Boxcar Children 19 - Benny Uncovers a Mystery

by Warner, Gertrude Chandler

  “Stock the first floor?” asked Henry. He wanted to be sure he understood his job.

  Mr. Furman said, “Yes, you will bring goods up from the basement. If Mrs. Lester wants boxes for jewelry, you will find them and take them up to her.”

  Henry nodded.

  Mr. Fogg frowned and leaned forward. “I just don’t approve of this at all,” he said. “These two boys have no experience. They will be more trouble to me than they are worth. I don’t need help like this.”

  The Alden boys could not believe their ears.

  Mr. Furman tried to laugh. “Oh, come on, Mr. Fogg, give them a chance! I remember when you started your first day here. You had a lot to learn, too. When something wrong comes up, we can look into the matter. But I’m sure nothing will go wrong.”

  Mr. Fogg still did not smile.

  Benny looked away from Mr. Fogg. He saw counters filled with things to sell. There were shoppers coming and going.

  Benny said, “It must be wonderful to own a big store like this, Mr. Furman.”

  Mr. Furman glanced at Mr. Fogg and then shook his head. “I guess you boys don’t know that I have sold the store. It was too much for me to handle, and I had a good offer. Of course, it’s still called Furman’s Department Store. And so far there haven’t been any big changes.”

  Mr. Fogg was looking more and more gloomy. He muttered, “I suppose the new owner won’t want me with my bad back. But I know the work.”

  Henry looked at Mr. Furman and asked, “But you’re still in charge of the store, aren’t you?”

  “I’m just the store manager for the new owner, M.D. Squires. So far, I haven’t met the new owner because he lives in New York. I’ve only met his lawyer. I’ll say this, though, Mr. Squires has a good head for business.”

  “Oh?” Henry asked, wondering how this new owner could know about his store in Greenfield when he lived in New York.

  “Yes, he’s done a lot for the store already. When some new product appears, Mr. Squires knows if our store should carry it. Sometimes I’ve wanted to get something, but Mr. Squires writes and tells me to wait. More than once, I’ve learned that the product doesn’t work well, or other stores in town couldn’t sell the item at all.”

  “Mr. Squires must own other stores,” guessed Benny.

  “That may be it,” said Mr. Furman. “It’s hard to explain. But I have never known Mr. Squires to be wrong.”

  “I don’t think it’s so strange,” Mr. Fogg put in. “But no one listens to me.”

  “The new owner must be a fine person to work for,” said Henry.

  “Yes, indeed,” said Mr. Furman. “Still, it isn’t like the old days.” Then he turned away from Mr. Fogg and led the boys down to the store basement. A man was unpacking goods to go on the counters upstairs.

  Benny said, “I thought I knew this store very well, but I’m surprised. I was never down here before.”

  “You’ll do a lot of your work here,” Mr. Furman said. “There’s always something to get or to take somewhere. Mr. Fogg can keep you busy all by himself.”

  Benny didn’t like to hear this, but he said, “I never thought I would deliver things to the Greenfield people. This will be fun.” Just then he saw Mr. Fogg on the stairs. His face was angry. Benny smiled, but Mr. Fogg did not return the smile. Instead, he turned to talk to the workman.

  Mr. Furman led the boys up to the first floor again. Benny felt that Mr. Fogg was following them.

  As they turned around a counter and headed toward the gift and glassware department, Benny heard Mr. Fogg’s voice. He was speaking to someone Benny couldn’t see.

  “I don’t know if those boys are good workers,” Mr. Fogg was grumbling. “I just know that they’re old man Alden’s grandchildren. It would be nice to have someone like that in your family to help you get a job. Just like that, with no trouble at all.”

  Then Benny and Henry knew that they had an enemy. They had to pretend that they had not heard Mr. Fogg’s words. But they were sure that he had meant them to hear.

  Well, Benny thought, Grandfather had not helped them get their jobs. They had done it on their own. He followed Henry and Mr. Furman to another part of the store. The boys and Mr. Furman went from one counter to another. Each department had interesting people to meet, and there was so much for sale.

