Arkie Sparkle: Treasure Hunter, page 1
7 treasures
7 continents
7 days 7 books
6 changes of clothes
5 suspicious sightings
4 close shaves
3 wrong turns
2 maps
1 treasure hunter
p.s. + 1 treasure hunter’s helper
p.p.s. ++ 1 treasure hunter’s helper’s super-snooper dog
The biggest treasure hunt in the world is close to home
Eleven-year-old Arkie Sparkle’s archaeologist parents have been kidnapped. With the help of her genius cousin TJ and basset hound Cleo, she must find seven treasures across the seven continents in seven days.
DAY 6: Australia
Nothing is as it seems. TJ is missing and Arkie now has to find three lost people (as if she wasn’t already super busy!). Will Clem Sparkle help her? And how will a pearl earring lead her closer to her mum and dad?
Contents
Cover
About Arkie Sparkle Treasure Hunter Pearl Girl
What’s happened so far in Arkie Sparkle: Treasure Hunter?
Call Me
The Long Wait
In the Dark
Run, Arkie, Run
A-mazing
Then There Was One
Pearl Party
Overboard
Need for Speed
Debrief
What Next?
In Real Life
Copyright page
treasure hunter / n 1. a person who hunts for wealth or riches or jewels or gold statues or anything that is treasured by someone.
2. Arkie Sparkle.
What’s happened
so far in Arkie Sparkle:
Treasure Hunter?
Things are so not what they seem.
Cate Sparkle rescued Arkie () but then abandoned her to a bear (). She doesn’t seem to like Arkie and Arkie doesn’t like her either. (Is that loud enough, Arkie?). Edie thought Cate was a nice niece when she turned up out of the blue (), but then Cate disappeared in the night and left behind a clue (). Arkie thought Clem Sparkle was trying to steal Septimus’s notebook (), but then he saved her from a very big fall (). Arkie was shocked to her socks when she saw Quincy in the jungle (!). She thought he was missing (), but the Quincy she found wasn’t the Quincy she’d lost (). Now TJ’s missing too (). Or is she?
And that’s where we’re up to in Arkie Sparkle: Treasure Hunter.
Arkie: This is the second to last book, TJ.
TJ: I know. It’s the ‘penultimate’ book.
Arkie: What does ‘penultimate’ mean?
TJ: It’s just a fancy word for the second to last something.
Arkie: So the next book will be the ULTIMATE book.
TJ: Yes, ULTIMATE in every single way.
Arkie: But what are you even doing here? You’d disappeared at the end of Untold Gold.
TJ: I know. I’ve just popped back for this bit because I thought you might be lonely without me. It’s not much fun talking to yourself. Although, I often talk to myself when I want to have a particularly fascinating conversation. And I always say just what I want to hear.
Arkie: Well, you won’t have to talk to yourself for too much longer because I’m coming to find you. And then we’ll find Mum and Dad. Together. Like always.
TJ: I know. You’re not going to finish this story without me. That would be wrong, wrong, wrong. I might be a genius but you’re the treasure hunter. Hey … if you’re coming to find me, does that mean I’m … treasure?
Arkie: Hmmm. Maybe.
Treasure Hunter’s Diary
DAY 6
TJ’s gone.
Vanished.
Vamoosed.
eVaporated.
She must have been so excited when she read the message her brain short-circuited. (I know TJ’s a genius and she thinks a lot, but sometimes I just don’t think she thinks enough!)
I’m zooming between MAD and SAD and SAD and MAD, and it’s all TJ’s fault.
I was already super busy looking for two lost people but now I’m looking for three! And there’s only one of me.
Okay, that’s MAD me.
The SAD me misses TJ.
It’s so quiet without her.
Too quiet.
Love from Arkie xox
Call Me
‘EDIE!’ screamed Arkie. ‘WHERE ARE YOU? COME QUICKLY!’
