National Treasure
Into the West
Chapter 10: The Winds are Calling
Abigail read and re-read the twelve-line riddle to Riley time and time again over the first hour after it's reception. Chewing one fingernail off at a time, she kept thinking of what Ben could be saying through this message. She could remember Ben writing that one day while they were on the road to a conference. He'd said that it was centered around the meaning of studying history, and it's importance in the world, whatever that meant. She was in her chair by Riley's bed, listening to the heart monitor beep nearby. As she stared at the screen of her phone, the minutes seemed to slip by in slow motion as she tried to understand why he'd sent this to her. What was he saying?
"Abby, could you read it to me again?" Riley asked eagerly, typing away on his laptop. The police had been to Carroll Manor and found a lot of damage to the house had been done by a number of intruders. Abigail was afraid to find out what had been damaged, because there was so much in that house that was so highly valued to her, to all of them. She was sort of glad Ben wasn't there to see it, a thought which really bothered her. She took a tiresome sigh and read the riddle aloud to Riley.
Right from wrong, seen from unseen,
The lines which separate unclear in between.
Word and rhyme, the hands of time,
Takes us back to the scene of the crime.
Glass will break and metals will rust,
Knowledge is forever, carry on it must.
The road not yet taken is the road we must take,
Pure in intention, make no mistake.
Deceit and lies are the devil's way,
Shall never be rewarded, come what may.
In the face of darkness the light will prevail
The burden to bear, the wind in the sail.
"Let's see here." Riley said aloud, holding his fist to his chin as he thought about the first line. "Right from Wrong, Seen from Unseen, The lines which separate unclear in between."
Abigail tried desperately what Ben had told her that day in the car. She could remember him saying something specific about that line, and that there were two parts which tied together on a common ground.
"Let's try to look at this like Ben would." Abigail suggested, rising from her chair and returning to her seat on Riley's bed. He looked at her with a skeptical face.
"How on earth do we pull that off?"
"Well, let's see." Abigail said, picking away at the first two lines. "The line separating both right from wrong and seen from unseen."
"Wait a minute." Riley said, snapping his fingers gently. "One's Judgment."
Abigail thought for a second about Riley's answer. True, it did answer the question of separating right from wrong, but not quite on seen and unseen.
"Abs, what did both the Templar's Treasure and Cibola have in common, aside from being really shiny?"
Abigail stared at him as she thought. They had a few things in common, but none she could think of that fit into their question.
"Think about it," Riley said, giving her that look he had every time he had the solution to a puzzle or problem, a very rare event. "Where were most of the clues?"
That's when it hit her. The cipher on the Declaration of Independence, the Silence Duegood Letters, the Statue of Liberty, and the faded stone island at Mount Rushmore. They were all in plain sight.
"That's clever of Ben to think of that, you have to admit." Riley remarked. The first part of the riddle was the most essential tool, which was the trained eye of the historical treasure hunter, able to see things that nobody else could see. Ben wanted to put emphasis on that, which was why he'd put it first in the riddle. Abigail remembered now.
"Alright, one down and five to go." Abigail said, moving to the next part. "Word and rhyme, the hands of time, takes us back to the scene of the crime."
"Well, that sounds pretty simple." Riley said. "Takes us back to the scene of the crime, the hunt takes us to where this all happened."
"Yes," Abigail added, giving Riley a clever look of her own. "But what if it doesn't just mean that?"
"What do you mean?"
"This is just a thought, but the hunts we've gone on haven't just been about finding the location of the treasure." She said, thinking of Cibola and the reasons everybody involved had for both trying to hide and uncover the lost city of gold. "The reason is crucial as well. Takes us back to the scene of the crime."
"Oh." Riley responded slowly, a little disappointed his success streak had stopped there. "He's reminding us of the importance of this treasure's historical significance."
"That's right." Abigail stated, looking out the door to the bench in the hallway, where Emily had been sitting looking at the Diary all day while Patrick looked on while reading the newspaper to her. "Sophie."
"Okay, there's number two," Riley said, checking that one from his visualized list. "Now for number three."
"Glass will break and metals will rust, knowledge is forever, carry on it must." Abigail read. "Now he's putting emphasis on the importance of the history itself."
"Very true." Riley responded. "They say the paths of the past are the roots of the future."
Abigail agreed. Stories like that of Sophie's were classical examples of the tales of the lives of all the people who'd gone and made paths into the wilderness. They laid the foreground for the settlement of the American Midwest, a sacrifice which should be remembered. She knew very well the same kind of sacrifice was made by people in almost every aspect of United States history. It was something that made her proud to be an American, but at the same time it gave her an uneasy feeling about the current predicament.
"Okay, number four." Riley stated, motioning for her to read the fourth passage.
"The road not yet taken is the road we must take, pure in intention, make no mistake."
"Okay Carmen San Diego, let me try this one." Riley blurted before slipping into his thoughts on the passage. Abigail giggled slightly at the remark, but figured she'd give him another shot.
"It seems pretty simple." Riley explained. "We've always taken the unbeaten path, and benefited from it, even when everyone called us crazy. Even when we called ourselves crazy!"
