text: > Go downwards
  The stairs creak a bit as you descend, a low-pitched sigh like a heavy old woman getting comfortable.
  
  The entry hall of Eternal Springs is bare of decoration. The only furnishings are a grandfather clock, which ticks heavily, and a small round telephone table. The front door of the house stands open to the east, the screen door providing, at best, a very partial barrier against the ingress of insects. There are open archways to the north and south, and a narrow staircase with a threadbare runner leads upward. The hall extends further to the west, alongside the staircase.
  
  > go to the west
  You walk down the narrow, ill-lit hall, and emerge in the office.
  
  This room looks as if it serves as Beauregard Phelps's office. It's frankly a mess - littered with teetering piles of yellowing paper.
  It's dominated by a big desk, which sits in the center of the room with a chair behind it. Beneath the window at the west end of the room is a small square table, on which rests a curious device.
  
  > put the mirror in the bracket
  (first taking the hand mirror from the burlap sack)
  You fit the mirror into the brass clip.
  
  > examine the device
  The device is circular, and about the size of a small lazy susan. Bright sunlight shines directly on it through the window. The central part of the device is a circular platform of polished wood, in which is inlaid an arrow in lighter wood. The arrow points somewhat to the left of the window. Also incised in the wood are some abstract figures or designs. They look rather like the mysterious letters on the stone bracelet you found in the dining room.
  
  Mounted along the edges of the circle are several clear glass prisms and several more small rectangular mirrors. The latter are held in place by slim brass mounting clips. There are mirrors or prisms in all of the clips.
  
  As the sunlight hits the prisms, a rainbow of light cascades across the surface of the device.
  
  > examine the arrow
  The wooden circle at the center of the curious device is about a foot in diameter. The surface is dark except for a lighter-colored inlaid arrow, which points out the window, more or less in the direction of the afternoon sun. Incised in the wood are some abstract figures or designs. They look rather like the mysterious letters on the stone bracelet you found in the dining room.
  
  > look at the device
  The device is circular, and about the size of a small lazy susan. Bright sunlight shines directly on it through the window. The central part of the device is a circular platform of polished wood, in which is inlaid an arrow in lighter wood. The arrow points somewhat to the left of the window. Also incised in the wood are some abstract figures or designs. They look rather like the mysterious letters on the stone bracelet you found in the dining room.
  
  Mounted along the edges of the circle are several clear glass prisms and several more small rectangular mirrors. The latter are held in place by slim brass mounting clips. There are mirrors or prisms in all of the clips.
  
  As the sunlight hits the prisms, a rainbow of light cascades across the surface of the device. On the wooden circle is a small round threaded object.
  
  > put the round in the sack
  (first taking the small round threaded object)
  Done.
  
  > put the bracelet on the circle
  (first taking the stone bracelet from the burlap sack)
  Done.
  
  > examine the device
  The device is circular, and about the size of a small lazy susan. Bright sunlight shines directly on it through the window. The central part of the device is a circular platform of polished wood, in which is inlaid an arrow in lighter wood. The arrow points somewhat to the left of the window. Also incised in the wood are some abstract figures or designs. They look rather like the mysterious letters on the stone bracelet you found in the dining room.
  
  Mounted along the edges of the circle are several clear glass prisms and several more small rectangular mirrors. The latter are held in place by slim brass mounting clips. There are mirrors or prisms in all of the clips.
  
  As the sunlight hits the prisms, a rainbow of light cascades across the surface of the device. On the wooden circle is a stone bracelet.
  
  > put the bracelet in the sack
  (first taking the stone bracelet)
  Done.
  
  > put the round object in the bracket
  (first taking the small round threaded object from the burlap sack)
  The small round threaded object doesn't seem to fit in the brass clip.
  
  > examine paper
  (the indecipherable map)
  The piece of paper is creased and dog-eared. One edge is badly charred. The lines and shapes drawn on the piece of paper are squirming and writhing. It's impossible to get any clear idea what they represent.
  
