The Aldens peered inside the opening. The passageway looked so dark and spooky with cobwebs hanging overhead that Benny was suddenly afraid to step inside, even after Seymour handed him a flashlight.
“Come on, Benny. This is one of the things you came all this way to see,” Seymour said.
“I’ll go after Henry,” Benny said in a quavery voice.
Henry had to bend down to go through the opening. He shone his flashlight against the walls and gave a gasp.
“What’s the matter?” asked Benny, who was right behind his brother.
“It’s a...it’s just that I thought I saw a person in here,” Henry explained, sounding a little sheepish. “Now I see that it’s a suit of armor.” Henry shone his flashlight all around. He saw not just one but six steel suits of armor, complete with helmets, lining the walls of the narrow passageway.
“Neat,” Benny said as he came inside. The others crowded in behind him.
Besides the armor, there were lots of old weapons: knights’ swords, a battle-ax, a crossbow, and two big shields.
“Wow!” said Benny. “Did they really fight with all this stuff?”
“No, Benny,” said Seymour with a chuckle. “For one thing, not all of it is real equipment from the Middle Ages. This suit, for example, is stage armor. It was used in a play in Boston many years ago. It looks real, but it’s much lighter than the other suits.”
“Are these swords all real?” asked Henry.
“Yes, Henry, they are indeed. This one is from the fifteenth century,” the farmer said, shining his light on it. “And this curved one is from Turkey, and here is a naval cutlass from Colonial times here in America.” Seymour beamed the flashlight on a short, heavy, curved sword. Then Seymour looked around the passageway and said nothing more for a few moments.
“Is something the matter?” Jessie asked.
“It’s strange, but I can’t find Gideon’s officer’s saber from the Civil War. It was down here the last time I was.”
Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. “You don’t think it was stolen, do you?” Henry asked.
The farmer scratched his head. “I don’t know what to think. I’d find it hard to believe a burglar would know how to get inside this secret passageway. It’s too well hidden. It was built before the Civil War to help runaway slaves escape north. After the Civil War, my ancestor, Gideon, used this passageway to store his sword and armor collection. His collection has been down here ever since, pretty much just the way you see it, though my children and grandchildren have sometimes borrowed some of the armor to use as Halloween costumes.”
“Maybe someone borrowed that Civil War sword for a costume,” Jessie suggested hopefully.
Seymour sighed. “I hope so. I must ask Rose if she knows anything about it.”
Violet shone her flashlight on the dirt floor to look for clues. But there weren’t any, just lots of indistinguishable footprints.
By now the Aldens and Seymour were at the end of the passageway Seymour shone his light on the wooden trapdoor above them. “That door goes right into the barn,” he said. “When we go through it, we’ll be right next to Elvira’s stall.”
Jessie giggled. “Won’t she be surprised.”
Seymour fetched the ladder that was resting behind one of the suits of armor.
“Want to go out this way?” he asked.
“Sure, why not,” Jessie answered for all of them.
Henry was the first one up the ladder.
“Just push the door out,” Seymour advised Henry.
“It’s heavy,” Henry answered, panting.
“I know,” said Seymour. “It’s part of the floor. I never go out this way because I’m getting too old to fool with that heavy trapdoor.”
“I know what you mean,” Henry said, huffing. “Aha, finally it’s out!” Henry climbed out into the barn. Elvira came over to greet him.
“Your goat is here, Jessie,” Henry called into the passageway.
When they were all in the barn, Seymour lowered the trapdoor, then scattered straw to conceal it. Then the Aldens insisted on helping Seymour with the animals. They brought the horses in from the pasture and fed them oats. The cows got hay that Henry pitched into their stall.
The sun was low in the sky when the Aldens walked back to the house with Seymour. Flocks of geese flew overhead, forming a pattern that looked like the letter V.
As soon as they were in the house, Seymour and the Aldens lost no time asking Rose if she had seen Gideon’s sword.
“No, I haven’t,” Rose said, wiping her hands on her blue-and-white-checked apron. “I haven’t been in that passageway in months.”
“Neither have I.” Seymour was scratching his head. He sighed heavily. “You don’t know of anyone borrowing that sword for a Halloween costume, or some such getup?”
Rose frowned. “Well, no. I don’t remember telling anyone they could borrow a costume this year.”
The Aldens looked at one another. “Do you think someone might have borrowed that sword without telling you?” Jessie asked gently.
Seymour sighed and looked at his wife. “It’s possible,” he said, almost as if he were trying to convince himself. “I mean, we certainly don’t keep things under lock and key here. We’ve never had to.”
“That’s true,” Rose agreed. “We’ve never had to — until now.” |