The Secret of Dinswood

by Ellen Alexander

  “Now we know who to go to if we’re ever hungry,” Martha said, and then went on to ask, “Do you guys miss watching television or playing video games?”

  Sebastian quickly answered this question. “You know, when we first got here, I thought it was going to be awful with no TV, but the truth is I’ve been too busy to miss it.” They all nodded in agreement.

  “Maybe that’s one of the things they wanted to teach us,” Doug said.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I really like it at Dinswood. It’s really cool that it used to be a castle,” Emma said.

  “Yeah. The trouble is, I overheard my dad talking on the phone the other day, and it sounded like Dinswood Academy is having some kind of financial problems,” Doug said worriedly.

  “You’re kidding!” Martha exclaimed. “How can that be with all the rich kids that go to Dinswood? I know my dad pays a bundle for me to go here.”

  “Well, old Lord Dinswood left just enough money for the original renovations, nothing for upkeep or additions like the new greenhouse. The school has had to borrow money, and enrollment is down. A lot of kids don’t want to go to Dinswood because of its strict rules and high standards.”

  “How bad is it?” Martha asked.

  “I don’t know for sure, but Dad sounded really worried,” Doug answered.

  “I’m just starting to feel at home here. I’d hate it if Dinswood had to close its doors!” Sebastian said with feeling.

  “Me too,” the others said in unison.

  “Maybe they could sell some of Lord Dinswood’s valuables. Grimstock said some of his things were kept at the school. Why can’t they sell some of those?” Emma asked.

  “That’s just it. The old guy was kind of loony and left specific instructions, one of which was that his personal possessions were not to be taken from the castle,” Doug said.

  “That’s kind of odd. Don’t you think? What’s so special about his stuff that it can’t be moved or sold?” Emma asked curiously.

  “He must have left something the school could sell,” Martha commented. “We need to find a catalog of all of Lord Dinswood’s things. Why don’t we look in the school library when we get back—if we ever get back.”

  “What do you mean if we ever get back?” Doug asked. Martha explained what they had learned from Reggie just that morning.

  “If it keeps raining like this, the buses won’t be able to cross that low-water bridge. That means we’ll have to stay in town.”

  “Stay where?” Sebastian asked.

  “Well, this is the town’s only motel, so I guess we’d stay here,” Martha answered.

  Emma hoped that didn’t happen. She couldn’t afford to waste her money renting a room for the night in a motel. Worriedly, she looked out the dining room windows and saw that it continued to pour. Just then a flash of lightning split the sky, followed by a loud crash of thunder. The lights in the dining room flickered on and off briefly before brightening once again.

  “It’s almost like Lord Dinswood is trying to tell us something,” Sebastian said trying to scare the girls.

  Emma felt goose bumps rising up on her arms. Although she knew he’d meant it as a joke, she had the strange feeling that Sebastian was right.

  They sat in the motel dining room a while longer watching the deluge taking place outside. The lightning and thunder continued, but the lights didn’t flicker again, much to everyone’s relief. No one spoke as each was lost in his or her own thoughts. They were all puzzling over the curious stipulations in Lord Dinswood’s will. Even if he had been a little crazy, there had to be a logical explanation.

  Suddenly, Doug broke the silence. “Well, I don’t want to sit here all day. Anyone else willing to brave the rain?”

  “Why don’t we make a run for the bookstore?” Emma suggested. “Martha and I passed one on the way to the general store, and I was thinking they might have some books on local places of interest. You know, like for tourists.”

  “You mean they might have something on Dinswood Castle,” Doug said nodding in dawning comprehension.

  “Great idea!” Sebastian exclaimed, and then looking out the window added, “I think the rain’s starting to let up a little, so now would be a good time to make a run for it.”

  Without any further discussion they paid their bill and headed for the door with Emma in the lead. Emma was just reaching out to pull the door open when it was pushed forcefully from the other side. Clarice, followed closely by Susie and Reggie, came barreling through it, nearly knocking Emma over in her haste.

