Jessie hadn’t joined the search, but it wasn’t because she was being unhelpful. She smiled and lifted up the hem of her T-shirt. Strapped against her waist was a thin travel wallet. It had been hidden under her shirt before. She unzipped it and reached in. Out came the holey dollar!
“Jessie, you knew?” Benny cried.
“That’s my grandniece!” said Aunt Jane.
“I put it in my kangaroo pouch before we went outside,” Jessie said with a grin. “I thought the dingoes getting out seemed a little strange—like something Anna Argent might do. So I took the coin with me to be safe. Just like a mother kangaroo!”
The Aldens let out a sigh of relief. Henry laughed and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Good thinking, Jessie,” he said.
“What a relief!” said Dr. Webb. He took the coin from Jessie when she handed it to him and put it in his pocket. “You know what? I just remembered something. Come with me.”
The children followed Dr. Webb back through the building to the front porch where the mailbox was. Dr. Webb opened the mailbox and took out an envelope.
“This came earlier today. It was addressed to the Aldens. I didn’t know who that was, so I left it here for the postal worker to take back to the post office. But you said your last name is Alden, right? In that case, it’s for you.”
Jessie accepted the envelope and opened it. Inside were four tickets and a note that said: Not owls this time, but penguins!
It was marked with the Reddimus logo and a hand-drawn cartoon of an owl and a penguin. Dr. Webb glimpsed the tickets and his eyes widened.
“Oh! Those look like tickets to the Melbourne Aquarium!” he said. “It’s a wonderful aquarium. I imagine you’ll enjoy it very much.”
“On to our next assignment, I guess!” Henry said. He turned to Dr. Webb. “I don’t think Anna Argent will come back for the coin once we’re gone. Still it’s probably best if you return it to the museum soon.”
“Yes, absolutely,” agreed Dr. Webb. “I’ll keep it safe. Now…which pocket did I put it in again?”
“The left pocket!” Benny said. He had been keeping a close eye on Dr. Webb.
“Oh yes! The left pocket. Left. I’ll remember this time.”
They said good-bye and thank you and walked back to the bus stop to wait for the bus. The sun was setting, turning the sky a pretty pink.
“It’s getting late,” said Violet. “Do you think the aquarium will be open by the time we get back to the city?”
Henry checked his watch. “No, you’re right. We’ll have to go to the aquarium tomorrow.”
“Good, because my feet are tired,” agreed Benny.
Jessie took out her cell phone. She didn’t have any service. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to get in touch with Trudy tonight to tell her our news,” she said.
“I saw a sign for a bed-and-breakfast not too far back down the road,” said Aunt Jane. “If you don’t mind walking just a little longer, we can head there and stay the night. Then we can go back to Melbourne and the aquarium in the morning.”
It wasn’t a long walk at all, and by the time they arrived at the quaint two-story home, they were ready for supper and a soft bed. Aunt Jane spoke with the owners and checked them into the rooms upstairs. Jessie called Emilio to explain the situation, and as the sun went down, they settled in for the night.
* * *
The next morning as they waited at the bus stop, Henry was especially cheerful.
“Henry, are you feeling better?” Aunt Jane asked.
“Yes, I’m glad we were able to return the holey dollar,” he said. “We only have two more boxes!”
“We’ll have the last two returned before we know it,” Jessie said, smiling at Benny and Violet.
“I’m excited to see the aquarium,” Benny said. “When we were on the boat to Kangaroo Island, I was thinking about all the fish that live out in the ocean. I want to see fish and sharks and whales!”
Henry chuckled. “I’m not sure there will be whales at the aquarium, but I’m sure we’ll see plenty of fish.”
The aquarium was a short walk from where the bus dropped off the Aldens in Melbourne. The building sat right next to the bay.
Aunt Jane’s phone rang, and she answered it.
