The Pilgrim Village Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “We don’t all have to stick together,” Henry pointed out.

  “Maybe while Henry and Violet go to the weaving shop, we could visit the farmyard,” Jessie suggested.

  “Okay!” said Benny eagerly.

  So the children headed off in two different directions.

  But when Henry and Violet reached the weaving shop, they were in for a surprise. Although everything else in the village was open and bustling with activity, the sign in the window of the weaving shop said “Closed.”

  Henry and Violet saw a movement in the shop, so they peeked through the window. Linda was inside with a man they didn’t recognize. When Linda saw the children at the door, she opened it and let them in.

  As soon as the children saw the look on Linda’s face, they knew something was wrong. Violet was just about to ask what, when Linda stepped back to let them enter the shop, and they saw for themselves. The shop was a mess! The spinning wheel and the loom had been tipped over and lay on the floor, and there were piles of thread and fabric everywhere.

  “What happened?” asked Henry, his eyes wide.

  “We don’t know,” said Linda. “When Arnold, the weaver, came in this morning, the shop looked like this.”

  “Was it a burglar?” Henry asked.

  “It looks like it,” said Arnold. “But there’s nothing valuable here to steal, and I don’t see anything missing.”

  “The candlemaker’s shop, the print shop, and now here. I wonder what’s going on,” said Henry.

  Linda looked very upset. “And there’s more. I’ve been getting complaints about the tavern. Apparently the food and the service haven’t been very good. I don’t know what’s happening. Just when our little village seemed to be doing so well, suddenly everything’s falling apart.”

  “Don’t worry, Linda,” Violet said. “We’ll help you figure out what’s going on.”

  Linda smiled at the children. “I hope you can,” she said. “Before it’s too late.”

  Henry and Violet helped Linda and Arnold set the loom and spinning wheel upright. Then they picked up the piles of thread and fabric and sorted them by color.

  “Why don’t you take the day off,” Linda suggested to Arnold when everything was back in its place.

  “Thanks. I think I will,” Arnold said. “And thank you for your help,” he said to Violet and Henry.

  “You’re welcome,” Violet said. “Maybe we can come back another day and learn about weaving.”

  She and Henry left the shop and headed toward the stable. Benny and Jessie were inside, patting the chestnut horse. Henry told them what had happened at the weaving shop, and how upset Linda was.

  “That’s terrible,” Jessie said. “Do you think this has anything to do with the other strange things that have been happening?”

  “I don’t know,” said Henry.

  The Aldens started to walk back toward the green and passed the general store.

  “Let’s take a look in here,” said Violet.

  The general store was larger than the other buildings on the green. A counter ran along the back. Behind the counter a man stood at an old-fashioned cash register, ringing up purchases. All the walls of the store held shelves from floor to ceiling, containing almost everything a person might need.

  “This is like an old-fashioned supermarket,” said Benny.

  “Yes it is,” Jessie agreed.

  There were piles of cloth in all different patterns, spools of thread, bars of soap wrapped in brown paper, and candles like the ones the children had dipped the day before. There were shelves holding quill pens, jars of ink, sheets of parchment paper and envelopes tied together with ribbon, and sealing wax in many colors. In one corner was a rack of brooms and in another corner a large pile of handwoven baskets. Near the door was a case containing boxes of biscuits, tins of tea and coffee, jugs of maple syrup, and jars of jam.

  But what caught Benny’s eye was the line of large glass jars on the counter. Each jar held a different kind of candy: long strings of licorice, red and white striped peppermint sticks, sour lemon drops.

  “That peppermint candy looks good,” said Benny, eyeing the red-and-white striped sticks.

  “Benny! We haven’t even had lunch yet,” Henry said.

  “I know,” said Jessie. “We’ll buy some candy now and then we’ll go have lunch at the snack bar. We can save the candy for dessert.”

  The children selected some candy: a peppermint stick for Benny, a cinnamon stick for Henry, and licorice for Jessie and Violet. They also bought some sour lemon drops for Grandfather, since those were his favorite.

