Barrow introduced a new plan concerning the purchase of books. Veronica Pillsbury had told him that people were asking her when would the museum ever be getting any new stuff? This, despite Neil's buying several fine items in recent months. Barrow said, "From now on, only Artifacts Committee Chairwoman Carla Spagnoli can sign the "Authorization of Payment" form. Only the Artifacts Committe will order any acquisitions, and the Artifacts Committee will pay for them." And that was that. The curator was now out of the picture.

At the next Artifacts Committee meeting, Carla Spagnoli brought in a pile of clippings from New York City antiques store catalogs. These were discusssed. Each and all of the items went on the to be ordered list. Veronica Pillsbury and Neil had brought in other items to discuss. But by then Spagnoli had got the others off and chatting about entirely other things.

At the end of January, the Captain came in, poking around while Neil was out. He left a note for Neil, refusing to sign the "Authorization of Payment" form: "Carla Spagnoli is the only one who will sign for new acquisitions -- after Artifacts Committee approval. You'll have to differentiate other expenses and list them separately. Also -- no Board of Museum Coalition Incentive Grant monies are left for buying items so I don't know what account they possibly could to be paid from."

Association treasurer Angela Perry came in, and Neil simply had her sign the Authorization for Payment form. He wrote a note for Captain Cunningham: "All acquisitions received that had been ordered by the Artifacts Committee prior to the Executive Committee decision to make Carla Spagnoli sole acquisitions purchaser are being paid for herewith. Please note that no new acquisitions have been ordered since that decision was made."

In early February, Town Department Heads met, Camperdene Mayor Barton Driscoll presiding. Afterwards, he took Neil aside to tell him, "I want you to hear it from me. The museum is going to be eliminated."

"Eliminated? I don't think so. Now begins the 'Save the Museum' campaign."

Silence. The mayor just shook his head in disappointment and walked away.

Neil went back to the museum. He called Wallace Barrow. He left a message to have him call Neil at his earliest opportunity. He reached Captain Cunningham later in the afternoon. He said he had some time to come over. He and Neil went out for a short walk. Neil told him what Mayor Driscoll had said.

"Eliminated?" Cunningham asked coyly. "He said the Museum is going to be eliminated?"

"That's what he said," Neil reiterated.

"I'd like to eliminate him," the Captain declared. "We could strap him in the electric chair in the museum -- the chair Reverend Richeson was electrocuted in. No one would need to know. You know, I've done some sleuthing. Do you remember my telling you I'd discovered Carla Spagnoli had borrowed the Richeson/Avis Linnell papers gathered together by theodore Dreiser -- an archive estimated to be worth around two million dollars? I'm sure now that most of these are sitting in a bank vault somewhere in Switzerland -- except for those papers Carla long since sold at auction. She stole them, Neil. I can't prove anything, but I know I'm right. Gads, we sure could use such money now. But no. Carla Spagnoli is rolling in dough, and the Museum is struggling. Only Carla can sign the Authorization of Payment form for new acquisitions -- after Artifacts Committee approval. There's no Board of Museum Coalition Incentive Grant monies left. And the mayor wants to eliminate the museum. What are you going to do?"

"Do? I'm going to initiate a very active and highly visible campaign to keep the museum open."

"Do you know how Reverend Richeson got caught?"

"Pardon?" Neil said.

"Well, he certainly didn't get pardoned," Cunningham scoffed. "He didn't get caught red-handed, but he was, as you put it, 'highly visible.' He could have done things differently." The Captain took from his inner coat pocket a photocopy of a newspaper account of the Reverend's confession: "January 12, 1912" (The Hansboro Pioneer, North Dakota): "Prominent Boston Pastor Confesses" -- "Rev. C.V.T. Richeson, former pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts, today made a written confession to the effect that he poisoned his former sweetheart, Miss Avis Linnell. The statement was given into the hands of his counsel who made the confession public at 1 o'clock on Saturday. Just before noon the judges of the superior court and district attorney went into conference at the court house and about an hour later representatives of the press were called to the office of William A. Morse, leading counsel of the accused clergyman and given the confession, which was dated three days previous. Counsel refused to comment on it. It is said the only hope of saving Richeson from death in the electric chair after his confession, is by having him adjudged insane or by commutation of his sentence by the governor and the executive counsel. The death penalty is the only sentence that can be inflicted by the state upon a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. District Attorney Pelletier admitted Richeson might possibly be brought into court before the day set for the trial, but that such action depended upon the attitude of his counsel. This is regarded as an indication that the district attorney and court might find a legal way to accept a plea of guilty of murder in the second degree and permit a life sentence. As Richeson stands before the law, he is indicted of murder in the first degree in taking the life of Miss Linnell by giving her cyanide potassium."