“Hello? Oh, hello! Children, it’s your grandfather. He says hello! Listen, why don’t you run ahead and have fun at the aquarium. My feet are tired from walking all around Kangaroo Island and the dingo sanctuary, so I think I’ll rest out here for a minute and catch up with my brother.”
Aunt Jane looked relieved to sit on a bench near the water, so the children agreed to meet her in a couple of hours and went inside. After they showed their tickets, they explored the aquarium’s many tanks of colorful fish. There was even a tank exhibit so large they walked underneath it, in a long, clear hallway that let them look up at the fish swimming over their heads.
“Look, Benny, there’s a shark!” Violet said, pointing. There were a few sharks swimming gracefully in the water. They didn’t bother the other fish in the aquarium. All the fish seemed to get along with each other.
“It’s probably still too small to fit a whale in here,” Benny said. But he was happy to see all the fish and even a few sharks. They explored the fish aquariums for a while before seeing what other exhibits were available. One of the exhibits in particular caught Violet’s eye.
“Let’s go and see the penguins!” she said. There was a big display for the penguin exhibit, with photos of small penguins and one big emperor penguin. Everyone agreed seeing the penguins up close looked fun, so they followed the signs through the aquarium. The air got cooler as they got closer to the exhibit.
“It’s getting chilly!” Benny said. “They must keep it cold for the penguins.”
Henry nodded. “Most penguins come from cool places. They like it nice and brisk!”
The penguin enclosure was different from the other aquariums. Some of it was underwater, but some of it was above the water. Little penguins jumped off the rocks into the water. The exhibit was made of glass so visitors could see right into the water. Benny and Violet wandered ahead and watched the penguins swim around, darting through bubbles and then popping back up onto the rocks.
“It’s almost like they’re flying underwater,” Violet said.
“Because they can’t fly in the air like other birds,” Benny added. “I can’t pick what would be more fun: to fly through the water or fly through the clouds!”
The next area in the exhibit was for a different kind of penguin. They had fluffy yellow feathers on their faces. Benny laughed. “It looks like the penguin has bushy yellow eyebrows!” he said.
An employee standing near the exhibit heard Benny and smiled. “These are called royal penguins,” said the woman. “Do you want to take a guess why they have those funny yellow feathers on their faces?”
Benny thought for a moment.
“I don’t know. But it does make them look different!”
“That’s exactly right,” said the woman. “Those yellow feathers help the penguins recognize each other as the same species, even when they are swimming underwater. They’re called crests. Most birds have crests, like cardinals and cockatoos. But there is one species that does not…Do you know what kind?”
The woman looked eagerly at Benny and Violet. Then Violet noticed she was wearing a purple collared shirt.
Violet asked in a whisper, “Could it be…owls?”
The woman nodded. “I have a message for you from Tricia Silverton.”
She handed Violet an envelope as Jessie and Henry walked over.
“Thank you very much,” Violet said. She put the envelope in her pocket.
They finished looking through the rest of the penguin exhibit and then went outside to find Aunt Jane. She was reading a book on the bench and looking very happy.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked when she saw them.
“Yes, and we got our next clue,” Benny said. ??
?Also, I’m hungry! We left so early to get to the aquarium that we missed breakfast.”
“Then we had better find something to eat. It’s difficult to think on an empty stomach, isn’t it? I hear the aquarium’s cafeteria is pretty good. Shall we get brunch there?”
The cafeteria had a good menu, and, even better, an outdoor patio. They found a table with an umbrella and enjoyed croissants and orange juice looking out over the bay. While they ate, Violet opened the envelope. Everyone was eager to hear the clue to their next destination, where they hoped to return the sixth Reddimus artifact.
Inside there was a riddle that Violet read:
I was a rumor for hundreds of years,
And once I was found, I belonged to all.
If you are at my center, no matter where you turn,
You are always facing north.
I am full of birds of black and white, but most cannot fly.
The year I was first seen gives you what you need.
Then visit me to return what was taken.
“Black and white birds that can’t fly!” Benny exclaimed. “Sounds like penguins!”
