Treasure Hunt

     I always wanted to bury a treasure. How fun would it be to hide a chest full of gold coins, then plant an elaborate set of clues that will ultimately lead to its whereabouts? Decades later—maybe even centuries—some spunky kids with a pet ferret will stumble upon my first clue, which will be hidden behind the mirror of an old armoire their parents bought at an antique shop. It will be a clever riddle written on a piece of paper that I printed from Photoshop to make it look like old parchment, and it will lead them to an even more clever riddle hidden in a spooky old lighthouse. They'll figure out all my riddles and follow each clue to the end of the trail, all while being chased by a pair of greedy ex-cons who want to steal the treasure to pay off their illegal gambling debts. Near the end, the ex-cons will seem to have the upper hand and come very close to collecting the treasure for themselves, but then they'll fall into a trap the kids set for them by grabbing a candlestick that was painted to look like gold. That will set off a series of pulleys, springs and weights and the ex-cons will end up trapped in a net hanging from the ceiling. The bad guys will go to jail, the kids will get the treasure and the local sheriff will be so impressed that he'll make them all junior deputies and give each one a deputy sticker to wear on his or her sleeve. They'll get their names in the paper, too. If not, then it would probably be because it was a big news week. Maybe the president died the same day. That would be really big news—way bigger than a bunch of rich kids wearing dumb stickers.