  Mr. Furman introduced the boys to the head cashier, Mrs. Lippmann. “Just call me Toni,” she said pleasantly. “Everyone calls me that.”

  Toni worked in a place where she had a fine view of the front door. She kept an eye on everything that was going on.

  “I’ll let Toni show you the rest of the store. Let me know if you need anything.” Mr. Furman waved as he went back to his office.

  Toni introduced the boys to Mrs. Lester, who was in charge of jewelry and glassware.

  “You mustn’t drop or lose anything here,” Mrs. Lester explained. “Everything is so expensive.” Then she showed the boys how much some small china figures and delicate teacups cost.

  “I remember when Mr. Fogg began to work here,” Mrs. Lester said softly. “He dropped a small vase. It chipped and we had to sell it at a special price. Of course, that was a long time ago. He won’t tell you about that, though.”

  Toni continued the tour. Benny and Henry went past the shiny toasters and coffeemakers in Mr. Fogg’s department, but Mr. Fogg paid no attention to Toni or the Aldens.

  There were counters where things for sewing were sold and counters where combs and hairpins were on display. And there were socks for men and stockings for women—there was so much to see on the first floor alone.

  Upstairs there were clothing departments for men, women, and children.

  Toni led the boys back to the basement for the end of their tour. She said, “Now you know most of the store and this will mean more to you. Benny, you will pick up your orders here. Sometimes you will go out with the regular delivery man. But we give special service to a lot of our customers. You may have to deliver small purchases by yourself.”

  “That won’t be hard. I can use my bike,” said Benny.

  Toni smiled. She showed the boys how the merchandise was arranged. There were aisles of boxes.

  “Henry, the important thing for you to remember is that when you take stock upstairs, your list must match the list the department manager takes.”

  “I’ll remember that. If the list says twelve boxes of candles, I’ll be sure there are twelve.”

  “You won’t get in trouble that way,” Toni said. “But sometimes if a stockboy is in a hurry, he may think he has taken, say, six boxes of socks up to the boys’ department. But there are only five. We have to account for every box.”

  “Thanks for warning me,” Henry said.

  “And don’t leave things around,” Toni went on. “I hate to say it, but every store has trouble with people who take things.”

  “You mean shoplifters?” Benny asked.

  “Yes, even here in Greenfield. Of course, some people pick things up by mistake and just honestly forget to pay for them. A woman came in yesterday and paid for a box of notepaper she had taken by accident. She felt bad about it.”

  “There’s a lot to think about in a store,” Benny said thoughtfully.

  “Well, boys, that’s it,” Toni said. “Mr. Furman has some papers for you to fill out. Come in by nine-thirty tomorrow morning. The store opens a half hour later, but you’ll both have things to do.”

  At dinnertime at home, Henry told his sisters and his grandfather what had happened.

  “Why are you so quiet, Ben?” asked Violet.

  “It’s just—just old man Fogg,” Benny exploded. “Everything is fine except for him.”

  “Why, Benny, that doesn’t sound like you at all,” exclaimed Jessie.

  “I can’t help it. That man is going to make it hard for Henry and me. For some reason he doesn’t like us, and he’s not keeping that a secret.”

  Mr. Alden put down his coffee cup. “Well, Benny,” he began, “you and
Henry must do the best work you can. That is all anyone can ask of you. You will meet many people in the store, and it is your job to be as pleasant as possible.”

  “I’ll try, but it won’t be easy,” Benny said. “Grandfather, Mr. Fogg didn’t even give us a chance. He said right away that we had our jobs because we’re Aldens.”

  “I see,” said Grandfather. “I think you boys will learn a lot before your summer jobs are over.”

  CHAPTER 4

  A Mysterious Shopper

  Benny and Henry wondered how the first day at work would go.

  That question was still on their minds as they entered the store the next morning at half past nine.

  Toni was already there, sorting her change for the day.

