Sir Abernathy - Houston Chroniclecie.chron.com/pdfs/abernathy.pdf · Sir Abernathy By Brad Kasper Chapter 1 - The Hand-off The school auditorium was abuzz with laughter and light

chron.com/cieCopyright 2011 Houston Chronicle 1

Sir AbernathyBy Brad Kasper

Chapter 1 - The Hand-off

The school auditorium was abuzz with laughter and light. Plump balloons and streamers in

red, blue, and yellow hung everywhere. The punch bowls sloshed with ladles dipping in to fill paper

cups. Music piped out of the speakers and spilled out into the hallways.

Further down those hallways, though, in the darker recesses of the building’s basement,

something else was happening. A woman hid inside a custodian’s abandoned garbage bin. The bin sat

on wheels, parked outside the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms.

The woman was up to her eyes in garbage, squatting low, her bright red hair sticking out from

banana peels, paper towels, and pencil shavings. She didn’t seem to mind. It wasn’t the stench that

bothered her. Her cell phone vibrated, and she peaked down at the unidentified phone number on the

screen. She didn’t know exactly who was phoning, but she knew that they were on to her.

They had found her and what it was that she was protecting. She held onto it firmly, burying

it deep into the garbage heap, prepared to never let it out of her hands. She figured she could do

without the cell phone, though. There was no use in calling the police.

She took the phone and threw it across the hallway, aiming at the open doorway of Mr.

Ambrose’s band room. The lights were off, the door ajar. The custodian must have forgotten to close

and lock up for the evening. Meanwhile, the party upstairs went on.

Suddenly, three teenagers scampered down the hallway stairs--one boy and two girls.

“Okay, no one followed us,” Bryan said, stopping the girls. “Meg, let’s see it.”

With a wide smile, Megan Graff placed her finger to her mouth. She held out her other hand.

“Oh my gosh, Meg!” Jessica shouted.

“Shhhhhhhhh!” Bryan reached out to cover his sister’s mouth.

He turned toward Meg. “How in the world did you manage to get that?”

In Meg’s hand was a silver key on a key chain that was attached to a wooden, 1 x 4 inch plate

bearing the name, “Hal’s Key.”

Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle 2

Sir Abernathy “Never mind how I got it.” Meg laughed. “The important thing is that we have it. Just imagine

the possibilities! I have a geography test next Monday that I haven’t studied for. I say we go to Mr.

Semling’s room first. Then, if there’s time, we hit Bass Face’s office!”

Bass Face was the name the student body had given to Ms. Bascob, the headmistress of

Wittrock Academy, the private school that Bryan, his sister Jessica, and their best friend Meg

attended.

Jessica squealed at the thought of breaking into the headmistress’s office.

“I always wanted to see what that old bat keeps in her file drawers,” Meg said.

“Do you know the trouble we could get into if someone finds out we have the custodian’s

key?” Bryan asked.

Meg slapped her forehead. “Okay, here we go again! Now the Do-Gooder starts to ruin all our

fun. Bryan, why don’t you just go on upstairs and join the other old prudes, and your parents, at Ms.

Sals’ retirement party. Name a jelly donut after me.”

“Very funny, Meg. Why do you always have to--?”

All three of the kids stopped cold as a flash of light filled the dark hallway.

“Oh great,” Bryan moaned. “Too late. We’re already caught red-handed.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Jessica said. “Look!”

Through the open doorway to the band room, they could see the windows that faced the curb

outside. They heard car doors slam and saw headlights dim. Men’s shoes slapped the pavement; they

were racing up the stairs to the entrance of the building.

Just then the red-haired woman stood up in the garbage bin.

Jessica screamed.

Bryan squinted. “Ms. Sals? Is that you?”

Ms. Sals leaped out of the can, tipping it over on its side with a heavy thud. She fished her

hand back into it, fumbling around inside the garbage.

“Uh, Ms. Sals,” Meg asked, “are you enjoying your retirement party?”

“N-no time for that now,” the teacher sputtered. “Time for plan B.” She could tell that the

men’s footsteps had gone straight down the main hallway, towards the auditorium. Good. That would

buy them at least a little time.

“Ms. Sals? What’s going on?” Bryan bent down to see what she was doing in the garbage.


Sir Abernathy “It’s taken them nearly five hundred years, kids, but they’ve finally found it! I didn’t think

they’d ever get this close. And why now? I only had three weeks left at this school, and I would have

been home-free.”

“Ms. Sals,” Meg said, “you aren’t making any sense.”

“Oh, it all makes perfect sense, my child. First, the anonymous letters. Then the phone calls.

And now they’re here!” She rummaged with urgency inside the garbage bin. “Where did it go? I

can’t believe I dropped it!”

“Dropped what?” the kids asked.

Ms. Sals grunted with effort and finally pulled something out of the trash.

She stuffed it into Bryan’s arms.

“Here! Take it, child! Don’t let them get it! Now go! Go!”

But it was Ms. Sals who was gone before them. She disappeared down the dark hallway.

Bryan looked down at his arms.

A doll.

The kids stared, mystified, and then heard a tapping on the band room’s window. Ms. Sals

stood outside, hollering through the glass pane.

“Two more things! His name is Sir Abernathy!”

The kids looked down at the doll.

“And?” they shouted.

“And…they’d kill to get him back!”


Sir AbernathyChapter 1 Activities:

Vocabulary: ajar stench

headmistress anonymous

mystified rummaged

Discussion Questions:

1. Why were people assembled in the school auditorium? Describe how it was decorated.

2. Why was Ms. Sals hiding in the garbage can?

3. What did Ms. Sals end up doing with the cell phone after it rang? Why do you think she took

this action?

4. Why did the three kids walk downstairs? What did Meg show them and how did she suggest

using it?

5. Predict why the doll, Sir Abernathy, is sought after.

Suggested Activities:

1. Some fictional stories begin with a prologue. A prologue is a special introduction to the main

story. It sets up the story by giving background information and details. Write a short prologue to

Sir Abernathy explaining how Meg got possession of the custodian’s key and how Ms. Sals wound

up in the garbage can.

2. Clip the first chapter from the newspaper and mount onto large, white construction paper.

Illustrate the chapter yourself. Save this and all subsequent chapters to a labeled file so that a

booklet can be made after reading the final chapter, sixteen.



Chapter 2 - Sir Abernathy

Bryan, Meg, and Jessica walked to school the following Monday in silence. They didn’t make any stops along

the way. They just waved at Rocky Bogart as he wheeled his bike out of his garage, not stopping to ask him how his

weekend went, or if his team won its last ballgame.

Bryan cringed every time a car crawled by. Jessica stole a quick glance at every passerby. Meg twisted her hair

nearly into knots. When they finally made it safely to Wittrock Academy, they stopped at the courtyard before first

period.

“You brought him?” Meg asked.

Bryan nodded and slowly unzipped his backpack. He carefully lifted the doll out and set it on the low wall of

a raised flower garden. Ms. Sals, Bryan and Meg’s soon-to-be retired English teacher, had said that his name was Sir

Abernathy.

The doll was made of wood. It was about a foot-and-a-half long, with a narrow build. A black cap was painted

at the top of his head. His eyes, too, were painted black; his nose was carved long and narrow. His mouth wasn’t exactly

smiling, but it had a rather bemused expression. All the painted areas, including the black wooden shoes, were faded

and scratchy. Sir Abernathy’s clothes looked tattered. He wore a tunic, or long shirt, that was puffed at the shoulders,

with a small ruffle at the cuffs. A knotted piece of twine served as his belt. He wore navy blue breeches and off-white

stockings that covered his calves.

“He’s old,” Meg said.

“Thank you, Sherlock Holmes,” Bryan replied.

“Ms. Sals said he was 500 years old,” Jessica said.

“You don’t really believe all that, do you?”

“She sure was scared last Friday,” Jessica said. “What about the way those guys ran into the building? I’m sure

glad we got out in time!”

Meg looked around the courtyard. “You don’t think they’re watching us...? You know, like to kill us or

something?”


Sir Abernathy Bryan sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Well, she said!” Meg snapped. “I’ll never forget what she told us outside that window. His name is Sir

Abernathy, and they would kill to get him back! Kill!”

“We already went over this all weekend long.” Bryan sighed. “Ms. Sals is a very eccentric lady. It’s probably

good she’s retiring when she is so that she can get some rest. Those men running into the building last week were

probably just caterers running in with more hot chicken wings.”

Meg nearly spat. “Hot chicken wings? Okay, dude, since you’re so calm about all this, why did you travel with

Pinocchio here all covered up in your backpack this morning? Huh? Huh?”

“Well, call me crazy, but it’s not every 13-year-old boy’s dream to be caught carrying a doll to school. Besides, I

want to take good care of it. We’ll return it to Ms. Sals this morning. It obviously has some sentimental value.”

Jessica hurried off to her first class. Jessica was one year younger than Meg and her brother and had a

completely different schedule than the eighth graders. As Meg and Bryan walked into their own first period, they were

astonished when they looked at the teacher’s desk. Instead of Ms. Sals, it was Ms. Bascob, the school’s headmistress,

looking over the teacher’s manual.

“Excuse me, Ms. Bascob, but where is Ms. Sals?” Meg asked.

Ms. Bascob barely looked up from her notes. “Ms. Sals will not be returning to school.”

“But why?”

Ms. Bascob simply took her pencil and pointed it at Bryan’s and Meg’s desks. The two quickly sat down.

“Can you believe this?” Meg whispered into Bryan’s ear as she sat down. “First, Ms. Sals is on the run and now

she isn’t even showing up for the last three weeks of school!”

“You’re right. Something must be up.”

Ms. Bascob led the class like a drill sergeant. When she wanted someone to read out of The Cask of Amontillado,

she rapped that person’s desk with a ruler. When Tommy Peters raised his hand to use the bathroom, he got the death

stare. He spent the rest of the hour squirming in his chair, his legs crossed tightly. Ms. Basob tore up Lana Mitchell’s

term paper because she used pencil and not ink, sending Lana into a burst of tears.

After class, Bryan and Meg stopped by the desk and asked Ms. Bascob if they could get Ms. Sals’ address to

send her a goodbye card. Ms. Bascob picked up her pencil again and this time pointed at the door.

“There’s no way I’m putting up with Bass Face for three whole weeks!” Meg groaned out in the hallway.

“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Bryan said. “We need to find Ms. Sals right away. How are we going to get her

address? It’s confidential.”


Sir Abernathy Meg smiled and reached into her school bag. She pulled something out. “I haven’t returned it yet.”

Hal’s Key. The custodian’s master key that opened all locks on campus hung on Meg’s little finger.

“You think I’m going to let you talk me into breaking into Bass Face’s office? During the school day?” Bryan

sputtered.

Meg raised her right eyebrow.

Bryan recalled the image of a stuttering Ms. Sals with banana peels in her hair, running from the men in black.

“All right. Let’s do it now.”



Vocabulary: cringed courtyard

bemused tunic

breeches eccentric


1. What are some examples that prove Bryan, Meg, and Jessica are nervous on their way to school?

2. How would you describe the physical characteristics of Sir Abernathy?

3. Ms. Bascob is filling in for Ms. Sals. What do you think the class feels about this

replacement?

4. Hal’s Key may be prove to be useful in the story. How?


1. Design your own Sir Abernathy Paper Doll. Paint on or color his black cap and face. Cut out a

tunic and breeches. Make other clothes and shoes for your paper doll. Design your own template

or search for some free ones on the Internet.

