Free Dunc and the Haunted Castle by Gary Paulsen Page B

owner hired them more to keep the place in good condition than to wait on us.”
    “Mrs. Knox is the one I told you about,” T.J. whispered. “The witch.”
    Mr. Tyler frowned. “Mrs. Knox isn’t a witch. She’s just a little odd. Some of the old Scottish traditions are different from what you’re used to.”
    “Who’s Mr. Smith?” Dunc asked.
    “The grounds keeper. He’s strange too,” T.J. said. “He’s always watching me. EverywhereI go, he’s there. He sort of pops up out of nowhere.”
    T.J.’s dad drove across a bridge and through a large open iron gate. “Here we are, boys. Dunbar Castle.”
    The courtyard was dimly lit. A tall, thin man with a red beard appeared from the shadows and started unloading the suitcases.
    “Boys, this is Mr. Smith.” T.J.’s dad took one of the suitcases. “Mr. Smith, this is Amos Binder and Duncan Culpepper.”
    Mr. Smith stared at Dunc. “Duncan. Now that’s a fine Scottish name.” He turned away abruptly and carried the boys’ things through the massive oak front door.
    Amos looked at T.J. “Are all the natives as friendly as he is?”
    “I told you he was strange.” T.J. led them inside the dark castle. “This big room is what they call the great hall.”
    “I’d probably be impressed—if I could see it,” Amos said. “Don’t people in Scotland believe in electricity?”
    Mr. Tyler handed Amos a candle. “That’s one of the problems with being so far out. We’re on a generator. The place is too big forthe generator to light up everything all at once, so at night we use candles.” He gave a candle to T.J. “Show the boys their rooms. I’ll see if Mrs. Knox left us anything for supper.”
    T.J. headed for the stairs. “Follow me.”
    The flickering light of Amos’s candle cast eerie shadows on the wall as they climbed the stone staircase. “This place is kind of spooky.”
    “Mrs. Knox told me the place is haunted.” T.J. stopped in front of a suit of armor. “By the guy who used to wear this. Robert Ramsey. There’s a full-length painting of him down in the library.”
    “Who is he?” Dunc asked.
    “Mr. Knox says he’s a hero. There was a big battle fought not too far from here, and this Ramsey guy gave his life defending the Stone of Scone, the Scottish symbol of royal authority.”
    Dunc took a closer look at the armor. “What makes her think he haunts the castle?”
    “She says he was beheaded during the battle and at night he walks the ramparts looking for his head.”
    Amos shivered. “You left out the part about a headless ghost in your letter.”
    “Is this ghost business what you needed our help with?” Dunc asked.
    “Keep your voice down,” T.J. whispered. “You never know who might be listening. Come on. I’ll show you where your rooms are. We’ll talk about it after supper.”
    A gust of wind came out of nowhere. T.J.’s candle blew out. Someone grabbed Dunc from behind and pulled him into a secret passage in the wall.
    Amos held his candle up. He took a couple of faltering steps. “T.J.? Dunc? Where are you guys?”
    The row of paintings hanging on the wall seemed to be glaring down at him. There was something about one of them. He brought his candle closer.
    The eyes in the painting moved.

Amos was still mad. “It wasn’t funny. I nearly messed my pants.”
    “I’m sorry, Amos,” T.J. said. “I was just trying to prove my point.”
    “What was your point?” Amos sneered. “To see how long it would take me to have a major heart attack?”
    “I said I was sorry.” T.J. sat on the bed in Amos’s room. “I only pulled Dunc into that secret passage so I could show you guys how easy it is to listen to someone’s conversation without them knowing. I didn’t know he would look through the eyes in the painting. We’re going to have to be very careful.”
    “Yeah,” Amos growled. “Careful about which cousins we trust in the future.”
    “How did you find that passage?” Dunc asked.
    “I guess you