The Book Without Words Part 15

Within moments they entered the house. "You go up," said the bird. "I want to look at the chests again." Sybil went up the steps.

14.

As soon as she had gone, Odo hopped down the ladder. First he checked the grave and was relieved to find it undisturbed. Then he drew close to one of the chests, lifted a claw, and whispered, "Meltan "Meltan. Meltan." Meltan." One of the locks shook, turned to water, flowed down to the ground, and disappeared. One of the locks shook, turned to water, flowed down to the ground, and disappeared.

Head c.o.c.ked, Odo listened. Certain no one was coming, he lifted his claw a second time. "Ofan, Ofan," "Ofan, Ofan," he murmured. With a creak the chest lid swung open. Fluttering his wings and leaping, Odo landed upon the chest's lip. He looked within. "Ah!" he croaked. He was about to hop into the chest when he heard Sybil cry from above: "Odo, come quickly! Damian has stolen the stones!" he murmured. With a creak the chest lid swung open. Fluttering his wings and leaping, Odo landed upon the chest's lip. He looked within. "Ah!" he croaked. He was about to hop into the chest when he heard Sybil cry from above: "Odo, come quickly! Damian has stolen the stones!"

15.

Odo raced up to the second floor as fast as he could hop. When he arrived, a red-faced Damian was by the front window, right hand held aloft and clenched in a fist. A furious Sybil, iron bottle in hand, stood before him, not allowing him to move. Alfric, frightened, stood across the room.

"Give me those stones!" Sybil shouted at Damian. "Or by Saint Lull, I'll crown you with this, and then pry them from your dead fingers."

"They're magic," shouted the boy. "And since there's no gold, it's only what I deserve and need. I shall eat them myself." He opened his mouth wide.

With a raucous squawk and jump, Odo landed on Damian's head. As his talons sank into the boy's scalp, he began to peck around his neck.

"Off, you filthy bird!" the boy screamed.

"Release the stones!" cried Sybil, drawing closer with her bottle, arm c.o.c.ked.

"I won't!" returned Damian. As he tried to swat Odo away with his free hand, Sybil dropped the bottle, darted forward, and grabbed the boy's arm, pinning it to his side. "Let them go," she shouted.

"No!" screamed Damian.

"Alfric," Sybil called. "Pry his hand open. I'll hold him."

Alfric approached timidly.

"I'll kick you," Damian warned.

Odo pecked Damian's head furiously.

"You're hurting me!" screamed the boy.

"Alfric," cried Sybil. "Do as I say."

Alfric darted forward and grabbed Damian's hand. Damian tried to kick him. Alfric responded by bending over and biting Damian's wrist.

"Yow!" cried Damian. His hand opened. The stones clattered to the floor. Alfric s.n.a.t.c.hed them up and scurried off to a corner. As Odo leaped away, Sybil released the boy. Panting, she went to where Alfric stood, and held out her hand. He gave her the two stones.

"I'm b.l.o.o.d.y," cried Damian, holding out a red-stained hand. He dropped to the floor and began to sob. "I despise you all. You're low, filthy people-and you're a filthy bird."

"And you are an ill-mannered, thieving boy," a trembling Sybil called from across the room. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"You all loathe me," Damian blubbered.

"What have you done to deserve otherwise?" said Sybil.

"You have all these secrets," Damian retorted. "But you tell me nothing. I'm sure by now Mistress Weebly will want none of me. I was a fool to come here. Now I have nothing."

"It was your choice to stay," Sybil said.

"You forced me!"

"Anyway," said Sybil, "you can't leave now. What's happened here must remain a secret."

"And we might find gold," offered Alfric.

"Stupid boy," yelled Damian. "THERE IS NO GOLD. We'll never find any. It's a cheat. A fraud. This Thorston is a disgusting old man who hasn't the common decency to stay dead. If I were dead I should stay dead. I hate being alive! I despise Fulworth. I've already run away, and now I'll go farther."

"Where will you go?" asked Alfric.

"What do you care? Do you think I'd take you? Not likely." He began to cry anew, big air-gulping sobs.

Sybil sighed. "Master Damian, we are all just trying to live. But we can't if we steal from one another, can we?" She sat on Thorston's bed and opened her hand. The two stones, one smaller than the other, lay glowing in her palm. "Do you wish to know the truth about these?"

Alfric drew near. Damian looked away as if he didn't care, but Sybil was sure he was listening.

"These stones," began Sybil, "were made by our master a few days ago. They are his way of staying alive."

