“Count me in,” Joe said.
“I’ll let you know, but we have to wait until this ice melts.” He stood up and headed for the door. “Keep the donuts,” he said and Joe laughed.
When Harry arrived back at the office, he shared Joe’s information with Bertie, who then informed him she had found quite a lot on Obie.
“I haven’t put it together yet, but… he was born 1876 in New York and shared a potentially large inheritance with a twin sister.”
“That was the source of his funds when he came to town for supplies,” Harry said.
Bertie nodded. “I’m guessing the person he exchanged letters with was his sister or his lawyer. He might have had two letters in the same envelope, one for each of them.”
“That’s possible. Any information on when or why he might have become a hermit?”
“What I’ve read suggests he planned it from the time he was a teenager.”
Harry raised his eyebrows. “That young, huh?”
“The Historical Society would be interested in this,” Bertie said.
Harry was rubbing his chin. “I don’t doubt it,” he said, “but let’s keep it quiet for now, until we get a chance to look for where he lived. I won’t tell Silas and Joe everything yet.”
“That would be a fantastic discovery.”
“And you never know what we could find to add to the story. Silas thinks it could become a tourist attraction but that depends on if we find anything, what we find, and how accessible it is.”
“What are the chances?”
“Hard to say. Leave a printed copy of your information on my desk when it’s done and I’ll read it tonight.”
***************
Three weeks later Harry declared Hobie’s Hill safe to navigate. They carried knapsacks with lunches, bottled water, flashlights and spare batteries, and a coil of yellow nylon rope. Wearing rubber-soled boots, in anticipation of wet surfaces in the tunnels, Joe led the way as they set out.
At the entrance of the tunnel leading down to the sea level cave, they paused for a moment. “Is there more than one branch tunnel?” Harry asked.
“Granddad didn’t say,” Joe said.
Harry nodded. “If the tunnel floor is slippery, we’ll postpone this trip and try again later.”
“Are you serious?” Silas asked.
“The branch tunnel will be on the upper side, going uphill, and we don’t know how steep it is. I know you’re eager, Silas, but an uphill walk over unfamiliar slippery territory would be dangerous.”
Silas nodded. “You’re right.”
As they entered the tunnel, they used their lights, keeping watch for any irregularities in the floor that could cause someone to trip or stumble. There was no way of knowing what changes might have occurred since their last visit.
After passing several shallow caverns on both sides where small animals might shelter or nest for the winter, a narrow opening looked promising. Joe, the slimmest, squeezed in but backed out after finding a dead end about six feet in.
The next opening, about halfway down to the bottom, was larger, wet in places, and fairly steep until they reached a point where it branched out in a ‘T-shape.’ Their flashlights showed that the floors of both branches were similar to the one they were currently in, but maybe a bit more level.
