Darby and I were in bed staring at the ceiling that night after dinner and baths.

            “I wonder what is in that cabin.” Darby muses.

            “Why?” I asked.

            “I don’t know. Doesn't it seem suspicious?”

            “What do you think could be in there?” I asked and turned to face Darby.

            “I have no idea. Rationally, I figure it is probably just a bunch of junk. Then again, they store junk in the barn and above the dry pantry and that’s not locked. What would require them to lock up the cabin?”

            “I wonder if he has a vampire in there or something else real macabre.”

            Darby said, “Don’t be ridiculous. There is no such thing as vampires or anything else of that sort. It’s pure fiction.”

            “How do you know?” I insisted.

            “Sh-h-h,” Darby shushed me. She thought about it, then said, “Because I know. Anyway, we should find out what he has in there.”

            My boyhood mind contemplated what could be in there. Mummies or vampires or giants or something else from the volumes of reading I had done up to that point. Maybe it was filled with gold and jewels and riches and wealth. I was curious to find out what Grandpa Jack had in there. Darby believed there would be some logical answer. I hoped it would be something more fantastical.  The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to check it out myself.

            “I think we should see if we can find a key to the cabin and look around,” Darby said.

            “We don’t want to get in trouble while we’re here. You know Aunt Jane and Gramma would not be happy if we got sent back early. And I don’t want to be sent back early. I like it here. Grandma Mimi is nice, and I like Fitch and the animals.”

            “We won’t get in any trouble. No one will know. We’ll just say we’re going exploring and find our way in that thick brush around the cabin. But first, we need to get that key. I wonder where he keeps it.”

            “A farm like this is sure to have many keys. They must keep them in a central location,” Darby alleged.

            “Like that key hook dad kept hanging in the garage. Or that drawer Mom had in the kitchen with all those keys and key rings.”

            “We’ll have to cover both. Tomorrow, when everyone is off doing what they normally do, we’ll look for it.”

            We had a plan. We lay there that night thinking about how to get the key. Just then the front door opened, and the screen door slammed shut. We heard his heavy footsteps coming into the house. Grandpa Jack was back. He had been out all day and nearly all night. We heard him close and lock the front door. Then his footsteps walked past our room to his. Our grandparents were talking but we couldn't make out a single word.

            We had our plan to find the answers to what had been hidden from us.