Chapter 2. Hidden Treasure

Next morning dawned clear and still.  The power had come back on much to Mum’s relief, at least they could have warm showers and boil the jug for coffee and hot chocolate!
After breakfast was done, and his school bag packed, John and Mum left the house at the same time; Mum worked part time at a Legal firm in town and drove in every day.  John liked to walk or bike so he could meet up with Moana and Flynn at the intersection, and then they walked or biked together on to school.

As he walked down the streets toward the intersection John was amazed at all the small branches, twigs, leaves and other rubbish which had ended up all over the road and footpaths; it really had been a wild storm last night.  As he neared the overgrown track he could see a tree had fallen right across the track, flattening the old gates and a fair few of the scrubby bushes along the track entrance.  John paused and took in the scene for a few seconds.  He glanced at his watch, he was a little early this morning and still had time before he usually met Moana and Flynn at the intersection.  ‘Well, I can’t see the “Keep out” sign any more, I guess that means it wouldn’t hurt to have a wee look at what’s down there’ he thought to himself, and carefully walked down the still damp and mostly overgrown track.  It twisted and turned a bit and seemed to go on for ages until he turned the last left-hand turn and came out at what can only be described as a dump.

There seemed to be piles of stuff half covered in grass and weeds everywhere.  To his left was a large old shed, the side facing him had a dirty window which he couldn’t really see through.  He walked around to the front of the shed to where there were two old heavy wooden sliding doors held shut by a rusty old chain and padlock.  Looking around him John could see that no-one had been here for a very very long time.  He pulled on one sliding door to see if it would give a little, but it was stuck fast.  Turning, he walked over to the nearest pile, he could see some old rusted tin petrol cans, and messy coils of wire.  The next one looked to be an old plastic chair graveyard; there were chairs of all types all thrown together higgledy-piggeldy.  Looking around he could see at least 6 other piles, some with faded thick plastic sheets covering them, and all with an overgrown pathway around and between them.

'This place is awesome,' he thought to himself 'Moana and Flynn have got to see this' and then glanced at his watch “Oh man, I’ve been here for about 20 minutes," he murmured "I’m gonna be late”. He turned and ran back past the shed and down the track, jumping over fallen bushes and overgrown scrub, slowing down to edge past the fallen tree across the old gates before coming out on the street near the intersection.  Once there he could just see Moana and Flynn walking down the road toward school and ran to catch up.  
“Hey guys,” he panted, out of breath “You have to see what I found down that old track” the boys stopped and listened as John quickly told them what he’d seen.  They agreed to get back there as fast as they could after school.  “Probably best not to tell anyone else about this yet, we might get into trouble for being nosey or something” said Flynn. “Yeah” agreed Moana and John together.

Getting through the school day was hard for the three friends, the day just seemed to drag.  Finally the school bell rang and the boys quickly threw their homework into their schoolbags and rushed out the door. They walked away from school quickly, John excitedly describing again what he had seen that morning.
“A big old shed with funny old sliding doors, and piles of stuff all over the place”.
“I wonder who it used to belong to?” said Moana “and why they just left it?”

The boys passed the intersection where they usually split to go to their homes, and with a quick glance around to make sure no one saw them, they headed down the overgrown track.
“Wow this track goes on for ages” exclaimed Flynn after a few minutes.
“Yeah, but it’s worth it” said John with a grin.

When the boys came to the dump they all stopped, Flynn and Moana staring with wide eyes and open mouths, John grinning at the expressions on his friends’ faces.
“Woooaaahh” said Moana and Flynn in unison.
“I know” said John.

The boys each went to a different pile to have a closer look, calling excitedly to each other at what they’d found.
“Old newspapers over here” called Flynn.
“Wood pallets and crates here” said Moana.
“Woah, old lawnmowers under this plastic” said John.

The boys all crowded around the pile where John was standing, it looked like the old and faded thick plastic sheet had kept the mowers pretty well protected from the weather.
“Let’s see what else we can find” said John, and boys continued with their exploration. The more they looked, the more the dump seemed to grow and they kept finding more and more piles of junk; old shopping carts, bikes and lengths of pipe, tins of paint, piles of rope and hoses, bricks, an old and broken small wooden canoe, loads and loads of stuff.

Suddenly John looked at his watch, and realized the boys had been there for almost an hour “I better be getting home, Mum will be getting worried” he said.  Moana and Flynn murmured their agreement and the boys walked back along the track to the street.  “Hey let’s take our bikes to school tomorrow,” said Moana “That way we can be back here after school quicker, and we’ll have more time.”
“Good thinking” said Flynn.
“Let's not say anything to anyone about what we’ve found,” said John “This place is pretty big, and there’s so much stuff here - it must belong to someone.”
The boys agreed to meet at the intersection at the usual time tomorrow with their bikes, and each ran in the direction of home.

“You’re late today Darling” said Mum when he walked in the door.
“Yeah sorry Mum, me and the boys stopped at the playground for a bit” said John.  He felt bad about the lie, but at least they were close to the playground, just not actually at it.
“Alright, well here’s a quick snack, now you do your homework while I get dinner ready.”
“Thanks Mum” said John with a smile, he loved Mum’s snacks.

John got through his homework eventually, but the dump was firmly on his mind, and he didn’t really say much during dinner.  “You’re very quiet tonight Love?” said Mum “everything alright?”
“Yes”, said John with a smile, “Just thinking about stuff” he helped clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, and was about to settle on the couch to watch some TV when he realized that maybe Mum could find out some information about the “dump”. He knew that sometimes Mum helped people out when they were buying houses and she could search for information online about the house or section that was being bought.
“Hey Mum,” he said “do you know anything about that place down by the playground, you know, with the old track and the “Keep out” sign?”
“Oh, not much, only that it used to be owned by an eccentric chap who liked to build things, kind of an inventor I think,” she paused “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, just curious” said John “I walk past there every day and I realized that I didn’t know anything about it, and neither do Moana and Flynn, it looks like it’s been abandoned for years. A tree fell on the gates to the place in the storm the other night, they’re wrecked”.
“Well, I seem to remember that the old chap died about 12 years ago, and I think there was some problem with selling the place, something about missing Deeds to the property and his Will, but that’s all I know.  If you’re really interested I can do some digging through the archives?”
“OK, thanks Mum” said John, he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know or not, what happened if someone found out that he and his friends had been looking around and were trespassing; they could get into a lot of trouble!