The Dark Secret of Weatherend by John Bellairs Page B

been drinking on the day of the awful incident, while others said that she had gone crazy and hinted darkly that there was insanity in Miss Eells's family. Anthony's mother did not like Miss Eells, and so she believed both the drunk and insanity stories, and went around saying that she had "seen this coming" for a long time. As for Anthony himself, he was shocked and saddened by what had happened. At first he had absolutely refused to believe the things he heard about Miss Eells's wild behavior. On the day of the party he had seen her leave the library looking very grim and frightened, and of course he knew from all the commotion that something had gone wrong. But when people told him what had occurred, he just couldn't accept it. Then, finally, on the day after the incident, Miss Eells called Anthony up and gave him her version. She told him that something very strange was going on and that perhaps Anders Borkman was behind it all. Anthony responded by telling her of the strange disappearance of Borkman's journal, and Miss Eells suggested that Anthony come over soon, so they could figure out what to do.
    And so here he was, in his leather jacket and red leather cap. Under his arm was a box of Dorfmeier's chocolates, the special dark, soft-centered assortment. Anthony's finger jabbed at the bell button. He pushed it again and again impatiently. All sorts of wild fears had been running through his mind lately. He had heard that people who lost their jobs often flipped out. It was true that Miss Eells had sounded quite level-headed when he talked to her on the phone, but still...
    There was a rattling sound. A chain was unhooked, a bolt was drawn back. The door opened and there stood Miss Eells, wearing one of her tasteless fake-Japanese kimonos with dragons all over it. Around her waist was a wide fringed sash, and stuck into it was a tiny samurai sword in a wooden sheath. It was a souvenir letter opener that she had gotten once on a trip to Japan. Miss Eells looked pale and drawn, but her eyes were clear and she was smiling.
    "Hi, kid!" she said, and she gave Anthony a jaunty little wave. "It's good to see you, and I'm glad you're still speaking to me. Some people aren't, you know."
    Tears sprang to Anthony's eyes. "Anyone that won't talk to you is a dumbhead and a creep," he said angrily. "The stuff that happened wasn't your fault. Somebody made you do it." Suddenly Anthony remembered the box of chocolates. "Here," he said, smiling. "This's for you."
    Miss Eells was touched. Now there were tears in her eyes. "Come on in," she said, giving Anthony a friendly pat on the arm. She smiled wryly as she looked at the candy box. "My, my! Just what I need! I'll be able to get fat while I collect my unemployment checks. Come on in! Don't just stand there with that woebegone look on your face! Let's see what's what, okay?"
    A. few minutes later Anthony was seated on Miss Eells's saggy couch with a bottle of Coke in his hand. Miss Eells was kneeling in front of the fireplace, toasting English muffins the old-fashioned way because her toaster was broken and she kept forgetting to have it fixed. As Anthony watched she turned the muffin this way and that, trying to get it browned evenly on both sides. Near her on the floor was a big jar of Frank Cooper's Oxford marmalade, a spoon, a couple of butter knives, and a stack of untoasted muffins. They were going to have a feast.
    "Whaddaya think about that book disappearing and me waking up with my socks on?" Anthony asked. "What's goin' on?"
    Miss Eells pursed up her lips. "Nothing good, that's for sure!" She turned and looked hard at him. "Tony, how come you never told me about the disappearance of Borkman's journal before?"
    Anthony hung his head. "I... I just didn't wanta talk about it. I was scared that I might be goin' outa my mind."
    Miss Eells smiled sympathetically. "Well, you weren't—or if you were, you've got company now. But it doesn't seem terribly likely that we're both going bats