Holly Beth Walker
Whitman, 1967
Genre:
Mystery
Description
Meg's Uncle Hal Ashley is visiting and tells her about a
lost family treasure. The Ashley family silver disappeared during the Civil
War. It is said to have been buried somewhere on the old Ashley plantation
south of town. Meg and Kerry decided they would like to try and find the
treasure so that Clara and Jenny Ashley, a pair of old, queer ladies, who are
very poor, could benefit from the treasure. Hal volunteers to take the girls to
visit Clara and Jenny.
They learn from the old ladies the sad story of how the treasure
got buried. John Ashley decided to fight against slavery in the North with the
Yankees. He left his wife and daughter behind with two of his most trusted
servants. His wife died and the servants decided to take the little girl to her
grandmother in Richmond.
They buried the silver, left a note, and headed out but were never heard from
again. While investigating the plantation, Meg sees the burned remains of the
old plantation house and also discovers a young boy who runs when she sees him.
She tries to follow him but he appears to have disappeared.
Jenny and Clara show the girls a letter from Melinda to her
father saying that they took the silver and hid it in the special place that he
knows about and they fixed it so that no one will ever know it's there. Clara
shows them a cabinet full of dolls, some of which belonged to Melinda. The
dolls that Meg likes best are dolls of Melinda and her mother and father. The
girls learn that the boy is Glenn Morgan. He wants a job but the sisters have
no money. When Meg tells them that the boy disappeared the old lady said that
he must've gone down the witch’s stairway—an old flight of stairs that lead
down to the river. It is seldom used now.
The next day the girls learn that Jenny has broken her arm
and she is now in the hospital. The girls volunteer to go help Clara and keep
her company. This will also give them an opportunity to hunt for the treasure.
Meg decides to go and investigate the stairway and discovers that it is very
well hidden by bushes and vines. It leads down into the tunnel and halfway down
is a very large six-foot wide landing. The landing splits the stairs in half.
On the landing she discovers a sleeping bag and clothes and realizes that the
boy must be camping here.
Clara decides to take Glenn in. He says he is from Ohio and that both of
his parents are dead. Meg has a hard time trusting him. One night she catches
him digging through the desk in the library. She chases after him and he drops
a small book. He locks himself in his room and by the time Clara gets it open
they discover that he and his belongings are gone. They look at the little book
that he dropped and they realize that it is a diary from 1865 written by
Melinda. The constable arrives with Glenn who swears that he didn't take
anything and explains that Melinda was his great-grandmother and that his
father gave him her diary before he died. Since Melinda is family he has come
to try to find the treasure and says that her diary explains where the treasure
is hidden but all the clues are written in riddles.
One clue mentioned something about a hidden spring so the
teens all grab shovels and go dig up an old spring that used to be on the plantation.
Unfortunately, they don't find anything. However, Curly, the dog, has found a
new plaything. Meg discovers that is an old-fashioned fork. As she tries to
find where the fork came from she sees an old woman who looks like a witch
staring at her. The woman gets a car drives away. Meg investigates the chimney
on the burned out old plantation house where the woman was standing and
discovers some disturbed bricks. Glenn also says that he saw two cars drive up
to the fence of the property, get out, and walk along the river. They learn
that Jenny called the news and broke the story of Glenn and Melinda's diary.
When Meg looks at the riddles she notices one line that says “Monticello
points the way” and she realizes that it has to refer to the old Jefferson desk the sisters own. The hidden spring must be
a spring in the desk. There is another line that says Mrs. Manythings has the
key and Meg realizes that this refers to Melinda's peddler doll that has a tiny
key ring full of little keys.
When they examine the desk Clara says that she knows about
hidden compartment but that there is nothing in it. Uncle Hal informs her that
the desk is a crafty reproduction. Jenny explains that they have two of
everything so her desk must be the original, but it too is a copy. Hal tracks
down Andrew Turner, the woodworker who was commissioned to make the second
desk. They visit his house and Meg recognizes his daughter who happens to be
the witch she saw on the property. They investigate the desk that Andrew stole
and discover the drawer with a false bottom and a tiny keyhole. When they open
it up it is empty. The daughter says that they found an old piece of paper in
and out her father threw it away but Meg knows that she's lying. Hal convinces
the daughter to hand over the note and it is another riddle referring to a wall
with seven up and seven down—Meg thinks it might be the chimney and the code
for the bricks.
They slowly disassemble the chimney but there's nothing
inside. When the dog runs to the secret stairway and Meg chases after him she
discovers something. There are seven steps leading down to the stone landing and
seven more leading down to the beach. The stairs are supported by a rock wall
and Meg discovers that there might be a secret room behind a wall. She gets Kerry
and Glenn and they start to look around. They discover an old rotted wooden
door and start digging their way into the tunnel where they find a small room
overflowing with silver. Unfortunately, the tunnel caves in on them.
After what seems like hours Meg hears the dog outside and
calls to him. He digs his way into the room and Meg writes a message hoping
that the dog will go home and get help. Hal comes and rescues them shortly
thereafter and they all take the silver back to the house. Hal discovers that
some of the silver was made by Paul Revere himself. The ladies say that this
silver really belongs to Glenn but he says that since it was on their land they
should keep it and he plans to move on. The ladies refuse and say that he is
family and is more than welcome to stay with them and that they will all share
the treasure.
Thoughts and
Nuggets of Wisdom for Research
By this time, cars were becoming an everyday necessity. It is
cute to read about Meg, who still lives in a small rural town, getting excited
about driving in a car—especially an old-fashioned one. The narration reads, “The
next day was Sunday. After church Uncle Hal took her on a long ride in the
country. He was an artist and he was teaching Meg to draw and paint, too. He
had a wonderful old Duesenberg car which he had had rebuilt. It was long and
low in gleaming black, with red leather seats. Meg loved to sit beside him, the
wind lifting her braids, as the car spun over the highway” (p. 40).
Glenn’s story of Melinda in the Civil War is sad and a rare occurrence
when actual history is mentioned in a series book. Melinda was eleven years old
when she left Hidden Springs. Two old servants tried to take her to Richmond, but the Union
soldiers wouldn't let them go that way. So they went north. When they got to Ohio they were caught in
a mob of people. Melinda lost sight of Jeb and Nora. She never could find them
again. A kind family took her in. Their name was Morgan, the same as Glenn’s.
When she grew up she married one of the sons. Meg asks why she never came back
to Virginia.
Glenn says that the family was poor. People didn't travel so much in those
days. Besides, Melinda did try to reach her father. She wrote, but he never
answered. Clara interrupts to say that he couldn't write back because he never
came back to this house. After Melinda left no one lived there for over 20
years. When Melinda grew up she worried about the silver. The Morgan's didn't believe
her story though. She talked fancy and was always making up riddles. So they
just thought it was a game to her and not real. She died never knowing the fate
of her father or the family’s silver (p. 68-71).
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