Chapter One
It all started out rather innocently, three children playing in their backyard, a game of tag if memory serves me. Who am I? My goodness! How rude of me to begin a tale without the proper introductions! My name is Ruffleford Brussells and I am a storyteller. You can call me Ruffy, all my friends do. Yes I know, an unusual name, but my parents were unusual, but that my dears is a tale all its own. I am so glad you came by I don’t get to tell my stories much anymore. This town has turned into a proverbial potpourri of old folks like myself. The young folk can’t find enough local work, so they don’t stay too long and the old folks, well let us just say that think I’m eccentric. Oh my my, a little introduction and I plum got carried away. Let me get back to the story…
There were three of us, Vicki, Carl and of course me, playing tag. We were all about ten give or take a couple months. Laughing and running like the wind, on that blustery fall day, tossed leaves all about our head. The game had gone on most of the morning. Winded, we collapsed into a pile of leaves, smiles lighting up our faces. Looking up at the bright blue sky, life was wonderful.
“I’m hungry”
“Me too” Vicki and I said in unison
“After lunch let’s play a game of hide and seek”
“Ruffy, I’ll only play if you promise not to scare me”
“Would I do that?” I replied laughing deviously. “Not me!”
“Let’s all meet back here in a half an hour, and I promise Ruffy won’t scare ya, will ya Ruff?”
“With a look like that Carl how could I?”
With that, we all jumped to our feet and ran home for lunch.
My father Ruffleford Sr. was a carpenter. In his spare time, he had been renovating our stables. The old barn had become quite worn down over the years, and the horses needed some new surroundings. Therefore, my father had systematically stacked the barn boards in order of size and location in several spots around the yard. There were two piles rather close together with an old door in a frame propped up in between them. I thought to myself, “Under that door would make the perfect hiding place.”
We returned from lunch, I brought three sticks, each a different length. I knew we’d fight over who would be “it” first.
“Good idea Ruff.”
“I thought it was until now…” Vicki crinkled her nose, as she held the shortest stick.
“Ready?”
“Ready!”
Vicki started to turn around, “Count to ten…s l o w…Vic.” Carl reminded
“GO!”
Carl ran off in one direction and me towards that old door. In the distance, I heard Vic plodding along the numbers. “Seven, eight, nine…” I opened the door and jumped in with both feet. I had expected, dear friends, to crouch down, close the door, and scare Vicki. That, however, is not what happened at all. I had fallen, dear friends, into some sort of hole. Surprisingly, the fall didn't hurt me, considering it was quite deep. The door above me slammed hard and it was pitch black. I stood up and brushed myself off. I began to feel my way around and my hands felt a cold damp surface. I ran my hands along it, suddenly I stepped off an edge… “Must be a stair,” I thought to myself. Inching my foot out, I found the next stair, and another, and another. Curiosity got the better of my fear as I descended the staircase. The walls changed about halfway down to wood and I felt a warm breeze begin to blow over my face. A dim light peeked through the darkness like a lighthouse to a ship in the fog.
When I heard Vicki behind me yelling,”Ruffy ya down there?” I quickly and quietly backed up the stairway. When I got closer to Vicki and the bright sunlit day, I whispered, “Shhh, yes! Go get Carl.”
“Okay," Vicki whispered nervously, and closed the door.
While I waited in the darkness, my senses became keen. I heard voices, though far off, I kept thinking, “Hurry Carl, Hurry Vicki.”
Suddenly the door above me swung open, blinding me for a moment.
“Find an old cellar Ruff?” Carl called loudly.
“Shhh, be quiet and get down here, ya got your flashlight?”
“Yeah, I got it…”
Vicki jumped down right behind. A big gust of wind slammed the door closed and darkness surrounded us.
“What is this?” Vicki asked.
Carl flicked on the flashlight and we all looked around.
“I don’t know, I don’t remember my Dad doing any digging.”
Down we went. Carl wielded the flashlight like an expert swordsman in a duel, leaving no crevice unseen. As he scanned over the wooden walls, they gave the appearance of great age and weathering. I couldn’t help wondering how this could be possible. As we continued cautiously down the hard dirt stairs, the dense air of mysterious excitement shrouded those questions. It nearly smothered the three of us.
