Mystery of Drear House (17 page)

Thursday evening the headline in the local Springville
Star
had been:
DREAR PROPERTY YIELDS VAST
TREASURE
—AN UNDERGROUND CAVERN OF SPLENDOR IS UNCOVERED. A FURNISHED NINETEENTH-CENTURY UNDERGROUND ROOM AND SLAVE ORPHANS’ SLEEPING QUARTERS UNDISTURBED FOR OVER A CENTURY
. A long account of the
THE EVENT
followed.

Pesty was happy to be famous but sad that everything had changed so. She worried about what her mama might do when she discovered her underground sitting room was going to be crawling with people of the foundation. And what would Mr. Pluto do without the great cavern? Do is already done, she thought, do, done, and gone. She moved, shedding snow. “If this keeps up, it’s going to pack good when it turns colder,” she said.

“Then, tomorrow, we’ll make some snowpeople,” Thomas told her.

To their amazement, they were in the Thursday evening paper on the third page, where the account ended. On the front page was a picture of Pluto, Mattie, and River Lewis, with the cavern to their backs. River Lewis looked furious and stunned both at the same time. The photograph appeared more than once in forty-eight hours and in more than one paper. The photo on the third page showed Martha and Walter Small and Great-grandmother Jeffers. Great-grandmother was holding a slave ledger up for everyone to see. In the foreground of the picture knelt Thomas and Pesty. They were smiling. Held between them was a cast-iron pot full of gold. Mr. Pluto had rummaged around until he found something to put the gold in that would show it off. “Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow,” the paper said.

Thomas got his picture taken two more times. In one of them he was sitting on an orphan’s bed, with the whole cave room viewed behind him, lit by flashbulbs. In the other he held up one of the gold triangles from the box of them.

The identity of each person was given under every picture and separate from the news story. The articles all said that Mr. Pluto and Mattie Darrow were the discoverers.

“Still more secrets, though,” Thomas said out loud. He had meant to keep it to himself. But it didn’t matter that it slipped out.

Pesty looked at him hard. “Oh, you mean …”

“Yeah,” he said. “About your mama and Mr. Pluto and their discovery.”

“How it’s not true,” she said.

“The real secret is that we’ve known about the cavern for a long time and kept it from your father and the foundation.”

“And Mr. Pluto knew the longest,” she said. “I sure hated keeping it from Daddy.”

“Do you know why your mama kept the underground rooms from him?” he asked.

“My daddy has a way of taking over things,” she said.

“Well, your mama sure didn’t keep the great cavern from your daddy,” Thomas said.

“No, she didn’t ever know about that,” Pesty said. “Mr. Pluto told me never to tell anyone about that, so I didn’t.”

“Ump, ump, ump,” Thomas murmured. “You were just such a little girl when you first knew about the cavern. I guess maybe that’s why you could keep it in. Some little kids are like that. You kept it this long; you should be proud. It’s all sure something!”

“Yeah, and my brothers are mad they didn’t get their pictures taken.”

“Macky, too?”

“Macky the most,” she said. “He acts like he thinks you and me
planned
to get famous. He’s been asking me when I’m going to see you. Like he wants me to ask him to come along.” She waited for Thomas to say something.

He’d almost given up on Macky, but down deep he still had a little hope left. A little place saved for friendship.

It was said that Drear treasure was worth millions. They were even on cable television. There was Thomas’s papa on the six o’clock news, shown in his office in the college and, next, explaining about the treasure from inside the cavern. The history of everything. There were shots of the house of Dies Drear, Thomas’s own home. Thomas couldn’t believe it. Television trucks and people all over the place. And the whole town and everybody for miles seeing them, too.

“That’s really me!” Thomas had said.

It had been reported that there would be a reward for Mrs. Darrow and Mr. Skinner but that the foundation wouldn’t say how much. River Lewis got to talk about his family and how they knew there had to be treasure.

“Your daddy still keeping the reward amount a secret?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Guess he has to have his own secret.”

Thomas sighed. “Wish we could ask Mr. Pluto. But Papa says you just don’t ask someone how much they got for something.”

“I don’t see why,” Pesty said. “Anyway, I already know.”

“Pesty, you do? Tell me!” Thomas exclaimed.

“I found out just last night,” she said.

“Well …” He was going to say, “Well, how much?” But then he thought about what his papa had said. Somebody would tell you only if that person wanted to.

She grinned at him. Leaning very close to his ear, she whispered.

“Ten thousand dollars”
He mouthed the words silently.

