Mountain Top Mystery (7 page)
Everyone was up early next morning. They ate breakfast and then drove to the foot of Flat Top.
Soon everyone was climbing up the old trail again. Benny came right after Dr. Osgood. The doctor did not climb so fast today. All of a sudden he looked around at Benny.
“Young man, don’t get your hopes up on that treasure. I didn’t see a single place where it might be. We are going still further into the cave, but I don’t think I missed it.”
“Oh,” said Benny. “Lovan will be disappointed. I was so sure it was right here. That’s where I would have put it, just as far back as I could. And that would be the front now.”
“Well, you’re not an Indian, son, and this isn’t two hundred years ago. Maybe the man had other ideas.”
“I hope not,” said Benny. “Just for Lovan’s sake.”
David was behind Benny. “Did you say Lovan?” he said. “I have heard that name. But she is dead.”
“Our Lovan isn’t dead,” said Benny. “She is ninety years old, though. And she is the one who told us about the treasure.”
“My grandmother told me everyone was dead but me,” said David.
Benny said, “Do you know your grandmother’s first name?”
“Yes, it was Susan.”
Henry was right behind David and he heard the name. He said, “Lovan had a sister Susan. It looks to me as if you are Lovan Dixon’s grandnephew. That would be great, because you could help her. She is getting old now, and she lives all alone.”
“What is she like?” asked David.
“She’s swell!” said Benny.
The family climbed and climbed. It was almost noon when they reached the staging. The workmen were there. They had put a strong light inside the cave for Dr. Osgood. They were just finishing the wiring.
“I’ll go first,” said Dr. Osgood. “And you can all follow me. First you have to crawl in, but soon you can stand up. You’ll see.”
The cave was bigger than the Aldens had expected. There was plenty of room for everyone. Dr. Osgood began at once to chip out another fossil. This time it was a fern, an important find. The fern told him how old the cave was.
Benny watched him for a few minutes. Then he went back and crawled to the door of the cave. David went, too.
“Let’s see if these stones can possibly be moved,” said Benny. He looked at one side of the opening. The big rocks came out to make a large square.
“That looks like a chimney,” said David.
“So it does!” cried Benny. “It looks like a closet in a corner of a room.” He stuck his head out of the cave and called to a workman, “Hey! Please come and look. Do you think anything could be hidden there?”
The man laughed. He said, “We can find out.” He got a small crowbar and a hammer and went to work. Soon he said, “You’re right, Sonny. These rocks don’t belong here. They were moved here.”
Benny didn’t like to be called Sonny, but this was no time to say so. Henry came over to watch. Then he called the girls and Mr. Alden and Mr. Carter.
The workman said, “When this stone falls, there will be clouds of dust. Better cover your eyes.”
They all did so. The man was right. There was such a crash and so much dust that nobody could see or hear what had really happened. When the dust cleared they all looked in the “chimney thing.” And there it was! It was a large black leather bag lying on the ground behind the stone.
Everyone shouted.
“Don’t touch it,” said the workman. “I’ll get Dr. Osgood.”
The doctor could hardly believe what he saw. “I did miss it after all,” he said. “And now let’s see what’s in the bag.”
Everyone watched as Dr. Osgood worked carefully and slowly. Even so, the leather cracked under his gentle fingers. At last he got it open and pulled out an enormous teapot as black as coal.
“Solid silver,” he said quietly.
“Silver?” cried Benny. “It looks more like iron.”
“It’s silver, just the same,” said the doctor. “Wait until it is polished and you’ll see—a real French piece that belonged to royalty.”
Then he drew out a candlestick with six branches. It, too, was black. A large black pitcher came next, all covered with the same deep, fancy pattern that decorated the other pieces. Then Dr. Osgood pulled out a black box. A little black key hung on a black chain.
Dr. Osgood turned the key very gently. Inside was a necklace of gold, set with red and green stones.
“That’s a queen’s necklace,” said Dr. Osgood. “That thing alone is a great treasure.”
Under the necklace were gold coins of France. There was only one more thing in the bag. It was a roll of heavy paper.
“I may not be able to open this,” said Dr. Osgood. “I shall stop if it begins to tear.”
But he was so slow and gentle that the paper did not tear. He took one look. “It’s in French,” he said. “Of course it would be.”
Both Henry and Jessie could read French. The old faded message was short.
“This is for my Indian friend Running Deer who saved my life. Louis Paul Deauville.”
“That settles it!” said Benny. “This belongs to Lovan. And now who will tell Lovan?”
Nobody spoke for a minute. They all looked at each other.
Then Grandfather said with a smile, “David Walking-by-Night will tell Lovan.”
D
avid looked puzzled when Mr. Alden chose him to tell Lovan.
“Mr. Alden, why me?” he asked.
Mr. Alden answered, “You know all about it, David, and you remember your grandmother. That will please Lovan. She is a fine person to have for a great-aunt.”
Just then they heard the helicopter.
“Lunch!” cried Benny.
Henry looked at his watch. “Did you know it was two o’clock? How did you ever stand it, Ben?”
“I was so interested in that chimney thing,” said Benny, “and the leather bag. I never thought of lunch.”
“Now you know how
I
feel,” said Dr. Osgood. “I forget all about eating.”
Mr. Carter said, “Jessie, give me one sandwich. I’ll go right back with the helicopter. I have some telephoning to do.”
