“We have something for you if you are Dr. Zhang,” Jessie said.
“I am.” She looked around at all of the Aldens, a confused expression on her face. “There are so many of you. I was told to expect one person, a person who liked owls.”
“We all like owls. It’s a long story,” Henry said. He took the case inside his camera bag and punched in the code. Opening the lid, he held it out to Dr. Zhang so she could see the clay disk.
Her confused look changed to an excited look. “I am so glad to see that!” she exclaimed.
“We don’t know what it is,” Violet said.
“It is a chess piece, a very old handmade chess piece. Recently pieces were found in one of the guardhouses, and this is one of them. They are very special,” said Dr. Zhang.
“Why?” Benny asked. “I know it’s old, but it’s just a piece of clay. It looks like it was easy to make.”
“I’m sure it was easy to make,” Dr. Zhang said. “This find was so interesting because we don’t have many written records about the lives of ordinary soldiers who were stationed here. Often, history is written about the leaders and the generals but not about the people who did much of the work.”
“Some other archaeologists we have met told us that too,” Jessie said.
“Yes, we are lucky that in China we have written records of much of our history. Many places don’t have that, though of course they had their own civilizations.”
“It doesn’t look like a chess piece to me,” Violet said.
“Did you know there is more than one kind of chess?” Dr. Zhang asked.
“No,” Henry said. “I thought all chess was the same.”
“People in China play what you think of as chess, which is sometimes called the international version,” Dr. Zhang said. “But they also play a version called Xiangqi. It’s one of the most popular board games in China. This is a Xiangqi piece. The game represents a battle between two armies, with the object of capturing the enemy’s general. The pieces are flat disks like this, with characters on them. Of course now they aren’t made of clay, but this is clearly a Xiangqi piece. It was probably made by one of the soldiers who wanted to play the game.”
“I thought the soldiers were supposed to be watching out for invaders,” Violet said. “How could they have time to play chess?”
“There were many, many soldiers here and they worked in shifts. They lived here, in structures built along the bottom of the wall, so when they were off duty they had some free time, though they also had other jobs. Some of their time was even spent farming. It took a large amount of food to feed the up to one million soldiers who were stationed along the wall. This area is known for its fruit trees, so the soldiers tended to the orchards.”
“I didn’t know soldiers did jobs like that,” Henry said.
“Yes, soldiers then had to do all sorts of jobs.” Dr. Zhang continued. “You’re seeing a part of the wall that was built more recently. Some parts of the wall are much older. They may have been built two thousand five hundred years ago, or even more. Then they were rebuilt through the years. Today some parts are still in very good condition. At other places along the wall, sections have disappeared or are in poor repair.”
“Can we go in one of the watchtowers?” Benny asked.
“Of course,” Dr. Zhang said. “Come this way.”
She led them inside one. “There would have been some sort of cooking pot in here and stools as well back when it was in use.”
“It’s not as cozy as our boxcar,” Violet said. It was dark and damp inside the watchtower. She tried to imagine what it had been like when it was full of soldiers. She could see why they would have wanted to play games when they were done working.
“It isn’t very cozy, is it?” Dr. Zhang asked. “Some of these buildings were used for more than just staying out of the weather. Soldiers used part of them to communicate long distances. There were no telephones of course, so they had to think of a different way to let other soldiers know if invaders were coming. Can you guess how they did it?”
“No,” Benny replied. “I guess they could send letters, or send people to take messages.”
“That’s good thinking,” Dr. Zhang said. “They could do that, but sometimes they needed a way to get a message somewhere fast. At those times, they lit signal fires up on the flat roofs. There were ways to make fires very smoky, so that’s what they did during the day. If they needed to signal at night, they lit regular fires. That’s why these watch towers are flat on top and made of stone. They could light beacon fires on the top of them. If you’d like to see more, I can walk with you for a while, but then I need to get back to work.”
They explored the top of the wall with her, and then it was time to get back down. “Do we ride the cable car back down or do we walk?” Violet asked.
“There’s another way you might like,” Dr. Zhang said. “Follow me.” She led them farther along the wall. When she stopped, they could see people in a line at the bottom of the wall.
“What are they waiting for?” Benny asked.
“An exciting way down,” Dr. Zhang said. “It’s called a toboggan ride, but there is a metal chute for the sleds instead of riding on snow.”
“That looks like fun!” Jessie said. “Should we try it?” she asked the others.
They all decided they wanted to go, so they took the staircase down the wall to the line for the sleds.
The operator of the ride explained how the sleds worked. They had brakes by the riders’ feet. He told the Aldens that the younger children could ride with the older ones, so Benny shared a sled with Jessie. Soo Lee rode down with Violet and Henry came next. Cousin Joe and Cousin Alice had their own sleds and came down last.
The chute wound down the mountain. It was like going on an amusement park ride in a forest. The Aldens sped down the hill, putting on the brakes when signs along the way told them to slow down.
“Whee!” Violet and Soo Lee cried out together.
“Hurry, Jessie!” Benny called out. “They’ll catch us!”