"He's b.l.o.o.d.y well failed, hasn't he?" said Damian, wiping away his tears. "And I'm glad of it. So why couldn't I have at least one stone?"

"Damian," said a weary Sybil, "we need to work together. And if we find anything of value, we'll surely share."

Exhausted, they sat in silence. Sybil gazed at the stones and wondered what would happen if she swallowed one. Would she become something else? Would she die? Then she remembered: she was going to bring them to Brother Wilfrid.

Even as she got up, Odo, from atop the books, bobbed his head a few times and said, "I wish to announce something."

They looked around.

The raven opened his beak, stuck out his black tongue, and then said: "I have found Master's gold."

16.

There was stunned silence.

Sybil found voice to ask, "Is that truly so?" The bird nodded.

"Where is it?" demanded Damian.

"Below. In those chests by his grave."

"They were locked," said Sybil. "Did you find the key?"

"I ... had another way of opening it."

"Which was??" said Sybil.

"It's what I told you. I can turn things-small things-into water. I did so with the lock. Sybil," he said in response to her accusatory look. "I told you I could do that. I did."

"Did you really find gold?" asked a wide-eyed Damian.

"You may look for yourself," said the bird.

Sybil shoved the two stones into her purse, grabbed a candle and, with the others, rushed down the steps and ladder into the dirt bas.e.m.e.nt. Holding up the candle, she glanced at the grave. It was undisturbed. "He hasn't moved," she said, much relieved.

"G.o.d grant him a true death this time," said Alfric.

Damian was only interested in the chests. "Did you really turn the lock into water?" he asked Odo.

"Watch," said Odo. He lifted a claw to the second lock and said, "Meltan. Meltan." "Meltan. Meltan." The old iron lock shook on its hasp, quivered, turned to water, and dribbled into the ground. The old iron lock shook on its hasp, quivered, turned to water, and dribbled into the ground.

"It is is magic," Alfric whispered. magic," Alfric whispered.

"Can you make the lock come back?" asked Sybil.

"I fear it will probably do so on its own," the bird admitted. "My magic isn't strong."

"Who cares whether it's strong or not," said Damian. "Open the chests."

Sybil and Alfric took hold of a chest lid and swung it open. The candlelight revealed a great heap of coins, most of them golden.

"Heaven's mercy!" gasped Sybil.

A giggling Damian pushed his arm up to his elbow into the coins. "A king's fortune!" he exclaimed.

Sybil picked up one of the golden coins and let it drop. It made a heavy plunking sound. She grinned.

"You wondered where he got his money," Odo said to Sybil. "Now you know: he did did make it." make it."

"And we'll share it, won't we?" said a laughing Damian.

"We can," said Sybil, her eyes fixed on the bright coins.

Alfric tugged on Sybil's sleeve. "Mistress ..."

"What now?"

"When you dropped that coin it didn't ... sound like gold."

"How would a beggar like you know anything about gold?" Damian demanded.

"There were times," said Alfric, "when my father did ledgers for merchants. I'd be with him often enough and he'd let me play with money. The sound of gold is not one I'd ever forget. There's nothing like it. But a gold coin-when it falls-doesn't sound like that one did."

"What are you suggesting?" cried Sybil.

"Forgive me," said Alfric, afraid to look up. "Perhaps they are false."

"Do you mean to say," roared Damian, "Master Thorston was no more than a falsifier of coins?"

Sybil felt ill. "I don't know," she said. "Perhaps because he made it, it has a different sound."

"I know the test for gold," said Odo. "I saw Master do it many times."

"G.o.d's heart," said Sybil. "Then we had best test them." She scooped up a handful of the coins and headed above.

17.

As soon as they cleared a place on Thorston's worktable, Sybil put a coin in a clay dish.

"As best I can recall," said Odo, while the others gathered around, "we must make a solution of mercury and vinegar mixed with salt. It will turn green. But when you put a drop of it on a coin that is not true gold, the liquid turns blue."

"Do we have those ingredients?" said Damian.

Sybil looked to Odo.

"I'm sure we do," said the raven. "On the shelves."

A frantic search commenced. Since both Damian and Alfric could read, they took the lead, checking bottle after bottle, peering at labels and signs. It was not long before they found what they needed.

Following Odo's excited, squawked instructions, Sybil mixed up the concoction. Using a silver spoon, she scooped up a small quant.i.ty and let a few drops fall on one of the coins. Hardly daring to breathe, they watched as the green drop on the coin frothed, bubbled, and turned ... blue.

"G.o.d's truth," sighed Sybil. "It's false."