One evening Petronella’s big black cat, Maalox, was happily purring on the mat in front of the fireplace when the family’s peace was broken in the very middle of Petronella having tea with her husband, Edmundus. A frenzied knocking pounded on the front door. Petronella looked through the window to see who it was. Soloman, the local orphan, was standing there beating his fists on their heavy oak door.
“It’s Soloman Brix,” Petronella said. She turned to Edmundus with a worried face. “It seems he’s in some sort of distress.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go,” Edmundus said.
When Edmundus had only opened the door a little, he could already see that Petronella was right. Soloman was definitely in a bad state.
“What is it?” Edmundus asked. “Come in! Come in!” Edmundus took Soloman by the arm and gently led him to one of their cushion armchairs. “Do sit down. Now take a minute or two to calm yourself. I’ll make you a nice cup of tea and one of Petronella’s delicious cup cakes.”
Soloman sat shivering in the armchair. Maalox got up and rubbed against Soloman’s legs as if to comfort him. Both Petronella and Edmundus sat quietly and waited for Soloman to drink at least some of his tea and to calm down a little.
Petronella said: “Come, Soloman, do tell us what’s the matter.”
“There’s something strange happening in the village,” Soloman began. “Young boys of my age, I’m twelve, are disappearing. A few of my friends have gone missing and I have no idea where they are. And now my friend Adrian Simnel has gone, too.”
“Well, surely their parents know where they are? Otherwise they’d have gone out to look for them. They’d have told the police or come to see Edmundus or...” Petronella said.
Soloman was too worked up to let her finish. “No, no, you don’t understand. Their parents think they are at a boarding school.”
“But, they ARE at boarding school,” Edmundus answered. “Only the other day I was speaking to Mrs Simnel and she was telling me how happy she was that her son, Adrian, had been accepted at the Janjilon Education Centre for Boys. An extremely good school in her view. They’re quite strict there, she was saying. They won’t let boys go home whenever they like.”
“Yes, but, you see, I think there’s something very strange about this school. I’ve tried to find out where the place is and no-one seems to know where it is exactly. Somewhere on the other side of the forest, they all say. I know the forest like the back of my hand, I go there nearly every day, I’ve looked for the school and can’t find it.”
“Well, the forest is huge. There are more things in that forest than we can imagine,” Petronella said. “I’ve never been there myself. Though I used to live in the woods in Charis Cottage, I didn’t dare venture into the forest beyond.”
“It’s true, the forest is enormous, and I agree that I may not have seen it all. But how come boys who go to the Janjilon Education Centre are never seen again?”
“Mrs Simnel was telling me that visits are not allowed. The reason being that if the boys see their friends or families again they might want to go back home. She thought that Adrian was quite wayward and needed some stiff education,” Edmundus said.
“No, I’m sure that something horrible is happening. Boys can’t just go off and not be heard of again,” Soloman said firmly.
Edmundus was sure that Soloman was worrying without reason. He had worked himself up in such a frenzy for nothing. Petronella, on the other hand, thought that it was a little odd. Whatever the truth was, it would be worth looking into this, to find out what had really happened. After all, it wouldn’t hurt to know where these boys were. Would it?
“We could try and find out,” Petronella said to Soloman.
“Would you? Would you really? So you do believe me?” Soloman was happy that someone had taken him seriously.
“I don’t know what to believe,” Petronella said. “I like to keep an open mind. And I like to see clearly. So I think we should look into this if only to put your mind at rest.”
“Haven’t you been approached by the school?” Edmundus asked Soloman.
“No, sir. Judge Ormerod has never asked me if I’d like to go. Maybe he doesn’t know about me. He usually persuades parents to send their boys there, but mine are dead.”
“Judge Ormerod has done a lot for the children of Fort Willow and for the county of Westshire. As Education Councillor of Westshire he has taken his job seriously and created such a good school for Westshire – his home county. It has been one of the county’s finest achievements. Do you mean to say we are not to trust Judge Ormerod?” Edmundus asked Petronella.
“No, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that Soloman is worried and we should help him get these thoughts out of his head. I’m sure there is nothing wrong about all this.”
“I think this is dangerous, Petronella,” Edmundus said. “Judge Ormerod is not a man to be messed with. You don’t know how powerful he is.”
“Do you realise what you have just said, Edmundus?” Petronella asked. “You have just said that Judge Ormerod is a man who frightens others. A clever man with a difficult character, and a quick temper, I’ve heard.”
“He calls families telling them how, when their boys grow up, they’ll be able to get good jobs working for the government, or in banks, and so on, instead of having to live the hard life of woodcutters, like most men here today,” Soloman said.
“I know Judge Ormerod gives some people the jitters, but he is an upright man, I’m sure of that,” Edmundus said.
“I’m not so sure,” Petronella said to herself, under her breath. Then she said loudly: “There’s no harm in clearing this up. Judge Ormerod does not need to know that we are investigating this, does he?” Petronella asked, turning to Soloman.
“Thank you so much, Petronella,” Soloman said. “I’m so happy that you are taking me seriously. I am worried about Adrian. He is my best friend. Told me lots of times that he would not go off to the Janjilon Education Centre whatever his parents said, but they sent him there all the same.”
“I’ve heard that Judge Ormerod is a fascinating and persuasive man. Maybe Adrian’s parents were taken in by him...”
“Petronella!” Edmundus interrupted her. “It’s you who should realise what you’re saying. You’re saying that Judge Ormerod is somehow involved in taking boys away from their families and hiding them away. You’re saying he’s dishonest.”
Petronella and Edmundus had never argued before. He was such a good man that he never thought other people could be horrible. Petronella turned to Soloman and said: “I will come and see you one day soon and we can talk about this.”
Soloman was happy with that. He left to go back to his home where he lived on his own.