Keppelberg (13 page)

The sad thing was that I was uncertain I could keep up with her any more.

* * *

Chapter Nine

I was determined to raid the library again in the hope of finding the documents which would allow me to understand the secret of the village. The statue of Obadiah Keppelberg in the library had a handle at the bottom of the plinth which might possibly be a drawer containing the important papers I was looking for. It preyed on my mind so much that one day I went to the library to return the book of Westward Ho! with other intent in my mind. The librarian entered the return in her records but I was unable to go anywhere near to the statue until her attention was drawn elsewhere. She remained in her position behind the desk all morning, staring at me occasionally with an element of suspicion for my tardiness to leave, until a woman entered to return a book asking her information regarding another one. It was then that the opportunity arose. As they began a short conversation together, I moved towards the statue and pulled the handle sharply. A drawer opened and I dipped my hand inside to withdraw a few sheets of paper before closing it again. Tucking the documents into my uniform, I left the library breathing a sigh of relief that the librarian was still talking to the woman, not realising what I had done.

Once home, I found that I had taken five pages from the drawer beneath the statue and I examined the writing on the first one eagerly. It related brief details about the founder and the creation of the village.

‘Hear ye, citizens of Keppelberg,' it began. ‘Pay homage to your Founder, Obadiah Keppelberg, a chemist with great foresight and even better ideals. He was employed in his early years with Hamble & Tomas, well-known dealers in drugs and other powders used to help people in poor health. In due course, he went on to dispense drugs on the lines of the old chemists who strove to find the elixir of life, a universal medicine, and to transmute base metals into gold. He concentrated on the elixir of life disregarding the need for gold and, in 1862, he founded the village of Numbwinton. He also left a considerable amount of money to allow it to continue into the future. At the same time, he devised a number of rules and regulations, a convention to be adopted by the villagers. If anyone failed to observe these rules without question, the inheritance will end and the village will founder. I present this notice to the people of Keppelberg this tenth day of May in the year eighteen hundred and sixty two. Signed... Jeremiah Tetley (First Chairman of Keppelberg).

I tuned to the second page which related all the rules and regulation and read on.

Keppelberg Conventions

The rules laid down by our Founder, Obadiah Keppelberg, are set out as follows:

1. There will be a village after my name which will remain independent from the rest of the world in all its glory.

2. There will be a village hall, a library, a doctor's surgery, a pharmacy and a police station. Nothing else will be required.

3. The villagers will retain everything as it stands at present wearing the same clothing and declining to gamble or drink alcohol.

4. Houses are to be built for one thousand one hundred people and the population must remain at that figure for all eternity as any excess or reduction in the figure will cause village life to become unsustainable in its form.

5. The village must be self-supporting establishing its own farms with cattle and livestock. It should also develop arable land growing a variety of vegetables and fruit.

6. There must be a strong desire to resist any strangers who arrive at the village. They must be evicted with haste.

7. There should be no money needed to be earned by the villagers. Vouchers will be provided for internal needs. Any payments to be made outside the village will come from the inheritance.

8 A friendly and harmonious atmosphere must prevail amongst all people within the community. Any person or persons causing mischief, murder or with criminal intent will be executed.

9. There must be no influences tolerated from outside the village for any reason whatsoever whether it be economic, political, relating to hostilities or conflict, or otherwise.

10. Of greatest importance is that all villagers must take the tablets allocated to them each day and every day.

These are the rules and regulations laid out by the Founder on this tenth day of May in the year eighteen sixty two.

* * *

I glanced at the rest of the papers which contained designs and chemical formulae which were far beyond my comprehension. So that's what it was all about! Old Keppelberg wanted the village to remain exactly as he knew it to be when he set out the rules and regulations. It was to be self-sufficient, with no gambling or alcohol, and the population figure had to remain at exactly eleven hundred. Strangers were to be resisted, vouchers issued for internal needs, and there was to be no influences from the outside world. I couldn't understand the last rule whereby everyone had to take the tablets dispensed to them every day but at last I knew what was driving the villagers in their ancient way of life. Any external bills came out of the inheritance left by Obadiah Keppelberg although it was never used because the village was self-sufficient. I had no idea where the funds were deposited not that it mattered. They were probably kept in a safe in the police station. I also doubted whether anyone had ever been conscripted to serve in either of the world wars. Somehow the rest of the world had passed them by.

