by Jean Fischer
“I’m heading over there to see what’s going on,” Sydney said. “Watch me.” She gave the binoculars to Elizabeth.
Sydney walked like a soldier, steadfast and straight, toward Rusty and Moose. She slowed her pace as she neared them. Then she stopped, turned her back to them, and pretended to look across the harbor. Rusty and Moose were so excited about the box that they didn’t seem to notice her.
“Handle it real careful, Rusty,” Moose was saying. “We don’t need accidents.”
Rusty opened the lid of the box and peeked inside. Just then, an enormous explosion rocked the ground and rumbled across the water. Sydney nearly jumped out of her boots.
“What time is it?” Rusty asked Moose.
What time is it? Sydney thought. Something just exploded inside the fort, and you’re wondering what time it is?
She turned around just long enough to see Rusty close the box and carefully place it in the backpack.
“It’s 4:30,” Moose said. “When that cannon goes off, it means the fort’s closing, doesn’t it, Rusty?”
Sydney sighed with relief.
“Yeah,” Rusty said, sounding annoyed. “And because you took so long to find this, now we’ll have to take it with us.”
“But the boss said we should get it done today,” Moose protested. “I don’t think he wants us hauling that thing all over Baltimore.”
“We don’t have time,” Rusty snarled. “The last boat leaves at five o’clock, and we have to be on it. We’ll come back tomorrow. What the boss doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Sydney followed behind the men as they walked toward the Visitor Center. They passed Elizabeth on the pathway near the fort’s entrance. Sydney saw Elizabeth curtsy. When Sydney caught up to Beth, she told her what was going on.
“The fort closes in fifteen minutes, and we have to return these costumes,” Sydney said. “The girls will track Moose. They can tell us where he goes.”
The girls scurried back to the wardrobe room and bolted the door. Elizabeth was grateful to get out of the long, heavy dress. Even the stuffy, humid air in the back room felt good against her skin. She hung the dress on a rack and offered to hang up Sydney’s uniform while Sydney slipped on her street clothes. Elizabeth was about to return Sydney’s cap to a cabinet near the door when she heard a familiar voice.
“Well, here we are, the last stop. A bed for two and nobody sleeps waiting for the alarm,” the voice said. “We’ve been to every room inside the fort.”
“Yeah,” said an unfamiliar voice. “And the minutes are ticking down.”
There was shuffling outside the door. The visitors seemed to be searching for something.
“I can’t imagine where they went,” said the first voice. “Maybe they’ve given up spying on our friends.”
“Hey, what do you think is in here?” the second voice asked. The doorknob rattled.
“Hide!” Elizabeth whispered. She pulled Sydney toward the racks of clothes.
“No! Out the window!” Sydney exclaimed.
The girls rushed to the only window in the room. Just as they were about to climb out, Elizabeth felt the silver pendant fall from the chain on her neck.
“My pendant!” she gasped.
“Leave it!” said Sydney. “Let’s get out of here.”
Caught!
The girls barely said a word on the ride home with Ranger Hank. Elizabeth’s heart was so heavy that her chest hurt. She was horrified at losing her favorite necklace. But even worse, with a dull ache, Elizabeth had to admit to herself that she knew that first voice they’d heard in the barracks. It was Uncle Dan. And she suspected that Sydney had recognized his voice too.
When the girls finally returned to Sydney’s room, Elizabeth dropped down on the bed and cried.
Sydney booted up the computer and emailed the Camp Club Girls. Soon they were all talking in the chat room about the voices near the wardrobe room. The girls agreed that in some way Uncle Dan was involved.
McKenzie: You know that note you found: “Hail to the chief at the twilight’s last gleaming”? “Hail to the Chief” is the song they play when the president shows up. “Twilight’s last gleaming” could mean the end of the Twilight Tattoo. Those words are in “The Star-Spangled Banner” too. They plan to kill the president at the end of the tattoo.
Sydney doodled on a sheet of paper as she remembered something Aunt Dee had said.
Sydney: The president isn’t scheduled to appear until just before the fireworks start. There’s a concert and marching presentation at twilight. When that’s over, the president will show up and make his speech. When he’s done, it’ll be dark, and then the fireworks start.
