Thrill and Treasure

  

Canada.gif (5269 bytes)

CANADA

The Gold Series consists of three books:

Select one:  

  1. Gys og guld (Thrill and Treasure)
2. Indianerskatten (The Indian Treasure)
3. Ghost Town
The front covers are illustrated by Per Jorgensen, who has illustrated all the covers for the Danish Harry Potter books.
 

  1998

Gys og guld
(Thrill and Treasure), is set in Canada's native Indian community, with its exciting history and wild scenery.

Nicolai immediately accepts when he is given a ticket to Canada to spend the summer with a distant relative, 29‑year‑old Sam. Nicolai, who spends most of his time in front of his computer, first made contact with Sam and his wife over the Internet. When Nicolai first arrives in Canada, he is thus mostly interested in Sam's new games and computer programs, but he soon discovers that reality is far more exciting than all the computer games in the world.

In Sam's loft he finds an old suitcase containing a treasure map and a diary written in Danish in the 1870s by 15‑year‑old Ingeborg who emigrated with her parents. Before long, Sam and Nicolai are off on a treasure hunt, hoping that the map and the directions in the diary will enable them to find a gold ore that countless others have tried to locate over the past many years.

They get plenty of warnings, however, not least from Sam's wife, who is a native Indian, and from others who believe the gold to be cursed. Nicolai ‑ or Nickie as his new friends call him ‑ quickly discovers how difficult life can be in unfamiliar surroundings, not least when their provisions suddenly disappear. Had it not been for the native Indian girl, Beverly Bearpaw, all may well have been lost - life in the wilderness is radically different from the world found in computer games and films. It goes without saying that the shy Nicolai falls in love with the beautiful and spirited Beverly. Needless to say, he is also willing to grasp life outside cyberspace.

This is essentially an exciting book from beginning to end, not least because of the stories of treasure hunts and survival. There are dangerous outlaws who play dirty, and three days spent without food in the wilderness is a long time for a boy from such an affluent nation as Denmark. The description of life in the Indian reserve where Beverly lives is both a harsh critique of a society in decline that is plagued by alcohol abuse, and a moving portrayal of solidarity and respect for family values and traditions. The story of the gold hunt in the old diary blends beautifully with Nicolai’s adventures, and the portrayal of first love found both in Ingeborg's diary and the relationship between Nicolai and Beverly is sensitively rendered. The book also comprises an element of adventure traditionally found in storybooks, with strenuous hardships and the Wonderful days spent in the Indian village making the book a pertinent and very enjoyable read for a wide age range.
 

THRILL AND TREASURE by Charlotte Blay, 1998
 
Short summary, list of chapters and a full translation of chapter 10
 

Charlotte Blay has stayed with the Blackfoot Indians in Canada and tried gold panning in the Rocky Mountains. She is also an experienced horseback rider, and she is an excellent storyteller, so prepare yourself for a treat:
----

Nicolai is somewhat of a computer freak. On the Internet he finds Sam, a relative in Canada, and gets invited over for a summer holiday.

In the attic of the Canadian house, he finds a dairy and a map from 1870. The map and the dairy are leading Nicolai and Sam towards a goldmine, which Sam earlier has been looking for.

Sam´s wife; Sally, is a Blackfoot Indian, and she is dead set against looking for that goldmine, because accidents have always happened when somebody has tried to track down the mine. But Sam and Nicolai can simply not stand for the temptation, so they’re off and Sally’s fear will prove to be justified.

That’s all we can reveal hear, but it ends up being lucky, that Nicolai gets to know Beverly Bearspaw from the Blackfoot reserve - because real nature is sure different from the computer games Nicolai normally plays.
 

Chapters:

1.   Treasure map and girls

2.   Gold fever arising

3.   The curse

4.   The Blackfoot reserve.

5.   The rodeo horse

6.   A bunch of bandits

7.   Tales and mystery in the tipi

8.   Spirits in the sweat lodge           

9.   Mean faces around the fire

10. A furry monster

11. Alone in the wilderness

12. The world’s worst survivor

13. On the track

14. Pure gold

15. The avalanche

16. New adventures?
 

Chapter 10.

