Mystery Behind the Wall

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Maybe this house,” said Jessie. “The message says to look at the back of the house.”

  Violet shook her head. “It says ‘on the back of the house.’ That isn’t quite the same thing.”

  Benny said, “Well, I think Jessie has the best idea so far. Let’s go out and look at the back of the house.”

  “I don’t think it will do us much good,” Henry said. “You have to think how long ago Stephanie left that clue. I can’t see how it could still be on the back of the house.”

  “Perhaps so,” Jessie agreed.

  But Benny said, “You may be right, Henry. But if we go out and look, we might get some new ideas.”

  “I’ll come too,” Rory offered.

  So the Aldens and Rory went downstairs and around to the back of the big house.

  “Grandfather added the rooms on the back of the house after he bought it from the Shaws,” Henry said. “I guess most of the back was changed.”

  “The part where the attic is wasn’t changed,” Benny said. “I’m sure of that.”

  They stared up at one of the small attic windows. “‘Don’t break the glass,’” Rory said.

  “Do you think Stephanie could have hidden the clue on the outside of the house near the attic window?” Benny asked.

  “How could she do that?” Violet asked. “She’d have to crawl out of the window. She would never have done that.”

  “I guess that is true,” Benny had to agree.

  Violet said, “I have an idea. We have to try to think the way Stephanie did. Maybe we can guess where she hid that clue.”

  Jessie nodded. “I’m sure Stephanie must have chosen some place she could get to easily.”

  Rory said, “I think the clue must have been put inside the house somewhere. But perhaps it could be seen from the outside.”

  “Between the screen and the window glass,” Violet suggested. “That would be easy for Stephanie to do.”

  “It would be too easy to find,” Benny said. “Anybody could have found it. Violet, please read how the clue begins. I’ve forgotten.”

  Violet unfolded the paper and read, “‘This is the end.’”

  “There,” Benny said. “I think this must be the last clue. This clue should lead us to the place where the coins were hidden. If that’s so, it had to be a safe place.”

  Henry shook his head. “Benny, the more I think about it, the more I think the Blue Collection will stay a mystery. Too bad.”

  “I guess so,” Jessie said.

  Even Violet said, “I have to give up, too.”

  Soon Rory and Benny found themselves alone behind the house. Everyone else had gone off to do something.

  “Let’s go back to my room,” Rory suggested. “If we’re going to think, we might as well be comfortable.”

  Up in Rory’s room, Benny said, “Let me think. Coins aren’t very big.” He pulled a quarter, two dimes, a nickel, and four pennies out of his pocket. He made a little stack of them.

  Rory said, “Stephanie had more coins than that.”

  “You’re right,” Benny said. “There are more pockets in the blue cloth coin case. But even that many coins wouldn’t take up much room.”

  Benny and Rory stared at the coins. Where would a ten-year-old girl have thought of hiding a stack of coins?

  “But what did she mean by ‘on the back of the house’ and ‘don’t break the glass’?” asked Benny.

  “I give up,” Rory said. “It’s too much of a mystery for me.”

  “Well, I don’t give up,” Benny said. “I just need to think about something else for a while. Let’s ride our bikes over to 5 Birds Lane and tell Mrs. Wren how close and how far we are from the collection.”

  “It’s better than sitting here,” Rory said.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Don’t Break the Glass!”

  When Benny and Rory walked into the Jenny Wren Shop they found Mrs. Wren watering some plants in the sunny shop window.

  “Did you find the coin collection?” she asked. “Oh! I can see by the look on your faces that you didn’t.”

  Benny said, “But we did find the next clue. It was inside the grandfather’s clock, up in our attic.”

  “It doesn’t help us at all,” Rory said. “Stephanie wrote to look on the back of the house, but not to break the glass.”

  “She meant that clue for her father,” Benny said. “I guess he would have known what it was about.”

  Mrs. Wren said, “I’ve never been in your house. But once Stephanie showed me a photograph of the house. She wanted to get a frame for it to surprise her father.”

