The Treasure of Netherstrand

Chapter 48

It echoed strangely in the boy's mind, a memory or a dream, something vague and uncertain. Had he heard a voice?

Timothy felt so groggy that everything around him seemed distant. But as he woke slowly, the rumbling sound of wind and rain filled his ears. With a shiver of fear, he sat up in bed and listened. Every blast of shrill wind made him tremble. For several minutes, he sat still, frozen by terror.

"It's just a storm," he told himself, trying to calm down. "It'll be over soon." He slid back down in bed and hid himself beneath the blankets, but the noise of the windows shaking and the wind screaming overhead made it impossible for him to sleep. Suddenly, something shattered downstairs. He jolted upright again, heart throbbing. It was too much for a lonely little boy to bear. With a surge of fear and determination, he jumped out of bed and hurried down stairs to find comfort. Any face would have been welcome right then, but the one he wanted most was Hannover's. He would run to his master's room first, and if the man sent him away, he would search for Arthur instead.

He flew to the bottom of the steps and was ready to dash down the dark hallway, but before he could take another step, he came to a halt and gaped at the eerie scene. Every door down the hall was standing wide open. And yet, there wasn't a sound or a motion in the house.

"Hullo?" he called. His voice echoed, but there was no answer. "Hullo? Is anybody there? Arthur! Mr. Hannover!"

His heart rate picked up with fresh panic. He began running once again. This time, he went from door to door, looking into each room and searching it with his eyes. They were all abandoned. Clothes were hanging out of trunks and strewn across the floors. Here and there, a broken vase lay in shatters where a frantic person had bumped it off of a table. He felt like he was living in a nightmare as he finally ran into the drawing room and found it empty too.

"They left me!" he sobbed. "I'm all alone!"

It couldn't be real. He sank down onto a windowsill and leaned his head against the shaking glass. Maybe he was dreaming. Couldn't he wake up and find himself back in bed? Better yet, couldn't he find himself sleeping on Hannover's footstool curled up by his master? He wished that the last few days could have been erased, treasure and all. The only thing he wanted was his master's attention. Now, Hannover and everyone else were gone.

Gazing in shock through the misty windowpane, Timothy sat in dazed confusion. He couldn't make sense of the scene outside. It was dark and vague. But slowly, the motions and shapes began forming a complete picture before him. He was watching white-rimmed waves surging up toward him. They reached and splashed against the window before dropping and then swelling again. Horror made his blood run cold. He jumped away from the window and stumbled back a few steps. How could it be? The edge of the bluff should have been yards away, and the ocean should have been far from its edge. But it wasn't. The water was right at the foot of the building, as if its covetous hands wanted to drag Netherstrand down with all of its riches to the ocean's heart.

Timothy reeled unsteadily, his head swimming and his heart racing as hard as it could go. One flashing thought made him feel almost faint with fear. He could picture those giant waves reaching up and dragging him down; down to the lightless fathoms where sharks and eels played. He still didn't know if this was real or if it was a dream, but he knew he had to get away from that doomed building.

"Mr. Hannover!" he cried. But there was no one to help.

The world seemed to be spinning as the child ran out of the room. Staggering and confused, he fled into the hall and looked both ways, wondering where to go. He thought about dashing down the main staircase and flying out the front door. It was the closest escape but perhaps not the safest. With the waves so close to the drawing room windows, they might be crashing against the front door. Instead, he turned and ran back down the hallway. He would use the servants' door. It was further away from the ocean. Maybe if he hurried, he could reach it in time and run as far away from Netherstrand as possible.