The Secret of Dinswood

by Ellen Alexander

  “That makes sense,” Emma said, glad that Doug had not been offended by her question.

  “I just wish they’d build a gym,” Sebastian said with feeling.

  It was true that a gymnasium would be a nice addition to Dinswood Academy. Physical education left a lot to be desired. On days when the weather was fine, the students had PE outside, and it consisted mainly of running around the school or doing calisthenics on the front lawn. On days when it was raining or too cold outside, PE was held in the ballroom. There was just something about the ballroom that was not conducive to grunting and sweating. The two PE teachers, Miss Krum and Mr. Dorfman, focused on getting the students physically fit, but the students felt this goal could be accomplished in a more entertaining fashion. They would much rather play games like volleyball or basketball, but team sports were neither played nor encouraged. A gymnasium would hopefully change all that.

  “Yeah, a gymnasium would be great,” Martha agreed enthusiastically. “We could have gymnastics with a trampoline and a balance beam and everything. We had gymnastics equipment at my last school, and I got pretty good on the uneven bars. It was a lot of fun.” Pausing to catch her breath, she had a sudden thought, and looking at Emma, Martha continued, “Emma, you’d be good on the balance beam.”

  “I think it’d be neat to have an indoor swimming pool,” Sebastian said, getting into the spirit of the wishing game. “We could learn how to do all the different kinds of swimming strokes like the butterfly and breaststroke. I saw them doing all that on the Olympics one time and thought it would be neat to be able to do that.”

  “We could learn how to dive,” Martha added, and then noticing that Doug and Emma had yet to make a wish, she asked them what they would like to see added to the school.

  “Well, I think it would be kind of nice if we had a stable with horses,” Emma said. “Then we could take horse riding lessons, and we could have a big horse-drawn sleigh to ride around in when it snows.”

  “I didn’t know you liked horses,” Doug said, stopping for a moment to turn around and look at Emma.

  “Well, I’ve never really been around horses, but I’ve always wanted to learn to ride,” Emma answered. “What would you wish for, Doug?”

  “Gosh, it’s going to be hard for me to come up with something. You guys have pretty well thought of everything.” Doug was silent for a few moments as he tried to come up with a wish the others hadn’t already mentioned. “I think it would be kind of neat if we had a huge pond near the school. We could stock it with fish and go fishing when it’s warm outside.” Doug stopped speaking momentarily and then another idea came to him. “And in the winter when the pond freezes, us guys could play hockey, and you girls could ice skate.”

  “What makes you think girls don’t play ice hockey?” Martha asked in an offended tone.

  “Yeah, and what makes you think guys don’t figure skate?” Emma chimed in, giving Martha a wink that Doug couldn’t see.

  Uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the two girls, Doug looked to Sebastian for help, but Sebastian just shrugged, clearly indicating that Doug was on his own.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you girls,” Doug said finally, the heat of a blush rising up his neck and into his face. “I just meant that, uh, well, uh, hockey’s kind of a rough sport. Guys get their teeth knocked out and stuff like that. And figure skating is kind of pretty and uh, I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem very manly,” Doug said that last part quickly and then glanced from one girl to the other to gauge their reaction to his stammered explanation.

  Deciding not to let him off the hook just yet, Emma said, “Guys ice skate all the time. Haven’t you ever watched ice skating on TV? Guys skate in the men’s individual competition and in pairs skating, and there’s even an ice dancing event.”

  “Yeah,” Martha said nodding. “What do you have to say to that?”

  Wishing he hadn’t brought the subject up in the first place, Doug looked down at his feet and mumbled, “I know, but it’s just not for me.”

  Unable to stand it any longer, Emma and Martha laughed out loud. Realizing that the girls had just been giving him a hard time, Doug experienced a myriad of emotions in quick succession—first relief, followed by annoyance, and then an almost overwhelming desire to get even. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he looked at the two girls and said, “Oh, you just wait. Payback will be sweet.”

