Dear Traveler,
0. I’m sure you’re curious as to why this letter encloses money. And I’m also sure you’re wondering why a beam of laser light signals this location. My motivations will become clear if you read this letter carefully. But I caution you — don’t take my benevolence for granted. Any breach of my rules will lead to dire consequences. All loyalty will be rewarded. Let me now answer your questions.
0. In my youth, I assembled a wealth of specialized knowledge. Around the same time, I achieved financial wealth. Money hasn’t been a problem for quite a while. Because I had time and means, I was able to build this hotel. After it was completed, I realized that I wouldn’t always be around to protect my treasure; and I can’t keep pouring money into this place without getting anything in return. Also, I realized that there was no one person I could trust and I’d love to see this place stand for half of fifty years. Little by little, I developed this plan.
0. I’m offering this money as a bribe to you. All you need to do is press the button before July 19th and come collect each year — a private trust provides these funds and pays all the taxes. Money, and a copy of this letter, will appear in this location: your reward for this small puzzle. But you need to take care that nobody sees you coming here. Across the field behind you, the woods provide good cover. Approach the hotel from those woods, if you would. Like me, you would be best served if nobody saw you at the hotel.
1. If I tell you a bit about my life, you may have a better understanding of my motivations. About ten years ago, I lost my wife. May she rest in peace. Bereft, I set my mind to assembling a definitive library of my experience. Avocation became determination, and I focused my energy. Almost to the exclusion of everything else, I concentrated on documenting and preserving my knowledge. Limited health forced me to rush at the end, and there are several areas I need to expand to make my opus complete.
0. In case you’re wondering — there’s nothing in this hotel that anyone besides me would find valuable. Although the documents I’ve assembled are incomplete, I did take the precaution of encrypting the information so only I could understand it. Maybe that will discourage you from doing something inadvisable. Betray my trust at your own risk. After a while, you’ll see the value in taking my bribe. Ask no questions and you’ll be enriched for doing almost nothing. Life hardly ever presents you with such an easy decision.
0. I can imagine what you’re thinking — “Is this a test?” Assuredly, it’s not. Many have tried and failed to discern the true meaning here. But don’t let that stop you from trying. Avarice will betray you. Aim high, but be ready to start at the bottom. Look to your heart when at the depths of despair.
1. I’d like to offer you some more advice — it may be shocking to you that while on that first step to a higher plane it was in fact the light itself that caused me pain. And that pain contained great power. My resolve told me to climb again until I could make my way back to my feet. Backwards is never the answer, I found. Awake in this new life I feel more alive than ever. And, as my wife would have said, “Only the first King’s Bishop treads without fear.” Live and let live.
1. I hope you’ll take this bribe, and my small bits of information. Any other questions you might have will have to go unanswered. My sincerest apologies for the cryptic nature of this letter. But, take solace in the fact that at first, level heads have patience while their hands part and meet again. A patient man can find his way out of any situation. A hasty man is almost never correct. Let’s consider this you r Job.
Jack spoke first: “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever read, except for maybe these numbers at the end.”
“Why? It makes sense to me,” said Stephen.
“But think about it — why would he set up a light, and power for the light and then aim it into the woods?” asked Jack. “So that some random person like us would see the light and then come looking? Why not just have no light, no money, and hire someone to guard the place.”
“Well a guard would cost a lot more,” said Ben. “And a guard also means there’s something valuable, so it might have the opposite effect. People would
“Okay,” said Jack, “but still, why lure people to find your money, when you could just leave the place boarded up. If a guard is suspicious, isn’t a light and this weird letter even more suspicious?”
“Yeah, that’s true,” said Ben. “But, we’re supposed to press the button. What if that does something else too?”
“So we have to assume this guy is lying?” asked Stephen. Jack and Ben nodded in agreement. “Well, then it’s simple — if he’s lying then we shouldn’t believe anything in the letter unless we confirm it ourselves.”
“Makes sense,” said Jack.
“So, we push the button and then wait until the 19th and see if more money appears?” pondered Ben.
“Right,” said Stephen. “And we also see if the place really is empty.”
“How are we going to do that without wrecking the place?” asked Jack. “Besides, maybe it’s just good enough to get seven-hundred dollars each year. That’s pretty good money for doing nothing.”
“True,” said Ben. “But he really must be hiding something good in there. Why does he want it to stand for half of fifty years?”
“I don’t think that has anything to do with what’s inside,” said Stephen. “But I still think we need to know what’s in there.”
“Hey,” said Jack, “you’re only going to be here until the seventeenth. Can you change that?”
“I don’t know.” answered Stephen. “I can call my mom tomorrow. What time is it? I guess I mean later today.”
“Yeah,” said Jack. “We should get some sleep — it’s way late.”
Exhausted, they put away the letter and money, and turned off the flashlight. For almost fifteen minutes they lay in silence, but couldn’t sleep. Eventually, Ben dug around and found the flashlight again. He opened the letter and began to re-read it.
“I think it has something to do with the land,” said Ben. “There’s something he’s trying to hide on the land — and he covered it with a hotel.”
“Could be,” said Jack. “It’s almost dawn, we should really get to sleep before my mom gets up.”
They could have slept until noon, but Jack’s mom woke them up for breakfast a few hours after they had finally gotten to sleep.
They caught a huge break later that morning — Jack’s mom had to go out to run errands. Jack politely declined when she offered to take the boys along. She wasn’t concerned that they would get in trouble while she was gone. They hadn’t really stirred from the couch since breakfast. Ben wanted to go back to sleep after eating, but Jack convinced him that going back to sleep would arouse too much suspicion. With his mom leaving the house, Jack thought it would be perfectly safe for them to put their damp clothes in the dryer and take a nap.
Later that day, after they rested, they talked about the hotel again.
“Are we going back tonight?” asked Stephen.
“Damn right,” said Ben.
“I’d like to know what he meant by putting up the laser and this small puzzle,” said Jack. “Did he mean the puzzle was the laser, or did we miss another puzzle?”
“Maybe the arrow and the hatch was the puzzle,” said Stephen.
“I guess,” mumbled Jack. He was trying to remember every detail of the previous night, but it seemed too much like a dream.
Leaving the house that night, they were more nervous than before. Jack paused at every noise as they put on their dark clothes and made their way to the back door. He even went back once, convinced he heard someone coming down the stairs. Once out the door, they were fine. They moved with confidence through the woods.
At the hotel, they had an argument over their next step.
Stephen said, “We still don’t know if we can trust anything from the letter. We should look through one of the windows and see if it really is empty.”
“But if we mess with the place, we might not get another delivery of money,” said Ben. “Let’s just press the button and get out of here.”