  > look at the yellowing paper
  Among the piles of paper you spot a newspaper dated February 1957. That's the most interesting thing in the lot, and it's not even faintly interesting.
  
  > Time
  You aren't wearing a wristwatch. Usually you'd keep track of time by glancing at your cell phone, but you seem to have misplaced that today. At a guess, it's about 3:45.
  
  > Go east
  The entry hall of Eternal Springs is bare of decoration. The only furnishings are a grandfather clock, which ticks heavily, and a small round telephone table. The front door of the house stands open to the east, the screen door providing, at best, a very partial barrier against the ingress of insects. There are open archways to the north and south, and a narrow staircase with a threadbare runner leads upward. The hall extends further to the west, alongside the staircase.
  
  > go south
  The big dining room has windows on the east and south and doorways on the north and west. Other than a long dining table and some ill-assorted chairs, the room is bare and featureless. It smells sour, as if food served and eaten here a long time ago still lingers in the plaster of the walls.
  
  > go west
  The kitchen is large and not especially neat. The appliances are all ancient, their surfaces dented and chipped. The refrigerator stands against one wall, the stove against another, and there's a cupboard above the sink. An exterior door is to the south, interior doorways to the east and north.
  
  On the stove is a tea kettle.
  
  Luisa is sitting at the kitchen table, shelling peas.
  
  > examine the chairs
  The chairs arranged (haphazardly) around the long dining table look as if they were bought at various yard sales. And not recently.
  
  > examine the window
  Which window do you mean, the south window, or the east window?
  
  > South
  The south window looks out toward the double row of cabins.
  
  > examine the east window
  The east window looks out on an empty section of the porch, and beyond that the lawn.
  
  > look at the door
  Which door do you mean, the long glass door in the clock, or the screen door?
  
  > Screen
  The front door is standing open, but the screen door, in which there are only five or six small holes, is pretending to be at work keeping bugs out of the house. It's open.
  
  > examine the glass door
  The glass door in the front of the clock protects the pendulum.
  
  > open it
  You tug on the door, but it seems to be stuck.
  
  > Go north
  The living room is not actually a small room, but it feels cramped because of the amount of thrift-shop furniture crammed into it.
  There's a fireplace on the north side of the room, a window to the east, and a tall, heavy bookcase against the west wall. An archway leads back to the south.
  
  The bookcase contains a mystery by John Dickson Carr.
  
  > examine Carr
  It's a pristine first edition of a novel called "The Four False Weapons," by a British author named John Dickson Carr. (The reason you know he's British is because Aunt Caroline is always raving about him.) The lurid dust jacket depicts a woman in a yellow evening gown who is cowering in fear from a dagger, a revolver, a razor, and a bottle of poison, all of which are swirling around her in the air.
  
  > read carr
  (first taking the mystery by John Dickson Carr)
  Boh-rring. this would put you to sleep for sure. Looks like Beauregard enjoys boring old mysteries as much as your aunt does.
  
  > go west
  You can't go that way. The only obvious exit leads south, back to the entry hall.
  
  > examine the shelves
  The bare pine shelves are broad, deep, and mostly bare, except for dried rat droppings (plentiful) and shrivelled onions (less so). The shelves are fitted into the wall of the pantry by being mounted on metal brackets.
  
  > examine the brackets
  The brackets stick out an inch or so from the walls on both sides of the pantry. The brackets are supporting the shelves.
  
  > search the shelves
  On the shelves are some rat droppings and some onions. Peering into the dim depths at the rear of the shelves, you see what looks like a square hatch built into the wall.
  
  > remove the shelves
  Glancing out the door of the pantry, you notice that Luisa is still sitting at the table - and her eyes flick in your direction, as if she's not entirely unaware of your presence. It would undoubtedly be better to wait until she goes somewhere else before removing the shelves from their brackets so as to get at that intriguing-looking hatch.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying a croquet hoop, a wooden bucket, a burlap sack (which contains a sequined jacket, a flashlight, a gold locket, some faded photographs, an indecipherable map, a sketchbook, a pill bottle, the key to Cabin One, a little white pill, an old shovel, a poker, a small round threaded object, a stone bracelet, and a mystery by John Dickson Carr), some fire tongs, and a hand mirror. You're wearing your clothes.
  
