The Secret of Dinswood

by Ellen Alexander

  By the time the game ended it was nine o’clock. Miss Jennings told everyone to start getting ready for bed. Mrs. Palmer had gone down to the general store before supper and purchased toothbrushes for everyone, along with several tubes of toothpaste. A few at a time, they used the restrooms just off the lounge area to wash their faces and brush their teeth before bed. When they were finished washing up, they were each given a pillow and a blanket and instructed to find a spot to lie down. The boys were to sleep on one side of the lounge and the girls on the other. Emma hoped Sebastian would remember to check on Doug during the night. He seemed just fine, but it wasn’t worth taking any chances.

  Martha had been strangely quiet since the game had ended. Emma found out why as they stood washing their faces in the restroom. “I think Doug likes you,” Martha said, looking at Emma’s reflection in the mirror.

  Surprised, Emma didn’t reply immediately. When she thought about it, she and Doug did have a lot in common. That must be why they got along so well. He didn’t like her in the boy-girl sense of liking, Emma reasoned. He was just being nice. She told all of these things to Martha, but in her heart of hearts she hoped Martha was right.

  Emma took a moment to study her reflection in the mirror. She wasn’t a raving beauty, but her dad had once told her she was pretty. It seemed like ages ago when he’d said that, but she hoped it was still true. She’d always considered her eyes her best feature. They were large and bright green with a fringe of long, dark lashes. She had a smooth, clear complexion with just a smattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Her long, honey-colored hair hung down her back in two long braids, which was how she normally wore it. When the braids were undone, it hung down to her waist. All of this was considered without conceit because Emma knew that along with the good was an equal measure of bad. For example, Emma had always felt that her face was too round and her mouth a little too wide. At least her teeth were nice and straight, so she’d been spared the bother of braces. Standing about five feet, four inches tall, she was a little too skinny. Suddenly sensing Martha’s questioning look, Emma ended her self-assessment and hastily brushed her teeth.

  Heading back out into the lounge, they found a couple of places to lie down on the floor by the fireplace. After everyone had settled down, all the lights were turned off. The logs in the fireplace had burned down to just a few glowing embers, giving off a little light but not enough to disturb the would-be sleepers.

  It was a long night for Emma, as too many thoughts kept whirling through her head. Was the man they’d seen Mr. Hodges? If so, what was he doing in town, and why didn’t he want anyone to know? Was there a treasure? And if her thoughts weren’t enough to keep her awake, she had the intermittent rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning to contend with. Once during the night, she looked over to where Doug was sleeping but couldn’t make out his features in the dimness. For the hundredth time that day, she hoped he was okay and that Sebastian was checking on him like he was supposed to. Eventually, the storms passed over, and she was able to get to sleep. When she awakened, sunlight was streaming through the large front windows, and everyone was just beginning to stir.

  In the next hour, blankets and pillows were folded and put away, and everyone was fed a quick breakfast consisting of juice and donuts. As it was Sunday morning, Reverend Palmer gathered all the students around him and led them in a brief devotional. After closing in prayer, he was about to dismiss them to the buses, when a familiar voice asked, “Reverend Palmer, would you please recite Matthew 7:7 for us?”

  Without looking, Emma knew it was Sebastian who had asked the question. She had to give him points for his cleverness. The four of them had been eager to find out what that particular verse said. It was obvious from his expression that Reverend Palmer was puzzled by the request, but after a moment’s hesitation, he quoted Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

  Emma didn’t have a chance to talk to Doug before it was time to board the buses, but he seemed to be getting around with no difficulty. When she and Martha boarded the bus, they once again sat in front of Clarice. Emma was surprised to see Susie sitting next to Clarice instead of Reggie. I wonder what Reggie’s done now, Emma thought to herself with a smile. Susie was chattering away to Clarice about something, but when she saw Emma and Martha, she paused long enough to say hi. Susie, Clarice, and even Reggie had declined to take part in any of the games last night. Susie and Clarice’s disinterest had not surprised Emma, but she had been a little surprised that Reggie hadn’t wanted to play the question and answer game. As smart as he was, he would have done very well. He probably hadn’t entered the game because Clarice hadn’t wanted to play. Deciding to play the devil’s advocate, Emma turned around in her seat and asked Clarice why she and Reggie hadn’t played any of the games last night.

  “Charades is so undignified and juvenile. I wouldn’t be caught dead playing that game. Reggie agreed with me completely,” Clarice said with her nose in the air.

  Emma wondered if Reggie really agreed with Clarice, or if he just hadn’t wanted to argue with her. Reggie seemed to really be smitten with Clarice and so would probably do anything he could to stay in her good graces. Emma decided to press the issue of the games a little bit further. “Well, I guess I can understand why you and Reggie didn’t play charades, but the Jeopardy game would have been right up Reggie’s alley. He’s so smart; his team would have won hands down.” Martha, who had been listening to this exchange couldn’t help grinning, but she sat facing forward so Clarice couldn’t see.

