From a moment of normality in Brooke's basement, the young
Saturday Explorers found themselves being buffeted by wind
in the tunnel.
"Here, over here." called Cara as she clung to the frame of a large
pair of doors.
Nate, Brooke, Lewie and Clark pushed hard against the last panel
and saw Cara, looking even tinier next to the doors. As soon as the
group stood side by side, the wind subsided and all started talking
at once.
Nate exclaimed, "We were just at Brooke's house, weren't we?
Lewie and Clark shouted, "Is this how time travel feels?"
Brooke thought for a moment, "I'm not sure we traveled at all! Cara,
what were you thinking when you were being pulled into the tunnel?"
Cara hesitated, but then remembered, "I was so fascinated by the
"Portal of the Future" I had to step inside. But when I felt myself
being lifted up and away I was so scared that I thought and thought..."
Nate, exasperated, prodded, "And, and..."
Cara smiled, "I thought about a normal thing, about being at Brooke's
house for lego team." She looked at Lewie and Clarke. "And you were
there, too."
"And we were concentrating so hard on finding you, we locked right
into your thoughts," Brooke announced excitedly!
Nate pointed to the eye symbol panels that appeared on the walls,
"Now we are on to something. It's what Great-great Uncle Buck
was trying to tell me in the journals. With minds tuned in, anything
is possible," shouted Nate with a wave of his arm.
Brooke nodded, "Well, make it possible for us to get thru those doors,
for that seems a better choice than going back."
Lewie and Clark stared at the key pad, "Do you know any more entry
codes, Nate?"
"Only one, his great obsession," muttered Nate as he punched in
the reverse code, E-I-X-O-M.
With a resounding click, the doors opened, revealing a chamber that
glowed in soft light. Another console and screen greeted the Explorers,
Apparently activated by the code Nate had entered at the door,
images appeared as if suspended in air. Cara darted in first,
evidently not tamed by her previous experience, staring
in awe at the images.
Nate exclaimed, "It's like an old black and white movie, but there's
something futuristic about it also.
A voice boomed from seemingly everywhere in the room, "Well,
you've found it, Nate, my lad, the heart of the treasure."
All five sat on the long bench in front of what they thought was
a projection screen, crowding close together, not wanting to show fear.
"Is, is, Is he....here?' whispered Lewie and Clark.
Cara spoke up, gaining her bravado back, "Or is it virtual reality."
"More like late twentieth century technology," explained Nate!
"Is that Professor Buckster?" asked Brooke, as she studied the figure
that appeared out of the darkness. "And what is Moxie?"
The lights brightened and the images became brightly colored,
showing Professor Buckster with his gear, next to the illusionary Moxie.
"Now, you did it," shouted Nate. "You said the word!"
The figure of Great-great uncle Buck appeared to step from the screen
and cross the room to the artifact filled walls. Stopping next to shelves
of dark bottles, he lectured, "With great perseverance, and a lot of
luck, I came across a young man in the early 1950's who had ventured
back in time to 1876. Here on the wall, are the earliest samples of the
elixir of life that he shared with me. Take notes, young people, take
notes."
The Explorers quickly pulled notebooks and pens from their packs,
and started writing down the dates, their hands trembling, not
certain if it was the ghost of the Professor or a well-created virtual
image.
Continuing, the figure pointed to another display, "These are particularly
valuable, especially to Moxie historians, for they are the last cans produced
in the Boston Moxie plant in the mid 1950s."
He moved to a large graphic on the wall, "And even Moxie had its copiers,
particularly the famed Roxie, for which there was a fabled Quest.
But that's another story, one which some of you may have read.
Take note, take notes," he reminded shaking a finger at the group.
Lewie and Clark already had their eyes fixated on the next display,
photographs of a modified, vintage yellow Chevy. Lewie was about
to ask a question, but Clark nudged him, whispering, "He's not real,
he can't be. He can't answer you. It's all pre-programmed."
"Ahead of its time," continued the Professor, "this invention took
my friend both forward and back in time, making it possible for me
to meet with him two different times."
He continued down the wall, "My visits to historic sites in the states
of Massachusetts and Maine are a link to my adventures, which I will
leave it to my heir, Nathaniel, to further uncover the implications
to modern technology."
The five young people were writing quickly in their notebooks, not
wanting to displease the Professor, the virtual image or the ghost,
whichever he was.
"Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time here from now on, figuring
out all of Great Uncle Buck's clues.
Suddenly, the heavy doors opened and all the special effects in the
room dimmed. No Professor Buckster, no Moxie images, no lecture.
In the doorway stood a white-faced Mr. Grignon, "Nate, how clever
you are, finding the treasure so quickly. The Professor passed down
his instructions to me, but I thought it would take you years to
follow his clues and discover this hide-away."
"But now you need to come back to the classroom with me," he
announced seriously.
Realizing their adventure was on hold—indefinitely—the group
replaced their notebooks in their packs and retraced their steps,
this time uneventfully, the eye symbol subdued. They followed
Mr. Grignon, who somehow had a very quieting effect on
the rooms and hallways.
When they reached the main underground hallway with the Indian symbols,
carvings and paintings, they began to formulate a plan.
Cara spoke first, "You twins, write down your phone number and
give it to Brooke."
Brooke caught on, "And my Mom will call your Mom to see about
you joining the lego team."
Thinking of her Mom and Dad, Brooke knew she had to tell them
the whole story. "Do you think they'll let parents in the Explorers?"
Nate smiled, "Didn't you see the big sign at the information desk when
we came in. They are looking for adult volunteers!"
"That's good," exclaimed Brooke, "for I don't think they'd let me visit
Professor Buckster's labs again without them!"
Back in the classroom, the other Explorer's were looking at next
Saturday's schedule. Brooke, Nate, Cara, Lewie and Clark sat down
at a table, realizing they had not taken time to eat their lunch snack.
As they opened their backpacks and took out their sandwiches,
they each stared in disbelief at what they saw in their backpacks,
a now somewhat familiar orange can.
As they reached in to take out the vintage styled cans, they could
almost feel the touch of the Professor placing the Moxie in their
packs, undetected. Somehow they knew that a new chapter of
their lives had just opened, the heart of the treasure,
a mysterious exciting chapter.
Adding your comment:
It's funny that however Yem mentions Moxie so many times, he almost never write about it, and the few times writings he had he probably deleted after contests were over.