  > show the photos to Luisa
  (first taking the faded photographs from the burlap sack)
  As you start to speak, Luisa scowls at you irritably. "Why don't you go outside and play?"
  
  Luisa is busy working, and pays no attention to you.
  
  > ask Luisa about the threaded object
  "I got work to do," Luisa says. "I don' have time to talk to silly girls."
  
  > ask Luisa about the spider
  You start to tell Luisa about the awful white spider in the closet upstairs, but she cuts you off. "We get spiders in the house sometimes," she says. "Big, ugly ones. You're not ascared of spiders, are you?" Her laugh has a contemptuous edge.
  
  > ask Luisa about the crow
  You mention the crow you saw at the window in the bedroom. "He's always out there," Luisa says. "I think he'd like to come inside, find somethin' to eat, but I always shoo him away."
  
  > go to the east
  The big dining room has windows on the east and south and doorways on the north and west. Other than a long dining table and some ill-assorted chairs, the room is bare and featureless. It smells sour, as if food served and eaten here a long time ago still lingers in the plaster of the walls.
  
  > put map on the device
  (first taking the indecipherable map from the burlap sack)
  Done.
  
  > examine the device
  The device is circular, and about the size of a small lazy susan. Bright sunlight shines directly on it through the window. The central part of the device is a circular platform of polished wood, in which is inlaid an arrow in lighter wood. The arrow points somewhat to the left of the window. Also incised in the wood are some abstract figures or designs. They look rather like the mysterious letters on the stone bracelet you found in the dining room.
  
  Mounted along the edges of the circle are several clear glass prisms and several more small rectangular mirrors. The latter are held in place by slim brass mounting clips. One of the mounting clips is empty, however.
  
  As the sunlight hits the prisms, a rainbow of light cascades across the surface of the device. On the wooden circle is an indecipherable map.
  
  > examine the map
  The piece of paper is creased and dog-eared. One edge is badly charred. The lines and shapes drawn on the piece of paper are squirming and writhing. It's impossible to get any clear idea what they represent.
  
  > put the mirror in bracket
  You fit the mirror into the brass clip.
  
  > look at sun
  The sun is shining in the window.
  
  > look at the arrow
  The wooden circle at the center of the curious device is about a foot in diameter. The surface is dark except for a lighter-colored inlaid arrow, which points out the window, more or less in the direction of the afternoon sun. Incised in the wood are some abstract figures or designs. They look rather like the mysterious letters on the stone bracelet you found in the dining room. On the wooden circle is an indecipherable map.
  
  > Map in sack
  stone bracelet:
  (first taking off the stone bracelet)
  Done.
  
  indecipherable map: Done.
  
  > Go up
  The stairs creak a bit as you climb, a low-pitched sigh like a heavy old woman getting comfortable.
  
  This stuffy passageway extends westward from the head of the stairs, which lead down to the entry hall. The wallpaper is blotchy, and the residual grime along the baseboard suggests that the housekeeping has been perfunctory at best. There are doorways in the north and south walls.
  
  > go south
  This room has been mostly stripped of furniture. The wood floor is bare, the window uncurtained. A bulky, old-fashioned cradle stands in the center of the room. A metal heating grate is built into the baseboard in the west wall, and there's a small square table in the northeast corner, on which stands an old-fashioned model merry-go-round. Dominating the south wall is a large, rather faded image of a clown, which has been painted directly on the wallboard.
  
  > Wind model
  You give the key a twist. As you wind up the mechanism, the merry-go-round springs into motion. It creaks and wheezes a little as it rotates, but as the horses go up and down in a festive way a tinkly sentimental tune emanates from within the base.
  
