The Treasure of Easter Island (Geronimo Stilton #60) Read online

  the ancient traditions of

  Polynesia, which is where

  my courageous forefathers

  came from when they

  explored this new land.”

  It all sounded very, very

  familiar. But where had I

  heard it before?

  Vaitea’s words kept

  turning over and over in

  my head. Then suddenly

  it was like a light bulb

  Moai by

  the sea . . .

  Polynesia . . .

  Sacred

  ceremonies . . .

  Forefathers

  explored . . .

  Ancient

  traditions . . .

  went off. I had read those words before in

  my travel guide! I leafed through it until I

  found what I was looking for.

  “Listen to this!” I told the others, reading

  from the book. “‘Most of the moai on Easter

  Island look inward with their backs to the

  sea. But there is one group of seven

  moai that look toward the sea.’” I turned

  toward Vaitea eagerly. “Do you know

  where these seven moai are?”

  “Of course,” she replied

  immediately. “They are

  at AHU AKIVI. I can

  take you there right

  now if you wish.

  They represent the

  seven young explorers

  who left Polynesia to

  look for new land, and

  Listen to

  this!

  finally reached Easter Island.”

  Susie, Trap, Wild Willie, and I exchanged

  a look. We had solved the next CLUE!

  Vaitea turned the SUV onto a long dirt

  road full of potholes. Then we came to a

  STOP in a clearing. We quickly climbed

  out, eager with excitement. The four of

  us ran toward the summit of the small hill.

  At the top of the hill was a platform

  with seven moai standing in a row. The

  full moon bathed them with a silvery

  light, surrounding them with a halo of

  mystery.

  “These must be the Seven Young

  Explorers!” I whispered to Susie.

  What a sight!

  Here’s Ahu Akivi!

  AHU AKIVI

  Ahu Akivi is found inland instead

  of along the coast like the other

  ahu on Easter Island. It is also the

  only site where the moai look out

  toward the ocean.

  Vaitea noticed me and Susie whispering, and

  she studied us closely with her BRIGHT

  eyes.

  “Excuse me, I don’t mean to be rude, but

  I don’t think you’ve told me the truth

  about why you are here,” she began. “I have

  a feeling you’re not simply TOURISTS.”

  I looked at my friends. I was more than

  happy to tell Vaitea the truth, but I wasn’t

  sure what they were thinking.

  Susie smiled. “It’s okay with me if we tell

  her,” she said. “I trust Vaitea.”

  Wild Willie nodded. “Me, too.”

  “Hmpf!” Trap squeaked. “Well, I don’t

  want to tell her. I don’t want to share the

  the sIgh of the

  WInd

  treasure with anyone!”

  Susie gave Trap a

  STERN

  look.

  “Aren’t you ashamed of being so

  greedy?” she asked. “We’re searching

  for Thea, not the treasure!”

  “You might be searching for Thea, but

  I’m looking for the treasure,” Trap admitted

  with a shrug. He didn’t seem ashamed at

  all!

  Grrr . . .

  Please, let me

  explain . . .

  Hmm . . .

  The two of them began squabbling.

  Wild Willie had to pull them apart!

  “Three to one,” Willie told Trap. “The

  majority wins. Geronimo, explain

  everything to Vaitea!”

  “My sister, Thea, came here in search of a

  treasure

  , but she’s gone missing!” I told

  Vaitea. “She never returned home to New

  Mouse City. So now we’re looking for the

  same treasure

  in the hope of finding her!”

  Vaitea thought it over.

  “I’ll help!” she offered.

  Three warrior steps

  to the left . . .

  Seven gigantic steps

  to the right . . .

  Meanwhile, Trap was busy following the

  directions on the map. He had run in

  front of the seven moai and began counting

  in a LOUD voice.

  “Okay,” he squeaked. “The map says to

  take seven gigantic steps to the right, three

  warrior steps to the left, and one baby

  step forward . . .”

  He had just taken the baby step when his

  paw landed on something that looked like

  a plain old rock. But it wasn’t a rock. It was

  a hole!

  One baby step

  forward . . .

  Help!

  With a yelp, Trap fell into it — down,

  down, down!

  We ran toward the hole, but it was too

  late. My cousin had disappeared!

  Wild Willie TWIRLED his whiskers

  thoughtfully.

  “The riddle did say, ‘The Sigh of the

  Wind will take you far away,’” he said.

  “We’ve got to do something!” Susie

  squeaked.

  “Are you ready for an ADVENTURE?”

  Wild Willie shouted. “If you are, follow me!”