Check out: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/paperdolls/tp/paperdolls.htm

2. Clip and paste chapter 2 onto construction paper, illustrate, and add to booklet file.



Chapter 3 - My Story Goes Something Like This

“Would you start moving those puny toothpicks you call legs?” Patience Van Pride snarled at her younger

brother, Reggie. “I can’t believe I have to play your nursemaid.”

“I’m comin’! I’m comin’!” Reggie whined, trying to keep up.

“I’m already late to my second class because of you. I can’t believe I have to hold your hand to the nurse’s

office – AGAIN! Can’t you remember your own medication schedule? Why Mother and Father insist on feeding you is

beyond me.”

Reggie ran his fingers along the wall, his gaze lowered to the floor. As they rounded a corner in the hallway, he

jumped as his sister pushed him back against the wall.

“What?”

Patience Van Pride peered through the outer office which led to the headmistress’s office. She drummed her

fingers over her chin. “What are they up to?”

Reggie had to stand on tiptoe to see into the window. There were Bryan, Jessica, and Meg inside Ms. Bascob’s

office! Meg was tapping away at a keyboard, and the other two were hunched down, watching her.

“I don’t believe it!” Reggie yelped, hopping up and down. “Boy, oh boy, Ms. Bascob’s gonna kill them! I’m

going to go tell!”

“Hold it right there!” Patience grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “We’re not going to say a word to anyone – just yet.

Those three must be up to something pretty big and I want a piece of it. Little Runt, we’re going to keep a close eye on

those three. If you notice anything else strange going on around here, you report directly to Big Sister.”

She clutched his shirt even tighter and raised him nearly to eye level. “Got it?”

Reggie nodded nervously.

“G-got it,” he whimpered.

**********

Ms. Sals lived on Weaver Road. It was a small clapboard house in need of paint. Heavy drapes covered the

front windows. Bryan knocked firmly at the front door.


Sir Abernathy They waited.

He tried the doorbell and then knocked again, louder.

“This doesn’t look good,” Jessica said.

Bryan tried the door handle. It moved.

“I’m not just barging in there,” Meg protested.

“Meg, we have to see if Ms. Sals is all right,” Bryan said.

“What if she’s dead?” Meg pleaded. “What if those guys in black shoes got to her before we did!”

Ignoring Meg, Bryan stepped over the threshold. He quickly lost his balance as blunt, heavy, objects rained

down over his head, the smashing metal drowning out his cries. Before he knew what hit him, he was knee deep in

stainless steel and copper.

“Pots and pans?” Jessica fingered the heavy frying pans and saucepans entangled with other kitchen cookware

around her brother.

They had walked right into an amateur’s booby-trap.

“Yikes!” Meg waved a finger toward the top of the stairs. The whole house was severely dimmed, but she

thought she saw a figure pass by.

“Ms. Sals? Are you all right?” Bryan called out. He found a light switch near the entrance and flipped it on. He

started up the stairs.

Jessica and Meg followed him, looking left and right, and calling out in short whispers, “Ms. Sals? Ms. Sals?

Ms. Sals?”

“Oh, it’s you.”

The voice rocked them out of their skin. They yelled as they did a 360-degree spin on the top steps.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Ms. Sals. She wore a thick white robe. Her bright red hair jutted out, all

askew. She ran back to the front door, kicking the pans out of her way. She stuck her head outside. Her head swiveled

left and right and then up and down.

“Did anyone follow you children?”

“No. It’s just us, Ms. Sals.”

The kids fired off a long list of questions. Why wasn’t she finishing her three weeks of school? Why was Ms.

Bascob taking over? Were their lives really in danger? Who was after the doll? What did they want with the doll? Where

did she get the doll in the first place?

“Goodness me, goodness me,” Ms. Sals said. “It was wrong of me to get you kids involved in all of this. It’s just


Sir Abernathythat code. I haven’t been able to crack that miserable code!”

They were sitting in Ms. Sals’ living room. Bryan had brought Sir Abernathy, and laid him on the coffee table.

The old doll stared at the ceiling with a slightly superior smirk, his needle nose held high.

Ms. Sals rose from the couch and pointed accusingly at the ancient doll.

“That doll has almost been the ruin of me and many before me! I never asked for any of this!” She stopped to

catch her breath and then lowered her voice to a conspiring hush.

“And he holds a secret. He holds a deep, dark secret that is nearly 500 hundred years old, my children.”

“What secret?” Bryan and the girls asked. “Ms. Sals, please start at the beginning.”

“Yes, yes, the beginning. I suppose I owe you that much, but first I must tell you the truth. Always tell the

truth, children. My name is not really Ms. Sals. It’s Beatrice Bumgardner. And the story of Sir Abernathy is not for the

faint of heart. Brace yourselves, children. I’ll tell you all I know, provided that--”

“What?” they asked.

“Provided that I have enough time left!”



Vocabulary: nursemaid threshold

amateur accusingly

conspiring ancient


1. What mood is the author creating in this chapter? Can you think of another story with the same

mood?

2. What are the personality traits of Bryan, Meg, and Jessica? Compare and contrast.

3. What is Ms. Sal’s real name? Why do you think she’s living under this pseudonym?

4. The three kids broke into Ms. Basob’s office to gain Ms. Sal’s address. How else might they have

obtained this information?

5. Does Ms. Sals trust Bryan and the girls? Why or why not?


1. Books belong to different genres such as mystery, science fiction, fantasy, folktale, realistic fiction,

and historical fiction. To which genre does Sir Abernathy belong? List reasons why.

2. Asking questions help with story comprehension. Practice writing literal comprehension

questions, questions where answers can be found directly in the chapter. Partner up with an

other student. Take turns asking your questions. See if your partner can answer them with our

without looking back at the chapter. For an extra challenge, try writing inferential comprehension

questions, questions where answers are not found directly in the story but rely on your personal

experience or reasoning skills.




Chapter 4 - A Dollmaker’s Craft

Ms. Sals paced between the couch and the covered window. She parted the drapes, looked out. She stared at

the phone. It stood silent. She picked up the receiver, listened to the dial tone, then went back to the window.

“My, my, my,” she kept repeating.

“Ahhhh…. Ms. Sals? Earth to Ms. Sals?” Meg asked.

Bryan elbowed her.

“Aren’t you going to tell us about the doll?”

Ms. Sals stood straight at the mention of Sir Abernathy. She eyed the doll that rested on the coffee table. She

fluttered her hands as if to ward off evil spirits and then finally settled down onto the couch.

Bryan, Meg, and Jessica sat back as they listened to the story of Sir Abernathy.

In the sixteenth century, in a country far away, there was a humble dollmaker who lived in a cottage with his wife. The

man wasn’t always a dollmaker. He started out as a simple woodcarver who made furniture for the villagers. One day, he made a

doll for his neighbor’s child to play with. It didn’t take long for others in the village to notice the quaint doll with the slim nose and

tailored costume and they soon asked for dolls for their families, too.

Encouraged, the dollmaker gave his doll a name--Sir Abernathy. He produced many in his tiny cottage, and his wife

helped by sewing the garments. He was soon selling a hundred Sir Abernathys per month and could hardly keep up with the orders.

At the same time, his country enjoyed many victories in battle. Healthy crops meant food was in abundance. Money was

plentiful for most and Sir Abernathy became a sort of symbol for the country’s prosperity. The doll even caught the attention of

the king and queen, and the royal palace commissioned dolls for the aristocracy.

Sir Abernathy was one of the first collectible dolls, hundreds of years before Raggedy Ann, the Shirley Temple doll, or

Tickle Me Elmo. The orders kept coming in, the people were pleased, and the dollmaker and his wife were overjoyed until…

…Until heavy drought ruined crops. Famine became widespread. The country started losing wars. The monarchy was no

longer in favor with the people, and neither was Sir Abernathy. The doll was seen as evil. It quickly became the scapegoat for the

country’s sudden misery.


Sir Abernathy The townspeople burned their Sir Abernathys. The dollmaker was ruined. Soon after his fall from grace, he lost his

beloved wife to pneumonia. He toiled alone in misery, and after seven years, he could take it no longer. He packed a sack

containing only a few stale loaves of bread, some jam, a change of clothes, and a woodcarving he had made of his wife.

He shoved out to sea in a tiny boat, leaving his last Sir Abernathy on the shore. The doll, which once brought the

dollmaker much joy, watched as his master sailed away to the east, never to return.

After Ms. Sals told her story, Bryan, Meg, and Jessica sat staring at the doll that now lay before them.

Bryan asked, “But how did Sir Abernathy end up here?”

“Ah-ha! That is just the question!” Ms. Sals said, her eyes swimming wildly in their sockets. “All I know is what

was told to me when the lady gave me the doll.”

“Lady?”

“Yes. I was only knee-high to a grasshopper when this woman pulled me away from my parents at the county

fair. It was the first time I had seen such fear in another’s eyes. She gave me the doll after telling me this story.”

“But why were those men after the doll?” Jessica asked.

“Ah-hah! That is just the question! Apparently, a kingsman to the Queen and King found out that the

dollmaker left more than just Sir Abernathy behind. He also left a large amount of gold!”

“Gold?” Bryan cried. “Why would the poor dollmaker leave gold behind? It was the answer to his prayers!

Where did he get it?”

Ms. Sals just shook her head. “The kingsman spent his whole life searching for the doll, and then his

descendants carried on the hunt. They’re known as the Kingsmen. As each century has passed, their game has gotten

more dangerous. They’re desperate now. Obsessed. They’re evil and dark and they don’t care who they hurt to get that

doll.”

“But I don’t get it,” Meg said. She shook Sir Abernathy upside down as if he were a salt shaker. “There’s no

gold in this dude. Why do the Kingsmen think this is the way to the gold?”

Ms. Sals reached for the doll and turned up its clothes. Inside each garment were a series of numbers. “Because

of these. These numbers must mean something, but for over 500 years, no one in possession of Sir Abernathy has been

able to figure it out.”

Bryan jumped up and reached for the doll. “Okay, Ms. Sals. We got it. We understand.”

“Good gracious, where are you headed?”

“The girls and I have a job to do. We’re going to crack the code!”



Vocabulary: cottage humble

quaint abundance

commissioned scapegoat


1. How did Ms. Sals come into possession of the doll?

2. What evidence shows that Sir Abernathy dolls were once popular with the people from the 16th

century? Why did the dolls eventually fall out of favor with the people?

3. Why did the dollmaker take a woodcarving he made of his wife but leave his original Sir

Abernathy on the shore?

4. Who are the Kingsmen? Why are they after the doll?

5. A metaphor is a figure of speech. Writers use metaphors when they want to compare things in a

non-literal, or imaginative sense. In chapter four the author writes: “Ms. Sals said, her eyes

swimming wildly in their sockets.” Eyes cannot literally swim. Can you find examples of other

metaphors in this story or in other stories that you have read?


1. This chapter mentions other famous dolls and collectibles such as Raggedy Ann, Shirley Temple,

and Tickle Me Elmo. Kewpie Doll, Cabbage Patch, and Mrs. Beasley are some others. Research a

famous doll. Volunteer to share your findings with the class.




Chapter 5 - The Brilliance of Gold

“Meg, you’re late.” Bryan pulled over an extra chair to the table that he and Jessica were sitting at. It was after

school, and they were meeting in the new library in Smith Hall.

“I’m sorry,” Meg said, “but there was a huge fight going on outside between Rocky and Trevor Jamison.”

“Rocky Bogart?” Bryan asked.

“You know any other Rockys that go to this school?”

Rocky Bogart was a good friend of Bryan and the girls.

