Treasure Hunters: A National Treasure Fanfiction

Chapter Thirteen: Pass and Stow

They drove into the early hours of the morning; Alex was surprised Ben didn't fall asleep at the wheel. She and Riley leaned against each other in the back and tried to get some sleep. When they reached Philadelphia which felt like long hours later they stopped at a motel and rested for a little while, which everyone was in great need of. Now, late the next morning, Ben and Abigail were out clothes shopping, Riley was figuring out their next clue, and Alex was on food duty.

She went to a little local coffee shop and got them sandwiches and coffee and then went and joined Riley where he was outside of the Franklin Institute. She remembered coming here on a field trip once in elementary school. She had sometimes been mocked by her classmates for being a Gates, but tried not to let it bother her. She had been a bit of a teacher's pet you could say, always the first one to raise her hand to answer a history question.

As she neared the institute she noticed a figure sitting on a bench in a familiar hunched manner and hoodie. As she approached the bench Riley was sitting on she found him talking to a young schoolboy. She saw Riley hand him a dollar bill and watched him run off and into the Institute.

"Bribing kids with money, nice," she said as she came over.

"Well I thought with how many people we have after us, better we're not the ones to go in looking."

She sat down next to him. "Fair enough." She looked down at the newspaper he was using to write out the message. "'The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow,'" she read aloud from Riley's messy handwriting. She racked her brain through all the history facts she had acquired and stuffed in there over the years.

"Hmmm, Pass and Stow," she mumbled over and over again. "Pass and Stow, Pass and Stow..."

Her thoughts were interrupted then when Riley started nudging her. "Alex look!"

She looked up to where he was pointing: a bus had stopped across the street from them, with an ad on the side for the displaying of the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall.

It all clicked at once, like the pieces of a puzzle. The friends exchanged an excited glance. "Liberty Bell!" they cried at once.

"Okay!" said Riley excitedly, getting to his feet. "Let's go and tell the lovebirds!"

They practically ran to the store to share their discovery with Ben and Abigail. They found them at the cashier paying for their new clothes.

"Did you get it?" asked Ben, noticing their excitement right away.

"Oh we got it!" exclaimed Riley. "'The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow'. Now, 'Pass and Stow' of course referring to-"

"The Liberty Bell," they said in unison.

Riley sighed defeated. "Why do you have to do that?"

"Well John Pass and John Stow cast the bell," Abigail explained.

"Yeah John and John, always easy to remember," added Alex.

"Yeah, easy, always," he mumbled.

"'The vision to see the treasured past,'" Ben recited, deep in thought. "That must refer to a way to read the map."

"But I thought the cipher was the map," said Riley. This sure was a confusing process.

"No the cipher was a way to find the way to read the map," said Ben. "Confusing, I know."

"Yeah no kidding," his friend mumbled.

"And the way to read the map," continued Abigail. "Is found where the 'timely shadow' passes in front of the Liberty Bell."

"Crosses in front of the house of the Liberty Bell." Ben and Abigail were having an intense realization moment, seeming to have forgotten the two others standing there. "Independence Hall."

"So then 'timely shadow' must be a specific time," said Alex, breaking them apart.

"But what time?" asked Riley.

"Hmm, what time, what time?" Ben wondered aloud. "Oh wait! You're going to love this," he told Abigail. Alex knew what he was talking about.

"Excuse me," he said going over to the cashier. "Can I see one of those hundred-dollar bills I paid you with?"

She looked confused. "No."

"Oh, well, here I have this diver's watch," said Ben, removing his watch. "It's called a submariner, I dive with it. It's quite valuable, you can use it as collateral."

Still looking confused, the girl took the watch and handed him back the bill. "Thank you." Ben took it and turned back to Abigail. "On the back of a hundred-dollar bill there's an etching of Independence Hall based on a painting done in the 1780s - the artist was actually a friend of Benjamin Franklin's, it's wonderful!" he exclaimed.

Alex couldn't help but smile and shake her head. Ben was so cute when he was so excited about history. Abigail obviously thought so too, judging by the smile she was giving him. Yup, he had her smitten.

"Here, hold this." In his excitement he thoughtlessly passed Abigail the Declaration case. Realizing what he'd done he turned and looked at her.

She gave him a smile. "I'm not going anywhere," she assured him.

Smiling too, Ben continued. "Now, I think that if we look at this clock tower we may find the specific time." Taking a plastic water bottle he held it close to the bill, using it to magnify the image. The others crowded around and peered over his shoulder to try and catch a glimpse. He lowered the bottle, grinning. "2:22."

"What time is it now?" asked Abigail.

"Almost three," answered Alex, looking at her own watch.

The whole group sighed. "We missed it," said Abigail.

"No we didn't," piped up Riley. "We didn't miss it because-" Thinking he would be interrupted once again by his history-crazy friends Riley paused, but to his surprise, they didn't cut in. They only stared at him, awaiting what he had to say. "Wait, you don't know this?" he asked in disbelief. "I know something about history that you don't know?"

"I'd be very excited to learn about it Riley," Ben prompted him.

Riley, however, was basking in this rare moment. "Hold on, just a second. Let me just take in this moment. This is cool."

"Ri," tried Alex.

Still no luck. "Is this how you feel all the time?" Riley continued. "I mean, except for now, of course-"

"Riley!" snapped Abigail, finally getting through to him.

"All right," he said, matching his tone to hers. "What I know is that daylight savings wasn't established until World War One. So if it's three p.m. now, then that means in 1776 it would be two p.m." He watched as their faces all lit up.

"Good going Riley," Alex said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Riley, you're a genius," agreed Ben.

"Let's go!" cried Abigail, leading the way out of the store.

"Do you know who the first person to suggest daylight savings was?" Riley asked, hoping for a reaction like last time. He was answered by a chorus of "Benjamin Franklin!" He sighed. It had been worth a try.

(Haha, oh Riley! ;) there's another chapter! Hope you enjoyed it, thanks so much for reading!)