Emma hesitated. Apparently, Doug didn’t want his father to know what Bobby had said that had started this whole mess. Emma thought she knew the reason. The whole subject of Doug’s mother was still very painful for Doug, and he didn’t want his father to know that. Emma was in a quandary. What should she do? After much consideration, she decided it would be best for Doug if she told the complete story, including Bobby’s thoughtless and cruel comment. Maybe Dean Harwood would go easier on Doug if he knew the reason for his son’s uncharacteristic behavior. Realizing that Dean Harwood was still waiting for an answer, Emma quickly related the events that had led up to the fight, but when she got to the part where Bobby had said Doug’s mother didn’t want him, she couldn’t bring herself to repeat those awful words.
Sensing her inner struggle, Dean Harwood offered words of encouragement. “It’s all right, Emma, you can tell me. What was it Bobby said that made Doug so angry?”
“He said that nobody wanted Doug here at Dinswood, and that even Doug’s own mother didn’t want him,” Emma said quickly before she could lose her nerve.
A look of great sadness came over Dean Harwood’s face, and he was silent for a moment. It was just as he had suspected. Doug had never been able to forgive his mother for her desertion of him. Instead, his anger had grown with each passing year, until now the mere mention of his mother was enough to set him off. Dean Harwood had done his best to make Doug feel loved and wanted, but he just didn’t know how to replace a mother’s love. Running his hand through his hair in a manner that reminded Emma of Doug, Dean Harwood looked over at Emma and said quietly, “I know that was difficult for you, but thank you for telling me. I don’t condone Doug’s behavior, but at least now I understand it. You may go now.”
Before she left, Emma couldn’t help asking what she feared the most. “Will Doug be expelled?”
“Based on what you’ve told me, no.” Then at Emma’s huge sigh of relief, Dean Harwood added, “Oh, don’t get me wrong, he’s still in plenty of trouble, and his punishment will be harsh. We can’t have fighting here at Dinswood, no matter what the provocation.”
Before Emma could stop herself, she blurted out, “What about Bobby? He’s the one who started it all. If Bobby had said those things to me, I would have punched him in the nose too!”
Dean Harwood had to smile at the forcefulness of Emma’s tone. Her defense of Doug was admirable. “Don’t worry. Bobby will be punished too.” With that, Dean Harwood rose from his chair and came around his desk to where Emma stood with her fists clenched at her sides. Smiling broadly now, he added, “It seems to me that with that black eye of his, Bobby already got some of what he deserves.”
Emma smiled back, relieved that Doug was not going to be expelled. As she was ushered into the outer office, Dean Harwood said on a more serious note, “Emma, thank you for being such a good friend to Doug.”
Before Emma could reply, the door closed behind her. Thinking what a nice man the dean was, she left the office feeling lighter than she had all day. Eager to tell Martha and Sebastian the good news about Doug, she hurried to the lounge where they were waiting for her.
The next morning at breakfast, Sebastian quickly found Emma and Martha and informed them in hushed tones what Doug’s punishment was going to be. “Doug packed up his things last night and has to move into his dad’s suite. Not only that, but he has detention every day after school with Grim.” Sebastian shuddered after this last statement, and then, pulling himself together, he continued, “When he’s not in class or in detention, he’s confined to his room, and he has to eat all of his meals at the isolation table in the dining hall.” The isolation table was a small table set off away from the others. The occupants of this table were not allowed to talk to anyone and no one was allowed to talk to them. This would be the first time all year that someone had been sentenced to eat at the isolation table.
“That seems a bit harsh,” Martha said. Emma had been thinking the same thing, but before she could comment, Martha asked, “How long is Doug’s punishment supposed to last?”
“Until Christmas break,” Sebastian said.
“You’re kidding!” Martha said in amazement. “Christmas is almost three weeks away.”
Sebastian shook his head. “I know, but Doug told me himself when he was getting all of his stuff together last night.”
