Archie's Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery (18 page)

The
distance was the same, but unlike last night, the path to the woods
meant they would be visible for a couple of minutes. Luckily
though, the hour was late enough for the tavern to be closed
already. As most of the villagers were workers who had to be up at
dawn, everyone was abed; their houses dark and unwelcoming to the
two boys who raced past.

They
paused at the end of the wall and glanced cautiously up and down
the road.

“
I can’t see anything, it’s too dark,” Edward sighed,
shuddering at the shifting shadows beneath the trees. “I think we
should go back, Archie, I don’t like this.” Fear laced his voice,
and he sighed when Archie continued to creep forward.

“
We can’t go back now, we are nearly there,” Archie protested,
reluctant to continue himself, but knowing that they probably
wouldn’t get another chance. “This is the last time we need to head
out at night. After tonight, we don’t go out again after dark, I
promise.”

“
Swear?” Edward asked, holding out his little
finger.

“
Swear,” Archie declared flatly, entwining his little finger
with his friend’s in a silent pact of brotherhood.

“
Let’s go then,” Edward whispered, eyeing the shifting shadows
around them reluctantly. “You first.”

Archie
sighed, knowing that he couldn’t really force Edward to go first
given that he was here under protest, and it had been Archie’s idea
to be here at all. Taking a deep breath, he lunged to his feet and
tore across the empty track toward the darkness of the woods
opposite. Once there, he paused to allow his eyes to adjust to the
gloom, only to stumble forward as Edward slammed into his
back.

“
Oomph.”

“
Sorry,” Edward whispered, trying to see his feet. “I can’t
see anything, can you?” He tried to peer over Archie’s shoulder but
could see little except for the towering trees closest to
them.

“
No. I think Mr Harriman’s house is this way,” Archie
whispered, his voice dipping with uncertainty. Glancing upward, he
suddenly wished the night wasn’t so dark; the moonlight would have
been a welcome bonus to their quest, but it now seemed to have lost
its battle with the storm clouds, and had vanished into a mere wisp
of haze.

Inky
blackness gathered them into its menacing hold, refusing to aid
their way through the dense foliage within the woods. Together they
stumbled and tripped over the roughly hewn forest floor.

“
Do you have to make so much noise?” Edward whispered, wincing
at the sound of the large crack of the twig Archie had just stepped
on.

“
I’m trying, but I can’t see a blessed thing,” Archie replied,
feeling sweat pop out on his brow in spite of the coolness of the
night air. He paused for a moment and glanced around them, but
could barely see Edward standing behind him, let alone anyone else.
They were surrounded by a black curtain of foliage and impenetrable
darkness that was entirely menacing.

“
Neither can I.”

Archie
could feel Edward’s warm breath on his cheek; it was vaguely
reassuring. He fought the urge to grab his friend’s hand. They
stared at each other for a moment, each silently asking the other
for a reason to turn around and head back home - to safety and
warmth, but neither boy wanted to be the one to admit to
weakness.

So both,
wisely – or unwisely, remained silent.

“
Let’s go,” Archie sighed dejectedly several moments later. He
should really be relieved that Edward was willing to go along with
him, and had no reason to feel dejected at all, but a growing sense
of unease began to settle over him. With each passing step,
foreboding became his companion to the point that he had to keep
glancing over his shoulder to assure himself that Edward was still
with him.

Edward
lapsed into uncomfortable silence.

“
Oh Lord,” he whispered, several tense moments later when they
approached the edge of the trees.

There,
in front of them, nestled in a small glade on the outskirts of the
village, lay Mr Harriman’s ramshackle old cottage. To call it a
cottage was being generous, to say the least. It was more of a
hovel.

It was
one of the oldest houses in the village. Some say, it was the first
house that was built in the area, and Archie could see why. It
didn’t look too bad from a distant, old and rather quaint. Up
close? It reminded Archie of an old woman. Bent and crooked walls
bespoke an undefinable age that hinted at a timeless fragility. The
door looked as though it had been made for someone else’s house and
had been tacked onto the front of this one by someone who didn’t
care whether it worked or not. The roof, such as it was, had been
thrown together and looked like a flat cap of straw that could blow
away at any given moment.

But it
was the windows that called to Archie’s imagination. One small
square on either side of the front – and only – door, looked like
eyes.

“
Do you really want to go in
there
?” Edward gasped, staring in
horror at the ruins before them. “You must be mad!”

Archie
could feel, rather than see Edward backing away. Afraid his friend
was going to run in fright, Archie spun around and grabbed the
front of Edward’s shirt.

“
Don’t be stupid. It is only Mr Harriman’s house. It is just
the darkness that is making it look like a face.” His voice was
harsh in the night air, and had the desired effect upon his friend.
Well, sort of. Archie paused briefly. He really hadn’t wanted to
tell Edward that he thought the house looked like a face, but he
could see Edward studying it carefully, clearly trying to make up
his own mind.

Archie
knew that his friend agreed with the description when his lips
twisted and he shook his head.

“
Oh God,” he repeated. “Do you think it is going to eat
us?”

Archie
rolled his eyes, relieved to have at least some of the fear ease,
if only for a little while.

“
I think we are going to get colds if we stay out here too
long,” Archie growled, turning around. He began to make his way
down the path toward the cottage door, his hand grasping Edward’s
shirt firmly. Although he would never admit it to anyone, it helped
his nerves considerably to be able to touch someone else – even if
it was with a fistful of shirt. He silently noted that Edward
didn’t protest at the contact, and was very glad for it.

With
their eyes firmly locked on the dark nose that was the door, both
boys stumbled toward the empty house.

