Wonderland Creek Part 37

Lillie and I had wandered down a side trail, talking about the church. I wanted to get back to the treasure hunt. I rose from the chair and sat on the edge of her bed, restless with antic.i.p.ation. "So where did the treasure originally come from?"

"A few years after the war, Isaac Larkin and Wilbur Arnett was out hunting turkeys along Wonderland Creek when they seen a plume of smoke back in the trees. They figured it was from a still, and they decided to see who was cooking moons.h.i.+ne. Turned out they was two robbers, sitting by a campfire and talking about how they stole money from a bank in Lexington and made off with the loot. Seems they killed a man while making their getaway, and they needed to hide out for a while. Wilbur and Isaac knew them men was dangerous, so they decided to keep an eye on them and make sure they stayed out of Acorn.

"Well, the robbers kept on drinking moons.h.i.+ne all afternoon, and by the time night fell, they'd pa.s.sed out cold. Isaac and Wilbur crept into their camp and stole the loot right out from under them crooks."

"They robbed the robbers? Were they crazy?"

"That's what greed does to you, honey. It makes you go a little crazy. Isaac and Wilbur had all sorts of plans for what they was gonna do with that money. But come morning, the real robbers was out roaming the hills looking for their loot, and they was madder than a mess a hornets. The two friends was scared to death they'd be shot dead if they spent a cent of it. Weeks went by and the bad men was still out looking for it. In the end, Isaac and Wilbur kept just enough to build two houses, and they give a little to their friend Abe Coots's wife, then they buried the rest of it until they was sure it was safe."

"Is it still there? Did they ever dig it up?"

"Far as I know, they never did. I told Isaac he should give the money back to the folks at the bank, but he said he was too scared. He thought the sheriff would accuse him and Wilbur of stealing it because the robbers wore masks over their faces. Besides, the whole town wanted revenge on account of the dead bank teller, and Isaac figured there'd be a lynch mob before there'd ever be a fair trial."

"What a mess."

"Them two friends couldn't decide what to do, so they left the money buried. They decided it was cursed. Wilbur Arnett died first, and just a short time later, Isaac Larkin lay dying. He told me the whole story and gave me that letter just in case his kin might need the money someday. He said G.o.d would show me when it was time to dig it up. And since G.o.d never said a word about it to me, I kept the letter sealed up, just like I promised."

"That's incredible . . . unbelievable!" In fact, the story sounded like a work of fiction. Yet why had the two families been feuding all these years if there wasn't some truth to the tale? "Did you ever show this letter to Mack?" I asked her.

"What for?"

"Maybe he would know what to do with the money."

"I know exactly what to do with it-leave it in the ground where it belongs."

"But the Larkins and Arnetts have been fighting over it for sixty years. This could end the feud."

"Honey, if you believe money could end the feud, then you don't know people very well. You think they gonna share it? Uh uh. Each side's gonna want all of it. There'll be shooting and killing around here for sure."

I looked down at the yellowing envelope. I was dying to know what the letter said, where the treasure map was, and where the money was buried. I looked up at Lillie. "May I open it?"

"You ever read the story of Pandora's box?"

"Yes, I've read it . . . but I'm dying of curiosity, Lillie. Can't I just see what it says and then seal it up again? I promise I won't tell anybody. I'm going back to Illinois as soon as Mack comes back, and if I don't open this it'll be like reading a good book and discovering the last chapter is missing. I have to find out how it ends."

"It'll end with more fighting if you open that up, I'll tell you that much."

"I really don't see the harm. Please?"

"I can warn you not to, but I can't stop you if your mind is made up. You'll just do it when my back is turned."

"Then I'll do it in front of you. I'm going to open it."

I turned the envelope over and ran my finger around the flap. The glue was so old and brittle that the seal opened easily. I expected to find an elaborate treasure map inside, like something out of a pirate story, with a big red X marking the spot. Instead, I pulled out a single sheet of plain paper, folded in half. I read it out loud to Lillie: "To my family, Never let money come between family and friends. Keep following the Good Book and always do what it says: 'Thou shalt not steal.' And that means stealing money from bank robbers, too. The Bible is right when it says, 'The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.' And always remember, 'There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.'

