The Secrets of Ordinary Farm

Chapter 5

Colin had been very careful all year to stay away from the dragons. What happened in the Sick Barn proved him right, although it had hurt too much for him to enjoy his moral victory. Yes, his fears were now confirmed: dragons remembered. The beasts had too much freedom, that was the problem. Meseret should be muzzled like a dangerous dog, and her mate, Alamu, shouldn’t be flying around the huge property unsupervised. It was all just another example of why someone sensible-someone like Colin himself-should be in charge.

As he was thinking these and other sour thoughts over breakfast, his mother appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Colin, go to Lucinda Jenkins’ room and make certain there is nothing left in that crawlspace-I cannot trust those children to tell me. If you find anything else, bring it straight to me. Straight to me.”

Colin nodded and went without complaining, an act he occasionally put on, like an old t-shirt he could pull over his head and later just drop on the floor. It was easier and more sensible than arguing, since he had never won an argument with his mother and doubted he ever would.

Lucinda’s room was empty of Jenkins kids, which was a relief. After an awkward climb onto the dresser and up into the crawlspace yielded no further discoveries, he trudged back down to his mother’s office to tell her the news. She didn’t seem surprised. She was already carefully unpacking the shipping crate, setting out its contents on her big table in neat rows of jars, tubes and crumpled foreign newspapers, and making notes on a lined pad.

“That’s fine, dear. Run along and help the others now-I’m sure Gideon can find something for you to do. I’ll be busy until lunchtime but I’ll see you then.”

“I thought maybe I could work with you-help you sort through this stuff… ”

“Oh, no, Colin. Thank you, but you’d just be in the way.” She hadn’t even looked up.

He kicked the banister as he went down the stairs and hurt his toe. Why was it every time that Tyler and Lucinda Jenkins showed up, things immediately went bad for Colin Needle?

Blazing early-morning light filled the open front door, throwing much else of the entry hall into darkness. A little hot, fresh air blew in, disturbing the dust motes as they drifted in the light.

Gideon was up and wearing his going-out clothes, which meant he’d pulled a pair of pants over his pajamas. His white hair looked like he’d just pulled a pair of pants over that as well-it stuck up like wispy grass. The master of Ordinary Farm also had the hearty, pleased-with-himself air that Colin disliked-what he thought of as Gideon’s “great man” personality, when he acted as if everything he said and did was being noted by historians. What the old man was really like, Colin thought, was the movie version of the Wizard of Oz-a humbug, full of speeches and hot air.

But when Gideon abruptly turned to Colin his scowling face looked more like Oz the Great and Terrible. “What’s this I hear about you and your mother locking Tyler and Lucinda into their rooms?”

Surprised, Colin swallowed hard. “Mother wanted to keep them out of trouble, with all the changes to the property and everything. Especially Tyler.” He couldn’t hold Gideon’s sharp stare. “It wasn’t my idea.”

“I think you and your mother sometimes forget who owns this farm,” the old man said sternly. “You can tell her there will be no more locking anyone in. As far as the changes to the property, we’re going on a little tour right now.”

Colin frowned. He hated the idea of spending time with Tyler Jenkins, who seemed to be even more obnoxious than last summer if such a thing was possible. Lucinda wasn’t so bad-in fact, Colin had been almost looking forward to seeing her-but he really didn’t want Gideon to think he was going to spend the summer babysitting these two. “I’m supposed to be working in the library, Gideon… ”

“The library?” Tyler Jenkins had just appeared on the stairs. “Why?”

“He’s doing some work for me.” Gideon’s hand stole up as if it had a mind of his own, reaching toward the locket he wore hidden under his pajama shirt-his wife’s locket that Tyler Jenkins had brought back to him, which Colin knew was the whole reason the old man had sent Colin to the library. “And now that we’re talking about it, Master Needle, I haven’t seen any results considering all the time you spend over there instead of doing your regular work.” The old man shook his head. “I’m losing my patience, lad.”

“That’s not fair…!” Colin felt his cheeks get hot and bit back the rest of his angry reply. “I’m doing my best, Gideon. The books are all out of order… ”

“What’s Colin doing in the library?” Tyler was not going to let it go.

“That’s none of your business!” Colin said. “You’ve only been here a day…!”

“Now, let’s have no more of this silly fighting,” Gideon said, growing cheerful again as other people argued. “Young Colin’s just doing some research for me. You’ll hear about it later. Right now we have a tour to take!”

“Can we see the unicorns?” Lucinda asked. “And Meseret and Desta again?”

Gideon laughed. “Maybe, if there’s time. Come along, everyone. I want to show you some of the features we’ve added since last summer-you might call it the new, improved Ordinary Farm!”

“But Gideon, what about my work?” Colin asked.

The master of the house looked at him without much kindness. “You might as well get to it, lad. I wasn’t inviting you to join us.”

He led them out, leaving Colin Needle alone in the entry hall with his face red, smarting like someone had slapped him.