  “Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” Clarice said breathlessly, and then when she saw who it was she’d nearly mowed down, she said, “Where have you guys been? We’ve been looking all over for you!”

  Emma and Martha exchanged knowing looks. They had decided to ditch Clarice and her entourage when they got off the bus. It wasn’t that they didn’t like Clarice, at least, not exactly. It was just that she could be very bossy sometimes, and she definitely liked having everything her way. Emma and Martha had simply wanted to shop without Clarice dictating their every move. Now here she was—a force to be reckoned with. It was going to be a challenge ditching her a second time.

  However, Reggie took care of it for them. “Clarice is hungry and worn out from shopping, so we’re going to have something to eat and rest a while. Where are you guys going?”

  “Oh, well, we’ve already eaten, and so we’re headed out to do some more shopping,” Emma said hastily. And before Clarice could contradict Reggie, they were out the door and hurrying down the street toward the bookstore.

  “Whew, that was close!” Martha exclaimed, a little out of breath as they all but ran down the sidewalk. It was still raining but not as hard as it had been earlier.

  “She must have decided to forgive Reggie,” Emma observed.

  “Either that or he’s just as persistent as she is,” Martha said.

  “I bet she’s mad at him again,” Sebastian panted as he tried to keep up with the others. “That guy doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

  Emma had to smile. She wanted to tell Sebastian that he had the same problem, but she was unsure about how he would take that particular observation. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she kept her thoughts to herself.

  They entered the bookstore just as another flash of lightning lit the sky. The rain began again in earnest, the wind blowing with such force that it rattled the large window in the front of the store.

  “Looks like you kids made it just in time,” said a rather grizzled old man behind the counter. “Radio says there are more storms on the way, and they’ve put out flash flood warnings.” After pausing to peer at them over his glasses, he continued, “Well, enough about the weather. How can I help you?”

  The man, who had short-cropped white hair and a white mustache, continued to look at them with rheumy blue eyes. Realizing that the others weren’t going to reply, Emma said, “We were wondering if you had any books on Dinswood Castle.”

  “Now that’s odd. Not too many folks are interested in the history of that old castle. Most just come in here to buy magazines or the latest novels. You’re the second person in as many weeks to ask me about Dinswood Castle.”

  “Do you have anything that would help us, sir?” Doug asked.

  “Sure do. I’ve got a couple of tourist-type pamphlets and then I’ve got a book written by Lord Dinswood himself. It wasn’t a real big seller, but I keep a few copies on hand because he was a local fellow. Which would you like?”

  “We’ll take both,” Martha said quickly, and seeing the questioning looks of the others, she added, “I’ll buy them. Just consider it my contribution to the cause.”

  The man continued to eye them speculatively for a little longer and then, in no particular hurry, he got up from his stool behind the counter and wandered to the very back corner of the store. “Come along and see what I’ve got first. Then you can decide for sure what you want,” he called behind him.

 
Dutifully, they followed. It was already relatively dark in the store because of the rain outside, but it was downright creepy in the back corner of the store where the lighting didn’t quite reach. In the dimness, the old man stooped down and removed a dusty book from the bottom shelf. Blowing the dust off the cover, he handed it to Emma. The book had a black cover with the title emblazoned in gold lettering across the front. The title was ordinary enough: The History of Dinswood Castle. Emma opened the book and let out a gasp of surprise.

  “This book is signed by Lord Dinswood!”

  “Yep, the old guy insisted on signing every copy,” the old man said.

  “What’s this underneath his signature? It looks like a reference to a Bible verse,” Emma said. The verse Lord Dinswood had indicated was Matthew 7:7.

  “He put that in every book,” the old man replied. “I looked it up one time, and it’s the verse that says something about seeking and finding.”

  “Seeking and finding what?” Sebastian asked.

