It was a crisp fall Saturday in Donnybrook, Maine. Twelve-year-old Ashley
Enright called her best friend, Josh Stewart, to find out what he had planned for the day.
“Hi, Josh,” said Ashley when she heard her friend answer the phone.
“Hey, Ashes,” said Josh brightly. “What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” said Ashley. “I wondered what you were going to do today?”
“Oh, probably just work on my latest comic book,” said Josh. He was a talented young artist who liked to draw comic books featuring superheroes.
“What’s this one about?” Ashley asked.
“It’s about Jonathan Seaward who is a sailor in the 1500’s who tracks down pirates on the high seas to return the things they’ve stolen to the rightful owners,” said Josh.
“What kind of superpowers can someone have in the 1500’s?” asked Ashley.
“He can swim and breathe underwater, so he can sneak up and board pirate ships without anyone seeing him,” said Josh.
“But, how can he get the stuff away from pirates?” asked Ashley. “Wouldn’t that be more than a little dangerous?”
“It would be,” said Josh. “If he couldn’t make himself invisible!”
“Oh,” laughed Ashley. “I guess that would make it much easier!” Ashley then laughed to herself because, as usual, Josh’s superhero had the same initials as he did: J.S.
“What were you going to do today, Ashes?” asked Josh.
“Well,” said Ashley. “I thought about riding out to Justice Woods to pick some wildflowers!”
“Oh, that just sounds so lovely,” Josh said sarcastically.
“Well,” Ashley laughed. “I thought that we could go to Ella’s Sweet Shop for lunch too.”
“That changes everything!” Josh said enthusiastically. “You know I never pass up a chance to go to Ella’s!”
Ella’s Sweet Shop was their favorite spot for lunch in town. Ella’s was famous for her delicious cheeseburgers, old-fashioned soda fountain and table of penny candy that she watched over like a hawk.
“I’ll come by in a few minutes,” said Ashley.
“Oh,” answered Josh. “I’ll be waiting!” He hung up the phone before Ashley could even say anything.
“That’s so typical,” she said to herself as she hung up the phone. She got her backpack and made sure that her favorite NY Mets hat and cell phone were inside. She walked into the kitchen where her parents were still drinking coffee and reading the morning paper. Her little six-year-old sister, Kelly, was eating a bowl of Sugar Frosted Flakes.
“Good morning, Ashley,” said her mother as she looked up from her paper.
“Hi, guys,” said Ashley. “I’m going to go for a bike ride with Josh and then we’ll have lunch at Ella’s.”
“Have you had breakfast yet?” asked her father.
Ashley laughed and said, “Yes, I finished long before you sleepyheads even got out of bed!”
Ashley’s father was a marine biologist who worked for the Powers Institute of Technology or as he called it “The P.I.T.” Her father laughed and said, “We all work hard during the week, we deserve to be sleepyheads on the weekend!”
“Yeah,” said Kelly as she put down her spoon. “We all work hard!”
Ashley smiled at her sister, laughed and said, “Yes, I know how tough first grade can be!”
Everyone shared a laugh at Kelly’s spirited declaration.
“Don’t worry,” said Ashley. “I’ll have my cell phone with me in case you need to reach me!”
“O.k., dear,” said her mother. “We’ll see you later.” Ashley’s mother was a public relations consultant who worked from home for clients in Boston and New York.
Ashley started to leave the kitchen when her father said, “Hey! Haven’t you forgotten something?”
“Oh, right,” said Ashley as she kissed her father on the cheek and then kissed her mother’s cheek. When she got to Kelly, her little sister tilted her head back and opened her mouth to show Ashley a mouthful of mashed cereal.
“Ugh,” said Ashley as she laughed and just tousled her little sister’s hair.
Ashley went out to the garage and got her bicycle down from the hooks on the wall. She put on her helmet and her backpack and rode up Foggy Bottom Road to Josh’s house.
Josh was waiting at the end of his driveway. “Hey, Ashes,” he said as he adjusted the strap on his helmet. “Ready to go?”
“Yep!” said Ashley.
They started to ride out along Matthews Road to Justice Woods. It was a spectacular day for a bike ride and they rode for about twenty minutes. When they arrived at Justice Woods, they left their bicycles and helmets by the side of the rode and walked into the woods.
Ashley was searching for wildflowers to put on the table for dinner. Gram was coming over in the afternoon and promised to make a “fall feast.” Gram was Ashley and Kelly’s grandmother who lived about twelve miles away in Oakdale. She was taking cooking classes at the university and loved to try out new recipes. Ashley was disappointed as she looked around and didn’t see any wildflowers at all.
