Soon the Aldens heard a car stop in front of the Roth house. They ran to the front door and saw Mr. Alden getting out of the car.
“There’s our grandfather,” Jessie said to Mrs. Carter. “We have to go. Thanks for the phone and the snack.”
“Any time,” Mrs. Carter replied.
The children ran to their grandfather, and Violet said, “Come upstairs and see the dress I was telling you about.”
They all went into the house and upstairs to the small bedroom. They looked at the bed. It was empty.
“The dress was here just a little while ago,” Violet cried out. “Everyone saw it. We all did.”
“She’s right, Grandfather,” Henry said. “It was here.”
“We all saw it,” Jessie added.
“It was right here on the bed?” Grandfather asked.
“Yes!” Violet said. “I can’t believe it’s gone.”
“That is very odd,” Mr. Alden said. He looked around the room thoughtfully. “There must be a good explanation. Meanwhile, I hope you children aren’t nervous here.”
“Of course not, Grandfather,” Jessie said. “It is funny that the dress is gone. But there must be a real good reason.”
“Something else happened,” Henry said. “We found a couple of boxes of old books in a closet.”
“That sounds interesting,” Mr. Alden said. “Let me see them.”
They walked into the master bedroom and showed Grandfather the books in the closet. He started looking through one box. “It’s much too dark in this closet to see anything. I think we should take the boxes home and see what’s in them. There might be something valuable.”
“I’ll help you carry the boxes downstairs,” Henry said.
Together Henry and Mr. Alden carried the two boxes down and put them in Mr. Alden’s car. “I think you children have had enough for one day. Why don’t you bike home now,” he said.
“I like that idea,” Benny replied.
“Before we go, Grandfather. Look at the man across the street. He’s the artist we told you about,” Violet said.
Mr. Alden gazed at Thomas Yeats. “He seems ordinary enough to me, Violet. Just an artist painting a picture of a house.”
“Not a very nice artist,” Violet said. “A grumpy one, just like Mr. Carter.”
Grandfather laughed. “Well, unfortunately, everyone isn’t pleasant all the time.”
It took much longer for the children to bike home than for Mr. Alden to drive there. So by the time they had arrived at their house, Grandfather already had the boxes of books in the den. He also had some good news for them.
He said, “Aunt Jane called. Uncle Andy is away on business, so she’s going to come and spend a few days visiting us.”
Benny asked, “When will she get here? I can’t wait.”
Grandfather laughed. “Well, you won’t have to wait too long. She’ll be here in the morning. She said she would leave Elmford very early.”
Violet was already busy pulling books out of the two cartons. The other children joined her and they all sat on the floor, examining them. Grandfather sat in his favorite chair reading the newspaper. He enjoyed their laughter as they found books that seemed very old and outdated.
Jessie pulled out a magazine that featured women’s styles. “Look at these dresses,” she cried out. “They’re so funny.”
“And the hats,” Violet added. “Can you imagine wearing something like that now?”
Henry looked at the pictures, too. “You know, some of these dresses look just like the one that was on the bed in the Roth house.”
Jessie closed the magazine and looked at the date on the cover. “This is from February 1917.”
“So the dress we saw could have been Celia’s,” Violet said softly.
“Violet!” Jessie said. “Even if it was Celia’s dress a long time ago, there’s no such thing as ghosts. The dress got on the bed in some logical way.”
Mrs. McGregor came to the door of the den and said, “Dinner will be ready in five minutes. You children all go upstairs and wash your hands very well. You’re all dirty from those dusty old books.”
In a few minutes they all sat down to a wonderful chicken dinner. The children were impatient, however, to get back to the books, which interested them all. Even Benny had found something special — a few old children’s books. And Watch liked sniffing at the old books. So they ate faster than usual and decided to save their dessert until later.
They ran back into the den and continued going through the two boxes. The evening was filled with one or another of the children calling out, “Look at this one” or “Have you ever seen anything like this?” or “Look at what a car looked like then!”
Suddenly Violet called out, “I’ve found something wonderful!”
She held in her hands a cracked blue leather book. Printed on the cover in gold letters was My Diary. On the first page was written in a delicate, perfect handwriting, This book belongs to Celia Roth.
The Aldens all crowded around Violet and looked at the diary. “I’m not sure it’s right to read it,” Jessie said.
“Jessie, the diary is years and years old. Celia Roth is probably dead now. What harm is there in reading it?” Violet asked.
Jessie said firmly, “I wouldn’t want anyone reading my diary — even seventy-five years later.”
Violet turned to Mr. Alden, who was listening to the conversation. “What do you think, Grandfather?”
Mr. Alden said, “Well, I don’t really see anything wrong in reading the diary of someone who wrote it so long ago.”
Violet opened the book, and Henry said, “See if there are any entries for August, the month she disappeared.”
Violet read aloud: “August 1, 1917 … Dear Diary, I told Father last night that I was in love with George Collins and that we wanted to get married. I explained that since George is in the army and due to go overseas we wanted to be wed before he went. Father was very upset. He said he would never allow that. He said George and I didn’t know each other well enough and that it was a foolhardy thing to do. He said he would never give his permission. I cried and cried but he refused to change his mind.”
Jessie sighed. “Isn’t that romantic?”
“Read some more, Violet,” Henry said.
Violet went on. “August 3, 1917 … Dear Diary, I tried to talk to Father about George again, but he still won’t listen to how I feel. He wants George and me to wait until the end of the war. But who knows how long it will last? George is coming over tonight and he is going to try to change Father’s mind.
“August 4, 1917 … Dear Diary, George had no luck either. I am so unhappy. I don’t want to disobey Father, but I want so much to marry George now.
“August 5, 1917 … Dear Diary, George and I had a long talk today. He is sure he is going to be shipped to Europe soon. What are we going to do? I never thought Father could be so stubborn. I know Father loves me and I love him. But I love George, too.
“August 6, 1917 … Dear Diary, I feel much better tonight. Father seemed so calm and kind today. I am sure that if I’m patient he will come around and see my point of view. He almost always does. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Violet flicked the pages. “That’s the last entry,” she said.
Jessie frowned. “It seems as if Mr. Roth really didn’t understand how unhappy Celia was.”
Benny said, “I think it’s all very mushy.”
The other children laughed. Grandfather said, “Well, children, you certainly have made an interesting discovery. But now it’s late. Benny, I think you should be off to bed.”
Benny kissed Mr. Alden good night and started for the stairs. He smiled broadly. “Tomorrow Aunt Jane will be here.” |