“They may catch us, but they can’t pass us!” Jessie told him. The chute was only wide enough for one sled at a time. They could hear Henry, Cousin Joe, and Cousin Alice laughing behind them.
The ride came to an end in a long flat section, so the sleds could slow down and finally come to a stop.
“That was so much fun!” Soo Lee said as she and Violet got off.
“It was,” Jessie agreed. She was relieved they had delivered another artifact safely.
Once everyone was off, they walked back through the village, stopped to get a snack, and then walked to the parking lot. As they got closer to the van, they could see Mary waving excitedly at them.
She hurried toward them. “I was hoping you’d come down soon. I have an important message. Your pilot called. You need to get to the airport right away to catch a flight to Bangkok, Thailand. It leaves in three hours. We’ll just have time to get you there and checked in.”
The Man in the Green Van
It took a minute for everyone to understand what Mary was trying to tell them. Jessie asked her to repeat what she had said.
After she was done, Henry asked. “Do you mean we are taking a commercial flight? Not the Reddimus Society plane?”
“Yes, a commercial flight,” Mary replied. “The pilot said there’s a mechanical problem with the plane, and there is no time to wait for repairs. Let’s go. I don’t want you to miss your plane. I’ll tell you the rest of the message once we are on our way.”
They all hurried to the van, and Mary pulled out onto the road. There was more traffic than there had been earlier in the day. “I hope we get there in time,” she said.
“What was the rest of the message?” Jessie asked.
“Once you land in Thailand, you are to go to the Elephant Wildlife Reserve. Then you’ll get your clue as to where you go next.”
“Elephants!” Soo Lee cried. “Yay! I love elephants.”
“I
do too,” Violet said. “This will be fun.”
“I hope so. I hope the Reddimus plane can be fixed soon,” Henry said. “Thailand is a long way to go to get a clue where to go next.”
Because of the heavy traffic, they made it to the airport just in time. At the ticket counter they were surprised there weren’t any tickets waiting for them.
The airline agent said, “I have your reservations. You just need to pay for the tickets.”
“That’s strange,” Henry said. “Trudy usually arranges all that. I can call her.”
“I’ll pay for the tickets,” Cousin Alice said. “We’ll miss the flight if we don’t hurry.”
The Aldens went through the security line and then ran to their gate. The other passengers were already boarding. Once everyone was seated on the plane, Benny asked, “Would someone tell me where Thailand is?”
Jessie laughed. “Of course, Benny. I’ll show you.” She pulled out a magazine from the pocket of the seat in front of them and opened it to a page showing a map of the world. She pointed to a spot on the map. “It’s a country that is also in Asia. It’s south of China—right here. We are landing at the capital city, Bangkok, which is right here.”
“Thailand isn’t as big as China,” Benny said as he studied the map.
“No, and most of it is very tropical, so it will be warm there,” Henry said.
The flight took about five hours. When the plane landed, they got off and Jessie said, “I suppose someone will be here to meet us. The Silvertons have been arranging that for us everywhere we go.”
They stood for a time outside the gate but no one approached them. Finally, Henry went up to an information booth and talked to the woman there. He came back to report what he had learned.
“There aren’t any messages for us here,” he said. “The woman at the desk suggested we go out to where the drivers wait to pick up passengers. The driver might be there.”
“I’m sure we’ll find someone out there,” Cousin Alice said.
Cousin Joe exchanged some US money for Thai money, and then they walked through the airport.
“It’s the most beautiful airport I’ve ever seen,” Violet said. Huge colorful statues representing parts of Thai culture were placed around the central areas of the terminals. Many of them were painted gold. The curved glass ceiling let in light from the sun, which was setting, and the light made the statues look like they were glowing.
“I read on the plane that the name of the airport means The Golden Land.” Henry said. “The article had lots of pictures of all the golden temples and statues in Thailand.”
They continued through the airport, admiring all the statues until they came to the spot where drivers waited.
“There’s someone with an Alden sign,” Violet said. She motioned to the group of drivers. One man stood out. He was a very big man with messy red hair, a beard, and wire-rimmed glasses. “He doesn’t look much like the other drivers,” she said doubtfully.
“He doesn’t, does he?” Cousin Alice said. “He looks like a tourist who lost his suitcase and has only one outfit to wear.”
The man had on baggy shorts and a grubby shirt that had a button missing. He was wearing sandals. One of the sandals had a broken strap.
“Maybe our trip was so rushed, he was the only one available,” Jessie suggested, though she felt uneasy about the man.
Henry walked up to him. “Hello, we’re the Aldens.”
The man took a step back, nearly dropping the sign. “Oh yes,” he stuttered. “Good. You’re here.” The man spoke with an English accent like some of the people they had heard when they had delivered one of the artifacts to Stonehenge.
“Hurry, my car is in the parking lot,” the man said. He looked around at them. “Do you have all your things?” he asked. He was staring down at Benny’s camera bag.
“Yes we do,” Henry said
“Follow me then,” the man said as he turned to leave. “The Silvertons want you on your way as soon as possible.”
He led them to a very old, rusty green van. When he opened the door, they could see it was full of food wrappers and empty drink cans.
