Mara Louis; Girl of Mystery

by Timothy Paterson

Mara turned on a flashlight and the three of them started looking around the room.

  They saw several old trunks, as well as old rifles and various miscellaneous items. Because they did not think the floor would hold much more weight, they passed the trunks, rifles and other items down to the adults below.

  When the room was empty, Kenny was about to start climbing down the ladder. Mara stopped him and pointed the flashlight at a far wall. “There’s something hidden in that wall” she said.

  Mara, Brenda and Kenny walked over to the wall, which was made of brick. As Mara scanned the wall with the flashlight, she spotted an area where the bricks looked a little crooked. Taking the screwdriver from Kenny, she began chipping away at the cement between two of the bricks. After a couple of bricks became loose, she removed them. Using the flashlight, she searched behind the bricks and she found what she was looking for. She removed a bundle wrapped in aged faded cloth, tied with old string.

  After they checked the room again to make sure they did not miss anything, they climbed down the ladder. Kenny and his Dad closed the secret door and put the screws back in place.

  One by one, the trunks were opened, revealing their contents, which had been hidden for many years. They were full of military uniforms and men’s and women’s clothing from the 18th century, old books, dishes, tools and many miscellaneous items.

  Mara carefully opened the packet wrapped in cloth, to reveal a large brown envelope stuffed with old papers. Samuel, Robert and Howard began examining the papers. Samuel announced that they were military papers and other personal papers of Matthew Jackson who lived from 1734 to 1823.

  In one of the trunks, under some of the clothing, Kenny found two small wooden boxes. One contained military medals that had been awarded to Matthew Jackson and the other one was filled with an assortment of colonial and early American coins.

  Everyone was so excited about the treasures they had found, that they had forgotten about the other two hiding places. Scott quickly reminded them. “Hey, what about the other two ghosts?” he asked everyone.

  Samuel looked at Mara and with a twinkle in his eye, he said; “Lead on, Mara. Take us to the next treasure.”

  Mara led the group down into the basement. When she got to one end of the basement, she stopped. Mara walked along the wall, touching the bricks as she did so. She had her eyes closed and when she stopped, she opened her eyes and said, “There is something behind this wall.”

  Scott, Kenny and Kenny’s father got some chisels and a pickaxe from a tool bench and began chipping away at the wall. When they had removed about a dozen bricks, they looked through the opening with a flashlight. They discovered a room approximately fifteen by twenty feet. They began removing bricks faster, until they had made a doorway in the wall. Mara entered first, with the others following closely behind her.

  The room looked like a room in an antique shop. There were a number of pieces of furniture and clocks from the early 19th century, several trunks, and what the teenagers thought were odd-looking contraptions. Brenda’s grandmother explained what most of the items were, including a butter churn, an old washboard, and many obsolete kitchen utensils.

  The trunks were filled with more uniforms and clothing, this time from the 1800’s through the 1850’s. As the adults were looking at the furniture, Scott noticed that Mara was searching for something. “What are you looking for Mara?” Scott asked.Mara was not listening, as she was concentrating on her search for a loose stone in the floor. As she neared the far end of the room, she found what she was seeking.

  “Scott, can you help me?” Scott helped Mara pry loose a large stone out of the floor and together, they lifted it up and carefully set it aside. Mara saw what she was looking for, a large black wooden box. As they lifted the box out of the ground, everyone gathered around. As Mara opened the box, she saw the journal that she watched Thomas place in the box. She opened the journal to the last entry dated June 3rd, 1860. The entry was signed ‘Thomas A. Jackson’

  The rest of the contents of the box were papers and medals relating to the military service for Thomas Jackson as well as his father Otis Jackson, and his grandfather Frederick Jackson. The papers and medals spanned three wars, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the war for Texas Independence in 1836.

  Brenda’s great grandfather; Robert Jackson, was becoming anxious about finding the last treasure. “Let’s go, Mara”, he said. “I’m not getting any younger you know” he said with a laugh.