  Emma looked at Martha and they broke out in laughter again. Doug just shook his head and looked away; the heat of another blush creeping into his cheeks. Obviously, the girls had not taken his threat of retribution seriously.

  Deciding to let Doug off the hook, Martha brought the conversation back around to the original topic. Becoming serious once again, she said, “All jokes aside, if we find the treasure, the school can have all the things we mentioned. Then the school would attract more students and never have to worry about money again.”

  The others nodded in agreement and then the group was silent for a while as they continued down the gravel bar, looking for the red ribbon that Doug had used to mark the entrance to the cave. It was Sebastian who eventually broke the silence.

  “I’m thirsty. We should have brought some water or something, and I could go for a little snack too.”

  “Yeah, we should have thought to bring some bottled water and some granola bars or something,” Martha agreed.

  Thoughts of food and water were temporarily suspended when just at that moment Doug spotted the red ribbon and shouted, “There it is, the mouth of the cave!” In a calmer voice, he continued, “Everyone fan out and look for clues.”

  Half an hour later, they’d checked every shrub, every weed, and every tree within close proximity of the cave, but there were no clues to be found.

  “Maybe it’s in the water,” Sebastian said, peering intently into the stream. The water was crystal clear, so he could see the gravel at the bottom.

  When it appeared that Sebastian was about to step into the stream, Doug called out a warning, “Sebastian, you’d better be careful. The water is deeper than it looks. Remember, Miss Jennings told us that the light rays are bent when they enter the water, so objects are always deeper than they appear.”

  Sebastian looked at Doug doubtfully and then stuck his shovel into the water to test its depth. He nearly fell in when the shovel dropped into water that came up to the top of the handle. Sebastian had not been expecting the water to come up much over the blade. The shovel’s quick descent made him lose his balance, and he would have toppled into the stream head first if Doug had not grabbed his jacket and pulled him back.

  “Honestly, Sebastian, be careful. How would we explain your being soaking wet to everyone at school?” Martha said with exasperation.

  “I didn’t fall in, so don’t get all worked up about it,” Sebastian retorted with a huff.

  “Guys, let’s focus on why we’re here,” Doug said, trying to head off another argument between Martha and Sebastian. “We’re running out of time, and we still haven’t found the treasure.”

  “We’ve covered the entire area in front of the cave, and we haven’t found a thing,” Martha complained.

  “Well, let’s broaden our search,” Doug suggested.

  Once again, they spread out and began combing the area a little further from the mouth of the cave. After an hour, they still hadn’t found any clues or markings. Emma looked at her watch. It was getting close to dinnertime, and they still had to walk the mile back to the school. Reluctantly, she told the others that they’d better start heading back.

  “We might as well, we’re not going to find anything here,” Doug said, disappointment evident in his tone and in the droop of his shoulders.

  “I can’t believe that this Lord Dinswood fellow would lead us on a wild goose chase like this. He must have been a real psycho to think this kind of thing is funny,” Sebastian said angrily.

  With heavy hearts, they started the walk back to the school. They had each sincerely believed not
only that there was a treasure, but that they could find it and save the school. So great was their disappointment that no one felt much like talking, and the entire trip back to the school was made in complete silence. After stowing the shovels away in the shed, they hastened to the edge of the woods. When they were certain no one was watching, they emerged quickly from the woods; the girls splitting up from the boys at the greenhouse.

  As Emma and Martha made their way to their dorm to put their jackets away, Emma kept going over the riddle in her mind. She refused to believe that it was just a cruel hoax. There had to be a treasure. Somewhere along the way, they must have missed something, but what that something was, she had no idea. They would have to go through the riddle again line by line and look at Lord Dinswood’s book more thoroughly. One thing was certain, Emma was not ready to give up, and she wasn’t going to let the others give up either.