  “That photograph is hanging in my room right now,” Rory said.

  “Think of that!” exclaimed Mrs. Wren. “After all these years!”

  Benny said, “Rory has our guest room. That’s the room Stephanie had. The furniture is different, but nobody changed the pictures.”

  “On the back of the house,” Mrs. Wren said slowly. “You’re sure she didn’t write ‘in the back of the house’?”

  “No,” Rory said, “it’s very plain. And the back of the house has all been changed. That’s what Henry said.”

  Benny looked around the Jenny Wren Shop. He wished there was something he could buy. But everything was for sewing or knitting.

  Some buttons were on the counter. They were sewed on cards. One set of buttons caught Benny’s eye. The buttons looked just like coins.

  All at once something clicked in Benny’s mind. He said, “Come on, Rory! I’ll race you home on our bikes! Let’s go.”

  “Why are you in such a hurry all of a sudden?” Rory asked.

  “Wait and see,” Benny said. “Good-bye, Mrs. Wren. Something here just gave me a new idea. If it helps, I’ll let you know. Let’s go, Rory.”

  It didn’t take long for the boys to ride home.

  “Have you thought of some place new to look?” Rory asked. “Do you think you know where the coins are?”

  “We’ll find out,” Benny said, and he climbed up the stairs ahead of Rory. He ran into Rory’s room.

  “Here in my room?” Rory asked. “Where?”

  Benny didn’t say a thing. He walked over to the wall by Rory’s bed. He took down the framed photograph of the house, the one made when Stephanie lived there.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Rory asked. “We looked at that picture and took it down the first day I was here. I remember that.”

  “That’s right,” Benny said. “We looked at the picture. But remember what Stephanie said, ‘Look on the back of the house.’” As he said this, Benny turned the picture over.

  “‘Don’t break the glass,’” Rory said. “Benny, do you think she meant the glass on the front of the picture?”

  “I do!” said Benny. “Look—there’s cardboard on the back. We looked before and saw these little nails that hold the cardboard in place. I’m going to take them out.”

  Rory held his breath while Benny tried to pull the small nails loose. But they were rusty and would not come out. His fingers weren’t strong enough.

  “I’ll get the pliers,” Rory said. “What do you expect to find? Another clue?”

  Benny shook his head. “I have another idea. You get the pliers. I’ll wait.”

  Benny shook the picture gently. Nothing rattled. But Benny did not look disappointed. He waited, and Rory ran into the room with the pliers.

  Violet followed Rory. She said, “I heard you boys come in. What is it?”

  “I have an idea,” Benny said. “Perhaps I understand what Stephanie was telling her father.”

  He took the pliers. He pulled out the rusty nails as fast as he could. They came out easily.

  “Lift out the cardboard, Ben,” Rory said. “Be careful. It’s very old.”

  Benny pried off the cardboard. It was not easy to get out. As he lifted it up he caught his breath. There was something under the cardboard.

  Benny, Violet, and Rory saw what was behind the cardboard at the same time. �
�Oh, oh!” they exclaimed. “There they are!”

  Nobody moved. They sat and gazed at the back of the photograph as if they were stunned.

  The back of the photograph was covered with the same blue cloth as the coin case. The coins were stuck on the cloth in neat rows of five, glued in place.

  As soon as they were over the first surprise, Rory said, “They are on the back of the house! And we didn’t have to break the glass!”

  “How did you ever think of looking there?” Violet asked.

  Benny laughed and said, “You’ll never guess. I got the idea in the Jenny Wren Shop.”

  “Tell me,” Violet begged.

  “Well, there were buttons like coins sewed on cards,” Benny said. “We’d been thinking about the coins stacked in a little box or something. We never thought how easy it would be to spread them out—just like this.”

  Rory nodded. “They don’t take up much room. Nobody ever guessed they were in the picture frame. How many are there?”

  Benny counted. There were five rows and ten coins in each row. That made fifty coins altogether. Big ones, little ones, gold ones, and copper ones.

