The Iron Lighthouse

The Note

I woke up a mess, both mentally and physically. 

After staying up until two in the morning, trying to finish all the homework that had been piled onto me by all my teachers, I was exhausted. It didn't help that when I tried to sleep I kept wondering about the desk, the numbers, the Saprtra's lost fortunes... That is the mental mess part of it. The physical mess was that I slept in my clothes and slept terribly, so my hair was all knotted. I also had dark marks beneath my eyes, so even if I cleaned myself up, it would be obvious that I had slept badly.

Since it was Saturday, and nobody was home but me, I didn't see a point in fixing the train wreck of myself at the moment. I had all day. Plus I was hungry, and food was my top priority. I could always change later.

I made myself a ham and cheese omelet for breakfast because that was what I usually ate on Saturdays. It was a simple yet delicious food, as well as my favorite breakfast item. When I sat down at the table to eat my omelet, I noticed a note.

Ellie,

As you probably remember from our discussion yesterday, I have work today so I won't be home until later. There's a big storm that's supposed to be rolling in around two this afternoon, and the forecast says it will be the first lightning storm of the year. I plan to be home as soon as possible, but if I am not back by the time the storm comes, please take care of the lighthouse. There is a big supply ship that's supposed to be coming into a town near us tonight, I believe it might be Harlings, and we can't afford to lose it.

Also, about that Saprtra's mystery you always have on your mind, I would like to remind you that this used to be Samuel Protney's house. Maybe a look around here would do you some good (But don't look to hard in the back sunroom, that was a later addition to the house in the 1960s, you probably won't find anything in there except maybe if some of the furniture in there is original).

Love, 

Grandpa

After reading the note, I checked the weather forecast. Grandpa was right about the storm, and it seemed like it would definitely be a big one. It was May, so a bit early for a thunderstorm, but anything is possible. There were also some warnings about heavy rain and the possibility of tornados.

I checked my watch, seeing that it was only nine fifteen. That meant that I could spend four hours or so focusing on the other part of Grandpa's letter. His suggestion to check the house for clues.

I didn't really know where to begin, because it was hard to tell where someone like Samuel Protney would hide clues to where he hid his fortune, and his friends fortunes. If he was the one that stole them, that is. I always believed that he was the one who took all the money and killed his friends.

I decided to look around at all the old furniture here. It was difficult to tell what was from the mid-1800s, the original furniture from when Samuel Protney lived here. There were so many things that had been added since then, and it was hard to tell the difference from something that has been here since his time and what came in the 1900s. So I did research.

From what I saw in the pictures of 1850s furniture, it seemed like there were a few things that could be from Samuel Protney's time. This included all the beds in the house- there were three-mine, Grandpa's, and the guest bed. They were all old-fashioned wooden beds that looked a bit like what may have been from the time. Also, there was a couch in the sunroom that was probably from Samuel's time, and a few chairs and a table that were in the sitting room.

I investigated all the things that I thought might have some clues, but wasn't able to find anything. I looked at all the surfaces of the furniture, hoping that under the pieces there would be some sort of writing, engraving, or just anything that would be helpful. But I found nothing. 

After two hours had passed by with no trace of anything that could help me, I started to get a bit desperate. I started pulling up the mattresses on my bed and the guest bed, looking to see if the bed frame had writing on it. I didn't look in my Grandpa's room though, figuring that it was off-limits.

Eventually, I realized I was going crazy, and that I should get some lunch. So I made myself a sandwich, ate, and was about to walk outside when I realized I hadn't showered or changed, and I was a mess. So I went and cleaned up before walking outside.

Even though the storm wasn't due for another two and a half hours, the sky looked as if it would start pouring rain any minute. It was dark, and the storm clouds seemed to cover the entire sky. The storm looked rather menacing as if it was the start of the end of the world. For all I knew, maybe it was.

I walked toward the lighthouse, listening to the whistling of wind. Somewhere the wind must have caught some words and carried them to me, because I could hear snip bits of a conversation, or at least what the wind made sound like one. Maybe there were people nearby. Or maybe I'm just hearing things.

I looked around but wasn't able to see anybody. Then I decided to look over by the ocean, because there were a bunch of rocks on a steep slope that led down to a small strip of beach, and then the water. Sometimes people would go down to the beach in the summer, but now wasn't the summer and it was about to storm, so I would be surprised if anyone was there right now.

As I climbed onto one of the rocks at the top of the hill, looking below, I saw two figures, a girl and a boy.

"What are you doing down there?" I shouted to them. My voice was caught in the wind, and I wasn't sure if they could here me. "A storm's coming, it'd be best if you two went home. It's not safe to be down there right now."

The boy seemed to have heard me and looked up, and I saw that it was none other than Caleb Salvin.