Voices rose up in front of us and stopped us cold in our tracks. Carl instinctively turned out the flashlight, and as our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we came upon the light I had seen before. We inched forward, huddled together, listening intently. The light we saw was beaming out from underneath a doorway. Carl turned on the flashlight, and shined it on the door. The door was much wider than a normal door, and was exquisite. It was made of rosewood, rounded at the top, and accented with ornate iron hinges. We pressed our ears to the door. The voices, somewhat muffled by the thickness of the door, were still audible. I could hear what I believed to be a meeting adjourning for the day. We heard a door shut…and then silence. We paused seemingly in our own thoughts.
Breaking the stillness, I asked, “Should I open the door?”
Carl shown the light on our faces waiting for an answer…we all shook our heads in agreement…YES.
I hesitantly reached down and grasped the thin iron handle. I placed my thumb on the latch and released it. When the door was open wide enough for us to see around, we peeked our heads in to see a rectangular banquet type room. There were no windows. The room was decorated with very heavy dark furniture. A large oval table was placed in the center of the room, surrounded by twelve high back chairs with worn red velvet seats. The walls were lined with long Deacon Benches. An old armoire stood at the end or the room, taking up a large portion of the wall. We stepped out into the room. Our eyes darting in every direction. We searched our surroundings for a clue as to what our location was, or what this place might be. Strange old portraits were lined up across the walls. Mostly males were in the portraits looking alike and very plain. They looked so much alike they were almost eerie. They each had on a drab olive green uniform; some donned with pins and awards, others with nothing. The few females portrayed were very beautiful. Each dressed very elegantly. The kind of clothing you might see at a high school prom, brightly colored and flashy.
Without warning, we heard voices approaching. We scrambled toward the doorway that we had come in. We flew open the door and leaped in, swiftly closing it behind us.
“Move back Vicki,” I murmured.
“I can’t, there’s a wall.”
“What?”
Carl put on the flashlight. There we were, standing in a closet. Mops, brooms, and tall feather dusters stood like skinny little soldiers against the wall, even the corners had cobwebs! Everything was obviously there for quite some time.
We looked at each other in despair. “No way back.” We all whispered in unison. Our thought wandered, our heads bowed, as the voices entered the banquet hall.
There were three of us, Vicki, Carl and of course me, playing tag. We were all about ten give or take a couple months. Laughing and running like the wind, on that blustery fall day, tossed leaves all about our head. The game had gone on most of the morning. Winded, we collapsed into a pile of leaves, smiles lighting up our faces. Looking up at the bright blue sky, life was wonderful.
“I’m hungry”
“Me too” Vicki and I said in unison
“After lunch let’s play a game of hide and seek”
“Ruffy, I’ll only play if you promise not to scare me”
“Would I do that?” I replied laughing deviously. “Not me!”
“Let’s all meet back here in a half an hour, and I promise Ruffy won’t scare ya, will ya Ruff?”
“With a look like that Carl how could I?”
With that, we all jumped to our feet and ran home for lunch.
My father Ruffleford Sr. was a carpenter. In his spare time, he had been renovating our stables. The old barn had become quite worn down over the years, and the horses needed some new surroundings. Therefore, my father had systematically stacked the barn boards in order of size and location in several spots around the yard. There were two piles rather close together with an old door in a frame propped up in between them. I thought to myself, “Under that door would make the perfect hiding place.”
We returned from lunch, I brought three sticks, each a different length. I knew we’d fight over who would be “it” first.
“Good idea Ruff.”
“I thought it was until now…” Vicki crinkled her nose, as she held the shortest stick.
“Ready?”
“Ready!”
Vicki started to turn around, “Count to ten…s l o w…Vic.” Carl reminded
“GO!”