 

A furry monster.

 

They’re riding up through an enormous spruce forest, where black moss is hanging from the branches waving in the wind like hair of an Indian. The ground in the forest is soft and crunchy to ride on, and animal paths make it easier to get ahead. Nicolai is feeling safe by riding the brown horse, which walks slowly after the others without attempting any kind of a race.

  For a while they have been following a river, which has carved itself deep into the cliff and is rushing away deep down.

 - Are there any gold in that river? Nicolai shouts.

 - No, we have to get up to Red Deer River, says Bearspaw. - Do you remember that, Sam?

 - Sure, we used to pan a lot of gold there, says Sam. - Maybe that river leads to the mother load.

 - Mother load? Says Nicolai.

- Yeah, where the gold in the river comes from, says Bearspaw. - Gold doesn’t rain down from the blue sky, you know.

 - Well, now we’ve got the map. It shows, that the gold is much higher up in the mountains, says Sam.

  Late in the day they reach the Red Deer River. Bearspaw and Trapper agree on setting up camp.

- Lets get out the pans, shouts Sam.

  Nicolai does not have to be told twice, before he gets the gold pans pulled out of the saddlebacks and rushes down to the riverbank. He digs down deep with the shiny pan and lifts it up filled to the rim with sand and gravel. He starts to sift through the content with his hand.

  Sam is just about killing himself laughing. He grabs his pan and says:

 - Nick, you can’t scoop up the whole river in one mouthful. You pick up a small portion at a time and check it out.

  Sam takes some sand and gravel up from the riverbank. Just a little. He dips the pan into the surface of the water and moves it around in quiet circular movements. He is tilting the pan slightly, so a bit of water and sand runs out. He studies closely the material in the pan.

 - Gold is much heavier than sand and gravel and water, he explains. - The gold will always be left behind, when the other stuff has been washed out.

 - Is there any gold in the pan? Nicolai wants to know.

 - Patience, Nick. You’ve got to be patient, when you’re looking for gold.

  Again Sam grabs some gravel with the pan and starts washing it with slow rotating movements.

  Now Nicolai is taking very little material in the pan. He washes it slowly in the water until there’s only a little sand and gravel left. Is there something? Man, he would like to have some gold nuggets in his pan. He has been dreaming about this for the last week. But there is none. After the first ten pans there is still only sand and small stones.

 - Are you sure there's gold in this river, Nicolai is asking.

 - Didn’t I tell you to be patient, Nick. Now see what I’ve got in my pan.

  Sam walks over with his pan and points towards the edge. A tiny gold piece is sparkling in the evening sun. It's no bigger than the size of a grain of rice.

 - Boy, it’s small, says Nicolai and feels somewhat disappointed. - Are they always that small, Sam?

 - No way, somebody has found gold nuggets the size of walnuts; he says and grabs a pair of tweezers and a small medicine bottle. He carefully lifts the gold piece over in the glass with the tweezers.

 - I have seen some big gold nuggets in the movies, says Nicolai.

 - And I have heard of one guy, who found nuggets as big as a man's fist, shouts Cowboy, who has come down to fill the pot with water.

 - Sure, Sam laughs.

  Cowboy walks up to the tent, where Trapper is busy getting a fire going. The two dogs are right behind them.

 - Aren’t you going to try to wash gold, Nicolai shouts after Cowboy.

 - No way. We are waiting until we reach the mine. Then we will be busy digging.

  Sam and Nicolai are mowing slowly up the river while washing for gold. The slow circular movements are relaxing Nicolai. They are jumping on the rocks at the shore, and from time to time they have to step over or crawl under some of the fallen spruce trees, which are lying out in the river. Nicolai manages to slide of a rock, so his feet in the runners get soaking wet, but who cares, when there’s gold in the river.

  The course caw of a crow irritates Nicolais eardrums. He sees the black bird land in a treetop over on the other shore. And there, out in the deep rushing water is a brown fur-bearing animal swimming by.

 - Hi Sam, there’s a beaver, he says quietly.

 - No sir, that’s an otter, says Sam. - It’s out fishing.

