The Secret of the Stone House

by Judith Silverthorne

  The phone ringing made them all jump. Her mom hurried to answer it. Obviously, she didn’t want to talk about the house anymore. Emily listened for a few seconds, hoping it might be her dad, but she could tell it wasn’t by the gentle way her mom spoke. Aunt Liz poured another cup of coffee and headed outside. Her mom finished the call and drifted out after her.

  “That was Donald,” she heard her mom say, “He was wondering if we needed a hand tomorrow. We just have to call him, if we do.”

  Aunt Liz laughed, “Someone has an admirer!”

  “I don’t think that’s it,” Kate responded. “He’s just at loose ends right now.”

  “Well, we’ll see if you’re right.”

  Emily returned to the living room to examine the fireplace some more. As she got down on her knees on the floor, and pulled the stone out, she heard an odd scrabbling knock.

  “Mom? Aunt Liz?”

  She went into the hallway, but she could still hear them chattering outside. She returned to the fireplace to replace the stone. Something sounded again, but this time she heard definite knocking. She rose and entered the hallway again. Then she realized it was coming from the back door.

  She walked to the door and put her ear against it. She jumped suddenly when the knocking came again. Were her mom and aunt playing tricks on her? She flung open the door.

  “Geordie!” she gasped.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Emily stood there with her mouth hanging open. “Aren’t you going to invite me in, lass?” Geordie said with a smile that lit up his freckled face.

  “How did you get here?” Emily stepped back for him to enter.

  “I didn’t exactly do it on purpose,” he answered, looking about in bewilderment as he joined her in the hallway. He held out her hair elastic. “I found this on the ground in the yard.”

  Emily chuckled softly. “At least we know you can visit me, now.”

  “Now that I am here, will you give me a tour?” Geordie asked, looking curiously towards the kitchen.

  Emily glanced furtively down the hall.

  “My mom and aunt are outside, so we’ll have to watch for them,” she warned.

  Geordie nodded, staring into each of the rooms as they came to them.

  “It’s the same, but so different,” he said in awe, standing beside her in the dining room. “We never had a table like this.”

  “You will,” said Emily. “My grandmother said her parents had it shipped over from Scotland.”

  Geordie shook his head. “I can’t believe what the house is like now.”

  They moved into the small room that served as an office space and which held her grandmother’s desk. Emily knew it was a bedroom in Geordie’s home. Emily flipped on the light switch so he could see it better.

  Startled, Geordie grunted in astonishment. “How did you do that?”

  “It’s electricity. There are wires running throughout the house. They bring power for lights and other things,” she tried to explain.

  “Where does this power come from?” His eyes were wide with wonder.

  As Emily struggled to make him understand, she peeked out the window and saw her mom and aunt strolling across the yard away from the house. They were almost to the barn.

  “Everything runs on power. Come, I’ll show you.”

  Emily led him into the kitchen where she gave him a tour of all the kitchen appliances. Opening the fridge freezer, she had him stick his hand inside.

  “It’s like an icebox!”

  “And this,” she said turning on a burner, “is the stove. But don’t touch it!”

  She whirled through the kitchen demonstrating the toaster, the microwave and the coffee grinder. A clamour of noise erupted as everything popped, dinged, and ground. Geordie put his hands over his ears in fright.

  Suddenly, the door burst open.

  “What are you doing, Emily!” shouted her mom above the din. Aunt Liz followed behind her, staring about in astonishment.

  Emily dashed around the kitchen turning everything off. “Just checking to make sure everything is working.”

  “I’d say it is!” Aunt Liz exclaimed.

  Emily came to a standstill by the fridge in the abrupt silence. Geordie had backed himself between it and the door, and was edging himself behind it. He bumped into the broom hanging from the wall. Suddenly, it and the dustpan fell over with a clatter, and everyone jumped. Aunt Liz and her mom looked spooked.

  “What caused that?” Kate looked suspiciously over at Emily.

  She shrugged her shoulders.

  “Now the place is haunted!” said Aunt Liz with a tense laugh

  Emily heard Geordie stifle a giggle. She couldn’t help smiling.

  “Possessed is more like it!” Kate said with a touch of annoyance.

  Geordie extracted himself from the mess and headed down the hallway, while Emily wondered how she could explain the situation to them. They obviously couldn’t see Geordie, which was a good thing. She’d never be able to explain his presence.

  All of a sudden, the light in the living room went on and off in rapid succession. Aunt Liz went to inspect, but Emily beat her there. She caught Geordie’s hand as he was about to flip the switch again. She shook her head at him and pretended to be examining the connection.

  “Just loose, I think,” she said.

  Nervously, Aunt Liz agreed.

  “There certainly are a lot of peculiar things going on around here,” Kate looked cautiously about.

  “You know what these old places are like.” Emily shrugged with as much innocence as she could muster.

  “A good reason for us not to bother with it anymore,” Kate declared.

  “Aw, Mom, just because a few things are a little unusual doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to keep the place.”

  Geordie listened anxiously, obviously wanting to speak to Emily. She flicked the light off and left the room, hoping her mom and aunt would follow. They did.

