from some kind of brush,” Dink said.
“I saw a lot of paint cans in the barn, and there are a bunch of brusheshanging on the wall,” Ruth Rose said. “We could try there.”
“But what about this
M
?” Josh asked, tapping his card.
“Maybe the brushes have labels,” Dink suggested. “We might find an
M
on a label.”
“It’s worth a look,” Josh said. The kids ran to the barn and peered in. A few other kids were in there, searching through stuff.
“Any luck?” one of Ruth Rose’s cabinmates asked.
“We found two,” Ruth Rose said.
“Cool!” the girl answered. “Some of the boys in Bear Cabin have found four already!”
Josh stood on a box and examined the row of upside-down paintbrushes. Some of the brush handles had labels, but none of the labels had an
M
. And the hairs on his card didn’t matchany of the brush bristles.
“What about some other kind of brush?” Dink said, studying Josh’s clue card. “My dad used to have a shaving brush made of badger hairs. I wonder if Mario uses one.”
The kids raced to the kitchen. They found Mario stirring a big pot.
“How’s your treasure hunt going?” he asked.
“We found two, but we’re having a hard time with this one,” Josh said. He showed Mario the
M
on his card and the hairs on the back.
“Um, do you have a shaving brush like this?” Dink asked.
Mario glanced at the card. “Nope. I use an electric razor,” he said.
“Well, thanks anyway,” Josh said.
The kids sat on the steps facing the barn.
“Guys, we’re stupid!” Dink said allof a sudden. “
M
is for
moose
, and there’s a moose head over the fireplace in the dining room. I’ll bet these are moose hairs!”
The kids raced through the kitchen and into the dining room. Mademoiselle Musée was gone. The small painting she had shown them was on the table, partly cleaned. Now they could see a row of trees and some clouds.
“How do I get up there to Mr. Moose?” Josh asked.
“I’ll see if Mario has a stepladder,” Ruth Rose said. She scampered back toward the kitchen.
There were framed photographs, vases, and other small objects on the mantel below the moose head. Josh began looking under or inside each one.
Dink peeked into the great room to see if Mademoiselle was there. She was not, but Dink noticed several framed paintings stacked on a sofa. He could only see the top one, a picture of some Native Americans walking along a path near a river. To Dink, the picture looked freshly cleaned. He assumed Mademoiselle Musée had put these here to be rehung on the walls of the great room.
“Got one,” Ruth Rose said, carrying a metal stepladder over to Josh.
He climbed on it and held his card up to the hairs on the moose’s face and beard.
“The color looks right, but the moose hairs are thicker than these,” Josh said. He tugged a few hairs from the moose head.
He came down off the ladder. “See,” he said, holding the moose hairs next to those on his card. “Mine are thinner.”
“How about artist’s paintbrushes?” Ruth Rose said. “Some of my grandmother’s brushes have hairs that look like the ones on Josh’s card.”
“Maybe,” Josh said. “And this
M
could stand for
Mademoiselle Musée
. She has some brushes in her trunk.”
“Yeah, but she wouldn’t want us messing with them,” Dink said.
Josh walked over to Mademoiselle Musée’s trunk, and Dink followed him. There were faded labels on the sides and top. One of the labels said PROPERTY OF MURN THE MAGICIAN .
“Who’s Murn?” Josh asked.
“Maybe Mademoiselle Musée got the trunk from a magician,” Dink said. “He could’ve kept all his magic stuff inside, like she does with her cleaning things.”
The upright trunk was closed. On the left side, there were three latches that held the lid shut.
“Should we open it?” Ruth Rose asked, standing next to Josh. “We wouldn’t touch anything, just look for the map piece, right?”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything to