The Perilous Polynesian Pendant

by Jason Lethcoe

  No sooner had he decided to push on than a warm light filled the stairwell.

  Andy glanced at the walls of the stone stairway, relieved to see small torches spaced at regular intervals. He didn’t know how they’d been lit, but they made him feel much better about his situation.

  At least I can see where I’m going, he thought.

  Andy slid his hand along the rough stone wall for support as he shakily descended the narrow staircase.

  “How far does this thing go down?” he mumbled.

  After several minutes, he reached the bottom. To his surprise, the air wasn’t stuffy or dank, like he would have expected so far underground. Instead, it was dry and rather warm.

  Andy stared down a long hallway that stretched in front of him. Side passages led off to the right and left, and he noticed highly polished wooden rails with brass fittings attached to the walls.

  His palms were sweaty, and he wiped them repeatedly on the front of his trousers, then took careful hold of the railing and continued forward. A mysterious light glowed from somewhere around the corner.

  I hope I’m going the right way. What if I get lost down here?

  Andy was interrupted by a strange smell. It was a scent so powerful and exotic that it momentarily banished all other thoughts from his mind.

  Pineapple? Who in the world would be eating pineapple so deep underground?

  The fruity aroma made Andy’s stomach contract with hunger, and he pushed forward, eager to find the source of the delicious smell. How long had it been since he’d eaten anything?

  Andy turned the corner and stopped short. He had stepped into a giant open cavern. The space had been converted into the most incredible, most massive library he had ever seen. Leather-bound books lined the walls. To one side stood a roaring fireplace, complete with cozy chairs surrounding the blazing hearth.

  Andy felt a sense of calm wash over him. There was nothing he loved more than curling up with a good book. What could go wrong in a beautiful library? Then he noticed the other thing in the room. It towered over him, practically seven feet tall. Its body was crafted from some kind of blackened metal, and its face held two glowing lightbulbs for eyes, a long pointed metal nose, and a round hole covered with wire mesh for a mouth.

  Strangest of all, the creature held a tray containing fresh slices of pineapple upside-down cake.

  Andy’s stomach grumbled again, and he forced himself to take another step forward. Can it see me? he wondered as he stared up into the lightbulb eyes.

  As he drew closer, Andy heard the whirring of clockwork machinery coming from somewhere deep inside the creature. It’s a robot! he thought. But though it continued to whir, the automaton didn’t move.

  Andy considered whether he should take a slice of cake.

  It looks like it’s offering it to me, he thought. But what if it’s some kind of test? Maybe I’m not supposed to touch it.

  He stood there for a moment, wrestling with what he should do. The tests his grandfather had put in place were like puzzles.

  Nothing in this place exists without a reason, he thought. I must be meant to eat it.

  Andy cautiously took a slice of cake from the tray and—without removing his eyes from the robot—took a bite.

  The warm, sweet cake was every bit as good as it smelled!

  Andy was still savoring it when the robot, which had been standing as still as a statue, suddenly turned and walked away. A moment later it reappeared and offered him a cup of tea.

  Andy sipped the aromatic brew as he observed the strange robot. He had read his fair share of science fiction and adventure magazines, but he’d never expected to encounter anything like this. Who had built it? Did it belong to his grandfather? And more important, why was it standing in the middle of a vast library?

  Andy finished his tea and asked, “Can you understand me?”

  There was an almost inaudible click and the robot nodded once. Andy grinned.

  “Did you belong to my grandfather?”

  There was a second click, followed by another nod.

  Andy felt his heartbeat quicken. How had Ned come by such an amazing machine? Andy was starting to realize there was a lot more to his grandfather than even his books let on. It seemed like just when he thought he’d found out the most extraordinary thing about his grandfather, there was something more to uncover.

  A thought occurred to Andy as he gazed into the metal face. “Do you know who I am?” he asked.

