The Mystery of the Man in the Tall Black Hat

by Margaret M. Sandberg

  While Barney was gone, Tod rolled the metal barrel over beside the garden. With a short piece of hose attached to the faucet, he squirted the barrel until it was reasonably clean. He found a stiff brush on the back porch and scrubbed the rest of the grime from the inside. When he was satisfied, he went to find something that would fit into the small round opening at the bottom of the can. He located a short piece of pipe which fit perfectly. To this he attached a piece of hose. Barney arrived with the fish food as Tod was dragging the can back toward the woodshed.

  “I had a hard time finding it.” Barney popped the last of a candy bar into his mouth.

  Tod left the barrel and followed Barney back to the pond and watched as he dumped a little of the food into the water. Immediately the tadpoles came to the surface and snatched at the bits of food.

  “They were hungry, weren’t they? You know, I think we should get some grass and stuff to put in there, too. They probably don’t feel very much at home in just plain water. We could make a trip back up to Mud Lake,” suggested Tod.

  “Nothing doing! I don’t want to go back up there.”

  “OK, we’ll have to think of something else, then. But first, let’s get this barrel fixed up.”

  Barney set the can of fish food on top of the rabbit house and went to help Tod bring the barrel over.

  “We’ll have to think of some way to make it higher than the pool,” explained Tod, as they lifted the barrel and carried it across the yard.

  In the woodshed they found an old chair with a broken back. It was just right for their purpose. Together they lifted the barrel onto it.

  “Run and get Mom’s mop bucket, will you, Barney?”

  As soon as Barney had returned, they began the bucket brigade, carrying water to fill the barrel. Tod lifted the first pailful and dumped it in. Before he had finished, water was pouring out the hose and into the pond.

  “Oh, oh. I forgot we have to adjust the amount that goes through the hose.” He set the bucket down and brushed his hair from his eyes. “If we just had a faucet on the barrel we would be all set.”

  “How about putting a clamp on the hose?” suggested Barney.

  “That’s a good idea. We could close it off any amount we wanted to, then. It would work just as well as a faucet,” agreed Tod. “Good thinking, Barney.”

  Barney beamed his pleasure at the compliment.

  They located a piece of metal from the workbench and found they could bend it around the hose. With a nail Tod punctured each end of the metal strip and inserted a bolt through both holes. With the clamp around the hose he discovered he could squeeze the hose almost shut, and by loosening the bolt the water flowed through freely. He clamped the hose tightly and they continued to fill the barrel. When it was full, Tod loosened the clamp and a trickle of water ran into the pool.

  The rabbit hadn’t moved while the boys were working. “Let’s go away. Maybe the rabbit will eat if we aren’t watching him,” Barney suggested.

  They went around to the back porch and sat down on the steps. Tod cupped his chin in his hands. His mind wandered back over the events of the last few days—Barney and the rabbit and how the man in the tall black hat yelled at them up by the gravel pit. Who could he be? And why the strange clothes? The more Tod thought about it the more disturbed he became. For the first time, he decided to pray about it.

  Silently he asked God to help him discover who the man was. He wasn’t sure how else to pray.

  5

  A Big Decision

  Just before falling asleep that night an idea popped into Tod’s mind. Tomorrow he and Barney could ride their bicycles over to the mental hospital and look around. Maybe they could find a clue to the identity of the man in the stovepipe hat.

  He had been dreaming about polliwogs that seemed to be strange little men in black suits with long tails. They were taking turns diving into the frog pond trying to rescue a rabbit that had fallen in. Around the rim of the pond hundreds of frogs croaked in a chorus. They reminded Tod of a cheering section at a ball game.

  He didn’t know what time it was when he woke up. Rain pounded on the wooden shingles above his room, washed down the slope of the roof, and splashed with a gurgle to the ground. The torrent muffled the moaning of the wind as it blew through the fir branches outside his room. The spatter of raindrops hitting against his window reminded him of corn popping.

  Recalling his dream he suddenly remembered Barney’s rabbit. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed, dug his feet into his worn-out slippers, and went over to the window. It was as black as pitch outside.