  Once again, everyone followed Mara as she led him or her back up to the third floor again, but this time, she headed to the opposite end of the hall. Mara closed her eyes as she moved her hand along the wall. When she stopped, she opened her eyes and said, “The third secret room is behind this wall.”

  This time, Brenda and her cousin Jordan used hammers and a crowbar, to pry boards off the wall, revealing the secret room. When enough boards had been removed to provide a doorway into the room, they entered to find a room that had once been used as an office and a nursery.

  On one side of the room, they found a cradle, and a lot of baby clothes, toys, and accessories. On the other side of the room, there was a bookshelf filled with old books, mostly first editions of many classic novels of the 1800’s. There was also an antique desk. In the drawers, Mara found a lot of legal papers, including birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as land records and deeds from the early 1700’s through 1860, showing a complete family history of the Jackson family through Daniel Jackson.

  There was also a closet filled with men and women’s clothing from the 1800’s to the 1860’s.

  Before Mara left the room, she went to a corner of the room and from the ceiling; she removed a board and located the envelope that Daniel hid there.

  “This must be the letter that Daniel placed here in 1864,” Mara told the others. Mara and the others went back downstairs to the dining room and Samuel insisted that Mara open the envelope and read the letter.

  Very carefully, Mara opened the envelope, unfolded the letter and began to read it aloud to the entire Jackson family.

  “June 10th, 1864

  To whoever finds this letter; greetings,

 

  My name is Daniel Jackson (though my mother calls me Danny Boy). Tomorrow, I shall leave Cincinnati, to join the Union Army. I am only sixteen years old, but I look at least eighteen. My father; Richard Jackson and my Grandfather; George Jackson have both fought valiantly in this War Between the States. Sadly, both of them have given their lives trying to reunite our great nation.

  I will continue fighting on their behalf. I will serve my president as best I can. Mr. Lincoln wants to preserve our nation as do I and I am prepared to give my life, if necessary, to achieve this goal.

  In case the rebel army shall get as far as Cincinnati, I shall not let them steal any of my family’s treasures. My mother has already been sent away to live with family until I return. I have hidden the family treasures on the property.

  If you are lucky enough to find this letter, I am leaving a puzzle to help you locate our treasure. If I do not return from the battlefields, the treasure is yours to keep. I would hope that you would share it with others.

  Now, I bid you a fond farewell. May God protect our great nation and help to reunite it.

  Sincerely,

  Daniel Jackson”

  Then, while everyone eagerly listened, Mara read the second part of the letter; the puzzle.

  “Gold and silver are quite rare, but this treasure is; who, what, when and where.

  To locate the treasure, think very hard; how many feet are in a yard?

  If you take the time to look, you can learn a lot from a book.

  From our treasure, out the door, you will see how we lived in ‘sixty-four’

  Learn as much as you can, from life’s pages; you will gain valuable knowledge from t
he ages.

  Gold may make your spirits lift; but family is the greatest gift.

  What you do, and what you see; becomes part of your history.

  Whoever finds this treasure map; may find my knife and favorite cap.

  Look between the li’ns and dig very deep; the treasure you find is yours to keep.

  This treasure should not be squirreled; please share it with the rest of the world.”

  Brenda asked her great-great grandfather the question on everyone’s mind. “Grandpa Sam, did Daniel return home after the war and recover his treasure?”

  “Well” said Samuel; “It’s hard to say. Daniel was injured in the war, and when he returned home, he had some memory loss. As far as I know, no one in the family ever mentioned a hidden treasure, so it could still be hidden.”

  By this time, it was late afternoon and it was getting dark. It also like a storm was approaching. While everyone agreed that the treasure was most likely buried outside, they all agreed that it was better to wait until morning to start their search.

  That evening after dinner, Mara started looking for clues in Daniel’s letter. She went into the living room, where Samuel was resting. “What can you tell me about Daniel Jackson” Mara asked him.

  “Well, he and I had a lot in common,” said Samuel. “Danny Boy was very interested in photography and took a lot of photos during the end of the Civil War,