Arkie was standing by TJ’s computer, reading and rereading the message on TJ’s MeMy page until her eyes watered and the words dissolved.
She could feel an earthquake of a headache swelling, sending tremors through her from top to toe.
TJ had been tricked. And was about to be TRAPPED.
Someone starting with S (it has to be him, thought Arkie) had pretended to be Quizzal, the quizmaster for Junior Genius, and sent TJ a message telling her to come immediately.
TJ was so desperate to be on the show she’d taken off without even finishing her sandwich.
Without even telling Arkie.
She must have fled like lightning – bolting into the night.
Arkie had never seen TJ move that fast!
She put her head in her hands. They’d only been back from the Amazon for a few hours and now she felt as though she were dangling on that wonky bridge again – about to tumble into the raging waters below.
There was an empty space beside her where TJ should be, talking all the time and telling her random things that only a genius would know, like giraffes and humans have the same number of bones in the neck.
Arkie picked up her phone and speed dialled TJ’s mobile, just in case, but it went straight to voicemail:
It was weird hearing TJ’s voice knowing she was missing. Like in the movies when someone dies and their very best friend hears their voice on the answerphone so they play the message again and again to fill the loneliness with these words.
Edie came racing into the kitchen, puffing from running up the spiral staircase from the THinc Tank. Cleo was nipping at her heels. ‘What is it? Who screamed? Are you all right?’ she said.
‘No, and TJ isn’t either,’ said Arkie, pointing at the computer screen.
As Edie read the message, a frown shadowed her face. ‘Oh, no, TJ,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘What was she thinking?’
‘That’s just it,’ said Arkie, banging her hand on the table. ‘She wasn’t thinking. How could someone as smart as TJ fall for this trick? It’s so obvious.’
‘I’m afraid that when you want something really badly, you’ll believe what you want to believe,’ said Edie. ‘They found TJ’s Achilles heel and shot the Junior Genius arrow straight at it.’
‘But what do we do now?’ said Arkie. ‘TJ could be anywhere. Where do we start? We haven’t got a clue where she’s gone. What if something’s already happened to her and we’re too late? First Mum and Dad, and now TJ!’ She looked up at Edie. ‘Promise me you’re not going anywhere.’
Arkie slumped down on the floor and put her arms around Cleo. ‘Or you, Cleo,’ she said, nestling her nose in Cleo’s fur.
Cleo barked twice for NO, NOT ME.
Edie knelt down and hugged Arkie. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere either.’
‘I can’t believe TJ didn’t even tell me,’ said Arkie, standing up.
‘They said they’d text her the address and I guess she’s taken her phone with her,’ said Edie, rereading the message.
‘I tried to ring her,’ said Arkie, ‘but it just went to voicemail.’
Cleo was growling at Arkie’s feet.
‘I know, Cleo,’ said Arkie. ‘TJ’s not here. I miss her too.’
Cleo growled and nudged Arkie’s legs with her head.
‘Cleo, I’m trying to think,’ said Arkie. She looked down and saw that Cleo had a notepad in her mouth.
She knelt and extracted it from Cleo’s jaws. Although it was dog-soggy, she could see that the first page of the notepad had been ripped off in a hurry.
‘I think TJ might have written the directions on this notepad,’ said Arkie. ‘Look!’ She grabbed her sparkly treasure hunter’s pencil and rubbed the pencil lead lightly over the next page on the pad. ‘Super sleuthing 101,’ she said. ‘If TJ pressed hard enough when she was writing, we might be able to see the impression of the message on this page.’
‘An old trick but a good one,’ said Edie as Arkie rubbed the page. A couple of words were soon visible through the pencil shading:
‘Well, that’s not much help,’ said Arkie. ‘It could be “The Old” anything.’
‘Maybe we can narrow down the possibilities if we can get a fix on the IP address of the person who sent the post to TJ’s message board,’ said Edie.
‘Can we do that?’ said Arkie.
