Written by Koby Sandvold and Tony Peyton

Jared Dwayne was a new kid in Coldstream. His family had just moved onto a ranch in the Coldstream Valley, just east of Vernon. It was a nice looking place for sure. He could imagine riding his quad up the hills and riding horses and stuff but still he didn’t know anybody. Everything and everybody he’d known was back in Kelowna. This was going to be a problem.

“Hello.” It was a young girl and she was pretty, “I’m Bertha, Bertha Samson. I live just over there.”

Well, Hi” Jared said. He was glad for the company but he didn’t know what to say, “We just moved in, we’re from Kelowna.”

“Oh. Do you like it?”

“Only been here a day or two.” Jared wanted to kick himself. She was just being nice and she might think he was being rude.

“Well, I’m sure glad you’re here.” she said with a big smile, “Now I can have a friend to play with. How old are you anyway?”

“I’m ten” he said, trying to sound as old as he could, “Me too” and there was that smile again.

“Hey, you want to know a secret” Bertha lowered her voice as though she didn’t want anyone else to hear.

“Sure!” Jared didn’t hold back. This could be good.

“Well, you can’t tell anyone. Promise?!”

“Promise. Tell me the secret.”

Bertha began.

“People say there is a treasure buried on the mountain up behind your ranch. They say a man called George Vernon buried a big strongbox and left clues so it could be found. That was back in 1865, about a hundred and fifty years ago.”

“George Vernon? Is that who the city of Vernon is named after?” 

Bertha stopped for a second, “Hmmm, that’s a good question. Maybe he is.”

“What happened to the treasure?” Jared’s eyes were lit up. This whole secret thing Bertha had told him was totally exciting.

“No one has ever found it, and George Vernon died before he told anyone.” she said, “Wanna search for it with me?”

Jared couldn’t say ‘’Yessssss!” fast enough.

Berta turned to Jared, “People say he left a lot of clues but I haven’t been able to find any.”

Jared says, “Well that’s where we should start.”

All of a sudden she looked a little scared, “Oh, maybe that’s a bad idea.” she said.

“What are you afraid of Bertha? Come on. Don’t be a chicken.”

“It could be dangerous. People say men have died trying to find it.”

Jared loved figuring things out and he wasn’t about to be put off now. This was going to be a great adventure. 

“Want something to eat Bertha?” Jared thought maybe that would make Bertha feel better. And it seemed to work.

“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Aaaaaaahhhhhhh! Anytime.”

A few minutes later they were sitting around the table in the kitchen. There were boxes everywhere because Jared’s family had just moved in and they were stacked all over the place.

Jared’s mum came into the room.

“Mum, this is my new friend Bertha. She lives next door. She’s ten.”

“Hello Bertha, how nice to meet you. What are you two up to then?”

Bertha and Jared both spoke at the same time, 

“North Hhhhiiii Nnng!” And they looked over at each other and laughed.

It was the kind of ‘nothing’ that every parent knows means ‘Something’.

Jared asked his mum for his favorite sandwich. Bertha said, “What’s your favorite?”

“Ham with bacon, and mayo, ketchup and mustard. Ummm, I love that.” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Bertha looked horrified.

“Are you okay?”

“For sure. Why?” Jared asked.

“I’m a vegetarian and that sandwich sounds disgusting.”

They both laughed.  With a smile Jared’s mum put down a plate of peanut butter and jam sandwiches.”

“Want some bacon with your P and J  Bertha?”

And he laughed some more. Bertha did not look amused.

After lunch they packed a snack for later and took off up toward the hill behind the house. When they got to the big barn in back of the main house Bertha put her hand on Jared’s arm, which he kind of liked,

‘Let’s start here. Maybe he hid some clues in the barn.”

Bertha took him to the barn which had a sign on it ‘1865’.

“That could be something Bertha.”

“Like what?” she said.

“Like it could be one thousand eight hundred sixty feet away from the barn.”

Bertha looked up, “How do you know this stuff?”

Jared liked it when she said stuff like that, “Got a big brain I guess.”

Jared said, “Okay let’s go. We’ll have to walk it.”

Bertha looked up, “This is great I am so going to beat my sister in steps on my Fitbit.” And she laughed.

They spent the rest of the day, until dark, walking one thousand eight hundred sixty five steps in every direction. 

Jared says, ‘You know we should be counting in meters.”

Bertha said, “Heck No, this is hard enough already.”

They were tired and headed home for dinner.

“Hey Bertha , I got an idea. I remember seeing something on the wall, in the painting. I want to check it out before dinner.”

A few minutes later they were back inside the barn looking at a faded painting in the dim light.