“In more ways than one,” Elizabeth said. She had come to sit next to Sydney at the desk and was reading the words on the screen.
Kate: I’m almost certain a weapon is in that little metal box they dug up. Maybe a bomb.
Sydney scribbled words from “The Star-Spangled Banner” on her paper: the rocket’s red glare … the bombs bursting in air. bombs. bomb. BUM!
“Bum!” she said out loud. She grabbed the keyboard.
Sydney: Elizabeth saw the word BUM on the map near the red X. Maybe it meant bomb. Maybe whoever wrote it couldn’t spell.
Bailey: So Percy has a bomb in his backpack?
Sydney: I think so. And it’s your job to keep an eye on him. Let us know the minute he moves.
Alexis: I’ve been thinking about The Professor. I remember a story about Sherlock Holmes, the English detective. His worst enemy was this guy named Professor Moriarty. In the story, the professor was a mastermind criminal. He knew about a secret hiding place for storing bombs during war. So maybe our Professor has a secret hiding place inside the fort.
Sydney: Maybe you’re right. We’re going to Fort McHenry with Aunt Dee tomorrow afternoon. She has to work there from five o’clock until the tattoo is done. We won’t have much time to find the bomb.
“Find the bomb?” said Elizabeth. “Oh Sydney.”
“We have to,” Sydney said. “Remember, we’re not sure any of this is true. We might be way off track, but if we’re not—”
The Camp Club Girls agreed to follow the green blip while Sydney and Elizabeth were at the fort. Only very important text messages would be sent, and those would come through Kate.
The next afternoon, Sydney, Elizabeth, and Aunt Dee arrived at Fort McHenry when it closed, at about a quarter to five. Guests for the tattoo wouldn’t be allowed in until six. Aunt Dee gave the girls permission to wander around, but she told them to be back at the Visitor Center by nine o’clock, when President Meade was scheduled to speak.
As they walked through the arched hallway into the fort, the girls took out their cell phones and logged on to Kate’s tracking site.
“Moose hasn’t moved since they took the water taxi back to the Inner Harbor,” Elizabeth observed. “So they probably still have the bomb.”
“Not necessarily,” Sydney replied. “Maybe Rusty brought it back here overnight; we wouldn’t have known if he did.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Elizabeth.
When the girls entered the parade grounds, they saw uniformed troops practicing drills. In the distance they heard drummers and buglers rehearsing for the tattoo.
“Elizabeth,” Sydney said. “I think you should call your uncle.”
“Why?” Elizabeth asked.
“Because we need to know where he is,” Sydney responded. “But don’t let on where we are.”
Reluctantly Elizabeth took out her cell phone and called her uncle’s number. It rang several times before Uncle Dan answered.
“Hey, Beth!” he said. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, Uncle Dan,” Elizabeth said. “Just checking in to see what you’re up to. Do you have plans with your friends for tonight?”
Her uncle paused before answering. “We’re going fishing,” he said. “And where are you going?”
Elizabeth thought quickly
. “Oh, we’re hanging out with Sydney’s Aunt Dee.”
Sydney put her index finger up to her lips.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” said Uncle Dan. “Stay close to Aunt Dee tonight, all right?”
What a strange thing to say, Elizabeth thought. “I will,” she promised. “I have to go now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She ended the call.
“So what did he say?” Sydney asked.
“They’re going fishing tonight,” Elizabeth answered.
Sydney spoke without thinking. “Fishing for President Meade.”
As a line of soldiers marched past them wearing 1800s uniforms, Elizabeth said, “I have faith in my uncle, Sydney, almost as much as I have in God.”
Sydney didn’t say a word.
For the next hour, the girls searched Fort McHenry for the mysterious metal box. First, they checked each of the bastions. As they walked on the ramparts, they looked into the gun barrels of the cannons along the way. They checked the magazines on the bastions—storage areas built into mounds of earth used for stockpiling gunpowder and weapons. Then they moved inside the fort near the barracks and looked underneath the wooden platform that surrounded the enormous flagpole. Above them, they could hear the huge American flag, a replica of the one from the Battle of Baltimore, flapping in the breeze.