  There was another click. This time, instead of nodding, the metallic man emitted a sound like radio static. From somewhere deep inside the robot, a voice replied, “You are Andy Stanley, grandson of Ned Lostmore. My name is Boltonhouse. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “Likewise,” Andy replied. “Er, my grandfather left instructions for me to come down here. Do you know what I’m supposed to do?”

  Boltonhouse didn’t respond. The metal man just stood there, as if waiting for a different command.

  “Ned Lostmore gave me a key,” Andy said, trying again. “What is my next task?”

  Still nothing.

  Andy thought for a moment and realized that everything he’d figured out so far had come through his ability to decipher clues. He turned his attention to the massive library. The next clue must be there somewhere.

  Andy sighed as he took in the size of the library. It seemed that his grandfather wasn’t fond of easy answers.

  Andy walked past Boltonhouse and made his way to the nearest aisle. He loved libraries. While other children craved new bicycles, bags of marbles, and slingshots, all Andy ever wanted was another book. He loved to run his fingers down a cover, tracing the outline of the title. He would crack it open and breathe in the dry, dusty smell of its interior.

  Andy had always preferred books to people. He was a quiet boy, and he usually found himself at a loss for words when it came to making conversation with his peers at school. But in a book, he could get lost. He could forget the boys who laughed at him for his clumsiness and for his inability in sports.

  As Andy made his way down the aisles, his gaze fell on the unusual titles written on the spines of the leather-bound tomes. He brushed the edges of the books with his fingers, noting each one as he passed. He didn’t know exactly what he was looking for, but he hoped that if he remained open-minded, the right book would jump out at him. Andy had been down three of the mazelike aisles when he passed a row of books that looked especially worn and tattered.

  Everest Exhibition: In Search of the Yeti. The Skipper Handbook for River Navigation. Profiles of Legendary Pirates of the Caribbean. Parrots as Pets. The Friendship Pineapple. Fix Anything with a Monkey Wrench…

  All of them sounded interesting. Had he been anywhere else, he would have grabbed the nearest one, plopped down by the fire, and lost himself in his favorite blissful pastime. But now was not the time for that. Somewhere down there was a clue, and if he ever wanted to get out of that subterranean maze, he had to find it!

  Andy reached into his pocket and felt the weight of the key his grandfather had left him. He drew it out and studied it again. The key had gotten him down there, but what he was supposed to do now that he had arrived?

  As Andy tucked the key back into his pocket, he gazed around the library. It would take days to read every title of every book there. And he didn’t even know what he was looking for.

  Suddenly, Andy’s eye fell on a small golden statue positioned on a table at the end of a row of bookcases. What is that? And what’s it doing down here?

  Andy walked over and took a closer look. The statue seemed out of place in the library. It was of a queen sitting on a throne. The woman looked exotic, with long hair and a flower lei around her neck. The word FIBONACCI was inscribed on the base of her throne.

  Andy looked at the statue, perplexed. Leis are usually Hawaiian. But the name Fibonacci doesn’t sound Hawaiian. I wonder who this is supposed to be.

  Andy picked up the statue and turned it over and ove
r. In one hand, the queen held a loaf of bread that sparkled with what looked like tiny diamonds. In her other hand she held what looked like a pepper.

  Andy tilted the statue and noticed something odd carved into the bottom of it. He traced his finger over a grouping of pockmarks and scratches.

  Andy was sure it was a clue. He just wasn’t quite seeing what he was supposed to.

  I know I’ve seen something like this before, but where was it? Andy thought. The scratches seem familiar, like they’re a pattern of some kind.

  Suddenly, he realized what he was looking at. Andy shook his head. Why hadn’t he figured it out earlier? Morse code was one of the most famous codes in existence. His code breaker magazines used it all the time. Andy had even written notes in it himself. He quickly translated the message.

  “‘Ananas comosus.’ Now what in the world does that mean?”

  Andy was about to look for a dictionary—a task he knew could take ages to complete there—when he had an idea. He called back down the aisle, “Boltonhouse, can you help me find a book?”

  The robot immediately turned and walked over to him. So that’s what he’s for, Andy thought. He’s a librarian!

