Silver Crown

Chapter 20: The Dark Castle Otto was gone all the next day. He returned just before dark, empty-handed except for berries, gloomy and rather preoccupied. He built a fire as usual, but only for warmth and whatever cheer it might bring. There was nothing more to cook. Their supper was a cold one; it consisted of the last few scraps of bread and some berries. They had reached the end of their food.There was only one cheerful thing. Ellen's ankle continued to improve; she had, in fact, walked without her crutches all the way to the brook and bathed it, and herself, in the cool, dark water. She had barely made it back, however, and afterward the ankle ached quite a lot. Yet she was sure she had done it no harm. She did not tell Otto that it hurt. Her stomach, after the small meal, felt empty and uncomfortable; she was sure that Otto, having hunted all day, must be far hungrier than she. Yet he did not complain; at least, not exactly."When we get out of here," he said, "when we get to the highway, I hope we come out near a hamburger stand. I'm going to order six hamburgers with ketchup, rolls, onions, potato chips, and Cokes. And pie. Chocolate pie, and eat them all. I don't care if I can't pay. I'll eat them before they find out.""I can pay. I still have more than a dollar.""Yes, but you'll want some, too. A dollar isn't enough.""They'll arrest you.""I don't care. They have to feed you in jail. And you and Aunt Sarah can come and bail me out.""If only I can find her. I hope she's there."For some reason, thinking about Aunt Sarah made something in Ellen's mind roll back, and she suddenly remembered the dream of her father. She described it to Otto."And the strange thing about it," she said, "is that I didn't feel asleep at all, and when it ended, I didn't feel as if I were waking up.""Maybe it wasn't a real dream. It doesn't sound like a dream. Maybe it was telepathy.""How could it be?""He might be still alive. I bet he is.""He isn't alive," Ellen said. "He couldn't be. The fireman said so. Anyway, you didn't see the house.""Then you must have seen heaven. Maybe when you put the crown on, you can see heaven.""Heaven wouldn't be so dark." She lay down and pulled the blanket around her. "It was only a dream." With that she was asleep.When Ellen awoke the next morning, Otto was not there. She was not particularly surprised, since there was nothing for breakfast except a small pile of berries left over from the night before. She assumed that he had awakened earlier and gone hunting, or at least gone to gather some more berries. He had told her that early morning was the best time of day for hunting.So she ate the berries, and then, without using her crutches, walked quite easily down to the brook to get a drink of water and to wash her face. Of course she was wobbly, and she limped, but she did not hurt. After she washed, she went back to the cave and waited for an hour or so, expecting Otto any minute -- she hoped with a rabbit in each hand, but at least with more berries. But he did not come. All day she waited.By nightfall he still had not returned, and she had begun to worry. Could he have gotten lost? She could hardly believe that, knowing how easily he found his way in the woods. Had he just hunted, hungry as he was -- hungry as they both were -- much farther than usual, not realizing how far he had gone? If so, he should be back soon, since he could not hunt in the dark.Suppertime came and went. She was hideously empty, and there was not so much as a green berry left. Since Otto was not there, she built the fire herself; she kept it small, because the wood supply was low. It would be easy enough to build it bigger if he came back with some game. She felt thoroughly miserable, a little frightened, but most of all worried about Otto himself. For a dreadful suspicion had begun to work its way through her mind.Eventually she fell asO'Brien, Robert C. is the author of 'Silver Crown' with ISBN 9780689841064 and ISBN 068984106X.