THE MYSTERY OF ROANOKE; CHAPTER 1: THE STRANGERS (FIRST OF 14 PARTS)

Roanoke, Virginia, is nestled near the Blue Ridge Mountains in the western part of the state. Although it did not officially become the city of Roanoke until the 1880s, there were homes, farms, and plantations in the area long before then.

Roanoke is nicknamed "the Star City of the South" because of the giant electric star that, since 1949, has shone its white light from the top of Mill Mountain. Because of its wide view of the valley and mountains beyond, the Mill Mountain Star lookout is a favorite place to gather.

From the Star, you can see the Roanoke River, which winds through the city past several old plantation homes. During the dark days of slavery, the river would have made a good route for escape on the Underground Railroad . . .

The long summer was over. School would soon begin.

Melissa and Brian O'Donnell were dreading it. They would be going to a new school in Roanoke, Virginia, and they didn't have any friends there. They had come from West Virginia, over the hazy Blue Ridge Mountains, to stay with their grandparents a while.

Melissa and Brian were twins, both 10 years old. But they were so different that sometimes people were surprised to learn they were twins.

Melissa was small and brunette like her mother. She liked to draw and play the piano. She also liked to create little villages out of anything she found, and had a model train with a whole town built around it.

Brian had reddish-brown hair and was tall and lanky like his father. He was a good swimmer. He also was an avid reader, and was always having adventures of one kind or another. He tried to think of this move to Roanoke as an adventure.

In the car on the trip over, Brian had said to his parents, "Why can't you stay with us, at least one of you?""Why do we have to move at all?" muttered Melissa, looking out the window.

Their mother looked at them sadly. "I know it's hard. It's hard for us, too," she said. "Dad and I will be in Roanoke as soon as we sell the farm."

The twins knew their parents were heartbroken about their farm in West Virginia. After so many years, they could no longer make a living there. It had been their father's dream. But now he had an offer to work in Roanoke, his home town. A friend had asked him to work in a music store and give lessons. He had decided to take the job.

The twins sighed.

Their mother reminded them how much fun it would be to stay at their grandparents' house. It was true that the twins dearly loved their grandparents, who were very nice to them. And they loved the big, old, rambling house where their father had grown up. It had been built before the Civil War, in 1849. There were front and back staircases and lots of alcoves and passages to hide in. But it was one thing to visit a place and quite another to live there.

When they got to the house, Grandma and Grandpa O'Donnell rushed out to hug them. Grandpa's old yellow dog, Faithful, ran in circles and licked their hands. After the adults went inside, Melissa and Brian stood on the lawn with their bags and looked up at their new home.

In the late summer twilight, the windows were dark. The old glass panes were wavy with age, as if they were crying. The red-brick house was called "Belle Vie," which they knew was French for beautiful-something. It didn't seem beautiful, though. It seemed sad and tired.

The house sat on a small hill not far from the Roanoke River. Above the road the air was quiet amid the dense pine and oak trees. At one time, long ago, Belle Vie was far out in the country. It was easy to imagine that time.

They knew that back before the Civil War there wasn't even a town called Roanoke. There was just a gathering of buildings called "Big Lick," after the salt licks that attracted wild animals. The nearest town was Salem, a few miles to the west.

Melissa sighed. "It doesn't feel like home, does it?" she asked. Brian just kicked the grass.

That night after dinner, while the everyone else sat around the table eating their pecan pie, Melissa slipped out to the front porch. Carefully she lit the citronella candle to keep the mosquitos away, blew out the match, then sat on a step and leaned against one of the big white columns. In the dark sky shone the Big Dipper, and just past the end was the bright North Star.

She made a wish on the star. "I wish I had a friend here," she whispered.

"Me too," said Brian, who was just opening the door. He plopped down next to her.

At that moment, out on the lawn, they saw a wisp of something, like a column made of smoke. It was about as tall as a person, and it seemed to be watching them. It waved slightly. Then it was gone.

"Did you see that?" asked Brian.

"What was it?" said Melissa. Suddenly she felt cold.

"It looked like a ghost," Brian whispered.

Their grandmother came to the door. They both jumped up. "Grandma, we saw something weird," Brian said breathlessly. "Maybe a ghost!" Grandma O'Donnell put her hand to her mouth and frowned. "Children, come in," she said. "I have something important to tell you."