  Andy looked up at the robot. “Does this library have a reference section?” he asked.

  The mechanical servant nodded once and set off. Andy hurried close behind. After several moments, Boltonhouse stopped in front of a shelf filled with dictionaries and encyclopedias.

  Andy was about to thank Boltonhouse when he saw that the mechanical man had already walked away.

  “Okay, let’s see here,” Andy said as he pulled down a dictionary. “Ananas comosus. It sounds Latin.”

  Andy searched the book. “Ananas…Ananas…It’s not here.” Andy sighed, but he wasn’t ready to give up. “Okay, how about comosus?” He flipped through the pages. “Here it is! Hmmm…tufted or crowned.”

  At least Andy had defined half of the phrase. He rolled the other half around in his mind. What could it mean? “Ananas…Ananas…Kind of sounds like bananas.” He stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. “Tufted bananas? Tufted fruit?”

  Suddenly, a thought struck him. He turned to an encyclopedia and pulled out the volume labeled P–R. He blew away a coating of dust, then flipped through it until he reached the page he was looking for.

  “‘One of the outstanding traits of the pineapple, or Ananas comosus, is that its unique exterior pattern can be divided into the Fibonacci sequence of numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,’” he read aloud.

  Andy’s breathing quickened. The book went on to explain that the Fibonacci sequence was a series of numbers that happened repeatedly in nature, dividing the bodies of various plant and animal forms into unique patterns.

  “That’s why the word Fibonacci is on the base of the statue,” he whispered. He read on: “‘Varieties of the pineapple include the smooth cayenne, sugarloaf, and queen.’”

  Andy thought about the statue and the items that were represented there.

  “The pepper and the loaf held by a queen,” Andy said. “That’s it! The clue must have something to do with a pineapple!”

  He thought about the warm pineapple upside-down cake Boltonhouse had greeted him with when he’d entered the library. It all made sense!

  “Okay, Grandfather…what did you mean by leaving the word pineapple as a clue?” he wondered aloud.

  Andy flipped through the pages of the encyclopedia. The most obvious place to hide the next clue would have been inside the book, but he didn’t see anything unusual.

  Andy paced, trying to figure out what to do next.

  “Pineapple…pineapple…why a pineapple?” he muttered. He walked down an aisle, patting his forehead repeatedly. “Come on, Andy. Think!”

  As Andy turned into the aisle with the statue at the end of it, he remembered something he’d seen before. He looked over the titles of the books again. “Everest Expedition: In Search of the Yeti. Parrots as Pets. The Friendship Pineapple.”

  Andy smiled slyly as he pulled the book from the shelf. He trailed his fingers along the battered lemon-colored leather and stared at the small image of a pineapple embossed in the center. The cover was unremarkable, almost overlookable. Holding his breath, Andy opened the book.

  Something large and metal clattered to the floor with a loud, rattling clank!

  Andy bent down to pick it up. It was another key! This one was very different from the first he’d inherited. It had a pineapple carved into a brass handle, which gleamed brightly.

  Bingo.

  Andy turned the key over. The shaft had a tiny inscription written on it. “‘Use the key,’” Andy read. He snorted. “Well, that seems pretty obvious.”

  He decided to check out the contents of the book and was surprised to see that it had nothing to do with pineapples at all. Instead, it contained a map of the library along with a series of entries—all of which, Andy noticed, had been inscribed with the same fountain pen nib that had been used to create the clever map in his grandfather’s study.

  “You can’t stump me, Grandfather,” he whispered with a smile. “I’m on to your tricks.”

  Andy noticed that the top of the map was inscribed with the name and logo of the Jungle Explorers’ Society. The famous society was an elite group of men and women who were interested in the discovery and preservation of the world’s most precious treasures and artifacts. The Society published a journal that was known for its stunning photographs of far-off lands and insightful articles about indigenous peoples. A copy of the Society’s journal could be bought for a quarter at almost any newsstand in the world—which Andy delighted in as he eagerly handed over his money every month.