“It just doesn’t sound like Rocky. He’s tough, yeah, but he isn’t a bully. Trevor Jamison must be half his size!”

“Some of the kids were saying that Rocky started it,” Meg said. “I didn’t see it start, but I was there when it

was breaking up.”

“Who broke it up?”

“Ol’ Bass Face herself. You guys should’ve seen it! It was hilarious! She practically had Rocky in a headlock!

Her face was red, but she’s got those huge, meaty arms, and how tall is she, anyway? Six feet? I bet the beast is Big

Foot’s Grandmama.”

The kids laughed.

“SHHHHH!” they heard from behind them. They turned and saw Patience Van Pride. She was shelving

books, and holding her finger up to her mouth.

“Can you believe her?” Meg whispered. “She only took the job so she could get into everyone’s business.”

“Well, let’s just ignore her, and we can find out what’s up with Rocky later,” Bryan suggested. “We have to get

to work on this code.”

“Didn’t you bring the doll?” Meg asked.

“Of course not,” Bryan said. “Do you really want to be seen with it? I’m hoping the Kingsmen don’t know that

we have it. It’ll buy us time. Besides, we don’t need Sir Abernathy right now. I wrote down all the numbers here in my

notebook.”

Bryan pushed his notes to the middle of the table. The girls leaned in.


Sir Abernathy “It just looks like a bunch of random two and three-digit numbers,” Jessica said.

“Maybe it’s the way they recorded telephone numbers back then,” Meg suggested.

Bryan laughed, “The only problem there, you ding-dong, is that telephones hadn’t been invented yet.”

“Hey, I’m just brainstorming here like you are!”

“Well, I did write the numbers down, spaced out just like I found them. 51 07 were written directly above 70

25 on the inside, left sleeve of the doll. 21 18 were written on the right sleeve above 157 50. Together, there were six sets

of numbers on different areas of clothing.”

They put their heads together and called out all sorts of scenarios for the numbers: ages, combination locks,

addresses, birthdates, and populations.

“Was the Dewey decimal system in place then?” Jessica questioned.

“I don’t think so,” Bryan replied.

“Do you think they played Captain, May I? back then?” Meg asked.

“Why don’t you go play Captain, May I? over there with Patience,” Bryan snapped.

“Don’t get smart with me,” Meg said as she rapped Bryan on the head. “Sir Abernathy is supposed to have

something to do with hidden gold, right? I just thought these prehistoric people might have hidden these numbers

in some sort of game. You know, like take 21 steps from the nearest caveman .... I know times were dull back then, and

everyone was doomed to a lifetime of bad hair days, but I figured that sometimes they may have been capable of, well,

cleverness.”

“Speaking of cleverness!” Bryan beamed. He grabbed Meg and hugged her.

“Umm…if you don’t get your hands off me by the time I count to--”

“Meg, don’t you see? You’re brilliant!”

“I am?”

“It wouldn’t make sense for them to write the code in footsteps, but what about degrees?”

“Like on a thermometer?” Jessica asked.

“Like on a map!” Bryan exclaimed. “Latitude and longitude are recorded in degrees on a map, not in steps like

in a children’s game. Still, the concepts are the same. You can find anyplace in the world with latitude and longitude!”

“Like gold?” Jessica smiled.

Bryan nodded.

They quickly found Mrs. Joyner, the assistant librarian. She helped them find maps and some books on

latitude and longitude.


Sir Abernathy As they carried their materials, Jessica whispered, “Look!”

Patience Van Pride was back at their table, looking over Bryan’s notes.

“Big deal,” Bryan said. “Let her snoop all she wants. You think she can figure this out? Even I’m going to need

some help. I just realized that maps looked different back in the 1500’s. These materials are of no use.”

“Who’s gonna help us?” Meg asked.

Bryan paused. “Think about it. Who’s the smartest guy you know? Besides me, of course ….”

Meg thought hard. Soon, a look of realization spread over her face.

“Oh, no! No! No! No! I won’t do it, Bryan! I won’t do it! He gives me the creeps!”

Bryan said it was for the good of the project. They knew it would cost a price, but they had to stand tall and

face….

The MasterMind.



Vocabulary: random scenarios

prehistoric latitude

longitude realization


1. Why are the young sleuths bothered by the fight involving Rocky? Can you think of a fight or

argument you have witnessed? Did someone break it up? How was it resolved?

2. Meg refers to Ms. Bascob as Big Foot. Who is Big Foot? Names can be hurtful. Can you share a

name that you were once called and how it affected you?

3. What is Bryan thinking the numbers on Sir Abernathy mean?

4. Why weren’t the maps in the library useful to Bryan and the girls’ investigation?


1. Research The Dewey Decimal System. Who invented it? When? How does the system work?

2. Lines of latitude and longitude help you locate places on a map. Find the Prime Meridian and

Equator on a map. Find the latitude and longitude for the city where this story takes place,

Minneapolis. Next, find the latitude and longitude for your own city and other major cities.

Partner with a student. Record degrees of latitude and longitude and see if your partner can find

the corresponding city.




Chapter 5 - The Master Mind

At 3:35 p.m. the MasterMind was open for business in his usual place. He sat under an awning that ran along

the backside of Wittrock Academy’s tool shed, about 100 yards behind Boone Hall.

An old lawnmower, a wheelbarrow, some folding chairs, hoses, and other odds and ends lay scattered about.

In the corner, under the overhang, sat the MasterMind. He sat in one of the folding chairs and used an old rusty patio

table for his desk.

When Bryan, Jessica, and Meg arrived, they had to wait in line. A girl paid the MasterMind off in video game

cartridges for giving her a completed essay on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Another boy offered up Twins baseball game

tickets in exchange for the answers to algebra problems.

One girl burst into tears when she told the MasterMind that she couldn’t come up with the payment for notes on

a complicated science experiment. He refused to give her the notebook, and dismissed her with a wave of his hand,

cutting her off from any future help.

When it was Bryan and the girls’ turn, they explained their theory on how the code numbers on Sir Abernathy

may be latitudes and longitudes, but that they didn’t have the ability to match up the measurements to 16th century

maps.

“You’re in luck,” the MasterMind muttered, chasing down a Twinkie with a swig of Cherry Coke. “I have some

experience with cartography.”

“We don’t need any pictures,” Meg laughed. “We just need someone who can read maps.”

“He doesn’t mean photography, you moron.” Bryan sighed. “Cartography is the study of maps!”

“Oops.”

The MasterMind said he’d take the job. Bryan was nervous to ask how much it would cost. He explained that

they were a little short on cash. The MasterMind, a rather heavyset boy for thirteen, with a pudgy face, thick glasses,

body odor, and a disgusting habit of picking his nose, eyed his peers, especially Meg.

**********


Sir Abernathy

Meg had her hands around Bryan’s throat all the way back to their neighborhood.

“How could you allow me to go on a date with that freak?” she shrieked.

Bryan tried reassuring her that one harmless date was worth the price of finding the answer to a five-centuries-

old mystery. Meg was about to fire off another onslaught when their attention was diverted to the Bogart house. They

could hear Rocky’s mom yelling through the open window.

“And now I get a call from Ms. Bascob saying that you might have to go to summer school because you’re

failing three classes?!?”

“I don’t care about dumb ol’ school anyway!” Rocky hollered. “I don’t care about this crummy place either!”

Rocky stormed out of the house and went for his bike in the garage. He didn’t see Bryan, Meg, and Jessica in

the street.

“What’s with him?” Bryan asked as they walked by.

“I heard from someone at school that Rocky’s upset about his father,” Jessica said.

They knew that Rocky hardly ever saw his father. In fact, Bryan, Meg, and Jessica had never met the man, nor

had they ever seen him coming around. Rocky’s mom was a single parent. Rocky was her only child.

“I guess every year his dad is supposed to come on Rocky’s birthday,” Jessica continued. “Rocky’s birthday is

coming up in a few weeks, and I guess he hasn’t heard from him yet.”

They walked home in silence.

**********

The next evening, Meg, Jessica, and Bryan met with the MasterMind at Meg’s house. The boy genius rolled

out his copy of a 16th century map. The kids laughed at how different the shapes of the continents appeared.

“Of course, the New World was just beginning to be settled,” said the MasterMind. “The measurements of the

continents were not so well-defined. Take into consideration, also, that the agreement on the Prime Meridian changed

in the 1800’s and that centuries ago, longitude was only measured to the east, a full 360 degrees.

“And there wasn’t any north, south, east, or west written with the numbers, which was odd. Still, I think you’re

right. I believe the numbers are longitude and latitude coordinates.”

“The plot points you marked are spaced symmetrically,” Bryan said, studying the map.

“Precisely,” said the MasterMind. He occasionally belched while chowing down on a bag of potato chips. He


Sir Abernathydropped tiny slivers all over Meg’s bedspread. “It looks like someone was marking a very definite route. There should

be one more plot point right about here.”

The MasterMind circled England with his hi-liter.

“But there aren’t anymore coordinates on the doll,” Bryan explained.

“You said they were all on clothing. Perhaps a piece of clothing has been removed.”

“Would we even need those last coordinates?” Bryan asked. “I mean, we have six points staring us in the face.

We’d have to go all across the globe trying to look for a treasure that we can’t even prove exists.”

The MasterMind responded, “From the story you told me, it sounds like this dollmaker was from England. If

he did have a large stash of gold, he would have been crazy to take it with him, alone, on his boat. Pirates were rampant

out on the seas in those days. He probably wouldn’t have lasted two hours. My guess is that he would have gotten rid

of it before he left. I think it would pay to try to find those numbers. With them, I can narrow the scope of your search

significantly. Without them, you’d have to scour an entire country, which is impossible.”

The MasterMind picked some earwax out of his ear, wiped it on his shirt, and let out another belch. “And I’ll

see you, hot mama, on Saturday! A deal is a deal!” He stared at Meg longingly.

Meg bolted into the bathroom and threw up.



Vocabulary: awning theory

cartography onslaught

diverted rampant


1. How is The MasterMind’s office arranged? What does he accept as payment?

2. What could be some reasons why Meg finds The MasterMind disgusting?

3. Why did The MasterMind believe there should be one more set of latitude and longitude

coordinates placed somewhere over England?

4. Where do you suppose the kids might find the last set of coordinates? What could be waiting for

them in England?

5. With which character in the story can you most identify? Explain your answer.


1. Cartography is the study of maps. Maps have changed greatly over the centuries. Check out some

interesting cartography websites. Here are a few to consider:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/

http://www.maphistory.info/index.html

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/mapping_our_world/

2. Writers often write to persuade, to try to get someone to do something. Write a persuasive letter

to Meg. Try to get her to see the benefits in agreeing to go out with The MasterMind.




Chapter 7 - The Tie that Binds

“I can’t see! Bend down on your knees, you little twerp! Now hold still!”

“Owwwww!”

“Keep quiet!”

Patience Van Pride was on her little brother’s back, trying to get a better view inside Ms. Sals’ house. She could

see the retired teacher, Bryan and Jessica Karson, and Meg Graff.

Upon approaching the backyard only moments ago, Patience had nearly fallen into a covered hole. She stopped

herself in time, yet shuddered at the sight of the deep hole covered with flimsy boards and heavy leaves. A booby trap

of some sort, but Patience knew nothing of Ms. Sals’ fear or anything about the Kingsmen.

Inside Ms. Sals’ house, Sir Abernathy sat on a wing-backed chair as the others stood around him.

“Could he have worn anything else?” Bryan asked for the tenth time. “Like a vest, a coat, or something?”