  “This is a good beginning. You’re early. I’m glad to see you both,” she said. “You’d better head downstairs, Benny. And Henry, you will be working with Mrs. Lester in the glassware and china department until the end of the week.”

  The boys started off. Mrs. Lester showed Henry how to make the sales reports. She told him a little about the different kinds of china and glass.

  “We try to carry as many different pieces of glassware as we can, but sometimes a customer wants something we don’t have. Then we send a special order.” Mrs. Lester showed Henry where the special order forms were kept.

  “Be sure to get an OK before you send out any orders,” Mrs. Lester warned. “Mr. Fogg watches that. And there’s one more thing,” she said with a smile, “I want you and your brother to call me Doris.”

  Henry was just beginning to feel comfortable behind the counter when he noticed that suddenly the store was strangely quiet. Talking had stopped, and all the salespeople were looking in one direction.

  Everyone was watching a little woman who had just entered the store.

  Henry could not see anything unusual about the woman. She was far from stylish. Her hair was pulled back and pinned up in a bun. Her clothes were plain. They were not the kind that anyone would look at twice. She carried a worn handbag and a large, flowered shopping bag.

  Henry couldn’t decide how old the woman was. He caught Toni’s eye. She came to his counter and said, “You must want to know who that is.”

  Henry nodded.

  “She comes in every day. Her name is Maggie Douglas. She’s always buying something. Sometimes two and three kinds of the same thing. Benny will be busy with her deliveries, I’m sure.”

  Henry and Toni watched the little woman climb the stairs to the second floor.

  In a few minutes one of the salespeople from upstairs came over to Toni. “I have another ‘Maggie story’ for you. Miss Douglas just came to my counter and said she needed a blouse, a white blouse. When I asked her what size she needed, she said the size didn’t matter. It only had to be a white blouse. Now, isn’t that strange?”

  Just then Mr. Fogg joined the group. He looked cross and asked, “That woman is in the store again, eh?”

  The salesperson told him the story.

  “You are foolish to sell a blouse to that woman,” said Mr. Fogg. “We’re going to have trouble with her sooner or later. I’m sure of it. Why didn’t she ask for a blouse in her size? She’ll bring it back to the store tomorrow and say it doesn’t fit. Besides, all she has to do is walk into the store and all work stops.”

  With that, all the workers quickly left the counter. Henry was alone with Mr. Fogg standing right before him.

  “I’m a little lucky so far today,” said Mr. Fogg. “At least you haven’t broken any glassware yet.”

  Henry couldn’t think of anything to say. Just at that moment two women came to the counter and Mr. Fogg walked away.

  The first woman said, “I need a wedding present for my niece. I think a glass vase would make a nice present.”

  Henry lifted down several vases. The woman chose a small, graceful vase with a flower design.

  “This is the only one in stock. I’m not allowed to sell this sample,” Henry explained when he could not find another vase.

  The woman looked unhappy, and Henry said, “I can order the vase for you and have it here in four days.”

  He took the order form from under the counter. “It’s a beautiful vase,” he said.

  “Yes, it is,” agreed the woman. “It’s just what I want. You order it, and I’ll be back early next week.”

  When the two women had gone, Henry filled out the order form for the vase. He filled in every blank and read the order over twice. He could find no errors. Doris approved the form and turned it over to Mr. Fogg.

  Henry reported his first day of work to the family that evening. “I hardly saw you at all, Ben,” he said. “What was your day like?”

  Benny smiled. “I didn’t see Mr. Fogg for most of the day. But I did meet Miss Douglas.”

  “What did you think of her?” asked Violet.

  “I don’t know. She came down the stairs to the basement. She said that she was lost. But somehow I think that she wanted to look around. She said she was happy to meet me because I’ll be delivering her purchases.”

  Benny stopped talking for a moment and looked puzzled.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Jessie.

  “There was one strange thing about talking with Miss Douglas. She called me by my name, ‘Benny Alden.’ Now how did she know who I was? We had never met before. Maybe I’ll find out tomorrow when I go to Woodland Path, that’s where Miss Douglas lives.”

