Haunted Clock Tower Mystery (3 page)

Benny rushed over to Henry’s bed. “Henry! Henry! Wake up!”

“Who—what—?” Henry said, startled, sitting up quickly in bed, clutching his blankets. “Benny, what’s going on?”

“Henry, there’s somebody up in the tower! I think it’s a ghost!” Benny explained.

“What are you talking about?” Henry asked.

“Come here! Look!” Benny cried, taking Henry by the hand and pulling him over to the window. “See?” He pointed up at the clock tower.

Henry rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked where Benny was pointing. “Yes? So?” he said sleepily.

“Don’t you see?” Benny asked. “There’s a light on, and it’s midnight! Remember what Ezra said? He said nobody goes in the tower at night.”

“It certainly
is
strange,” Henry agreed. “But it can’t be a ghost. I’m sure there’s a simple explanation and we’ll find out in the morning.”

Benny looked out the window again. “But—” he began. “Oh, all right,” Benny said, getting slowly into his own bed.

Soon Benny was asleep, but Henry lay awake a little longer.
There couldn’t possibly be anything wrong in the clock tower,
he thought. But he wasn’t so sure.

The next day, the Aldens woke up early, excited about exploring the university. As they walked to the dining hall for breakfast, Benny told the others about what he’d seen the night before.

“It was definitely a ghost,” Benny said.

Henry grinned. “Probably not, although it did seem pretty strange that someone would be up there so late at night.”

“Well, I’m sure there’s a simple explanation,” Grandfather assured them.

“That’s just what I said,” Henry told them.

After a hearty breakfast of juice, milk, and blueberry pancakes with syrup, Grandfather turned to Jessie, who was holding the schedule of reunion activities. “What looks good for this morning?” he asked.

“Let’s see,” she said, scanning down the page. She read aloud, “ ‘Saturday morning. Take a tour of the campus. See what’s changed and what’s the same. Meet at the base of the clock tower at ten A.M.’ ”

“That sounds interesting,” said Violet.

Grandfather looked at his watch. “It’s quarter to ten now.”

“Let’s go!” said Henry.

They were just approaching the clock tower when Violet spotted a familiar face. “Isn’t that Ezra Stewart?” she asked. They walked over to say hello.

“Hello, Alden family. And what are you doing on this beautiful sunny day?” Ezra asked. He was as sharply dressed as he’d been the day before. Today he wore red-and-white suspenders with the Goldwin insignia on them. The children could guess that he appreciated school spirit.

“We’re going on a tour of the campus,” Jessie said.

“Doesn’t that sound delightful,” Ezra commented.

“I have a question for you,” Benny said.

Ezra smiled down at Benny. “Fire away! Goldwin University trivia is my specialty.”

“Last night, in the middle of the night, I saw a light on in the clock tower,” Benny said. “Is someone up there at night?”

The smile on Ezra’s face disappeared. “No, of course there isn’t anyone up there at night,” he said angrily. “Why would you think that?”

Benny seemed hurt by Ezra’s tone. “Well, it’s just that I saw a light—”

“You must have been mistaken,” Ezra snapped. “Maybe you were dreaming.”

“I saw it, too,” Henry pointed out.

Ezra turned to Henry. “Then you must have been mistaken as well,” he repeated.

“Is the tower locked at night?” Jessie asked.

“Well, no, I don’t lock it, but I told you—nobody goes up there at night,” Ezra said. “Now excuse me, but I must be going.” He hurried off.

“My goodness, he certainly seemed upset, didn’t he?” said Jessie.

“But he was so nice at first,” said Benny sadly.

Violet spoke up. “It’s like yesterday, when he started talking about his assistant, Andrea Barton. All of a sudden his whole mood changed.”

“I guess he didn’t like the idea that someone was up there who shouldn’t be,” Grandfather said.

“But don’t you see?” Benny said, suddenly getting excited. “If Ezra says that no one goes up there at night, then there’s only one explanation.”