Ms. Sals shook her hands in the air and kept repeating her famous line. “Good gracious! Good gracious!”

Jessica had the map rolled out on the teacher’s dining table, which seemed to overwhelm Ms. Sals all the more.

“Do you have any pictures of Sir Abernathy?” Meg asked. “Like of his birthday or family vacations?”

“Meg!” Bryan snapped. He didn’t want to insult Ms. Sals. Pictures of a doll’s birthday? Give me a break, he

thought.

Ms. Sals waved her finger in the air, a big smile crossing her face. Finally, she seemed to have heard them. “As a

matter of fact, I do have some pictures of Sir Abernathy! I know I do, goodness gracious! Let me see … let me see .…

Be back in a flash, children!”

Outside, Reggie moaned under his sister’s weight. “What’s happening?”

“The weirdo ran down the hallway. I think she’s looking for some pictures of that doll,” Patience answered. She

could see the doll on the chair. Bryan, Jessica, and Meg studied the map, and in a minute, Ms. Sals returned, carrying a

large cardboard box.

“Here we go, here we go,” Ms. Sals said as she began pulling old photographs out of the box. It didn’t take

long. The fifth picture was of Sir Abernathy and a little girl.


Sir Abernathy “That’s me, when I was in Kindergarten.”

The photo was in black-and-white. The three kids studied it. Ms. Sals -- or rather, Beatrice -- had wavy hair

pinned back from her shoulders, and wore a little jacket with a soft, mink collar. She sat upon an expensive looking

chair and held Sir Abernathy on her lap. Sir Abernathy sat poised, arms folded on his own lap. It almost looked like a

professional portrait. Meg started to giggle, and Bryan kept elbowing her.

“Wait! What’s that?” Jessica ran her finger over Sir Abernathy’s neck.

“Heh?” Ms. Sals squinted. “Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes! I remember that now. That’s Sir Abernathy’s tie. It was red. It

was a ribbon, twisted like that around his neck. See?”

“And where is that tie now?” the kids asked.

Ms. Sals shook her head.

“When did you last see it?”

Ms. Sals shrugged.

“Was Sir Abernathy ever out of your possession?”

Ms. Sals twisted her lips. “Y-yes, as a matter of fact, he was. About a year ago, I received my first threatening

letter. I panicked and decided I wanted to get rid of Sir Abernathy altogether. I gave him to a woman who runs an

antique shop on Lake Minnetonka. But after three weeks, I realized that I just had to have Sir Abernathy back. I

missed him too much. Luckily, he had not been sold.”

“Do you think the tie was missing when you got him back?” Bryan asked.

“Looking back … yes, yes I do!”

“We gotta get to that antique shop!” Bryan exclaimed. “Ms. Sals, we believe that there are some important

numbers on that tie that will tell us where to find the gold!”

Jessica asked if Ms. Sals had a magnifying glass.

“Indeed I do! I use it to read the fine print. You know, on supermarket coupons.” She opened a desk drawer

and pulled it out.

Jessica held up the magnifier to the tie in the old photograph. “I see a number or two, but with the folds in the

tie, it’s impossible to tell exactly. But what’s this? You guys! I see … letters!”

“It’s more of a clue!” Bryan shouted. “We’ve just gotta get that tie!”

“And it’s not directions, either. I can see an f and an l. Those letters aren’t in north, south, east, or west.”

Meanwhile, outside, Reggie’s back throbbed under the weight of his sister. “Can I get up now?”

Patience stepped off her brother. He stood and brushed the grass and dirt from his knees.


Sir Abernathy “Little brother, it seems that this doll holds the key to some sort of treasure. I’ve got to get my hands on it!”

“How ya gonna do that? Those guys are never gonna let it out of their sight!”

“Not unless I create some sort of diversion,” Patience muttered to herself. She looked down at the deep hole

she had nearly slipped into moments ago. “Sorry, little brother!”

Reggie did a double take and before he knew it, his little body went careening into the hole. He screamed like a

baby.

“What in the world? What’s that? What’s going on?” Ms. Sals ran with the kids out the front door. “Heaven

help us!”

Meanwhile, Patience Van Pride slipped in through the back door, ran to the upholstered chair, grabbed Sir

Abernathy, and ran back out. Like a cunning cougar, she slipped down the avenue unnoticed.

Except by the big, black car that followed her.



Vocabulary: overwhelm poised

antique throbbed

careening upholstered


1. Why were Bryan and the girls back at Ms. Sals’ house?

2. Bryan thought to himself, Give me a break! That phrase is known as a cliché. A cliché is a well-

known, and often used, expression. Can you find any other clichés in the story or think of some

that you have heard? What do these clichés really mean?

3. What additional clothing of Sir Abernathy’s did everyone find out about? How did the doll lose

this article of clothing?

4. What was Jessica able to see with the magnifying glass?

5. What steps did Patience Van Pride take in order to steal Sir Abernathy?


1. Authors create internal and external traits for their fictional characters. Internal traits deal with

what’s going on inside of the character - likes, dislikes, personality, thoughts, and dreams. External

traits are what the character looks like on the outside. Make a T-chart on notebook paper. List

internal traits on the left and external traits on the right for one of your favorite characters from

the story. Also, create your own fictional character with internal and external traits.




Chapter 8 - In the Dark

Bryan, Meg, and Jessica soon learned, after interrogating Reggie, that Patience Van Pride stole the doll.

Frustrated after having been to the Van Pride house earlier and trying to get Patience to return Sir Abernathy, Bryan

settled into bed that night.

He and the girls did realize that the doll itself was not as useful to them at the moment. They had all the

longitude and latitude coordinates mapped out. What they really needed was to find the tie that was once around Sir

Abernathy’s neck.

As Bryan lay awake in his bed on that cool, spring night, he thought about the dreaded Kingsmen, the group

that had hunted down Sir Abernathy for centuries. The Kingsmen who invaded the school. Their dark shoes. Their

black, shiny car.

Would the Kingsmen really kill for the doll? How valuable was the gold, and ... was there really gold to be

found? Ms. Sals said the dollmaker was financially ruined after everyone burned the dolls. How would he end up with

a stash of gold?

Bryan wondered about the map and the six points marked on it. He just knew, if the theory of the treasure was true,

it had to be buried at one of those points. He agreed with the MasterMind that it would most likely be buried at the

point of longitude and latitude written on the elusive tie.

Would they ever find the tie? What was with those letters Jessica spotted on the tie in that old photograph? A

word? A phrase? A clue?

Was Ms. Sals’ -- or rather -- Beatrice Bumgardner’s story really true? She was a bit scatterbrained. Yet he saw

the numbers on the doll, the symmetrical points on the map, and the men in their black shoes. He heard their heavy

and purposeful footsteps. No family would be pursuing something for generations if it didn’t exist in the first place.

All of a sudden, Bryan shot up in bed. He had heard a loud thud against his bedroom window.

He waited, eyeing the dark corners of his room.

Another thud.

Bryan clenched his bed sheet, his heart hammering. He stared at the window, fearing it would shatter at any


Sir Abernathysecond.

A third thud.

He thought he saw something hit the window. Tentatively, he got out of bed and tip-toed over to peer out.

Nothing.

He carefully opened the window in case he could hear anything.

He looked out again, searching the lawn below, one story down. He finally spotted a figure—dark, yet somewhat

silhouetted by the street lamp.

“Bryan!” someone hissed in the darkness. “Can I come up?”

It was Rocky Bogart.

“How?” Bryan asked. His parents and Jessica had long gone to bed.

Rocky grabbed onto the outer frame of the dining room window on the first floor. He hoisted himself up,

crawling as if he were Spiderman. He grabbed hold of the protruding awning over the front door. His foot slipped on a

shingle, but he held on.

“Grab my hand!” Rocky whispered hoarsely.

Somehow Bryan managed to get Rocky through his window and into his room unscathed.

“What’s wrong?” Bryan asked, already knowing the answer.

“What isn’t?” Rocky replied. He slid down the wall and sat under Bryan’s open window. Bryan sat on the floor

next to him.

“Your dad?” Bryan tried.

Rocky nodded. He looked down at the floor.

“Must be nice,” Rocky said.

“What is?”

“Having your mom plus your dad and Jessica.”

“I guess I don’t always think about it,” Bryan said.

“Well, think about it.”

They sat together for a few minutes with nothing to say. The darkness of the room seemed to accentuate the

silence.

“He didn’t come last year, or the year before that,” Rocky said, his voice cracking. “What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Rocky,” Bryan said. “It’s your dad. It’s something inside of him that keeps him

away. Maybe life isn’t working out the way he planned.”


Sir Abernathy “He could be dead, for all I know,” Rocky cried. “I hope he is dead!”

“No, you don’t.”

“You know what I do every year on my birthday, Bryan? Do you know what I do? I get up early in the

morning, eat my breakfast, brush my teeth, put on my lucky baseball cap, and then I sit. I sit on the curb in front of my

house and I wait. I wait for his car to come down the road, just like I did when I turned six, when I turned seven, when

I turned eight! I’ll do it again this year, and do you know why? Because I don’t know what else to do! I don’t know

what else to do on my birthday!”

**********

Patience Van Pride laid in bed with Sir Abernathy under the covers. She dreamt about the fame and fortune

the old doll would bring to her and the frustration and regret it would bring to Meg, Jessica and Bryan. The doll was

hers now. She was never going to give it back.

A soft thud on the window awoke Patience. She tried to shrug it off as part of her dream, but there was another

clunk on the window, and then another. It sounded like pebbles against the glass. She looked out her window.

No one.

She thought she heard something in the front hedges.

“Those nerds,” she snickered. “They never know when to give up!”

She grabbed Sir Abernathy, went down the stairs and out the front door.

“I know it’s you, Meg, Jessica, and Bryan,” she called softly into the night. “Okay, I’ve got Sir Abernathy, but

he’s mine now. Finders keepers!”

She trudged over to the line of hedges.

“Did you hear what I--?”

A gloved hand closed over Patience’s mouth. She struggled to get free. Her screams were muffled.

The door to a black car opened. Patience was stuffed into the back seat, and the car squealed away from the

curb.



Vocabulary: interrogating elusive

purposeful tentatively

silhouetted protruding


1. What sort of thoughts went through Bryan’s mind as he settled down to sleep?

2. How did Rocky gain entrance into the Karson house?

3. What was the main idea of Bryan and Rocky’s discussion?

4. How was Patience Van Pride aroused from her sleep?

5. What happened to Patience at the end of the chapter? Why has this happened to her?


1. Explore cause and effect. The cause is the first thing that happens. The effect is the result. Rocky

throwing rocks at Bryan’s window caused Bryan to get out of bed. Throwing rocks was the cause.

Bryan getting out of bed was the effect. Find other examples of cause and effect in the chapter.

2. Make a connection from the story to your own life or to another book or movie. Share this

personal connection in a small group.




Chapter 9 - A Shop on the Lake

The antique shop on Lake Minnetonka was open on Saturday. The minute Bryan and the girls walked through

the door, a sophisticated blonde woman nearly tripped over herself getting to the door.

The woman wore glasses and a well-pressed blazer and skirt. Her fingernails gleamed, along with her diamond

earrings and necklace. The only thing not polished on her was the expression on her face.

“What on earth are you filthy children doing in here?”

Bryan and the girls exchanged glances.

“Who let you in here? Where are your parents?”

“We’re looking for the owner of this shop,” Meg explained. “Ms. Sals, our teacher, sold a doll here last year.”

“I am Veronica Chamberlain, the owner.” She did not hold out her hand, but crossed her arms, firmly.