They all wondered what it was about. But nobody asked a question. They just said goodbye. And back went the helicopter down the mountain.
Mr. Outer carefully held the leather bag. Mr. Alden had given it to him.
After lunch, Dr. Osgood and his head man stayed on Flat Top. But the rest began to climb down. They were eager to tell Lovan what had happened.
“But let’s not tell her the news too suddenly,” Jessie said. “It might be too much all at once.”
“Yes,” agreed Henry. “Maybe it would be a good idea if she met David first and then heard about the treasure.”
Violet said, “I think that is a good plan. Lovan can make up her mind about David and then he can tell her about the treasure.”
When they reached Lovan’s cottage, they found her sitting on the dinosaur step with a rough flat stone beside her. She was rubbing something on it
Lovan had five white beads on a string. She had the string over her hand and was rubbing the white beads on the rough rock. The white pieces got rounder and rounder.
“You’re making beads!” cried Benny.
“Yes. I have almost finished,” said Lovan. “This is the last string.” They saw two boxes of round beads, one of white and one of purple beads.
Lovan went on. She saw that they wanted to know. “I break a clamshell in small pieces,” she said. “I make a small hole in every piece and string a few on a string. Then I grate them until they are round.”
“I never knew that,” said Mr. Alden. “I always wondered how wampum was made.”
“This is how it is done,” said Lovan. “Nobody uses wampum now. But I sometimes weave it into my baskets.”
All this time David had been watching Lovan. But Lovan was so busy she did not see David at all. Even Mr. Alden was a bit nervous now. He didn’t quite know how Lovan would feel about meeting her nephew. But Lovan herself settled that. Suddenly she looked up at Mr. Alden and saw David behind him.
“An Indian boy!” she said. “Who are you, little brother?”
David said, “Well, I suppose I am your grand-nephew and you are my Great-Aunt Lovan.”
Lovan did not speak. She was thinking. She was looking David over. At last she said, “Then that baby did not die?”
“I guess not,” said David, smiling a little. “I feel alive. My grandmother was named Susan. My mother died first, then Grandmother. I thought I was the last of my family.”
Lovan nodded. She looked at David sharply. “A good young man, are you?”
David bowed his head. “I’m going to be. I can help you with your garden. Maybe I can go to school?”
Jessie and Henry were watching Lovan closely. They knew by the look on her face that Lovan was really very tired—tired of living alone, tired of walking so far to get sweet grass, and tired of wondering what would become of her.
Mr. Alden fixed it all up as well as he could. He said, “Lovan, you don’t know David and he doesn’t know you. But you can get to know each other. David can do work for the rangers at first and come to see you often. Then if you get along well, he can live here and take care of you. He’s a strong young man.”
Lovan put the beads in the box with the rest. “Come in,” she said. “I will show you where David could sleep if he came here.”
They all went into the cottage and Lovan opened a door.
David looked at the smooth bed. He looked at Lovan’s kind face. For the first time in a long, long time David felt that he had a home and someone to care about him.
Before David could say anything there was a whistle. It came loud and clear into the little cottage.
“It’s Mr. Carter!” said Jessie. “He always whistles that tune when he feels fine.”
John Carter had a large box. He said, “I thought that Lovan ought to see her treasure.”
“Oh, did you find the leather bag?” cried Lovan.
“Yes, we did,” said Benny. “We came to tell you, but we wanted you to meet David first. Now don’t be disappointed when you see the things. They look black but they’re silver. They have to be polished.”
“Of course,” said Lovan. “The silver would turn black after all those years.”
She looked at each piece. But the thing she seemed to like best was the paper with the French writing. Jessie told her what each French word meant.
“Poor man!” said Lovan. “He was shot by an Indian. When Great-Grandfather found him on the side of the mountain, he took care of him. He gave him all the good Indian medicines. But the poor man was badly hurt and knew it. He did not live long. I never heard where he was buried.”
“It was secret, just like the bag,” said Benny.
Mr. Alden packed the things in the box again. He gave the roll of paper to Lovan. He said, “Now if you agree, I’ll sell these things to a museum or a collector and put the money in the bank. Nobody can get it out except you.”
“And you, too, Mr. Alden,” said Lovan. “I’d feel better if you could get it out, too. Something might happen to me.”
“Very well. I’ll fix it that way. And now you are tired. We’ll go back to the motel. Come on, everybody.”
Benny said, “It looks as if we’ve just about solved another mystery.”
They all went out of the cottage and down the step. All but David. He stood on the step beside Lovan with his head down. He said to Lovan, “Do you mind if I bring my dog here? He’s a good dog and he minds me.”
“No,” said Lovan, shaking her head. “I need a watchdog.”
The two Indians looked at each other—one so old and one so young.
Lovan said a few soft words in an Indian language.
David answered her in the same language. They looked at each other and smiled. Then they shook hands.
David turned to Mr. Alden. “I’ll come down later, sir. I’d like to stay here with Aunt Lovan for a little while, if you don’t mind.”
“No,” said Mr. Alden, walking down to the station wagon, “I don’t mind at all. It’s exactly what I want most.”
W
hen the family met at supper, David was not there.
“Don’t worry about him,” Mr. Alden said, sitting down at the table. “He’s got two good legs and he can walk miles. He’ll show up when he gets ready.”
Mr. Carter was not there, either. Nobody asked where he was. They were used to his going and coming.
