Brett looked at Jack with a glare. Jack only returned his look with bland innocence.
    "We don't have to look for treasure, do we?" Everyone turned to Dana with a surprised, why-else-are-you-here look on his or her face. "I just wanted to know."
    Oscar twinkled at her. "If you want to spend the entire weekend in your room, that's up to you. Of course, you could look for the ghosts instead."
    "Oh, the ghosts!" Grace clapped her hands. "Tells us about the ghosts."
    Chuckling, Oscar obliged her. "There are as many stories about ghosts in association with this castle as there are about treasure. Such as the ghost of a headless maid or the ghostly music that can be heard from the music room."
    With a gasp, Grace jumped out of her chair and rushed to the window. "I saw someone run past!"
    "It's probably just Cedric," Oscar said with a mysterious smile.
    "Is Cedric the caretaker?" Grace wanted to know.
    "No. But you could say he came with the