  “Guess I’ll go up now to read,” Emily said casually.

  Behind her back, she motioned for Geordie to come with her. He waited until Kate and Aunt Liz returned to the kitchen, then crept up the stairs. As he entered Emily’s bedroom and surveyed the contents, he hesitated.

  “It’s not seemly for me to be here,” he said, his face turning crimson.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Come, take a look.”

  She led him over to the open window. Geordie caught his breath at the sight.

  “Look at how much those vines have grown ­– all up the side of the house and around this window, too. My mum would love to see this.”

  “Your mom planted the Virginia creeper? I didn’t know it was that old.”

  Emily stared down at the lush, thick greenery, clinging to the walls and the old lattice, with a mixture of sturdy tendrils and woody stocks that clambered over the roof.

  “What are those bushes down below?”

  “Lilacs. My gran planted them when she was a young bride,” Emily explained.

  “There are other bushes and trees in the yard that we don’t have back at home,” said Geordie.

  “I’m sure lots of things changed over the years,” Emily said almost wistfully.

  “It’s so different,” he said. “Now I understand how you feel when you visit me, lass.”

  He studied the fenced properties, and the patchwork of fields and pasture, noting where the roads ran. In the dusk, he could see the beginnings of the lights twinkling from the farmyards in the area.

  “There are hardly any homes left now,” he said sadly.

  “The farms got bigger and many young people have moved away,” she explained.

  Then to change the topic, she asked, “So when did the wedding end?”

  “Many stayed until dark,” he answered.

  “Did you get into trouble for taking the horse? Or did they even notice you were gone?” Emily quizzed him.

  He chuckled. “Kate saw me return, but she didn’t say anything,
though I must keep on her good side so she won’t tell on me sometime down the road.”

  “Where will the newlyweds live?” Emily asked.

  “With Susannah’s folks until we move into our stone house. Then she and Sandy will be living in our soddy until they have something built. He just took out his own homestead to the west of here.”

  He backed away from the window and looked at her room. His eyes came across the papers lying on Emily’s nightstand.

  Emily noticed his curiosity and said, “Speaking of homesteads, here are the papers from your parents’ place.” She picked them up. “They mention all the land that’s broken and how many buildings and how big they are.”

  Geordie took them and began reading the first page.

  “You can read?” Emily asked.

  “Of course,” Geordie said, amused. “I’ve been read-ing since I was Molly’s age.”

  “But you don’t go to school.”

  “Not right now, but I will be again once there’s one built. In the meantime, my mum teaches us.” He gave her a smile. “The Presbyterian church makes sure every child knows how to read from the Bible.”

  “I’m glad to hear education is important in your world,” Emily said.

  “Aye, there are several schools already in the Moffat area, but we’re just a little too far from them to go every day.”

  They talked for a few minutes until Geordie noticed it was getting dark out.

  “I think I’d better get back now.” He headed for the door and flung it open.

  Emily grabbed his shoulder. “Shhh. I have to get you out somehow, but without making my mom and aunt suspicious.”

  They could hear the two women’s voices below. They were still in the kitchen and they’d be able to see Emily going to the back door. That wasn’t such a smart idea at this point, she decided.

  “You’ll have to wait until they come up to bed.”

  “No, lass. I cannot,” he said fretfully. “I’ve been gone too long and I don’t know what will have happened.”

  He touched her softly on the shoulder. “Now I understand your concern.”

  “There must be another way.” He strode over to the window and peered out again.

  “It’s too far down,” Emily said in fear.

  Geordie shook the old vine-covered lattice and it seemed secure.

  “I’ll climb down the creeper,” he said, pushing himself onto the window ledge. “It’s dark enough now no one will notice me against the house.”

  “I don’t think the vines will hold. They’re so old.”

  “I’ll only fall into the lilac bushes,” he said with a grin.

  “That’s too dangerous,” she said.

  “I will be fine, lass,” Geordie patted her hand, and swung his legs over the edge. He held her hair tie in his hand and slipped it into his pocket. “Now I can come visit you when I have the time.” He smiled and disappeared from sight.

  Emily leaned over the window ledge and watched him climb down the Virginia creeper-covered lattice, amid rustling vines and creaking lattice. He managed to hang on until about halfway down when one of the fasteners came partially loose and he swung out from the house and came back with a thump against the wall. She watched as he steadied himself, then disappeared into the lilac trees. The next time she saw him was when he’d reached the ground and the glint of the moon caught his form. He gave a quick wave and stooped to place the hair tie in the space in the foundation. He disappeared immediately.

  “Emily, are you okay?” She heard her mom pounding up the stairs.

  “Fine, Mom,” Emily called back, just as her mom burst through the door.

  “There’s someone outside. We think there might be a burglar!” Her mom panted. “Stay up here and bar the door,” she ordered. “Aunt Liz and I are going to take a look.”

  Oh, no. They must have heard Geordie. What could she say? Emily stepped over to her mom.

  “I’m sure everything is fine,” she said.

  “But we heard some rustling in the bushes outside and some kind of scraping or something. And then something hit the house.”

  Emily couldn’t think of any logical way to explain what had happened.