  Everyone was rather subdued at supper that evening. Steeped in their disappointment, they ate automatically. Later, Emma couldn’t even remember what she’d eaten; her mind had been focused on the riddle and what they could possibly have missed. The others didn’t seem to be in any mood to discuss it, so Emma decided to bide her time. Maybe a couple of days from now they would be ready to go through the riddle again. After supper, Emma and Martha went into the lounge to work on their hobby projects. They didn’t see Doug and Sebastian after supper and could only assume they, too, were somewhere working on their projects.

  Sunday morning, the girls woke early and got ready for chapel. Shortly before eight, Emma, Martha, Clarice, and Susie put on their jackets and left the castle. It was another sunny autumn day, and Emma hated the fact that she was going to have to spend the afternoon getting caught up on her homework instead of outside in the sunshine. At least she’d gotten to be outdoors yesterday. With that thought came the remembrance of their failure to find the treasure. They’d been so sure they would find it somewhere near the entrance to the cave. Once again, Emma made a silent vow to keep working on the riddle. Even if she had to find the treasure herself, she wasn’t going to give up. Dinswood Academy had become her new home and Martha, Doug, and Sebastian her new family. The thought of losing either one of them was too painful to contemplate.

  When they entered the chapel, Reverend Palmer greeted them with a kindly smile and handshake. Soft organ music could be heard playing in the background. As usual, Reverend Palmer’s quiet tones and just being in the chapel had a soothing effect on Emma. She felt herself begin to relax and had an almost overwhelming feeling that God was trying to tell her that everything would be all right. When Reverend Palmer began his sermon, Emma was certain that God was speaking to her. The past several Sundays, Reverend Palmer had been speaking on the different fruits of the spirit, and today’s topic was patience. Reverend Palmer explained that God always answers the prayers of his children. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no, and sometimes the answer is wait. Reverend Palmer went on to say that the last answer is the most difficult for God’s children to deal with, because it requires faith and patience; two things mankind is generally short on.

  That’s the answer, Emma thought to herself. Maybe God’s just testing our faith and trying to teach us patience. She glanced over to where Doug was sitting across the aisle, and a fraction of a second later, as if sensing her gaze, he lifted his head and looked directly at her. Although no words were exchanged, a type of silent communication passed between them. Doug’s look said he wasn’t ready to give up either. Emma nodded her understanding, earning a curious look from Martha who was sitting beside her. The rest of Reverend Palmer’s sermon was lost on Emma as her mind was once again on the treasure and planning their next course of action. It would be a while, however, before they would get a chance to work on the riddle again.

  The next two weeks went by in a blur as the teachers began to prepare their students for midterm exams and that translated into more homework. There hadn’t been a moment to spare for treasure hunting. In fact, no one had spoken of it since that Saturday they’d gone to the mouth of the cave. Emma didn’t worry though; her studies had to come first, and after all, they had the rest of the school year to find the treasure.

  By the middle of October, the trees had reached the peak of their autumn color, and the students at the school were all excited about the upcoming October Fest. Dinswood Academy did not celebrate Halloween, because it was a pagan holiday. Instead, on the last Saturday of every October, the school had a big celebration that involved the entire student body. During the day of October Fest, all sorts of carnival games were set up in booths and played on the front lawn. The students also formed their own teams and participated in a variety of hilarious relay races, ending with a tug-of-war. In the evening, a big bonfire was built, and the students roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. After that, a dance was held in the ballroom. The teachers felt that it was a great way for the students to relax after the stress of midterm exams and agreed that, for that weekend at least, there would be no homework. Students who’d been at Dinswood last year talked about October Fest with an enthusiasm that was catching.

