Mara Louis; Girl of Mystery

by Timothy Paterson

aide. The aide called the governor and asked if he was available to meet with a teenage girl from Baltimore named Mara Louis.

  The governor was about to say no, but the girl’s name sounded familiar. He turned to his daughter who was in his office with him and asked her if she had ever heard the name Mara Louis before. “Yes” said his daughter Amanda.“She is the girl who has solved so many mysteries around the nation, including the one at the White House and the one two weeks ago in Nashville.”

  Governor Lynch invited Mara and her parents into his office. He introduced himself and his daughter. Amanda was fifteen, the same age as Mara. The two of them quickly became friends.

  Mara explained about her dream. “I think that I am here to help find the true connection between your ancestor and Mr. Johnson’s ancestor. What can you tell me about your ancestors?”

  Governor Lynch took a file out of his desk and placed it in front of Mara.“This is what I know so far “he said. “David Lynch was my great-great-great grandfather. He lived in a mansion called the Briar’s Mansion from the 1830’s until his death in 1865. From what I have discovered, he did have an African-American woman named Anna living in the mansion. At this point, I don’t know if she was a slave, or a free woman hired as a servant.”

  Mara looked through the papers, hoping that would find something to help her, but she came up empty handed.

  Governor Lynch invited Mara and her parents to have lunch with him his daughter and his wife, Jenna, at the Governor’s Mansion. That afternoon, after lunch, two friends of Amanda arrived at the Governor’s Mansion to hang out with Amanda. When Amanda introduced them to Mara, as Keith Johnson and Margo Green, Mara immediately recognized the names from her dream.

  A thought suddenly occurred to Mara. “Keith, are you by any chance related to Mr. Wesley Johnson, who is running for governor?”

  “Yes”-said Keith, “he’s my grandfather”. Mara soon learned that Keith, Margo and Amanda had been good friends for six years, since the fourth grade. They did not let the rivalry between the governor and Mr. Johnson drive a wedge between the three of them.

  Amanda and her friends gave Mara a tour of the executive residence, telling Mara all about the history of the building. Mara told them about her dream and as she was reading the clues from her notebook, she realized that the thorn garden must represent the “Briar’s Mansion”.Briars or briers were other words for prickly thorns. The Briar’s mansion was where David Lynch had lived over a century ago.

  Mara learned that Briar’s Mansion still existed and had been turned into a bed and breakfast inn. “I wonder if Briar’s Mansion has a basement or dungeon like cellar,” Mara said aloud. “Is there a train station near there?” she asked Amanda.

  “There’s no train station that I know of, but the mansion itself sits on the Mississippi River,” said Amanda.“The mansion offers a great view of the river.”

  Mara looked at the additional names in her notebook and asked, “Do any of you know someone named Nellie?”

  “My grandmother’s name is Nellie Green,” said Margo.

  When they returned to the dining room, the four teenagers found Amanda’s parents and Mara’s parents having a friendly conversation. “Well, how goes the investigation, Mara?” asked Mrs. Louis.

  “I think that we need to go to the Briar’s Mansion in Natchez,” said Mara. “Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, could you meet us there, tomorrow afternoon?”

  “I think that I can clear my schedule for the afternoon,” said Governor Lynch. “We will meet you there tomorrow at one o’clock p.m.”

  Before Mara and her parents left, she told Keith and Margo to bring their grandparents to Briar’s Mansion as well.

  That night, Mara had another dream, which was different from the one she had before. In the new dream, Mara was at the mansion in the 1800’s. Mara saw several people entering and leaving the mansion, but only when it was dark. She saw the train again, but this time, she also saw boats on the river. In another part of the dream, Mara saw an African-American woman in a cemetery, placing flowers on two graves. Mara looked closer at the names and saw that they were the graves of David and Emma Lynch.

  When Mara woke up, she added the new dream details into her notebook. After breakfast, Mara and her parents drove to Natchez. Mara had called the night before, and had obtained permission to walk around the mansion and do some investigating.

  They were the first ones to arrive at Briar’s Mansion and it gave Mara an opportunity to talk to the current owner of the mansion, Caleb Burke. Mara wanted to know more about the history of the mansion.

  Governor and Mrs. Lynch and Amanda were the next to arrive, followed by Keith Johnson and his grandparents and Margo Green and her grandparents.

  Mr. Burke seated the adults in the dining room and served them coffee. Then, he gave the four teenagers a tour of the mansion. As Mara walked through each room, she looked for clues that might help her. She also closed her eyes, to see if her psychic sense could tell her anything.

  After the tour was completed, Mara was disappointed. She had learned nothing new. “Mr. Burke, does this mansion have a basement or cellar?” Mara asked their host.

  “Yes it does,” said Mr. Burke. “Would you like to see it?” All four teens shook their heads up and down. Mr. Burke led the teens down the winding stairs to the basement, and then left them on their own, while he went to check on the adults.

  Mara had a feeling that there was a secret room in the basement. She placed her hands on each wall and closed her eyes. When she checked the third wall, she sensed that there was something behind it. She pushed hard against one end of the wall, but nothing happened. Then, she pushed on the other end. The wall seemed to move a little.

  “Help me push on this wall” Mara told her friends. As all four of them pushed, the wall began to move. As one end of the wall went in, the opposite end came out. The wall appeared to pivot in the middle.

  When the wall was open, Mara turned on a flashlight and began to explore. Behind the wall, they found a hidden room that was quite large. In the room, there were four beds, a table and chairs. There was also a chest of drawers, and a pitcher and basin sitting on a smaller table. In one corner, there was an anvil, some chisels and a sledgehammer. Nearby was a pile of chains, and what appeared to be broken leg irons. In another corner, there was a barrel full of old ragged clothing.

  “What is this room?” asked Amanda.

  “I think it is a safe room,” said Keith. “I think that this was part of the Underground Railroad. T bet that slaves stayed here during the daytime, hidden out of site, and they traveled at night. These chains and leg irons were cut or broken off the slaves and those rags were probably the clothing that they came here with. They rested, ate and after washing up and changing into new clothes, they would proceed to the next safe house along the Underground Railroad which would eventually take them into the northern states, where they would be free.”

  “That explains the train in my dreams,” said Mara. “It represented the Underground Railroad.” Mara searched through the drawers and found that the three bottom drawers were filled with clothing from the 19th century. The top drawer was filled with towels. Underneath the towels, Mara found three books. One was a list of the names of all of the slaves who had passed through the house, on their way to freedom. It included their ages, where they escaped from and where they were headed, as well as the date that they passed through.

  The second book was David Lynch’s journal and the third book was Anna’s journal. Mara also found several documents in the drawer, as well as an old-fashioned key. Mara sat down at the table and started reading the documents and the journals, while the other three teens looked around the room.

  Mara found the documents and journals fascinating. When she had finished reading them, she finally understood what her purpose was in coming to Mississippi.
She shared what she had learned, with her three friends, and then they climbed the stairs and headed into the dining room. Mara was surprised to find the adults engaged in a civilized conversation, discussing Mississippi politics.

  When the adults heard the teens come into the room, they became quiet, waiting to hear if they had discovered any answers.

  “Did you find anything, Mara?” asked Governor Lynch.

  “Yes, we did,” said Mara. “We found out the whole truth and the truth is really wonderful”. Mara and the other teens sat down at the table and Mara began her story.

  “In the basement, we found a secret room” Mara began. “One of the basement walls pivots in the center and behind it, we found the hidden room. The room is furnished with four beds, a table and chairs, and a chest of drawers full of clothing from the nineteenth century. We also found an anvil and various tools such as chisels, and a sledgehammer. On the floor, we found scraps of chains, and broken leg irons and wrist shackles.”

  “You found a safe room?” asked Mr. Johnson. “This mansion was part of the Underground Railroad?”

  “It appears that way, Mr. Johnson,” said Mara. We found a ledger with names of slaves who passed through here, as well as dates and where they escaped from. We also found the personal journals of David Lynch and