The Haunted Clock Tower Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “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 “If they’re really that old, they’re valuable historical documents.”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.

  CHAPTER 7

  Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner!

  A few minutes later, the children were standing inside McGraw Hall, looking up at the directory on the wall.

  “It says Professor Meyer’s office is on the first floor,” said Henry. “Room 106.”

  The children passed a large lecture hall and found Room 106 at the back of the building. Jessie knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” said a voice from inside.

  Jessie opened the door and stepped in. Professor Meyer was standing next to a large, messy desk covered with papers. She was stuffing some of the papers into a large canvas bag that was already overflowing with papers and books. Again she was wearing a lively patterned dress with a brightly colored hat and matching sneakers.

  “Well, if it isn’t the Aldens,” she said.

  “Professor, we have a question for you,” said Jessie.

  “I hope it’s a quick one,” Professor Meyer said. “I was just on my way out.”

  “Actually, it’s not a quick one,” Jessie said. “Is there another time we could talk to you?”

  “How about over dinner?” Henry suggested. “I’m sure our grandfather would enjoy chatting with you as well.”

  “What a lovely idea,” the professor said. “I would invite you to my place, but I’m not much of a cook, I must confess. And my house is such a mess.”

  Looking around the cluttered office, the children had no trouble believing that.

  “We’ll make dinner for you at our suite,” Jessie offered.

  “Now, that would be a treat,” Professor Meyer said. “What time shall I come?”

  “What time did Grandfather say he’d be home?” Henry asked.

  “I think the concert ends at five,” Jessie said. “How about six o’clock? We’re in Sage Hall, Suite B-8.”

  “I will see you then,” the professor said, picking up her overstuffed bag and putting it on her shoulder. The children stepped into the hallway with her. She shut and locked her office door.

  “Where are you going now?” Benny piped up.

  “Now? Oh, I’m going to, um … now, where am I going?” She paused for a moment. “Where did you say your grandfather was?”

  “He’s at a concert in Rhodes Hall,” said Henry.

  “Oh, yes, that’s right. That’s where I’m headed, too,” Julia Meyer said.

  “You know it started a while ago,” Jessie said.

  “Did it?” asked Ms. Meyer. “That’s all right. I’ll just be a little late. Good-bye!”

  The children watched her walk away.
/>
  “That was sort of strange, wasn’t it?” asked Henry. “It seemed as if she didn’t know where she was going.”

  “She’s a very unusual woman,” said Jessie. “Now we’d better get to the store and figure out what we’re going to make her for dinner.”

  A short while later, the Aldens were at the local grocery store, pushing their cart to the checkout counter. They had decided to make hamburgers, corn on the cob, and a green salad, and they had gotten ice cream for dessert. Just then, Jessie spotted Andrea Barton at the counter ahead of them. She was smiling and humming to herself.

  “Hello again,” Jessie said.

  “Hello!” Andi said. Almost instantly her happy face grew serious. “Oh, um, I’m glad I ran into you,” she said. Her voice sounded tense and nervous.

  “So are we,” Benny said. “Your concert the other day was great.”

  “Thanks,” Andi said, a smile filling her face. But then she grew serious again. “I just wanted to ask you, um …”

  “Yes?” Violet asked.

  “Well, nothing really, just …” She twirled a piece of hair. “Please don’t say anything to Ezra about what I said yesterday, okay?”

  “Sure,” said Jessie. After a moment she asked, “But what did you say?”

  Andi laughed briefly. “Never mind,” she said, picking up her bag of groceries. “I’ll see you around.”

  The Aldens paid for their groceries and left the store. Their arms were loaded down with grocery bags.

  “What do you think Andi meant when she asked us not to say anything to Ezra?” Violet asked as they walked.

  “I was wondering that, too,” said Jessie. “Was it that she told us she came in a lot to practice?”

  “I thought it was about losing her glasses,” said Benny.

  “And losing the new music she bought,”

  Henry added. “Remember she said Ezra probably wouldn’t have liked it?”

  “I wonder why she always seems so nervous,” Violet said. “She’s so nice and so talented. She should be happier.”

  When they got back to their suite, Jessie began shaping the ground beef into round patties. Henry and Violet washed and tore the lettuce and cut up carrots and tomatoes for the salad. Benny husked the corn and put a large pot of water on the stove. They would wait until dinnertime, when Grandfather came home, to boil the corn and fry the burgers. After the food was prepared, the children set the table and placed some flowers in the center.

  “That looks nice,” Violet said.

  As they waited for Grandfather to arrive, the children got out a deck of cards and began to play.

  “I can’t stop thinking about the buried treasure,” Jessie said as she shuffled the cards.

  “Me neither!” said Benny, his eyes aglow.

  “Do you think that someone we know is the person who’s after it?” asked Henry.

  “Like who?” said Violet.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Henry said. “But some of the people we’ve met here have acted, well, strangely. Like Ezra.”

  Jessie began to deal the cards. “You think he’s the one who found the letter and started looking in the tower?”

  “Could be,” Henry said. “Maybe that’s why he got so angry when we asked him if anyone goes up there at night—because he’s going up there, and he doesn’t want anyone to know.”

  “But he didn’t seem to know about the treasure at all,” said Violet. “In fact, he was surprised that we actually found something in the clock.”

  “Hmmm, that’s true,” Jessie said. “But he could have been pretending.”

  Henry agreed. “He helped us out—but maybe that was so he could find out for himself where the key was hidden.”

