Lost Cipher (17 page)

CHAPTER 34

Creech told them how Randall Whitlatch, Lucas's own great-great-great grandfather, had been Beale's guide and why the Whitlatches had been so hard to find. For one, Indian Hole didn't exist on any map, old or new. It was simply what the Whitlatches and maybe a few others had called their remote home since before even Randall's time. And since the rest of Beale's men were Virginians from east of the Blue Ridge, Beale hadn't bothered to write down a state for any of them, so no one had even looked way out in West Virginia. Besides, even if Beale had added a state for Randall, he'd have written “Virginia” since West Virginia was just another part of Virginia back then anyway.

“It wasn't till you all stumbled down into Moccasin Hollow,” Creech said, “and told me you were from a place called Indian Hole that I remembered them words from the codes. Remembered the guide's name sounded like whiplash too. Got Beale's old box out last night and made sure of it. I told Maggie what I found out this morning, and your grandma certified it, Lucas. Maggie stopped by to tell me on her way back from the hospital.”

Then Creech explained how Annie Morris had fallen in love with Thomas Jefferson Beale that first winter he'd stayed at the old inn and how she'd died giving birth to their baby, Creech's great-great grandma. That was why the key was never brought to the innkeeper—his own daughter was supposed to tell him to use her little book of poetry, but that secret died with her.

“Wait, that means you're related to the explorer guy,” George said.

“Yep,” Creech said. “He was my third great grandpa. Their daughter, the one Annie died giving birth to, ended up with the codes, and she's the one that found them little numbers scrawled in her mother's poetry book. Found the treasure the same week. Then her and my great-great grandpa—he was a Creech—they used some of the innkeeper's share to build this house. Kept the treasure in the ground while they tried to find all them explorers' kin.

“But a lot of time had already passed and Beale hadn't exactly put a lot of details in the ciphers, so a lot of 'em she couldn't find. In the end, she got old sittin' on a big ol' pile of gold and silver. Same for her kids, right on down to my own father. Each generation searched and found a few of those families to give 'em their share, but by the time it got passed down to me, the rest of that treasure had been sittin' in a bank a long time, and it grew into a lot more money.

“'Course,” added Creech, “I sort of liked the idea of preservin' ol' Beale's handiwork under that rock over there, seein' as it's the oldest piece of family history in this hollow. Didn't have the heart to just fill it in. So I built that fake johnny house to hide it under, figuring that'd be the last place anybody'd want to look for a buried treasure. And I left Beale's empty pots in the ground, figurin' if anyone ever
did
find it while I was gone, they'd just dig up a whole bunch of disappointment.” He shrugged. “Sorry that ended up being you, Lucas.”

“So what's it worth now?” George asked eagerly. “How much belongs to Lucas's family?”

Lucas was still trying to figure how he'd gotten so lucky that it hadn't even occurred to him to ask the same question.

“I'm gettin' around to that,” Creech said, “but let me tell my story first. You see, I looked hard for near thirty years for just one of them explorers' families. Even used lawyers and computers and all, but I never even found a one. Always hated havin' all that money that belonged to someone else.”

Lucas finally spoke up, sniffing the last of his tears away first. “So it's been in the bank all this time?”

“Well, some of it. And like I said, some of it's still right here in these mountains.” He jabbed his thumb at the forested peaks rising up behind his house.

“And you said Maggie talked to my grandma for you?” asked Lucas.

“She does a lot of things for me,” answered Creech. “Ought to. She's my granddaughter, after all.”

The boys looked at each other, wide-eyed once more. “But Aaron's her brother,” sputtered George, “That means he's…”

“My grandson? Yep. The two of them run that camp for me now. Do a pretty good job too—aside from losing a few campers lately and making me out to be some kinda scary snake man.”

“So they both know about all this?” asked Lucas, holding up the paper.

“Sure do,” said Creech. “That's why I reckon they'll be along any minute. They're bound to know exactly where you were headed when you ran off again.”

“So why didn't they just tell me?” asked Lucas, thinking how they could have killed themselves getting back to Moccasin Hollow.

“Because you never gave me a
chance
,” said a voice from behind them.

Maggie had come around the corner of the farmhouse. Aaron and another man were right behind her. The other man was on the chubby side, very red in the face and out of breath. Lucas knew with one look that he was George's pa.

George jumped up from the grass. “What the…Dad?” His father broke into a run as soon as he saw him and wrapped George in a sweaty bear hug. He began sobbing George's name so loudly that everyone but George seemed a little embarrassed. George just buried his face in his dad's shirt and started crying right along with him.

After the Funderburks calmed down, Maggie said, “Aaron and I were all set to tell you at dinner. We had a big announcement planned, but you took off. When Grandpa here
told me what he knew this morning, I called Lucas's grandparents and asked them a lot of questions. This afternoon, his grandmother brought me everything she had about Randall Whitlatch. Born in 1791, disappeared out West with a hunting party in 1822. He's definitely the Whitlatch from Beale's codes.”

