The Passing Bell Tolls for Thee

23 Druids

He smiled cheerily at Mrs. Bigwood when she returned with a pot of tea, a cup, and a bottle of whiskey. She nodded, ignoring the smile, and set the tea things down. "Mrs. Bigwood, please sit down. I need to talk with you about something Sir Drew warned me about?

She eyed him warily as she sat. Ben was Church of England, though he seldom went to St. Duncan's. He'd never been involved with King's Oak druids until Sir Drew's death, for they admitted to their group from family members only. She folded her hands before her on the table and waited.

Ben chose his words carefully. "Sir Drew told me that his—now your—Druid group had a special purpose, to control Hydd. Your services included closing the passage from the spirit world to this one, so he could not trouble this realm again. Of course, I'm not one of your followers, but I promised Sir Drew to follow his wishes in the transfer of Oakton.

"Aye, that's so," Mrs. Bigwood nodded slightly, wondering just how much Ramsey had revealed to Ben in his last illness, and what he might have told April. Could be problematic. She said nothing more.

Ben waited her out, thinking, Something—maybe some things, have found a way through. I'm sure Hydd took Nico. Now to see what she thinks.

"Eight times a year, at our grove, we close the boundaries." She wouldn't tell him any more than she had to, but she was concerned by what Sir Drew may have told him.

"Sir Drew told me many stories about times when Hydd broke through. He would kill sheep, stabbing them with his horns, like Nico. I've said nothing of this to Inspector Burton, or anyone but you. April told me what she told you happened last night. Footsteps in the Lodge, chasing her. Perhaps her imagination, or noises she mistook for steps."

Mrs. Bigwood listened carefully. She was sure something had passed the spirit border, but she'd never mention it to Ben Muir. She had summoned the druids for a special grove to try to close the border, but without the bell, it would be difficult. "Mr. Bigwood, he's Church of England, but he knows something of our practices, is very concerned about that. We remember stories of the time Hydd came over during the war." Her eyes grew round as she remembered. "Bells were not rung during the war. Many sheep dead, even a shepherd lost. The shepherd were Bill's Uncle Albert."

"I'm sorry for your husband's loss. Surely this must be coincidence. Some wild dog is doing this. How could Hydd cross over if you've sealed the boundary, as you believe?" He leaned back, waiting for her to respond to his apparent disbelief.

"The bell. Hydd's bell." She looked at him, her face worried.

"What's that old bell got to do with it?" He hid his sudden tension, for replacing the bell would take time, and danger increased without it. "Sir Drew spoke of it several times, but it's just a bell. Use another." Drew knew Hydd's bell was the surest, perhaps only, way to control the monster and close the border.

She shook her head several times. "No, Mr. Muir. That bell was dedicated to Hydd. It can be used to summon him or to keep him on the other side."

He leaned forward. "I respect your beliefs, Mrs. Bigwood. Why don't you just use the bell this Yule to close the boundary?"

"It's been lost since Lughnasadh."

"Get another bell."

"It's not that easy. A..." That needs a sacrifice of a stag, she thought. That would bring game wardens and the police. "Certain ceremonies will have to be made, and they are complicated."

Drew knew the need for a sacrifice, and knew a stag was good, but a ram could be substituted. "Ah, so that's it. What do you think happened to the bell?" He listened intently to her answer.

"We think Sir Drew took it to King's Oak. You were there. What happened?"

Drew had his lies ready. "Sir Drew told me he'd have Musselwhite drive him there, and I was to meet them. I took the back path from the Lodge. When I arrived, Musselwhite had left. Sir Drew told me he had paid him off, for the man wanted to go to Little Ward to meet friends." He had a thought.

"Aye. The shortcut to Little Ward runs by the bog," she said. "Sir Drew kept the bell and would have brought it in the buggy. It wasn't there, or anywhere we could find it."

I couldn't find it anywhere, worse luck, Drew thought. "Sir Drew was mumbling a little, and he didn't look well. His mouth drooped on one side. Then he got quiet. I thought he was napping."

Estelle wrung her hands. "Possibly early signs of the stroke. When we arrived, we druids, Sir Drew was not well. We couldn't find the bell."

Drew had watched the ceremony from a discreet distance, as Ben was not a member. He said, "There was no bell there when I arrived. Nothing in the buggy."

"I wonder if Musselwhite stole the bell as Sir Drew was groggy," said Estelle.

"They'd had wine, and Sir Drew's silver flask was missing. Was the bell itself valuable?"

"Very. Its centuries old. That must be it." She jumped slightly at the thought. "Perhaps the bell is at the bottom of the bog where they found Musselwhite. He must have stolen it, thinking it was valuable. It is valuable, not just for its antiquity."

"Perhaps the bog can be searched." A waste of time, Ben thought, the blasted bell is not there.

"If only. We'd have to get someone in who knows how, though. Those archeologists who dig up the old bogs and find things."

"The bell metal is copper and tin."

"Yes." Estelle slumped. "If it were iron, a big magnet might latch onto it."

"A metal detector can locate copper. Tin, too."

Her eyes lit up. "My son-in-law teaches history in the High School. Maybe he can help us. A little metal detector likely wouldn't be powerful enough.

Drew pretended to think this over. He wanted Estelle to believe she'd thought of a way to find Hydd's bell. He'd tried a small metal detector but hadn't found it. He knew the bell wasn't in the bog and he didn't want anybody exploring there, but perhaps the big metal detector could search the woods. If she could get her druids searching the woods, they might do the job.

"I think you have something there, Mrs. Bigwood. However, the bell might not be in the bog, but somewhere in the woods. Perhaps you could search around King's Oak and the nearby woods."

"Aye, I'll tell them that."

"Sir Drew told me his family have been with your druids since the 17th Century."

"Before. Since the Romans left. After the Civil War, we planted the King's Oak, and we stopped Hydd."

"Let me know as soon as you get something worked out." Perhaps, soon, the bell would be found. My future depends on it.