‘Every post or email has an IP – an Internet Protocol – address,’ said Edie. ‘There are ways of hiding this address but I know Quincy’s developed a detection software program just for this purpose. He’s called it HIDE and SEEK.’
Arkie, Edie and Cleo hurried down to the THinc Tank.
As Edie booted up HIDE and SEEK and entered the search parameters, Arkie looked at a map of the city.
So many streets. So many spaces to hide an eleven year old with a big brain.
Arkie watched as the computer screen sprang into action:
Edie hit YES and they watched as hundreds and hundreds of IP numbers flashed quickly across the screen as the program searched for a match.
TJ would love this, thought Arkie. Hundreds o
After a minute, a message appeared on the screen:
‘The address is very well cloaked,’ said Edie. ‘I guess it was a long shot.’
‘What about your contact?’ said Arkie. ‘Did he have any information about Sebastian?’
‘He wasn’t very helpful in the end, I’m afraid,’ said Edie. ‘He hasn’t seen or heard of Sebastian for nearly two years. He thinks Sebastian’s gone underground because he’s planning something big. And Sebastian was always exceptional at covering his tracks. We used to say he could walk on sand without leaving a footprint.’
‘Well I don’t think Clem’s as light on his feet,’ said Arkie. ‘I spotted him following us in the jungle so easily.’
‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ said Edie, ‘and there’s something that bothers me. I know you’re a clever treasure hunter, Arkie, but I also know Sebastian. He would have taught Clem and Cate so well, making them practise, practise, practise until they got it right. I find it hard to believe that a son of Sebastian’s could have been so heavy footed in the jungle.’
‘You mean …’ said Arkie, slowly, ‘that Clem wanted me to find him?’
‘Possibly,’ said Edie. ‘It was certainly an effective way of revealing Quincy’s betrayal to you.’
‘So if you’re right, Clem might help us again,’ said Arkie.
‘Maybe,’ said Edie. ‘If we could contact him. He’s looking like our only lead at the moment.’
‘I’ve got his mobile number,’ said Arkie. ‘He gave it to me on the Queen Anne’s Revenge.’ She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. ‘It’s a palindrome.’
‘Ring it,’ said Edie. ‘We’ve got nothing to lose.’
‘But what shall I say to him?’ said Arkie.
‘Say we need to meet him. ASAP.’
Arkie pressed the numbers on her phone slowly, her heart in her mouth. After a small pause, the phone began to ring. And ring.
‘He’s not answering,’ she said.
‘Just wait a little longer,’ said Edie.
As the phone rang in her ear, Arkie closed her eyes. When she was nervous, she calmed herself by imagining she was somewhere far away. It was a trick her mum had taught her.
Arkie was floating on her back in the sea as clouds trickled across the summer sky. Her mum had just spread a red and white checkered tablecloth on the sand and her dad was holding a chicken leg in the air. Her mum was laughing as she tried to grab it.
Suddenly, the phone stopped ringing, and there was a click.
Arkie pressed the phone to her ear. ‘Hello?’ she said. ‘Is anyone there?’
There was a long pause on the other end, and then a voice.
‘Arkie,’ said Clem. ‘I’ve been waiting for you to call.’
The
Long Wait
Arkie shivered in the crisp evening air and pulled her jacket tight around her.
She leaned against the brick wall and looked at her watch. It was 8.30 pm. He’ll be here soon.
A streetlamp cast a lonely glow across the empty road and moths spiralled in and out of the yellow haze.
A steel door clanged in the distance as the wind scuttled through the old railway yards behind Arkie. The wings of pigeons fluttered on the night air as they settled into the corners of the steel girders, cooing themselves to sleep.
Arkie tried not to think of what else might be sheltering in the recesses of the dilapidated buildings. Bats, vampires …
She’d never been in this part of town before, down by the old harbour. Large container ships had once docked here from around the world. Their cargoes were loaded onto freight trains that snaked across the country.