  “Some of the store people don’t like her,” said Henry. “One of them told me she’s fussy and hard to please. Others won’t wait on her if they can help it.”

  “That Miss Douglas is a mystery,” said Jessie. “Who would think there’d be a mystery in a department store?”

  CHAPTER 5

  The Hidden House

  It was Wednesday morning, and Benny was busy unpacking notebooks and writing paper. Mr. Fogg came over to him.

  “I have a delivery for Miss Douglas. It’s a special order, and she’s in a hurry for it. You know where Woodland Path is, don’t you? I don’t want you to waste time.”

  Toni had given Benny directions. He started out on his bike, sure that he would have no trouble. But it seemed that Woodland Path was almost impossible to find.

  Benny reached the woods quickly, but finding the Path was a different matter.

  “This looks like a path,” Benny said out loud to himself. He took the box from his bike carrier. He left his bike out of sight, but close to the path. He started to push tree branches and blackberry vines away from his face.

  Several times Benny thought he must be on the wrong path. How could a small woman like Miss Douglas come through such a tangle?

  Just as he was thinking of turning back, he saw a house. It was not at all the kind of house he had expected to see. Could Miss Douglas live here?

  Benny found that the path had taken him to the back door of the house. He followed a walk around to the front of the house. There he read the words “Woodland Path” carved on a small signboard hanging from a post. He saw a lane leading through the trees. The way he had come was probably a shortcut, Benny thought.

  Benny went to the front door. He had to make his delivery and get back to the store. He knocked at the screen door. He could see inside because the front door itself was open. In fact, he couldn’t help seeing inside.

  What he saw amazed him. The living room was square, with a soft green carpet. Sun shining through a window lighted gold-and-white wallpaper. How could Miss Douglas dress so plainly when she lived in such a beautiful place?

  Benny knocked again. He stepped back because he felt someone was watching him from behind a curtain. But no one came to the door.

  “This is strange,” thought Benny. Then he was surprised to see a boy come around the corner of the house.

  “She isn’t home,” the boy said, as if he knew what Benny was thinking. “Nobody’s home. You can leave the package by the door. It’ll be safe. I’ll tell her you left it. You’re from Furman’s
Department Store, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but how did you know?” asked Benny. He felt taken by surprise, and he didn’t like it.

  “Easy,” laughed the boy. “First, the box says ‘Furman’s’ in big letters. And second, she’s always getting things delivered here. Only the deliveryman usually comes down the lane.”

  “I’ve got to get back,” Benny said, and looked at his watch. “I’m working. Thank you for helping me.”

  “It’s OK,” the boy said. “Don’t worry about the box.” He sat down on the front step.

  Benny walked around the house. When he was out of the boy’s sight, he ran down the path. As he picked up his bicycle he wondered if Toni knew what kind of house Miss Douglas had. And who was the boy? Benny wished he knew.

  By the time Benny got back to the store, it was almost half past eleven.

  “I thought we were going to close without you,” said Toni. “The store is only open half a day on Wednesdays. That makes up for the evening hours we have.”

  Benny said, “I had forgotten all about that.”

  “Your sisters are here,” Toni told him. “I think they’re shopping until you and Henry can go. Mr. Fogg has something he wants you to do. You’d better see him right away.”

  Violet was on the second floor of the department store, looking at blouses. She was trying to find a blouse to wear with her new skirt.

  She took a blouse off the rack and put it back. She was looking at a peach-colored one when she heard someone say, “No, no, my child, that style won’t do! And the color is all wrong.”

  Violet turned around and faced a tiny woman. At first Violet wasn’t sure the woman was talking to her. But there was no one else in sight.

  A salesclerk came over to help Violet. “This one should fit you, and it’s a good match for your skirt,” she said.

  “No, don’t buy that blouse either,” said the small woman, who stepped between Violet and the salesclerk. “Not that blouse,” she repeated. “Look at those seams—that blouse won’t last more than a few washings.”