“
What do we do if someone is at home?” Archie gasped, his
heart hammering in his ears.

“
I don’t know, you can tell me when you get home, because I
can promise you one thing, Archie my boy, I will certainly be there
before you will,” Edward declared fervently.

Archie
heard his swallow, and smothered a guffaw at Edward’s attempt at
humour. The contradiction that Archie could run faster than his
friend hovered on Archie’s lips but remained unspoken as they
approached the door. Once there, Edward lifted the iron latch free
of its holder. The door swung silently inward.

Archie
frowned. “For an old door, it certainly swings well.”

“
What were you expecting?”

“
I’m not sure, but it seems really solid given the condition
of the rest of the place,” Archie whispered, peering tentatively
inside the cold and unwelcoming house.

“
Should we go in?” Edward’s voice quivered in his
ear.

“
We can’t search it otherwise.”

“
You first.”

“
How did I know you were going to say that?” Archie shook his
head. He was loath to acknowledge that his heart was hammering
madly in his ears, and resolutely crept forward, Edward on his
tails.

Once
inside, the heavy thump of the door behind them made Edward squeak
in fear.

“
You sound like a girl,” Archie scolded.

“
I do not!”

Phah!
“Yes, you do. Girls squeal like that,” he added. Humour helped him
deal with the fear. His hope that Edward would continue the useless
and distracting conversation were soundly quashed at his next
words.

“
Lord, this is dark,” Edward whispered, staring at the small
square room. Although there were no curtains at the window, the
moonlight had long since lost its battle for supremacy, and had
surrendered everything to almost complete darkness.

“
I’ll start over here,” Archie said, pointing to the opposite
side of room. “You start over here, and work your way toward the
hearth. We will meet at the fireplace.”

“
What am I looking for?”

Edward
didn’t see Archie’s shrug. “Any small bits of paper that could be
the other half of the map, or anything that looks like it could
have been used to make that coin thing we have.”

“
Do you think it is a coin?”

Archie
sighed. “I haven’t seen too many coins to be sure, but it looks
like a penny, although not completely finished.”

Silence
settled between them for several moments, as both boys patted their
way around the room.

“
Found anything yet?”

“
Yuk! I am suddenly glad it is very dark,” Edward sighed
morosely.

“
Why?”

“
Because I cannot see what has just crawled up my left
leg.”

Archie
laughed, and wiped his grimy fingers on his trousers. “Not much
good at cleaning stuff was he, our Mr Harriman?”

“
He’s not
my
Mr Harriman,” Edward whispered. “He’s not really Mr Harriman
at all anymore.”

Archie
stepped forward and paused, staring out of the window beside Edward
thoughtfully for several moments.

“
What?”

Edward
asked, when he realised Archie’s side of the room had gone quiet.
“Have you found something?”

“
I thought I saw something,” Archie replied, nodding toward
the window. “Outside.”

“
What?”
Edward couldn’t see the hand
of warning Archie held up to him, and spun around to peer out into
the night. “Who?”

“
I am not sure, it could have been the trees outside. Hurry
up, let’s get out of here.”

Within
minutes both boys were standing before the large hearth that
dominated the far end of the room. As far as they could tell, it
hadn’t been swept in quite some time, but freshly cut logs sat
alongside. The familiar scent of yew and oak hung in the air; a
teasing memory of home and warmth.

“
There is nothing on the other side of the room. Only an old,
rickety table that has nothing but a plate and bowl that had some
gunk left in it. There’s some coats and things hanging up on the
pegs beside the door, but nothing in the pockets,” Edward reported,
his voice dipped low despite the boys being the only ones in the
cottage.

“
There was nothing but a chair with nothing on it, and a
dresser on my side, but nothing on the dresser. It’s too dark to
see inside it,” Archie replied with a frown.

“
Let’s go.” Dejection laced Edward’s voice. Despite the fear
that had gripped him ever since he had left Archie’s house, he had
hoped they would be able to find something that would mean their
adventure would be able to continue. The strength of the
disappointment he felt at not finding anything, and the thought of
the adventure ending, surprised him. He glanced at his friend, who
was staring into space with a thoughtful frown on his
face.

“
What?”

Archie
stared down at his feet and rocked forward once more. He glanced at
Edward, unsure whether it was his imagination. He rocked his booted
foot once more, convinced more than ever that his first impressions
had been right.

The
floor under his foot was moving.

Squatting down, he moved his boot and patted the floor. The
soft chink of the tile as it moved against the surrounding tiles
was all the confirmation he needed.

“
Do we have a light or something?”

“
There was a candle over on the table, but it was pretty
burned down and there isn’t a spill to light it with.”

Archie
wrinkled his nose up, frustrated more than ever at his inability to
see much. A sense of urgency swept through him, making him clumsy
as his fingers tapped the loose tiles.

There
were three of them, all in a straight line. By running his fingers
along the edge of the tile, Archie found a small ridge that was
enough to poke his little finger into. The tile lifted.

“
Do you see if there is anything under it?” Archie
whispered.

“
It looks as though there is some cloth or something,” Edward
replied, pulling up the second tile which gave way without
hesitation. The third was dispatched by Archie, who watched as
Edward lifted a small wrapped bundle out of the ground.

“
No!” Archie ordered, placing a hand on the bundle Edward had
begun to open. “Let’s get it back to my house where we can light a
candle and take a look at it properly.” His eyes met and held
Edward’s, and he could see the silent question in his friend’s
gaze. “If something falls out on this floor we will be lucky to
find it again, and I don’t know about you but I want to get
home.”