The missing mortals, p.24
The Missing Mortals, page 24
“But we don’t have any proof. The girl who told me you’d gone up to Boulder Falls can always claim she really thought you had. And there’s absolutely no way we can prove Bobby put her up to it.”
“I guess you’re right,” Martha said with a frown. “I wonder if it was the same girl that put me up to going down the river path to look for you.”
“Probably, but it could have been any one of Bobby’s groupies,” Emma said with disgust. Then with a sigh of resignation, she added, “It doesn’t really matter. We still can’t prove a thing. I’m gonna take the fall for this.”
“No, you won’t!” Martha cried. “It was Mr. Criderman’s and Mr. Dorfman’s responsibility to see that everyone was on the two wagons before they left the campsite. Mr. Dorfman should have checked to be sure we were on the other wagon.”
Martha had a good point, but Dean Harwood might not see it that way. At least Martha had given Emma some hope. With a sigh, Emma tried to put it out of her mind. They needed to worry about getting back to the castle first. Then they could worry about who was going to get in trouble and for what.
Emma was so focused on her conversation with Martha that for a moment she failed to notice the appearance of the castle’s spires over the tops of the trees on her right. Even when she looked up, it took a moment to register on her consciousness. When it did, she began jumping up and down joyously.
“Look, Martha! Look! The castle!”
“Thank goodness! I don’t think I could have gone much farther on this ankle.”
Their spirits lifted by the sight of the castle’s spires, the girls’ energy returned, and they managed to move along at a quicker pace, even with Martha’s sprained ankle. When they came to the next fork in the road, they knew exactly which way to go.
Soon they were headed up the driveway leading to the castle’s front entrance. When they rounded the last curve, they could see the castle in its entirety, and a most curious phenomenon greeted their eyes. The full moon had begun its descent in the western sky and was shining directly in the windows of the west tower, but that isn’t what had the girls stopping and staring in wonderment. Bright rays of light were streaming out of the tower’s turret windows as if a star had been placed inside it. The light coming from the turret was so bright it reminded Emma of the powerful beams cast by a lighthouse.
“What in the world is that?” Martha asked in a tone of reverence.
“I have no idea, but it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Do you think it shines like that every night?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been outside the castle this late at night before,” Emma answered.
“Maybe Doug will know what’s causing it,” Martha suggested. Because Doug was in the infirmary, it would be Sunday before they would be able to ask him. Martha wondered if she could wait that long to have her curiosity satisfied. Then another idea occurred to her. “We need to get inside that tower and have a look for ourselves.”
“We can’t,” Emma replied.
“Why not?”
“I asked Doug about the towers one time, and he told me that the entrances to both the east and west towers were sealed a long time ago. Apparently, the stairs had become unsafe.”
“Why didn’t they just fix the stairs?” Martha asked, pointing out the logical solution.
“I don’t know. It didn’t make any sense to me either, so I asked Doug that same question. He just shrugged and said that’s what Lord Dinswood told him.”
“Where is the entrance to the west tower? I’ve never noticed it before.”
“The entrances to both towers were bricked over. Now there’s a wall where the doors used to be,” Emma explained.
“So there’s absolutely no way to get in there?” Martha wasn’t ready to give up hope just yet. There had to be a way.
Emma shook her head and answered regretfully, “None that I know of.”
“Well, there is definitely something in there, and it had to get in there somehow,” Martha pointed out.
“It could have been in there before the entrances were bricked over,” Emma countered.
“Maybe there’s something extremely valuable in there, and that’s the reason the towers were sealed. It probably had nothing to do with unsafe stairs.”
“I guess it’s possible, but we’ll never know.”
“How can you give up so easily? I still say there has to be a way into the towers. We need to talk to Lord Dinswood and get him to open them up again.”
“Doug says Lord Dinswood hasn’t been feeling well. Doug’s really worried about him. Anyway, I don’t think it’s a good time to bother Lord Dinswood about this. Maybe Doug knows something about what’s up there. We can talk to him Sunday once he gets out of the infirmary.”
