Marlowe Page #10

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They moved to the barn where they all stopped as Lloyd took

his own tour around the entire outside of the building

arriving back where he started.

LLOYD:

Nothen on the outside.

Lloyd and Louise look at each other and then they both turn

and walk into the huge opening mouth of the dark barn.

Lloyd turned on a light switch but many of the lights were

burned out so there wasn’t much change in the room.

Lloyd started in one direction and Louise and Cole in

another.

After the first hour of searching Louise goes in the house

to prepare lunch and Lloyd climbs the old, rickety, wooden

ladder to the loft.

He swipes away at the cobwebs as he climbs but just as he is

about to reach the top a wooden rung breaks under his legs

and he starts to fall.

Cole runs out of the barn yelling for his mother and then he

rushes back in to his dad hanging from one of the rungs and

trying to grab one higher but his legs are stuck in the

broken rungs below his feet.

LLOYD:

Cole, Cole, run up the back

stairs and throw me down a rope

and hurry son.

Cole takes off like a rabbit and runs all the way to the

back of the barn and then up the stairs along the back wall

to the loft.

He jumps up to the loft level and runs across the loft,

jumping over old bicycles, boxes, trunks and old ski

equipment until he gets to the wall with the ropes and such

hanging off hooks.

Cole grabs a rope and pulls but the rope is stuck in the

hook.

LLOYD:

Come on son, I don’t have too

much time left for I pass out

here.

Cole pulls and yells and kicks and pulls harder, pulling

with all his might until the rope bundle pulls three or four

wall boards off the wall exploding onto the ground.

LLOYD:

Cole!! Cole!!

COLE:

Coming dad, coming.

Cole grabs the rope and rushes to the edge of the loft where he

throws over a loose end.

LLOYD:

Okay Cole, tie that off on

something solid. Use one of

the knots I showed you.

Cole looks around anxiously and sees a round metal hook sticking

out of a post going all the way to the ceiling. He quickly loops

the rope through the hook and ties it off.

COLE:

Okay dad, it’s tight.

The post shakes and trembles as Lloyd adds his weight to the rope

and pulls himself up to the loft where he crawls over the ledge

and rolls onto his back gasping.

LLOYD:

Guess that ladder isn’t any

good anymore, huh?

Cole walks over to his dad and helps him sit up.

Lloyd grabs his son and gives him a huge hug. Cole, who was

never hugged by his dad before doesn’t know what to do so he just

stands there and waits for it to be over.

LLOYD:

You did good Cole. You saved

your old dad’s butt from

falling all the way to the

ground which would have meant

that I was back in that

ambulance again going back to

that same hospital and adding

up more bills than we have the

money to pay for – so thank you.

COLE:

Yes sir.

LLOYD:

Where is Marlowe, Cole?

Cole suddenly remembered Marlowe and turns to rush over to where

the mouse rolled out of his pocket but Marlowe is standing there

pointing at something.

Cole runs up to Marlowe and the mouse jumps up onto his arm and

hops back in the shirt pocket.

Lloyd comes up behind Cole and they both stare at what Marlowe

was pointing at.

LLOYD:

I don’t even believe that I am

saying this Cole but that is one

damn smart mouse.

Cole and Lloyd continue to look at and old wall built in some

earlier period of time that had been closed up with the wall that

held the ropes and other barn hardware on hooks, wires and nails.

In the middle of the wall was the symbol from the watch. The

symbol was only about ten inches square and faded almost to the

point of being gone but just enough of the colored triangles and

other shapes exist to see that it was the symbol from the watch.

LOUISE:

Lunch is ready.

LLOYD:

Louise, come up here but don’t use

the ladder, it’s rotten. Come up

the back steps.

Cole and Lloyd stood waiting as Louise made it to the top of

the loft and then complained about the junk and filth all the way

across the loft until she arrived at the wall and immediately

stopped talking.

LLOYD:

The mouse found it.

COLE:

Marlowe.

Cole corrected his father.

LOUISE:

Oh my God. How do we get in

there?

Lloyd hobbled down the back steps and returned almost as

soon with a hammer, crowbar and a hand saw.

He starts pounding at the top of one of the wall boards

until it breaks away from the nails and falls into a dark

room.

Lloyd continues on with the hammer while Louise and Cole use

the crow bar and their feet, kicking at the old wall boards

until they fall into the unknown room and form a hole the

size of a door.

Lloyd, Louise and Cole with Marlowe step into the darkness.

After their eyes have adjusted the three see a room filled

with antique furniture.

LLOYD:

Cole, go get the big light from

the kitchen and use the stairs

and don’t fall.

Cole runs towards the back steps and in a few moments he

runs back up the steps and into the room where he hands his

dad the big light. Lloyd turns on the light and walks a few

steps.

The entire room is filled with antique furniture dating back

to the fifteenth and sixteenth century, all covered in dusty

fading sheets.

Cole and Louise walk along pulling sheets off an old spinet

harpsichord, an ancient kitchen hutch, a full set of

Victorian couches with matching wing chairs, more chairs, an

elegant fire place mantle, lamps, beds, paintings and all

stacked neatly in rows and all in perfect condition.

Lloyd finally walks over to a piece of furniture and pulls

an old, dusty sheet off and there in front of him is a

large, black desk with a top standing portion with doors and

above it, the very top opens up like a piano lid to expose

little, letter cubby holes and slots.

LLOYD:

Does anyone know what this is?

COLE:

It’s a desk dad.

LLOYD:

It’s an Edison Desk Cole. This

desk right here was built by

Thomas Edison and is probably

worth, more than the farm.

COLE:

Who was Thomas Edison?

LOUISE:

Now Cole, you must have learned

in school about Thomas Edison,

he invented the electric light

bulb and electricity, didn’t he

Lloyd?

COLE:

But this is a desk

LLOYD:

That’s right Cole, he was an

inventor and built many things

and one of my family used to

work for him in his carpentry

shop and that relative may have

even worked on this desk.

COLE:

Are we going to sell it?

LLOYD:

Yes son, as soon as we can get

it out of this barn - it goes

on the auction block, along with

probably everything else in this

room. It’s as fortune – in

furniture. It is a treasure and

we found it - because of a mouse

– how ironic can that be?

COLE:

What’s irenic mean?

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