46 pages 1 hour read

Maureen Sherry, Adam Stower

Walls Within Walls

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010

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Chapters 17-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 17 Summary

CJ, Brid, and Patrick descend to the servants’ quarters to inspect the dumbwaiter. Patrick clears the paint away from the keyhole, and they discover that the key works and summons the dumbwaiter. Patrick gets in and accidentally activates it. CJ and Brid panic when Eloise arrives. She explains that it’s a dumbwaiter for books, not food, and tells them how to operate it. When the dumbwaiter returns, Patrick’s not inside.

Chapter 18 Summary

Eloise assures them he got out in someone’s apartment and will show up soon enough. She then confronts them about using her real name even though she never gave it to them. They ask her about clues and poets, which initially does not catch her attention until they identify particular poets her father enjoyed. She reluctantly agrees to meet with them at the New York Public Library to discuss the poems but expects nothing from the conversation. As she turns to leave, Patrick returns; after she goes, he relays that he found more writing in the Williamsons’ apartment. He reads the letters from the painting off his arm—where he wrote them with a pen from his pocket—and they decipher the writing, adding two more lines to Post’s poem.