  He held out his

  paw

  to Susie, who

  held out her paw to me. In turn, I held out

  my paw to Vaitea. A moment later, Wild

  Willie jumped into the hole, taking the

  rest of us with him!

  MOLDY MOZZARELLA!

  How do I get

  myself into these messes?!

  I’m so scared!

  Let’s go!

  Are you

  ready for an

  adventure?

  We found ourselves inside a damp, dark

  underground tunnel. I was terrified! I

  couldn’t see a whisker!

  What’s more, there was a continuous

  rustling noise, as if a GIGANTIC creature

  was lying there, breathing in the dark. I

  let out a shriek of terror as we plummeted

  the bIg blAck

  bubble

  Argh!

  Where are we

  going?

  deeper and deeper into the underground

  passageway. We seemed to be traveling to the

  center of the Earth. A moment later, I

  was no longer sliding down the tunnel — I

  was

  floating

  in the air! The Sigh of the

  Wind was carrying us along!

  We floated along in the tunnel for a

  long time. Then instead of descending

  farther, we began to rise

  until the wind

  finally deposited us on FIRM ground. Trap

  had already emerged and was rubbing his

  Help!

  Ahhh!

  Ouch!

  Whoops!

  Your hat!

  We’re all

  here!

  BRUiSED tail. Wild Willie bounded out,

  but his hat remained floating in midair as

  if on top of an
invisible fountain. Willie

  grabbed it quickly and put it back on his

  head.

  I glanced around me and made sure

  everyone was okay.

  “Trap, Susie, Wild Willie, Vaitea, and

  me!” I squeaked. “All here!”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I looked

  around, taking in my surroundings.

  We found ourselves inside an enormouse

  cave with a rounded ceiling. It looked

  like a big, DARK bubble. There was a

  saltwater lagoon in the middle of the cave. I

  gently touched the wall: It was dark, porous

  volcanic rock.

  “The Big Black Bubble !”

  whispered Susie. “We found it!”

  This must be

  the Big Black

  Bubble!

  Yay! This is

  where the

  treasure is!

  This is

  volcanic

  rock!

  “This is where the treasure is!” Trap

  squeaked with excitement.

  Susie turned to him, an angry look on

  her snout.

  “No, this is where we might find Thea!”

  she corrected him. “How can you only think

  of the treasure? You should be ashamed

  of yourself!”

  Meanwhile, Wild Willie examined the

  map.

  “I checked our direction with the

  compass while we were traveling on

  the Sigh of the Wind,” he whispered. “We

  traveled underground in a SOUTHWEST

  direction.”

  “That means we’re now right under the

  Rano Kau CRATER!” Vaitea added.

  “We’re in the heart of a volcano. And this

  must be a secret underground lagoon.

  I’ve never seen it on any map, and I’ve been

  a guide on this island since I was a tiny

  mouselet!”

  PACIFIC OCEAN

  CHILEAN SEA

  Pukatikei

  Volcano

  Poike

  Ahu Tongariki

  Hotu-iti

  Oroi

  Vaihu

  Ahu Vinapu

  Orongo

  Mataveri

  International

  Airport

  Hanga Roa

  Ahu Akivi

  Rano Kau

  Volcano

  Terevaka

  Volcano

  We traveled underground

  from ahu akivi to the rano

  kau crater !

  As they were talking, Susie snapped some

  photos of Wild Willie checking the map. The

  camera’s flash lit the rocks behind us.

  At the same time, Trap sneezed. The

  sound bounced off the surrounding walls,

  ECHOING loudly.

  pIrAtes In the nIght

  Click!

  Achoo!

  A second later we heard a squeak. We

  weren’t alone in the cave! And the flash of

  the camera and the echo of the sneeze had

  revealed our presence to whoever else was

  there.

  Wild Willie motioned to us to keep quiet.

  Then he scampered behind some

  rocks and squatted down. We immediately

  followed his example. A moment later, we

  heard an unfriendly voice.

  “Search there, at the end of the cave,” the

  voice commanded. “And if you find anyone,

  bring them to me!”

  “Maybe somebody came looking for

  that nosy little mouse and the professor,”

  another voice replied.

  I shivered. Was

  “that nosy mouse” my

  sister, Thea? But who

  was the professor?

  “Let’s get back to the SHIP!”

  the first voice yelled. “We have to

  finish loading the treasure. We’ll leave

  tonight!”

  I’m

  scared!

  Uh-oh!

  “Yes, Captain,” the other

  rodent replied. “But what are

  we going do with our prisoners? They

  know EVERYTHING. We can’t leave

  them here!”