The kids told Veronica a version of the story. They mentioned how Sir Abernathy had been passed around

since the 16th century. They said how important the doll was to Ms. Sals, how she had it since she was a little girl at the

county fair. The kids explained that the red ribbon, or tie, was missing from Sir Abernathy’s neck and perhaps it had

come off at the antique shop.

“It took this Ms. Sap, or whatever her name is, a whole year to figure that out?”

“Well,” Bryan started, “Ms. Sals is rather ... ah … absent-minded at times.”

What the kids did not mention to the antique dealer was that the doll was extremely valuable, that the doll

could possibly map out a hidden treasure, and that finding that treasure depended on finding the tie.

“So, can you help us?” the kids asked.

Veronica Chamberlain let out a heavy sigh. “I think it’s just dreadful to have children in my shop like this. This

will be bad for business. I have a very important client coming today with some priceless Roycroft lamps and the sight

of you three ... well, it’s completely dreadful is all I can say.”

Veronica walked to her desk and produced a plastic bottle. “Here,” she said as she squirted a heaping mound of

gel into each of their hands. “There now. Rub it all over yourselves.”

“What is it?” Jessica asked.


Sir Abernathy “Skin sanitizer. You children are just riddled with germs. I can’t have you in here without being disinfected.

You might actually touch something. Rub it all over. Here, take some more.”

“Is this safe to use all over?” Bryan questioned.

“I bet it is,” Meg sang as she plopped a dollop into Bryan’s hair. “See? It’s hair gel!”

She giggled as she spiked up Bryan’s hair, and Bryan laughed too, reaching out for Meg’s curly locks.

“No! No! Stop this at once, you delinquents! See what I mean? You’re having fun now. Stop this at once or I’ll

have you thrown out!”

Meg and Bryan quickly corrected themselves. A drip of gel hung from the tip of Bryan’s nose.

“But weren’t you a child once yourself, Ms. Chamberlain?” Jessica asked.

“I don’t have time for all this gibberish. Look at the way you’re dressed. I feel faint!”

Bryan asked if they could take a look at her collection of antiques, if they promised not to touch anything.

“Fine. If it will hurry you on your way.”

They walked past all of the displays, looking to see if the tie may have gotten attached to another doll, perhaps

used as a hair ribbon. All through the tour, Veronica Chamberlain kept shaking her head and rolling her eyes. When she

walked, she held her nose in the air, as if constantly smelling bad cheese.

They looked inside an old doll’s buggy, to see if the tie might be strewn about the blankets. Bryan asked if Ms.

Chamberlain would please open the drawers to a rolltop desk, to see if the tie might be lying in there.

“Are you quite finished now?” the woman asked, tucking a wisp of hair back into place.

Bryan looked around the room. “Ms. Chamberlain? Could we ask one more favor? Sir Abernathy was only here

for three weeks. Do you have record of the people who made purchases here during that time?”

“Of course I keep records, but if you think I’m handing over information about clients to you

little--”

Meg started sneezing.

“Oh, help me.” Veronica ran to her desk and whipped out her Rolodex. “Here, if it will get you germ-infested

creatures out of here faster!”

**********

Bryan, Meg, and Jessica discussed their plan of action now that they had the names of the six buyers from

the antique shop during the time in question. They joked about the day’s events and how stuffy Ms. Chamberlain had


Sir Abernathyacted. They laughed as they walked Meg up to her front door. A note taped to the door distracted them.

“I wonder who this is from?” Meg said, as she lifted the note.

We have your friend. We’ve got the doll. We need the tie. Get it fast, or you’ll never see your friend again.

“It’s gotta be the Kingsmen!” Bryan said. “They must have Patience!”

“Ha! They call her our friend?” Meg said. “I’d like to see the look on that brat’s face when she realizes we’re her

only hope!”

“Meg, it’s no time for jokes,” Bryan said. “This is serious!”

“What’ll we do?” Jessica asked.

“Tomorrow morning, we start out and visit all six of these customers from the antique shop. We gotta hope one

of them has that tie.”

“And if they don’t?”

Bryan looked down at the ground. “We don’t even want to think that. They’ve already taken Patience. There’s

no telling if they’ll stop there.”

“What do you mean?” Meg asked.

“I mean they could very well abduct one of us!”



Vocabulary: sophisticated version

delinquents strewn

abduct buggy


1. What are the internal and external characteristics of Veronica Chamberlain?

2. Why did the kids choose to tell the shop owner a “version” of their story?

3. Why did Ms. Chamberlain hand over the contact information of her customers?

4. What did the three friends find at Meg’s front door? How did they react?


1. The three teenagers visit an antique shop in this chapter. What do you know about antiques? Look

up the Antiques Roadshow website listed below and find one item to research. Does your item fall

under the furniture, painting, ceramic, glass, jewelry or other category? Write a one page report on

your findings.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/index.html




Chapter 10 - A Hunting We Will Go

On Sunday afternoon, Jessica, Bryan, and Meg clambered into the car of Meg’s cousin, Toby.

“Yeah, dudes, just got my license last Wednesday.” Toby took off down the street and made a sharp left turn at

the stop sign.

Jessica whispered to Meg in the backseat, “Do you know how much our parents would kill me and Bryan right

now?”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Meg said. “Toby here is an excellent driver. He’s never had one accident or even a

parking ticket.”

“Meg, he’s only been driving for four days!”

The kids desperately needed a driver. The six customers from the antique shop lived all over the Twin Cities

area. Their first stop was in Roseville. Toby waited behind the wheel, jammin’ to music that almost drowned out the

horrible rumble of his muffler.

Bryan and the girls knocked politely at the front door. They were surprised when a young man answered the

door. They didn’t figure anybody that young could afford anything from Veronica Chamberlain’s antique shop.

“That’s right,” the young man said. “We bought a Ming Dynasty Buddha statue there last June. It’s out back,

in our greenhouse. You’re welcome to take a look at it, but I’m afraid that we don’t know anything about any red tie or

ribbon.”

The kids looked at the statue, to satisfy their curiosity. They complimented the man on his nice gardens, and

then left.

The man in Chanhassen was not nearly as friendly. At first, he slammed the door in the kids’ faces, but then

opened it again when Meg pretended to be crying over her ailing grandmother whose dying wish was to see the red silk

tie one last time.

“All right! All right!” the bald man barked, pointing out two vases in the front foyer. “Look! We got two

porcelain vases! No ties inside! Are ya happy now?!”

Toby drove them to Bloomington, White Bear Lake, and West St. Paul.


Sir Abernathy Nothing.

Their only hope was a residence in Richfield. A small woman with beautiful olive skin, wearing a bright red

geisha’s dress, placed a finger at her temple.

“Ah, yes. I do recall being out to that antique shop on the lake. We bought a small china doll for our daughter.

The doll had a red sash around its waist, the same color as the dress I am wearing. Perhaps that is the tie you are

looking for.”

“May we see it?” Meg asked.

“Her bedroom is this way.”

“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!” Meg danced as they followed the nice woman through her sprawling

home.

They were led into a bright, sunny room done up in shades of gold and lavender.

“There it is. On the bed.”

The kids looked on the bed, and immediately, their hopes were dashed. They could tell that the doll was much

too large. The sash around her waist must have been over a foot long, way too long to fit neatly around Sir Abernathy’s

slim neck.

Bryan went up to the doll and held out the red sash. No numbers, no letters.

Utterly dismayed, they shuffled out to the car.

“Hey, dudes. Like, did you find your tie?” Toby asked as he turned the key.

They explained that they had exhausted all attempts and wasted a Sunday afternoon. They did ask Toby if

they could make one more stop.

“All right, dudes. But we’re running on empty. I’ll have to stop and put, like, $2.50 in the gas tank. Cool.”

When they neared the antique shop on Lake Minnetonka, the kids had the good sense to ask Toby to wait

down the road and around the bend.

“Veronica Chamberlain would have a complete heart attack if she saw Toby and his rusted-out car,” Meg said

as they walked the rest of the way to the shop.

With only a half-hour before closing time, they found Ms. Chamberlain arranging a collection of rare coins

along the far wall of the gallery.

“No luck, Ms. Chamberlain,” Bryan reported.

Ms. Chamberlain frowned, obviously not pleased at seeing them again. “Did you wipe your feet at the door?”

The kids nodded.


Sir Abernathy “I don’t know what else I can do for you children,” she sighed. “I mean, I’ve already allowed you in here, twice.

I gave you the addresses to my customers. I even let you paw around my priceless antiques.”

Ms. Chamberlain left the coin display and stepped onto a ladder. She straightened a print that hung on the

wall. The girl in the frame had blonde hair. It looked like a comic-strip drawing.

“That’s valuable?” Jessica asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a Lichenstein. Normally I don’t like twentieth century pop culture, but any art dealer would love to get

his hands on this.”

Just then a cuckoo bird popped out of a clock that hung nearby. It gave out three tweets before retreating back

inside its little trap door.

“Cuckoo clocks are worth money now?” Meg asked. “My grandma’s got one. I always thought it was annoying.”

“This is a hand-crafted Swiss clock from the late seventeenth century. It used to be worth thousands.”

“That’s an interesting pendulum,” Bryan said. It looked like a woman’s dangling earring, but longer. It had

clear and colored beads hanging down in a straight row.

“That makeshift pendulum is the reason why the clock is almost worthless today.” Ms. Chamberlain sighed.

“I had to rig that one up. I lost the original wood pendulum when I moved into this new store. It’s one of my biggest

regrets.”

Bryan looked at the clock more closely.

“Hey, Bryan, the little birdie won’t come out again for another hour.” Meg laughed.

“It’s not that,” Bryan said, his eyes glued to the pendulum.

“Isn’t it time for you kids to leave?” Ms. Chamberlain stepped off the ladder and picked up a feather duster.

“Ms. Chamberlain?” Bryan asked. “What did you use to secure the pendulum to the clock?”

“Bryan, what is it?” Jessica asked.

Not waiting for an answer, Bryan reached for the step ladder and climbed up eye level with the cuckoo clock.

“What on earth --” Veronica Chamberlain set down the duster.

“I don’t believe it!” Bryan worked his fingers behind the face of the clock. “I just don’t believe it!”

Meg and Jessica craned their necks to see.

Veronica Chamberlain gasped when she saw Bryan take the pendulum off the clock.

At the top of the beaded chain, he removed a fastener. A creased red ribbon. He pulled it taut and held it up to

the girls. They could see numbers on it.

“I’ve found it!” Bryan smiled. “I’ve found Sir Abernathy’s tie!”



Vocabulary: desperately greenhouse

residence sprawling

dismayed makeshift


1. How does the author use humor in this story? Which characters or situations do you find

most humorous?

2. Meg mentions that she found her grandmother’s cuckoo clock annoying. Have you ever found an

object in a relative’s or your own home annoying? Can you think of an object that was really

special to you?

3. What was it about the cuckoo clock in the antique shop that caught Bryan’s eye?

4. Do you think Veronica Chamberlain gave up the tie willingly? Why or why not?

5. How would you evaluate Bryan, Meg, and Jessica’s investigation so far? Have they been

successful? What are their major roadblocks?


1. Explore chronological order. List ten significant events from the story in chronological order on

ten separate index cards. See if a partner can put the cards in order. Have your partner create ten

cards for you to arrange in order.




Chapter 11 - Cracking the Code

“Pretty impressive.” The MasterMind nodded respectfully as he looked over the data Bryan and the girls

presented. “With these numbers, it shouldn’t take long to locate the last coordinate on your map.”