“Uh-huh,” she said, talking softly. “Daddy told it to Mama. They brought around a check for her. I was in the closet; I had to wait until Daddy left.”

That’s another secret, Thomas thought fleetingly. His papa had never told the foundation or River Lewis, either, about the way from Mattie’s bedroom to the underground rooms. “Let them discover it for themselves. See how long it takes
them.
Maybe forever,” his papa had said. It hurt his papa, too, to give up everything to what he called posterity.

“Ten thousand dollars!” Thomas whispered. “And then Mr. Pluto …”

“Uh-huh, he got the same,” she said. “They sure bring a fast reward!”

“That makes … twenty thousand dollars the foundation gave. Wow! Is your daddy happy?” Thomas asked.

“Well, he don’t appear to be too sad,” she said. “He’s fearsome, though, about having lost the great cavern. And all his whole family looking for it. But a bird in hand—the ten thousand …”

“Yeah,” Thomas said. “The ten thousand’s a sure thing.”

Thomas got up, shook the snow off. “We’d better get going if we’re going over,” he said.

“Okay,” Pesty said. She put the blanket down in the bare spot where she’d been sitting. Then they started out. “It’s a wonderland,” she added. The trees were wet and dark, etched in white snow lines.

“Be Thanksgiving soon, too,” Thomas said.

They reached the clearing in front of Mr. Pluto’s. There they saw the two guards who had been inside Pluto’s cave entrance since just after THE EVENT had taken place. Now, there was a semitruck, an enormous eighteen-wheeler, pulled up to the cave entrance. Men were busy hauling out the treasure of Dies Drear.

They walked around the back of the semi to get to the front of the cave, out of the way of the movers. Thomas saw Mayhew’s car with a trailer attached.

“What is this?” He wondered out loud.

They came up to the guards and were recognized. “Can we get by, see Mr. Pluto?” Thomas asked. It felt funny, having to ask. But the men said yes, letting them in.

Thomas had thought it was foolish, at first, that the foundation went to the trouble to post guards. But then his papa had said, “All that publicity, too many folks would like to just walk in, take a few souvenirs.”

“People really would do that?” Thomas had asked.

“It’s human nature,” his papa had said.

Inside the cave they found Mayhew and Pluto. They were over on the side, out of the way of the treasure parade from the cavern. Thomas looked around, speechless. The portable forge was nowhere to be seen. All of Pluto’s pictures on the walls and even the yellowed calendars had been packed up. There was no table, no carpet. His comfortable brass bed, the worn armchair, his bathrobe, pots and pans had been moved out.

Mayhew stood looking at Thomas and Pesty as they came in. Tiredly he waved at them in greeting but didn’t say anything. Mr. Pluto sat on the one straight chair. Pluto had on his best Sunday suit and his familiar black dress cape and high hat. Bent over like an old man, he held his brown throw tightly about him over the cape. His eyes clouded over as Thomas came up to him. “I can’t take my Josie,” he said forlornly, talking about his horse. It was the saddest thing Thomas had ever heard.

“You can’t take Josie where?” Thomas said, alarmed. “Mr. Pluto, where are you going? Mayhew, what’s happening?”

“Thomas, they’re going to be moving stuff out of here for days. Tramping through with mud, the doors wide open,” Mayhew said. “He can’t live with that.”

“But where are you taking him?” Thomas said.

“He’s going to move to town,” Mayhew said. “I found an apartment for him that the senior citizens’ organization provides for the elderly.”

“Aw, pshaw!” Mr. Pluto muttered in disgust.

“Well, what else can I do?” Mayhew said, spreading empty hands. “I’ll stay around until he’s settled. He’s going to enjoy it more than he thinks, aren’t you, Father?”

Pesty came over, leaned her head on Pluto’s shoulder, the way she always had.

Mr. Pluto rested his head against hers. Gently he said, “Son, don’t think I don’t appreciate all you’ve done for me. He worked hard all morning, he taken everything on his shoulders”—this last, directed to Pesty and Thomas. “Said he wanted to do it all hisself.”

They heard somebody come in. Thomas glanced around to see. “Papa!” There were his papa and mama. “Well, I’ll be!” Thomas said. “I didn’t know you guys were coming over here.” They were dressed for the cold. His mama had high boots on.

“Have to give the foundation some more of my inventory,” Mr. Small said, waving a clipboard and a folder stuffed with papers at Thomas.

“Are they already down there?” Thomas asked. He walked over to see. People from the foundation were sure down there.

“I think they probably stayed the night,” his papa said.