“I guess that’s all we can do,” Martha said with regret. “What do you think it is? What could possibly reflect the moonlight like that?”
“I don’t know,” Emma said for the second time. As Emma walked and Martha limped up the stairs to the front entrance, Martha continued to conjecture on what could be up in the west tower. Emma didn’t feel the need to reply. It was obvious that Martha was totally engrossed in her guessing game. The closer they got to the door, the more Emma began to worry about the trouble she could be in. Of course, it was entirely possible that no one was aware that the two girls were missing, and everyone had already gone to bed. If that were the case, they could slip quietly into the school, sneak to their room, and no one would be the wiser. All hopes for this scenario were dashed the moment they opened the enormous oak doors.
The lobby was all lit up and was literally a beehive of activity. Dean Harwood was in the process of instructing several of the faculty to take their cars in various directions to search for her and Martha. When he spied the two girls, he stopped in midsentence. In seconds, all heads turned in their direction, and everything came to a sudden halt. Emma immediately began to feel uncomfortable under the stares of all those assembled.
Dean Harwood’s first words were “Thank the good Lord! Are you girls all right?”
He was looking at them with such concern that Emma began to consider how bedraggled they must look after their ordeal. No doubt their hair was in wild disarray from the wind, and the frosty blasts had probably given their cheeks a healthy red blush. Then there was the fact that Martha was limping and still had Emma’s arm around her for support.
“We’re okay,” Emma replied finally, “but Martha has sprained her ankle.” Emma’s stomach started churning, and she began to feel sick. She had the sinking feeling that she was in serious trouble.
“I’ll send for the nurse immediately,” Dean Harwood said quickly. “While we wait, I’d like to hear what happened.”
After sending for the nurse, Dean Harwood thanked the teachers involved in the search and told them they could return to their rooms. Then he led the girls into his office. When they were all seated, he looked pointedly at Emma and said, “Now let’s hear your side of the story.”
Emma held nothing back. She told Dean Harwood how Bobby had made their trip to the campsite so miserable that she had asked to switch wagons. Then she went on to explain how the two girls had been tricked into going in opposite directions, resulting in their being left behind.
Dean Harwood listened to Emma’s tale quietly. When she finished her story, he began to ask questions. “Why didn’t you tell Mr. Criderman immediately that you would be riding on his wagon?”
“He wasn’t around at the time, so I decided to tell Martha the good news first. That’s when I was sent up the wrong trail.”
“And you think this misdirection was intentional?”
“I’m sure it was, but I can’t prove it,” Emma answered truthfully.
“Martha, do you feel you were also purposely misled?”
“Yes,” Martha answered quickly, speaking for the first time since they’d entered the castle.
“Well, lucky for you two that you returned when you did. I was about to call your families to tell them you were missing. I’m glad we were able to spare them that worry. How were you able to find your way back?”
“We followed the trail of hay,” Martha blurted out.
Dean Harwood smiled then. “I see, sort of like Hansel and Gretel and the trail of breadcrumbs.”
Emma started in surprise. “That’s exactly what I thought!”
Dean Harwood seemed to be more relieved than angry, and for the first time since getting back to the castle, Emma began to have some hope that she wouldn’t be blamed for what had happened.
“I sent people out to look for you. I’m surprised you didn’t see any of the cars I sent.”
Emma and Martha looked at each other sheepishly.
Seeing the exchange, Dean Harwood asked, “You did see a car, didn’t you? I guess my next question is, why didn’t the driver see you?”
Emma hesitated for a moment, embarrassed by the explanation for their behavior. Still, she wasn’t going to lie to Dean Harwood.
“It’s stupid really. We were telling scary stories around the campfire earlier. One of the stories was about a serial killer with a hook for a hand. Anyway, when we saw the car, we were kind of spooked, so we hid till it passed by.”