“And what might that be?” Jessie asked.

“It’s a ghost! I told you!” Benny insisted.

“Oh, Benny,” Henry said. “You know there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“Are you sure?” Benny asked.

“Yes,” said Grandfather. “Maybe Ezra is right, you were mistaken about the light. Maybe it was just a reflection from somewhere else.”

“Or maybe someone is going up there who shouldn’t be,” said Henry.

Before the Aldens could discuss this possibility farther, they heard a loud voice. “Good morning, Aldens!”

The family turned to see Joel and Don Dixon coming up the hill to join them. “Ready for the tour?”

“We sure are,” said Grandfather.

Just then a blond man in a red Goldwin University T-shirt called out, “The tour is going to be starting now.” The Dixons and Aldens walked toward him. A small group of people gathered around. “My name is Ethan, and I’ll be your guide,” the man said. “Some of the buildings you may remember, but a lot have been built since you graduated. You’ll see they’re working on a brand-new building right here on the Quad.” He motioned behind him. “I’m sure you all remember the clock tower.”

People nodded and smiled. “Hasn’t changed a bit,” one woman pointed out.

“When was the tower built?” asked Don.

“Around 1860. It’s one of the oldest buildings here,” Ethan said.

“Did it always have a carillon?” Don asked.

“Yes,” said Ethan. “At the beginning, there were twenty-five bells. Over the years, more and more bells were donated to the school by generous alumni. Now there are forty-nine.

“We’ll end our tour back here in time for the midday concert,” Ethan continued. “Now, if you’ll follow me, let’s head on over this way, to the new science buildings.”

“How old is the clock?” Don asked.

Ethan turned around. “You have a lot of good questions,” he remarked. “It’s the original clock—from 1860,” Ethan said.

Don nodded.

“If there are no more questions, we’ll move on,” Ethan said, looking around at the group.

Joel and Grandfather were very impressed with the new science buildings, which were very tall and faced with glass. “They look a lot fancier than the old labs we had our classes in,” Joel remarked. “Very modern buildings, don’t you think, Don?”

Don seemed lost in his own thoughts.

“Don?” Joel asked after a moment.

“I’m sorry, Dad. What did you say?” asked Don.

“I was just noticing how modern these buildings are compared to the rest of the campus,” said Joel.

“What? Oh, yes,” Don said. But he didn’t really seem to be paying attention.

A moment later, Ethan had led the tour to a group of very old-looking dormitories. “A Civil War battle was fought not far from here, and troops were housed in some of these buildings.”

“What’s the Civil War?” asked Benny.

“That was a war fought between the northern and southern parts of our country,” said Grandfather. “It happened a long time ago, in the 1860s.”

“Really? There was a war in the United States?” asked Benny.

“Yes, and lots of young men and boys left their families to go and fight,” Grandfather said. “Many people were killed, or lost their homes and all their money. It was a terrible war.”

The tour continued past many more interesting buildings and a large statue of James Goldwin, founder of the college. Finally they found themselves back at the clock tower.

“We’ll go up to the top of the tower now, for anyone who wants to see the view,” Ethan said.

“Great,” said several people in the crowd as they headed into the tower and started up the steep, winding staircase. The Aldens followed, even though they’d already seen the view the day before. Ethan pointed out several more sights from the top of the tower. When he was finished, he said, “And that concludes our tour. Thanks so much for joining me.”

“Thank you,” said Jessie, and others on the tour echoed her.

The Aldens waited as the rest of the group headed back down the stairs. Just as they were getting ready to leave, a young woman came hurrying up the stairs. She was wearing blue jeans, clogs, and a bulky red sweatshirt with the word GOLDWIN stitched across the front in large white letters. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that bounced as she walked.

“Hello!” Benny said as she entered the tower room. “You missed the tour, but I can tell you what we saw.”

“Thanks,” the woman said with a big smile, “but I go to school here. I probably could have given the tour.”