"Unbelievable," Neil said. "Cyanide."

"Read this," the Captain said, handing over a second, undated (and headline-less), photocopy of a news clipping. Neil read, "Clarence V.T. Richeson, age 36, charged with murder, was executed by electrocution in Massachusetts on Tuesday, May 21, 1912. The former minister was electrocuted for the murder of Miss Avis Linnell, a Hyannis Port girl to whom he had been engaged."

"Keep those," Cunningham told Neil, now turning to go out."They might come in handy."

Now Barrow was on the phone, asking questions. Neil again explained what the mayor had said about eliminating the musuem. "Eliminate the museum," Wallace fumed. "That's going too far. I had thought the worst we'd face would be we'd have to let Audrey go and -- what's her name? The little girl in the back." (Sixty-year-old Mary Tuchlein.)

"Mary."

"Yes. Mary. And leave you upstairs and the girl downstairs -- what's her name, the Stanton girl?" (Julia Seymour-Stanton, fifty.)

"Julia."

"Yes. The Stanton girl. I thought they'd at least leave us the two positions."

The next evening, on Tuesday, Captain Cunningham said frankly, "I trust you understand, Neil, to try to keep the museum open, Carla Spagnoli wants to see you you unemployed. How am I supposeed to stop her? You ought to be thinking very seriously about finding another job."

"What is the Association going to do?" Neil asked.

"What is the Association going to do?" the Captain echoed. He shrugged his shoulders.

On Saturday, Ben Mulvane told Neil he'd talked with The Captain. "Things look grim," he said. "Do you know that Cunningham's not going to do anything about this? He's got his own agenda. As I understand it, he's going to let the museum be closed down. He's going to say nothing, do nothing! Do you believe it? He's got the notion he'l just let it close. The staff is going to be let go. You will go. The Captain will run it. They'll keep the place open a few hours a week. The Captain will be in there. He'll have his own little private museum to play with. He'll be in seventh heaven. We've got to do something."

Alice Armour Armstrong wrote in the Camperdene Daily Journal of cash being in short supply "should Town Meeting members follow the Finance Committee's recommendation to allocate zero funding for The Museum of the Year 1912 next year. The jobs of the four full-time employees and the part-time custodian, paid by the town, will go. Lobbying with Town Meeting members for support of the museum is tricky. The museum's status as a 'non-profit' agency means its corporation members cannot engage in lobbying.

Powderkeg Cunningham was out and about, telling folks the museum would remain open no matter what -- even if the museum lost town funding. He told Neil he was against any tax hike -- he would sooner see the museum close down than that he should pay more taxes.

The Camperdene Daily Journal printed "An Open Letter" from Association member Ben Mulvane: "Last week I read alarming news in the local papers. Mayor Driscoll has proposed 'eliminating Town funding for the Museum of the Year 1912.' He proposed this course of action because he feels the institution 'could survive independently.' Another newspaper has quoted Mayor Driscoll's saying 'The parks and recreation department, the public library, and the Museum of the Year 1912 have the best chances for obtaining outside support. The museum has an alternative funding source.' I know the town faces some difficult economic times. But the Mayor's view, that the museum could survive without Town financial support is flawed. The Town needs the museum. The museum could not 'survive independently' without Town aid. The Museum Association simply cannot fund the museum's day-to-day expenses. Without Town finds (moneys that historically have provided staff salaries), the Association will have to cut museum hours and staffing. The Association will have no choice but authorize such painful cuts. Could we actually use the moneys from Association endowments, as the Mayor suggests? The Executive Board of the Museum Association ought to be hesitant about using such funds. These funds were not donated to the Association to pay for day-to-day operations; to do so would be a betrayal of a Trust, and would discourage future donations. I for one oppose the budget of the Town Administrator. If you feel strongly about this subject, as I do, please let me hear from you. We need to show our support. Also contact your elected Town Meeting representatives, and demand continued funding for The Museum of the Year 1912."