  > go south
  This room has been mostly stripped of furniture. The wood floor is bare, the window uncurtained. A bulky, old-fashioned cradle stands in the center of the room. A metal heating grate is built into the baseboard in the west wall, and there's a small square table in the northeast corner, on which stands an old-fashioned model merry-go-round. Dominating the south wall is a large, rather faded image of a clown, which has been painted directly on the wallboard. As the music from the merry-go-round plays, the painting of the clown seems for a moment to be rippling, as if his feet are moving. But when you squint at the image, you decide you must be mistaken.
  
  The merry-go-round continues tinkling its wistful little tune.
  
  > take the model
  It seems to be attached to the table.
  
  The merry-go-round continues tinkling its wistful little tune.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying a croquet hoop, a wooden bucket, a burlap sack (which contains a sequined jacket, a flashlight, a gold locket, a sketchbook, a pill bottle, the key to Cabin One, a little white pill, an old shovel, a poker, a small round threaded object, a mystery by John Dickson Carr, some faded photographs, a stone bracelet, an indecipherable map, and a hand mirror), and some fire tongs. You're wearing your clothes.
  
  > Wind model
  You give the key a twist. As you wind up the mechanism, the merry-go-round springs into motion. It creaks and wheezes a little as it rotates, but as the horses go up and down in a festive way a tinkly sentimental tune emanates from within the base.
  
  > look at the clown
  For a moment, you have the odd sensation that the clown is beckoning to you, that he has stretched out one hand as if trying to reach toward you. But no, it's only your imagination, or a trick of the light. A crack in the plaster runs diagonally down through the clown's face and across the corner of his mouth, making his expression look less festive or playful than ironic or mocking.
  
  The merry-go-round continues tinkling its wistful little tune.
  
  > Open clown
  That is not something you can open.
  
  The merry-go-round continues tinkling its wistful little tune.
  
  > touch clown
  As your fingers brush the rough surface of the wall, it seems the painted clown is reaching out toward you. You can feel the cloth of his gloved hand in yours. He tugs on your hand, and - taken by surprise - you step toward him.
  
  He places his other hand on your waist, and you put yours on his shoulder. As the music from the merry-go-round tinkles, you find yourself dancing with the clown.
  
  The upstairs bedroom dissolves in a smear of circus colors. You aren't sure where you are. The clown smiles at you, and you can't tell whether it's a friendly smile, or whether he's smirking at you. You can smell his greasepaint. His big floppy shoes tread on your toes as he whirls you around and around. He dances in a jerky, off-balance way, as though he's poking fun at ballroom dancing. But it isn't really very funny.
  
  "No, please," you say faintly. "Let me go." The clown seems not to have heard. He dances faster. You're getting dizzy. But then he does let you go. You stagger backward ... and find that you're not in the bedroom anymore, but in a very, very strange place.
  
  Vague many-colored blobs of light float gently around you on all sides, and there are no shadows here. It's like being trapped inside a great big lava lamp, except that you can hear an off-key brass band oom-pahing not far away. The painted clown from the abandoned nursery, now no longer painted but quite real, is standing in front of you, gazing down at you with either pity or wry amusement (it's hard to tell which).
  
  > ask the clown about the clown
  "Where am I?" you ask the clown. "Who are you? How did I get here? What kind of place is this?"
  
  "That's a lot of questions, little girl. Slow down, now. Take it easy. You're making my poor head spin." The clown holds his head with both hands, as though afraid it's about to fall off, and rocks it back and forth. Then he grins at you lopsidedly. "Who am I? As to that, I wish I could tell you. I'm not sure I'm anybody, and that's the truth. I wouldn't mind being somebody, though, and that's the truth too.
  
  "Who are you, for that matter? Can you tell me that?"
  
  You tell him your name. He nods deeply and soberly, as if that's the most interesting thing he's heard in a week. Come to think of it, maybe it is.
  
  You decide to have another try at learning what's going on. "Who are you? You haven't told me anything."
  
  "Well, I'm a clown, I guess you can probably tell that, can't you?" The clown grins in a way that's not quite reassuring. "You must have seen clowns before. I'm not a real clown, though, only a pretend clown. Well, even being a pretend clown is better than being nothing at all, I suppose. Can you even imagine being nothing at all? I can't. But if there was some way you could help make me into a real person, why, that would be a great big favor, wouldn't it? I'd have to do you a great big favor in return.
  