Carl ran off in one direction and me towards that old door. In the distance, I heard Vic plodding along the numbers. “Seven, eight, nine…” I opened the door and jumped in with both feet. I had expected, dear friends, to crouch down, close the door, and scare Vicki. That, however, is not what happened at all. I had fallen, dear friends, into some sort of hole. Surprisingly, the fall didn't hurt me, considering it was quite deep. The door above me slammed hard and it was pitch black. I stood up and brushed myself off. I began to feel my way around and my hands felt a cold damp surface. I ran my hands along it, suddenly I stepped off an edge… “Must be a stair,” I thought to myself. Inching my foot out, I found the next stair, and another, and another. Curiosity got the better of my fear as I descended the staircase. The walls changed about halfway down to wood and I felt a warm breeze begin to blow over my face. A dim light peeked through the darkness like a lighthouse to a ship in the fog.
When I heard Vicki behind me yelling,”Ruffy ya down there?” I quickly and quietly backed up the stairway. When I got closer to Vicki and the bright sunlit day, I whispered, “Shhh, yes! Go get Carl.”
“Okay," Vicki whispered nervously, and closed the door.
While I waited in the darkness, my senses became keen. I heard voices, though far off, I kept thinking, “Hurry Carl, Hurry Vicki.”
Suddenly the door above me swung open, blinding me for a moment.
“Find an old cellar Ruff?” Carl called loudly.
“Shhh, be quiet and get down here, ya got your flashlight?”
“Yeah, I got it…”
Vicki jumped down right behind. A big gust of wind slammed the door closed and darkness surrounded us.
“What is this?” Vicki asked.
Carl flicked on the flashlight and we all looked around.
“I don’t know, I don’t remember my Dad doing any digging.”
Down we went. Carl wielded the flashlight like an expert swordsman in a duel, leaving no crevice unseen. As he scanned over the wooden walls, they gave the appearance of great age and weathering. I couldn’t help wondering how this could be possible. As we continued cautiously down the hard dirt stairs, the dense air of mysterious excitement shrouded those questions. It nearly smothered the three of us.
Voices rose up in front of us and stopped us cold in our tracks. Carl instinctively turned out the flashlight, and as our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we came upon the light I had seen before. We inched forward, huddled together, listening intently. The light we saw was beaming out from underneath a doorway. Carl turned on the flashlight, and shined it on the door. The door was much wider than a normal door, and was exquisite. It was made of rosewood, rounded at the top, and accented with ornate iron hinges. We pressed our ears to the door. The voices, somewhat muffled by the thickness of the door, were still audible. I could hear what I believed to be a meeting adjourning for the day. We heard a door shut…and then silence. We paused seemingly in our own thoughts.
Breaking the stillness, I asked, “Should I open the door?”
Carl shown the light on our faces waiting for an answer…we all shook our heads in agreement…YES.
I hesitantly reached down and grasped the thin iron handle. I placed my thumb on the latch and released it. When the door was open wide enough for us to see around, we peeked our heads in to see a rectangular banquet type room. There were no windows. The room was decorated with very heavy dark furniture. A large oval table was placed in the center of the room, surrounded by twelve high back chairs with worn red velvet seats. The walls were lined with long Deacon Benches. An old armoire stood at the end or the room, taking up a large portion of the wall. We stepped out into the room. Our eyes darting in every direction. We searched our surroundings for a clue as to what our location was, or what this place might be. Strange old portraits were lined up across the walls. Mostly males were in the portraits looking alike and very plain. They looked so much alike they were almost eerie. They each had on a drab olive green uniform; some donned with pins and awards, others with nothing. The few females portrayed were very beautiful. Each dressed very elegantly. The kind of clothing you might see at a high school prom, brightly colored and flashy.
Without warning, we heard voices approaching. We scrambled toward the doorway that we had come in. We flew open the door and leaped in, swiftly closing it behind us.
“Move back Vicki,” I murmured.
“I can’t, there’s a wall.”
“What?”
Carl put on the flashlight. There we were, standing in a closet. Mops, brooms, and tall feather dusters stood like skinny little soldiers against the wall, even the corners had cobwebs! Everything was obviously there for quite some time.
We looked at each other in despair. “No way back.” We all whispered in unison. Our thought wandered, our heads bowed, as the voices entered the banquet hall.
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