Free Mystery of the Dark Tower by Evelyn Coleman

look it up for you,” the librarian said, taking the magazine from Bessie’s hand and flipping rapidly through the pages. “Here you are. Right there.” She pointed to a page.
    Bessie took the magazine and held it up. She frowned. There was nothing there to help them. “How do we get there, though?” Bessie asked.
    â€œGet there? Here it is. Look,” the librarian said, pointing to a section of the magazine. “See, right there. It’s Countee Cullen’s column, ‘The Dark Tower.’ You do know what it is, don’t you? It’s a column that Mr. Cullen writes where he discusses the literature of Negroes. I suspect you might not understand all of it because it’s written for adults.”
    Bessie felt sick to her stomach. Was the Dark Tower a magazine column, not a place? All this trouble for nothing , Bessie thought. This was a dead end. So what if she had found the picture of the woman? They were no closer to finding her than before.
    â€œThank you, ma’am,” Bessie said. Then she turned to Lillian and Eddie. “Come on, let’s go,” she said.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Lillian said, looking as sad as Bessie.
    â€œWe c-c-could look some m-more.”
    â€œI just want to go home,” Bessie said, hanging her head. They walked past a colored man sitting at a desk reading a book. He wore a blue pinstripe suit and a bow tie. His full face sported glasses and a thick mustache. His waved brown hair was parted down the middle.
    â€œExcuse me, children,” he said. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Arthur Schomburg.”
    â€œArthur A. Schomburg?” Lillian almost shouted. “I saw your name over there on that bookcase. My father has told me about you. You collected a lot of the books in this library, didn’t you?”
    â€œYes, I did,” Mr. Schomburg said.
    â€œI’m sorry, sir, but we need to go,” Bessie said, wishing Lillian would come on.
    Mr. Schomburg stood up. “Did I hear you asking about the Dark Tower?”
    Bessie perked up. “Yes, sir, we were,” she said. “But it’s a thing and not a place like we thought.”
    â€œAs a matter of fact, there is a place called the Dark Tower,” Mr. Schomburg said.
    Bessie’s heart began to thump. “Do you know where it is?” she asked.
    â€œYes. It’s at 108-110 West 136th Street. Here, I’ll write the address down for you.”
    Bessie’s entire body shook as she took the piece of paper. This man had given her the key to finding Papa.
    On their way out, the librarian came out from behind her desk and stopped them.
    â€œWait just a minute. I had no idea you were looking for that place,” the librarian said. “It’s not for children, you know. I’ve heard some pretty wild stories about that place.”
    As soon as they were outside, Bessie said, “Let’s go to the Dark Tower right now.”
    Lillian shook her head. “We have to be home before supper. We don’t have time to look for it. Besides,” she said, “didn’t you hear the librarian? She said she’d heard wild stories. And it is called the Dark Tower.”
    â€œIt c-c-could be scary,” Eddie said.
    â€œOr dangerous,” Lillian added.
    â€œThen tomorrow I’ll go alone,” Bessie said, even though she agreed it sounded like a scary place. But if that’s where she could find this Miss A’Lelia Walker and Papa, nothing would stop her from going to the Dark Tower.

C HAPTER 7
    F IXING L EGS

    All the way home, Bessie thought about the Dark Tower. Lillian and Eddie must have been thinking about it, too. Nobody was talking.
    Bessie wondered what she could say when she saw Miss A’Lelia Walker. Would she be able to just walk right into the Dark Tower, or would there be an adult outside to keep children out, like at the rent party? Could she go there and ask for Papa? If she did,