  My whiskers trembled with fear.

  “I’ll figure it out later,” grumbled the

  captain. “Now let’s go! Get the PRISONERS

  Yes, Captain!

  Let’s get back

  to the ship!

  and bring them to the ship. They may still

  be useful!”

  Someone was coming toward us, but Wild

  Willie signaled to us to follow him quietly.

  Afraid of being seen, we slithered across

  the cave floor on our elbows until we

  reached the shore of the lagoon, where we

  saw a giant PIRATE SHIP!

  The ship had a

  slim

  shape and a huge

  sail to better cruise the waves. It was

  completely black — including the sails —

  and I could see its name on the side:

  PHANTOM OF THE NIGHT.

  Susie pointed to something hanging from

  the tip of a rock, high above us. It was a

  giant cage! Inside was my sister, Thea,

  and Professor Von Dustyfur, a famouse

  ARCHAEOLOGIST who specializes

  in ancient treasures.

  The short, round

  pirate moved toward the

  cage. I was about to RUN

  over to save my sister and

  the professor when Wild

  Willie grabbed me by the tail.

  “Wait!” he whispered. “Just be

  quiet. Let’s see what happens.”

  The pirate lowered the

  CAGE using a pulley.

  Then he opened it,

  nudged my sister and

  the professor out of the

  cage, and tied their

  paws behind their

  backs. He left them

  behind a giant pile

  of CRATES.

  “Don’t move, got

  Prisoners,

  come to me!

  Argh!

  it?” he hissed. “The captain hasn’t decided

  what to do with you yet!”

  The other PIRATES loaded the crates

  onto the ship one at a time, arranging them

  neatly in the cargo compartment. As the

  pirates worked, the captain barked insults

  at his crew.

  “Hurry up or I’ll feed you to the SHARKS

  What will they

  do with us?

  We’re in

  trouble!

  for dinner!” he squeaked menacingly.

  Soon all the pirates had disappeared inside

  the ship, leaving Thea and the professor

  alone. I signaled to the others, and we

  crept quickly but quietly to their side.

  “Shhh! Thea, it’s me, Geronimo!” I

  whispered. “We came to save you!”

  Ugh!

  Move it!

  Hurry

  up!

  Thea’s eyes LIT UP when she saw me.

  Luckily, she and the professor remained

  silent. I picked up a SHARP sliver

  of rock and used it to saw through the ropes

  that bound their paws.

  “Follow me,” I whispered to them. “But

  don’t make a sound!”

  The pirates were busy preparing for their

  the treAsure of

  rApA nuI

  Thank you!

  Hooray!

  I’ll free you!

  departure, so they didn’t see us sneak

  away from the shi
p. We slipped behind some

  rocks out of the pirates’ view.

  “Thank you, Geronimo!” Thea said,

  hugging me affectionately. “I knew

  you’d come save me!”

  Professor Von Dustyfur also thanked me

  warmly. I introduced Susie, Trap, Wild

  Willie, and Vaitea.

  “I would never have been able to find you

  without their help,” I told Thea and the

  professor.

  “What are these PIRATES up to?” Willie

  asked, pointing to the ship.

  “Well, I came to the island and followed

  the instructions on the map, just like you,”

  Thea explained. “First I found the largest

  AHU with the fifteen moai, then the Great

  Water, then the Seven Young Explorers, and

  THEA’S ADVENTURE

  1

  2

  3

  4

  Thea arrived on Easter Island

  and searched for the precious

  treasure by following the

  directions on the map.

  She entered the Tunnel of

  the Sigh of the Wind . . .

  ... and she was captured

  by pirates! That’s when she

  met the professor, who had

  been their prisoner for many

  months.

  She came to the Big

  Black Bubble . . .

  finally the Big Black Bubble.”

  The rest of us leaned in, eager to hear

  what happened next.

  “Here, under the Big Black Bubble, I

  found the real treasure of Rapa Nui. But

  unfortunately, I also found these pirates,

  and I was captured. That’s when I

  met the professor. He was the pirates’

  HOSTAGE

  !”

  The professor sighed. “It’s true,” he

  explained. “They forced me to unearth

  many ancient treasures for them.”

  “Bingo!” Trap squeaked with excitement.

  “Tell us about the treasure of Rapa Nui. Is

  it a chest of GOLD coins? Or a heap of

  precious stones and pearls?”

  Susie elbowed him sharply.

  But Thea knew our cousin Trap too well.

  She just smiled at him.

  This is the

  treasure of