  "Would you like ... I know: Would you like a gold coin?" Quick as a flash, a big, shiny gold coin appears between the clown's gloved fingers, but a moment later it's gone again.
  
  "I don't have any cards," the clown says apologetically, "so I can't do card tricks. But I can make a coin appear and disappear. If you can bring me something that will make me into a real person, I'll give you that nice coin. But I'll have to think for a minute about what you'd need to bring. Don't rush me, now. Hmm." The clown taps his foot and scratches his chin theatrically.
  
  "All right, I'll tell you what. I need three things. First, if I'm to become a real person, and walk around in the world, I'll need a handkerchief to wipe off this silly clown paint."
  
  "Oh, I'm sure I can find a towel or something to bring," you reply.
  
  But the clown shakes his head gravely. "Oh, no. No ordinary towel would do. To clean my face I'd need a handkerchief that was soaked with a young girl's tears. Only such a thing would do. So that's the first item. The second - I'm not solid flesh and blood like you, I'm just a poor flat painted thing. For me to be able to walk abroad in the world, I'd need some good strong bones for my limbs. The third thing would be something nice to wear, so the people I meet would respect me. I think I'd like to have a coat made of solid jewels. Wouldn't that be grand?
  
  "So that's what you need to bring me - a handkerchief soaked in a young girl's tears, and some bones so I can stand up, and a coat of jewels. In return, I'll give you my gold coin."
  
  It occurs to you to protest that if you had a coat made of jewels, you certainly wouldn't need a gold coin. But the clown seems so sincere, you haven't the heart to point out how absurd his request is.
  
  > give the jacket to the clown
  (first taking the sequined jacket from the burlap sack)
  You hold up the sequined jacket you filched from Honey Hartwell's cabin. "Is this the type of coat you're hoping to have?" Secretly you're feeling a little ashamed. If he's fooled into thinking the sequins and rhinestones are real jewels, you'll be lying to him by not telling the truth.
  
  But the clown seems not to notice the deception. Or maybe he doesn't care. He stands back a pace to admire the coat. "Well, would you look at that! That's a marvelous, marvelous garment. Exactly what I was hoping you'd bring. Would you mind if I try it on?"
  
  "I'm not sure it's large enough for you," you reply. But when you hand the jacket to the clown and he struggles into it, miraculously it seems a perfect fit. Perhaps he's not quite as large as he looks - or possibly there's no good explanation for it at all.
  
  The clown struts up and down in the sequined jacket. "Look at me, look at me! Oh, I'm as handsome as Mick Jagger. Now if you'll just bring me some nice strong bones and a special handkerchief to wipe my face, I'll be a real person at last."
  
  > go north
  You take a few uncertain steps, but find that you're getting quite dizzy and a bit nauseous. In spite of yourself, you're drawn irresistibly back to stand next to the clown.
  
  > Go south
  You take a few uncertain steps, but find that you're getting quite dizzy and a bit nauseous. In spite of yourself, you're drawn irresistibly back to stand next to the clown.
  
  The blobs of color that are swirling around you and the clown start spinning faster and faster. "Oh, don't go!" cries the clown, reaching out toward you. But you feel yourself being spun away from him.
  
  Suddenly you're back in the abandoned nursery, feeling very dizzy and confused, staring at the painted clown on the wall. The painted clown is not moving. Obviously. He's only painted on the wall. Could the whole thing have been your imagination? Maybe you've been out in the hot sun too long.
  
  This room has been mostly stripped of furniture. The wood floor is bare, the window uncurtained. A bulky, old-fashioned cradle stands in the center of the room. A metal heating grate is built into the baseboard in the west wall, and there's a small square table in the northeast corner, on which stands an old-fashioned model merry-go-round. Dominating the south wall is a large, rather faded image of a clown, which has been painted directly on the wallboard.