Abigail smiled at his success of making sense of the passage. "Four down and two to go."
"Deceit and Lies are the Devil's way, shall never be rewarded, come what may."
Riley scratched his head briefly, seeing the conclusion in his mind but a little uncertain about it. He could tell the significance of the word "Devil" right away, thinking of Ian.
"We can't let Ian find the treasure." Riley stated swiftly. "That's what Ben's trying-"
"Oh God." Abigail said softly, interrupting Riley and stopping him in dead his tracks.
"Abigail?" Riley asked, raising his eyebrow. "Something hit a nerve?"
Abigail didn't respond right away; she only froze where she stood. Riley could see what was bothering her after a few moments. She knew the truth, and it scared her. It scared her a lot.
"He's going to lead them away from the treasure." Abigail responded shakily. "He's buying us more time."
Riley gave her a confused look. "Where in the name of Reese's Pieces did that come from?"
Abigail handed Riley her phone, pointing to the last part of the last message. "It's states that the right will triumph over the wrong."
"What, is he a fortune teller now?" Riley remarked hastily, trying to make sense of the last statement. "He get his hands on a Quija board or something?"
"Riley!" Abigail snapped. "Look at the last sentence and think for a moment."
Riley focused on the very last phrase of the riddle.
"What does wind do to a sail?" Abigail asked.
"It pushes it-" Riley hadn't even finished his sentence when he came to understand his friend's intentions. "He's the wind."
"And Ian and his knuckleheads are the sail."
Riley looked at the phone, then shook his head slightly in disbelief, inhaling nervously. "Abby, this is bad. This is REAL bad." He said in a low voice.
"I know." Abigail whispered, trying to resist the nervous breakdown she could feel coming on.
"They're going to find out eventually." Riley stated nervously. "And when they do, they'll-"
Riley's words were cut off with a sharp pitched sob from Abigail. Riley sat up, feeling his strength coming back slowly, and reached out both arms to Abigail, who fell into them like a ton of bricks. She collapsed into his chest, burying her face into his shoulder, for the second time. It made sense now, what Ben had done. Ben was telling them what he wanted them to do through that riddle. He wanted them to find Sophie's Treasure before Ian and his men did, just like they'd originally thought. He was telling them to focus on the clues, remember to look at things from the treasure hunter's perspective, and to remember that Sophie's honor and her family's dignified name was at stake. After all that family went through, should their story remain nothing but a fairy tale? They didn't want that. Ben didn't want that. As honorable as his decision was, the horrible facts hit Riley harder than the bullet that had almost ended his life.
"Ian's going to find out eventually, and he'll-" Riley stated bluntly, choking over his own words. It was terrifying because to them, it was like Ben was making some sort of final request, and he was fully aware of it. It was like he was already saying goodbye. He was on a suicide mission.
Suddenly, Abigail lifted herself from Riley's side and wiped her face with the sleeves of her coat. "We need to find it, Riley." She stated clearly, shaking off her fears as hard as she could. "We need to find Sophie's Treasure."
He knew she was right, but that was easier said than done. "Ian's still expecting the Diary, Abigail." Riley reminded her.
"We have everything we need out of it." Abigail stated, clearing her eyes. "Sophie's words are safe."
"But Ian will destroy it."
"Riley, it's just a book." Abigail told him sternly. "As long as her words are known to us, it's alright."
"What about Patrick and Emily?"
"Of course we need to tell them." Abigail said, looking out the hallway at the elderly couple. "We'll need their help."
"And Sadusky?"
"We can work something out with him, as long as we do it very carefully." Abigail said, regaining her stamina. Her voice was cleared up, as were her eyes. She was tired of worrying. Now was the time to act. She turned towards the door to Riley's room and entered the hallway to confront Patrick and Emily. However, she was stopped at the sight of Emily's nervous trembling, something she rarely saw Ben's mother do. She then noticed the sound amplifier Patrick held in his hand, the kind people with hearing problems use to hear things better. One earphone was going to Patrick's ear, the other to Emily's.
"We heard the whole thing." Patrick said solemnly. His eyes were blotchy and he clasped the pocket watch Ben had given him for his 65th Birthday the previous year, the one with the built in picture of His and Emily's second wedding ceremony, at Philadelphia City hall. Abigail remembered that day very clearly, how happy Ben had been to have both his parents back again. He knew how much Ben's relationship with his mother had strained following their divorce. She couldn't believe that Emily had never even met Riley up until last year. Her thoughts were interrupted by Emily's embrace, as she went to Abigail and wrapped her arms around her. Abigail could feel Emily's body jolt gently as she softly sobbed a few times. It was hard to see this strong woman cry, very hard indeed. She wiped her eyes, looked back at Patrick, and then back to Abigail.
"When do we leave?"
"Soon." Abigail responded, resting her hands on Emily's shoulders. "Very soon."
As Emily returned to her seat next to Patrick, Abigail looked to her side and saw her reflection in a decorative mirror, She slowly rose her arm, brushing her fingers through her hair. She knew what she had to do, and nothing was going to stop her.
To Be Continued…..
Coming Soon
Chapter 11: In Plain Sight