  Sam follows the animal closely, until its head disappears between the whirling current and the rocks further down the river.

 - Have you seen that Whisky Jack, asks Sam.

 - What kind of Jack?

 - The bird over on that rock.

  Nicolai sees a grey white bird with a pointed beak.

 - Hi, Whisky Jack, he laughs. And there comes another. They are sitting there watching him curiously, while he is circling the pan, Circles and circles. And just as he is thinking of everything other than gold, he sees a twinkle in the dark sand in the bottom of the pan. He stares at it, and it is not only one, but two little pieces of gold.

  A jubilant scream flies out of his mouth. And then follows the words:

 - GOLD! GOLD!

  It echoes between the trees, and Sam comes running down. And the other two are coming up alongside the riverbank all the way from the camp.

 - I’ve found gold; he says a bit more quiet. - See for yourself.

  He hands the washing pan over to the others and Cowboy says:

 - I can’t see a thing.

  But Sam takes out the medicine glass and lifts the two little gold pieces down with the tweezers.

 - Wow, there are even two of them, eh´ Nick. Your first gold, kid, how does it feel?

 - Darn good. But those two are mine.

 - It stays in the family, Nick.

 

That night the sounds of nature enter the tent and awaken Nicolai. It’s howling outside. And this time it is probably not an owl. It sounds much longer and almost moaning:

 - Uuuuuuuuuuuh. Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

  There is hardly any doubt, that it's a wolf this time. Nicolai has several times heard that sound in the movies.

  And now some scratching and tiny squeaky sounds can be heard. A wet nose is finding its way in under the tent canvas and hit his hand. Oof. Nicolai shivers. Some kind of animal is on its way in. It is whimpering, while it forces its way under the tent, and now he recognizes the dog.

 - Holy smokes, is it you Prince. You are perhaps scared of the big bad wolf. Come in here under the blankets. Nicolai is letting the dog creep in close to him. He embraces the dog with a protective arm and feels the warmth from the animal. It is comforting to be two, when wolfs are howling outside.

 

The next day they are riding so high up in the mountains, that they just about can reach the clouds, which are drifting like fog between the enormous snow-covered mountains. Her in the pass, where they are going to cross the mountain, there are still snowdrifts, and it is muddy and wet from the melted snow, even though the sun is baking and trying to steam away the clouds. The horses are slogging undisturbed along and are not letting the rocks or the numerous fallen spruce trees stop them.

They struggle around the windfalls and through the dense bush of spruce, so the men get scratches all over. They are following a path, which is fairly well overgrown. An old Indian transport path for tepees and trading supplies, says Cowboy. He is riding in front now. The eagle feathers are waving in his black hat.

  Suddenly they see him lifting the hunting rifle to the chin and taking aim. In the dense spruce two animals are standing. It is a moose cow with its calf. They are both staring full of surprise at the men and the horses coming up through the forest.

 - Don’t shoot, Cowboy, says Bearspaw.

  That’s enough for the two moose to disappear between the tree trunks.

 - You idiot, Cowboy yells. - There was food for several days.

 - As if we had time to butcher them and do the carving, says Trapper.

  Cowboy is lowering his rifle and rides on.

 

Sam pulls out the map and studies it, while his horse is standing still eating a twining plant that has found a little spruce tree to wind round.

 -We are on the map now, he says. - In a little while we will be riding through the Crows Nest pass. On the other side we will meet Highwood River. Further up there’s a waterfall.

  The river turns out to be wide and is roaring turbulently. Nevertheless Nicolai feels tempted to pan for gold. He is convinced, that the river is full of gold nuggets.

 - Can’t we spend a little time panning for gold at this river, he suggests.

  Sneering protests are heard from Trapper and Cowboy.

 - If you want to settle for the trifles that the river can give you, then go right ahead. - We are busy tracking down the big load.

  Oh well, that made sense to him.

 

The rest of the day they follow Highwood River, and when Bearspaw is suggesting stopping for the day, Trapper explains that he would like to carry on to the waterfall.

  The moon is hanging almost full over the mountaintops towards west. It is only missing a little bit in the right-hand side.

 - It is stupid, that we have to set up the tent so late, complains Sam.