  This was the old Blue Collection that Stephanie Shaw had made so many years ago!

  Violet was the first to speak. She said, “Of course the first thing to do is to show them to Grandfather. I know he hoped we would find them.”

  Benny said, “Here, Violet, you carry the coins. They are sure to drop off if I try it.”

  Violet lifted the picture very slowly and the three children went down the stairs to Mr. Alden’s home office.

  As they were almost at the foot of the stairs, Benny called out, “Found! Found! We have found the coins, Grandfather!”

  Henry and Jessie heard Benny. Henry called, “Ben! You found them? I can’t believe it!”

  “You don’t mean the Blue Collection? The whole of it?” demanded Mr. Alden. He got up quickly from his desk.

  “I think so,” answered Benny. “They are all stuck on blue cloth.”

  “Bright blue,” added Violet. “Like the cases.”

  Grandfather sat down again. Violet laid the coins on the desk in front of him.

  “I can’t believe it!” said Grandfather. “I just can’t believe that these are the coins from little Stephanie Shaw.”

  Grandfather looked sharply at the coins. He tried to lift one to see the back. “Stuck with glue,” he said. “Now where did you children find this?”

  “Turn it over, Granda, and you’ll see,” said Rory. He was having the time of his life.

  Mr. Alden turned the whole cardboard over and saw the photograph.

  Henry exclaimed, “Right on the back of the very picture of our house. Stephanie told the truth. It is on the back of the house.”

  “And her father never found it,” Violet said, a little sadly.

  “I guess Stephanie thought the Shaws were coming back. Or perhaps something kept her father from following the clues,” Jessie said. “So the coins have been safely hidden all this time.”

  Violet said suddenly, “We promised to tell Mrs. Wren if we found the coins. I’ll telephone the shop.”

  She went at once to the telephone. Soon the family heard her say, “Yes, Mrs. Wren. We’ll come over soon to tell you the whole story. You’ll hardly believe it.”

  Then she came back and sat down with the others.

  “What are we going to do with the coins?” Benny asked his grandfather.

  “Well, I think the time has come to call my friend, Professor Nichols,” he said.

  “Will he come?” asked Benny.

  “Oh, he’ll come all right if he hears the word ‘coin,’” said Mr. Alden. “You children will have to get another room ready for a guest.”

  “That’s nothing,” said Benny. “Getting a room ready is the best thing we do.”

  “When will you call him, Granda?” asked Rory. He wanted to see this professor who knew so much.

  “This very minute,” said Mr. Alden with a smile. “When he comes, you must all be ready for his strange looks. He is a rather odd person. His hair is snow white, although he is not any older than I am. He never wears a hat, not even in winter. He is a wonderful person. You will be lucky to meet him.”

  Mr. Alden found the telephone number and in a moment he was saying, “Hello, Andrew. This is James Alden.”

  “You don’t say so!” answered a booming voice. The children could hear every word. “What’s the trouble?”

  “No trouble,” replied Grandfather. “Just a few old coins turned up. My—”

  “Say no more,” interrupted Professor Nichols. “I’ll come as soon as I can get a plane. You knew I’d say that, didn’t you?”

  Grandfather laughed and answered, “We’ll meet your plane. You’ll know me because I will have five young people with me.”

  “I’d know you anyway, anywhere,” said the professor’s voice. “Without any children at all.”

  As Mr. Alden hung up the telephone he said, “Same old friend! Same old Andrew!”

  “It’s lucky that you know Professor Nichols, Grandfather,” Benny said. “I don’t know anyone at all who could help us with the coins. But I guess we could have gone to the library for a book on coin collecting.”

  “Yes, I’m sure the library has many books on coins,” said Grandfather with a quick nod. “But Professor Nichols is a real expert. He is just the man to ask about the hidden coins. After all, he knew Stephanie and her father many years ago.”

  A day later Henry drove the station wagon to the airport. The Aldens could hardly wait for the plane to come in. When they saw Professor Nichols leaving the plane, they knew that Mr. Alden was right. People stared at the great man. His long white hair blew in the light breeze.