Emma sat quietly only half listening to the exchange between Martha and Sebastian. Dean Harwood had said that Doug’s punishment would be harsh, and he hadn’t been kidding. Still, it could have been worse; Doug could have been expelled. At any rate, it didn’t look like they’d be having any contact with Doug for quite some time. There would be no opportunity for the four of them to discuss the treasure and what happened at Cal’s cabin until Christmas break. Oh well, Emma thought, with semester finals coming up, they wouldn’t have had time anyway. Once again Emma found herself wondering where Cal had gone and why. Just then another thought occurred to her. “What about Bobby? What was his punishment?”
“Oh, he got detention with Grim too, but only for two weeks,” Sebastian answered.
“Why would they put two boys who can’t stand each other in detention together for heaven’s sake?” Martha asked incredulously. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe Dean Harwood thinks that if he makes Doug and Bobby spend some time together, they’ll learn to get along,” Sebastian offered.
“Well, that’s a nice thought, but I just don’t see it happening,” Martha said skeptically.
“I don’t either,” Emma said, joining the conversation. “Bobby is too much of a snob, and he’s obviously jealous of Doug. Besides I don’t know if Doug would ever be able to forget what Bobby said about his mother.”
“Well, they’re going to have to learn to get along—at least for the next couple of weeks, because not only do they have detention together, but they have to eat at the isolation table together too,” Sebastian said.
“Poor Doug!” Martha said sympathetically. Then shrugging her shoulders, she added, “Well, at least it’s better than being expelled.”
“That’s what Bobby’s dad was pushing for. His dad’s on the board, you know,” Sebastian said, enjoying his role as the knowledgeable informer.
“Yes, we know, Sebastian,” Martha replied with a roll of her eyes. “We’re not stupid, you know.”
Emma felt it was time to intercede before Martha and Sebastian began arguing in earnest. “What about the rest of the board members? They must have sided with Dean Harwood, or Doug wouldn’t still be here.”
Sebastian nodded. “Yep, it’s lucky for Doug that the rest of the board isn’t like Mr. Wilcox.”
Martha and Emma nodded their agreement, and conversation ceased for the next few minutes while they finished their breakfast. Doug entered the dining hall a few minutes before the bell, and after quickly filling his tray, headed over to the isolation table where Bobby was already seated. Emma craned her neck to see Bobby’s reaction as Doug took the chair across from him, but Bobby never looked up or acknowledged Doug in any way. Doug never looked at Bobby either. Obviously the two boys had declared a truce, but it was an uneasy one at best. Emma continued to watch as Doug and Bobby practically gulped down their breakfasts, giving the distinct impression that they didn’t want to be together any longer than absolutely necessary.
Just then, the bell rang. After emptying their trays, Emma, Martha, and Sebastian left the dining hall and headed off to English class with Mrs. Perkins. They didn’t see Doug again until lunchtime, where once again he sat silently across from Bobby as he hurriedly ate his lunch. Emma just hoped Doug didn’t end up with stomach problems from eating so fast. She felt no such sympathy for Bobby; a good case of indigestion would serve him right!
The next three weeks went by quickly. With the semester drawing to a close, it seemed like there was more homework than usual. Emma, Martha, and Sebastian spent most of their free time studying in the library, but being in the library so much was b
eginning to give Emma the creeps. It seemed like every time she looked over at Mr. Hodges he was watching them with a weird expression on his face. Emma told the others about it, but they told her she was just being paranoid and that Mr. Hodges probably kept watching her because she kept watching him.
“The way you keep looking over at him probably makes him think you’re up to something,” Martha had pointed out logically.
Emma had to admit that was a possibility, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that Mr. Hodges knew something. It was almost as if he knew that they had broken into the library and found the passageway through the fireplace. How he knew these things, Emma couldn’t begin to guess. They’d been very careful to make sure they’d left no telltale signs around the fireplace. No, it wasn’t reasonable, but somehow Emma was certain that Mr. Hodges knew what they’d been up to.