“But what's it worth? Lucas's share, I mean,” asked George again.

“Yeah, I have to say, I'm pretty curious about that myself,” added his father anxiously.

“Well, first of all,” said Maggie, “it's Lucas's grandfather's share—he's the oldest surviving descendant of Randall Whitlatch. But let's just say it's in the millions. Quite a few millions in fact.”

“Dude,” said George, “you're a millionaire!”

It dawned on Lucas then. The money meant a whole new life for everyone—but only because his pa had lost his. That thought was too much to bear. “Heck, I'd give all the money in the world to have him back,” he muttered.

For a moment, the others were silent until Maggie finally spoke. “I know it's tough, Lucas, having your father pass away right before something fantastic like this happens to his family. But maybe it's like a gift. His gift. After all, you would never have been invited to our camp if he hadn't gone off to war. And Mr. Creech…Grandpa would never have found out about you.”

“Yeah, Lucas,” George chimed in, “you said up in that cave that your dad went off to fight to help you have a better life. I know it won't be the same without him, just like for me without my mom, but in a way that's what he ended up doing.”

“And after your family's taken care of,” added Maggie, “there's a lot of good that can be done with the kind of money you're getting. It can be set up in your father's name. Your grandmother's already got some ideas.”

“Lucas,” George exclaimed suddenly, “you know we gotta tell Alex about this! Is he still in the hospital?” he asked Maggie.

“Most likely,” said Maggie. “We can take you there, I guess.”

“What about camp though?” asked George. He turned to his father. “Lucas and I still have one more night.”

“Fine with me,” said Mr. Funderburk. “I'm not driving all the way back to Maryland tonight anyway. I can get a room in town and we'll head back tomorrow morning.” He looked straight at his son, his eyes a little misty again, and added, “Together.”

“Let's go then,” said Maggie. “We need to get down Grandpa's trail here while there's still some light.” She caught Creech's eye. “And your head's probably spinning from seeing so many other human beings today, right?”

“Enough for a whole year,” replied the old man, but he winked at Lucas.

They all walked around to the front of the house in the last light of the day. Creech stood on the steps of his porch.

Aaron started up his four-wheeler, but not before scowling at the fresh scratches on its fender. “I'll get this loaded up,” he said to Maggie, and motored off toward the road.

Maggie and the Funderburks started down the trail together, but Lucas hung back with Creech.

“Thank you, Mr. Creech,” he said. “For everything.”

“Well, you did the hard part yourself. If you hadn't come down that mountain tryin' to save your friends, I'd of never heard of Lucas Whitlatch of Indian Hole, West Virginia.”

“I reckon, sir,” said Lucas. “But even so, thanks.”

“Take care of yourself, son,” Creech said.

Lucas turned to join the others but realized he still had the loose page from Annie Morris's book of poetry. Walking back up to Creech, he handed him the wrinkled paper.

“Sorry about your book,” he said.

Creech laughed. “Keep it. Call it a souvenir from your night in my little hotel here.”

“No, sir,” said Lucas. “It's yours. And it belongs with the others.”

Creech took the page, and Lucas watched him read the verses.

“These mountains were special to her, weren't they?” he said to the old man.

Creech looked up from the poem. “I guess we both know about that, don't we?”

Lucas smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir.” Then he turned to catch up.

Maggie had slowed to wait for him, and he met her halfway down the trail.

“Do you think he'll ever tell the truth about the treasure now, so no one bothers him anymore?” Lucas asked her.

“Maybe he will, now that he finally found someone who deserved a part of the money,” she said. “Or maybe he'll keep the legend alive just so he can chase a few treasure hunters off his property every now and then. Sometimes I think he enjoys his reputation too much.”

Just as they joined George and his father, a soft rumble from a thunderhead beyond the long ridge to the west rolled toward them across the valley of the Shenandoah. A moment later, a strong breeze brushed the tall grasses and stirred the yellow heads of the meadow flowers.

“I'm outta here,” said George. “The last time I got caught in a storm with you, it wasn't exactly a picnic.”

“I know,” said Lucas. “Let's go.”

But as the others headed for the gap in the trees that led to the road, he paused long enough for a final look at Moccasin Hollow and the mountains that had delivered him there. The farmhouse and the ancient oak tree were already deep in shadow, but the mountains above them were still painted with the last warm light of the day. He thought again about the poem from Annie's book, the one about heaven being right here. The one that could have also been about a mountain above Indian Hole, West Virginia. His mountain. A mountain that would forever be green and would always be home.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I first heard the legend of the Beale Ciphers from my father while hiking in the mountains not far from where Thomas Jefferson Beale is alleged to have buried his treasure. Since then I've been fascinated with the idea of a fortune lying hidden in those same mountains I walked as a teenager.

