“Sure, Ronnie, sure, but we’ve got to prove it. And that isn’t going to be easy, not after all these years have passed. But we’ll do it. Every minute we’ve got when we aren’t showing people around, we’ll use to hunt for clues. And the first thing we do is search that old office building, so don’t forget to bring the keys.”
Ronnie sprawled a little lower in his chair and watched a drop of perspiration run down over a fold of skin on his stomach. Bill, he knew, wanted to hunt for clues immediately, but it was just too hot to move. It all seemed like such a tremendous, almost impossible job. Hadn’t Grandfather tried and failed?
A moment later Phil sauntered into the building and plunked himself down in the one remaining chair. “I don’t know why I killed myself coming down here,” he sighed.
“I don’t see why you did either,” Ronnie commented with a smile. “All you did was move from the hammock to that chair. You shouldn’t exert yourself so much.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself,” said Phil.
A horsefly buzzed angrily across the ceiling and slammed into the wall. It fell dizzily for a few feet and then regained its balance. Off it went in the opposite direction and slammed into the other wall. “Crazy critter,” Phil commented. “See how he’s exerting himself—and where does it get him?”
Before Ronnie could think of an appropriate answer, there were footsteps on the path and Mr. Caldwell popped his head in the door. He entered and perched himself on the edge of the desk. “I’m going up to your house this afternoon to take a look at those candlesticks,” he told Ronnie. “From the description you gave me I’d say that the pair I have at home are identical.”
The horsefly suddenly stopped buzzing and the office seemed strangely quiet. Ronnie sat up and looked at Mr. Caldwell, his mouth hanging open just a bit. “Did—did you say you—you had a pair of candlesticks like Gramps’?”
“Yes.” Mr. Caldwell looked puzzled. “Is that so strange?”
Ronnie gulped and nodded. “Yes, sir. It is.”