“They did,” Mayhew said. “They sent out for breakfast, too.”

“Goodness,” Mrs. Small said.

“Morning, y’all,” Pesty said, glad to see them.

“Hi, there, girl!” Mrs. Small said. “Hello, Mayhew! How are you feeling today, Mr. Skinner?” she said, using Pluto’s proper last name.

“Oh well …” he said, but said no more.

Just by looking, Martha Small could tell how he felt. “Did you-all find a place in town?”

“Senior citizens,” Pluto murmured. “I guess I’m old now.”

“Father, it doesn’t mean you’re old to move into the senior citizens.”

“Yes, it does,” Pesty said.

“Little Miss Bee knows,” Pluto said. “Senior can’t take care of hisself.”

“All right now,” Mr. Small said. “We can’t have this. Look, Mayhew, Henry.” Walter Small knelt beside Pluto’s chair. “There really is no need for this. I don’t know why I didn’t say something before. It’s been vague in the back of my mind. And you know, we wouldn’t want to interfere. I’ve been so busy. Henry, listen to me. There’s no reason at all that you have to go into town. What about our house? I mean, what about living with us?”

There was a moment’s silence. Mr. Pluto lifted his head. “Oh, I couldn’t do a thing like that, no, no. I won’t be a burden to anyone.”

“Who says you’d be a burden?” Martha Small said. “Why, it’s a wonderful idea. Great-grandmother is here. And you two really do get along! And the twins, why, they adore you.”

“Well I’ll be …” Thomas said. Things change before your very eyes! “It’s really a big place. You’ll just love it,” he said eagerly to Pluto. “It’s the best ol’ house for sleeping! You can take the twins and Great-grandmother for buggy rides.” He grinned from ear to ear.

T
HANKSGIVING CAME AND WENT.
It had been foggy and rainy the whole day. Mr. Pluto and Mayhew were at the Smalls’ Thanksgiving, dinner, and Pesty, too. Afterward Thomas’s mama sent turkey and stuffing and pie home with Pesty. Thomas helped Pesty carry everything. It was all right that he hadn’t been asked to come into Pesty’s house. He wasn’t sure he would want to go in. He had left what he carried at the Darrow front door, he told his mama.

There should have been snow on Thanksgiving, too, and sleigh bells in his head, as there were today. Sure glad today is all right, he thought. It snowed every day now. And this, another Sunday, was a snowy Sunday.

Everybody’s at my house, he thought. He couldn’t quite believe it. He felt weak, having spent his energy on not acting dumb. Right and wrong were so close together in the same house, for the first time. My house!

Smalls and Darrows, Pluto. Mayhew had left town to go back to his work after Thanksgiving, after settling Pluto in. Thomas didn’t know whose idea it had been to invite Darrows over for this Sunday dinner. Probably his mama’s. Both his mama and his papa had agreed on it.

Love thy neighbor! Thomas thought scornfully.

Darrows dared accept the invitation and had driven up in cars.

Thomas could hardly believe it. I mean, River Lewis Darrow and his boys and Macky, and Pesty, of course, and Mrs. Darrow, Thomas thought. And Mama and Papa, Billy and Buster and Great-grandmother. Plus Mr. Pluto. In the kitchen. In the parlor. All fourteen of us.

And Mr. Pluto living with us and settled in, Thomas went on. Well, it had taken awhile to convince him. But it’s something to hear him on the stairs in the morning! He and Great-grandmother Jeffers talking all the time, busy at things. The twins get a buggy ride each day. And I bet Pesty will just move in one day. She sleeps over some of the time already.

Look at it snow! Thomas sat there in the parlor in a straight chair next to the fireplace, facing Darrows. He had been looking out the long windows to calm himself. He thought about the only one who was missing: Mayhew Skinner. Mayhew had refused to come back to eat with Darrows. He’d be civil to them from a distance, he’d said over the phone, but he wasn’t going out of his way. Thank you anyhow.

Glad he hasn’t changed, Thomas thought. Maybe it’s good that somebody remembers what Darrows were once and might still be.

“About ten da-grees above,” he heard River Lewis Darrows tell Great-grandmother Jeffers, concerning the weather. Her voice tinkled back at him.

River Lewis Darrow’s tone was deep and bold, like formal bell rings, talking to his sons or Great-grandmother or Mattie. His was a cold sound to match his pearl gray Sunday suit. He was formal and stiff, just barely on the decent side of unfriendly the whole time he was in the house. Gruff out of habit. He couldn’t sit down but stood, a barrier to all concerned.