Next, the girls went to the barracks, searching each one. Starting on the upper level, they looked under each bed, through every drawer, and inside all the wooden barrels that held supplies. They left no door unopened, and explored every nook and cranny. Nothing!
The last place they checked was the enlisted men’s barracks. While Sydney searched, Elizabeth decided to go back to the wardrobe room and look for her pendant. She found the door bolted shut. Inside, she heard men’s voices.
“Look alive, boys!” a man shouted.
“Ready arms. By twos!” shouted another.
As Elizabeth listened, she heard the sound of heavy boots moving toward the door. Quickly she crouched behind some barrels in a corner of the barracks. The door to the room opened and several actors dressed as 1800s soldiers came out. They walked across the wooden floor, past where Elizabeth was hiding, and out the front door.
Elizabeth slipped inside the wardrobe room. Methodically she scanned every square inch of the floor, but found nothing. She also kept her eyes open for the important metal box.
“It’s not here.”
Elizabeth sucked in her breath and her heart skipped a beat. “Don’t scare me like that,” she told Sydney.
“The metal box isn’t here,” Sydney repeated. “I looked everywhere.”
“Neither is my pendant,” said Elizabeth. “Maybe we should just give up.”
“We’re not giving up,” Sydney protested. “Not until we can prove that nothing evil is going on.”
Just then, both girls’ cell phones began to vibrate. It was a message from Kate: MOOSE IS ON THE MOVE. ON THE WATER AGAIN. HEADING FOR THE FORT.
“So what do we do now?” Elizabeth asked.
“We hide outside of the fort and wait,” said Sydney. “When they get here, we follow them. Only this time, we have to be careful not to be seen.”
Elizabeth and Sydney hid near some trees between the Visitor Center and the fort entrance. Before long, crowds of people arrived. They lined up four or five deep to walk into the fort.
“We’ll be lucky to see Moose and Rusty in this crowd,” Sydney said. “What if we miss them, Beth? Then what?”
Elizabeth had her cell phone out and was busy watching the tiny screen. “We won’t. Not as long as we rely on Kate’s website. We just have to watch where the green blip goes and keep following it. Even if we can’t see them with our own eyes, we’ll know where they are.”
“And we have to be careful that they don’t see us,” Sydney added.
The girls watched the blip come onshore. It traveled slowly past the Visitor Center and along the pathway toward the entrance.
“There they are!” said Elizabeth.
Moose and Rusty shuffled along in the middle of the mob. Sydney almost missed them. They looked oddly respectable. Each wore a pair of neat blue jeans and a polo shirt, and Rusty sported a neatly trimmed beard. They blended well with the patriotic crowd.
“Let’s go,” Sydney said.
Both girls apologized as they cut into the line a few steps behind Rusty and Moose.
“Keep them in sight,” Sydney whispered. She fixed her eyes on Rusty’s red hair.
The crowd squeezed into the narrow hallway and then swarmed toward the bleachers set up around the parade grounds. Sydney and Elizabeth were pushed along, forced to go with the crowd. When they exited into the fading sunlight, they saw that someone was missing.
“Where’s Moose?” Sydney asked.
Elizabeth checked the green blip on her cell phone. “He’s still in the hallway,” she said.
They found a bench near the barracks and watched Rusty as he sat on a lower tier of the bleachers. They waited for Moose to come out. But he didn’t!
“Something’s wrong with Kate’s website,” Elizabeth complained. “We’ve lost Moose.”
“I’m going to check out the hallway,” Sydney told her. “I’ll be right back.”
Cautiously Sydney walked to the entrance hall. The crowd had begun to thin out, and Moose was nowhere in sight. She hurried back to Elizabeth. “He’s not there,” she said. “Tell Kate. Maybe she can fix the website.”
Elizabeth sent a text message to Kate telling her what was going on.
EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE WORKING FINE, Kate answered. BUT I’LL DOUBLE CHECK.
“Now what?” Elizabeth asked.