He said, “Sorry for the mess,” as he brushed some of the trash off the passenger seat.
“How far is it?” Jessie asked.
“Not far,” the man said. His phone rang. He answered and said, “Yes, I have them,” and then he hung up.
Jessie’s feeling that something was wrong grew stronger. Even though the man had mentioned the Silvertons, he hadn’t introduced himself.
She looked over at Henry. He looked back and gave a small shake of his head.
“What do you think of owls?” Jessie asked the man.
“Owls? What are you talking about?” He stared at her, frowning.
“What do you think of owls?” Jessie repeated.
The man scowled. “I don’t think about owls. Everybody in. We need to get going. Hurry up.”
“Wait, I lost my passport,” Henry said, putting his hands on his pockets. “It’s not here. It must be back at passport control.”
“We’ll have to go back and get it,” Cousin Joe said. “You’ve got to have your passport.”
“Yes, we need to hurry. I hope you didn’t drop it somewhere,” Jessie said. “Wait here,” she told the red-haired man. “We’ll be back.” She grabbed Benny’s hand. “Come on everyone!”
“Wait! No!” the man yelled as the Aldens darted back into the terminal. “You’re supposed to come with me! Come back!”
“Just wait there!” Henry yelled. “We’ll be back!”
As soon as they were back in the terminal, Henry led them into a big crowd and then around behind one of the large statues.
“Why did you stop?” Cousin Joe asked. “We need to find your passport.”
Henry pulled his passport out of his pocket. “I’ve had it all along,” he said. “I don’t trust that man. I don’t think he really works for the Reddimus Society.”
“He didn’t say anything about owls, and he just didn’t look right,” Jessie said.
“That’s true,” Cousin Alice said. “He was a very scruffy man.”
“We should call Trudy,” Violet said.
“We don’t have time,” Benny said. “There he is again!”
The man was pushing his way through the crowd looking from side to side.
“He doesn’t see us. Let’s go get a taxi and get out of here!” Jessie said.
They ran back out of the airport to the line of taxis and found a van that was big enough for all of them.
“Where to?” the taxi driver asked as they jumped inside.
“Uh oh,” Violet said. “The man has seen us. He’s running toward his car.”
“We’d like to go into the city,” Jessie said, “and then we’ll tell you exactly where to let us off.” She turned to the others. “I’m sure there will be so many cars, he won’t be able to follow us.”
There was a lot of traffic, but every time they looked back, they could still see the green van. Soon they were in the middle of the city.
“He’s still following us and he’s getting closer!” Violet said, looking out the back window.
The taxi came to a stop. It couldn’t move because so many trucks, cars, and motorcycles filled the roads. They were stuck in a giant traffic jam. Jessie noticed the only vehicles moving were the motorcycles and some small three-wheeled vehicles with taxi signs on top of them. They didn’t have windows except for a front windshield. Most were full of tourists laughing and taking pictures.
“What are those?” Jessie asked, pointing at one.
“They are called tuk-tuks,” the taxi driver explained. “They are very popular with tourists. They don’t go very fast, but they will fit down some of our smaller streets and alleys, and they can go around traffic jams.”
Henry looked back. “At least the man in the van can’t move either,” he said.
“We’ll get out here,” Jessie said to the taxi driver. “Th
ank you. I have an idea,” she said to the others as she opened the door. Everyone climbed out as Cousin Joe pulled out some money and paid the driver. They all followed Jessie over to a line of tuk-tuks that were parked waiting for customers.
Jessie went up to one driver who stood by a bright red tuk-tuk. “Could you take us on a tour of Bangkok down some of the small streets where cars can’t go?”
“Of course,” said the man. “You all won’t fit in one though.” He called to the man next to him and said something in a different language. The man nodded his head and pointed at his own tuk-tuk, which was yellow.
“I’ll take four, and the other three can ride in my friend’s vehicle,” the red tuk-tuk’s driver said.
They climbed into the tuk-tuks. The passenger area had benches on each side to sit on, so Jessie and Benny sat on one side facing Henry and Violet. Cousin Joe, Cousin Alice, and Soo Lee got in the other tuk-tuk.
The traffic on the road was moving again, and as the tuk-tuks started up, the Aldens could see the green van inching closer.
The tuk-tuks took off down a small side street lined with shops. The red-haired man tried to follow but his van wouldn’t fit. People waved him away from the street. He had to back up. The Aldens saw him pounding his hand on the steering wheel, a frustrated look on his face.
“Good riddance to him,” Cousin Joe muttered.
A New Suspicion
The tuk-tuk drivers took the Aldens on a winding route through small, busy streets. They saw shops full of flowers, and others of clothing and jewelry. There were many food stands. At one spot the drivers stopped and bought mango juice for everyone. Even though it had gotten dark, the weather was still hot and the cool drinks tasted good.
No one saw the green van anywhere.
“Let’s get out of here and try to call Trudy,” Henry suggested. “I’m sure the man in the green van doesn’t know where we went.”
They got out. Henry tried to call Trudy. “Trudy isn’t answering,” he said. “It might be because of the time change.” He left a message for Trudy to call them as soon as possible.