your long underwear. So, now you can wear my pajamas.”
“I’ll sleep in my clothes, thank you very much.” He said.
Mara was curious about the conversation that she had heard. “When did you wear Scott’s clothes, Betsy?” she asked.
“Never mind,” said Scott, and then he tried to change the subject. “We need to get some sleep, so that we can get up early and resume the search.”
The three of them slept in sleeping bags in the living room of the presidential residence.
The next morning, after breakfast, and after they brushed their teeth with presidential toothbrushes, they quickly got dressed and were ready to resume their search.
By three o’clock, they had searched every box, in every room of the White House and had found no treasure, no collections and no clues.
Mara knew that she must have missed a clue in the letter. She was not ready to give up.She asked to see the piece of paper again. She read it once, then she read it again and then she read it yet a third time.
It was during the third reading of the will, when she suddenly realized what she had missed. She went back to the library, with Scott and Betsy following close behind.
Mara started looking through some more books. After going through six books, she finally found what she was looking for. A book showed pictures of the inside of the White House over the past one hundred years.
President and Mrs. Morgan walked into the library. “Have you found the treasure yet?” asked the president. He did not really think that there was anything to find.
“I think that I have solved the mystery, Mr. President,” said Mara. She pointed to a picture in the book that showed a small room, labeled ‘the butler’s pantry. “Do you know where this room would be located today?” she asked.
“I think that I do know,” said the president. President Morgan led the way to the area of the White House where the White House kitchen was located. He had White House security meet them there.
They stopped when they came to a locked room. The security officer unlocked the room and when the door was opened, they saw that it was used for storage.
Mara quickly looked around the room and did not see what she was looking for. She started tapping on the back wall, looking for a hidden door or secret panel.
Suddenly, the knocks revealed a hollow sound on one part of the wall. Mara saw the puzzled look on everybody’s faces, so she began explaining her theory.
“We have been reading this paper wrong, she explained. All three of the Mr. Carvers were employed as valets and their work included preparing meals. When William Carver wrote this paper, he was quite old and his eyesight and handwriting may not have been perfect. I think that when he wrote ‘the collection is in a nice box’ he meant to write that ‘the collection is in an icebox’.”
“What’s an icebox?” asked Scott.
Mara explained that in the days before electricity and refrigeration, food was kept cold in a big wooden box with a block of ice keeping the food cold.
Mara continued explaining her theory. “Since William wrote this will in 1960, the White House would not have been using the old ice box, because they would have used electric refrigerators. Since William stated that his collection was in an ice box, he must have kept the old ice box, possibly because of a sentimental attachment to it”
“If I am right, there is a secret room behind this wall where the old ice box with the collection inside, as well as the rest of William’s belongings.”
Mara started pushing different spots on the wall where she had heard the hollow sound. All of a sudden, part of the wall popped open. Mara had hit the release switch on the wall.
Behind the hidden door was a ten foot by ten-foot room. In one corner was an antique wooden icebox. On the other side of the room, was a wall-to-wall bookshelf with over one hundred books.
Mara found a light switch and turned it on. The room suddenly became bright.
Since nobody else was moving, Mara went over to the icebox and opened it. It was filled with small boxes of all shapes, as well as hundreds of envelopes.
On the fronts of the boxes, were the names of presidents. Mara carefully took out a box labeled President Washington. She opened it and found a quill pen and a few old coins. There was a card with the box. It was a Christmas card addressed to Thomas Carver and signed by George Washington, and his wife Martha.
By now, the others had gotten over their shock and started opening other boxes. A lot of them contained a few newly minted coins from that year, and other token gifts.
Many of the gifts were pens, along with a hand written note explaining what important legislation was signed with that pen.
There were gifts and Christmas cards signed by the presidents and first ladies, going from George and Martha Washington, all the way through John and Jackie Kennedy. There were over one hundred sixty gifts and over one hundred sixty Christmas cards.
Mara walked over to the shelves of books and picked up the very first volume. It was hand bound. Mara opened it and she noticed it was a journal. The first entry was dated January 1st, 1797. The entries were personal details about President Washington.
As she looked through different volumes, she noticed that the journals were written by the three Carver men.
They were private memories, and thoughts, and observations about the presidents. There were no scandalous events about any of the presidents, as all three of the Carver men were very loyal to the presidents.There was nothing in the diaries that would bring dishonor to the former presidents, or to the nation.
The last journal entry in the last journal was June 15th, 1963. The journals contained information on the first thirty-five Presidents of the United States. Even Mara, Betsy and Scott knew that these journals were priceless, for their historical value alone.
After the five of them had looked through the journals, Betsy asked her father a question that she, Mara and Scott had all been thinking; “According to the will, whoever found William Carver’s belongings, would become owner of them. Since Mara solved the mystery and found these treasures, this is all hers now, isn’t it?”
Besides being the President of the United States, President Morgan was also a lawyer, and a fair, honest man.
He looked at Mara and said; “Betsy’s right, Mara. Legally, all of this is yours. Do you have any idea what you want to do with it?”
Mara thought for a moment and said; “I have an idea, but I want to talk it over with Scott and Betsy first.”
The president agreed to give them some time to talk it over.“In the meantime” he said, “let’s close the secret door and keep this secret among the five of us.”
They arrived back at the private residence at five o’clock p.m. Scott and Mara would be picked up in another hour. The three of them, went into Betsy’s bedroom to discuss Mara’s newly acquired treasure.
Scott was very excited. “Mara”, he said, “Do you realize how rich you will be when you sell the collection and the journals? You have items autographed by every president and first lady from George and Martha Washington, to John and Jackie Kennedy. Then, there are the coins, pens used to sign historical documents, and that is not including the journals. It’s all worth millions of dollars.”
Both Betsy and Mara were looking at Scott as if he was crazy. “I could never sell this collection,” said Mara. “It belongs to the American citizens, and I need to find a way to share it with them forever and ever.”
“You could donate it to the federal government,” said Betsy.
“No disrespect to your dad, Betsy,” said Mara, “but I don’t trust the government that much. The government has a history of hiding things from the citizens,”
Mara discussed her ideas with Scott and Betsy and they made suggestions as well. After twenty minutes, they went to see the president.
“So, what have you decided, Mara?” he asked her
“Well”, said Mara. “I plan to share it with the American citizens, but with certain stipulations.”
“First, I will retain legal ownership of the collection and the journals, but they will be on permanent loan to the White House. That way, nobody can sell them, or hide them away from the people of the U.S.”
“Second, I want the collection of cards, and gifts, to become a permanent display in the White House and for it to known as the ‘Carver Collection’, to include a history of the Carver family.”
“Third, I want every page of the journals to be photographed, and then have the original journals preserved and kept in a secure location, where historical researchers can study them.”
“My last request is that the one hundred sixty seven years of journal entries be condensed into a three volume set, one volume for each of the Carver men, and sold to the public. All proceeds from the sale of the books should go to a foundation to be known as the Carver Foundation. The Carver Foundation will use the money for college scholarships.”
When Mara had finished speaking, the president looked at her with admiration.
“I am very impressed with you, Mara,” he said. “You are very mature and responsible for your age. I think that your plans are well thought out, and I don’t think I could have made a better decision.” He paused for a moment, and then asked; “Isn’t there anything that you might want
Mara Louis; Girl of Mystery Page 12