Signed, Isaac Larkin"

Lillie laughed out loud when I finished reading. I dropped the letter to my lap in disappointment. "It doesn't say where the treasure is buried."

"It says exactly what I just told you-don't dig it up! Believe me, the Bible is right and the love of money does lead to all kinds of evil. I seen it happen again and again in this long life of mine. Why do you think my old ma.s.sa and his friends fought that awful war? They wanted to keep owning slaves because they can't make money without us. Money starts all kinds of wars, honey, like this war between the Larkins and Arnetts. Finding that treasure will only start an even bigger war."

I didn't want a sermon. I wanted a map. I read the letter through again, trying to find a message hidden between the lines. I even held it up to the light to see if there was a hidden map. When nothing magical appeared, I read it through a third time. Nothing. Lillie watched me, shaking her head in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"What does this verse about a friend mean, Lillie? Is he talking about the friends.h.i.+p between the three men? Were they closer than brothers?"

"That verse comes from the Bible, and it's talking about the Lord Jesus. He'll stick by us when n.o.body else will. Ever hear that hymn 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus'?"

"That's the same verse that's on your sampler." I pointed to the picture frame hanging on the wall above her bed. "Did you embroider that?"

"Nope. It come with the house."

My heart began to pound. "Lillie! I saw another sampler just like it in Ike's house-which used to belong to Wilbur Arnett. Maybe that's where the map is hidden!"

"I'm telling you, honey. Leave it alone."

I didn't listen. I stood and reached for the sampler above her head, blowing off the dust. "May I take this down and look at it, please?"

"There's a story in the Bible about a great big basket, and inside is a woman named 'Wickedness.' G.o.d put a big heavy lid on top of her, made out of lead, to keep the wickedness from jumping out. Ever read that story?"

"No." I wasn't interested. I had the frame in my hand and I looked it over carefully. I didn't see anything on the back that looked like a map. I studied the embroidery to see if the instructions were concealed in the design. Nothing. I would have to take the frame apart. I sat down and turned it over on my lap.

"May I take this frame apart?"

"It don't belong to me, honey. It belongs to Mack."

"He won't mind. He was searching for the treasure map, too."

I began to pry off the nails that held down the backing, being very careful not to damage anything. The date on the sampler was 1875, for goodness' sakes. I expected to find a map concealed behind the backing, but there was nothing there. I looked between the yellowing fabric and the wood-in vain. I had torn the entire sampler apart for nothing.

"I'm sorry, Lillie . . . I'll put it back together."

"Leave it, honey. I'll fix it."

"I'm really sorry. I should have listened to you."

She waved me away, still shaking her head.

I went back to my typewriter in Lillie's workroom, but I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't stop thinking about Isaac Larkin's mysterious letter. Maybe I needed the other sampler from Ike's house. Maybe if I put the two samplers side by side, I'd see the solution. But who knew when Ike would return home. Besides, if I told him what I had discovered, he'd want to keep all the money for himself, not divide it between the two families. Should I wait for Mack? He was a Larkin, but he didn't care about the money. He wanted to end the feud, too. In my opinion, Wayne and June Ann should be the ones to dig up the money. The treasure rightfully belonged to Feather.

The next time I went into Lillie's room, she had put the sampler back together and hung it on the wall again. But it didn't look the same. I had damaged it for nothing, and now I was sorry.

As I waited for Mack to return, time felt suspended. Day after day, nothing happened. It was as if someone had waved a magic wand and the town of Acorn froze in time. My garden continued to grow. The packhorse librarians checked out piles of books and returned piles more. I finished reading Tom Saywer to Faye's boys and began reading Huckleberry Finn.

Meanwhile, I could sense my parents' growing concern in their letters as they asked about the delay and wondered how much longer until I came home. I couldn't give them a clear answer. I worried that my father would show up at the library door one day and insist that I return home with him, but I couldn't leave now! I had grown to love Miss Lillie and I felt responsible for her-and for June Ann and Feather and Maggie, too. And I needed to find out how the story of Acorn, Kentucky, would end when Mack did return and all of the loose ends could be tied up.

I rode my usual book route twice a week, after retrieving Belle's saddle from Mack's abandoned cabin. Each time I stopped at Maggie's house, I found June Ann there. Maggie had become a second mother to her. June Ann was little more than a teenager, after all. Together, the two women took care of Miss Opal and Feather.

