“Now, just wait a minute, Benny,” Henry said. “Someone might already have found the treasure, you know. I mean, we’re not the first ones to have seen this letter.”
“No, we’re not,” Jessie agreed. “I wonder who found it first and who left it in the tower.”
“Even if we’re not the first, we can still look for the treasure, can’t we?” Benny asked.
“Yes, we certainly can,” said Henry.
“Let’s take a look at what it says in the letter again,” suggested Jessie. “But first I’m going to return this book to Mrs. Brooke.”
While Jessie took the book back to the librarian, Violet laid the letter on top of the table and carefully unfolded it.
“What does the clue say again?” Benny asked.
Violet read, “It says, ‘Listen to the music and take one hundred sixty-one steps. Remember, the key to the problem is right in front of the face.’ ”
“What do you think he meant by ‘listen to the music’?” asked Jessie, who had just come back.
“They definitely didn’t have radios or CDs back then,” said Henry with a laugh.
As they were talking, the silence of the library was broken by the sound of the bells.
“The midday concert!” Violet cried.
“I know, can you believe it’s already lunchtime?” Jessie asked.
“And it sounds like Ezra fixed the carillon,” Henry added.
“No, I mean, that’s the music you listen to here at Goldwin,” Violet said excitedly. “The music Joshua Chambers was talking about!”
“You’re right!” Jessie said. “Good thinking, Violet.”
“Did the carillon play way back then?” Henry asked.
“Yes,” Jessie said. “On the tour they said it was put in when the tower was first built. That was in 1860.”
“Okay so we’ve figured out the first part of the clue,” said Henry. “Now what about the rest of it?”
“Read the second part again,” Benny said.
Violet read, “ ‘Take one hundred sixty-one steps—’ ”
“I know!” Benny shouted all of a sudden. “That’s how many steps it is to the top of the clock tower. Remember, Mr. Stewart told us that the first day we met him?”
“Great job, Benny!” said Jessie.
“You have a good memory,” Henry added.
“So President Chambers was telling his son to go to the top of the tower,” Violet said.
“Then why are we still sitting here?” Benny asked. “Let’s go!”
The children hurried out of the library and walked as quickly as they could up the winding tower stairs.
At the top, they found Ezra playing the carillon. He gave the children a smile as they came in. He seemed to have fixed all the broken wires. The children looked around the room, wondering where the treasure might be hidden.
When Ezra had finished playing, he turned to the children. “What brings you all back here again?”
“We’re on a treasure hunt!” Benny said.
“A treasure hunt?” Ezra repeated. “Oh, I see. Why are you looking up here? Nothing here but a bunch of old music books. And the carillon, of course.”
“I see you’ve fixed it,” Henry said.
“Yes, I did,” Ezra said. “It took me all morning. But I think it sounds okay now.”
“It sounded good to me,” said Violet.
Jessie showed Ezra the old letter. “This is why we’re on a treasure hunt,” she explained. “We found this up here after you left.”
Ezra took the letter Jessie was holding. “This looks very old! Wherever did you find it?”
“Right here, in the corner,” Benny said.
“I wonder how it got there,” Ezra said. He read the letter and handed it back to Violet. “I can’t believe I wouldn’t notice something like this.”
“We figured out that the letter was from President Joshua Chambers,” Jessie said. “And it seems he was telling his son to come up here to the clock tower.”
“Well, as I said, there’s no treasure up here. I’ve been here long enough to know that.” Ezra went over to his desk and put away the music he’d just played.
Jessie took another look at the letter. “What do you think he means by the ‘key to the problem’?”
The children all thought about that for a moment. They looked around at the old photos on the walls.
Just then the bells played four loud notes, startling the children.
“What was that?” asked Benny.
“That means it’s quarter to one,” Ezra said. “The bells are programmed to ring the hours, quarter hours, and half hours by themselves. The bells aren’t just for music; they also work with the clock.”
All of a sudden Henry said, “Hey! Maybe that’s it.”
“What’s it?” asked Jessie.
“I have an idea about what Chambers meant when he said the answer is ‘right before the face,’ ” Henry said. “Look up there!” He pointed to a large round door over the west-facing window. “That’s the back of the clock, right, Ezra?”
