Spake As a Dragon
Page 79
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Robert is sliding from his saddle before Blaze has come to a full stop at the hitching post in front of Elder Lindley’s house. Robert left Scarlett at a full gallop with Luke doing his level best trying to keep up, yelling, “Father, slowdown! It’s dark!”
Robert slightly turns his head and responds, “Come on Son, times wasting, try to stay up with me.”
Half running Robert is up the steps and across the porch pounding on the Elder’s door, ‘Thump, thump, thump,’ Robert hits with his gloved fist.
A candlelight appears in the house as someone inside yells, “Who’s there?”
“Sorry, Elder Lindley, it is Robert and Luke Scarburg. May we talk with you?”
Opening the door slowly, Elder Lindley peeps out to see if indeed it is Robert. Verifying for himself, he opens the door. “Sir, what could ye be seeking with me at this late hour?”
“Get dressed Elder, come with us to the Meetinghouse. I have an idea about the gold.”
“Brother Scarburg is this not a matter that we could delay till the morrow?”
“Yes, of course, but please Elder Lindley grant me just this one request and let us get into the Meetinghouse tonight.”
Walking up the walk to the front door of the Quaker’s house of worship Elder Lindley says to Robert, “Sir, I know not what ye expect to find that the men could not find during thou initial search.”
Opening the large wooden entrance door, the Elder lights a lamp in the foyer and hands it to Robert. “Luke,” said Robert, “I want you to take this lamp, climb in to the belfry and closely examine the Meetinghouse’s bells.”
“Okay Father, but examine them how? What am I looking for?”
“If the clapper is still within the bells take hold of one of the wheels that are attached to the bell, turn it by hand, if you can. The clapper should bang against the inside of the bell. I will hear one of two things standing here underneath the belfry – a sweet ring of the original brass bell or something else.”
“Father, you are making no sense. I have no idea what you are up to, but I will do as you ask.”
A couple of minutes later Luke climbs the ladder and is in the bell tower standing next to the two bells. One is pretty large the other a shade smaller, yelling back down to Robert and Elder Lindley, “Okay, I’m here, now what?”
“Turn the large wheel next to the bell, if it turns the bell will ring. If it is rusted shut swing the clapper by hand.”
From the Meetinghouse floor, the two men look up into the steeple awaiting the sound of the bell. A dull, dead sound is heard coming from the top of the tower; Luke said later it reminded him of someone thumping on a ripe watermelon.
Yelling back down Luke hollers, “Father, the bells will not ring, you reckon they are cracked and broken? I don’t see any cracks.”
Shouting back up into the belfry, “Luke, how do the headstocks appear? Are they secure or rotten?”
“I don’t know Father, what are the headstocks?”
“Luke, they are the large pieces of wood that support the bells.”
Responding back, “Father, these things holding the bells are large metal bars, they are not made of wood.”
Turning to Elder Lindley, “Something is not right Elder, the bells do not seem to be cracked, but yet they will not ring. The wooden headstocks are made of metal not wood. This is strange, but I have an idea.”
“Luke are the bells made of bronze?”
“I don’t know Father; they are painted black.”
“Black! Bells aren’t painted. Luke use your pocketknife and scrape off a small spot of the black paint and tell me what you see.”
Moving over to the large bell Luke removes his pocketknife, flips open a blade and scrapes the black paint along the edge of the bell, “This can’t be Father,” Luke yells. “It looks like...like...”
“What Luke? What does it look like?”
“Gold! Father it is gold!”
“Luke check the headstocks too.”
“Gold! The metal headstocks seem to be made of gold too!”
Grinning, Robert looks to Elder Lindley, “Well I guess we have found the gold Elder Lindley. It appeared when the soldiers pulled out that morning during the Battle of Scarburg Mill they left the gold bars and burned the wagons. Later, the bars were melted and to hide the gold they turned it in to the bells in your belfry. Now we understand why the bells never rang again; they couldn’t; they are made of pure gold!”
“What now Father?” Luke yells from the belfry.
“Good job Luke, now get back down we’ve got to get over to the Masonic Lodge.”