contained several clay dishes that were unbroken, as well as dishes made out of copper and silver. There were also several figurines and woodcarvings. The detail of the items was very good, with the colors bright and not at all faded, as they had not been exposed to sunlight or the elements for several centuries.
When Mara showed the second room to the rest of the group, they told Mara that she had discovered the greatest archaeological site in the whole southwest.
Mara insisted that her name not be mentioned when the discovery became public. She explained that she could do without more notoriety. Then, Mara added another request. “Since there is no way of knowing where the rest of this girl’s family or tribe is buried, could she please be buried with her descendents, the Hopi people? That way, she will finally be at peace.” The team agreed with Mara’s request.
The spirit of the girl pointed to a necklace that she was wearing and then pointed to Mara. Mara turned to Dr. Greathouse and said, “The maiden wants to give me her necklace.” The body was lying face down, so that nobody could see the necklace. Mara then proceeded to describe the necklace in detail as she looked at the spirit of the maiden.
Some of the workers photographed the body as they found it, and then carefully, turned the body over. Everyone was amazed to see the necklace that Mara had described to the tiniest detail.
After taking several photos of the necklace, the lead archaeologist from the university carefully removed the necklace from the skeleton and handed it to Mara.
“If you hadn’t told us where to find this cave, it might have been buried for a few more centuries,” he told Mara. “Keep this necklace with our eternal gratitude.”
As Mara put the necklace around her neck, the maiden smiled, bowed her head and then vanished.
Over the next few days, the artifacts were transported to a laboratory at the university in Flagstaff. Research later proved the artifacts to be between five hundred and a thousand years old. The seeds were very valuable, as they would provide information about the diets of the Anasazi Indians, and if they were allowed to grow, scientists could compare today’s plants to their ancestor plants.
The Indian maiden was buried in sacred Hopi burial grounds in a traditional ceremony. Mara was glad that she could finally rest in peace.
On the flight back to Los Angeles, Dr. Greathouse asked Mara why she insisted on going into the cave first. Mara hesitated, but then she told Dr. Greathouse about her recurrent dream of the cave-in. “Knowing that it might have been the cave from my dream, I couldn’t risk any other lives.”
“Mara, you are a very thoughtful and intelligent young woman,” said Dr. Greathouse. “I know that whatever career you choose for yourself, the world will be a better place because of your contributions. You are using your special gift to help others and not yourself. I am so proud of you.”
At the Los Angeles airport, Mara said goodbye to everyone and then got on another plane to take her home to Baltimore.
Several hours later, Mara met her parents at the Baltimore airport. Her mother noticed her new necklace and asked her where she got it.
“It’s a long story,” said Mara. “I’ll tell you all about it on the way home.”
As Mara related her latest adventure/mystery, her parents listened with eagerness. They had realized long ago, that their daughter was an amazing girl who was still able to amaze them from time to time.
After they returned home, they got ready for the Christmas Eve service at church. Later, during the service, as Mara stood in front of the manger, she said a special prayer for the soul of the Indian maiden, and then she said another prayer for all of the children around the world. Finally, Mara thanked God for her special gift that he had bestowed upon her, and asked that he help guide her to use it to help others in need.
Mara did not care if she got any gifts for Christmas. The look of happiness in the eyes of the Indian maiden and the smile on her face was more than enough gift for her.
The Mystery of the Old Cookbook
Mara was glad when school was out for the summer. It was another milestone in her life. She was no longer in elementary school. In the fall, she would be starting high school.
Both Scott and Betsy attended her graduation ceremony. Afterwards, they accompanied Mara and her family back to her house, where her parents threw her a graduation party. By that time, Mara and her parents had become used to Betsy’s Secret Service agents wherever she went. Since the incident in Hawaii, when Betsy ditched her Secret Service detail, the agents stuck to her like glue.
While Scott, Betsy and Mara would spend a lot of time together during the summer, the three of them would be apart for at least three weeks, when Mara and her parents were on vacation in the southwestern United States.
When Mara told her parents how beautiful Arizona was, they decided to visit Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada in June. Mara was especially excited about the vacation because they would have a guest with them.
Tony’s parents were taking a trip to Europe to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary and they asked Mara’s parents if Tony could stay with them in Baltimore while they were away. When Mara’s parents asked her if it was okay with her if Tony went on vacation with them, Mara said yes immediately.
Mara and her parents met Tony at the airport. After he picked up his luggage, the four of them headed to another gate, and a couple hours later, they were on their way to Reno, Nevada.
After landing in Reno, and picking up their luggage, they rented a car and drove to Virginia City, where they would spend the next five days.
Virginia City came into existence about the time silver was discovered, in the late 1840’s. The Comstock Lode was the biggest of the silver mines. At its peak, Virginia City was a bustling town in the old west, with many saloons, hotels and a general store.
Modern Virginia City was mainly a tourist attraction, with less than one thousand residents actually living there. It was Saturday afternoon when the Louis family and Tony arrived. They checked into a small bed and breakfast inn that had been remodeled to look like a boarding house from the 1800’s. As they began walking around the town, Mara and Tony discovered that the residents had tried to keep the town, looking like it had in its glory days, by restoring the buildings to their original condition.
One thing that Mara and Tony had in common was their fascination with history. When they visited the town museum, they were intrigued with all of the historical artifacts. One item that caught Mara’s eye was an old cookbook. The caretaker of the museum told Mara that she could look at it, if she was very careful.
As soon as Mara picked up the book, her mind became flooded with visions of the past. She saw an older man with a gray beard, cooking flapjacks and steaks, for a dining hall filled with miners and cowhands. The name “‘Big Mike’ O’Brien” came to Mara from out of nowhere. She also saw donkeys, shovels, picks and huge bins filled with rocks. She also saw several metal bars. Mara saw a floor made out of flat rocks pieced together.
As Mara opened the cookbook, she saw the name ‘Mike O’Brien’ written inside the cover. As Mara carefully turned the pages, she noticed that someone had made many notations in the margins of the pages. There were also some handwritten recipes in the back of the book. Mara took a notebook out of her purse and copied the notations as well as the handwritten recipes, as she sensed they were of importance to someone.
When Tony saw Mara with her notebook and pen, he asked her what she was doing. When she explained, Tony became very excited, because he knew that Mara was hot on the trail of a new mystery.
The next morning, Mara and her parents and Tony attended services at a Lutheran church located about ten miles outside of town. The church served several communities, including Virginia City. Mara noticed that there were several teenagers who were not with their parents. She also sensed that the pastor, known as Pastor Mike, was
a very dedicated and devoted pastor.
Mara read an announcement in the church bulletin that explained the possible closing of the youth center, unless they were able to raise enough money to pay the expenses. Mara learned that the youth center was a place that took in runaway teens, getting them off the streets. The center offered hot meals, a place to sleep and counseling services for the teens.
Pastor Mike had started the center fifteen years earlier and had helped hundreds of runaways to be reunited with their families.
After the service was over, Mara’s parents told Pastor Mike how much they had enjoyed the service. When Mara saw his nametag, she noticed that his last name was O’Brien. “Are you by any chance related to ‘Big Mike’ O’Brien?” she asked the pastor.
“Why, yes I am” replied Pastor Mike. “How do know about him?”
“We saw his name in the cookbook in the museum” said Mara.
“Big Mike was my great- great-great- great-great uncle” said Pastor Mike, “but, he wasn’t always a cook. He was a schoolteacher in New York, and came to Virginia City to strike it rich. Legend has it that he had a silver claim that was one of the richest in the area. After several attempted robberies and after several people tried to kill him, He supposedly hid all of his silver and then, with the little silver that