**
The Magic of Finkleton
A person can never have enough string.
-Harry Finkle
The shop bell rang again, and Jack entered the office shortly after, wiping dirt off his hands and trousers.
“What did you find?” Lizzy asked.
“I didn’t have to dig much. The trench is very long, just as it shows on the map,” Jack said. He walked over to the map and traced it with one finger. “It holds long pieces of wood, and the top of it is cut into smaller sections. I lifted one section off and you wouldn’t believe what I found,” Jack said, his excitement obvious.
“What? What did you find, Jack?” Robert asked. His eyes glowed almost as brightly as his brother’s.
“Well, it seems the sole purpose of the trench is to hold strings—and lots of them. I think the strings are connected to the hourglasses in the hourglass room,” Jack said. He turned back to the map, tracing the path of the trench.
“Why would it have strings in it? I don’t understand,” Lizzy asked.
Jack pointed to the map. “Do you see where the hourglass room is located? The strings come out of that room, then go into the trench. The map shows that the trench leads to the large barometer. The barometer must be how the hourglasses control the rain.”
“If a barometer can control the rain, why doesn’t every village and town have one?” Lizzy asked, puzzled.
“I’m not sure, but this village does. And it works! I also found this.” Jack handed Lizzy the journal he’d found in the desk. “Since you read so many books, maybe you can decipher this. It makes no sense to me.”
Lizzy opened the small journal and paced while she read out loud. “Finkleton holds the power of conduction current. It has the ability to push and pull at the magnetic atmosphere, and this can be controlled.” Lizzy frowned, considering what she had just read.
“What do you think it means?” Jack asked.
“It sounds like Finkleton is sitting on some sort of magnetic plate below the ground. If that’s the case, then the barometer is being used to harness that energy,” Lizzy explained.
“And how would you know that?” Robert asked.
“Well, if you would read a book once in a while, you might find that you could learn something useful.” Lizzy tapped her foot and placed her hands on her hips.
“Where on earth would you have read a book with that sort of information in it?” Jack was curious.
“In Uncle Harry’s library,” Lizzy said, grinning. “But neither of you would know that because neither of you like to read.”
Jack laughed. Lizzy was right, of course. “Maybe it’s time we did a little reading, right, Robert?”
Robert made a sour face. “Reading is for girls.”
“Say what you will, Robert, but I know better,” Lizzy said. She returned to the journal.
“Finkleton is the sister of air and fire, and the daughter of Mother Nature,” Lizzy read out loud. “That’s a curious statement.”
“What does it mean? I couldn’t make heads nor tails of it,” Jack said.
“Mother Nature is defined by three elements: air, fire and rain,” Lizzy said. “If Mother Nature had children, they would be those three.” Lizzy paused for a moment to think.
Robert spoke up during the silence. “So that’s why the journal says Finkleton is the sister of air and fire. Finkleton can make it rain.”
Jack and Lizzy looked at Robert, surprised.
“When did you become so smart?” Jack asked him.
Robert beamed. “I can figure out a thing or two.”
Jack stood up from behind the desk and stretched, letting out a big yawn. “I suppose you two should be off to bed. It’s getting late, and I have a few more things to do in the shop.”
“But I’m not tired,” Robert said. “I can help you.”
“Sorry, Robert. Off you go, or Mother will have my head,” Jack said.
Robert’s shoulders slumped, and he shuffled his feet through the door.
“That means you too, Lizzy,” Jack said, raising his eyebrow.
“Oh I know,” she said, smiling dreamily. “But I’m just so excited. Aren’t you? Can you believe all of the amazing secrets and magic surrounding the store?” Lizzy hugged her book tightly.
“Yes, of course I’m excited. But you need to get some rest so you can continue to read as many books as you can in Uncle Harry’s library,” Jack said with a grin.
“Oh yes, of course. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Lizzy said, then hurried out of the office, leaving Jack alone.
Jack had several chores that needed to be finished. He started stacking boxes in the shop, and organizing the baskets and tins. Many of the spices, such as pepper and salt, still needed to be weighed and placed into smaller containers by Robert, and it bothered Jack that his little brother hadn’t completed his tasks. Jack started to stack the large sacks of salt and pepper under the counter, just beneath the scale that Robert used. That job would keep Robert busy most of the day tomorrow.
It began to rain.
“Must be Mother Nature, because the hourglasses are all in their proper place,” Jack thought. He shrugged and continued to work.
Robert heard the rain hitting the roof, and ran to his mother. “May I please go downstairs and help Jack?”
She ruffled his hair. “Oh no, my dear. It’s far too late for you to be doing anything except getting ready for bed,” Emma said. “Be sure to wash up. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“But it’s raining,” Robert pleaded.
She shrugged. “It’s just a little rain, son. Nothing bad is going to happen. Now off you go.” Emma kissed Robert on his forehead. “Goodnight, Robert.”
“Goodnight, Mother,” Robert said over a yawn.
But Robert couldn’t sleep. His mind was racing with thoughts. Did Jack find the lever? I hope he hasn’t. Did one of the hourglasses tilt? No, surely not. This must just be regular rain. After all, it could still rain at any time, couldn’t it?
Robert tried to not worry. He fell fast asleep listening to the steady sound of the rain.
**
The next morning Robert was eager to finish breakfast. He could hardly wait to go downstairs and check on the hourglasses and the lever. He had to make sure everything was all right.
“Jack, you’ll be in charge again today,” William said at breakfast.
“You’re leaving, Father?” Robert asked.
“Yes, for a little while. Your mother and I need to take the wagon to more of the farmers to load up on supplies for the shop, and to let them know we are open for business,” William said, smiling. “We’ll be back soon. Not to worry.”
“Oh Jack, I almost forgot to tell you,” Emma said as she strolled over to him. “Mr. Sweetly will be stopping by sometime today. He’s bringing all sorts of sweets for the shop.”
Robert licked his lips and smiled. “Sweets? I love sweets!”
Their mother laughed. “Now don’t you go eating all the sweets, or you’ll be seeing the dentist straight away.”
“Oh and Jack, we’ve placed a rather large order with Mr. Candelly. He makes candlesticks. I’m not sure if he’ll be dropping them by today or tomorrow. I just wanted to keep you informed,” Emma said, then grabbed an umbrella and turned to look at Jack and Robert. “One day this week your father needs to take you boys to the barber. Your hair is becoming a bit unruly.”
“I agree with you, my dear,” William said. “See you soon, children. We’ll return before dinner.”
After their parents had left, Robert headed straight to the hourglass room. He grabbed the journal and double-checked each hourglass. They all appeared to be in their proper positions. All was well.
Jack went to Uncle Harry’s office to gather up the daily logs for the shop. Before leaving the office he turned to look at the map on the wall and stopped, concerned. The entire map was covered in dashed lines. He thought about that. Well, it was raining outside their house still, and there were dashed lines over their house. Maybe that meant that all of Finkleton was having a bit of rain today. Jack shrugged and shut the door, then went back to the shop.
Robert heard the office door shut and peered into the hall. When he was sure Jack had left, he left the hourglass room and walked to Uncle Harry’s office. He glanced around, but he was alone. Robert looked up at the map and noticed all the small lines drawn over the map of Finkleton.
“It must be Mother Nature,” Robert whispered.