They stood at the genius’s office, hovering over his small patio table behind the shed on campus. Behind them,

a line of students waited.

“And what’s this?” The MasterMind pointed to a word in Bryan’s notebook.

“Florin,” Bryan answered. “It was written on the tie along with the latitude and longitude numbers.”

“What a lucky break for you. You know what florin means?”

“European or South African silver or gold coins!” Jessica beamed. “We looked it up last night in the

dictionary.”

“And where is this tie now?”

“In Meg’s sock drawer,” Bryan answered, “for safekeeping.”

The MasterMind leaned back in his chair and eyed Bryan and the girls for a minute. “The stakes are getting

higher now. You three have the potential to find gold. I’m going to require more of a payment this time.”

He drilled his gaze into Meg.

“Oh, no! Don’t even think it,” she snapped. “I already went to the movies with you last Saturday! What more

do you want?”

“Was it really that bad?” Bryan asked.

“Was it really that bad?” Meg stood right in Bryan’s face. “Was it really that bad?

“He sat there in the theater scarfing down two large tubs of popcorn, three giant slurpies, and four, count ‘em

four bags of black licorice! And then he proceeded to burp all through the movie, expect for the times he was laughing

his head off, and not just during the funny parts! He also made some other suspicious noises followed by a smell worse

than any sewer. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that one.

“And when he kept trying to hold my hand with his fat, buttery fingers I had to threaten him that I was carrying mace.

It was so gross!”


Sir AbernathyThe MasterMind chuckled and then stroked his pudgy chin. “The end-of-the-year dance is coming up.”

“Oh, now you’re really dreaming! You can just forget that! I’m already going with Devon Halloway. There’s no

way I’d be seen there with you!”

The MasterMind just smiled and raised his right eyebrow.

Bryan pulled Meg and Jessica aside for a group huddle.

“No way, Bryan!” Meg protested. “W-what about JESSICA?”

“Meg!” Jessica screamed. “Thanks a lot!”

The three of them bickered for close to five minutes. The other students in line grew impatient. Finals were

coming up. They needed notes on math, history, and literature.

Finally, Bryan, Jessica, and Meg returned to the table. Meg cleared her throat.

“W-what time do you want to pick me up for the dance?”

“7:00 p.m.,” he answered.

“8:00,” she countered.

“7:30.”

“Quarter to.”

“Deal.”

The MasterMind explained, as he began clacking away at his laptop, “Now, keep in mind that I need to convert

this data. By today’s standards, latitude and longitude are written down in what they call degrees, minutes, and seconds.

These precise numbers can lead to an exact location, say a business or home. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to get that

exact with these numbers off the doll. However, I should be able to pinpoint it to a close radius.”

Bryan, Meg, and Jessica held their breath as he continued to work on his laptop.

“Interesting, very interesting,” he muttered while picking at his nose.

Meg winced at the sight of him.

“I’m getting warmer,” he cried. “Let’s see…that would put us at approximately 52 degrees and 30 minutes

north latitude and only 1 degree and 35 minutes west longitude. Okay, just another minute or two…

“There!” He marked the seventh point on the map.

“Warwickshire, England?” Bryan questioned.

“Yep! Good ol’ Warwickshire. But remember! This is probably within a twenty-mile radius. To comb that area

it would take you days, weeks, even months. Add to that the fact that you’re looking for some hidden treasure, it could

even take you years!”


Sir Abernathy “Well, then what do we do?” Jessica asked.

“You gotta find some more leads. This is all I can do for you now.”

The kids thanked the MasterMind, and just as they turned away to walk off, he stopped them.

“Oh, Meg! Remember! I’ll pick you up at a quarter to eight the night of the dance!”

Meg turned back toward him, her skin glowing a certain shade of green.

“How could I forget?” she moaned.

***

Later that night, Bryan and Jessica met Meg in her bedroom to look over the map.

“Anyone want more ice cream?” Meg asked.

“Meg, careful,” Bryan said. “You’re dripping all over the map. Can you keep that ice cream in the bowl or in

your mouth, please?”

“My, someone’s touchy.”

“It’s just that we’re at another roadblock,” Bryan said. “We’re dreaming to think we could ever get all the way

to Warwickshire, England, let alone spend months or years there.”

“At least then I could get out of my date with Mr. Spooky.” Meg sighed.

“How will we narrow the search?” Jessica asked. “Another visit to Ms. Sals? See if we can get some more

clues?”

Bryan nodded. “That, and … I want to study this map some more. It’s very interesting how these dots are

arranged symmetrically across the map.”

While they studied, Meg had her TV on in the corner of the room. News of Patience Van Pride’s abduction was

all over CNN. Random pictures flashed on the screen, mostly of Mr. and Mrs. Van Pride pleading for the safe return of

their precious daughter. The news commentator explained that there were still no leads in the case.

“We gotta go to the police,” Jessica said.

“That could be dangerous for Patience,” Bryan insisted. “Besides, we’re so close ….”

“Bryan, we have to do something before--”

“I think I’ve got something!” Bryan interrupted. “Meg, please grab me a ruler and a pencil!”

With tools in hand, Bryan started drawing straight lines across the map.

“What are you doing?” the girls asked.


Sir Abernathy “I’m connecting the dots,” Bryan smiled. “I don’t know why I didn’t see this before. Look!”

He showed them his completed puzzle. With the seven dots connected, this is what they saw:

“A down arrow? What does that mean?” Meg wondered.

“I don’t know, but it means something! We’ve got to get back to Ms. Sals so she can help us put this all

together – quick!”

What the kids did not yet realize was that Ms. Sals, AKA Beatrice Bumgardner, had already left for good.



Vocabulary: stakes potential

mace impatient

convert abduction


1. Where did The MasterMind plot the seventh coordinate?

2. Why is it necessary for Meg to go out on another date with The MasterMind?

3. What was Bryan able to produce by connecting the seven dots on the map? Do you think this will

mean anything to their investigation?

4. Do you think the kids should have gone to the police right away? Why or why not?

5. What do you predict happened to Ms. Sals?


1. Imagine that you are a journalist working for CNN or some other news program. Write an

informative report on what happened to Patience Van Pride. Word your report just as it would

sound if aired over television.




Chapter 12 - Exit Ms. Sals

“Ms. Sals! Ms. Sals!” Meg, Jessica, and Bryan banged on the door.

“She’s not answering!” Meg exclaimed.

“The door’s unlocked, just like before.” Bryan started to step into the house.

“Careful, Bryan!” Jessica warned. “Remember the booby trap.”

Bryan slowly entered the house. No pots or pans fell from the ceiling this time. The kids hurried through every

room in the house.

“Check the basement! Check the closets!” they called to one another.

No signs of the teacher – anywhere. Except for the dining table.

“A note!” Bryan yelled.

Dear Children,

I’m afraid that this old teacher of yours could no longer take the stress! I’m sorry to leave

town with you in the lurch. I found something that I came across in a closet. I’d almost forgotten about it.

Maybe it will help you.

Ms. Sals

“Maybe it’s a trick!” Meg suggested. “Maybe the Kingsmen left that note but really stole Ms. Sals!”

“Except they wouldn’t have left this,” Bryan said as he lifted a white, leather bound book from the table. He

opened it. “It’s a diary.”

They could tell that the most recent dates in the diary were written in Ms. Sals’ handwriting. However, as they

flipped back to the beginning of the book, they could tell that many different people had written in it.

Something fell out of the book. Bryan picked up photographs and drawings from the floor. One photograph

showed Ms. Sals as a child, hugging Sir Abernathy. They sat in front of a black and white television and Ms. Sals wore

Mouseketeer ears on her head. In another photograph, the kids recognized the woman who had given Sir Abernathy


Sir Abernathyaway at the fair. The woman waved the doll at the camera as she proudly held up a newspaper announcing the end of

World War II.

One photograph showed a man with Sir Abernathy inside a Model T Ford. The next showed the doll perched

upon a teacher’s desk inside a one-room schoolhouse. In another, an elderly woman clutched Sir Abernathy outside a

movie theater that announced, “Talking Pictures!”

Bryan held up one of the sketches. Sir Abernathy sat in what appeared to be an artist’s studio, with the Eiffel

Tower showing outside the window.

“Is that actually a scene from the Boston Tea Party?” Jessica marveled at another detailed drawing that

showed colonists dumping tea into the river. A little girl held something that appeared to be Sir Abernathy.

“Just think,” Bryan started, “Sir Abernathy was around during the American Revolution!”

“This diary and these pictures must have traveled with Sir Abernathy from owner to owner,” Jessica added.

“It’s an actual record of his…well, life.”

Just then Sir Abernathy became more than just a wooden doll. Although they knew he never actually lived,

they began to believe that he really did have a life. They could see it through the pictures. They wondered what it would

have been like to track his every day for the past 500 years. The history the doll must have seen, the people that held

him, and the distance he must have traveled amazed them.

Meg suggested they read some of the early entries in the diary, hopefully to find a clue about the hidden gold

and the down-pointing arrow Bryan drew on the map.

Back in the late 1500’s, and at the time of the dollmaker’s fall from grace, the only friend he and his wife had was the

Duchess of Warwickshire. The duchess was pregnant, yet still found the time to entertain the dollmaker and his wife at her home at

Kenilworth Castle.

Incidentally, the dollmaker’s wife was pregnant at the same time, and on one evening while guests were at the castle,

she went into an early labor. The Duchess of Warwickshire helped to deliver the baby -- a healthy son. However, that night, the

Duchess revealed an awful secret. She reached under her heavy gown and tore out pillows and stuffings. She had only pretended to

be pregnant. The duchess was barren, and did not want the Duke to know, for fear that he might divorce her.

Considering how poor, shunned, and defenseless the dollmaker and his wife had recently become, the duchess made it

clear that her intention all along was to steal their baby. Astonished, the dollmaker and his wife were banished from Kenilworth

Castle forever, sent home that night with a mere sack of gold coins in exchange for their only son.

“How horrible!” Meg exclaimed.


Sir Abernathy “Wait. It gets even more twisted,” Bryan said.

For seven years the dollmaker tried to work the land, with no luck. After the death of his wife from illness, it is true that

he cast off to sea, leaving his once-prized Sir Abernathy on the banks of the shore. However, the dollmaker left something else

there. The sack of gold. He loathed that gold and all it represented. He wanted nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile, the dollmaker’s son, now seven, learned of his heritage from the Duchess of Warwickshire when she was on

her own deathbed. Appalled and heartbroken, the son went out in search of his father. But he was too late, by just a few hours. All

he found left of his real father was Sir Abernathy and the sack of gold coins.

Back in that time, a boy was considered a man at a young age, and the dollmaker’s son grew up to become a voyageur.

He was the one who marked the latitudes and longitudes on Sir Abernathy’s clothes. He spent his own life sailing the seas, perhaps

keeping an eye out for the dollmaker. But before he set off on his own voyages, he needed to accomplish one task—to bury the gold

once and for all.

“Where did he bury it?” the girls asked.

“Where do you think?” Bryan grinned. “Kenilworth Castle.”



Vocabulary: lurch incidentally

barren shunned

mere heritage


1. What do you know about castles? How do castles play a role in this chapter?

2. How does the author go between past and present in this chapter?

3. According to the photographs, where has Sir Abernathy been? What do you know about some of

these historical locations and events?

4. What was the Duchess of Warwickshire’s ultimate plan?

5. How did the dollmaker’s son spend the rest of his life?


1. Create a timeline of Sir Abernathy’s life. Imagine the things he would have seen or experienced

from 1500 to 1600 or have your timeline span a different increment of time, 1600 - 1700 or 1500

to present.