Dean Harwood said nothing for several seconds, and it seemed to Emma that he was trying very hard not to laugh. Of course, she could have been mistaken.
Then Dean Harwood’s expression sobered once again, and he cleared his throat. Emma knew that he was about to pronounce sentence, and her palms began to sweat.
“There’s no denying, Emma, that you failed to follow Mr. Dorfman’s instructions. You should have waited for Mr. Criderman and then informed him of the switch. For failure to follow the directive of a teacher, beginning Monday, you will serve two weeks of afterschool detention with Miss Jennings.”
Emma could have cried in relief. She was going to be punished, but detention with Miss Jennings didn’t sound too terribly awful. Miss Jennings was a lot nicer than Miss Grimstock who usually had detention duty. It seemed like Dean Harwood was trying not to be too harsh with Emma’s punishment.
Martha looked over at Emma and gave her that I-told-you-so look. Emma raised an eyebrow in response to Martha’s silent gloating as Dean Harwood continued.
“I’ll be having a little chat with Bobby Wilcox tomorrow morning to let him know that bullying will not be tolerated at Dinswood Academy. Since you have no proof, I’m afraid my hands are tied on the other matter. However, I will instruct the faculty to keep a closer eye on Bobby.”
Bobby will hate us even more than he already does, Emma thought as Dean Harwood finished speaking. Before Dean Harwood could say anything else, Emma hurried to ask a question of her own.
“Sir, I was wondering how you knew that Martha and I hadn’t returned with the group? We started walking because we thought it would be morning before anyone noticed that we were missing.”
“It was Martha’s blanket,” Dean Harwood replied. Seeing the blank look on the two girls’ faces, he continued his explanation. “Mr. Dorfman found Martha’s blanket on his wagon. As his wagon had returned to the school first, he decided to wait for Mr. Criderman’s wagon so he could give it to Martha. When you two weren’t on Mr. Criderman’s wagon, Mr. Dorfman immediately reported your absence to me.”
Emma had forgotten all about Martha’s blanket. It was apparent from the look on Martha’s face that she had too. How ironic that the blanket that had caused Martha such embarrassment earlier that evening would be the very object that would alert school officials that the two girls were missing.
A knock on the dean’s office door interrupted Emma’s thoughts. Dean Harwood called out permission to enter; and the school’s head nurse, Mrs. Godfrey, entered. She was wearing a plush ruby-colored robe over her flannel pajamas and had slippers of the same ruby color on her feet. Emma was reminded of the magical ruby slippers in the well-known movie The Wizard of Oz, but she kept the observation to herself.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Godfrey, but Martha has injured her ankle,” Dean Harwood explained.
“Well, we’d better have a look then,” Mrs. Godfrey said. She didn’t seem to be the least put out by having to come down to the dean’s office in the middle of the night. Emma reasoned that as the head nurse, she was probably used to students getting sick or injured at all hours of the day or night.
Mrs. Godfrey knelt before Martha and began examining her ankle. Martha winced in pain as the nurse gently turned it. After a moment, having completed her examination, Mrs. Godfrey rose. “Well, the good news is it’s not broken, and the sprain is a mild one. I think with some medication for pain and inflammation, Martha will be as right as rain in no time,” she reported to Dean Harwood. Then looking at Martha, she said, “Stay off that ankle as much as possible for the next couple of days, and when you’re sitting down, keep it elevated.”
Martha nodded her understanding as Mrs. Godfrey added, “I’ll get the pills you’ll need from the infirmary and bring them by your room. You’re to take one every four to six hours. If the pain worsens, send Emma to let me know.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Godfrey,” Dean Harwood said as the nurse departed.
Thinking that the meeting was now over, Emma started to get up.
“Just so you know,” Dean Harwood said, stopping Emma in midrise, “I’ll also be taking disciplinary action against Mr. Dorfman. Ultimately, it was his responsibility to make sure that you two girls got on the other wagon.”