  He groped his way back across the room, feeling for his robe as he went, and stole quietly down the stairs. It seemed as though every step creaked no matter how careful he was. He opened the door at the foot of the stairway and made his way through the dark living room, into the kitchen, and out onto the porch. He stood for a moment listening to the rain cascade off the roof, then getting up his courage he dashed through the downpour into the dark night.

  Water was dripping from his hair, into his face, and off his nose by the time he reached the corner of the woodshed. Feeling his way along the side of the building he reached the box upon which the rabbit’s cage stood. As he attempted to pick it up he knocked off the board he and Barney had put on for a roof.

  Grasping the cage firmly, he ran as fast as he could back to the shelter of the house. Inside the kitchen, he snapped on a light. The rabbit was huddled inside the cage, shaking. Tod wasn’t sure if it was with fear or because he was wet and cold. The food and water containers had turned over, and oatmeal was scattered over the cage floor.

  “Now what do I do?” Tod shivered. He was soaking wet, and the kitchen was cold. He snapped out the light and stumbled through the living room with the cage grasped in one hand. The water made squishy sounds in his slippers as he climbed the stairs to his room. Placing the cage on the floor, he located the light switch.

  “If only there were some way to dry him off,” Tod muttered as he looked at the drenched rabbit. He searched through his dresser drawers until he located an old sweater. Wadding it into a loose ball, he opened the door of the cage and stuffed it inside.

  “Maybe you’ll warm up on that,” he said hopefully.

  As he started to take off his robe he decided to drape it over the cage. Then changing his mind when he felt how wet it was, he located a sweatshirt for the purpose. Snapping out the light he crawled back into bed. He shivered as he snuggled down under the covers. His hair and damp pajamas felt clammy and cold against his body.

  It was still raining when Tod woke up. The morning was gray, and as he lay looking out the window he wondered if it would ever stop. Suddenly remembering the rabbit, he bounded from the bed and lifted the sweatshirt off the cage. The rabbit blinked, and Tod was delighted to see it had found the warmth of his sweater, and his fur was no longer wet.

  After he had finished dressing, Tod lifted the cage and carried it down into the warm kitchen.

  “What do you have there, son?” Mr. Mitchell raised his eyebrows as Tod entered the kitchen. He was a tall man with broad shoulders. His sandy hair, like his son’s, hung loosely over his left temple.

  “It’s Barney’s rabbit. Isn’t he neat, Dad?”

  “Scared is a better description.” Mr. Mitchell looked across the table at his wife questioningly.

  “I thought you and Barney fixed a place for him out back,” she said.

  “We did, Mom. But look at it rain! I couldn’t leave him out in that!”

  Mrs. Mitchell smiled. “I’m glad you brought him in. Poor thing. Why don’t you put him down close to the stove.”

  Barney, dressed in raincoat and hat, appeared at the kitchen door just as Tod was pouring syrup over his hotcakes. “Don’t look now, Mom, but we’ve got company. That guy can smell food a mile off.”

  “Come in, Barney, before you drown,” invited Mrs. Mitchell.

  Barney stood inside the doorway as rain poured from his slicker. “H
ey, Tod!” Barney was excited and out of breath. “My rabbit’s gone. Even the cage is gone!”

  “He’s OK,” Tod answered. “Over there.” He nodded toward the stove.

  Mrs. Mitchell had gone for a mop and was wiping up the puddle around Barney’s feet. “How about taking your things off out on the porch?” she finally suggested.

  When Barney returned he walked over to the cage and kneeled down. “Boy, am I glad you brought him in.”

  “Tod is just beginning to eat, Barney. Would you like something?”

  “Yes, please, Mrs. Mitchell.” He turned to Tod. “How come you brought him in?”

  “I had a dumb dream. Your rabbit was in the bottom of the frog pond and the polliwogs were trying to get him out. When I woke up it was raining. I thought about him out there getting all wet, so I went out and brought him in.”

  “Thanks, Tod. You maybe saved his life,” Barney said as he helped himself to a stack of hotcakes.