 - We are not going to set up tent to night, says Trapper. And his voice sounds so firm, that neither Sam nor the others are asking any questions.

  The waterfall, looking like a showering blanket of silver in the moonlight, is rising up towards a shelf in the rock. The last distance alongside the river they have been walking with the horses in the reins on a stony animal path a short distance away from the river. Trapper shows them an area with a bit of grass, where they can tie the horses.

 - Bring your blankets along, he says and starts to climb with his blanket roll under one arm and a kerosene lamp swinging from the two fingers in his hand stump

  Over the falls a rock shelf is stretching in under the mountain. That's where Trapper disappears.

 - Where the devil did he go to, asks Cowboy.

  They are working their way up, and in the dusk they see the entrance to a cave. The flickering light from the kerosene lamp shows them, that the cave is not that high.

  Nicolai is tightening his grip on the sleeping bag under his arm. He is feeling a strange fear in his stomach. It is like he senses, that there is danger in there.

  None of them can stand upright in the cave, but it seems to be quite deep. The darkness disappears forever over there.

  And just as the men and the dogs have lied down in the blankets, Prince gets up and disappears with a gentle growling into the dark deepness.

  The light from the lamp is creating shadowy figures on the raw rock ceiling, and from the outside comes the constant roaring from the waterfall. Nicolai is lying uncomfortably and can’t get rid of the thought that some kind of danger is lurking in the darkness. And he hears a voice inside his head saying:

 - Be aware of the cave at the waterfall.

  A terrible growling suddenly comes out of the darkness. Good god, what is happening?

 -Prince, come here, Sam shouts.

  But the dog has disappeared in the dark. Now it starts barking like mad.

 - What in the world is making the dog so crazy? Says Sam and gets up and walks bend over forward into the darkness.

 - No, don’t go in there, Sam, yells Nicolai.

  But Sam has already disappeared in the dark. Prince is barking furiously. And now they can hear Sam. He roars of fear and pain.

-  God damn it, it is the mad man who has woken up, mumbles Trapper. - I thought he went up in the mountains a long time ago. He grabs the kerosene lamp and crawls in on all four towards the darkness, where Sam now yells like he is about to be killed. And they hear the terrible sound from a furious animal roaring. When the lamp shines into the cave they can barely see the shape of a furry monster. A huge bear it is. It is standing on its hind legs and lashes out after Sam, who desperately tries to defend himself with his arms. It is wrestling him, squeezing his body and biting him in the shoulder with the long teeth. Punching him with the paw so the claws is ripping his clothes. Prince and Bastard is growling and barking and are jumping around snapping the bear in the legs. The big animal is frowning between the teeth and throws Sam a punch, so he falls to the ground.

  Nicolai hears a shot. And one more. It echoes in the half dark cave, and the bear bends down on all four and tumbles out. Trapper is being thrown to the ground, so the kerosene lamp tumbles toward the rock floor and shatters. The cave is pitch dark.

The roaring of the bear and the barking of the dogs can still be heard outside the cave. Then everything gets quiet. All too quiet.
 


Canada.gif (5269 bytes)

CANADA

 


The Indian Treasure


Original Title: Indianerskatten

Join in the Gold Fever! Nicolai is in Canada with the Black Foot Indian girl Bever!y. She has come across a secret letter and a map that reveals the position of the gold. The letter origins from a descendant of a gold digger called Slummok Crowclaw, who back then was hanged for the murder of a young woman. Rumour has it that he took seven women to the place where he was digging for gold and killed them one by one. One year has passed since Nicolai saw the divinely beautiful Beverly for the first time, one year since their last journey up the mountains searching for gold; And now he has returned. Looking for more gold and especially for more adventures. . .

Young Adult fiction, Gyldendal
272 pages
Ages: 10+
 


 

 


Ghost Town


Original Title:
Ghost Town

Nicolai and Beverley are in Canada to seach for gold. Rumor has it that one can find a deserted gold digger town by thename of Ghost Town somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. But Nicolai and Beverley are not the only ones with an interest in the old ghost town.

Young Adult, Gyldendal
275 pages
Ages: 13+