  “That’s true,” Clarice said, nodding in agreement. “He is extremely intelligent. We spent the evening doing crossword puzzles and word scrambles together. Reggie picked up a puzzle book at the general store after you all took off down the street after that man. He knew we’d need something to do after we ate. Reggie loves doing that sort of thing, and he’s really good at it. He also has a very extensive vocabulary. He’s practically a walking dictionary. We had a pleasant evening without embarrassing ourselves.”

  Although she hadn’t actually said it, the implication that everyone who had played the games had made complete fools of themselves was clear. Now it was Emma’s turn to grin. Thankfully she got turned around before Clarice could see. Honestly, that girl was so uptight it would take a major miracle for her to let loose and have a little fun. Emma found that, instead of being offended, she actually felt a little sorry for her.

  Martha decided to pick up where Emma left off. “Uh, Clarice, why isn’t Reggie sitting with you?”

  “He’s not my boyfriend for heaven’s sake. I don’t want him hovering around me all the time.”

  Martha turned back around and whispered low enough that only Emma could hear, “Translation, Reggie did something to make her mad again.” Emma laughed and leaned back for the return trip to Dinswood.

  After a while, as if she’d been deciding whether or not to bring the subject up, Martha said, “Doug seemed to be doing okay this morning. Did you get a chance to talk to him?”

  “No, I didn’t get to talk to Sebastian either. I wonder if he woke Doug up a couple of times like he was supposed to.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter now. He doesn’t seem to be having any problems.” Changing the subject and with genuine worry in her voice, Martha asked, “Emma, what do you suppose is going on? Why would anyone want to hurt Doug?”

  “I don’t think that man was after Doug. I think he just wanted to make sure nobody saw him in town.”

  “Do you think it really was Mr. Hodges?”

  “We’ll find out when we get back to school. All we have to do is ask if Mr. Hodges was at the school all day yesterday,” Emma said, wondering whom they could ask without making them suspicious. Martha must have been thinking the same thing.

  “Doug could probably ask his dad without making him suspicious. He could just say there was a guy in town that looked just like Mr. Hodges.”

/>   “That would probably work. We’ll suggest it to Doug when we get back to school.” Then another thought occurred to Emma. “We need to meet in the school library as soon as possible. There’s got to be something that describes all the valuables Lord Dinswood left the school. There may be no such thing as a treasure.”

  “Maybe not, but if there’s no treasure, what’s all this business about seeking and finding? I get the feeling that we’re supposed to be searching for something in the castle.”

  Emma had that very same feeling. Lord Dinswood must have hidden something of great value somewhere in the castle, and the verse he’d put in all of his books was a clue, not a very good clue, but a clue nonetheless. Near as Emma could tell, they’d done the first part of the verse; they had “asked.” They had asked Cal for a book. Now the next step was to “seek,” and they would start in the library. Then another thought occurred to her. “Martha, you still have that book you bought, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I put it in the bag with my yarn. Why?’

  “Be sure to bring that to the library. I want to look at it again. We may have missed something important when we looked through it yesterday. Doesn’t it make sense that Lord Dinswood would give us a clue to finding the treasure in his book?”

  Martha sighed in frustration. “I guess so. I’m so confused right now I don’t know what to think. All I want to do is find a way to help Dinswood Academy stay open.”

  Emma nodded her agreement but didn’t say any more. After a while, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, and she was tired. Judging from the relative quiet on the bus, her fellow students must have spent an equally sleepless night. It wasn’t long before the swaying motion of the bus and the low hum of the engine lulled her to sleep. Dreaming of pirates and trunks full of gold, she didn’t awaken until the bus came to a stop in front of the school.

  There’d been no time to talk to Doug and Sebastian when they’d gotten back to Dinswood. The students had all been instructed to go to their rooms and shower and rest a bit before lunch. Still a little bleary-eyed, Emma had allowed Deborah to herd her and Martha to their dorm room. They would see the boys at lunch, and that would be soon enough to suggest a meeting in the library.

  Later, feeling refreshed after showers and naps, the girls made their way to the dining room. When they entered the dining hall, Emma saw that Doug and Sebastian had gotten there ahead of them. Waving his arms, Sebastian indicated a couple of vacant spots across the table from them. Reggie was waving frantically for Clarice and Susie to come sit with him. Using the excuse that she didn’t care to associate with Doug or Sebastian any more than necessary, Clarice led Susie over to where Reggie was sitting. With a sigh of relief, Emma and Martha took seats on the bench opposite Sebastian and Doug. Now they would be able to talk freely without worrying about curious ears overhearing.

  Doug began talking immediately. “I asked my dad if Mr. Hodges was here at school all day yesterday.” At their looks of consternation, he added hastily, “It’s okay. I was careful to ask in a way that wouldn’t make him suspicious. I just told Dad I thought I’d seen Mr. Hodges in Windland.”

  “What’d your dad say?” Martha asked eagerly.

  “He said that it couldn’t have been Mr. Hodges in town. He was here for both lunch and supper. Dad saw him.”

  “It only takes thirty minutes to get to Windland from here. He still could have had time to get down to Windland and back before supper,” Emma said.