  “Dunno. The old guy went a little crazy in his latter days. He stayed in that castle and never went out. He wasn’t seen by anybody but his servants the last twenty-five years of his life.” The old man straightened up and led them to a magazine rack containing tourist information. “These are the pamphlets I was telling you about. I don’t know if they’ll have what you’re looking for, but you’re welcome to look through them. I’ll be back up at the counter when you’re ready to check out.” With that, the old man eyed them once again and then proceeded to the counter at the front of the store in a slow shuffle.

  “What do you suppose Lord Dinswood meant by putting that verse in all his books?” Martha asked. “It must be important if he was so obsessed about putting it in every single copy of his book.”

  Doug, who had been silent up to this point, said slowly as if he was working through a difficult riddle, “It must mean that Dinswood left something worth finding. We just need to figure out what that is.” Martha had been flipping through the pamphlets while Doug was speaking.

  “Well, there’s nothing in these we can use,” she said, sighing in frustration. “Let’s just buy the book and get out of here. That old guy is really creepy.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Sebastian agreed.

  With perfect timing, another flash of lightning and a loud crash of thunder punctuated Sebastian’s statement. Startled, they stared wide-eyed at each other, and then without saying another word, they hurried to the front of the store as fast as dignity would allow. Martha paid for the book at the counter while the others waited by the door ready to make their escape. It was pouring outside, but at least the wind had died down a little.

  “Where do you want to go now?” Doug asked. “We’ve still got a couple of hours before we’re due back on the bus.”

  “I don’t care where we go. I just want to get out of here,” Martha said, being careful to keep her voice low.

  “Let’s go by the candy store,” Sebastian suggested. “We can get some goodies and then maybe go back to the motel and sit in the lounge by the fire.”

  “Good idea,” Martha said. “That’ll give us a chance to look through this book.”

  With a last glance back at the old man at the counter, they headed outside, heedless of the rain. Splashing in the water on the sidewalks as they ran, they made their way to the candy store. Martha kept the book safe and dry under her jacket.

  Stepping into the candy store was like stepping into heaven. The store had every kind of candy imaginable. Some of the candies were purchased by the bag and had to be scooped out of big bins by the store employees. The prepackaged candies were displayed on racks set strategically around the store. Zigzagging their way between the racks, they made their way to the big glass bins set in the main counter.

  “There are too many choices. I can’t decide what I want,” Sebastian moaned as he looked around.

  “Well, are you in the mood for chocolate, or licorice, or some kind of hard candy?” Emma asked, trying to be helpful.

  “Yes to all,” Sebastian answered, licking his lips in anticipation.

  “We’ll be here all day at this rate,” Martha complained.

  “How about if we each buy something different and then we can share,” Doug suggested.

  “Another good idea,” Martha said, smiling brightly at Doug who didn’t seem to notice.

  After wandering around the store for another half hour, they each finally decided on what they were going to get. Martha chose some cherry flavored licorice bites; Doug chose a box of chocolate peanut clusters; Emma chose a bag of saltwater taffy of every flavor; and Sebastian finally decided on a large bag of gumdrops. With their purchases tucked safely under their jackets, they headed back out into the rain and toward the motel.

  Sitting comfortably in a little circle by the fire in the motel lounge and munching on candy, Martha handed Lord Dinswood’s book to Emma.

  “You do the honors, Emma. After all, it was your idea.”

  Taking a deep breath, Emma opened the book and once again looked at Lord Dinswood’s signature. The strokes were sweeping and bold. “It doesn’t look like the signature of a crazy man,” she said looking more closely. “This Bible reference is still a mystery though. We’ll have to look it up when we get back to school.” Emma turned to the first chapter and began reading silently. After several minutes, she looked up in surprise and whispered, “Pirates.”

  “What?” the others asked in unison.

  “They were pirates! Dinswood’s ancestors were pirates. That’s how his family got the money for the castle. Ever heard of Bart the Blackheart?” When the others nodded their assent, Emma continued, “Well, he was one of Lord Dinswood’s ancestors.”