2. Kenilworth Castle is real. Learn more about it or some other castle. Draw it and label your

drawing with things like a wall, courtyard, moat, and drawbridge.




Chapter 13 - Meeting of the Minds

In Smith Hall library, Bryan tapped the keys to his laptop while Meg and Jessica looked on. He leaned back in

his chair. “Well, there’s good news and bad news.”

“Let’s have the good news first,” Jessica said.

“The good news is that Kenilworth Castle is still standing, well, at least partially. It has decayed a lot through

the centuries, but it does attract tourists to this day and even has a gift shop.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is that we can’t be sure that the section of the castle where the dollmaker’s son hid the gold is

still standing. Even if it is still standing, we can’t be sure exactly where to start digging. It could be anywhere.”

“I think we just need to get there so we can look around,” Jessica said.

“There’s no way,” Meg insisted. “Our parents will never allow it, and besides, where do we come up with the

airfare?”

“Details,” Bryan reassured. “Minor details.”

The kids looked up from the table and saw Rocky Bogart coming into the library.

“Hey, Rocky. What’s up?” Bryan asked.

“I have to go to summer school. Ms. Bascob phoned my mom and told her I fell behind in three classes! Now

I have to pick up my study guides.”

“Tough break,” Bryan said.

“Yeah, there goes my baseball season.”

“Your mom won’t let you play?”

“Coach won’t. He said I’m off the team until I get my grades up.”

Rocky turned toward Meg. “Did I hear that you’re going with the MasterMind to the school dance?”

“Well, actually, she might have to miss the dance,” Bryan answered. Meg did a double-take at Bryan. “We might

have to go out of town for awhile. We’re looking for a replacement date for the MasterMind. Rocky, let us know if you

know of any girls that would go with him.”


Sir Abernathy “Fat chance.”

Rocky talked with Bryan and the girls for a few more minutes before trudging over to the circulation desk. He

wore his baseball cap backwards, a number 9 jersey, and athletic shorts. He carried a green backpack.

Bryan and the girls jumped when they turned their attention from Rocky and saw the MasterMind at their

table.

“Speak of the devil,” Meg whispered.

“You guys know Rocky Bogart?” The MasterMind eyed the circulation desk.

“Well, yes,” they answered.

“Rocky Bogart’s the most gifted athlete in all of Wittrock Academy’s history! I’ve been to every one of his

games. Do you know that guy’s batting average? Incredible!”

“Why don’t you go over and say hello to him?” Bryan suggested.

“Approach him?” The MasterMind gaped. “I should be so lucky to be in his presence! The only attention

Rocky ever gave me was back in the sixth grade when he gave me a swirly.”

“A swirly?”

“Yeah. He dunked my head in the toilet and flushed. A swirly.”

Bryan, Meg, and Jessica could hardly believe their eyes. Here was the MasterMind, a sort of Godfather, where

kids have bent down to kiss his ring in exchange for term papers and algebra tests, going bonkers over Rocky Bogart.

“Rocky Bogart! Right here in Smith Hall! What’s he doing wasting his time with books? He should be out on

the field conditioning that supernatural pitching arm of his! And did you ever see that guy out on the basketball court?

Does a lay-up with more precision than a 747 coming in for a landing! Man, I bet a cool guy like Rocky Bogart won’t

have any trouble getting a date for the school dance.”

Bryan looked up at Meg and Jessica.

“Say, MasterMind,” Bryan began slowly. “How would you like to go with Rocky to the dance?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Well, you know. Stag. Guys do it all the time. They meet girls when they get there.”

“You don’t mean me hanging out with THE Rocky Bogart? Can you imagine all the girls that will be

swarming all over me with Rocky as my wingman? Can you arrange it? Can you possibly arrange it?”

Meg sashayed over to Rocky to work her magic. She begged and pleaded. Rocky kept shaking his head as

he stuffed his backpack with books. Meg persisted. She wrapped a blonde curl around her finger, playfully tapping

Rocky’s arm. She helped him with his backpack.


Sir Abernathy Rocky walked away with his head low.

Meg whirled around and gave Bryan, Jessica, and the MasterMind a thumbs-up.

The MasterMind almost plowed her over with his thick, flabby frame. He caught up to Rocky, talking his ear

off as the two left the library.

Jessica laughed. “Well, Meg. I think you’ve just been replaced!”

“There is a God,” Meg sighed.

Bryan said, “Now we’re free and clear to get over to England and see if we can wrap this mystery up once and

for all. If we actually find the gold, maybe we can use it to get Patience back from the Kingsmen.”

“They can keep her for all I care,” Meg said.

“Well, maybe it will help bring Ms. Sals back, too,” Bryan added. “She’s been living in fear for years. Besides,

we can’t stop now. Sir Abernathy’s been a puzzle for over 500 years and we’re the ones who are going to solve it!”

Suddenly, Ms. Bascob stepped into the library and switched off the lights. “We’re closing up,” she told them. Then her

brow creased. “I don’t recall ever seeing you three staying after school, unless it was for detention. What are you kids up

to now?”

“Oh, nothing, Ms. Bascob,” Meg smiled. “You know, end of the year finals and everything. We just thought we’d

get in some extra studying.”

“Well, there’s a first for everything,” Ms. Bascob sneered, as she proceeded to shut down the library.

“Do you think she believed us?” Jessica asked once they were out in the open air.

“Doesn’t matter,” Bryan said. “Soon, school will be out. Besides, I think I figured out a way that we can get to

England.”

The girls leaned in to listen. Bryan filled them in on his perfect plan all the way home.



Vocabulary: decayed trudging

gaped supernatural

precision sashayed


1. Why are Bryan, Meg, and Jessica interested in researching Kenilworth Castle? What problem are

they having with their research?

2. Why is Rocky in the library?

3. What do the kids find ironic about The MasterMind?

4. Can you think of a hero in your school? What are qualities in a person that other people admire?

5. How will Bryan propose they go to England? What would you do in his shoes?


1. Hold a class debate. Have one half of the class defend the kids’ decision to keep the doll and

continue looking for clues themselves. The other half of the class will argue that the kids should

have gotten rid of the doll and/or gotten their parents and police involved.

2. Explore fact and opinion. Facts can be proven true and are true for everyone. Opinions are feelings

that are true for some, but not true for everyone. List seven facts and seven opinions from

the story.




Chapter 14 - Dig It

June 10

11:05 P.M.

Warwickshire, England

Kenilworth Castle

They aimed their flashlights westward. Up the hill stood Kenilworth Castle. Its decaying façade and hollowed

walls flirted with the weak beams of light, hearkening back to its days of glory, but it was really only preserved rubble

shuddering in the darkness.

No horse-drawn carriages passed through the main entrance. The wall surrounding the grounds served no

purpose. No more gardens grew with queens and kings milling past.

“I can’t believe we’ve made it,” Jessica whispered.

Bryan said, “Just think. This is where it all happened. The dollmaker and his wife were actually here as guests.

They were here the night she gave birth, the night their son was stolen and they were sent home, broken.”

“It’s hard to imagine the Duchess of Warwickshire actually living here,” Meg added, “raising the son as if he

were her own. She must have been a terrible person. I wonder what she looked like.”

“Well, I don’t think we’ll be seeing any portraits on the walls,” Bryan said as they walked closer to the empty

castle.

“And what about the Kingsmen?” Jessica asked. “How do you think that all got started?”

“Maybe the first Kingsman saw the son with the gold, but didn’t see where the son buried it,” Meg answered.

“But how would they know to follow the doll, Sir Abernathy?”

Bryan suggested, “Maybe the Kingsman witnessed the dollmaker’s son writing on the doll and just figured it was a clue

to the treasure--which it is.”

“So these Kingsmen aren’t stupid,” Jessica admitted.

“But they are dangerous,” Bryan said. “We better get started.”


Sir Abernathy Along with the flashlights, each of them carried an armful of tools, including shovels. They spread apart and

started digging in the patchy grass.

“Soil’s soft,” Bryan said.

“Good,” Meg answered.

“Hey! I hit something!” Jessica bent down. “Shine your lights over here!”

Bryan and Meg held their breath.

Jessica held up a huge rock and shrugged. “Keep digging.”

They worked into the night, past midnight. Every now and then they’d lift their shovels and start on a new

patch of dirt. They laid their flashlights on the ground, aimed at their workspaces. They had water bottles. They’d stop

for water and then it was back to work.

“How long will we be at this?” Jessica asked.

“Just keep going,” Bryan answered.

“We have to just keep digging and digging like this? We must’ve started over thirty holes!” Meg cried.

“Are you forgetting our plan? Just keep digging.”

“Can I move further along this way?” Jessica asked.

“Just as long as we can all still see each other,” Bryan said.

Meg stopped her shovel for a moment. “Hey!”

“Did you find something?” Jessica ran over to Meg, with Bryan following.

“Naw,” Meg said as she flicked her fingers together. “I just broke a nail on this dumb old shovel handle.”

“Gee, Meg, you had us going there for a minute,” Bryan said. He and Jessica started back for their own shovels,

but stopped short.

“What?” Meg asked.

Bryan and Jessica stared at each other. “Do you hear it?”

“What is it?” Meg begged.

They stood still for a minute and then they heard them, even Meg. In the far distance, came the low sound of

dogs barking.

“This gives me the creeps,” Meg said, still not moving. “It reminds me of those movies when someone

trespasses, and they send out the dogs.”

“They sound like big dogs, too!” Jessica said.

“Look at this place,” Bryan started. “Does there appear to be anyone around who would send out the dogs?”


Sir Abernathy “Maybe they’re wild dogs,” Meg said.

“Wild dogs?”

“Yeah, like a wolf pack maybe.”

“They have wolves in England?” Jessica asked.

The barking grew louder. The dogs were coming closer and closer. They sounded mean.

“Bryan!” Meg cried.

“Grab the tools!” Bryan yelled.

Bryan led the way through a sturdier-looking building on the property, one that actually had glass windows. A

sign on the door said, Leicester’s Gatehouse. They ran through the empty rooms, clanking their tools along the floors.

“Shhhhhhhhhhh,” they warned each other as they turned left and right through the gatehouse. The dogs came

closer and closer … and then stopped. Meg, Bryan, and Jessica wound up in a small room with a huge window. They

bent over, resting their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath.

“Where are we?” Meg asked.

“I don’t think the dogs are a threat anymore,” Bryan said. He laid his tools on the ground. “Man, that’s a lot to

carry!”

“Maybe we should leave our stuff here and go check outside, just to be sure,” Meg suggested.

“Good idea,” Bryan said.

“You guys! Wait!” Jessica exclaimed. She shone her flashlight into the fireplace on the far wall. “Look at that!”

Inside the fireplace, along the back wall, was the symbol of a down-pointing arrow, just like the one on their

map.



Vocabulary: façade milling

trespasses hearkening

preserved portraits


1. Exactly when and where does this chapter take place?

2. Bryan’s brilliant plan still hasn’t been explained in this chapter. How do you think they got to

England?

3. What put fear into the kids? How did they react?

4. What did they discover at the end of the chapter?


1. Small groups act out a favorite scene from the story. Consider taking it a step further and write a

short script and perform for another class.




Chapter 15 - The Arrow Marks the Spot

“Bryan, it’s just like the arrow you drew on the map!” Jessica cheered.

The three kids stood in front of the old, sooty fireplace. It was a miracle that Jessica had spotted the arrow

symbol inside the fireplace – the lines were carved into the back wall very faintly.