Today, because even the most skilled cryptographers in the world have failed to decode Beale's other ciphers, most so-called experts believe the legend is an elaborate hoax. Still, many of those same experts admit that if the key is a rare document—perhaps something like Annie Morris's private book of poetry—the codes will never be broken, and the treasure, if it exists, will only be discovered by sheer luck.

As for myself, I am satisfied knowing that just enough lonely wilderness remains in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to hide a few secrets.

For the die-hard treasure seeker, I include here the actual coded instructions for finding and distributing Beale's treasure. Only Cipher Two, “The Contents of the Vault,” has been decoded so far. Cipher One, and some very good luck, may lead the reader to a fortune in gold, silver, and jewels.

CIPHER ONE

THE LOCATION OF THE VAULT

71, 194, 38, 1701, 89, 76, 11, 83, 1629, 48, 94, 63, 132, 16, 111, 95, 84, 341, 975, 14, 40, 64, 27, 81, 139, 213, 63, 90, 1120, 8, 15, 3, 126, 2018, 40, 74, 758, 485, 604, 230, 436, 664, 582, 150, 251, 284, 308, 231, 124, 211, 486, 225, 401, 370, 11, 101, 305, 139, 189, 17, 33, 88, 208, 193, 145, 1, 94, 73, 416, 918, 263, 28, 500, 538, 356, 117, 136, 219, 27, 176, 130, 10, 460, 25, 485, 18, 436, 65, 84, 200, 283, 118, 320, 138, 36, 416, 280, 15, 71, 224, 961, 44, 16, 401, 39, 88, 61, 304, 12, 21, 24, 283, 134, 92, 63, 246, 486, 682, 7, 219, 184, 360, 780, 18, 64, 463, 474, 131, 160, 79, 73, 440, 95, 18, 64, 581, 34, 69, 128, 367, 460, 17, 81, 12, 103, 820, 62, 116, 97, 103, 862, 70, 60, 1317, 471, 540, 208, 121, 890, 346, 36, 150, 59, 568, 614, 13, 120, 63, 219, 812, 2160, 1780, 99, 35, 18, 21, 136, 872, 15, 28, 170, 88, 4, 30, 44, 112, 18, 147, 436, 195, 320, 37, 122, 113, 6, 140, 8, 120, 305, 42, 58, 461, 44, 106, 301, 13, 408, 680, 93, 86, 116, 530, 82, 568, 9, 102, 38, 416, 89, 71, 216, 728, 965, 818, 2, 38, 121, 195, 14, 326, 148, 234, 18, 55, 131, 234, 361, 824, 5, 81, 623, 48, 961, 19, 26, 33, 10, 1101, 365, 92, 88, 181, 275, 346, 201, 206, 86, 36, 219, 324, 829, 840, 64, 326, 19, 48, 122, 85, 216, 284, 919, 861, 326, 985, 233, 64, 68, 232, 431, 960, 50, 29, 81, 216, 321, 603, 14, 612, 81, 360, 36, 51, 62, 194, 78, 60, 200, 314, 676, 112, 4, 28, 18, 61, 136, 247, 819, 921, 1060, 464, 895, 10, 6, 66, 119, 38, 41, 49, 602, 423, 962, 302, 294, 875, 78, 14, 23, 111, 109, 62, 31, 501, 823, 216, 280, 34, 24, 150, 1000, 162, 286, 19, 21, 17, 340, 19, 242, 31, 86, 234, 140, 607, 115, 33, 191, 67, 104, 86, 52, 88, 16, 80, 121, 67, 95, 122, 216, 548, 96, 11, 201, 77, 364, 218, 65, 667, 890, 236, 154, 211, 10, 98, 34, 119, 56, 216, 119, 71, 218, 1164, 1496, 1817, 51, 39, 210, 36, 3, 19, 540, 232, 22, 141, 617, 84, 290, 80, 46, 207, 411, 150, 29, 38, 46, 172, 85, 194, 39, 261, 543, 897, 624, 18, 212, 416, 127, 931, 19, 4, 63, 96, 12, 101, 418, 16, 140, 230, 460, 538, 19, 27, 88, 612, 1431, 90, 716, 275, 74, 83, 11, 426, 89, 72, 84, 1300, 1706, 814, 221, 132, 40, 102, 34, 868, 975, 1101, 84, 16, 79, 23, 16, 81, 122, 324, 403, 912, 227, 936, 447, 55, 86, 34, 43, 212, 107, 96, 314, 264, 1065, 323, 428, 601, 203, 124, 95, 216, 814, 2906, 654, 820, 2, 301, 112, 176, 213, 71, 87, 96, 202, 35, 10, 2, 41, 17, 84, 221, 736, 820, 214, 11, 60, 760