  Bart the Blackheart was one of the most notorious pirates to ever sail the seven seas! By the time ships spotted the crossbones and skull of Blackheart’s flag, they were as good as caught. He was one of the richest pirates in history, amassing vast hoards of gold and gemstones during his reign of terror. Emma noticed that all of this was reported in Lord Dinswood’s book with an attitude of pride. No mention was made of the countless number of people slain by Blackheart in his raids.

  “You’d think a person would be embarrassed to be the descendant of pirates, but this guy seems to be proud of it,” Doug said.

  “Well, everyone we’ve talked to said that Lord Dinswood went a little crazy when he got old. Maybe that was when he wrote this book,” Sebastian said.

  “I don’t understand something,” Martha broke in. “If his family was so rich, what happened to all the money? I know Lord Dinswood left the castle and a huge endowment to the school, but if his ancestors were as successful at pirating as this book says they were, there’s a lot more loot somewhere.”

  “Seek and ye shall find,” Sebastian said, repeating what the old man in the bookstore had told them. “I bet he’s hidden the rest of the treasure and this is a clue.”

  “What kind of clue is that?” Martha argued. “It doesn’t tell us anything. It doesn’t tell us where to look or even if there is any treasure.”

  “I think we’re getting way ahead of ourselves,” Emma said. “We need to get back to the school library and see what we can find. Remember, Miss Grimstock told us that a lot of the books were a part of Lord Dinswood’s personal library. Maybe we’ll find the answer there.”

  They continued to look through Lord Dinswood’s book until it was time to board the buses for the trip back to the academy. The remainder of the book described the castle and its furnishings in great detail. Lord Dinswood also gave information about each of the castle’s occupants through the years. At the end of the book, Emma found an artist’s rendition of what the original structure looked like. The picture showed the castle surrounded by a moat and a high outer wall, complete with a drawbridge. Several other smaller stone structures were located within the wall. There was a structure close to the castle that would have been the kitchen, and there were stables and quarters for the servants a
nd soldiers.

  “The book talks about the furnishings, but we have no way of knowing what’s still in the castle,” Emma said, sighing in frustration.

  “We could ask Grim,” Sebastian suggested.

  “I’m afraid it might make her suspicious,” Emma said, and Doug nodded in agreement.

  “We need to keep this just between the four of us. We can’t trust anyone else. My dad wouldn’t be too happy if he knew I’d overheard his phone conversation, and he’d sure be mad if he knew I’d told you guys.”

  Everyone agreed, and as it was nearly time to leave, they gathered up their purchases, and made their way to where the buses were parked. The rain had stopped for the moment, but the sky still looked dark and threatening. The buses had been parked in the motel parking lot, as it was the largest parking lot in town, so they didn’t have far to go. As they got closer, they could see that most of their classmates were already on board, including Clarice and Susie. When they boarded the bus, they took the same seats they’d had on the way down to Windland. Deborah sighed in relief when she saw Emma and Martha. It was her job to make sure everyone on her list got back to Dinswood. Checking their names off on the clipboard she was carrying, Deborah glared at them in obvious displeasure before retreating to her own seat.

  When all the students were on the bus, Miss Jennings, who had been sitting in the front, stood up and addressed the group. “We’ve just gotten word from Dean Harwood that we’re going to have to stay in Windland for the night and make the trip back to Dinswood in the morning.” Ignoring the groans of the students, she explained why. “We’ve already had a lot of rain and there’s more on the way. Flash flood warnings have been issued for tonight. If we get up to that low-water bridge and there’s water over it, we can’t cross, and there’s no place to turn the buses around. We’d be stuck up there, so Dean Harwood thought it would be best if we stayed here.”

  “Where are we going to stay?” asked someone in the back of the bus.

  “The motel has agreed to let us sort of camp out in their lounge,” Miss Jennings answered. “They’ll give everyone a pillow and blanket, and we’ll sleep as comfortably as we can in the chairs and on the floor.”