Sacred Ground

“You’ve seen this house, Mr. Moultrie?”

“Yes, I have.”

“We were overwhelmed. Had no idea it was this grand. You know it’s mostly his own work.” Gabe heard the pride in his own voice and was surprised.

“Your great-grandfather was a man of many parts as they used to say of outstanding men.”

“I see that. I’ve been going through his papers. Found his property tax assessment and my heart nearly stopped.”

“I hope it gave you some motivation to observe the dictates of the will,” Moultrie said calmly.

“Don’t worry. I’m observing them. I’ve already searched his bedroom and now I’m working through his office. By the way, Mr. Moultrie, what did my great-grandfather look like? I haven’t found any photographs of him yet.”

“I’ll do my best to describe him as I saw him. He stood about five-eight, had a powerful body and strong features. Deep-set eyes, broad nose and mouth. Wore his hair thick. Had a fine forehead. He was dark-skinned. Does that give you a picture?”

“Yes, it does.”

“One more thing, he had a presence about him. He wasn’t a loud-speaking man but he had your attention when he spoke.”

“That I can imagine. I’m curious about another thing. Did you come to the funeral?”

“Yes, as quietly as possible. Someone had to lock up the house and see that all was in order.”

“I wondered about that and how the rumor was started about an heir from New York. That was your doing?” Gabe asked. He didn’t see how it could have been anyone else.

“I did it because the community had to have some idea about what was going to happen. I hoped it would prevent the kind of idle curiosity that occurs when houses are left unoccupied too long. You found everything was all right?”

“Yes. I expect Sam Williams across the street was watching it anyway.”

“No doubt. Good man, Sam. Call me if you have any questions, Mr. Bell, and my regards to Drew.”

Gabe went back to work with the image of his great-grandfather in his mind. He wished he had a photograph. It was strange that there weren’t any in the house, but maybe they’d been put away in one of the numerous dressers. He’d keep an eye out for them. Meanwhile he was through with the desk so he started on the books.

They were organized by subject matter and since it was clear from the first glimpse that Africa was the predominant theme, he paid close attention to those books. Most of them showed signs of heavy usage but Gabe could find no clue in them. He did make a mental note that there were several on the small nation called the Gambia.

Downstairs he made tuna sandwiches with lettuce and tomato for lunch. He had to start getting more vegetables on Drew’s plate any way he could.

“In a week or two I’m going with Mr. Williams to get stuff to put in the garden. He says we have to wait because it’s too early now. You can’t plant just any time,” he proclaimed.

“That’s good to know,” Gabe replied. “What will you be planting?”

“Don’t know yet. Some are already started in little pots and you have to look them over for the healthiest ones.” He took another sandwich. “This is good. I never thought of putting tomato with tuna.”

“Now that we’re going to have our own vegetables we can experiment with our cooking instead of eating the same old things day after day.” Gabe was serious but he was also giving Drew a new idea.

“Yeah, and you know what? The first time something comes up in the garden we can invite Mr. Williams over for dinner,” he said with enthusiasm as he swallowed a large bite.

“Good idea,” Gabe agreed. “By the way, Mr. Moultrie called to see how we’re getting along.”

“Did you tell him we haven’t found anything yet?”

“He didn’t even ask. He knows we just got here Saturday. I asked him how Great-Grandfather looked because I hadn’t seen any pictures around here. Have you?”

“No. I was going to tell you the same thing because it’s weird not to have a single picture of your family.” Drew looked puzzled. “Don’t you think so?”

“I guess they’re all packed away.”

“What’d he say Great-Grandfather looked like?”

Gabe repeated the description faithfully.

Drew listened, not eating. “Wish I could have seen him,” he said.

“Me, too,” Gabe echoed.

After lunch Gabe had great hopes of finding a clue when he returned to the office and opened the two-drawer file that stood beside the desk. What he found was that his great-grandfather had been a clipper. Folders labeled with many subjects were filled with clippings from newspapers and magazines.

He literally groaned. How in the world could he read all that stuff? But if he neglected to, would he be missing what he was supposed to discover? No wonder he was to be here three months.

He flipped through the folders: world history, U.S. history, black history, philosophy, religion, travel, South Carolina, North Carolina, weather, the environment, health, gardening, mechanics, carpentry, people in the news, the arts, food, and education.

Hadn’t Moultrie said this man had to teach himself to read? Obviously he’d carried the love of it all through his life.

When he, Gabe, died, what would he leave behind that people could go through and be impressed by? If only Moultrie could have brought him here while Great-Grandfather was still in this house so he could have absorbed some of the richness of his life!

There were also folders containing the plans for this house. Some of them had been drawn by an architect and others by Ezekiel Bell Jr. To Gabe’s untrained eye they looked equally professional.

He found statements and receipts for all of the lumber, the wiring, the nails and the hardware, everything that went into the building of the house. It was as if it had all been meticulously collected and saved for an accounting.

He scanned the folders again and made the decision that they would have to wait. If after he’d gone through the whole house and hadn’t found the clues, then he’d come back and read every item in every folder.

He sighed with relief as he closed the folder drawer. He was halfway down the stairs when the phone rang. He hurried back to the office and picked it up with a breathless “Hello.”

“Hello, Gabe, this is Makima. Were you running? You sound out of breath.”

Gabe collapsed in a chair. “I was halfway downstairs and had to come back up. I guess Great-Grandfather never got around to cordless phones.” Now, this call was a surprise. What did Miss Gray want this time? He noticed she’d called him Gabe instead of that haughty Mr. Bell she’d used before she stomped out the door yesterday.

“I want to apologize for the way I left your house. I lost my temper and said the wrong things to you. I’m sorry.”

In his surprise Gabe didn’t respond immediately, which seemed to make her hurry on.

“I was just so disappointed and I let that emotion take over. I hope you can forgive me,” she said.

“It’s all right, Makima. We all lose our tempers sometimes.” Her apology sounded sincere and he was glad.

“How are the two of you settling in?”

“Pretty well.”