Free Cam Jansen and the Barking Treasure Mystery by David A. Adler Page B

not allowed.”
    “No,” Cam said. “You don’t understand. Little Treasure really isn’t in there!”
    The woman looked in her bag.
    She put her hand on her chest and sighed. “My treasure, my Little Treasure is gone!”

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    T here were tears in the woman’s eyes. She still held her hand to her chest and said, “I love my Little Treasure and she loves me.”
    Eric looked in the bag. Then he said, “Maybe she jumped out.”
    The woman took a tissue from her bag. She wiped her eyes. “No,” she said softly. “Little Treasure is a good dog. She would never jump out.”
    “Maybe she was frightened,” Cam said. “Boat rides can be scary.”
    “No,” the woman insisted. “She’s been on boats before. She loves boat rides.”
    Then the woman said in a loud, sure voice, “She was stolen. Someone reached into my bag and took her out. Lots of people see my Little Treasure and want her.”
    “We’ll tell Nancy,” Eric said. “She’ll announce that a dog is missing.”
    Cam said, “We’ll tell the captain.”
    “No,” the woman told them, and shook her head. “We won’t tell anyone. I snuck Little Treasure on board and I’ll find her. I’ll just walk around the boat and talk. When she hears my voice, she’ll run to me.”
    “And we’ll help you,” Eric said. “My friend Cam has a photographic memory. She’s good at finding things and solving mysteries.”
    “Good,” the woman said. She got up. “Let’s do it!”
    She walked to the open area of the boat and talked softly. It seemed that she was talking to herself.
    “Here I am, Little Treasure,” she said. “It’s me, Lila. Here I am, Little Treasure,” she said again. “It’s me, Lila.”
    Cam and Eric walked to the open area, too. Then Cam stopped. She closed her eyes and said, “Click.”
    “She’s wrong,” Eric whispered. “I’m sure no one stole her dog. It just ran off.”
    Cam said, “Click,” again.
    “We’re just lucky we’re on a boat,” Eric went on. “Little Treasure could not have gone very far.”
    “Let’s all wave,” Nancy announced, “to the two young women water-skiing past us on the starboard side.”
    Lots of people waved and the water-skiers waved back. But Cam just stood there, with her eyes still closed.
    Cam opened her eyes.

    She told Eric, “When we first saw her on the boat, she had her dog. Then, after she went to see the fireboat, it was gone. Someone in that crowd stole Little Treasure.”
    “That’s silly,” Eric said. “No one would steal a dog.”
    Cam shook her head and told Eric, “That woman looks rich. I think someone took Little Treasure and plans to send a note. I have your dog. If you want her back, you’ll have to pay a ransom, a lot of money. ”

Chapter Four
     
     
     
    “ I saw you,” Mabel Trent said, as she and Mrs. Shelton walked toward Cam and Eric. “And you didn’t wave.”
    “Eric and Cam are good children,” Mrs. Shelton told her. “Let them do what they want.”
    “But waving is fun,” Mabel Trent said. Then she waved to a woman wearing a large straw hat sitting by the rail.
    The woman looked at Mabel Trent, but she didn’t wave back.
    Mabel Trent waved again, this time with both her hands.
    The woman pushed the straw hat up, away from her eyes. She looked at Mabel Trent and shook her head.
    “Oh, my goodness,” Mabel Trent said very loudly. “Don’t you remember me?”

    Mabel Trent walked quickly to the woman, reached out, and grabbed her hand. She shook it and asked, “How are you? How are you?”
    The woman looked at Mabel Trent and said slowly, “I’m fine.”
    “Well, you look terrific,” Mabel Trent told her. “You look happy and healthy. You look just great!”
    “Do you think so? Do you really think so?” the woman asked.
    Mabel Trent nodded.
    The woman said, “Thank you.” She was smiling now.
    “And now,” Nancy announced, “look to the port side for a great view of the city’s skyline. Those of you