  “I thought of that,” Doug said, shaking his head. “But Dad says the road was closed all afternoon yesterday because of flooding.”

  “I guess that lets Mr. Hodges off the hook,” said Martha, sounding disappointed. “Now we’ll probably never know who clobbered you.”

  “I sure hope we don’t run into that guy again,” Sebastian said, shaking his head for emphasis.

  Everyone nodded their agreement and then suddenly remembering, Emma asked, “Martha, did you bring the book we bought yesterday? I forgot to remind you before we left the dorm.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got it right here,” Martha said, pulling it out of her book bag and laying it on the table.

  Emma was just about to suggest that they all meet in the library as soon as they finished lunch, when disaster struck. Sebastian reached out to pick up the book and knocked Martha’s glass of water over in the process. Water went everywhere, giving the book and Martha’s lap a good drenching. As everyone began grabbing for napkins to clean up the spill, Sebastian stammered out his profound apologies. “G-g-gosh, I’m sorry, Martha. Mom says I’m a real klutz sometimes. You don’t suppose I ruined the book, do you?”

  “It’s okay, Sebastian,” Martha said. “It’s just water. The book and I will both dry eventually.” Martha retrieved the book from the puddle in which it was lying and began to assess the damage. The back cover had absorbed most of the water. The last few pages were a little damp also, but it was nothing that a good hair dryer couldn’t fix.

  “Are you sure it’s okay?” Sebastian asked anxiously.

  “It’s okay, buddy. Calm down,” Doug said, trying to reassure his friend.

  Emma suggested drying Martha’s skirt with the hand dryer in the girls’ restroom just down the hall. The book would have to wait for a more intensive drying session later. They’d already soaked up as much water as they could with napkins. Telling the boys they’d be right back, Emma and Martha left the table. Five minutes later, they returned, and the rest of the meal proceeded without incident. After lunch, they headed to the library. Mr. Hodges was sitting behind the checkout counter as usual and didn’t even look up when they entered. Several students were using the relative quiet of the library to do a little bit of studying, but there was one vacant table in the far corner of the room. Threading their way over to it, they all sat down.

  “Well, where should we start?” Sebastian asked, looking at each of them in turn.

  “We need to see if we can find a listing of what personal possessions Lord Dinswood left to the school,” Martha replied. While she was talking, Emma picked up the book they’d bought in Windland and began to flip through it.

  “I know he was here all day yesterday, but I just don’t trust Mr. Hodges. I don’t think we should ask him for help,” Doug said frowning.

  “We’ll just have to find what we want ourselves then,” Martha said. “We can use the old-fashioned card catalog or the computer listings. Our first day here Miss Grimstock told us the library was recently modernized and all of its contents are listed in a databank.”

  “Okay,” Doug said. “Martha, you check the computer databank, and Sebastian, you try the card catalog, and…”

  “Wait!” Emma cried excitedly, interrupting Doug. “Look, I’ve found something!”

  Everyone crowded close to see what Emma was talking about. Emma had the book open to the back cover. The soaking it had just received had caused the back page to come loose from the cover. As Emma pulled the loose page back, another piece of folded paper was revealed. As the others gasped in surprise, Emma carefully pulled the folded paper from its hiding place and opened it. It appeared to be some kind of riddle, handwritten in ink. It was a bit smudged from being wet, but it was still legible. The handwriting looked familiar. Quickly, Emma turned to the front cover and compared it to Lord Dinswood’s signature. Sure enough it was a match. “This was written by Lord Dinswood!” Emma said in awe.

  Unable to contain himself any longer, Sebastian blurted out, “What does it say?”

  Sebastian’s outburst drew a nasty look from Mr. Hodges and several students looked over at them curiously. “Sebastian, you’re going to have to be more quiet. We can’t afford any trouble from Hodges now,” Martha said worriedly. “Now, Emma, for heaven’s sake, what does it say?”

  Emma proceeded to read the handwritten message in a voice barely above a whisper. The message read:

  A passage exists beneath the hold,

  A way to safety in tim
es of old.

  Long and dark and damp and cold,

  Now it leads to treasures untold.

  To enter in, you must find the spot

  Where winter’s cold makes the iron hot.

  Structures of stone, all gray but one,

  Look where you can see the setting sun.

  To open the door, you’ll need one more clue.

  Look closely and I’ll reveal it to you.

  When the door is open, that’s just the start;

  Great treasure awaits the brave of heart.

  Underneath the riddle was another reference to Matthew 7:7. They sat there in stunned silence for several minutes after Emma had finished reading. They didn’t understand everything in the riddle, but one thing had come through crystal clear. A great treasure did exist, and it was just waiting for them to find it!

  Gradually, the impact of what they’d just learned began to settle in on them and then they were full of questions. Everyone began speaking at once, but in their excitement, they forgot where they were. After a moment, Emma realized they were making too much of a commotion, and anxiously, she looked over at Mr. Hodges. Doug, following the direction of her gaze, said, “I think we need to get out of here and go someplace where we can talk. We’ve got to figure out what the riddle means, but we can’t do it here.”