“The gorillas didn’t seem too happy to give it up,” Andy said. “I think they liked how shiny it was.”
“Egad! Gorillas? You don’t say!”
“I do say,” Andy said with a laugh. “The key fell into the possession of a group of angry gorillas. I nearly died trying to get it away from them. Do you know how fast they are? Not to mention that rhino….”
Instead of being horrified by Andy’s experience, Ned seemed delighted by the adventure. “Ha! The more dangerous the adventure the better the story, what? That old Lostmore Spirit kept you on your toes. Nothing like a good escape to get one’s blood pumping, eh?”
“Well, I can think of other safer ways,” Andy admitted, feeling relieved. It seemed that his grandfather wasn’t blaming him for the mission going so wrong.
“You look pale, my boy,” Ned said, squinting at Andy through the glass. “I suggest you take a tonic made from strawberries, raspberries, snaggleberries, and cherries. Guaranteed to restore a bit of color to your cheeks, what?”
Andy shrugged. “If you say so.”
“By Jove, what happened to the rest of the expedition?” Ned asked, seeming to notice for the first time that Andy was alone. “Where’s Jack McGraw?”
“Um,” Andy said awkwardly, “I…I’m not sure. The last time I saw him, he and the others were trapped in a tree by a rhino.”
“And you left them behind?” Ned, who had seemed jolly up until that point, leveled a serious gaze at Andy. “Tut-tut! The first rule of the Jungle Explorers’ Society is that no member is ever left behind. Jack McGraw is critical to this particular mission. How could you have done such a thing?”
Andy blushed and lowered his head. It was what he’d feared would happen. Just getting the key back wasn’t enough. How he’d gotten it seemed to be equally important. The Society expected its members to display courage and integrity. Deep down, Andy had known he should have stayed to help Jack and the others rather than run for the boat.
Ned looked at his embarrassed grandson and sighed. “Chin up, lad. Everyone makes mistakes. You’ll have other chances to prove yourself.”
Andy nodded. He was determined to try again at the first opportunity. “What’s this about an old vault?” he asked, changing the subject back to the Key of Fate. “What’s inside of it?”
Ned lowered his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “Only the greatest book ever written. Inside the vault is a tome from the ancient Library of Alexandria, the only book to survive the fire that destroyed the largest collection of historical knowledge in the world. What is written in that single volume would change the way you think about everything, my dear boy. Everything! The fate of the world relies on the vault’s never being opened….”
Ned’s voice trailed off and Andy saw the faraway look in his grandfather’s eyes. Then Ned shook himself, bobbing on the string that held him suspended inside his glass container. He called up to the mechanical man: “Boltonhouse, take the key from Andy.”
The robot extended a hand and grabbed the key from Andy’s outstretched palm.
Andy’s grandfather gave him a wink and said, “Why don’t you join the others by the fire? I’ve some important business to attend to, namely making absolutely certain that this key doesn’t go missing again.”
Then, with an abrupt turn, Boltonhouse marched toward the largest of the bungalows. Andy stared after his departing grandfather for a moment before turning with a shrug and walking over to where the others were gathered.
I wonder where he’s planning on taking that key. As the Keymaster, I thought I would be responsible for its safekeeping.
But Andy had learned not to question his grandfather’s ways. As the leader of the secret society, Ned decided what needed to be done.
Andy grinned as he greeted his companions, and after a welcoming cup of tea and plate of food were shoved into his hands, they all demanded to hear about his expedition.
By the flickering light of the fire, Andy chronicled his harrowing encounter. When he got to the part about running to the boat alone, there was an awkward silence. Thankfully, Abigail interrupted the embarrassing moment by telling the stories of how Andy had scared off the hippo from the leaking boat and of her daring rescue at the edge of the falls.
As the others slapped Abigail on the back, praising her for coming to Andy’s aid, Andy felt a renewed sense of shame.
Next time, I’ll be the one doing the rescuing, he thought determinedly. I just hope they’ll give me another chance.
The next morning, Andy awoke feeling completely disoriented. He’d been dreaming that he was back on the Nile Princess, only this time, instead of facing a waterfall, he’d been surrounded by swarms of crocodiles, all chomping at the sides of his boat as he desperately tried to fight them off with nothing but a limp strand of spaghetti.
It sounded silly now that he was awake, but it had made for a restless night, and Andy couldn’t stop yawning at breakfast. His tousled thatch of blond hair stood up in even more of a haystack than usual, and Abigail giggled the moment he sat down.
“I don’t know what’s so funny,” Andy said grumpily.
“You look like you’ve been in a hurricane,” she said. “You want to borrow my comb?”
“You sound like my mother,” Andy said, running his hand through his hair. “Trust me, it won’t help.”
Andy had just finished a rather bland bowl of oatmeal when Rusty stood and banged on the side of his tin cup with a spoon, calling the group to attention.
“All right, let’s get started,” he boomed. “We’ve quite a bit of material to cover and I’d like your full attention.” He narrowed his gaze at Betty and Dotty, who were deep in conversation about various poisonous plants and their antidotes. The two glanced up, obviously irritated at the interruption. The sisters glared at Rusty, then both sighed at the same time. With a flick of
