and
smiled. “I guess I’m a little jumpy,” he confessed.
“Are you going to keep us in suspense all
night, Jupe?” Pete said impatiently. “Where’s the ghost at?”
“All right, Second,” he nodded. “But let’s
start at the beginning and work our way up to the ghost, shall
we?”
“You better start somewhere,” Timothy
Fitchhorn threatened, “or I’m leaving!”
“For once I agree with the blowhard,” said
Jebediah crossly.
Jupiter ignored them and took a deep breath.
“The first thing we need to discuss is the last clue from the
jukebox record – ‘Hidden Treasures.’ If you’ll remember, the second
verse said: ‘Time has stood still without you, I’m like Adam
without an Eve, I’ll go on searching the universe, until I’ve
buried what I grieve.’”
“Mr. Hichcocke’s letter said that we were
wrong about the meaning,” remembered Bob.
“But you said this morning that you had
figured out the real meaning,” added Pete.
Jupiter grinned at his partners. “I did –
and so did someone else! When you take each line as a riddle in
itself, the answer becomes clear. ‘Time has stood still without
you’ is what threw us off track the first time. It’s clearly a
reference to a timepiece of some sort, but we were too hasty in our
judgment. The rest of the verse tells us exactly which timepiece to
look for!”
“Well, which one is it?” Stella Fitchhorn
chirped excitedly.
Jupiter had a superior look on his face.
“That’s simple enough,” he said. “The second line tells us! ‘I’m
like Adam without an Eve.’ Well, according to Genesis – the first
book of the bible – where did Adam and Eve live?”
“I know that one!” cried Pete. “The garden
of Eden!”
“Exactly!” crowed Jupiter. “So if the first
line means ‘time-piece,’ we can assume the second line of the song
means ‘garden.’”
Patricia looked confused. “But what kind of
timepiece could be in the garden?” she asked. “A clock would be
ruined out there.”
“Naturally a real clock would rot away,”
agreed Jupiter. “But not a marble clock!”
Suddenly Jebediah’s eyes lit up. “By jimmy,
I think I see what the fat one’s drivin’ at...Mr. Hichcocke was
talkin’ about the sun-dial in the garden! That’s a timepiece, and
it’s broken too. The metal gnomon that makes the shadow broke off
years ago. That’s what ‘Time has stood still without you’
means!”
The Fitchhorns and Jebediah rushed over to
the stained glass window that looked out onto the garden. Pete,
Bob, and Patricia crowded close behind.
“It’s too dark to see anything,” Pete
reported, cupping his hands on either side of his eyes. “We’ll have
to go out there.”
Jupiter smiled at Ben and shook his head.
“There’s really no need,” he said. “Someone else has already
deduced the last two lines of the verse. Once you understand the
pattern it’s really quite simple. ‘I’ll go on searching the
universe, until I’ve buried what I grieve,’ simply means ‘search
for something buried.’
“And someone has done just that!” Ben
Hichcocke cried. The lights in the library flickered again –
staying off a fraction of a second longer this time.
“But who?” asked Patricia.
Jupiter Jones stood in the middle or the
library looking as proud as a peacock. He drew himself up to his
full height. “Someone who knows every inch of this house. The same
person who has never been around when the ‘ghost’ has made an
appearance,” he said.
“The Fitchhorns!” cried Patricia. “They’re
the ones that have been trying to scare us out of the house so they
could find the treasure!”
Timothy Fitchhorn took a step forward.
“Careful what you say, missy,” he growled. “I’m not a man to be
crossed!”
Stella Fitchhorn’s face glowed red. “How
dare you say such a thing to family!” she bellowed.
“We know you’re not family!” Pete said
hotly. “We saw the newspaper!”
Timothy Fitchhorn
smiled. “I guess I’m a little jumpy,” he confessed.
“Are you going to keep us in suspense all
night, Jupe?” Pete said impatiently. “Where’s the ghost at?”
“All right, Second,” he nodded. “But let’s
start at the beginning and work our way up to the ghost, shall
we?”
“You better start somewhere,” Timothy
Fitchhorn threatened, “or I’m leaving!”
“For once I agree with the blowhard,” said
Jebediah crossly.
Jupiter ignored them and took a deep breath.
“The first thing we need to discuss is the last clue from the
jukebox record – ‘Hidden Treasures.’ If you’ll remember, the second
verse said: ‘Time has stood still without you, I’m like Adam
without an Eve, I’ll go on searching the universe, until I’ve
buried what I grieve.’”
“Mr. Hichcocke’s letter said that we were
wrong about the meaning,” remembered Bob.
“But you said this morning that you had
figured out the real meaning,” added Pete.
Jupiter grinned at his partners. “I did –
and so did someone else! When you take each line as a riddle in
itself, the answer becomes clear. ‘Time has stood still without
you’ is what threw us off track the first time. It’s clearly a
reference to a timepiece of some sort, but we were too hasty in our
judgment. The rest of the verse tells us exactly which timepiece to
look for!”
“Well, which one is it?” Stella Fitchhorn
chirped excitedly.
Jupiter had a superior look on his face.
“That’s simple enough,” he said. “The second line tells us! ‘I’m
like Adam without an Eve.’ Well, according to Genesis – the first
book of the bible – where did Adam and Eve live?”
“I know that one!” cried Pete. “The garden
of Eden!”
“Exactly!” crowed Jupiter. “So if the first
line means ‘time-piece,’ we can assume the second line of the song
means ‘garden.’”
Patricia looked confused. “But what kind of
timepiece could be in the garden?” she asked. “A clock would be
ruined out there.”
“Naturally a real clock would rot away,”
agreed Jupiter. “But not a marble clock!”
Suddenly Jebediah’s eyes lit up. “By jimmy,
I think I see what the fat one’s drivin’ at...Mr. Hichcocke was
talkin’ about the sun-dial in the garden! That’s a timepiece, and
it’s broken too. The metal gnomon that makes the shadow broke off
years ago. That’s what ‘Time has stood still without you’
means!”
The Fitchhorns and Jebediah rushed over to
the stained glass window that looked out onto the garden. Pete,
Bob, and Patricia crowded close behind.
“It’s too dark to see anything,” Pete
reported, cupping his hands on either side of his eyes. “We’ll have
to go out there.”
Jupiter smiled at Ben and shook his head.
“There’s really no need,” he said. “Someone else has already
deduced the last two lines of the verse. Once you understand the
pattern it’s really quite simple. ‘I’ll go on searching the
universe, until I’ve buried what I grieve,’ simply means ‘search
for something buried.’
“And someone has done just that!” Ben
Hichcocke cried. The lights in the library flickered again –
staying off a fraction of a second longer this time.
“But who?” asked Patricia.
Jupiter Jones stood in the middle or the
library looking as proud as a peacock. He drew himself up to his
full height. “Someone who knows every inch of this house. The same
person who has never been around when the ‘ghost’ has made an
appearance,” he said.
“The Fitchhorns!” cried Patricia. “They’re
the ones that have been trying to scare us out of the house so they
could find the treasure!”
Timothy Fitchhorn took a step forward.
“Careful what you say, missy,” he growled. “I’m not a man to be
crossed!”
Stella Fitchhorn’s face glowed red. “How
dare you say such a thing to family!” she bellowed.
“We know you’re not family!” Pete said
hotly. “We saw the newspaper!”
Timothy Fitchhorn
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