by Charlotte Adelsperger

“We're finally here — Burg Hahn!” Cody exclaimed as his dad parked the rental car and everybody piled out.

Cody stared at the sprawling German castle-turned- hotel. Overgrown trees and bushes looked as if they were laying siege to the stone walls.

“It's so cool you could come with us, Lucas,” Cody said, turning to his German friend. “When you moved back to Germany, I never thought I'd see you again.”

“Ja,” Lucas said. “But here we are, staying in an 800-year-old castle.”

Cody's family checked in and climbed the long wooden staircase to the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard. In the family's room, pictures of fierce roosters hung over the beds. Clawlike ivy gripped the outside of the window as Cody and his mom looked at the vineyards and the Rhine River.

“It's like stepping back into history,” she said. “What a view!”

“Time to relax,” Cody's dad said as he emptied his pockets on the dresser. “But first let's go unload the car.”

Cody unclipped an antique watch from his belt and put it next to his dad's pile of euro coins.

“I'm going downstairs to help with the luggage,” Cody's mom said.

“Never fear, we'll guard the castle!” Cody joked. “But for a knight's wage.”

He spotted a box of German cookies and snatched a handful. Cramming one into his mouth, he tossed the box to Lucas.

“Hey, your dad left his car keys on the dresser,” Lucas pointed out, accidentally dropping a few cookies on the floor. “We better run these down to him.”

Cody grabbed the keys. As he and Lucas rushed out, they propped a backpack against the door to hold it open. They ran past a man on the stairs and caught up with Cody's parents in the courtyard where they handed over the keys.

Gone

When Cody and Lucas got back to the room, the door was shut and the backpack was gone! Cody's heart pounded.

“Don't worry,” Lucas said. “I'm sure everything's OK.”

Cody's parents came back with the luggage and unlocked the door. Cody ran inside and spotted his backpack on the bed. But when he glanced at the dresser —

“My watch is gone!” he cried.

“So is the money,” Dad added.

“It's my fault,” Cody said. Tears filled his eyes. “All that money and Grandpa's watch. What will I tell him?”

Cody glanced at the floor where the cookies had spilled. They were also gone.

Weird, he thought.

Immediately, Cody and his dad went to see Frau Braun, the manager.

Snapshot Tour

“We're so sorry you lost money and your watch,” Frau Braun said. “When you signed in, we gave you a paper that stated the castle hotel is not responsible for people's possessions.”

Cody stared at the floor. He felt like dropping through to the castle's dungeon.

“We'll put up a notice about your missing watch, and we'll alert our security guard,” Frau Braun added.

Cody's dad took Cody and Lucas aside. “There's not much we can do, boys,” he said. “How 'bout you take my camera and go explore?”

Cody hoped exploring would get his mind off of the missing watch. He and Lucas picked up a map and began to wander. They followed a dark, musty passage where they spotted a couple of teenage girls who jabbered in French. The girls sat counting a pile of coins. When the girls saw the boys, they got up and bolted down the path to the main courtyard.

“Look at that huge tower!” Cody said. “We saw it from the river.”

“That tower's called the keep,” Lucas said.

“Let's go check it out,” Cody said. “And keep your eyes open for my watch.”

“That watch looked old,” Lucas said.

“It is old, and it has an inscription on the back,” Cody replied. “When my grandpa was a boy in Germany, his father gave the watch to him. Grandpa was thrilled to give it to me. He told me, 'Wear it on your trip and tell me every place it goes.' But now . . .” Cody's voice dropped.

Cody and Lucas moved along winding paths with rugged stone walls, wild roses and green vines. Skipping down stone steps, they came to a small meeting room with wooden benches built into the walls. It had a large tree stump as a table. As they stepped into the room, Cody spotted a thin man hovering in the corner. He quickly turned sideways when he saw them.

“He's the guy I saw on the steps when we gave the keys to your parents,” Cody whispered to Lucas. Even though some tourists hovered just outside, Cody felt uncomfortable. Taking a deep breath, he silently prayed: God, this man scares me. Give me courage.

With new confidence Cody smiled at the man. Lucas edged close behind.

“Some castle, isn't it?” the man asked in English. “I love this stretch of the Rhine with Burg Maus, Burg Katz and Burg Hahn. Do you know what the names mean?”

Lucas quickly answered: “Mouse Castle, then Cat Castle — because its two towers look like ears — and this is Rooster Castle, because some think they see an image of a rooster on the keep.”

“My, you're good!” the man said, jingling coins in his pocket.

I'm not sure I trust him, Cody thought as the man strolled out the door.

“Let's keep an eye on him,” Lucas said.

The boys climbed more steps to a narrow ledge by a lookout tower. Below in the flower garden, Lucas spotted the man and a couple walking their dog. The couple found a bench and sat down. Their little black schnauzer wore a red scarf around its neck.

“I guess they allow dogs here, huh?” Cody said turning to Lucas.

“Ja. Most places in Germany do.”

“Let's go down and catch up with that guy,” Cody said, leading the way down the steps.

As they walked past the couple, the dog wagged its tail and scratched its neck. Cody knelt down to pet the dog.

“He doesn't like strangers,” the man warned. “You should stay away.”

The dog didn't look mean. But Cody stood up, pointed his camera at the dog and clicked off a couple of shots. The woman frowned. When Cody looked up, the man in the shadows was gone.

Watchdog

After a sausage supper and some apple strudel floating in vanilla sauce, Cody still felt empty without his watch.

“Let's look at your pictures,” his mom suggested. Cody showed one shot after another on the digital camera. When he came to the photo of the dog, something caught his attention. He zoomed in for a closer look on the screen.

“Look!” he shouted. “That dog kept scratching at something. And I think it's my watch!”

“I see it!” Lucas said. “Why would a thief put your watch on a dog?”

“Don't know,” Cody said, shrugging. “But I know what happened to the cookies you dropped on the floor. The dog ate them while his owner swiped our things!”

In a flash, everybody ran downstairs and showed Frau Braun the picture.

“I'll call Herr Pfeffer, our security guard,” she said.

Timely Discovery

Within the hour the police came, and Herr Pfeffer handed Cody back his watch.

“Danke, thanks,” he said, clutching his treasure.

“But why did the thieves put the watch on the dog?” Lucas asked the guard.

“The police asked the same question,” Herr Pfeffer answered. “Seems the man and his wife were looking at the watch when you boys walked up. He couldn't shove it into his pocket without standing up, so he clipped it on his dog's collar under the scarf. But your camera got him! The police found even more stolen items in their room.”

Cody grinned. “I couldn't face Grandpa without this,” he said, holding up the watch. “I kept praying to God to help me find it.”

He turned to Lucas and handed him the watch. “Take a look,” Cody said.

“Sehr schön — very beautiful,” Lucas said, turning over the antique timepiece. “It says, 'Vertraue auf Gott' — Trust in God.”

“Yeah,” Cody said. “Grandpa told me those words would make a difference in my life. And, boy, was he right.”

	Q: Why did the dog lay on its back with its feet sticking in the air? A: It was trying to trip birds. Amy S., 11, Illinois Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe