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McCarthy. "After all, it will cost a lot of money. Not many men would
trust children with this plan."
"My grandfather will," said Benny. "We were all alone in the Boxcar. We
didn't know Grandfather then. And we did all right."
Mr. Carter nodded at the night watchman. He
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said, "Mr. Alden trusts these children. He always tries to help them
with their ideas."
The night watchman looked at Jessie with a funny little smile. "I can't
understand why you children want to work at all. Don't you own the mine?
Your grandfather ought not to let you work."
Jessie shook her head. She said, "That's not the way Grandfather thinks.
He has lots of money already. But he says everyone ought to work. Nobody
can be happy unless he has some work to do. We know he is right, for we
were very, very happy when we didn't have any money at all. Only $4!
When we get through school, Grandfather wants us all to go to work for a
living."
"There are not many grandfathers like that," said Mr. McCarthy, shaking
his head. "And I know well that Mr. Alden works very hard himself."
"What do you think of this pie business, Mr. McCarthy?" asked Jessie.
"I? Hm-m, I think the men will want so many pies, that one woman can't
make enough."
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"Maybe you'll tell the men about the pies?" said Henry.
"Tell them? I won't need to. The minute they see a sign here saying PIES
they will all come over."
"Sign?" cried Benny. "Did you say a sign? I'll tell you a good sign.
Mike's Mother's Place!"
"Oh, I'll paint the sign!" cried Violet.
"Wonderful!" said Jessie. "And what a wonderful name for this place!"
Mrs. Wood smiled and smiled, but she had tears in
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her eyes. "Yes," she said, "the men all know Mike, and they will soon
know his mother."
"We can take pictures of this place when it is all set to go," said
Henry. "They will put them in the paper, maybe."
Mr. McCarthy went over to the big window. "Yes," he said, "this big
window will be good for selling pies."
Mike went over to Mr. McCarthy. He said softly, "Did you see my fire?"
"No," said the watchman, "I missed it."
"It was a terrible fire," said Mike. "Everybody went to see it. Why
didn't you go? Aren't you interested in fires?"
Mr. McCarthy looked at Mike. He said, "Well, son, I was certainly
interested. In fact I started to go. But you see my duty was here. I'm a
watchman."
"Too bad," said Mike. "It was a sight."
"I know," said Mr. McCarthy. "But I thought I saw somebody near the
mine. So I stayed right here. I looked all around but I couldn't find
anybody."
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"Come on, Mike!" called Benny. "What are you talking about?"
Then Mike surprised everyone. He began to jump up and down and yell,
"The blue hat! The blue hat!"
"What in the world is the matter with you, Mike?" asked Henry.
Mike answered, "I think I know how to find out who wore the blue hat,"
he yelled.
Mr. Carter stared at the little boy. "Do you indeed!" he said. "You
ought to join the FBI."
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CHAPTER 7
The Blue Hat
All the children begged Mike to tell what he knew about the man in the
blue hat.
"No," said Mike. "I can't tell you now. I want to talk to Ben about
this. I want to see Ben alone."
"This is very important, Mike," said Mr. Carter. "If you know something
it is your duty to tell me."
"Oh, I'll tell you all right," said Mike. "Only you'll have to wait
about one hour."
"Why all the mystery?" asked Mr. Carter.
"Because I'm not sure," said Mike. "I'm not really sure of anything. I
want to see Pat, too."
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"Well, let's go back to the ranch," said Henry. He did not think Mike
really knew anything about the stranger.
"We have hardly seen Aunt Jane," said Violet. "We have been away almost
all the time we have been here."
"That was because there was a fire," said Benny. "We had to see about
Mike's fire."
Mr. Carter took the five children to Aunt Jane's house. Then he drove
away. He said he had other business. Watch and Lady ran out to meet the
children. The dogs were very glad to see them.
"Well," said Maggie, "you are not late. But I thought you were going to
be. And we have a very funny lunch."
"What is it?" asked Benny.
"Hot dogs," said Maggie. "Your Aunt Jane says all young people like hot
dogs."
"We do!" cried Benny. "And we don't get them very often. Hurrah for Aunt
Jane!"
"Tell me all the news about the fire," said Aunt
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Jane. She sat at the head of the table. She gave the hot dogs to the
children, but she did not eat them herself.
"I don't like hot dogs," she said smiling. "I like eggs better."
The children took turns with the news. They told Aunt Jane all about the
fire and meeting Mr. Carter again. They told her the plans for Mrs.
Wood. Mike was very quiet. He did not talk very much.
"Mike is scared of you, Aunt Jane!" said Benny.