  “I’ve been wondering about Andi,” said Violet, picking up her cards. “Ezra said everything was okay until she started working there. Maybe she took the job in the tower so she could look for the treasure.”

  “Go on,” Jessie said thoughtfully.

  Violet continued, “Remember that day she was searching for something and she said it was her glasses? Maybe it was really that letter that she’d misplaced, and then we found it not long afterward.”

  “And today in the grocery store she was certainly worried about something,” said Jessie. “She seems to be keeping something secret from Ezra.”

  “And Ezra seems to be hiding something from us,” said Benny. “Something about going up in the tower at night.”

  “But remember, whoever went up there broke the carillon,” said Henry. “Why would Ezra do that?”

  “That’s true,” said Benny.

  “Don’t forget the muddy footprint,” Henry said. “Neither Ezra nor Andi seem to wear sneakers.”

  The children stopped talking and concentrated on their game of cards for a moment. After Jessie had taken her turn, she said, “Don Dixon has also been acting strangely. He got so upset about that old book, and we were being really careful with it. He still seemed upset about it today when we saw him on the Quad. Maybe he was afraid we’d read something about the treasure in there. And then on the tour he asked so many questions about the clock tower. I bet it’s because he was trying to figure out where the treasure is hidden.”

  “But Don is Joel’s son and Joel is Grandfather’s good friend,” Violet pointed out. “Do you really think he’d act so sneaky?”

  Jessie shrugged. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

  “Well, I do know one thing,” Benny said, laying down his cards to show the others. “I won!”

  A short while later, Grandfather returned from the concert. As he came in the door, he was humming lightly under his breath.

  “How was the concert?” Violet asked.

  “It was wonderful,” Grandfather said. “It was a choral group, and they sang some lovely songs from when I was young. Reminded me of your grandmother.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “At the end, they sang the school’s fight song and anthem.”

  “That sounds great,” Jessie commented.

  “How did your treasure hunt go?” Mr. Alden asked.

  “We didn’t get very far,” Violet said. “We went to ask Professor Meyer for help, but she was busy.”

  “So we invited her for dinner tonight,” Henry said. “I hope that’s all right with you.”

  “Sure it is,” Grandfather said. “I was just noticing how nicely you set the table. I was wondering if that was just for me.”

  “We went into town and bought some burgers and corn,” Jessie said.

  “She should be here soon,” Violet added. “Did you see her at the concert? She said she was going.”

  “She was at the concert?” Grandfather thought for a moment. “I must have missed her. I’m surprised, though, because it wasn’t a very large room.”

  “Hmmmm,” said Henry, pulling Violet aside. “I wonder if she really was going to the concert, or if she just made that up when we told her Grandfather would be there. She didn’t seem to know much about it.”

  “But why would she make it up?” asked Violet.

  “I don’t know. It might have something to do with her ‘special project,’ ” said Henry.

  Just then there was a knock at the door.

  “That must be Professor Meyer now,” Grandfather said, going to greet her.

  “Hello,” he said as he opened the door.

  “Nice to see you, Jimmy,” Professor Meyer said as she came into the suite. “Hello, children,” she called. “How pretty the table looks!”

  “Come sit down,” Jessie said. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

  “Did you enjoy the concert?” Violet asked.

  “The concert?” Professor Meyer looked puzzled.

  Henry shot a look at the others as if to say, See? She didn’t even go to the concert.

  But after a moment the professor said, “Oh, the concert! It was lovely.”

  “It was, wasn’t it?” Grandfather agreed.

  With help from Grandfather, the children fried the bu
rgers, boiled the corn, and tossed the salad. Soon everything was ready.

  “This all looks so good!” Professor Meyer said, sitting down to eat.

  The food was delicious, and the conversation lively. Professor Meyer told them lots of good stories about the old days at Goldwin. It wasn’t until they had finished eating that the children decided to bring up Joshua Chambers’s letters.

  As soon as the table was cleared, Henry said, “Professor Meyer, we wanted to ask you about a couple of old letters and a key we found.”

  “Oh, yes, you did have a question for me,” she recalled.

  Violet handed the letters to the professor. “Oh, how interesting,” she said, carefully unfolding the yellowed papers. “Wherever did you find these?”

  “Up in the clock tower,” Benny said.

  Professor Meyer had put the letters down on the table and was feeling around in her pockets for something. “Now, where did I …” she muttered to herself.

  “Are you looking for something?” Henry asked.

  “My glasses,” she said.

  “They’re on top of your head,” Benny said, trying to keep from laughing.

  “They are?” she said. She put her hand up and touched them. “Oh, goodness, you’re right!” She laughed heartily, and the others joined her. “Silly me!”

  “I think those are the same glasses as Mrs. McGregor’s—our housekeeper,” said Benny.

  “They are?” Grandfather asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” Benny said. “They look so familiar.”

  “Let’s see these letters,” Professor Meyer said. She read the first letter quickly, and then turned to the second, and studied it as well. “So that’s what happened to it,” she said softly to herself.

  “What did you say?” Benny asked.

  “Oh, um, nothing,” Professor Meyer said quickly.

  The Aldens explained how they had found the first letter, and the research they had done in the library. “That was some good thinking,” Professor Meyer said to Jessie. “The library is a wonderful resource. Maybe you’ll be a professor one day. We spend a lot of time in the library looking things up.”

  Jessie blushed with pride.

  “Then we went back to the tower and found the second note and the key,” Benny explained. “Can you help us figure out where the treasure is buried?”