  “I came right away, James,” said Professor Nichols. “You know I will go almost anywhere if I can find a new coin.”

  Mr. Alden said, “I know that very well, Andrew. I’m glad to get some coins together just to get you to come here to visit me. We have about fifty coins.”

  “I can hardly wait to see them,” said the professor.

  Henry had already turned the car around and was driving out of the airport.

  “And the coins? Shall I see them at once?” asked the visitor.

  “Just as soon as we get home, Andrew,” said Grandfather, smiling at Jessie. “I told you he would not pay much attention to anything but coins.”

  The minute the car stopped in the driveway in front of the Alden house, they all took the professor into the dining room. The blue card was on the table before him.

  CHAPTER 10

  What It All Meant

  Professor Nichols sat down at the dining room table and began to look at the coins. From an inside pocket he took a magnifying glass like one Benny had seen a watchmaker use. He fitted it into his eye.

  Rory and the Aldens leaned excitedly on the table, watching the professor.

  “What a sight! What a sight,” he murmured, almost to himself. “Oh, my, oh, my!”

  Suddenly Professor Nichols put his finger on a gold coin.

  “Look here!” he exclaimed, speaking to Benny who was nearest. “There are only ten coins like this in the whole wide world! You can see it is a four dollar gold piece. And here is one of the ten!”

  “That makes the collection valuable, doesn’t it?” Benny asked.

  “Valuable? Valuable? Oh, yes. It is priceless! Now look. Here is a twenty-cent piece. Did any of you ever hear of a twenty-cent piece?”

  “No,” they all answered. They were fascinated by the professor and all he knew about the coins.

  “Well, no wonder. These twenty-cent pieces didn’t last long. You can see that they would get mixed up with quarters. That made a lot of trouble. Nobody liked the coins. Very soon they weren’t made anymore. I haven’t seen one of them for years, and I don’t own one myself.”

  “How can you tell if it is a real twenty-cent piece?” asked Benny. “We don’t know a thing about coins.”
/>   Professor Nichols took the magnifying glass from his eye and smiled at Benny. “Of course you don’t. I’m glad to tell you. Look here. Feel the edge of this coin. It has a smooth edge for one thing. I’ll take a quarter out of my pocket. You see, the edge is milled. That means it has little ridges.”

  “I see,” Rory said. “The edge of the twenty-cent piece is smooth.”

  “That’s right,” the professor said. “Now look at the figure of the woman on the coin. She’s the goddess Liberty and she is often on older U. S. coins. But here on the twenty-cent piece she is sitting down. A coin collector calls this ‘Liberty Seated.’ If there were only Liberty’s head shown, it would be a different coin altogether.”

  “Are all these coins valuable?” asked Mr. Alden.

  “Oh, yes. Even the pennies are valuable. Somebody knew what he was doing when he collected these. However, the gold piece and the twenty-cent piece are the best of all.”

  “What about that Indian-head penny?” Jessie asked.

  Professor Nichols smiled. “A lot of people like to collect pennies. Some pennies are very hard to find and that makes them worth a lot. But most of the pennies here are worn. That makes them of less value. They’re interesting to people just beginning to collect coins.”

  Henry said, “All of these coins are forty years old at least.”

  The professor said, “This may surprise you. Sometimes the oldest coin is not worth the most. I have coins from Roman times that are not worth as much as some of these U. S. coins. That’s because the fewer there are, the more each one is worth.”

  “I see,” Benny said. “That’s interesting.”

  Rory nodded. “Aye,” he said softly.

  Professor Nichols turned to Mr. Alden. “James,” he said, “this is an unusual collection. And it is put together in an unusual way. There must be a story behind it. Who owns it?”

  “I really don’t know,” said Grandfather. “But we know who used to own it. The children found the coins after a great hunt. They followed a lot of false clues. One clue said ‘Look on the back of the house.’ You look, Andrew, on the back of that coin card.”