“The treasure’s got to be behind there!” Meg squealed.

“I’m glad we brought the pickaxe. Girls, step back!” Bryan sent heavy swings with the axe against the arrow,

eventually crumbling the back wall of the fireplace. Each blow resonated throughout his body, sending sharp pains up

both his arms. Still, Bryan stood steady, feet far apart, delivering exacting blows against the wall.

Soon there was nothing left of the carved arrow. “I think I’m getting closer!” Bryan yelled. “It feels like it might

be hollow behind here!”

Jessica and Meg waited with their fingers crossed.

After a few moments, Bryan broke completely through. He set aside the pickaxe and got on his hands and

knees, pawing through the dusty rubble.

“Can you believe it?” he cried. Bryan dragged out a large, heavy sack. It was tied at the top with, of all things, a

red ribbon. He lifted out a thin scroll of paper, revealing the gold coins in the bottom of the bag. They just stood there

for a moment, running their fingers through the coins, almost delirious with laughter.

“Don’t tip the bag!” Jessica laughed.

“What will we do with all this?” Meg beamed.

“We’re rich! We’re rich!” Bryan shouted.

They sat on the floor, the bag of gold in front of them.

“Hey, Bryan,” Jessica pointed, “what’s that piece of paper you pulled out?”

“I dunno. It was in the bag.” He unrolled the scroll and his eyes bugged out.

My father was a simple dollmaker who made an honest living. He loved his wife with all his soul. He

lost everything, including me, his own son, because of others’ treachery and greed. I was raised with a fancy


Sir Abernathy title, The Prince of Warwickshire. My father never had a fancy title. All he had was a sack of gold, a very small

price for all that he lost. I question the humanity in people. I shudder at their ignorance and greed. I have left

this sack of gold here. If anyone should be clever enough to find it, I request of him one simple deed. Seek out

the royal monarchy. Demand that my father be granted knighthood from the country that cast him out, in

exchange for this gold. That will at least give me some solace and honor his memory.

-The Dollmaker’s Son

Bryan, Meg, and Jessica sat and stared at each other. The demolished fireplace rested a few yards away, cobwebs

filling the hole where the sack of gold had laid for centuries. Jagged brick outlined the ruins. Brick powder spilled out

onto the floor. The sack of gold remained in the middle of the room.

Bryan spoke softly, “He went through all this work. We have to turn in the gold to the British monarchy, so that

the dollmaker will be knighted and respected by the people.”

“This is no time for you to get all righteous, Bryan,” Meg said. “We’re talking a lot of gold, a lot of money

here!”

Jessica said, “But we have to do what the dollmaker’s son asked. How could we live with ourselves if we didn’t?”

“Very well, thank you. You guys, we don’t owe this dude anything. The gold is no use to him now. These people

have been dead for hundreds of years already. Any bad blood between the nice dollmaker man and the duchesses, dukes,

queens, and kings of the world are long forgotten! But this gold here – think of what we could get with all this gold!”

Bryan and Jessica thought about it. Bryan even reached his hand in the bag to feel the gold again.

“And think about all the work we went through to find this! Nobody could figure out the puzzle. Not Ms. Sals.

Not the lady from the fair. No one before them. It was us! We deserve this!”

Bryan took his hand out of the bag. “No, Meg. It just wouldn’t be right.”

“Well, at least let me take my third of it, then. You two do-gooders can give the rest to the royal palace if you

want.”

“How about we take all of it?” Deep voices came from the doorway.

Jessica, Bryan, and Meg spun around. They saw five men dressed in black, all the way down to their shoes. The

men’s faces were concealed by the darkness. Bryan and the girls were too afraid to shine their flashlights on them.

The men pushed forward someone shorter. A flash of blonde could be detected in the dark. She held

something. It was Patience Van Pride with Sir Abernathy.

“Y-You’re the Kingsmen,” Bryan sputtered.



Vocabulary: sooty resonated

delirious solace

monarchy knighted


1. How did Bryan get through the fireplace wall?

2. What were the contents of the bag? How was it sealed?

3. Can you paraphrase what was written on the scroll?

4. How could you describe the moral dilemma the three kids were experiencing?

5. Who were the sleuths introduced to at the end of the chapter?


1. Write a “How-to.” Give simple directions on how to build a Sir Abernathy doll. You may wish to

illustrate each step.

2. Draw a large Venn Diagram on construction paper. Compare and contrast your favorite doll or

stuffed animal with Sir Abernathy.




Chapter 16 - Letting Go

There was no way out of the castle. Patience Van Pride, tears running down her face, clutched Sir Abernathy

as one of the Kingsmen locked his arm around her. Bryan, Meg, and Jessica froze in the middle of the room, a gigantic

bag of gold lying behind their tightened legs.

The Kingsmen took heavy steps closer.

Bryan knew they had to stall for time. He cleared his throat. “H-h-how about we all split the g-gold?”

The Kingsmen kept coming. Patience cried out as they dragged her along.

Bryan held the scroll in the air. “Don’t come another step! If you do, I’ll tear this up! That’s what I’ll do, I’ll

tear up this scroll! It tells where to find even more gold. Way more gold!”

The Kingsmen rolled up the sleeves of their dark shirts.

“How long do we have to wait?” Meg screamed. “Bryan, they should have been here by now!”

With that, the Kingsmen froze. And then they laughed, a low, guttural laugh that caused the kids’ hair to stand

on end. “You mean the police that were waiting outside to nab us?”

Bryan swallowed hard.

“Let’s just say the police are … tied up at the moment.”

“What happened? What did you do to them?” Meg screamed.

The Kingsmen moved without effort. One grabbed the sack. The others each grabbed one of the kids. Bryan,

Meg, and Jessica wrestled to break free.

“You won’t get away with this!” Bryan yelled. The Kingsmen pried the scroll from his hands.

And then they all heard the sound.

It wasn’t the police. It wasn’t the dogs.

Bryan looked up at the ceiling.

The beating that the fireplace had taken from Bryan’s pick axe did more than expose the gold, it shook the

foundation of the entire room. The ceiling started to crack.

Everyone looked up. A line tore across the plaster, splintering out in every direction like tree branches. It grew


Sir Abernathybefore their eyes, and it crackled loudly.

Chunks of plaster began to drop like hail. Everyone started to scurry, but it was too late. The room thundered

and shook.

The kids screamed. They lost sight of each other in a cloud of dust. Sir Abernathy fell to the ground, and in seconds the

entire ceiling caved in upon them.

***

June 13

10:15 A.M.

Minneapolis, U.S.A.

The Kingsmen were buried in the rubble, but the kids got away. Meg was the only one hurt. She broke her arm

in the disaster and had to wear a cast. She got to choose the color, hot pink, and much of the British monarchy signed

the cast, which was cool.

Bryan and the girls agreed to hand over the gold to England, and the country in turn granted knighthood to

the dollmaker posthumously (which, Bryan explained, meant after one’s death).

Patience Van Pride was reunited with her parents and promised to be a good girl from now on, but Bryan, Meg,

and Jessica knew it wouldn’t last.

Mr. and Mrs. Karson, and Meg’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Graff, would need a long time to get over the whole ordeal.

When Bryan had first come to them with his proposal to go to England they had flat-out said, ‘No.’ Then when Bryan

brought the police into the situation, and eventually the very desperate Van Prides, the parents started to bend.

The police had convinced the parents that their children had already been tracked by the Kingsmen for days. All of

them would remain in jeopardy until the Kingsmen were brought out into the open. The kids were the only way to

draw them out. When Bryan and the girls had been digging in front of Kenilworth castle, the police were staked out at

the perimeter of the property the whole time. The kids were wired, too. They were involved in every step of the plan.

What tripped up the whole operation were those unexplained and unseen dogs that barked and scared the kids. They

broke with protocol by running into the castle, leaving the visual watch of the police. Also, the Kingsmen moved like

a supernatural shadow. They had knocked the guarding police unconscious and tied them up before proceeding after


Sir AbernathyBryan, Meg, and Jessica. The kids had no way of knowing that their radio transmission to the police had been broken,

but their parents, who were set back 50 yards into the woods during this stake-out, did know communication had been

cut off. They had seen the police overtaken, but were not quick enough inside the castle before the roof collapsed.

Now that it was all over, the kids wondered if they’d ever hear from Ms. Sals again. They liked to imagine

she was lying on a beach somewhere in Maui, sipping Hawaiian punch and reading about the solved caper in the

newspaper.

***

Rocky Bogart sat at his desk, alone in his bedroom. His window faced the street, and he looked out and waited

just as he did every June 13th. He soon heard a knock at his door.

“Go away.”

The door slowly opened.

“I told you I didn’t--” Rocky stopped when he saw it wasn’t his mother. It was Bryan, Meg, and Jessica. They

stood there cautiously with smiles on their faces.

“What happened to you?” Rocky pointed at Meg’s cast.

“It’s a long story.” Meg blushed. “Maybe I can get you to sign it later.”

Jessica held a box wrapped in bright yellow paper and topped with a big, red bow. “Here. We wanted to give

you a birthday gift.” She laid the box on the desk.

Rocky tried not to smile. The kids stood patiently with their hands clasped in front of them.

After tearing through the paper and opening the box, Rocky looked puzzled.

“His name is Sir Abernathy,” Bryan explained. “And he’s another long story.”

Rocky lifted Sir Abernathy out of the box. The doll’s clothes smelled sooty, and there was a scratch on its left

cheek.

“Your dad isn’t coming, Rocky,” Bryan said quietly. “I wish he were, but we all know he won’t. Just like he

didn’t come on your last birthday or the one before that.”

“It’s a nice, sunny day out there.” Meg smiled. “We want you to come with us to the beach. We’re walking down

to Lake Harriet. A lot of kids from school will be there.”

“I hear there will be some live music at the bandshell,” Jessica added.

The kids held their breath. Rocky rose from his chair. “Thanks. For this, I mean.” He plopped Sir Abernathy


Sir Abernathyon the top shelf of the desk, facing the window. “Give me a minute to grab my swim trunks.” Rocky grinned as he went

to his closet.

Soon, all four of them were heading down the driveway in the warm sunshine, laughing and reading all the

signatures on Meg’s cast.

From inside the bedroom window, sitting on the desk, Sir Abernathy watched them disappear down the

street. Sir Abernathy kept watching out that window. He was just a doll, but he had lived a life. The same wondering

expression would forever be on his face. And now he sat waiting. Maybe he was waiting for Rocky’s dad to come.

Maybe he waited as he did many lifetimes ago, alone, abandoned on the seashore – waiting for the return of a forgotten

dollmaker.



Vocabulary: guttural pried

scurry jeopardy

protocol caper


1. How were the Kingsmen ultimately defeated?

2. Can you explain Bryan’s plan and how they got to England?

3. What did Bryan, Meg, and Jessica decide to do with the gold? What would you have done?

4. Are things resolved with Rocky Bogart? Why or why not?

5. How did you like the story? What questions or thoughts remain?


Book assembly. Clip, paste, and illustrate this final chapter. Retrieve your booklet file folder that

contains all chapters to Sir Abernathy. Assemble the pages into one booklet. You may use various

methods for binding the book. The pages may be simply stapled together, tied with yarn slipped

through punch-holes, or clasped together with a metal ring binder. You may even want to create a

front and back cover for your new book. Enjoy!

Documents

Sir Abernathy - Houston Chroniclecie.chron.com/pdfs/abernathy.pdf · Sir Abernathy By Brad Kasper Chapter 1 - The Hand-off The school auditorium was abuzz with laughter and light