Chapter Four

“Good morning. Oh,” Harry stopped short just inside the breakfast room, “Where’s your Aunt Harriet?”
“She has a headache this morning,” Randall explained. “She decided to have breakfast in her room.” He waited until Louis finished serving Harry, and had retreated back into the kitchen before saying, “So, have you thought any more about what we found yesterday?”
“Yes. I didn’t come up with anything. I think I’ll try a different angle today. There are lots of other ideas to follow up on.”
“For instance?”
“Well, for instance, I asked Larry yesterday find out as much as he could about William and maybe what book he is holding in the portrait. He promised to leave the information on his desk in the library, so I want to look at that first thing after breakfast. I also want to poke around the courtyard to see if there’s anything out there, but not while someone else is watching me. Does Diane work out there all the time?”
“No, Diane only comes here Monday, Wednesday and Saturday,” Randall replied. “Today’s Thursday, so she won’t be here today or tomorrow. Also Cole doesn’t usually bother much about the courtyard, so you should be fairly safe from him. Have a care though, most of the bedrooms overlook the area.”
“In other words, make sure your aunt doesn’t happen to look out the window just when I’m about to discover the treasure?” Harry asked with an arch smile.
“Precisely,” Randall returned.
They finished breakfast shortly, and afterwards made their way to the second floor of the library where Larry had set up his work station among several other desks, both old and new.
“Ah, here it is,” Harry said walking over to Larry’s desk and retrieving the paper. They descended to the reading area on the first floor and sat down. “William Greystone,” he read, “lived from 1679 to 1750, the last brother surviving. He was the author of several books, including several in this library.”
“That’s why he’s holding a book in his portrait,” Randall interrupted. “If they were all painted doing their favorite things, then the book he is holding must be one he wrote. Do you think he left a clue to the treasure in one of his books?”
“Could be,” Harry said setting down the paper. “It’s also possible that one of these writing desks here once belonged to William.”
“The only one it could be is a large, built-in one upstairs. The others are much too modern to have been his.”
Harry and Randall ascended the spiral stairs in the corner of the library to look at the desk. It was obviously very old and was ornamented with carving along the top. To each side of the desk was attached a bookshelf.
“Of course!” Randall pointed to the artwork on top. The letters W.G. were carved into the twisted ivy design. “I wondered who the desk belonged to. I never realized what the letters stood for.”
“Seeing as how the desk is built right into the wall, it would be ensured to last for a long time, along with any secrets it holds,” Harry commented. “This desk might just hold a clue.” Harry began pulling out the drawers. Most were empty, but some contained a few items. “Check for false bottoms in all of them, you never know where things might have been hidden.”
Randall knelt down to do as Harry asked, while the detective began to examine the remaining framework. As he was studying the upper half, he discovered a small knob behind where one of the drawers had been. The knob was no bigger than a dime. He gave it a pull. Nothing happened. He twisted it. Still nothing. Pushing it, he heard a soft ‘clunk’. Randall looked up.
“What’d you do?”
“I pushed a knob.”
“The artwork moved!” Randall exclaimed. A tiny door had opened partially. Excitedly, Randall opened it further and reached in to narrow opening. He pulled out a book.
“It’s the one William’s holding in his portrait!” Randall carefully set it down and opened the cover. The entry was written in a flowing cursive style. Slowly, Randall read it aloud, tilting the book in the light to make out each faded word.

To future treasure seekers,
I congratulate you on happening upon the secret to my desk and hence, discovering this book. These pages will be essential in leading you to the treasure hidden by my brothers and I. If you have the skills to find this treasure, you assuredly are worthy to possess it. To begin your quest, you must discover the door to our hiding place. Enclosed is the key needed to unlock the entrance. My brothers also, each in turn, will disclose the keys to their share in this puzzle. May good fortune shine on your efforts.
William Greystone

Randall looked up, his eyes wide with an excitement he was scarcely able to contain. “So there really is a treasure!”
“Let’s see what the other brothers wrote,” Harry said. Randall turned each page as he came across the inscriptions made by each of his ancestors.

As William has said, if you wish to find our treasure you will need to gather our keys to unlock the doors protecting it. For my part, you must find my favorite on my favorite, and use it with this combination: G8, F6, E4, D6.
Walter Greystone


For those who desire my key, you must first stop the springing forth, then you may have that which is near to my heart.
Charles Greystone


My key takes time to obtain. Ascend to the very top of my tower, and look behind that which counts the basis of time. With time, opportunity will permit you to acquire my key.
Thomas Greystone


As a carver, where would it be proper for me to hide my key? Unless perhaps it was hidden in something wooden. Why not a wooden key? But of course you must know that I would not hide anything quite so unique and fragile in a place that I did not create.
Edmund Greystone


I am not very good with riddles, but I shall try my best. Amongst my collections are six metallic patchwork mosaics. Only one is needed to unlock, but the other five are a part of it. Also if you find our riddles too puzzling, our portraits will also help you find our keys.
Richard Greystone


Ah, but there is still one more thing you must know if you wish to find our treasure, and that is our signs.

“You know, those symbols look familiar," Randall said, pointing to the marks below the last inscription, "but I can’t think where I’ve seen them." Harry turned a few more blank pages, and found that the remainder of the book had a large hole cut through the rest of the pages. Resting in the hole was a key. Randall reached down and picked it up. It was a metal skeleton key, and was roughly the size of a person’s open hand.
“William’s key,” he said breathlessly. “Now what should we do?”
Harry quickly tried to organized his thoughts. “I think we should look for Thomas’ key first. We’ll have to go back to the top of the tower, and ‘look behind that which counts the basis of time.’ And we have to study his picture closely. Richard wrote that there were hints to the keys in the portraits.”
“That which counts the basis of time; the basis of time. What is the basis of time? Something that can be counted,” Randall muttered to himself.
Harry caught on. “The basis of time. It would be something that other things are based on. A day? Years are based on days.”
“And days are based on hours, which are based on minutes, which are based on seconds.”
“A second? We have to look behind a second?”
“No, we have to ‘look behind that which counts’ a second.”
“And what counts a second?” Harry said encouragingly.
“The pendulum!
“And behind it would be that section of stones that moved! What else did he say? ‘With time, opportunity will permit you to acquire my key.’ Opportunity is something that only happens during a certain time.”
“So maybe we can only move those stones at a certain time? What time?”
“Come on, let’s put these drawers back. I have an idea.”

This is a shot of the museum taken from the driveway. The window in the bottom left is Louis' office. The front door is to the left just out of sight.