The most important thing I had to do now was to return the papers to the library. I made my way back there to find the place unoccupied and I tapped on the desk to make the librarian realise that I was there.

‘I think someone's stealing books at the far end over there,' I told her blandly, lying through my teeth. ‘They're stuffing books into a satchel.'

She stood up straight and made for the far end of the library at speed. As she did so, I walked over to the statue, pulled the handle to open the drawer, and placed the papers inside, closing it as quickly as possible. Then, while she was searching for the imaginary culprit, I streaked out of the building to make my way home. I had achieved what I wanted to do although I was puzzled by the sheets of paper which bore the designs and laid out the chemical formulae. What did they refer to? Keppelberg had already outlined the details of the buildings to be erected in the new village. Obadiah couldn't have known about telephones, television, radio, computers, electronic equipment, or satellites in his time on earth yet the villagers accepted the rules and regulations that existed in the nineteenth century. Nonetheless, I had to admit that the system worked perfectly in this modern day and age and that no one suffered as a result of it in the village.

* * *

I resumed my post at the entrance to the village to repel all strangers, reflecting on my position. I was rid of the incompetent Wayne Austen. I had satisfied Mary's concern about my well-being, albeit I had created more concerns by telling her I was going to marry one of the villagers. I was ready to marry Bridget, and life was pleasant, peaceful and enjoyable. Yet there was something in the papers I had seen prepared by the Founder which troubled me. I couldn't put my finger on it even though each concept had been well set out on paper but I knew in my heart and mind that I was missing something important. At the end of the day, feeling less than satisfied with my thoughts, I went home to enjoy the evening meal prepared by Bridget. To my delight, she was an excellent cook, and on most occasions there was a large steak to which I was extremely partial. As usual, Robert joined us for dinner but he sat quietly at the table saying nothing. It was uncanny the way he joined us each evening for dinner but remained silent. All other boys of his age would have been withering away asking questions galore, boring the pants off his parents. Robert simply sat with a doleful expression on his face eating his food. When he had finished, he rose from his chair and left without a word to go to his bedroom,

‘Is everything all right with him?' I asked with an element fo concern, troubled by the boy's silence. ‘He's so quiet. He hardly ever says a word.'

‘He's all right within himself,' she replied freely, ‘but I know there's something wrong.' She paused to reflect for a moment. ‘To tell the truth, I was talking to a neighbour yesterday and she had the same concerns about her own son. She told me that he was fit and healthy but he's also troubled about something.'

‘Maybe we ought to face Robert and find out what's wrong,' I suggested. ‘You know, just a simple discussion so that we might be able to put him on the right track.'

‘I don't think he'll tell us,' she returned with a frown forming on her lovely face.

‘It won't do any harm,' I persisted.

Bridget nodded, shrugging her shoulders, and she went to the door calling out her son's name. He came down shortly with a sullen expression on his face.

‘Robert,' began his mother. ‘We're very concerned about you. You don't say much but I feel there's a groundswell of discontent. I know something's not right. Why don't you speak to us about it?'

The boy looked at her sullenly. ‘You know I can't say anything with him in the room.'

I stood up sharply at his comment before recognising that Bridget was his mother and I was only her partner. ‘That's okay,' I told them pleasantly. ‘I'll leave you both to discuss the matter.'

I left the room trying not to show my annoyance. In effect, I resented being kept out of the discussion because, like it or not, we were a family even though Bridget and I hadn't yet married. In the meantime, I had been forced to leave the room by a young whippersnapper who didn't want me to be there. I walked out of the house and went down one of the paths leading to the pharmacy, It had been in my mind to visit the place for some time. I needed to find out more about it and this was the appropriate moment. I came to the building and peered through the window at the front. It had been closed for the night and the front door was locked. The jars of white powdered chemicals rested inertly on the shelves and I wanted desperately to find out what they actually contained. What was in the tablets that everyone took by command of the village constitution. Was it the equivalent of aspirin... a light drug... or a more serious one. I had to find out. I removed a set of dummy keys left to me by my locksmith father from my pocket and I was about to insert one of them into the lock when I heard a light rustle from the near distance. I froze, stopping in my tracks, looking furtively around to check out the cause. Much to my dismay, I came face-to-face with PV7 who was almost upon me.

