July 13th
Today is the worst day of my life. Kristina slept over last night because she wanted to go swimming this morning. We got up early and went down to the dock. The river was running faster than usual because of all the rain we’ve been having lately. I begged her not to go into the water, but she just wouldn’t listen to me. She always had such a strong will of her own. I refused to go in with her, and I’m so sorry. She was swept away from the shore almost immediately. There was nothing I could do.
She kept screaming for me to help her and all I could do was run back to the house and get my foster father. By the time he got down to the river she had disappeared beneath the surface. It was hours before they found her body miles down the river. I can’t stop crying. If only I wasn’t such a chicken, I would have been in that river with her. Maybe I could have saved her life. Now I’ve lost my best friend forever. Love, Annabelle
The page was smeared toward the bottom. Annabelle must have been crying pretty hard because there were large water stains. Kim began to cry. Erin reached over and gave her a hug.
“It’s okay, Kim,” she said. “That all happened a long time ago.”
“But I was beginning to really like them, Erin! What happened to Annabelle?”
“I don’t know,” said Erin. “Let’s keep on reading.”
There was only one more entry. It was dated four days later.
July 17th
Yesterday was Kristina’s funeral. I’ve decided that I will make no more entries in this diary after today. This morning Kristina’s mom came over to visit me. She brought over the silver tea set that I gave her for her eleventh birthday. It was very expensive and I told her Mom that she should keep it, but she refused. She said it hurt too much to see it in her house because it was Kristina’s most treasured possession. I accepted it from her, but I’ve decided I will put Kristina’s tea set in our secret hiding place in the playroom. Also, in the secret hiding place are all of Kristina’s and my most treasured items. I’ve also decided to put this diary up in the playroom for someone to find someday. Whoever finds this diary and finds the secret hiding place, you are welcome to our treasures.
I’ve decided that early tomorrow morning I will run away from here forever. I love you, Kristina, and will miss you always. Love, Annabelle
“You mean she just ran away and left all her possessions behind?!” asked Kim.
“That’s what it says,” answered Erin, “and we’re going to find that treasure tomorrow morning.”
Chapter 4 Discussion Questions
K – 2nd Grade
How do you think Annabelle was feeling when writing her last diary entry?
Why did the diary make Kim cry?
3rd & 4th Grade
Have you ever done something dangerous and regretted it?
What emotions do you think Annabelle was feeling writing her last diary entries?
5th & 6th Grade
Why do you think Annabelle ran away?
Have you lost a friend or loved one? Can you relate to some of the emotions Annabelle expressed in her diary?
Chapter 5:
The Secret Hiding Place
The early morning sun blazed through the open window. Erin and Kim jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. They could hardly wait to eat breakfast and then start their search for Annabelle’s hiding place.
All through breakfast they waited, but Mom and Dad didn’t mention that they had to clean their bedroom or empty any of the boxes; so, technically, they figured they were free to go ahead and search the playroom until they got busted. When they got up to their bedroom, Erin paused before she reached out and opened the hidden door’s latch. “When do you think we should tell Dad and Mom about Annabelle’s playroom?” she asked.
Kim thought for a moment and then answered, “Let’s find the treasure first. Then we can tell them everything.”
“Okay,” agreed Erin, not needing much encouragement. She reached up and twisted the molding and the door slid silently open. They went up to the playroom and stood in the center, deciding where to begin.
“Where do you think we should start?” asked Kim after a moment of silence. Although she was excited about the search for the hidden treasure, the room seemed a little overwhelming.
“Let’s check the walls first,” suggested Erin. She had thought about the hunt all through breakfast and had developed a plan to search the room in an organized way so they wouldn’t miss anything. For the next half hour, the two girls poked and prodded every inch of the playroom’s walls but found nothing. When they had finally eliminated all possible hiding places on the walls, they started on the doll closet. They carefully took everything out of the closet and searched the inside woodwork. After removing the drawer and finding nothing behind it, they put everything back into the closet just the way they found it.
“I give up,” stated Kim, plunking herself down on one of the chairs. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands.
“We’ve only checked two things so far!” exclaimed Erin. “We still have a million places to look!”
“A million?” cried Kim. She rolled her eyes and then dropped her head further into her hands, mumbling, “Now I really give up.”
“Ok, you can give up if you want. But then I get to keep the treasure when I find it.”
She knew that would get action from her little sister. Kim was up in a flash.
“I’m ready now. Where should we look next?” she asked, crossing over to stand beside Erin.
The two of them searched every nook and cranny over the next two hours but could not find any treasure. When they had looked just about everywhere they could imagine, they both sat down at the table to plan their next move.
“I don’t think there is any old treasure,” grumbled Kim after a moment’s rest.
Erin wasn’t too sure anymore. Her confidence was a little shaken and she couldn’t think of another place to look that they hadn’t already searched at least twice.
