Flying Treasure

By Sharon Brown Coogle

Three friends head out into the Alaska Bush to explore an abandoned gold mine. Their adventure turns into a nightmare when the old mine starts caving in. The story then goes back in time to earlier that same year in Anchorage, Alaska, where a young boy, Daniel, starts training one of his grandfather's homing pigeons to be in a race. He discovers that pigeons have special abilities and learns how they have been used in the past for communication. His pigeon, Streak, and Kayla, who gets lost while going for help, meet when they both take refuge under a big spruce tree during a storm. Kayla befriends the frightened bird and discovers a message capsule is attached to his leg. Could this little pigeon go for help? A wounded grizzly bear poses even more danger. How will the children get out of this dangerous situation? Something appears that had been hidden. The children learn that some treasures are not material things but are the life lessons learned by experiences; that prayer and trust in God are a real help and comfort in time of trouble, parents make rules to protect them, friendship is more important than gold, and that helping others is a rewarding experience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644713303

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9781644713303_cover.jpg

Flying Treasure

Sharon Brown Coogle

ISBN 978-1-64471-329-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64471-330-3 (Digital)

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Brown Coogle

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Synopsis

Introduction

Let’s Explore

Danger

Cave In

Many Trails

Daniel

Hatching Out

Streak Learns to Fly

First Long Flight

Hawk Attack—From Streak’s View

The Big Race

Lost

Streak’s Challenge

Mystery Note

Gold

Wounded

Bear Cub

Mama Bear

Rescuers

Ranger Mary

Reunited

Friends Forever

Kiviuq Gets a Home

A Medal for Streak

Notes

About the Author

Many thanks to friends who helped with input and encouragement: Pat Adkison, Mary Jones, Alice Martin, and Jim Novak.

Bible verses used in this work of fiction are taken from the Holy Bible New Living Translation, Copyright 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation

Synopsis

Three friends head out into the Alaskan Bush to explore an abandoned gold mine. Their adventure turns into a nightmare when the old mine starts caving in.

The story then goes back in time to earlier that same year in Anchorage, Alaska, where a young boy, Daniel, starts training one of his grandfather’s homing pigeons to be in a race. He discovers that pigeons have special abilities and learns how they have been used in the past for communication.

His pigeon, Streak, and Kayla, who gets lost while going for help, meet when they both take refuge under a big spruce tree during a storm.

Kayla befriends the frightened bird and discovers a message capsule is attached to his leg. Could this little pigeon go for help? A wounded grizzly bear poses even more danger. How will the children get out of this dangerous situation? Something appears that had been hidden.

The children learn that some treasures are not material things but are the life lessons learned by experiences; that prayer and trust in God are a real help and comfort in times of trouble; parents make rules to protect them; friendship is more important than gold; and that helping others is a rewarding experience.

Introduction

Crashing sounds, large beams, and rocks falling and rolling all around. Itchy eyes—sand was in them. Rubbing them only made it worse. Then sparkles from a rock nearby…could it be gold? Yes! With a hand outreached to grab at the sparkles, it was jerked back at the sound of growling just beyond sight.

Slowly, his eyes opened to awaken from the eerie dream. He looked around the room he was laying in. Strange gadgets were all around him, making beeping noises. After the darkness of the dream, the light in the room seemed as brilliant as the sun.

Footsteps, and then a smiling nurse leaned over the bed and asked, How are you feeling now? The doctor had to set your broken bone and put a cast on.

Then the scary events of the past day flooded back into his memory like a bucket of freezing water being poured onto his head.

Chapter 1

Let’s Explore

An icy wind was whistling through the golden leaves of the aspen trees as Hannah, an energetic eight-year-old, came running up the dirt road with her long, dark, curly hair blowing behind her in the autumn wind. The dirt road was steep, winding up the mountainside to the cabin where she lived. As she arrived, she found her neighbor, Kayla, sitting on the rail fence in front of her home.

We won the game! Hannah exclaimed as she gasped to catch her breath from the uphill run.

Way to go! said Ajay, who was sitting beside Kayla. He was visiting his grandparents, who lived a little further down the road. They had moved to Alaska from India many years ago, and Ajay had come to spend a year with them and to attend school in Alaska.

Full of curiosity, he was always ready to explore this amazing new place with the girls and his grandparents’ dog, Bandit. Ajay had just turned eleven years old and Kayla was ten.

I’m bored! Let’s explore inside that old gold mine that’s up on the mountainside today. Maybe we could find a gold nugget that the old miners missed. What a great souvenir to take back home, shouted Ajay, and without waiting for an answer from the girls, he began running across the field that led up to the trail to Bear Creek Mine. Bandit was running ahead of him, his shaggy brown coat waving with the wind as he ran. Ajay stopped to let the girls catch up with him.

Stop! shouted Hannah. I need to go back and get my phone out of my backpack. I left it by the fence.

Dad said we should never play around up there. It’s too dangerous. The mine was dug more than a hundred years ago, replied Kayla, taking large gasps of breath.

What could happen to us? It’s nothing but a big hole in the side of the mountain, exclaimed Ajay. His dark eyes sparkled with excitement. We will be back home in time for supper.

He made it sound so harmless and fun, Hannah completely forgot about retrieving her phone or the danger involved.

Bandit ran around and around them, excited to be out in the open, grassy meadows. It was as if he could feel the excitement of the adventure. Suddenly, he took off up the pathway, barking loudly, and the kids took off after him at a run. Ajay caught up with Bandit and held him by his collar.

Kayla scolded Ajay, You need to hang onto him or he will chase something all the way to the North Pole!

About a half an hour later, after walking what seemed like forever, they came to a fork in the pathway. One path crossed the path they were on and went off in opposite directions, while another path seemed to go back down the mountain at a different angle.

We need to keep going straight up, Ajay said. He could see the look of confusion on the girls’ faces.

On they walked until the overhead sun became warm on their backs.

Whew, this is a much steeper climb than it looked like from down below, exclaimed Hannah.