‘What are you doing here?' he demanded suspiciously, his eyes piercing me as he approached the front door.

‘I was just strolling about and ended up here,' I responded weakly. ‘I thought I might collect another batch of tablets while I was passing but the door's locked.' I winced inwardly because there was no reason for him to accept such a lame defence.

‘Don't you find it strange, Mr. Ross, ‘ he went on raising himself to his full height, ‘that every time we meet you're in another place either trying to get in or trying to get out? Last time it was at the library where you said that the door had been left open and the paraffin lamp hadn't been put out. Now I find you at the front door of the pharmacy. What are you really trying to do?'

‘You've got it all wrong,' I protested, hoping that something or someone would come to my rescue. ‘There's no need to become suspicious. It's simply a coincidence.' I paused to see whether he would give me the benefit of doubt.

‘To my mind there‘s a few too many of these coincidences where you‘re concerned, Mr. Ross. Far too many.' He stared directly into my eyes as if to determine the truth. ‘All right. I‘ll let you off this time but I hope we don‘t meet under such circumstances again or I will become suspicious. Let me escort you back to your home.'

‘Before we do that,' I enquired as he began to walk on. ‘Most towns and cities have law courts to deal with general matters and misdemeanours. How do you deal with such people in Numbwinton?'

‘We don't have people causing trouble here,' he replied. ‘If anyone did that, we'd put them in jail for a few days as punishment. They don't do anything stupid after that for fear of being incarcerated for a much longer period. Does that answer your question?'

I nodded slowly in agreement with what he related but then I pressed further. ‘What about strangers who cause problems here. What happens with them?'

He clammed up immediately and I knew what his answer would be. ‘You don't need to know that!' he riposted sharply. ‘It's none of your business!'

I said nothing further as we walked on to the McBain house and he nodded farewell before going on. I opened the door and entered, my heart pumping like a steam engine. I had been caught in the act, illegally trying to enter the pharmacy but I had got away with it. If I had been there half a minute later, my situation would have been untenable because I would have been inside the building... caught in the act! I had a good idea what would have happened to me had that happened and I closed my eyes at the thought of it. PC7 would have had no option but to arrest me and I might thereafter have been evicted from the community. It wasn't that which affected my mind, because I had still not fully integrated with the village, but I couldn't bear leaving Bridget behind, although I would have persuaded her to come with me. In the meantime, I would have to wait for another opportunity to visit the pharmacy again to find out what was in the tablets.

Although Bridget and Robert had entered into a deep discussion, nothing of any value came out of it. The boy had earlier forecast the trouble caused at the school, where they smashed the chairs and desks indiscriminately, but it was clear that it was only the start of it. Worse was more likely to follow. After that, Robert refused to reveal anything further to anyone but I had a feeling that there would be future disaster. I knew it in my bones. It was a personal prediction that quickly came to fruition because an event occurred the very next day which shook the village to its foundations. I was acting in my security role at the entrance to the village, sitting on the tree stump, ready to repel any strangers, when I smelled a distinct aroma of smoke drifting across the village. It was possible that one of the farmers had fired a field of wheat, as they did at the end of a season, which had got out of hand. However the smell was more like wood burning than wheat stubble. I made my way back along the path to find a crowd of people standing a short distance away from the village hall. My sense of smell proved to be correct as flames gripped the wooden-framed structure with a fierce natural force, fanned by a strong easterly breeze, The flames worked their way through the timbers spreading upwards, as though sported by wings, leaping from one section to another with incessant drive. People stepped back as the wind changed its course and the heat curled in their direction. Windows began to crack and embers fell inside the building as the roof began to collapse. Sadly, the village possessed no fire engine, no fire brigade, and it was pointless to try to dowse the flames with buckets of water because the houses were far too distant to carry out an operation of that kind. Subsequently, everyone watched helplessly as the village hall burned down to the ground in a heap of glowing embers. Fortunately there had been nothing of any value inside the building and, more importantly, no one was burned, injured or killed, but its destruction dispossessed the villagers of a vital lifeline to the community because they now had nowhere to meet. It would take a long time to rebuild a hall of that size, like a phoenix rising from the flames, but the first thing to do was to find the culprit who caused the damage and to punish him or her.