“But we’re already here in Australia,” said Jessie. “Where else do penguins come from?”
Violet remembered what she had read while they had been enjoying the penguin exhibit. “The signs in the exhibit said penguins come from many places: Chile, Argentina, the Galapagos, and near the South Pole,” she said.
“South Pole,” Henry repeated. “Hmm. Listen to this part of the riddle: No matter where you turn, / You are always facing north. There’s only one place in the world where that could be true. Sounds like the South Pole to me!”
“Is the South Pole a city?” Benny asked. “Or a country?”
“It’s more like a geographic location,” Henry said. “But it is on the continent of Antarctica. Different countries have claimed land there, but there are still unclaimed areas.”
“That’s what the riddle could mean by And once I was found, I belonged to all,” Jessie said. “Yes, it sounds like the riddle is about Antarctica!”
“Then we just have to find out when it was first seen to get the code to the box,” Violet said. “And then we’re going to visit!”
“Brrr,” Benny said. “I bet it’s cold. Do people even live in Antarctica?”
Aunt Jane knew something about that. “Oh, yes, but no one lives there permanently,” she explained. “Mostly it’s scientists. Some explorers too.”
“I wonder what kind of thing could have been stolen from a place like that,” Henry said. “If there are explorers there, maybe they found something in their explorations, and that’s what’s in the box.”
“Either way, we’ll have to get really warm coats,” Benny decided.
They finished their meal and took a taxi back to the airport where they met Emilio and Mr. Ganert at the Reddimus jet. The two were playing chess. Both looked a little bored, but Mr. Ganert looked more annoyed that he was losing.
“Welcome back!” said Emilio. “Is that a clue in your hand there?”
“Yes,” Violet said. “We are going to Antarctica next.”
Emilio and Mr. Ganert shared matching frowns. Mr. Ganert shook his head.
“The Reddimus jet isn’t equipped to fly to Antarctica,” he said. “If that is the next destination, you’ll have to figure out some other way to get there.”
“Not equipped?” Henry asked.
“Mr. Ganert’s right,” Emilio replied. “It’s too small and doesn’t have the safety equipment. All flights to Antarctica must be equipped with cold-weather gear.”
This information was new to the Aldens. How were they going to get to Antarctica if the Reddimus jet couldn’t take them? So far it had been able to take them to every destination hidden in Tricia’s clues!
Emilio waved his hand. He wasn’t worried.
“I’m sure there is a way,” he told them. “We’ll leave the four of you alone to figure out what comes next. You’re clever kids, and I believe in you.”
Emilio and Mr. Ganert went to do an engine check on the plane.
“I didn’t know planes needed special equipment to go to Antarctica,” Benny said once they were alone.
“It’s because it’s so cold and far away,” Aunt Jane said. “In case of emergencies, it’s important that the planes are ready for it.”
“You sure know a lot about Antarctica, Aunt Jane,” said Henry. A smile had been growing on Aunt Jane’s face since they had mentioned Antarctica.
“Children, do you remember how Tricia mentioned I would be the perfect person to meet you for this part of your adventure?”
“Yes! Because you’re fun and like going to orchestra concerts!” Benny said.
“And you’re good at keeping secrets,” Violet added.
“Those things are true, but I think I understand now what she meant. You see, I have an old friend who is a historian. He works at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Ever since I started traveling, he’s been trying to get me to visit him. I never thought I would get the chance.”
“Your friend is a historian?” Henry said. “How many historians do you think work in Antarctica? There can’t be very many.”
“Could he be our contact?” Jessie asked.
Aunt Jane grinned and said, “There’s only one way to find out!”
The Mysterious Continent
While Aunt Jane used Jessie’s laptop to email her historian friend to ask about the best way to reach Antarctica, the children sat in a circle. Even if they got to Antarctica safely, they had other problems to solve.
“We still have to figure out when Antarctica was first sighted,” Jessie said. “That should give us the code to the box. Maybe whatever’s inside will give us a clue about where in Antarctica we’re supposed to take it.”
“And who to give it to,” Violet added with a nod.
Aunt Jane handed Jessie the laptop.
“I just got an email from Jasper. He told me the best way to get to Antarctica is from Christchurch, New Zealand. I’ll go tell those pilots about Christchurch. By the time we arrive, maybe we’ll have a better idea about where in Antarctica we’re headed.”
While Aunt Jane went outside to talk to the pilots, Jessie researched Antarctic exploration. After seeing some photos of explorers, Benny looked through some of the closets aboard the plane. There were coats, but nothing as warm and puffy as the ones the explorers were wearing in the pictures. The explorers even wore goggles and face masks to protect them from the freezing temperatures.
“This website says Antarctica’s lowest recorded temperature is almost one hundred and thirty degrees below zero,” Jessie said. “But it says that around this time of year, the average high is…sixty-five degrees below zero!”
“I can’t even imagine how cold that is!” Violet said, rubbing her arms. “Even though it’s summer here, I feel cold just thinking about Antarctica. Now I understand why only special planes can fly there.”
“I just want to wear a cool pair of goggles,” Benny said. He wished there were goggles in the Reddimus plane’s closets.
“You might get to, Benny. I think we’ll need special gear for this trip,” Henry said. “Jessie, did you find out about when Antarctica was first sighted?”
“Yes, I just did. It says Antarctica was first sighted in 1820.”
Henry took out the Reddimus box that contained the sixth artifact. He let Violet type in the code, and the box clicked open. Inside was an old food tin. In old-fashioned lettering on the cover was the word Biscuits.
“This looks like something we’d find in Grandfather’s attic,” Benny said. “What’s inside? It says Biscuits, but it doesn’t look like more than one biscuit could fit in there.”
“These are probably a different kind of biscuit,” Jessie said. “If this is what I think it is, then they’re more like crackers than the fluffy biscuits Mrs. McGregor makes. I’ll show you.”
Jessie brought up the web page she had been reading about Antarc
tic expeditions. She showed the others a picture of a biscuit eaten by explorers. It was flat and looked like a wafer or cracker.
“These biscuits were specially made for explorers who had to survive the climate of the Antarctic,” Jessie said. “They weren’t very tasty, but they had a special recipe that made them excellent to eat when you needed energy. And because they were flat, the explorers could carry many of them in a small space.”
“I wonder why an old biscuit tin could be valuable?” Violet wondered aloud.
“Maybe it’s valuable because there aren’t very many left,” Henry suggested. “Like the holey dollar.”
“Even if it is, I don’t know how this helps us get to Antarctica.” Jessie sighed. “We might be able to find out where it needs to be returned to, but that won’t help us get there. I think I’m going to try to give Trudy a call…maybe she’ll be up.”
The children gathered around Jessie’s laptop. They called Trudy on Skype. To their surprise, she answered.
“Jessie!” Trudy exclaimed. “Henry, Violet, and Benny too! Oh, it’s good to see your faces. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to return your calls. Things have become very…um…busy over here. How are things going for you all?”
“We returned the fifth artifact to Ned Webb, even though Anna Argent tried to stop us,” Jessie said. “And we’ve opened the box for the sixth artifact. But according to the clue we’ve gotten, we need to go to—”
“Antarctica!” Trudy finished Jessie’s sentence. “Of course. I knew you would be calling about that. Tricia left a message for you. Once you solve the riddle, you should know where to go…Also, I hear you have a very knowledgeable helper!”
“Yes, Aunt Jane knows a lot about Antarctica!” Violet said.” She even has a friend who lives there,” Benny added.
“Hmm. I have the feeling Tricia knew about that,” Trudy said with a little grin. “Now listen and write this down. It’s the clue to your destination. Are you ready?”
“We’re ready!” Jessie said.
Trudy cleared her throat and recited the riddle.