“What happened to the flowers?” she asked.
Josh looked around and said, “Maybe that frost that we had last week killed them.”
Ashley looked annoyed and said, “Maybe if we go a little bit farther into the woods, we might find some.” They started following a path and then noticed after about five minutes of walking that the path was getting more overgrown and harder to see.
“Hey, Ashes,” said Josh. “What’s happening to the path?”
“I know,” answered Ashley as she looked over her shoulder back at Josh. “I don’t think this path’s been used for years!”
“Should we stop?” asked Josh.
“Well,” answered Ashley. “Let’s just try to go a little bit farther. Maybe some wildflowers were protected from the frost.”
“Geez, girls and flowers,” Josh muttered under his breath. “O.k.,” he said out loud as he followed Ashley.
They walked for another ten minutes. It was definitely getting harder to see the path as they were walking. Finally, they came to a noticeable clearing in the woods. They stood in the middle of the cleared space and stared up at the tall trees surrounding the area.
“Wow,” said Josh in amazement. “This is really cool!”
He was right – it not only was a cool place there was so much shade from the tall trees that it was actually a little chilly!
“I agree,” said Ashley. “I don’t think anyone’s been back here in ages. Of course, there are no wildflowers because they can’t get sun with all this shade!”
Josh laughed and said, “Figures!” Then he tripped over something and almost lost his balance. “What in the world is that?”
“Josh,” said Ashley. “It looks like you tripped over an old log. Wait, there’s a whole line of these logs.”
“Awesome,” said Josh. “When you look at the whole thing, it could be the foundation of a building.”
“You know,” said Ashley. “I think you’re right. This must have been someone’s house a long time ago.”
“I should tell my Dad about it,” said Josh. Mr. Stewart was an archeology professor at the university and conducted digs around the world. Ashley thought it was neat that Josh’s father was like Donnybrook’s own Indiana Jones.
Ashley sighed and said, “I don’t think I’m going to find any wildflowers today. We should probably get going!”
“To Ella’s, right?” asked Josh anxiously.
“Yes, of course,” answered Ashley. “We’ll go to Ella’s!”
“Whew!” said Josh as he blew out his breath. “You know how I’d hate to miss a meal!”
“Believe me,” said Ashley with a laugh. “I know!”
They walked out of Justice Woods, got on their bicycles and rode into town to Ella’s Sweet Shop.
When they got to town, they parked their bikes outside of Ella’s and looped their helmets on the handlebars. They walked in the restaurant and sat down at their favorite booth by the window.
“Hey, hey, what’ll be today?” said their favorite waitress, Carolanne.
“Hi, Carolanne,” said Ashley. “You know us, we’ll have the usual!”
Carolanne laughed and said, “O.k., one tuna melt and milk and one cheeseburger…with a milkshake, right, Josh?”
“Of course!” Josh said loudly. “What would a cheeseburger be without a milkshake?”
Carolanne laughed, shook her head and said, “O.k., I’ll be right back.”
She walked into the kitchen to place their order.
Josh leaned over the table and said, “I wonder whose house that is?”
“I don’t know,” said Ashley. “Maybe, your dad and his students will find out.”
“Yeah,” said Josh. “You’re probably right, but it would be cool if we knew something now!”
“Hmm,” said Ashley. “I agree, you know how I like to have information! I guess we can ask at the library if there’s any information thing about the history of Justice Woods.”
“Yeah,” said Josh excitedly. “Maybe a judge lived there!”
“Why do you say that?” asked Ashley.
“Duh, justice would mean a judge,” said Josh.
Ashley laughed and said, “Oh, you could be right. Let’s eat our lunch and get to the library.”
They rode their bicycles to the Donnybrook Library and parked them outside. They walked into the library and were relieved to see their friend, Kathleen Gorman, at the Reference Librarian’s Desk.
“Hi, kids,” said Kathleen as Ashley and Josh stood in front of her desk.
“We didn’t think you worked on the weekends,” said Ashley.
“I usually don’t,” said Kathleen. “But Mrs. Daniels had to go out of town this weekend, so I’m filling in for her.”
“Whew,” said Josh. Mrs. Daniels didn’t really like children and always seemed to be annoyed when Ashley and Josh would ask her a question.
Ashley said, “We’re so glad that you’re here because we have a question.”
