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Chapter Five
After lunch their uncle Stanley wanted to take them to the Smithville History and Visual Arts Museum. They were very excited and trooped to their uncle Stan's truck. In ten minutes they reached the museum. Uncle Stanley procured the tickets and they all went in.
The museum was built in 1895 by Henry Smith, who founded the town of Smithville and built many buildings there. The museum authorities started collecting and by 1975 they had procured a huge collection of art exhibits from all over the world. They were categorized into contemporary art, decorative art, country-wise art and photographic art.
The historical collections included old maps of the entire town of Smithville. Also, there were more than fifty displays and exhibits. The most prominent being the details of the native Americans of Virginia, historical details of Virginia and the plan of the entire town Smithville.
The children excitedly checked out the exhibits as their uncle Stanley explained each one to them. The place had quite a crowd with a school trip clashing with their visit.
By the time they were done, it was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon. They all had ice cream at a local ice cream parlour on their way home. The children couldn't stop their discussions about the exhibits that they saw.
After discussing a lot, they looked at an exceptionally quiet Jasper. "What happened to you?" Asked Daryll, bumping his shoulders.
"I think I saw that same man at the museum. The man whom I saw at the Wellington Creek mill as well as at Edward Wellington's house. The moment he saw me he disappeared," said Jasper with a tensed face.
All the children stared at him. "What was he doing there?" Asked Nicholas.
"I have no idea. But if he wasn't up to any mischief why would he escape upon seeing me?" Asked Jasper.
"Is he stalking us?" Asked a scared Diana.
"I don't think so," said Jasper.
"We need to plan out how we would keep a watch upon the mill. We could keep a watch upon Edward Wellington's house too and see where the man goes and what he does," said Daryll.
"Yeah, but it's very dangerous and if the whole lot of us went together, we would get caught," said Jasper.
"Me and Skylar and Nicholas and you could take turns and keep watch," suggested Daryll.
"What about me?" Asked Diana.
"It's too dangerous for you, di, but we'll give you a mobile phone. If any of us are in trouble, we will call you. You can seek uncle Stanley's help and rescue us, ok?" Said Jasper, gently.
"I can do that," said Diana, excitedly.
"We will go tomorrow morning and search for a good hiding place. Then we fix the timings when we would keep watch. We have to chalk out a schedule," said Daryll.
"Yeah, but let's not all go at both places at the same time. First let's take turns and keep a watch over Edward Wellington's house. First let's see where this man goes to," said Skylar.
"You're right. We'll do that. Come let's make a schedule," said Jasper. They drew out a piece of paper and jotted down 2 hour slots to the two groups. Daryll and Skylar would go there after breakfast. Then after two hours, Nicholas and Jasper would relieve them. They would continue till twelve at night. It would be tough but they were excited.
"What about excuses for the elders, when we don't appear at meal times?" Asked Skylar concerned.
"We could say that we're going to visit school friends for a summer project. I'm taking Nicholas to his friend's house and Daryll's taking Skylar to hers," suggested Jasper. "After dinner when they all go to their rooms to sleep, they wouldn't miss us anymore, " said Daryll.
They all agreed to the plan. They got a small backpack of essential items like torches, some dry snacks, water bottles magnifying glass, rope, and other survival items. They would keep their mobile phones at the last minute.
They went down to dinner and afterwards went to bed early. Tomorrow they would wake up early and search for clues.
Skylar, Diana and Nicholas woke up late the next morning. Jasper and Daryll were already up. They all met at the breakfast table. "Why didn't you wake us up?" Whispered an unhappy Skylar.
She looked around at all the tensed faces of the elders around her. What was going on? She looked at Jasper and whispered, "What happened?"
"Why should anyone steal the map and town plan of all things? The paintings and other art stuff were more expensive. They weren't touched. This isn't a normal theft," said uncle Henry.
"I agree. The museum authorities should have tightened the security around the museum," said Jasper and Skylar's mom, Jennifer Hawkes.
"We went there yesterday itself. Who knew that the theft would take place yesterday night itself?" Said uncle Stanley.
The children looked at one another. So there had been a theft at the museum, yesterday. The old map of Smithville and the town plan were missing. Who would need these two things and why?
"Mom, we have a summer project to complete today. So can we go to Lesley's house?" Asked Jasper. Leslie Williams was his classmate whose sister was in the same class as Nicholas.
"Not today Jasper. There's mayhem everywhere. The police are on the hunt. The residents of Smithville are out on the streets protesting the lack of security at the museum," said Jennifer Hawkes sternly.
The children sighed deeply and ate their breakfast silently. Then they went upstairs to Jasper and Daryll's room.
"Do you think that queer man stole the map and the plan?" Asked Diana, with round eyes.
"Could be. If he wasn't up to anything wrong, why would he escape?" Said Jasper and everyone agreed.
They had to wait to try out as planned. Once the commotion died down they could try out their schedules, but till then they had to wait patiently.
"Let's build a treehouse for our meetings. We could use the space beside the huge pecan trees in the backyard," suggested Nicholas and everyone agreed. They went to search for uncle Stanley to help them.
