by Joyce Good Henderson

Created on: June 10, 2009

The Mysterious Discovery

Hey! I banged on the door. Let me out!

I pounded a few more times and rattled the doorknob to no avail. So, was it a coincidence someone decided to lock that particular door just after I'd ducked in here? No way! Someone was following me. But who? And why?

I probably just flunked Secret Agent 101 since I didn't notice a stalker and let him or her lock me in the armor room. Taking a deep breath to keep from panicking, I looked around. At least, there were plenty of weapons, even if they were old and rusty. I grabbed a small sword and swished it through the air. If my captor planned to return and finish me off, I wouldn't go down without a fight.

Maybe there was another way out. I spotted a tiny, dusty window high on the far wall. Stacking several crates under it, I carefully climbed up to the window, my ankle reminding me of yesterday's fall. One thing I certainly didn't need was enough dust to make me sneeze and nearly topple from my awkward perch. I pinched my nose to stop the sneeze before I remembered you can blow out your brains doing that.

Apparently, Ghostkeeper, the castle housekeeper never cleaned this window. Years' worth of dust and grime clouded the small square of glass. I spit onto my hand and smeared enough dirt to look out just as Jamie and Mrs. Frazer got into Uncle Angus' black car. Then mom, dad, Chris and Uncle Angus walked across the courtyard, Uncle A pointing as he gave them a tour of the grounds. I knocked carefully on the glass since it was old and I didn't want to break anything, but no one so much as looked in my direction.

No one looked guiltily back at the castle, yet one of them had to know I'd been locked in this room. The only person left in the castle was Douglas, the decrepit butler. I hadn't seen him since the day we arrived. Douglas and the ghost I'd seen last night.

Maggie?

I didn't think so. She wouldn't lock me in. I caught sight of her painting, my twin. She seemed to be smiling at me. Like we shared some secret.

I climbed down and moved the boxes back to their original spots. Then, I tripped over a lance propped against a trunk. The lance fell, glancing off a shield, which rolled to one side, clattering against a metal ball about the size of a bowling ball. The ball shifted and began to roll toward an empty fireplace. In front of the grate, an andiron, already slightly off-balance, stopped the ball and actually wobbled

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