“O.k.,” said Kathleen. She had always helped Ashley and Josh solve mysteries. “You know I love to help you. What’s your question?”
“Well,” Ashley explained. “We were in Justice Woods looking for wildflowers and wondered how the woods got their name?”
“It was after a judge, wasn’t it?” asked Josh.
“That’s a good guess,” said Kathleen. “But, that’s really not how the woods were named.”
“Do you know the history?” asked Ashley.
“Sure,” said Kathleen. “I remember learning about it in school. The woods are named after William Justice.”
“Who was that?” asked Ashley.
“I’ll bet he was a judge,” said Josh nodding his head up and down.
“Not exactly,” Kathleen laughed. “William Justice came to this country on the Mayflower and moved all the way up to Maine.”
“He was a pilgrim?” asked Josh.
“Yes, he was Donnybrook’s very own pilgrim,” answered Kathleen.
“Wow,” said Ashley. “That’s interesting. Why would he leave Massachusetts and come up here?”
“I guess he was a real adventurer,” said Kathleen. “It’s believed that he settled in Donnybrook and helped to found our town. But, no one knows where his house actually was?”
“Wouldn’t it be in Justice Woods?” asked Josh.
“I guess that’s what people must have thought,” answered Kathleen. “But, no one has ever confirmed it.”
Ashley smiled at Josh whose eyes grew wide.
Kathleen saw the smile and Josh’s eyes. “Wait, don’t tell me,” she said. “Did you find something?”
“Well,” said Ashley. “We may have when we were looking for wildflowers.”
“Yeah,” said Josh excitedly. “We went really far into the woods and found what looks like the foundation of a house when I tripped over a log.”
“Really?”said Kathleen. “That’s incredible!”
“Not really,” said Josh, “I trip over a lot of things.”
Kathleen laughed and said, “No, I mean it would be incredible if you found the Justice homestead.”
“I guess it would be,” said Ashley with a shrug.
“What are you going to do about it?” asked Kathleen.
“We thought we’d tell Josh’s father and see if his students can dig at the site and find out more,” said Ashley.
“That sounds like a great plan,” said Kathleen. “Let me know how it goes.”
“O.k.,” Ashley and Josh said together. They left their friend at the library and rode their bicycles home.
That night, at dinner in the Stewart house, Josh told his father about what he and Ashley had discovered in Justice Woods.
“Do you think it might be something, Dad?” asked Josh.
Mr. Stewart scratched his chin and said, “It just might be, son. I’ll take a group of my students in the woods tomorrow and we’ll see what we can find.”
The next morning, Ashley and Josh went back to Justice Woods with Mr. Stewart and twelve of his archeology students from the university. They led the way into Justice Woods.
When Mr. Stewart saw the outline of the foundation, he gave a low whistle. “Kids,” he said looking at Ashley and his son. “I think you really may have stumbled across something here. And, knowing Josh, I do mean stumble!” He tousled his son’s head.
Ashley and Josh watched for hours as Mr. Stewart and his students started to investigate the site. First, the students used string to make a grid of squares in the entire area. Then, the students started to carefully dig in the marked areas. It wasn’t very long before the students began to uncover bowls and utensils.
At the end of a very long day, Mr. Stewart held a press conference at the University. He announced that the homestead of Donnybrook’s very own pilgrim, William Justice, had been found. “I’d like to thank Ashley Enright and my son, Josh, for leading us to the pilgrim’s path. All of the artifacts that we have discovered will be on exhibit at the university.”
On Thanksgiving in the Enright house, everyone gathered around the table before
dinner and said what he or she was most thankful for.
Gram said, “I’m thankful for my wonderful family and that “Old Bessie” still gets
me where I need to go…eventually.” “Old Bessie” was her old blue Chevrolet that didn’t
always like to start up on the first turn of the ignition.
Mr. Enright said, “I’m thankful for my wife, my two beautiful daughters and a
loving mother-in-law.” He winked at Gram. “Oh, and I’m grateful for the New York
Mets.”
Mrs. Enright said, “I’m thankful for my loving husband, my two wonderful
daughters and my supportive mother.”
Kelly said, “I’m thankful we can almost eat!”
Everyone laughed at Kelly’s eagerness to eat!
Ashley said, “I’m thankful for my wonderful, loving, funny and supportive family, and for good friends. I’m thankful that on this Thanksgiving Day, we’ve finally found the homestead of Donnybrook’s very own pilgrim.”
AshleyEnrightInvestigations 