Mindtease

Chapter 25

Josh looked at Kirk, who raised both eyebrows in a gesture of "Don't ask me!" but then Josh seemed to get his bearings after looking around.

The village was a small hamlet, with all of the town clustered around the center, a town square with a large park. Josh followed the street slowly, seeing a few people, but a sign had arrows indicating the direction for each of the main attractions.

One arrow pointed further down the road indicating "Inn" but another pointed out of town "College" at a right angle, seemingly back into the thickets and trees.

"Let's get settled in at the 'Inn," Josh suggested and stated.

"Perfect," Kirk replied.

Josh followed the road, and turned right...toward a large old Victorian mansion in a large yard with a white picket fence and gate.

A swinging sign in the yard read "The Old Spyglass Inn" in a handwritten, calligraphy style. The arm of the sign was styled as an old spyglass...overdone for emphasis and painted grey in contrast to the white signpost.

Josh saw an arrow indicating parking and found a few vehicles in a parking lot to one side, out of sight behind, but not directly behind the building. After parking and shutting off the engine, Kirk and Josh got out, and walked around to the trunk...but both of them looked at the cars, trucks, SUVs, and two motorhomes. Various state license plates were visible.

"Well there is the college a few miles nearby. Parents and educators visiting undoubtedly. I wonder when a major chain will move into this sleepy little village."

"Probably never," Kirk commented back to Josh. "Notice no major stores, groceries, even car dealerships? This is a small village...a small pimple on a wart on the butt of America."

"A wart with a pimple but lost in the hairy butt crack."

As both guys grabbed duffel bags, Josh shook his head ruefully and Kirk smiled.

# # #

The Old Spyglass Inn was modeled after the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Behind the main counter was an enormous portrait that encompassed locations from the novel...England with the tavern, the docks, the ship Hispaniola, the Atlantic Ocean, Treasure Island with the Indian Fort, empty pit where the treasure was buried, and the cave where Flint's treasure was hidden.

Josh and Kirk walked up to a polished wooden counter, where an old woman bustled about. Upon seeing the pair of young college men approaching, she moved toward them. To the right, a large grand staircase curved upward, disappearing behind a paneled wall.

"Hello."

"Good day boys. What's your name?"

"I'm Josh, and this is Kirk...we made a reservation online to stay here."

The woman flipped through a binder, and pulled out a sheet of paper in a plastic insert.

"Oh yes, staying with us for a week, Joshua Rogerson and step-brother Kirk Forrest. Please...sign the register."

"A week?" Kirk asked in surprise, and Josh rebuked him with a glare from his intense blue eyes.

The old woman smiled, seeing a discord that might be an argument among the two, but made no comment.

The woman pulled out a red leather bound book with the word "Register" in gold on the front. A piece of cord marked the place in the book with the page for signatures. The woman handed Josh an actual ink pen after putting the book down on the counter...no ballpoint or felt-tip, which both boys signed the register.

"You'll be in the Ben Gunn Room," the grandmotherly woman said with a smile. "It's on the second floor, has a lovely view of the town toward the direction of the college."