In the weeks before Christmas vacation, they only saw Doug at mealtimes and at chapel on Sunday mornings where he had to sit next to his dad. The first Sunday of Doug’s sentence, as Sebastian called it, they were all at chapel. Doug was sitting a couple of pews in front of them on the opposite side of the church. Every now and then, he would sneak a look over to where they were sitting and give them a wry grin. “At least he hasn’t lost his good humor,” Sebastian whispered on one such occasion. “The prospect of three weeks with Grim should be enough to make most people want to start banging their head against a wall, but Doug seems to be taking it pretty well.” Sebastian gave a shudder, something he always did at the mention of Grim, and then sat back as Rev. Perkins began his sermon. Sunday afternoon was spent studying, but at Emma’s request, this time they met in the lounge instead of the library. She just couldn’t take another minute of being stared at by Mr. Hodges. Finals were slated to begin the next day and would continue through Thursday. Friday would mark the beginning of Christmas vacation and the end of Doug’s punishment. Classes would not resume again until after the new year. Emma couldn’t wait for Christmas vacation to begin; she needed a break from school, and she was anxious to talk to Doug and get his take on the events at Cal’s cabin. She also wanted to tell him how suspiciously Mr. Hodges had been acting. She knew he would listen and not accuse her of being paranoid. However, if she was honest with herself, the real reason she was so eager for Christmas break was that she missed Doug. Things just didn’t seem normal without him around.
Friday morning Emma awoke feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Finals were over, and she was confident that she had performed well on every test, even her art exam. Mr. Dubois had given them a multiple-choice test and had not required them to produce any great works of art. Martha had been a little disappointed that they hadn’t had to draw something, but Emma had been relieved and grateful. Eagerly, she bounded out of bed and began getting ready for breakfast. On her way to the bathroom, she paused just long enough to make sure Martha was awake. She needn’t have worried; Martha was already pulling back the covers and stretching. Both girls were ready in no time and left their room with Clarice and Susie still sleeping soundly in their beds. When they got to the dining hall, Doug was waiting for them with a big grin on his face. It was all Emma could do not to give him a big hug, but she managed to restrain herself. Sebastian came in a moment later and showed his happiness at seeing Doug by giving him a manly slap on the shoulder. Boys are so weird, Emma thought to herself, unable to hide her amusement from the others.
“What are you laughing at?” Sebastian asked suspiciously.
“Oh, I’m just glad we’re all back together again,” Emma said still smiling.
“Not as glad as I am,” Doug said with feeling. “You haven’t lived until you’ve had to spend every day after school with Grim. It’s enough to make you want to start banging your head against a wall!”
“That’s just what I said!” Sebastian said in amazement.
“No kidding?” Doug asked.
“Yep. I told Emma and Martha that that’s how I’d feel,” Sebastian answered looking at the girls for confirmation.
“He sure did,” Martha said, deciding to help him out. “I just imagine that’s how anybody would feel. Grim is okay in little doses, but too much exposure could make you crazy.”
Everyone was silent for a moment as they pondered the truth of what Martha had said. In Grim’s defense, she was an excellent teacher, but perhaps just a little too strict; and when she pinned one of her students with those beady eyes of hers, it was enough to make even the stoutest heart quiver in terror.
Emma was first to break the silence. “I think we should be talking about what happened at Cal’s cabin. Sebastian filled us in, but Doug, I’d like to get your side of the story. Where on earth is Cal? Do you think something bad has happened to him?”
Doug sighed and said, “I’ve had a lot of time to think about it, and of course we have no way of knowing for sure, but I just have the feeling that wherever he is, Cal’s okay. I mean we looked in all of the windows of his cabin, and we didn’t see any signs of foul play. It just looked like nobody had been living there for quite a while. Besides, why did those two guys come looking for Cal if they already had him? No, I think Cal’s okay. Maybe he’s got a summer home somewhere. Winters around here can be pretty bad you know.”
“Well, that brings up another question,” Emma said. “Why were those two guys after Cal in the first place? He’s just a nice old man who runs a bookstore. What could anybody want with him?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about that too,” Doug replied. “It was Cal that gave us the book with the riddle in it, right?”
