The Magician's Sons

Chapter 32

"A dragon," Charlie murmured, lifting the coin from the bottom of the box. "That's what the fellow said when he saw it. And there it is."

He passed his thumb over the coin's gleaming surface and felt the lines of its engravings. His eyes studied the beautiful details as he wondered what the thing was. This coin bore the image of a long dragon with fire coming from his powerful jaws and stars circling him. At the bottom of the token, the word "Draco" sat in a line of Latin writing.

"How very peculiar and beautiful!" Charlie whispered to himself. Beautiful indeed, and perhaps valuable. What if this coin was worth more than a sovereign? He had never seen anything like it before. Perhaps it had been dropped on those stairs generations and generations ago—lost and completely forgotten. It probably had no owner anymore. It looked perfectly ancient.

I must discover how much this is worth! It might make me a fortune! the boy thought ecstatically. His imagination began rebuilding his future's shattered dreams, and his heart was joyful all through the day. That coin might have been the end of all his struggles. He pictured himself taking it to a jeweler's shop and seeing the jeweler jump back in astonishment. He could conjure any number of reasons why the coin was worth millions. Perhaps it was the only one of its kind. An ancient lord might have had it forged for himself and had lost it a century ago. Perhaps it was a piece of pirates' treasure passed from hand to hand and finally lost. There was no end to Charlie's whimsical fancies.

Even though he was desperate to take that coin and discover its worth, he didn't find a chance to do it that day, nor the next, or the next after that. The jeweler's shop was some distance away, and the mission of discovering his coin's value would have taken several hours at least.

Day in and day out, the lad's schedule was so full that he couldn't find the time for it. His heart burned with eagerness and impatience. How would he ever rest until he knew how much money his treasure would make him? It seemed as if he would have to wait forever to find out. Then, an unexpected joy came. One Sunday morning, Mr. Jones told him that he was giving Charlie half the day at his leisure. Charlie was bursting with excitement. As soon as his chores were finished, he rushed out of the hotel.

Freedom. He had just a few hours of freedom! With his precious gold coin clattering among pennies in a small money pouch, Charlie felt proud and happy marching down the road. He went straight to the nearest jeweler's shop with high expectations, but the door was locked and the windows were dark.

Charlie's heart sank. I should have expected that everyone would close their businesses on Sunday, he sighed. Sometimes he missed the days when his parents had given him a whole Sunday to rest and play. When he compared life at the bakery to the endless tasks he had to perform at The Pearl of Britannia, he almost longed to go home.

Unwilling to let his mission fail, Charlie threw a glance around him and caught the attention of a nice-looking man. "Excuse me, do you have any idea whether the jeweler will open his shop today?" he asked.

"Indeed, I do, lad. The answer is no. Mr. Burns is a devout man. He never does a bit of work on the Sabbath."

Charlie grumbled under his breath, then quickly asked, "Do you know of any jeweler shops that do open on Sunday?"

The man thought for a minute and then nodded his head. "I do. But, it's quite a distance from here. The shop belongs to Mr. Tinder in Whitechapel. From what I hear, he's something of an atheist and frowns upon churchgoers. He's sure to have his doors open."

"Oh, how dreadful for him!" Charlie said, shaking his head in a moment of disapproval. Then, perking up, he added, "but I am glad I can find a jeweler in any case! Thank you kindly, sir!"