Kim got up and walked over to the dollhouse. She started to play with the miniature furniture. She moved the table across the tiny playroom and the doll closet over to the opposite wall. Reaching down, she opened the tiny doors to the closet. The inside was painted to look like there were rows and rows of dolls on the shelves. The tiny drawer slid open, and inside were little bits of cloth carefully folded to look just like the doll clothes in the large closet.
“Look at this stuff, Erin,” she marveled.
Erin came across the room and knelt down next to Kim. Bending in close, she peered into the tiny closet.
“Wow,” she said. “It’s just like the real thing. I wonder what’s in the hope chest. I’ll bet it’s just like the real one.”
She reached down and tried to lift the lid on the miniature hope chest. It didn’t budge. “I wonder why this doesn’t open.”
Erin reached into the dollhouse to take out the chest. She held it close to her face so she could get a better look at it.
“Look!” exclaimed Kim, pointing at the spot where the chest had been. There on the floor of the dollhouse was a neatly painted ‘X’.
“That’s it!” exclaimed Erin. “You’ve found it!”
“Found what?” asked Kim.
“The ‘X’!” replied Erin. She got up and rushed over to the large hope chest. “On old treasure maps, ‘X’ always marks the spot where the treasure is hidden!” She gave the chest a hard push but it wouldn’t budge.
“Come give me a hand!”
Kim dashed across the room and together they pushed the chest out of the way. Under it was a cleverly hidden latch built into the false floor. The girls could just make out the outline of a trap door.
“Go ahead, Kim,” urged Erin. “You’re the one who found the secret hiding place.”
Kim reached down and lifted the latch. Inside,
a cloth bag and a wooden box were nestled in the opening. A newspaper and a small envelope were next to the wooden box. They carefully took everything out. Twenty silver dollars and fifteen gold coins were inside the bag. In the wooden box was the most beautiful silver tea set that the girls had ever seen. “This must be the silver set that belonged to Kristina,” said Erin.
She reached into the hiding place, took out the envelope, and opened it. Inside was a single sheet of paper with a note in Annabelle’s handwriting. Erin read the note aloud.
If you are reading this note, you have found my secret hiding place and all of the treasure inside. You are welcome to it, but there is more if you’re willing to look. With this key you can get into the boathouse where the real treasure is hidden.
Good Luck. Love, Annabelle
“What key?” asked Erin. She looked around the floor and back into the hiding place but could not find the key that Annabelle had mentioned in the note.
Kim picked up the envelope off the floor and tipped it upside-down but there was nothing.
She picked up the newspaper and out of it dropped a large heavy metal key. It clanged loudly as it hit the floor of the playroom.
“That’s it!” cried Erin, picking it up off the floor and holding it up to the light. The key had a beautiful floral design on the handle and three teeth on the end. It looked as if it would be a perfect match to the rusty old padlock on the door of the boathouse.
“Erin! Kim!” The sound of their mother’s muffled voice startled the two girls.
“Uh-oh. We’re dead,” sighed Kim.
“Where are those two?” They heard their mother say.
Erin slid the key and Annabelle’s note into her pocket and grabbed Kim’s arm. “Don’t say anything about the treasure out in the boathouse,” she urged. “We’ll find it first, and then show Mom and Dad.”
“Okay,” answered Kim.
The two girls quickly went back down the stairs to show their parents everything they had found so far.
“Where have you two been? And why isn’t your room done yet?” demanded Mom when Erin and Kim entered the bedroom through the secret entry.
“Here it is, almost lunch time, and it doesn’t look as if you two have done anything in here!”
She was so upset she hadn’t even noticed the secret door to Annabelle’s playroom. Erin inched over to the secret latch and quickly turned it. The door shut with a bang.
“And another thing…” Mom never finished what she was about to say. She looked over at the wall where Erin and Kim had just appeared and then back at the girls.
“What was that noise? And where did you two just come from?” she asked, crossing over to where the secret door had shut.
Erin and Kim both started to giggle, but before they could answer their mom, Dad walked into the room.
“What’s going on in here? It doesn’t look like you two did anything this morning.” Standing in the doorway with arms folded across his chest, he leaned on the door jam. When he had this look on his face, the girls knew they had some explaining to do.
“What in the world are you doing, Laurie?”
The girls turned to see their mom carefully running her hands over the wall where the secret door was located.
“Okay, girls. Where’s the door?” she asked, turning around and smiling quizzically at Kim and Erin.
“We found a secret playroom with dolls, and toys, and a huge dollhouse, and a secret hiding place, and—ouch!” Kim stopped mid-sentence and glared at Erin, who had pinched her arm.
“Kim! Don’t tell them everything! Let’s show them.”
Erin reached up and turned the latch. The door slid open. Mom leaned her head into the opening and looked up the stairs.
“Well, I’ll be,” she declared. “Jim, come and take a look at this.”
Dad crossed the room and stepped into the opening.