“Yes, it is,” Ezra said. “I open that door to fix the clock or reset it.”
“Think about what you call the front of a clock,” Henry said.
“You mean its face?” Jessie asked. Then her face lit up. “Oh, I get it!”
“Maybe President Chambers wasn’t talking about a person’s face,” Henry explained to the others. “Maybe he was talking about the clock’s face.”
“You mean that somehow the ‘key’ is in the clock’s face?” Benny asked.
“I guess so,” Henry said.
“Ezra, is that possible?” asked Jessie. “Could there be something hidden in the clock’s face?”
“I don’t see how,” Ezra said. “I clean that clock once a month. I’d see anything hidden there.”
“Yes, you would,” Henry agreed.
“Could you open up the clock now?” Jessie asked. “Maybe there’s something in there you never noticed.”
“I love to show people how that big old clock works. It’s pretty amazing,” Ezra said. He went to a cabinet on the wall and took out a small key. Then he pulled a stepladder out from under his desk and placed it under the clock. He got up on the ladder and unlocked the back of the clock. The large round door swung open, revealing the inside of the giant clock.
“Wow, look at that,” Benny said, staring at all the gears turning inside the clock. “That’s cool.”
Ezra gave a quick explanation of how the old clock worked and how he took care of it. “If each of you would like to come up, one at a time, you can take a closer look.”
The children took turns stepping up on the ladder and studying the inside of the clock—first Benny then Violet, then Jessie, and finally Henry.
“Could something have been hidden inside the back here?” Henry asked when it was his turn.
“I can’t imagine—I’m sure I’d have seen it by now,” Ezra said. “I have to take apart all the machinery to clean it.”
“I was so sure there would be something in the clock,” Henry said. He was disappointed.
“Can I look again?” Benny asked. He didn’t want to give up the treasure hunt yet.
“Go ahead,” Ezra said. “But I’m sure there’s nothing hidden in there.”
Henry stepped down from the ladder and Benny stepped back up. He looked all around the clock, trying to think of a place Ezra might never have looked. He noticed a tiny crevice around the rim of the clock, where it attached to the wall. Benny slipped his small fingers in there and felt around. “Hey! There’s something in here!” he cried suddenly.
“There is?” Ezra asked.
“Yes, it feels like a little lump of crumbly stuff—paper, maybe,” Benny said. “I just can’t quite get my fingers around it.”
“Maybe there’s something in my toolbox that will help,” Ezra said.
“I’ll look,” Jessie offered, going to get Ezra’s toolbox from his desk. After a moment she said, “How about these needle-nosed pliers?”
“That ought to work,” Ezra said. Jessie handed them to him.
Ezra stepped up next to Benny. He poked the long, thin pliers down into the crevice where Benny had felt something. “I’ve got it—whatever it is,” he said. Slowly, he pulled out a small bundle of crumbling brown paper.
“It’s a little package,” Benny said. “And it looks really old.”
Ezra handed the package to Henry as Benny stepped back down the ladder. Ezra closed and locked the clock door. Then he joined the Aldens, who were clustered around his desk. Henry was carefully opening the flat brown package.
“There’s a key,” he said.
“The ‘key to the problem,’ ” Jessie said with a smile.
“And a note,” Henry added. He slowly unwrapped the note and read it aloud.
Aaron—
If you have found this key, then you must have figured out my first note. Good work.
On a warm summers morn when the clock strikes six, set yourself between North and South. The tower will point the way.
Your father
“Another clue!” Benny said.
“I wonder what it means,” Violet said.
“I can’t believe it!” Ezra said. “Well, this has certainly been excitement enough for one morning. I’m ready to go home and have my lunch.”
“Lunch—that’s right,” Jessie said. “We were supposed to meet Grandfather back at the suite at lunchtime, remember?”
“May we take this key and note with us, Ezra?” Henry asked.
Ezra paused. “Well, you did find them,” he said, “so I guess that would only be fair.”
“We’d better go, then,” Jessie said. “Thanks for opening the clock for us!”
“My pleasure,” Ezra said.