  Then the children went to the snack bar and ate hot dogs and french fries.

  “Do you think Shelly has gotten the shipment of clay yet?” Benny asked as he popped his last bite of hot dog in his mouth and licked the mustard off his fingers.

  “I don’t know,” Henry said, gathering up their paper napkins and throwing them in the garbage. “Let’s go find out.”

  The Aldens headed across the green, chewing on licorice and sucking on candy sticks.

  As they started down the path toward the pottery shop, they heard loud voices. But it wasn’t until they got to the door of the pottery shop that they realized the voices belonged to Eric and Shelly, who were inside. And they didn’t sound happy.

  “You’re making a big mistake,” said Eric angrily.

  “I’m not. You are,” Shelly insisted.

  “I’ll do this my way,” Eric replied.

  The children stood right outside the door of the shop trying to decide if they should enter or go away. They knew it wasn’t right to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations. But they couldn’t help wondering what the two were talking about. Why were they so angry?

  Shelly was just starting to say something when Benny dropped the bag of sour lemon drops, and it clattered to the ground noisily. He hurried to pick up the bag, but it was too late. Shelly and Eric had heard.

  “What was that?” asked Shelly, looking toward the door.

  The Aldens had no choice now but to enter the pottery shop.

  “Hello,” Henry said, going inside with Jessie and Violet behind him. Benny quickly picked up the candies and followed.

  Eric looked very upset to see the children. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said over his shoulder to Shelly. He walked quickly out the door.

  “How nice of you to drop by,” Shelly said.

  “Has the new shipment of clay come in yet?” Jessie asked.

  “No, I’m afraid it hasn’t,” said Shelly. “But do you have any questions about pottery that I could answer?”

  The children had a lot of questions for Shelly, but they weren’t about pottery. They wanted to ask what she and Eric had been arguing about, but they knew they couldn’t.

  “No, thank you,” Violet said politely. “We’ll try back here later in the week.”

  The Aldens began walking out the door, when suddenly Benny turned around. “Would you like a sour lemon drop?”

  Shelly smiled. “I would love one.” Benny took the bag over to her and she put her hand in and pulled out a candy. Again the children noticed her bright red fingernails.

  When the children were outside, Jessie said quietly, “What do you think Eric and Shelly were arguing about?”

  “I don’t know,” said Violet, “but they sounded very upset.”

  “They certainly didn’t sound as if they’d just met a few days ago,” Henry pointed out.

  “You know what I’m wondering,” said Violet. “Did you notice Shelly’s fingernails? They looked awfully nice for someone who usually has her hands covered with clay.”

  “Good point,” Henry said. “I never would have thought of that.”

  “Remember she didn’t seem to know much about pottery the other day,” Jessie added. “Maybe she isn’t really a potter at all.”

  “Then why is she pretending to be one?” Henry wondered aloud.

  Since no one knew the anwer to this question,
Jessie spoke up. “I think it’s time we took a break. Let’s go over to Grandfather’s hotel for a swim.”

  “Great idea,” Henry said.

  “Yeah!” said Benny.

  The children went back to their cabin and changed out of their colonial costumes and into regular clothes. Then they gathered their bathing suits.

  They went to Linda’s office to call Grandfather and tell him they were on their way.

  “I’ll meet you later at the tavern for dinner,” Linda said.

  “That’s great!” Jessie said.

  The children walked the short distance from Pilgrim Village to the hotel. It felt strange to be back in the modern world, where everyone dressed in modern clothes and there were electric lights and cars. Grandfather met them at the swimming pool. The children gave Grandfather the sour lemon drops they had bought for him. Then they all got into the pool, and splashed and dived and raced each other back and forth. Even Grandfather joined in.

  CHAPTER 7

  Peanut Butter and Jelly, Please

  When it was time for dinner, they went to Grandfather’s room to put on dry clothes. Then they all walked back to the village together.

