“Well, I don’t think it’s fair,” Thomas said. “They gave River Lewis a job. They gave him money. And even a couple of the gold triangles. That’s what everybody is saying anyway.”

“It’s up to the foundation to decide what it wants to give River Lewis,” Mr. Small said. “Who knows the countryside better than he? But they have asked him not to farm the land until they’ve emptied the underground.”

“Darrows have a brand-new pickup truck,” Thomas said. “And River Lewis has a new car. And his big old sons have a new jeep!”

“Keep your voice down,” Mr. Small told him. “Thomas, how can you resent their coming up in the world when they had nothing?”

“But it isn’t fair! What did you get?” he said.

“Oh, I see,” his papa said. “Well, I’m still cataloging everything, Thomas. And before there can be a museum, I’ll have to record the history of those rooms down there and all about the orphan children and the heroine, the Indian maiden. The foundation will pay me for my work, too.”

“I bet not as much as River Lewis gets,” Thomas said.

“Thomas, Thomas!” Mr. Small sighed and put his arm around Thomas. “Son, I’m a historian. I’m happy to save a great discovery from its worst enemies—time and greed. I’ve held the ‘villain’ in check. I’ve shown him I care about his welfare, and treat him like a friend. I’ve managed to help give him the possibility of a better lifetime. At least, to give him an even chance. Do you understand? And what River Lewis does with the rest of his days is up to him. And what you do with yours, Thomas, and Macky with his, is up to the both of you.”

Friend. Caring. Friend or foe? he wondered about himself and Macky.

Back in the parlor he had a piece of the cake and more cider. He felt Macky looking at him. Macky reached over and poked him in his arm. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, just slightly above the sound of the strained talking around them.

“Okay,” Thomas said as coolly as he could.

“Me, too?” Pesty leaned toward them, smiling at her brother.

“Yeah,” Macky murmured, “you, too, I guess.”

The three of them got up, hands full of plates, glasses, napkins. Macky went over to stand before River Lewis. “Daddy,” Macky said politely, “we wanting to go outside now.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Great-grandmother said, smiling. “You-all walk around in the fresh air a few minutes, you’ll feel like my pumpkin pie!” She smiled at Macky and his father. “That coffee cake was just the appetizer!”

“Macs,” Mattie Darrow said, smacking her lips, “get more glass.” She held up her empty cider glass.

“I’ll get it for you,” River Lewis said. He nodded at Macky. “Find Pesty’s coat for her then. She don’t never want to wear a coat.” He lifted his voice, saying that. Looking around, including everybody in what he’d said. Thomas realized River Lewis wanted them to know that he had bought Pesty a new coat. “She grows so fast,” he added as Thomas and Macky came back in with just scarves and gloves on. Pesty had on her new velvet-looking coat. It was awfully pretty, Thomas thought, with gold buttons and a velvet hat to match. She certainly had needed a new coat. She stood in front of River Lewis as Mattie raised her hands to her.

“She wants you to button the top button,” River Lewis said, speaking for Mattie. Mattie touched Pesty’s gloved hands. “Says, ‘Don’t get too cold, don’t stay out too long,’” he added.

“I won’t,” Pesty said, her eyes shining. She took a deep breath of happiness, gave her mama a big hug, and buttoned her top coat button. She gave River Lewis a loving look. And this time he bowed to her just slightly. That small touch of respect spoke through his gruffness. Not only “things” were different. He does care, Thomas couldn’t help thinking.

“You look so pretty, Pesty,” Mrs. Small said. “That’s a beautiful coat,”

“Thank you,” she said.

River Lewis looked stern but proud.

Outside, it was cold. But it was better than the oppressive, uncomfortable scene inside. “I hope I don’t have to go through that again soon,” Martha Small was to say later.

“They were trying very hard,” Great-grandmother said, and Walter Small had agreed.

Thomas and Macky and Pesty walked around the house on the veranda. Thomas shivered. It still snowed. They leaned against the outside wall of the veranda between the long window and the front door. Pesty was in the middle. For a time they didn’t speak. Then, suddenly, Macky said, “Everybody talking to me, talking about how we rich. Shoot. We ain’t rich.” He laughed contemptuously. “We just now gettin’ what everybody else been having.”

“I … guess that’s true,” Thomas said. “What—what did the foundation give you all? I mean, there are such rumors.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said resentfully. “Everybody lying so.”

“Because he don’t know what they give Daddy besides a job. Daddy don’t tell nobody,” Pesty said.   ,

“Did they give him some triangles?” Thomas said.

“I said …” Macky spoke but didn’t finish. He sounded angry.

“Okay then,” Thomas said. He went tight inside as he said to Macky through his teeth. “It was you in Mr. Pluto’s cave, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was.” Pesty piped up.

“I can speak for myself!” Macky said, raising a hand to her.

“Mr. Pluto said you wasn’t to bother me!” she said, cringing toward Thomas.

“I’m not touching you. I’m not studying you!” Macky said. He let his hand drop. “Girl! I just can speak for myself.” He hung his head and was silent a long time. “Don’t tell anybody,” he said finally, looking at Thomas.

“It’s—it’s over now,” Thomas said.

“I was just hoping …”

“I know,” Thomas said.

“But that’s not all,” Macky said. He looked away.

“What then?” Thomas asked.

“Mama,” he said. “Worried about her doing something, didn’t know what. Didn’t want you-all Smalls to see her like she was.” He swallowed hard.

“Lots of people can get sick like her,” Thomas said.

“Well, I didn’t know you would think that,” Macky said softly.

“You and Pesty had the same idea,” Thomas said.

“How’s that?” Macky said.

“Because your mama was sick and your daddy was mad at you, you wanted to hurry and find treasure maybe to make it all better. That’s why you went ... to Mr. Pluto’s. Pesty wanted the same thing, kind of, because your mama was in the tunnels and in our house. She was afraid we’d see your mama or she’d get hurt, what all. But you didn’t know that there is a tunnel from your house to the underground.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Macky said. “There is?”

“Mama’s closet opens to a tunnel,” Pesty said. “She love the orphan place and to sit in the parlor room down there. You better come see it before they empty it. Once they empty it, maybe we can fix it up for her a little. Mr. Small never did tell the foundation about that closet opening. You can tell Daddy if you want. Just don’t tell him I knew about it.”

Macky looked stunned.

“If you tell your dad about the tunnel from your house to Drear house,” Thomas said, puzzling it out, “well, he can tell the foundation.”

“And that’ll make Daddy real happy, because of you!” Pesty told him. “And he’ll look real good to the foundation. And everybody will know about everything.”

Macky nodded. “Thanks!” he said to both of them. He was silent again, looking at his feet, before he said, “Mama shouldn’ta been in the tunnels. It kept her down in an unreal world. I never want to see the place!” He’d seen the orphans’ room and the parlor room on television, and that was enough.

“Mama likes it down there,” Pesty said.

“Still,” Macky said, “it must’ve kept her too much in the past.”

“We should know about the past,” Thomas said, “but we shouldn’t let the past take us over.”

“You can’t live in it,” Macky said. “We got to try to change Mama’s mind about that.”