Treasure Hunters: A National Treasure Fanfiction

Chapter Twelve: The Next Clue

In a matter of minutes the group had cleared off the dining room table, laid a plastic covering over the surface, and had a bowl of sliced lemons and Q-Tips at the ready. Once everyone had put on a pair of gloves Ben withdrew the document and carefully laid it out on the table face-down.

"Looks like animal skin," piped up Patrick from where he stood in the doorway, watching them. "How old is it?"

They all exchanged a glance. "At least two hundred years," Ben jumped in.

"At least," added Alex.

"Really, you sure?"

"Pretty darn."

"Now, if this is really invisible ink, how do we look at it?" asked Riley from his perch on a nearby stool.

"Throw it in the oven," suggested Patrick. He jumped a little when the four people cried in unison, "NO!" to this.

"Ferrous sulfate inks can only be brought out with heat," Patrick explained.

"Yes but this is-" Abigail began.

Ben jumped in. "Is very old. And we wouldn't want to risk compromising the map."

Patrick shrugged. "You need a reagent," he stated knowingly.

"Dad, it's getting really late. Why don't you get some rest," Alex suggested.

"I'm fine," Patrick replied. He was curious, though didn't want to admit it.

The four watched him leave the room. Then Ben turned to Riley. "Lemons." Riley handed him the small bowl of lemon slices. Ben took one and held it over the Declaration, about to squeeze the juice onto the surface.

Before he could however, Abigail caught his wrist in an iron grip. "You can't do that!"

"It has to be done," he countered.

"Then someone who was trained to handle antique documents is going to do it."

He looked at her and nodded. "Okay," he agreed and handed her the lemon slice.

"Okay, now if there really is a secret message it'll probably be marked by a symbol in the upper right-hand corner," Alex explained.

Abigail swabbed a Q-Tip with lemon juice. "I am so getting fired for this," she mumbled and began rubbing the juice in the upper right corner.

They all waited, practically holding their breaths, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. A defeated silence settled around the room.

"I told you," Patrick piped up. "You need heat."

Ben and Abigail exchanged a glance before both leaned forward and blew on the corner covered in juice. A faint outline appeared. Happy and excited gasps were exchanged.

"We need more juice," said Ben.

"We need more heat," agreed Abigail.

"You're welcome," said Patrick.

More lemons were sliced and a hairdryer was brought out. Pretty soon a whole line of numbers could be seen on the back of the document. Ben applied the juice while Abigail used the hairdryer to heat the document's surface. Alex peered over their shoulders, notepad and pen in hand, writing down the numbers as they appeared.

"That's not a map, is it?" asked Riley. It was certainly unlike any map he'd ever seen. "Are those latitudes and longitudes?"

"More clues, what a surprise," said Patrick to no one in particular.