As time pa.s.sed, I became more and more annoyed with Mack. I hated waiting. The least he could do was write to us with news about his book, and the investigation into Hank's death, and the search for Lillie's son. I hadn't received a letter from Ike, either-or even a postcard from his travels.

Then one day, someone waved the magic wand again and broke the spell. Time became unfrozen, and after waiting and waiting for something to happen, everything happened at once. First, Ike Arnett strode into library on a Thursday morning just as I was packing my saddlebags for my trip up the creek.

"Ike! Welcome home! It's so good to see you." I remembered how he had once picked me up and whirled me around in a circle, but he didn't do it that day. He looked dead tired, and maybe a little hungover as he slumped into Lillie's chair in the non-fiction room. "When did you get back in town, Ike?"

"Late last night. I know it's early in the morning, Alice, but I came to tell you I'm sorry for not writing like I promised. We've been doing so much traveling and playing that I've barely had time to eat or sleep."

"I understand." It wasn't quite true. I was irritated with him. How much time does it take to mail a postcard? But I held my tongue. "Everything is going well with your new band, I a.s.sume?"

Ike grinned and his face beamed brighter than the miner's hat in the gloomy tunnel. "It's like I died and went to heaven, Alice. When me and the other fellas in the band play together, it's like we can read each other's thoughts. We might be six separate people playing six different instruments, but we make one beautiful sound, and it's music! Heavenly music! I never felt anything like it before. It's like we were born to play together."

"I'm really happy for you." And I was. Ike Arnett did not belong in Acorn, working in the coal mines.

"The pay's been real good, but I gotta tell you, Alice, I'd do this for nothing. I love playing my fiddle and making people happy. Everyone seems so beaten down here in Acorn, especially these past few years. I don't think I ever want to come back. But when our band plays, we make everyone happy. You should see them dancing and singing and tapping their toes." Ike couldn't stop grinning.

One of the things I had missed the most about him was his cheerful spontaneity with romantic picnics in the orchard and stolen kisses. The town had been much too quiet without him. "How long will you be home?" I asked.

"I'm leaving again in a few minutes. I just came home to give my folks some money and to pick up a few things. Then I'll be gone for another month, maybe more. We have so many offers to play that we're turning jobs down. It's like I rubbed a magic lamp and a genie popped out and granted my greatest wish."

"That's wonderful." I would be sad to see him go. But I was even sadder to realize that I had no idea what I would wish for if a genie offered to grant my greatest wish.

"I know we said we'd find that treasure, but to tell you the truth, I don't care about it anymore."

When Ike mentioned the treasure, I was tempted to ask him if I could borrow the sampler hanging above his fireplace. I resisted the urge. Not only had I promised to keep Isaac Larkin's letter a secret, but I still felt guilty for ruining the sampler in Lillie's room. I wouldn't ruin another one.

Ike stood up and took my hands in his. This was it. I would probably never see him again. But instead of kissing me good-bye and walking away, he began to hem and haw, as my grandmother would say, acting very much like a boy who has been caught being naughty.

"What's wrong, Ike?"

"I have a confession to make-something that's been bothering me. I hope you'll forgive me when I tell you."

"I could never stay mad at you for very long."

"Okay . . . Well, remember when I went upstairs looking for Mack's hunting jacket? The truth is, I was snooping around to see if Mack had found out anything about the treasure. Before he died, he'd said he was looking for it, so I wanted to see what he'd found. The same is true about the day I got rid of that bat for you. I did take care of the bat like I said, but I was also searching through Mack's things for a map. I made friends with you at first because I thought he might have told you something about it."

I pulled my hands away from his. "So our time together was just a lie?"

"No! Not at all! It might have started out that way, but I fell for you, Alice. I fell hard! That's why I'm coming clean about the treasure and about snooping in Mack's room. And that's why I'm trying to say I'm sorry. I never should have lied to you."

I felt a little hurt, a little angry, but mostly sad. "Why are you telling me the truth now?"