  Although the day of October Fest was something to look forward to, they had to get through their midterm exams first. Emma, and the entire student body for that matter, spent the next two weeks either studying in the library or in their rooms. It was strangely quiet around the school after dinnertime as everyone had their heads buried in a book. By the time the week of midterms arrived, Emma felt that she had prepared as best she could. Miss Grimstock’s midterm was going to consist of six essay questions and was the exam Emma was most worried about. Mr. Godfrey’s math exam was going to consist of all the kinds of problems they had learned to solve thus far and some word problems. Emma had an inborn fear of word problems. She could solve any equation set before her, but word problems had always given her trouble. She just hoped there weren’t too many word problems on Mr. Godfrey’s exam. For English, they were going to be tested over Moby Dick. Emma wasn’t too worried about the English exam, because she had read the book faithfully and completed every assignment pertaining to the book. Sebastian, however, was a different story. He admitted to Martha one day that he hadn’t read the book and had just fudged on the assignments. It was too late for him to start reading the book now. Emma just hoped he remembered enough from the assignments to pass the test. Mr. Dubois, Miss Krum, and Mr. Dorfman weren’t going to give any art or PE exams. In fact, during exam week, they wouldn’t have PE or art classes. Emma had to admit she wasn’t going to miss either class. Mr. Dubois had been having them draw sketches of various everyday items, and no matter how hard Emma tried, her pictures never turned out right. Fortunately, her art grade wasn’t solely dependent on her drawing ability. Mr. Dubois also lectured and gave tests over his lectures. Emma always made sure she did very well on all the tests.

  Exam week came and went, and by Friday afternoon, it was as if a cloud had been lifted around the school. The hum of conversations could be heard again, and the students bustled about in anticipation of October Fest and a weekend with no homework. The ballroom was being decorated for the dance the following evening, and Rev. Palmer was supervising the setting up of the carnival games on the front lawn. Students would have to pay a small amount to play the carnival games, but there were prizes that could be won, and the money raised was going to be given to charity. The relay races, however, were strictly for fun and bragging rights for the winning teams. As students were allowed to choose their own teams, it was only natural that Emma, Martha, Doug, and Sebastian would be on a team together. Each team was supposed to be composed of six members, so Doug had also enlisted Phil and Tom, the boys who shared a room with him and Sebastian. Emma had asked Clarice and Susie to be on their team, but Clarice had declined with her nose in the air. Susie had appeared interested at first, but when Clarice declined, she quickly followed suit. Reggie had also expressed no desire to take part in any “athletic events,” as he called them.

  Saturda
y dawned clear and sunny; it was going to be a beautiful day. The air was cool but not uncomfortably so, and there wasn’t even a hint of rain in the forecast. When Emma and Martha arrived at breakfast that morning, there was a festive atmosphere in the dining hall, and they could barely hear each other over the excited chatter of their fellow students. Realizing that any attempts at conversation would be futile, they simply smiled at one another and enjoyed their breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. Doug and Sebastian came in just as the girls were finishing up. The dining hall was unusually full for a Saturday morning, and as there were no vacant seats by the girls, the boys nodded a greeting and sat at the far end of the table.

  The carnival games weren’t supposed to start until ten o’clock, and the relay events were slated to begin after lunch, so the girls had some time to kill. Deciding to check out all of the carnival games, the girls grabbed their jackets and headed outside. Clarice, Susie, and Reggie happened to meet them at the front entrance, so they all went out together. Even Clarice seemed to be in high spirits, chatting gaily as they wound their way around the many booths set up on the front lawn. The games were the usual games one would see at a carnival. One game consisted of throwing darts at balloons, one was a shooting gallery with little moving ducks as the targets, another game involved tossing rings around bottles, and another game had little bowls floating in a pool, the object being to throw coins into the bowls without them bouncing back out. The prizes were the usual carnival assortment as well and consisted of stuffed animals, costume jewelry, Swiss Army knives, key chains, glowing pens, and so on. Emma had a fondness for stuffed animals, and the shooting gallery offered a large orange and black striped tiger that Emma wanted to win.

  Clarice was just remarking that none of the prizes were worth having when Doug and Sebastian joined them.