  Little else was known about the group, and Andy had always suspected there was more to them than met the eye. He’d read a lot about secret societies and knew that such groups as the Freemasons, the Illuminati, the Rosicrucian Order, and the Thaumaturgic Cartographers all had both public and private personas.

  Andy had been collecting the Society’s journals for as long as he could remember and had always secretly wished that he could be a member.

  Andy moved his fingers across the page, studying it closely. It was a fairly ordinary map, well drawn and accurate. All the bookshelves and the fireplace in the library were perfectly depicted. There was even a tiny drawing of Boltonhouse standing where Andy had first seen him when he entered the room. Next to the drawing of the robot, so small that Andy had to squint to see it, was a pineapple symbol.

  “Eureka!” Andy exclaimed.

  Boltonhouse called out to him. “Master Andy.”

  Andy turned. “Yes, Boltonhouse?”

  “Your grandfather is waiting for you,” Boltonhouse replied calmly.

  Andy stared at the automaton, confused. “My grandfather is dead,” he said.

  “Your grandfather is waiting for you,” the robot repeated.

  Andy felt a chill go up his spine. What was the machine talking about? He had obviously been programmed a long time ago, when Andy’s grandfather was still alive. Did he really believe that Ned Lostmore was somewhere in the mansion?

  “You’re in communication with my grandfather?” Andy asked.

  “Affirmative,” Boltonhouse replied.

  “Then why can’t I hear him?” Andy asked.

  As soon as he’d asked the question, a thought popped into his mind. Was it possible that Boltonhouse was some kind of medium and was communicating with his grandfather’s ghost?

  As if he knew what Andy was thinking, Boltonhouse added, “Your grandfather is very much alive, although he is much changed. He is waiting for you.”

  The automaton took several steps forward and reached out his hand. On it was an iron key ring. “You must collect all of your grandfather’s keys. You are the new Keymaster. Your grandfather is waiting.”

  Keymaster? What does that mean? Andy wondered.

  Seeing no choice, Andy took the offered key ring and added the two keys his grandfather had left for him. T
he ring had a small clasp that allowed Andy to clip it to his belt.

  I have no idea what all of this means, he thought. But I have to find out! Why did Boltonhouse call me the Keymaster? And could Grandfather really be alive?

  Andy was terrified of what might be waiting for him, and he was growing more nervous by the second, but in spite of that, he was also growing incredibly curious. He knew if he didn’t go through with the mission, he’d always wonder what would have happened. Besides, he couldn’t go back the way he’d come. There was no exit in that direction.

  Andy didn’t know what Boltonhouse meant when he said that Andy’s grandfather was changed, but he suspected it didn’t mean he was a ghost. That left only one option: Ned Lostmore was alive. And it seemed he needed Andy’s help.

  “If I really do have the Lostmore Spirit, then now’s a good time to test it,” he murmured.

  Andy remembered where he’d seen the pineapple symbol on the map of the library. Tucking the book under his arm, he walked down the aisles, threading his way through the massive maze of shelves until he reached a small alcove near the corner of the room.

  At first he was surprised to see nothing but a plain-looking wall. Then, a few inches off the floor, he spotted a small brass keyhole with a pineapple symbol above it.

  Andy retrieved the pineapple key from his belt and inserted it into the lock. He exhaled slowly. This was it: time to meet the grandfather he’d only read about—or not.

  To his surprise, nothing happened. The key wouldn’t budge.

  “Come on,” Andy coaxed. But try as he might to turn it, the key still would not move.

  Andy took the key out of the keyhole and examined it closely. “Doesn’t seem to be bent,” he mumbled, turning it over. Then he noticed again the writing on the shaft of the key.

  Use the key.

  “I’m trying to!” he shouted. He was about to insert the key into the lock and try again when he had an idea.

  So far, none of the clues his grandfather had left him had been easy to figure out. Just going to the place indicated on the map was too obvious. What if…