  Mr. Mitchell, dressed in rain gear, stood in the kitchen doorway. “Young man, you’ve got a mighty scared rabbit there. If you really want to save his life don’t you think it would be wise to let him go back into the woods?” Without waiting for an answer, he strode across the kitchen, kissed his wife, and went out into the downpour on his way to work.

  “He’s right, you know, Barney,” said Mrs. Mitchell after he had left.

  Barney looked downcast. “I’ll think about it, Mrs. Mitchell. But I can’t take him out in the rain, can I?” he pleaded. “I’ll wait until the rain stops and then decide.”

  The rain showed no signs of letting up, so Tod built a fire in the living room fireplace, and the boys lay on the carpet on their stomachs enjoying its warmth.

  “You know, Barn? I thought of a way we might be able to get a clue about the man in the stovepipe hat. We could ride over to the mental hospital on our bikes.”

  “We could take our lunch,” suggested Barney.

  “Sure. Then we could get home in time for my paper route.”

  They had become so involved in their plans that they failed to notice that the rain had stopped, until Tricia called it to their attention.

  “Look! The sun is out!” she exclaimed, as she came into the living room. “I think it’s stopped raining too!” She ran to the window and looked out. “Come and look. There’s a rainbow!”

  The boys ran to the window. The pastel colors blended together in an arch which reached from the treetops on their left, bowed gently into the gray sky, and disappeared among the trees on their right.

  “You know what it means?” asked Tod.

  “That it’s stopped raining,” Barney suggested.

  “It means more than that it’s stopped raining,” said Tricia. “It means that God promised never to send another flood to destroy the earth.”

  “I guess when it rains as hard as it did last night a person might get the idea that it isn’t ever going to stop!” said Barney. “That’s a pretty good promise.”

  The trio stood looking out into the brightening sky. The eaves dripped, the trees shed their excess moisture, and the blades of grass glistened in the dazzling sunlight. Wisps of steam began to rise from the roadway and from the buildings as they began to dry. The overcast leaden sky seemed to roll back and was replaced by a blue curtain dotted with fluffy white clouds.

  “Come on, Tod. Let’s go look at my rabbit,” Barney said at last.

  The boys entered the kitchen, and Barney kneeled down in front of the cage. “He hasn’t moved, Tod,” he said looking up. Then he looked at the rabbit and said, “I guess you’re not ever going to understand that I’m not going to hurt you, are you rabbit? Would you like to go back to your home in the woods?”

  Tod’s heart felt as though someone had put a clamp on it and was tightening it. He noticed his mother standing at the sink with tears in her eyes. Tricia looked very solemn.

  “It’s up to you, Barney,” Mrs. Mitchell finally said.

  “Come on, Tod,” Barney urged as he picked up the cage. “Let’s take him back where we found him before I change my mind.”

  Tod pulled on his jacket and Barney got his raincoat from the porch. They walked slowly across the wet lawn and out onto the road.

  When they arrived at the gravel pit, Barney put the cage down very gently, released the catch, and opened the door.

  “He won’t come out while we’re standing here,” Tod said.

  As they walked away to watch from a distance, Barney kept looking back. It was a long time before the rabbit moved. Then, as if sensing that he was free, he sniffed around the cage until he found the open door. A moment later he had disappeared into the dripping woods. Barney gazed at the spot where he had disappeared for a long time.

  “I never had a pet,” he said at last. “I thought maybe this time I had found one I could take care of.” He paused, digging the toe of his wet tennis shoe into the gravel. “I remember once, a long time ago, somebody gave me a rooster. He was brown and had colored tail feathers—red and green, and I think some yellow.” Barney looked down at his feet as he continued to kick at the gravel. “I took him home and showed him to Mom and Dad. You know what happened?” Barney choked and kicked hard at the ground. “My dad killed him. He killed him!”

  He had tears in his eyes as he glanced up at Tod. “I still think of that rooster whenever Mom fixes chicken. I can’t eat it without getting sick.”

