Story

Chapter 10 - Last Chapter “What did you say, Kitty?” said Bob again. “This tree is just not at that Chapter in its life where it is probably going to be flowing with cotton,” said Kitty.  “It can't be more than four years old.” Bob's head began to spin. He sat down and pulled out…

Chapter 9 - Lucky Number 4 Click! Startled, Bob snapped his head around to see the locked doorknob turning. The door opened. It was Kitty. “You scared the Charles Dickens out of me, Kitty!” said Bob. “I'm sorry, Bob.” “Don't worry, it was just a little scare.” “No, I mean, I'm sorry about everything. I…

Chapter 8 - If Walls Could Talk Bob looked everywhere. He looked in closets, pried back baseboard, looked through boxes, in between windows. Pretty much anywhere there was a wall in his shop, he was looking. After Mountain Man told him he was located in a historic building and that “The walls of that building…

Chapter 7 - Mountain Man, Again “So your lady wants to travel the Lincoln Highway, does she?” Mountain Man was positioned on the opposite end of the campfire, just outside his cabin. He carefully dumped the small sack of acorns into an old dutch oven. “I guess. It sounds fun and all, but I just…

Chapter 6 - Night Out “This is so much better than Mountain Man's turkey-leg-surprise,” said Bob as he devoured his meal by candlelight across from Kitty. He had decided to take her to her favorite Kearney restaurant to make up for all the time he had been away the last few days. “Why do you…

Chapter 5 - Oak Trees and Bumblebees “Excuse me, miss?” Bob felt a little awkward as he tried to flag the nurse down while she walked the path from the hospital to the majestic old home. “Could you tell me where I could find an oak tree?” The woman stopped. “Come again?” It wasn't every…

Chapter 4 - The Mountain Man “I tell you what,” said Mountain Man as he took another big bite off his turkey leg. “If the Trail don't kill you, it'll make you that much tougher, and smarter.” Bob managed to track down the fabled Mountain Man and his one-room shanty. The man's home was organized. …

Chapter 3 - Too Many Books Books. Books. And more books. Bob was in a hurry. To find what? He didn't know. But he was convinced that Walter was guiding him somewhere—hopefully to riches—through the clues he left behind. Bob found a quiet corner in the library and began to sift through Walter's photographs. They were…

Chapter 2 - Off to the Library “What's it for?” asked Kitty. She watched Bob tinker with the old camera he had pulled from the wood and leather box. “I don't know,” said Bob. “I don't get it. Any of it.” “And the letter?” “It's cryptic,” said Bob. “But that's just like Walter.” “And it's…

Chapter 1 - Can the Floorboards Keep a Secret? In the summer of 1945, Bob Kringel returned home from the war to Kearney after serving as a Navy photographer aboard an aircraft carrier. As a teenager, Bob was a quiet kid, but he possessed a quick wit and adventurous curiosity. This made him the favorite,…