“We wait,” Sydney told her. “Keep your eyes on Rusty. Sooner or later, Moose will show up.”
“I hope so,” said Elizabeth.
The girls watched as the troops marched onto the field. Some soldiers played fifes and others played drums. All marched as if they were going to the battlefield. Swords hung from their belts and some carried muskets.
The troops surrounded the parade grounds and then stood at parade rest. Soon the United States Army Band marched to a stage on the far end of the field. They sat on metal chairs and opened folders of sheet music on their music stands. An announcement boomed over the loudspeaker: “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’”
Then the concert began. Sydney and Elizabeth had no choice but to sit, listen to the music, and watch Rusty. Kate sent several text messages insisting that the website was not broken. Still, no sign of Moose.
After about an hour, the sunset faded to dusk, and the dim crescent moon hung almost overhead.
“Sydney,” Elizabeth gasped. “Look!”
Moose came sneaking out of the hallway. He carried the metal box as he prowled close to the fort’s brick wall. Just then, Rusty got up and left the bleachers.
The girls’ cell phones were vibrating with Kate’s message: HE’S ON THE MOVE. EXITING THE HALLWAY NOW.
Elizabeth sent a quick reply: WE SEE HIM.
“You follow Rusty, and I’ll take Moose,” said Sydney. “I have a feeling we’ll end up at the same place.”
With their hearts pounding, Sydney and Elizabeth took off.
Quietly and carefully, Sydney stayed close to the fort’s wall. She watched Moose slinking from barracks to barracks in the shadow. Finally he paused at an old guardhouse not far from the podium where President Meade was supposed to speak. Sydney saw Elizabeth hiding behind whatever she could find as she followed Rusty. Both girls watched as the men entered the guardhouse, leaving the door open behind them.
The girls met at the open door. Sydney stood on the left and Elizabeth on the right. They could hear the men talking.
“I didn’t think you were ever coming out from that secret room,” said Rusty. “It’s about time!”
“Sorry,” Moose answered. “It was dark in there, and I couldn’t see my watch. I didn’t know what time it was.”
“Come on!
” Rusty ordered. “That old jail cell is just around the corner. There’s a bucket inside where the boss wants us to put it.”
Carefully Sydney peeked into the room. The men had disappeared around a corner behind an old jailer’s desk. She motioned for Elizabeth to follow her inside. Elizabeth took a deep breath. Then the girls slipped into the guardhouse.
Silently Sydney walked across the room. She peeked around the corner. Straight ahead was a short hallway. At its end was an old jail cell with a heavy iron door. The cell was made of thick brick walls, with no windows. Moose and Rusty were both inside, and Sydney noticed that the cell door had a lock. She watched Rusty take an old tin pail from one corner of the cell, and then Moose gingerly placed the metal box inside.
“We’d better get out of here fast,” Moose said.
“I don’t think so!” Sydney shouted.
Elizabeth watched with horror as her friend leaped into the hallway and rushed the jail cell. She slammed the door, locking Moose and Rusty inside. Rusty’s steely eyes glared at her.
“Who are you?” asked Moose.
“I’m your worst enemy,” Sydney snapped.
Elizabeth dashed beside her.
“It’s those girls from the Wall,” Rusty said. “I told you I didn’t like something about them.” Rusty’s voice echoed inside the dark, musty cell. The only other sound came from the tin pail. It was ticking!
“You’d better tell us what you’re up to,” said Elizabeth. “Or else.”
“Or else, what?” Rusty laughed.
In the dim light from the hallway, the girls saw sweat pouring down Moose’s face. He stuttered, “There’s a b–bomb in here. It’s going to g–go off when the f–fireworks start. P–please, let us go. We all g–gotta get out of here.” He looked nervously at the pail, inches from his feet.
Through the doorway, the girls heard the loudspeaker announce that President Meade would soon be at the podium.
“You’d better let us go, or we’ll all die!” said Rusty. “This is a high-tech military bomb made from titanium alloy. It’ll blow this place to smithereens.” He took the metal box out of the pail and held it menacingly in front of the girls.