Ardent museum advocate Verononica Pillsbury responded, "As a fellow Corporator of the Museum of the Year 1912, I wish to state that I am entirely in agreement with Benjamin Mulvane's letter. Our Town faces difficult times, but we have met them before. To my knowledge, ­town funding for the museum has never befor faced elimination. Instead of depriving our people of something so vital, let us rise up and meet the challenge this problem presents. It recently came to my attention that one of the first places a father took his children after they had moved to town was The Museum of the Year 1912. Would he have the same impression of our town if he had found the door locked; if he had been required to pay a fee or had been limited in any other way in the use of this museum?"

Association Treasurer Angela Perry responded with brevity and clarity, "The Mayor's proposal to eliminate town funding for the Museum of the Year 1912 is, indeed, alarming. As Ben Mulvane has told the press, Mayor Drsicoll has shown that he does not understand how our museum functions. I am opposed to any budget that eliminates funding for the museum. I plan to contact town meeting representatives to ask for their support."

Headline: "Camperdene Warned on Museum."

"Wallace Barrow, the President of the non-profit corporation that owns the Museum of the Year 1912 said yesterday that the Mayor's proposal to eliminate town funding of the facility could result in layoffs and curtailed hours of operation. 'This could be a real setback,' said Barrow. He said the Executive Committee of the Association's board of directors would be meeting Thursday to discuss how to react to the potential cuts. 'We don't know if this will be the worst scenario (total loss of town funding) or if it will be something less,' said Barrow. 'We will probably take some steps Thursday night.' Two weeks ago Mayor Driscoll warned Millstonians that town funding for the museum may have to be eliminated. Barrow said yesterday that perhaps Driscoll mistakenly believes the Corporation's private endowments could enable it to continue running with minimal impact to its operation, should the town funding be cut. Barrow has said nothing about what devastation the cuts could bring."

The Executive Committee of the Museum Association met at the long tables near the display case for the 1912 Olympics. At the outset, Barrow asked Neil what he wished to report as curator. Neil said he only wished to know when he could expect his long-overdue performance appraisal; he said he would be glad to put everything else on the back-burner in order to get to the matter at hand. Barrow said Captain Cunningham would have something for Neil the following day. The phone rang. It was for Barrow.

Barrow was out of the room for about five minutes. He came back and said it had been Corporator Jennifer Sariff, who had received a letter from Ben Mulvane. Carla Spagnoli said, "Jennifer called me, too, and had asked me to say so. I guess I don't need to tell you, now, that she called. And I don't think I need to tell anybody here what Jennifer had to say."

The fusspots then went around in circles, getting nothing done, discussing how to react to the potential cuts. They resolved they'd go before the Finance Committee with the originally proposed budget.

Headline: "Superintendent Bonaventura Evaluated: F." Alice Armour Armstrong of the Camperdene Daily Journal wrote about the Superintendent of Schools, Michael Bonaventura, "The School Committee has evaluated Bonaventura's performance. While walking on water has rarely been a required skill for school superintendents, that doesn't mean Michael Bonaventura hasn't considered it. He told School Committee members this week that it also wouldn't hurt if he were stronger than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."

Captain Cunningham called Neil to say he was going to come in with Neil's Performance Appraisal

He was there within the hour. He sat Neil down. He said that although he'd worked from the notes of others on the Board, the final draft of the document was his: "Performance Appraisal, Curator. Overall performance: above average. Interest in job: excellent. Responsibility: excellent. Knowledge of job: excellent. Punctuality: excellent. Appearance: excellent. Ability to follow instructions: good. Quality of work: good. Thoroughness: good. Cooperation: good. Accuracy: good. Disposition: over cheerful. General comments: Strong interest in public service, beyond job requirements. A latent tendency toward inaction. Re-hire: perhaps, if the position is funded."