“I see you girls have found that entry into the upper turret room.” He smiled back into the bedroom at Erin and Kim. “That was quite a piece of detective work. What did you say was up there?”
“We’ll show you,” they both said at the same time.
Grabbing a flashlight, the two of them rushed through the door past Dad. When Kim got to the third step, Erin grabbed her arm to stop her from going any further. Kim looked back questioningly, but before she could say anything, Erin put her finger to her lips to signal that she wanted to surprise Mom and Dad with the automatic door-closer.
“Come on in,” she urged.
When they both stepped into the opening, Erin signaled Kim to continue on up. The moment she stepped on the fourth step, the door slammed shut.
“What happened?” asked Dad. “Who shut the door?”
He turned back and started running his hands over the door, but he could not find a latch to open it.
“I know how to open it,” said Erin.
“Me too,” said Kim.
Both Mom and Dad looked up at the girls. “Well?” they said, waiting.
“Everybody stand back,” ordered Erin. She looked up at Kim and gave her a smile.
“Open,” she commanded, as Kim stepped down on the fourth step. The door opened just as she had commanded.
“Now shut,” she commanded again, as Kim stepped down on the fourth step again.
“Now open,” she instructed. The door slid open again.
Both girls giggled at their parents’ confusion.
“All right, how did you do that?” asked Mom.
“I’ll show you,” said Kim. “Shut!” She stepped down on the step. The door slid shut.
“Kim!” cried Erin.
“Oops!”
Dad came up the steps and lifted Kim off the fourth step and put her back down on it. The door slid open. He then swooped down on both girls and tickled them until they begged him to stop.
“Jim, not on the stairs,” said Mom.
“Yes, Jim,” sing-songed Erin, trying to copy Mom’s voice. “Not on the stairs!”
“I’ll get you later,” he answered, giving her one last tickle.
The two girls raced up ahead of their parents and opened the door to Annabelle’s playroom.
When their parents finally reached the entrance, they showed them all of the wonderful things they had found, including the beautiful tea set. A couple of times Kim almost blabbed about the key and the note that Erin had slipped into her pocket, but Erin was able to change the subject each time. Their secret was still safe.
Chapter 5 Discussion Questions
K – 2nd Grade
What is a detective?
If you found a treasure map, what treasure would you hope to find?
3rd & 4th Grade
Why do you think Erin wanted to keep the key a secret?
Do you think the girls will show their parents the treasure chest? Why or why not?
5th & 6th Grade
Pretend you were going to show a parent, guardian, or close friend your secret playroom. Predict how they would react.
Think back to your earlier prediction about the boathouse. Now that you know a little more information, does your prediction about what’s in the boathouse change?
Chapter 6:
The Boathouse
Erin and Kim stayed the rest of the day, and well into the night, cleaning and straightening their new bedroom. They even got started on the third floor playroom, which they now called ‘Erin and Kim and Annabelle’s Playroom.’ Dad said he would carve their names into the door as soon as they cleaned it up and proved that they could keep it clean.
“Whew!” exclaimed Erin, sitting down on one of the playroom chairs. “This is really hard work.”
“Look!” said Kim, pointing out the window. “There she is again.”
Erin got up from her chair and walked over to the window. Sure eno
ugh, the old woman was staring out her window at them. This was at least the fifth time they had caught her peering from behind the curtain.
“Maybe she’s friendly,” offered Erin, waving at her.
The woman immediately shut her curtain without returning the wave. The bedroom light behind the curtain turned off and the room went completely dark.
“Yeah, right. Real friendly!” said Kim, turning away from the window.
The two of them continued to work on the playroom for another hour without seeing the old woman again. Just as they were putting the finishing touches on the new playroom, their mom called up the stairs and informed them that it was time for them to take their showers and get ready for bed.
“Tomorrow we’ll find that treasure in the boathouse,” proclaimed Erin, patting the key that was still securely in her pocket. “And then we’ll be rich!”
The next morning they were up bright and early, ready to start out on their new adventure. After breakfast they hurried out the door, only to be stopped by Dad.
“Where are you two off to today?” he asked.
“We decided we would go down to the boathouse today and explore along the river,” answered Erin. “We also wanted to check out our canoe and see if there’s any damage by the movers.”
She didn’t wait for an answer. She turned on her heels, scurried off the huge back porch and across the yard. Kim followed closely behind.
“You two be extra careful down by the river,” cautioned Dad. “And don’t take the canoe out without wearing your life vests. I stored them under the canoe.”
He stood at the screen door and watched them cross the lawn toward the woods.
“And be careful,” he added, loud enough to be sure they heard him. “Observe those rules of safety we taught you.”
“We will,” they both yelled from the edge of the woods.
When they had gone far enough into the woods to be out of sight, Erin stopped and turned toward Kim. “Give me five,” she said.
Kim reached out and slapped her hand. “Let’s get rich!”
Hidden Hollow Five--The Secret of Annabelle Page 4