  The Aldens arrived at the tavern and sat at a large table near the kitchen. When they looked up at the menu written on the chalkboard, they were surprised to see that many items had been crossed off. Only fish chowder, roast beef, and baked ham remained.

  Linda showed up a few minutes later and Steve came over to take their order.

  “No chicken pot pie tonight?” Grandfather asked, disappointed.

  “Sorry,” Steve said. “We’re all out.”

  “It looks like you’re out of a lot of things,” Linda commented. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know,” said Steve. “Busy night, I guess.”

  As they were speaking, Lisa came out of the kitchen and went to the chalkboard. She crossed roast beef off the menu.

  “Oh, no,” said Violet. Several people sitting at other tables groaned also. “I was going to order roast beef.”

  “Is there anything left?” Benny asked.

  “Fish chowder and baked ham,” Steve said.

  “I don’t want either one,” Benny said sadly.

  Linda looked thoughtfully at Benny. “Steve, would you ask Red to come out here, please?”

  “Sure,” Steve said, hurrying to the kitchen. A moment later, Red was walking toward their table.

  “What’s going on, Red?” Linda asked him. “Didn’t you order enough food this week?”

  “Yes, I did,” Red grumbled. “I guess I was so busy with —” He stopped abruptly. “All I know is, we suddenly ran out.” He looked angry.

  “Well, maybe you could make something special for this hungry boy.” Linda put her arm around Benny. “What would you like?”

  “Peanut butter and jelly, please,” said Benny.

  “We don’t usually serve it, but I’ll see if I have some in the kitchen.”

  “The rest of us will have baked ham,” Grandfather said.

  “All right,” Red said, starting to go back to the kitchen.

  “Red, I’d like you to come by my office tomorrow,” Linda said. “We may have to make some changes around here.”

  “I’ll come to your office,” Red said, “but this is my kitchen, and I’ll run it the way I see fit.” With that he turned angrily and walked into the kitchen.

  Linda sighed heavily. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”

  “Has anything like this ever happened before?” Henry asked.

  “No, not that I can recall,” replied Linda.

  “I wonder what Red’s been so busy with,” Jessie said. “It sounded as if he started to say something and then changed his mind.”

  “He also said that the supplies ran out ‘suddenly.’ Do you think someone could have stolen the food?” asked Henry.

  “Why would someone steal food?” Linda said.

  “I don’t know. Maybe to cause trouble, like they did at the weaving shop,” Henry suggested.

  Linda looked doubtful.

  Soon Steve brought their food, and the table grew silent as Benny gobbled up his sandwich hungrily, and everyone else ate the baked ham. When they were finished they were glad to find that the kitchen hadn’t run out of ice cream.

  “Despite the problems, I’m happy to say that was another delicious dinner,” Grandfather remarked as he and Linda walked the children back to their cabin.

  “Yes,” Linda mumbled. But she didn’t seem happy at all.

  “What’s wrong?” Violet asked.

  “Oh, it’s just that things were going so well for Pilgrim Village. And now, in the last few days, everything seems to be going wrong,” Linda said. “And with Thanksgiving coming I’m especially worried.”

  “There have been a lot of things going wrong,” Jessie agreed.

  “Just in the last few days?” Henry asked thoughtfully.

  “Yes,” Linda said. “I wish I knew what was going on, or who was doing it, or why.” She seemed very sad. Everyone was silent for a moment.

  “Don’t worry,” Benny said at last. “We’re good at solving mysteries. We’ll figure it out.”

  “I don’t know if you can, but I hope so. Good night.” Linda walked off in the darkness toward her office.

  “Here’s your cabin,” Grandfather said. “I’d better be heading back to my hotel. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  “Good night, Grandfather,” the children called out as they lit their lantern and went into the cozy cabin.

  As soon as they’d all changed into their pajamas, Jessie asked everyone to come sit in her and Violet’s room. “I think we need to talk about what’s been going on here,” she said.