“Right,” the others responded in unison.
“Well, what if all of Lord Dinswood’s books had that riddle in them? Cal told us that Dinswood put the scripture passage in all of his books. Maybe he put the riddle in all of them too, and someone else found it just like we did. Don’t you remember, the day we bought that book Cal told us that we were the second ones to be interested in the castle?”
Sebastian’s eyes widened as he remembered. “Now that you mention it, I do remember Cal saying something like that.”
“Do you think Cal knew that each of the books contained a hidden riddle?” Martha asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s certainly possible,” Doug replied.
“Wait. Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves here,” Emma said, holding up a hand. “How do we know those men were even after Cal? Couldn’t they have been looking for something in the cabin?”
It was Sebastian who answered this question. “No, I think they were definitely looking for Cal. The men we saw didn’t open any drawers or anything while they were in the cabin. They just went from room to room real fast-like.”
“Well, then I guess you’re right. It was Cal they were after,” Emma conceded. A moment later another thought occurred to her. “Hey, I just remembered something else Cal said the day we bought the book. As we were leaving the store, he said for us to be careful, because we weren’t the only ones seeking.”
“You’re right!” Sebastian exclaimed loudly, and then realizing that he was attracting the attention of some of the other students sitting nearby, he lowered his voice. “I do remember, but at the time, I thought Cal was kind of strange and that he was trying to scare us. Now I think he really was trying to warn us.”
“It’s all starting to make sense now,” Doug said, nodding his head. “The next question is where do we go from here? Cal was our last lead.”
“There’s got to be more to that riddle,” Martha said after a moment.
“Trust me, we’ve gone over and over that riddle. There’s just nothing more we can learn from it,” Emma said with a sigh. “There’s got to be another clue somewhere.”
“But where?” Sebastian asked, his voice rising.
“I’ve no idea,” Emma answered.
“Well, we’ve got all of Christmas vacation to figure something out,” Doug said. “One place we could look is in the library. Dinswood left a lot of his own
books to the school; maybe there’s something in one of them.”
“Maybe, but it’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack. There must be thousands of books in Dinswood’s personal collection,” Martha pointed out.
“That brings up another problem. Dinswood’s collection is off limits to the student body. How are we supposed to look for a clue when we’re not even allowed in that section of the library?” Emma asked, her frustration obvious in her tone. “Mr. Hodges has been watching us like a hawk every time we’re in the library.” Turning to Doug, Emma said, “Martha and Sebastian just think I’m being paranoid, but I swear that man knows something. It’s positively creepy the way he stares at us the whole time. I think he knows that there’s a secret passageway, and I think he knows that we’ve been in it.”
“How could he possibly know that?” Sebastian asked in a tone that suggested Emma had lost her mind.
Doug came to Emma’s rescue. “Maybe we left some kind of sign. I mean, we thought we put everything back the way it was, but it was dark, and we were kind of in a hurry. I’d say it’s definitely possible.”
“It’s all getting to be just too much,” Martha said. “Doug, you and Sebastian were shot at for heaven’s sake! You’re lucky you both weren’t killed. According to what Sebastian told us, that bullet missed your head by inches. Maybe we should just forget about the whole thing. It’s getting too dangerous and scary.”
“You’re right, and I’d agree with you 100 percent if it wasn’t for the fact that the future of Dinswood Academy is on the line,” Emma said emphatically.
The others were silent for a moment as they thought about what Emma had said. They all loved Dinswood just as much as Emma. The thought of having to split up and go to different schools next year didn’t bear thinking about. No, Emma was right. Despite the danger, they had to press on and solve the mystery of that riddle. The fact that others were involved only reinforced the truth of the existence of a treasure, and it rightfully belonged to the school. Their only option was to keep on going until they either found the treasure or—well, the other possibility was too awful to contemplate. They’d just have to be brave like the riddle said.
The Secret of Dinswood Page 23