Lawrence Looks for Treasure

Part 2 - Chapter 36

'Not this hand,' I tossed my cards away.

'Maybe next?' Max smiled, taking my cards and shuffling. 'Wanna hear a joke?'

'Sure, Max.'

'How do you know a Frenchman's been in your bedroom?' He asked.

'I dunno, how?'

'His underwear's there, but your dog is missing.' Max answered.

I tried to look offended, but we used to tell far worse ones when we were kids.

'You still curious why I biked all the way here, Max?' I asked, as he dealt the next hand.

'Yeah,' he said, looking at his cards. 'I raise 25 cents.'

I looked at my cards. Still nuthin.

'I fold,' I said. 'Well, Max. This sounds kind of crazy, but hear me out, okay? Did you know there's buried treasure, just a couple kilometers from here?'

'You mean the Iroquois gold Bella Tessio found?' He asked, dealing a third hand.

'Exactly!' I said, 'but not quite.' The new cards hadn't helped me.

'I raise 50 cents,' Max said.

I folded.

'Listen, Max. Bella found the gold in these big wooden boxes, with a carving in the middle. I found a box just like that on Snake Island, the summer I got kicked out. I meant to explore it, but I never got the chance. No one ever goes up to Snake Island. I bet the treasure's still buried there. We could get it, Max. Come with me. I'll give you a quarter of whatever we find. That could be worth millions, Max.'

'Snake Island? I dunno, man. I could get in a lot of trouble. It's not Camp property. It's off limits. The last person to go was you, and you got kicked out for it . . . Even if I wanted to go, I couldn't. I still need to drive the laundry to town. I'm already a day late because of you.'

'Think of the money, Max!' I replied. 'Do you have any idea the value of that gold? They've found millions of dollars' worth. Besides, we won't get caught. In fact, your laundry van would be the perfect way to get that treasure out of here.'

'Isn't that stealing?'

'No, Snake Island isn't owned by anybody.' I said. 'It's a free for all, Max. Whatever we find, we keep.'

'I dunno, Lawrence. What'd Ema and the guys think?'

'They, uh, thought it was a great idea. They just had to leave for, um, personal reasons.'

'Let me think about it,' Max said. 'Snake island—sheesh. Dangerous place.'

'Take or leave it. I couldn't care. Let's play some cards, huh?'

Max dealt another hand, and then another and then another. After a half hour or so, Max had me covered by quite a bit. I just wasn't getting the cards. Wait and the cards would come, I reflected. The poker gods reward patience.

'What're you doing after high school, Max?' I asked.

'I'm going to Sardinia.' Sardinia was our local vocational school. A reputable one, to be sure, but something I considered beneath me. I would sell hamburgers before going to Sardinia.

'Oh, congrats man.' I said. 'For what program?'

'Advertisement and design.' Max had been drawing all his life. He made these corny little comic books. They were drawn well. Not very appealing intellectually. But drawn well.

'What do you want to do with that?' I asked.

'I dunno, maybe draw shit for companies. What is this, an interrogation?' He laughed. 'Any idea what you're gonna do after high school?'