Emma didn’t look at Martha who was probably, at this very moment, giving her another I-told-you-so look. Instead, she said goodnight to Dean Harwood and left his office with Martha trailing behind her. A soft moan reminded her that Martha could probably still use her help. Wordlessly, she took Martha’s arm and put it over her shoulder. Now Mr. Dorfman’s going to be mad at me too, Emma worried as she helped Martha hobble down the hall toward the girls’ dorm.
Before they reached the double doors leading into Brimley Hall, Martha asked, “Where do you suppose the entrance to the west tower used to be?”
Emma realized then why Martha hadn’t said anything in the last few minutes. She had been busy examining the hallway’s brick walls for any area that looked like it may have been bricked over. In all the excitement of their return and her subsequent punishment, Emma had forgotten all about the strange light emanating from the west tower.
“You don’t give up, do you?” Emma said with a sigh as she pushed open one of the double doors.
Martha’s only reply was a shake of her head.
The next morning, Emma awakened to the patter of rain on the window. It seemed the cold front that had caused the drop in temperature last night had also brought rain. It didn’t look like they would be playing any carnival games on the front lawn this year. Emma wondered what the faculty would do instead. The children’s hospital in Benton counted on the money brought in by the school’s annual Octoberfest. The event was too important to simply dismiss because of bad weather. Emma felt certain that the school would have some sort of backup plan.
Emma got up and looked out the window. The sky was leaden. It didn’t look like the rain would be ending any time soon. That meant that the relay races scheduled for the afternoon would also have to be canceled. Emma’s spirits sank as she contemplated the day ahead. It was bad enough that Doug couldn’t be with them, but now they would be stuck indoors the entire day with nothing to do.
Martha, Clarice, and Susie were just beginning to stir when someone knocked on the door to their suite. Emma called out for whomever it was to come in as Clarice grumbled something about being disturbed so early in the morning. Hearing Clarice’s comment, Emma looked over at her alarm clock. It was already nine o’clock. She and Martha had slept later than usual—probably due to the events of the night before. At any rate, Clarice’s idea of early wasn’t the same as Emma’s.
Emma smiled to herself as the door opened, and in bounced Penny Parnell, their dorm advisor. Penny hadn’t visited the girls since school had begun in September. It was apparent from the excited expression on her face that she had important news to impart.
“It’s raining outside,” Penny said, pointing out the obvious.
“We noticed,” Clarice responded dryly before Penny could continue. “Is that all you came to tell us?”
“No,” Penny answered with a wide-eyed expression. She had completely missed the sarcasm in Clarice’s tone. “I’m here to tell you that the carnival games will be played in the classrooms this morning instead of on the front lawn because of the rain. Also, there will be a trivia game in the dining hall after lunch. The seniors who want to participate will be the team captains. They are supposed to choose students from each grade level to be on their team. Each person will pay a small fee to play, and the money will be donated to the children’s hospital along with all the money brought in by the carnival games. It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully, one of the teams will choose some of you guys to play in the trivia event. Well, anyway, that’s all I needed to tell you. See you later.” Penny started to leave and then suddenly stopped and turned back around.
“Oh, I almost forgot. The dance will take place in the ballroom after supper tonight as usual.”
Then with a toss of her blonde ponytail, Penny was gone. Clarice yawned and, with a bored expression, said, “I don’t intend to be on any silly trivia team.”
Emma was hoping that someone would pick her and Martha. She agreed with Penny. The trivia game sounded like a lot of fun. Then Emma’s thoughts turned to the dance. She had pretty much decided she wasn’t going. Last year, none of the boys had asked her to dance because they had thought she was Doug’s girlfriend. The problem was Doug hadn’t asked her to dance either. It had been a big misunderstanding, and Emma had hoped to put things right at this year’s dance. With Doug’s illness, there wasn’t any chance of that, so she might as well skip it this year. She was about to tell Martha her decision when Susie interrupted her.
“Did you guys have a good time on the hayride last night?”