Edie said that Ted and Sebastian used to play here when they were kids, pretending they were stowaways from countries far away and threading wondrous adventures around the things they saw.
Now, the port creaked with forgotten stories.
At the sound of a car approaching, Arkie pushed back into a groove in the wall, blending further into the darkness.
The car slowed for a speed bump and then drove past.
Clem had said she had to come alone. He would meet only with her. She wasn’t even allowed to bring Cleo.
Cleo wasn’t happy about that, and Edie wasn’t either. But if Clem was going to help them find TJ, they had to do what he said.
Arkie touched her THinc ring. She knew Edie wasn’t far away and that she was monitoring her with the tracking device. Her mum and dad were too. Arkie knew they would have been watching her beeping across the world over the last five days, trying to fill in all the details of her journey, hoping she was okay.
Funny how we can be so connected and so far apart, she thought.
Sometimes she felt like a firecracker in the sky with all her thoughts of her mum and dad sparking and spinning around and around, forming a red-hot cocoon to keep them safe.
Were they safe?
Arkie didn’t know anymore.
Everything she thought she knew had fallen apart in just five days:
Mum and Dad will always be there for me.
Quincy is the best godfather in the world.
TJ, Cleo and I are a team now.
We’re not a team without TJ, thought Arkie. She’s the head, I’m the heart and Cleo’s the nose.
She checked her watch again. 8.40 pm.
She looked up and down the street.
Maybe Clem wasn’t coming? Maybe this plan to meet was a decoy and while she was waiting, waiting, here in the dark, they were smuggling TJ out of the country in a shipping container.
TJ would hate being in a container. She’d get really seasick.
A flurry of fear leapt up inside Arkie at the thought of TJ being locked up anywhere. At least Mum and Dad have each other. But TJ just has TJ!
No, she thought. It’s not a decoy. I don’t know why but I trust Clem. My treasure hunter’s instinct tells me to.
Trust is stronger than words.
That’s what Abu Simbel had said to her in the temple of Ramses II, five days ago. He’d only just met Arkie – someone he thought was a spirit from the world beyond – but he had trusted her immediately.
It’s just like that sometimes, thought Arkie. Her mum said you get an instinct about people and most of the time it’s right.
Except when it’s not.
TJ said instinct was illogical: I’m just not wired to be illogical. You’re much better at that than me.
Arkie imagined what TJ would say right now: ‘Look at the facts, Arkie. Clem’s the son of Sebastian Sparkle. Can you really trust the son of your parents’ kidnapper?’
But you rushed off, TJ, thought Arkie. That was pretty illogical. And you haven’t met Clem. You don’t know him like I do.
‘Arkie.’
There was a whisper of a word behind her and Arkie jumped as a hand touched her shoulder.
It was Clem Sparkle.
He had approached so quietly. But from where? Arkie had no idea.
He was light on his feet, slipping between the spaces of the night.
She tried to turn around but he stopped her.
‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s better this way. I’m really sorry but I have to blindfold you, just for a short time. Don’t be scared. Okay?’
Arkie nodded. She wasn’t scared. Scared was that small moment in the dark when the shadow of a tree swelled in the wind and arched across the curtains towards her.
Scared wasn’t the feeling flooding through her now.
Arkie was 200 percent petrified.
Trusting Clem could be the biggest mistake of her life.
But she wouldn’t know it was the biggest mistake until she’d made it.
Clem wrapped a scarf around her eyes and took her arm. ‘Just walk in a straight line,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell you when we come to some steps. Is that okay?’
Arkie nodded.
But she didn’t really mean it.
Nothing was okay anymore.
In the Dark
At first, Arkie could see tiny pinpricks of light from beneath the blindfold but as she and Clem walked away from the streetlamp, the glimmers disappeared.
She used to love playing Blindman’s Bluff, Marco Polo and Pin the Tail on the Donkey when she was little; games where being in the dark made her shriek and laugh.