  “We have to do something to help Linda,” Violet said.

  “Yes,” Henry agreed. “Let’s think of all the things that have happened, and see if we can figure out any pattern.”

  One by one, the children listed the strange happenings.

  “First there were the mixed-up letters on our poster,” said Violet.

  “And the burnt biscuits,” said Henry.

  “The mess in the weaving shop and the ruined clay in the pottery shop,” said Jessie.

  “Don’t forget the pin Violet found in the wax,” Benny added.

  “These don’t seem to be things a thief would do,” said Henry. “It just seems as if someone wants to cause trouble.”

  “But who?” asked Benny.

  “Eric and Shelly have both acted very strangely,” Jessie said. “They pretended they’d never met, but I think they had. Eric is friendly one minute and trying to get rid of us the next.”

  “And Shelly doesn’t really seem to know anything about pottery,” added Violet.

  “What about Red? He hasn’t been very nice to us,” said Benny.

  “Remember the first night we were here, Red said the village was too crowded?” Henry said. “Maybe he’s trying to cause trouble to get rid of some of the visitors.”

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t explain how strangely Shelly and Eric are acting,” said Violet.

  “Shelly just started working here, and suddenly there are all these strange things happening,” said Benny.

  “I keep wondering if Eric’s ‘project’ has anything to do with what’s been happening,” said Jessie.

  Everyone sat and thought about that for a minute.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Henry said, finally. And then he told the others his plan.

  CHAPTER 8

  Henry’s Plan

  The next morning, after a quick breakfast of muffins and juice, the children went to the print shop. The shop looked empty, but the sign on the door said “Open” and there was a light on in Eric’s office at the back.

  “Hello,” Jessie called out.

  “Well, hello,” Eric replied, emerging from his office.

  “We wanted to see what you were working on today,” Jessie said.

  “I’m printi
ng some signs for the general store,” Eric told them. “Come over here and I’ll show you.”

  Jessie, Violet, and Benny followed Eric over to the counter. But Henry did not. Instead, he quickly ducked into Eric’s office to take a look around. He knew probing around like this wasn’t exactly a nice thing to do. But the Aldens had decided it was important to help Linda. There on the desk was just what the Aldens had been wondering about — the old book with the cracked leather cover.

  Peeking out into the main room to be sure Eric was busy, Henry picked up the book and looked at the first page. “Oh, my gosh,” he said when he saw what was written there in thin, spidery handwriting.

  The Journal of Thomas S. Heathcliff

  begun January 5, 1780

  “So that’s what this old book is,” Henry muttered to himself. He looked quickly at the page of notes Eric had been making. Eric’s handwriting was messy and hard to read. But at the top, Henry saw:

  G. Washington to T. Heathcliff, February 1780

  Suddenly Henry heard Eric say his name in the other room.

  “Where’s Henry?” Jessie repeated. She was speaking extra loudly so that Henry would be sure to hear. It was sort of a warning. “Oh he’s —”

  Just then there was a loud crash.

  “Oh, Benny, you’ve knocked over a case of type!” said Violet.

  “Sorry!” Benny said. But he didn’t sound very sorry at all.

  “That’s okay,” Eric said. “We’ll all help put the type back in the right compartments.”

  Henry knew that his little brother had knocked the case of type over on purpose, to distract Eric.

  Realizing he didn’t have much time, Henry quickly looked back at the desk. Beside Eric’s notes was a map of Pilgrim Village, the one given out to the visitors so they could find their way around. In blue pen, Eric had circled six buildings: the print shop, the weaver’s shop, the candlemaker’s shop, the tavern, the farmhouse, and the little cabin that the children were staying in, which used to be the guest cabin.

  Henry noticed that those buildings were all tinted gray on the map, while the other buildings were black. He looked for the map’s key to find out why. The key was in the corner. It said that the black buildings were all built recently, while the gray buildings were built back when Thomas Heath-cliff was alive. Eric had circled all of the old buildings.