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Hideaway Times | Map Magic | The Trackers | Treasure Trove | Newspaper Activities | Quest Tips |
Half-Moon Hideaway
At the very top of the Inlet house is an attic, the Trackers’ official clubhouse. When Zack first opened the creaky door at the top of the stairs and discovered the long, dark room on the other side, he knew it was perfect for them to use. It was private, and there were shelves along the wall for their tools and supplies: maps, globes, binoculars, flashlights, a tape recorder, a television, a chalkboard and many books and newspapers for doing research.
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Since the Trackers had a lot of work to do to get the room in shape, they took on their first mission: Operation Clean-Up. Zack dusted. Ethan swept. Ally hung up two old pictures she found propped against the wall in a corner. Ethan and Ally pried open an antique trunk and discovered some back copies of The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
"Back copies," Ally explained, "means that the newspapers are from past dates."
The Trackers decided the newspapers would make good resources for tracking clues, so they organized them by date and placed them beside their books on the shelves that ran along one wall.
As Zack was cleaning, he found out what was making the room so dark. An old blanket had been slung over the window on the far wall. After pulling down the blanket, sunlight streamed into the attic. Looking out the window, the kids could see the ocean.
"Hey!" Ethan exclaimed. "This is that half-circle window at the top of the house, the one you can see from the driveway. Look, you can see the lighthouse from here!" After cleaning the window until it was crystal clear, the group turned to face their clubhouse. Ethan pointed to the wall opposite the window. The light shining through the semicircle window formed a shape on the wall.
"It looks like a half-moon. We’ll call the clubhouse Half-Moon Hideaway!" Zack exclaimed. "Best of all, no one will know about it except the Trackers!" Ethan and Ally liked the name. Half-Moon Hideaway was established.
The elevator came in handy for hauling an old sofa from the basement to the second floor. Niki helped carry it from there up to the attic. That’s when everyone decided to make Niki an honorary member of the Trackers, since she knew about the Hideaway. Niki positioned the couch to face a bulletin board on the opposite wall. Then, they all pushed the newspaper trunk to the center of the room in front of the couch, to serve as a table. As a finishing touch, Lauren donated a chair from her bedroom and it was placed at one end of the trunk.
Three of the Trackers stood back and smiled with approval at their new clubhouse. Now…something was missing. What was it? Oh yes—Lauren! How was the club’s leader going to get up to Half-Moon Hideaway? The elevator did not run all the way up to the attic. This was the next job for the team. The Trackers couldn’t even ask Mr. Lambert for help, because he was away. The Trackers found themselves in quite a jam.
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