“We’ll see you later!” Benny called over his shoulder as he and the other Aldens hurried down the stairs.
Back at the suite, Grandfather was just putting his plate and cup in the sink. “Here you are!” he said. “I thought you weren’t coming. I went ahead and ate without you.”
“Sorry we’re so late—” Jessie began.
“But wait until you hear about our treasure hunt!” Benny cut in excitedly.
The Aldens told their grandfather all about what they’d found. When at last they’d finished their story, Grandfather sat looking at the two old letters and the key. “That’s amazing!” he said. “So there really is a treasure buried here.”
“But how do we find it?” Violet asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure you will,” Grandfather said.
“Can we eat first?” Benny asked. “I’m starving.”
“It is way past lunchtime,” Jessie said. “It’s nearly two o’clock.”
“Is it that late?” Grandfather asked. “I’m joining Joel for a concert. It starts at two. I told him I’d meet him in Rhodes Hall, where they’re giving the concert. I’d better get going. How about if we meet back here at dinnertime?”
“Sounds great!” Jessie said.
“Be careful with those letters,” Grandfather said. “If they’re really that old, they’re valuable historical documents.”
“We’ll be very careful,” Violet assured him.
“There’s ham and cheese in the refrigerator,” Grandfather reminded them. “And there’s fruit, too. See you later!”
The children waved as Grandfather left. Then they made themselves lunch. They had been so busy treasure hunting, they hadn’t realized how hungry they were.
After a few minutes Jessie said, “I’ve been wondering how that letter got into the tower in the first place.”
“Me, too,” said Violet.
“I think someone must have found it—somewhere—and figured out that it was talking about the clock tower, just like we did,” said Henry.
“Then that person must have gone up to the tower to look, just like we did. And dropped the note while he or she was there,” said Jessie.
“I bet it’s the same person who was up there at night,” said Violet, selecting a peach from the basket on the counter. “The person went up when he or she knew no one would be around.”
“But why?” Benny asked, biting into a plum.
“Probably to keep the treasure and not share it,” Jessie said. “But that would be wrong—the treasure belongs to the Chambers family.”
“Let’s take a look at that second note,” Henry said.
As the other children cleared away the lunch dishes, Violet went to get the letters and key. She had placed them on the counter away from the food so they wouldn’t get dirty.
When the table was cleared, Violet spread out the second letter. The children sat down to look at it.
“What’s a ‘morn’?” asked Benny.
“It means morning,” Jessie explained. “What do you think he means by ‘set yourself between North and South’?”
“I have no idea,” said Henry. “It sounds as if he’s talking about the Civil War again. That war pitted the North against the South.”
“But what does that have to do with the treasure?” Benny wanted to know.
“How do you think the tower will point the way?” Violet asked. “It points straight up in the air.”
The children all sat quietly for several minutes.
“I think we need help,” Jessie said.
“Who could help us?” Henry wondered. “This time it’s not as simple as going to the library.”
“Remember Grandfather said Professor Meyer knew everything about Goldwin?” Violet recalled. “Maybe she could help us.”
“That’s a good idea,” Henry said. “She must have an office here on campus. Let’s go find it.”
“I bet it’s in McGraw Hall,” said Jessie. “On our tour they said that was where the history classes were, and Professor Meyer is a history professor.”
The Aldens left their suite and headed up the hill to McGraw Hall. As they were cutting across the Quad, they saw Don Dixon heading toward them.
“Hi, Don!” Benny called out.
Don looked up, startled. He seemed lost in his own thoughts and very upset. “Oh, hello,” he said distractedly.
“Is something the matter?” Violet asked.
“Something the matter? No, no,” Don said. Then he paused. “Do you remember the other day when you were looking through that old book?”
“Yes,” Jessie said.
“By any chance, did you notice …” Don stopped talking, and seemed to change his mind. “Oh, never mind.”
“Are you sure—” Violet began, but Don cut her off.
“I’ve got to go.” He rushed off down the hill.
The Aldens watched him walk away.
Jessie shrugged. “I wonder what’s bugging him.”
“Who knows?” said Henry.
“Come on, let’s go find Professor Meyer,” Benny reminded them. |