  He looked up again, and Tod could almost feel how sick Barney had been. He didn’t know what to say, so he just listened as Barney continued.

  “Mom and Dad would never let me have any kind of pet. They’re too messy, or they’re too much trouble, they always said.” He snuffled. “Then they got me those dumb, stupid fish. All they ever did was swim around all day. They weren’t any fun at all, and then they died.” He turned angrily to Tod. The tears in his big dark eyes were about to overflow. “You know something? I’ve never had a real friend. I guess I wanted that rabbit to be my friend!”

  Tod swallowed hard. “I wish you could have kept the rabbit, too, but you couldn’t just let him die.”

  Barney snuffled loudly.

  “I’m your friend, and I know someone else who would be your friend if you want,” Tod continued. “Jesus will be your friend, Barney. I found Him last summer at Bible camp. All you have to do is ask Him, and He’ll be your very best friend.”

  Barney sniffed and wiped his eyes on his raincoat sleeve. Then he walked over and picked up the empty squirrel cage. He acted like he hadn’t even heard Tod.

  Tod followed Barney through the woods and out onto the highway. As he moved up to walk beside him he wished he could think of some way to tell Barney about Jesus so that Barney would listen. He was looking down at his feet as he walked but glanced up as they reached the cemetery.

  “Barney, how many of the people buried over there in the cemetery do you think are in heaven right now?”

  Barney shrugged but didn’t look up.

  Tod stopped and looked at the tombstones. “Only the ones who asked Jesus into their lives before they died.”

  “My dad says if he does the best he can they’ll have to let him in.”

  “Does your dad believe the Bible?”

  “I don’t even think he has one.”

  “The Bible says that everybody is a sinner and God won’t let sinners into heaven. Sin is like telling lies, getting mad at your parents, and stuff like that. God sent Jesus to die on the cross for sin so that when anybody believes in Him He can give them everlasting life.”

  “Does that get you to heaven?” Barney questioned.

  “Uh-huh. I asked Jesus to save me at Bible camp. We were having our prayer time in our cabin. I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about but I knew if I died right then, I wouldn’t go to heaven.”

  “I guess if I died right now I wouldn’t go to heaven either.”

  “Would you like to, Barney?”

  “Can you tell me what to do?”

  “Sure, but do
you really want to invite Christ into your life?”

  “Yes, I do.” Barney turned eagerly toward his friend.

  “Then just tell God you know you’re a sinner and that you need to be saved. After that tell Him you believe He died on the cross to take away your sin and ask Him to come into your life.”

  Barney bowed his head. “Jesus, I know I’m a sinner because the Bible says everybody is one. I know you died for me because Tod says the Bible says that, too. Please come into my life right now.” He paused. “Is that enough?”

  “Yes,” Tod answered softly.

  “Would it be OK now if I ask Jesus for a pet?” Barney asked.

  “Sure. Maybe He’ll send you a pet. But if He doesn’t, just remember what I told you. He can still make you happy.”

  “I’m happy already.” Barney smiled weakly and walked over and picked up the empty squirrel cage. He looked up at the sky. “Hey, Tod. The sky sure is blue.”

  “It always is after the rain, Barney. Didn’t you know that?”

  6

  In Search of a Clue

  “Barney, I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!” exclaimed Tod when Barney rode his bicycle into the yard on Saturday morning.

  “What’s the matter?” Barney dismounted and stood beside his bicycle with a puzzled look on his face.

  “That load of stuff in your bicycle basket. Barney, we’re only going to be gone for part of the day! I have to be back for my paper route, remember?”

  “You say that every time we go someplace, and every time the stuff I bring comes in handy.” Barney lifted his raincoat from the top of the basket. “I’ll show you what I brought.”

  “Barney, look at the sky. It’s not going to rain.”

  “It might,” said Barney, sounding a little annoyed. “This is my lunch.” He held up a brown paper bag.

  “OK, OK. But you probably brought more than you need.”

  “Here’s a first aid kit,” Barney continued, holding up a small white container with a red cross on it. “And some tire patches, just in case.”