  “Didn’t you hear it?” her mom asked with an incredulous look.

  Emily shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I thought it was just the wind.”

  “Wind, my foot. There isn’t a breath of air out there and you know it,” Kate’s face was getting redder by the minute.

  “Well, I’m pretty high up here,” said Emily, taking a step back. “I don’t always hear what’s going on down below.”

  Her mom looked as if she didn’t believe a word. “Well, I don’t know what’s going on around here, but you aren’t going anywhere from now on! You are not to leave this house. Do you understand?”

  “Aw, Mom, that’s not reasonable!”

  “Reasonable or not, all I know is that ever since we got here and you’ve been traipsing out to that rock, curious things have been going on. You frightened poor Mrs. Barkley half to death...”

  Emily held up a palm to stave off her mom’s ranting. “She does it to herself.”

  “That may be, but there was more to what happened than you’re letting on, I just know it,” her mom declared. “Stay put while we go out to investigate.”

  Her mom left the room. Emily went over to the window and watched for her mom and aunt below. A few moments later, she saw them turn the corner of the house. They clung to one another as they poked around with flashlights. They examined the ground and the bushes, whispering as they went. It didn’t take them long to find the broken branches in the bushes and the loose lattice.

  Emily drew back from the window and plunked herself down on her bed. What possible explanation could she come up with? The damage started below her window, so the obvious conclusion would be that she was involved somehow. Her mom blamed her for everything. Of course, she was involved this time.

  What was even worse was that she was forbidden to leave the house. Emily thought again about the box. She’d have to go back again somehow and be more persistent with Geordie. Clearly, he was her only hope to find the secret hiding place. The real problem, though, was slipping away from her mom and aunt so she could get back to the past. How would she accomplish that?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Emily smiled as she slipped out of her clothes and into her soft nightgown. She’d figured out how to go back to the past without her mom knowing. The last thing she did before hopping into bed was to set the alarm for five in the morning. She hoped to get up long before her mom or aunt. With a bit of luck, they’d be too tired after the work of the auction to get up early.

  Emily pulled her grandmother’s quilt over her and settled down to sleep beneath its comforting warmth. A cool breeze wafted in her bedroom window. Although tired, she wiggled and fretted, unable to sleep long after she heard her mom and aunt go to bed. Her thoughts kept returning to the homestead papers. At last she switched on her lamp and took up the documents.

  She read them carefully, amazed again at the details of land cleared, and the size and cost of all the buildings. She turned to another page and all of sudden saw the reason why no land was cleared in 1903. The Elliotts had had a prairie fire. Puzzled, Emily studied the paper. The information must be wrong, because she knew the family was perfectly fine. Then with sudden realization, she gasped. Maybe it hadn’t happened yet! Did her great-grandmother have anything about it in her diary?

  Yanking open her nightstand drawer, she grabbed the diary, flipping through the pages until she came to September in 1903. She scoured the spidery handwriting until she came across a passage that caused her to sit up straight.

  “A prairie fire almost destroyed our home yesterday. The winds were strong and the area so dry and brittle. We’ve lost so much. Some of our neighbours fared even worse.”

  Emily scanned the next few pages, but didn’t find any more information about the fire. What had the Elliotts lost? How
much damage had the fire caused? What had happened to the family? The journal failed to mention anything more. There was a gap of several weeks afterwards, almost as if her great-grandmother was too disheartened to write of it. But Emily had seen no evidence of it while she was in the past. How could that be? She compared the entry to the homestead papers, but there was nothing more there either. Then she examined the diary again and saw the date of the fire. September first. Two days after Sandy’s wedding! She tried to think about how much time would have passed in Geordie’s world since her visit to the wedding. Had the two days already passed?

  She had to warn them, if she wasn’t already too late! She fumbled out of the bedclothes. There was no time to lose. She dressed quietly and quickly, listening for sounds within the house, but there were none. Outside, the wind had picked up, and through her window, she saw the dark overcast sky. She’d have difficulty seeing without the light of the moon to guide her. She’d need a flashlight.

  Before she left her room, she hastily fluffed up her bedding to make it look like she was still sleeping, hoping her mom and aunt would think she was still there, if they happened to check on her. She crept down the staircase, her sneakers in her hand, making sure not to make a sound. She grabbed a bottle of water and a flashlight from a drawer and slipped them into her backpack, along with an apple. Then she tiptoed down the hallway and out the back door. The wind howled around her as she laced up her runners, and reached for the carved bird.

  Moments later, she found herself leaning against the stone house in pioneer time. The sun beat down on her from high in the sky and the air was stifling, in sharp contrast to the cooler weather she’d left behind. For the first time, she noticed the dryness of the landscape, the dying grass of the pastureland, and the dull, faded green of the bushes and trees. Even the bare ground seemed parched. She took a swig of water then set off to look for Geordie and his family.

  As she rounded the corner of the house, Emily found the Elliotts sitting in the shade of some trees a short distance away, having a noonday picnic. How could she get Geordie’s attention? She tried to calm herself. Maybe she was there a day early and they had plenty of time to prepare.