“I bet you don’t know all the stuff about the carillon,” Benny said.

“I bet I do,” the woman said, her smile growing larger. “I’m the assistant carillon player.”

“You are?” Violet said. She remembered how upset Ezra had been when he talked about his assistant. This young woman seemed nice and friendly. How could she make him so angry?

“You must be Andrea Barton,” Henry said.

“That’s right. But you can call me Andi—all my friends do. How did you know my name?” Andrea asked.

“We met Ezra yesterday,” Jessie said. “He told us all about the carillon, and we watched him play a concert.”

“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” Andrea said. “I’m giving the concert at noon. I came a little early to get ready.” She looked around at the stacks of papers everywhere. She lifted a few piles and frowned.

“What are you looking for?” asked Henry.

“My glasses,” Andi said. “I’m sure I left them here. And the other day I bought some new pieces of music to try out, and they disappeared, too. Then again, I’m not sure Ezra liked the idea of new music anyway.” Andi opened a few drawers in the desk and looked inside. “It’s almost as if there’s a ghost in here, moving my things around!”

Benny’s face lit up. “See? I told you there was a ghost,” he said to his brother and sisters.

Andi laughed.

“Here are some glasses,” Jessie said, picking up a pair that was lying on the windowsill. She handed them to Andi.

“Those aren’t mine,” Andi said. “They look like they belong to someone older. See, they have a little line in the middle of the glass. That means they’re bifocals.”

“Like mine,” Grandfather said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his handkerchief. “The top part helps you see far away, and the bottom part helps you see close up.”

“Maybe they belong to Ezra,” Violet suggested.

“No,” Andi said. “He doesn’t wear glasses.”

“Maybe someone on the tour left them,” Jessie suggested.

“I don’t remember anyone wearing glasses,” said Henry.

“I bet they belong to the ghost!” said Benny.

“Benny thinks the clock tower is haunted,” Henry explained. “He saw a light moving around up here late last night.”

“Late last night?” Andi repeated. Then she laughed quickly. “Who would be up here in the middle of the night?”

“That’s just what we were wondering,” Jessie said. “We asked Ezra, and he said no one is supposed to be in here after the evening concert.”

“That’s right. I come up in between concerts a lot to practice,” Andi said. “But not in the middle of the night, of course.” She laughed again, a little nervously.

“That’s why I think it’s a ghost. A ghost who doesn’t see very well, I guess.” Benny waved the glasses.

“I guess not.” Andi grinned at Benny. Then her face grew serious again, and she began shuffling through the papers some more. “And now I really do have to get ready for my concert.”

“We’ll go downstairs and listen from the Quad,” Grandfather suggested. He had noticed that Andi seemed nervous. “I’m sure it’s not easy to play with all of us standing right here.”

Back down on the ground, the Aldens bought sandwiches and drinks at a small lunch stand set up next to the Quad. As they ate their picnic lunch, they listened to Audi’s concert.

“I guess she found her music,” Jessie said.

“Her music is a lot jazzier than Ezra’s was,” said Violet.

“Hey, I know this song,” Henry pointed out. “It’s a pop song. I heard it on the radio yesterday as we were driving.”

“That’s neat that she can play it on the carillon,” Violet said.

“Ezra’s stuff was good, too, but it was more classical music,” Jessie remarked.

When the concert ended, Violet turned to the others. “She’s a really great player. I wonder why she was so nervous.”

“She was probably just excited about her concert,” Jessie assured her sister. But privately she wondered whether something was bothering Andi, and whether it had anything to do with the light Benny had seen up in the tower.

That night, Henry and Benny were getting ready for bed. They both had their pajamas on and their teeth brushed. They were just climbing into their beds when Benny suddenly jumped back out.

“What are you doing?” Henry asked.

“Getting this,” Benny explained, pulling his little alarm clock out of his suitcase.

“You don’t need that,” Henry said. “Grandfather told us we could sleep in tomorrow morning.”