Read Online Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt - Free Book Online
Authors: Gary D. Schmidt
Tags: Ages 12 and up
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should not advertise in any way information about the find until he had finished his research—though by the time that Mrs. Smith gave Henry this cautionary news, he had talked about it all over Whittier Academy, and Mr. DiSalva was so excited that he was already planning a Whittier field trip to Salvage Cove. The find, he pointed out, might even explain the cove's name.
"We'll need some experts on early American shipping to help us," he said, and so it was probably his phone call to the Blythbury-by-the-Sea Historical Society that brought the society's president, Dr. Cavendish, and the society's corresponding secretary, Mrs. Lodge, and the society's librarian, Mrs. Templeton, out to the cove the very afternoon after the storm. Henry and Black Dog led them down—Henry held Black Dog's collar because Mrs. Templeton did not like dogs and could not understand why this particularly ugly and rambunctious one should not be in a cage—and though the members of the historical society were all unhappy about the steep angle of the descent, they gasped in awe and delight when they saw the ship's stark ribs. They pronounced themselves excited.
Probably it was Mrs. Lodge who, as the society's corresponding secretary, called the
Blythbury-by-the-Sea Chronicle
after their visit. The next morning, the reporter from the paper drove up just as Mrs. Smith was driving out of the carriage house to take Henry to Whittier. The reporter pulled up beside them, but Henry's mother was firm. No, he could not have an interview. No, he could not go down to the cove to take pictures. No, she had no comment to make, and would he please leave now, as he could see that they were very busy.
"This wreck is a hugely important historical find," said the reporter. "Don't you think that you owe it to—"
"No, I don't," said Mrs. Smith. "Haven't you intruded enough?" She rolled up her window, waited for the reporter to back out, and then she and Henry drove to school.
But the picture of the ship that appeared on the front page of the
Blythbury-by-the-Sea Chronicle
the next day showed that the reporter didn't believe that he had intruded enough. "He obviously waited until we left, then came back and went down into the cove," said Henry's mother at dinner.
"I suppose so," said Henry's father.
"You didn't see anyone?"
"Not a soul," said Henry's father.
His mother sighed.
Henry quietly ate his two fresh scrod fillets—which were fresh because the fish they came from had been swimming off Cape Ann while Henry had been in Language Arts that morning, trying to figure out why stupid Chaucer gave the stupid Squire some cruel locks. He usually ate four and sometimes five scrod fillets, but Henry's mother had left them out for just a minute, and Black Dog had smelled them, and so they were all on half-rations.
"Wouldn't you have seen someone prowling around the property?" Henry's mother said.
Henry's father did not answer.
Henry's mother wondered aloud why Black Dog hadn't said anything, and what good was a dog if she couldn't chase Trouble away?
Black Dog, happily filled with fresh scrod fillets, lay under the dining room table and did not answer.
Mr. Charles Edward Churchill was not pleased when he saw the picture of the ship in the
Blythbury-by-the-Sea Chronicle,
and he drove over that night to express his disappointment that they had not heeded his advice and had even encouraged publicity—"We never encouraged publicity," said Henry's mother—and allowed a field trip! Mr. Churchill hoped that they would be more circumspect in the other matter that he had taken up on their behalf.
"The other matter?" said Henry's father.
Henry's mother coughed quietly.
"The matter of the pretrial hearing for Chay Chouan," said Mr. Churchill.
"Oh," said Mr. Smith. "Of course."
"You understand that you all absolutely must attend the pretrial hearing," he said.
"Is it absolutely necessary that
all
of us attend?" said Mr. Smith.
Mr. Churchill nodded like God. "I
"We'll need some experts on early American shipping to help us," he said, and so it was probably his phone call to the Blythbury-by-the-Sea Historical Society that brought the society's president, Dr. Cavendish, and the society's corresponding secretary, Mrs. Lodge, and the society's librarian, Mrs. Templeton, out to the cove the very afternoon after the storm. Henry and Black Dog led them down—Henry held Black Dog's collar because Mrs. Templeton did not like dogs and could not understand why this particularly ugly and rambunctious one should not be in a cage—and though the members of the historical society were all unhappy about the steep angle of the descent, they gasped in awe and delight when they saw the ship's stark ribs. They pronounced themselves excited.
Probably it was Mrs. Lodge who, as the society's corresponding secretary, called the
Blythbury-by-the-Sea Chronicle
after their visit. The next morning, the reporter from the paper drove up just as Mrs. Smith was driving out of the carriage house to take Henry to Whittier. The reporter pulled up beside them, but Henry's mother was firm. No, he could not have an interview. No, he could not go down to the cove to take pictures. No, she had no comment to make, and would he please leave now, as he could see that they were very busy.
"This wreck is a hugely important historical find," said the reporter. "Don't you think that you owe it to—"
"No, I don't," said Mrs. Smith. "Haven't you intruded enough?" She rolled up her window, waited for the reporter to back out, and then she and Henry drove to school.
But the picture of the ship that appeared on the front page of the
Blythbury-by-the-Sea Chronicle
the next day showed that the reporter didn't believe that he had intruded enough. "He obviously waited until we left, then came back and went down into the cove," said Henry's mother at dinner.
"I suppose so," said Henry's father.
"You didn't see anyone?"
"Not a soul," said Henry's father.
His mother sighed.
Henry quietly ate his two fresh scrod fillets—which were fresh because the fish they came from had been swimming off Cape Ann while Henry had been in Language Arts that morning, trying to figure out why stupid Chaucer gave the stupid Squire some cruel locks. He usually ate four and sometimes five scrod fillets, but Henry's mother had left them out for just a minute, and Black Dog had smelled them, and so they were all on half-rations.
"Wouldn't you have seen someone prowling around the property?" Henry's mother said.
Henry's father did not answer.
Henry's mother wondered aloud why Black Dog hadn't said anything, and what good was a dog if she couldn't chase Trouble away?
Black Dog, happily filled with fresh scrod fillets, lay under the dining room table and did not answer.
Mr. Charles Edward Churchill was not pleased when he saw the picture of the ship in the
Blythbury-by-the-Sea Chronicle,
and he drove over that night to express his disappointment that they had not heeded his advice and had even encouraged publicity—"We never encouraged publicity," said Henry's mother—and allowed a field trip! Mr. Churchill hoped that they would be more circumspect in the other matter that he had taken up on their behalf.
"The other matter?" said Henry's father.
Henry's mother coughed quietly.
"The matter of the pretrial hearing for Chay Chouan," said Mr. Churchill.
"Oh," said Mr. Smith. "Of course."
"You understand that you all absolutely must attend the pretrial hearing," he said.
"Is it absolutely necessary that
all
of us attend?" said Mr. Smith.
Mr. Churchill nodded like God. "I
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