The Key in the Attic(56)
“I’m sorry, Mary Beth,” Annie murmured. “I wish there was something we could do.”
“It’s OK. That’s not why I called you over here anyway. I thought you’d like to see this.”
She put a letter down on the table in front of them.
Ms. Brock—
I thought you’d want this. I’m sorry it’s not really worth anything except as a little family history. Thanks again.
Alice snatched up the paper. “It’s signed Frank Sanders. Well.”
“Wait a minute. You didn’t let me read the P.S.” Annie took the letter from her. “‘I told you I’d make it up to you.’ What does that mean? What was in the letter?”
Mary Beth opened a notebook and brought out another letter, this one very old and yellowed. Annie recognized the writing at once.
“That’s from Geoffrey.”
Her eyes sparkling, Mary Beth nodded. “It was hidden in that secret cubby hole all these years, and we never even knew it. I’m glad Mr. Sanders was good enough to send it back to me. I think it belongs with Angeline’s dance card and her other memories of Geoffrey.”
Annie strained to read the faded ink.
Sweetheart,
I fear I do not have good news for you. I spoke to Mother regarding the legacy left me by my Grandfather Whyte. She still refuses to grant me any part of it until I come of legal age. Four months is not so long, my darling, but I cannot bear the thought of leaving you alone and unprotected should the war well and truly come to pass.
If only Mother knew you. She would love you, as anyone who knows you must. For the present, however, I will find some way to provide for you that she will not know of.
Be patient.
Yours with all my heart,
Geoffrey
Below that, still in Geoffrey’s handwriting, was the original of the clues Sanders had copied down to carry around with him:
Stand between the trees,
face to the north, move west to east
from the west move south to north
from the south move east to west
from the east move north to south
from the north move east again
from the south move downward
and then the key …
Just as she finished reading, Annie heard four delicate chimes from the direction of the mantelpiece—from Mary Beth’s antique clock.
“I didn’t know it chimed,” Annie said, enchanted by the angelic tinkling of the bell.
Mary Beth laughed. “After all this time, I didn’t know it either. Isn’t it beautiful? Your Mr. Malcolm did wonders with it, and after it had been silent for so long.”
“Well, that’s a treasure in itself,” Alice said. “Though it’s too bad we couldn’t find what Geoffrey left behind.”
Mary Beth sighed. “I’m sure Mr. Sanders searched all over this clock looking for another clue. And Mr. Malcolm would have taken it all apart when he was fixing it. There’s just nothing here anymore. Maybe it’s not even the right clock.”
Annie stood staring, seeing but not seeing the clock before her. “Between the trees. Between the trees! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been!” She turned the clock around. “What are those?”
Mary Beth wrinkled her forehead. “They’re trees, but you can’t really stand between them, can you?”
“No, think about it.” Annie turned the clock back around the right way and tapped the glass on the front. “What is this?”
“The face, but—”
Annie took the clock off the mantel and set it down on the end table. “If I stand ‘between the trees’ like this …” She stood behind the clock. “… and if I assume the face is facing north, then what happens if I follow these directions?”
Alice laughed. “And do what? Wander around the way it says until an amazing treasure magically appears? There’s nothing in there.”
“I don’t know, but I want to try something.” Annie put both hands on the base of the clock. “Read me the first part.”
Mary Beth picked up the paper and read: “Stand between the trees, face to the north, move west to east.”
“OK, stop there. If the face is north, and I’m standing behind it, ‘between the trees,’ then west is to my left and east is to my right.”
Annie pushed on the base of the clock, trying to slide the front from the left to the right. At first nothing happened, and then it budged a little. She pushed harder, and part of it moved to one side.
Mary Beth’s mouth fell open. “Oh Annie.”
Annie’s hands trembled. “I wasn’t sure it would work, but it was the last thing I could think of. I’ve seen those Chinese puzzle boxes. They look like they’re just solid blocks of wood, but if you know the right pattern, you can open them up.”