"It's been eating my conscience, and I don't want to be punished for my wrongdoings. I want the Good Lord to keep on blessing my music. This band is important to me. It's what I always wanted my whole life. And it's my ticket out of the coal mines. I won't need the treasure now."

"You were born to play the fiddle, Ike. Of course I forgive you."

He moved closer and rested his hands on my shoulders. "I'd love to ask you to wait right here for me, but that ain't fair to you. I'd like it even more if you came with me, but that's no kind of life for you, either-traveling with a road band. I'm guessing you'll be heading home soon?"

"Yes. Soon." I didn't really know when it would be, and I couldn't tell him that I was waiting for Mack to return.

"I hate saying good-bye, Alice. But if the Good Lord wants our paths to cross again . . . well, then, I guess He'll take care of it."

"I guess He will." G.o.d had seemed to manipulate a lot of other events lately, such as giving Feather the colic and having June Ann appear just in time to save Mack and me. What Ike said was probably true. The Good Lord could arrange anything.

Ike looked down at me with his big, sad, brown eyes and said, "May I kiss you good-bye, for now?"

I nodded. His kiss was tender and loving-and final. Another good-bye. Ike had treated me kinder than Gordon had when he'd broken up with me, but this parting was sad, just the same. Ike's love potion had worn off. And so had mine.

I closed the door behind him and stood in the foyer, trying to figure out exactly how I felt. When I turned around again, there was Lillie, standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Is he going away?" she asked.

"Yes. Which means you were right, Lillie. It's wearing off, isn't it?"

"What is, honey?"

"The love potion you gave Ike. It's starting to wear off."

Lillie smiled. "Ain't no such thing as a love potion, except in storybooks."

"But you told me that you made some and gave it to Ike."

"Why would I give a love potion to Ike?"

"I don't know! You wouldn't tell me why!" I was shouting. Was Lillie becoming senile? Or was this one of her tricks? "You said you gave some to Belle, too, remember?"

Lillie eyed me as if I were the one who was senile. "Honey, if I knew how to make a love potion, I'd be selling it up in New York City." She chuckled as she limped away.

Good thing I had grown to love her, because she infuriated me.

I saddled up Belle and left on my route, still sad over Ike's departure and my bruised feelings-even though, if I were honest with myself, I would have to admit that a relations.h.i.+p with Ike never would have worked, any more than a relations.h.i.+p with Gordon would have worked.

I rode past Mack's vacant cabin as usual, and I found myself missing him, too. And not just because I had to clean Belle's hooves and groom her all by myself now that he was gone. Mack and I had become good friends during the weeks I had visited him up here, bringing him food. And our friends.h.i.+p had deepened the night we'd explored the deserted mine tunnel together. I missed talking to him. I missed his quiet strength.

My first stop of the day was June Ann's cabin. I was in the habit of stopping to see if she was there, although I usually found her at Maggie's house, my final stop. Today I was in for a surprise. Not only was June Ann at home, but so was her husband, Wayne. June Ann came running out of the house to tell me the good news before I even had a chance to dismount. She was carrying baby Feather in her arms.

"Guess who came home last night, Allie-Wayne! And he's got a pocketful of money that he made working for that Conversation Corpse."

I smiled at her misp.r.o.nunciation of the Conservation Corps. "That's wonderful, June Ann. Is he going to stay home for a while?" I remembered how brief Ike's visit had been.

"He's staying home with us for good. And he says maybe now we can buy a couple of windows for the cabin."

"I'm so happy for you." And I was. I had rarely seen June Ann so joyful and excited. She was even smiling. Then I thought of my friend Maggie and the effect this might have on her. "Was it hard for Maggie to say good-bye to you and Feather?"

"Oh, we're gonna keep on visiting her. Feather and I love it up there."

My sad mood over Ike's departure began to lift, and I couldn't stop smiling as I made my rounds, delivering books and reading stories to the children. But as I approached Maggie's house, I grew apprehensive. How would she cope without June Ann and the baby? For as long as I'd known her, Maggie had seemed perfectly fine to me until the night she'd tried to shoot Mack again. Now that I knew how fragile she really was, I worried about her.

She was standing on her front porch when I arrived, leaning against the post, her face serene. "I've been waiting for you, Allie," she said as I dismounted. "I need to ask a favor."

"Sure. Anything."