THE MYSTERY OF ROANOKE; CHAPTER 6: A FRIEND IS HURT DURING VISIT TO SPRINGHOUSE (SIXTH OF 14 PARTS)

The story so far: Melissa and Brian have been given a message written on a door, a weird map to nowhere, and an old Bible. And Melissa hears the piano playing ghostly music at night. Should they follow these strange clues, or are they in danger?

It was still drizzling the next day when Brian and Melissa started school.

The whole thing wasn't so bad after all. The teachers were kind to them, and most of the students were, too, although some of them stared.

Amy sat with them on the bus and at lunch. She introduced Brian and Melissa to the kids she already knew. "These are my neighbors," she said. "They come from a farm."

To one girl, Melissa heard Amy whisper, "Be nice to them. They miss their parents." Melissa's eyes filled with tears when she heard that, and it got her thinking about their old school and their old house and, most of all, their parents.

By the time they got home that afternoon, the rain had stopped, but the ash-gray clouds still hung low and full.

After a snack with their grandparents, the twins went outside to explore. It was soggy everywhere. After so much rain, the Roanoke River was high. They couldn't quite see it from the yard, but they could hear it.

Where the land around Belle Vie had once been open for miles, it was now dotted with houses. Amy's house next door, a white brick manor with ivy crawling up the sides, was old, too. But it was not as old as Belle Vie.

Grandpa had told the twins that their property once had held many other buildings, with servants' quarters, a cow barn, a stable, a "smithy" for making horseshoes, and tobacco barns.

What remained was the carriage house, now a garage, and a small, red-brick springhouse that held garden tools. The springhouse sat in a shady grove of trees that ran down the hill, with a small fireplace outside. It was below and behind the house. The twins had often played there when they were younger.

"Let's go see the springhouse," Brian said.

Inside it was quiet and cold. Along the back wall was a low trough where the fresh, icy water from the spring had once trickled in from the side of the hill. It was dried up now. Sitting in the trough, dusty and laced with cobwebs, was an old wooden box with a rope on it. They knew, from Grandpa's stories, that it had been used for storing butter, eggs, milk, and anything that needed refrigeration. It was lowered into the spring water and kept cool.

"I like this place," Melissa said. "It's peaceful here." They stood there for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, and listened to the silence.

Suddenly they heard a dog yelp in pain. When they ran out, there was Faithful sitting under the trees with one paw in the air. Beside him sat Amy's brother, who murmured quietly as he looked at the dog's injury.

The twins rushed over to Faithful. "There now, old fellow," the boy said, stroking the dog's head. "You'll be all right." Faithful gazed at the boy and whined softly.

"What happened?" Brian said. "Is he okay?"

"I was burning this brush and he stepped on an ember," the boy said. "He burned his paw a bit. He'll have a little blister."

Brian smelled smoke, and looked over at the little fireplace. It crackled with burning brush. He hadn't noticed it before they went inside.

"Poor Faithful," Melissa said. "I'll get some ice."

"No, miss, I have a better idea," the boy said. "Wait here." He jumped up and ran into the springhouse. A moment later he came out with a small metal dipper.

"What's that?" Melissa asked.

"Cold water from the spring," he replied. "It's the best thing for burns." He held the dog's sore paw in the water. Faithful looked up and wagged his tail. "There now. This will help."

Melissa and Brian looked at each other. What water? Everything was dry in the springhouse. They must have missed something.

Brian looked at the smoking pile. "It's pretty wet to get a fire going," he said.

The boy didn't answer.

"Do you work for our Grandpa?" Melissa asked.

The boy nodded. "Yes. I work around the house, too. I clean out the fireplace and empty the ash cans," he said. "And I do other things. I've worked here for a while." Then he was quiet.

Brian felt strange all of a sudden. "What time is it?" he asked. How long had they been in the springhouse? And had the boy been outside burning brush the whole time? How had they missed him?

"It's ... late," the boy replied. He got up and went back to the springhouse, leaving the door open behind him. Faithful licked the water off his paw. Then he also stood up and limped after him.

After a moment, Brian called after them. "Hello?" There was only silence.

Melissa shouted, "Brian, look!" She pointed to the pile of brush, which had been burning just moments before. Now it was a pile of cold ashes. How could that be?

Brian walked over and dipped a finger in the soft ashes. He stared at his gray fingertip for a moment. He touched the fireplace. It, too, was cold.

Brian and Melissa looked at each other again, rather scared, but very curious. They went into the springhouse.

Nobody was inside. The dusty, dirty box sat there, unused. And the trough that once held spring water was as dry as stone.

Beady goosebumps rose on the twins' arms. Suddenly, the door slammed shut.

Next week: A secret passage.