"I am not scared!" said Mike. "Miss Alden wouldn't hurt a fly. My
brother Pat said so."
"I certainly wouldn't hurt a nice boy like you, Mike," said Aunt Jane
laughing. "You must go up and see your new room. It is right next to
Benny's."
Maggie said, "We have been working on it all morning. A nice clean bed,
and a big empty closet for your things."
"I haven't many things," said Mike.
"Haven't you any old birds' nests and stones and model airplanes?" asked
Maggie.
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"Oh, can I keep that kind of things?" cried Mike.
"Certainly," said Aunt Jane. "There's no good living here, if you can't
have your own things."
"Oh, oh!" cried Mike. "Can I have Spotty, too?"
"Yes," said Aunt Jane. "Lady always stays in my room." She stopped. "But
what will Watch say?"
"I don't think he will say much," said Mike. "They didn't fight on
Surprise Island."
"That's right," said Henry to Aunt Jane. "They got along all right."
"I'll be fine if I have Spotty," said Mike.
"He mustn't get up on your nice clean bed," said Maggie.
"Oh, no, he sleeps down the cellar when he's home," said Mike.
Aunt Jane said, "He won't
sleep down the cellar here. You can have him
in your room, but Maggie says not on your bed."
Then Mike was quiet again. He seemed to be thinking.
After lunch, Henry telephoned to his grandfather
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Blue
miles away in Greenfield. He told Mr. Alden all about the fire. He
didn't know that his grandfather knew it already. Mr. Carter had already
called Mr. Alden.
"You say you know this boy Mike?" asked Mr. Alden.
"Yes, he used to go to school with Benny. We invited him to the picnic
on Surprise Island."
"Oh, I remember," said Mr. Alden. "He had a brother who was almost
drowned."
"Good for you, Grandfather!" cried Henry. "You never forget anything.
Mike's mother hasn't any home now, and we want to give her that big
empty room at the mine to make pies in."
Mr. Alden said, "Is that all you want, Henry?"
"Almost," said Henry. "We'd like to buy a stove, and a sink, and a
refrigerator for the room. We can buy them all here."
"Go ahead, Henry," said Mr. Alden. "It's your money and your mine. It's
a fine idea and a kind one. I had a plan for that room, but it can wait.
This is
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more important. If you need anything more, ask Mr. Carter. And how is
Watch?"
"Watch is right here, looking at me," said Henry. "You speak to him,
Grandfather."
"Hello, Watch!" called Mr. Alden.
"Bow-wow!" answered the dog. He put his feet up on the telephone table
and wagged his tail.
"I heard him bark," said Mr. Alden, laughing. "And now I'll talk to the
others." Mr. Alden always did this. He talked with Violet, and Jessie
and Aunt Jane and Benny.
"I'm the last one, Grandfather," said Benny. "But I was the next to the
first to think of the stove."
"I'm sure you were, Benny," said his grandfather. "You be a good boy,
and take good care of the girls."
"Yes, I will," said Benny. "You know what? They want a blue
refrigerator! I want a white one, but I'll give in."
"Good boy," said Mr. Alden. "Good-by for now."
After the telephone call, Mike said he wanted to see Benny alone.
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"Come up and see your room," said Benny. "Then we can talk."
Mike had no idea what a lovely room he would have. He looked around in
surprise.
"This is neat, Ben," he said. "And right next to you."
"My wall paper has jet planes on it," said Benny. "Aunt Jane picked it
out for me. She's neat, too."
"Listen, Ben," said Mike. "When we were up at the mine, I remembered
something."
"What was it?" asked Benny. The two boys sat down on the floor. They put
their heads together.
"Well, you know I said we had to tie Spotty up because he barked?"
"I remember," said Benny.
"Well, he did bark. He barked at everyone, and he barked at the fire. He
was so excited. But once he growled, Ben."
"Oh, ho! I see!" cried Benny. "That's different. What did he growl at?"
"The man in the blue hat!" cried Mike. "I really
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don't remember what hat he had on. But I think I saw him at the fire. He
was the one Spotty growled at."
"I suppose Spotty never growls," said Benny.
"Never!" said Mike. "Unless he has some good reason. Now another thing,
Ben. You remember the newspaper picture of Pat? Now, I ought to have
been in that picture."
"Why?" asked Benny.
"Well, I was right beside Pat. The picture cut me off. I was always up
at the mine before you came. I knew everybody. And I saw that stranger
myself. He was a short man."
Benny nodded. "Did you talk to him?"
"No, I didn't. But I saw him talking to Mr. McCarthy. And I think he was
the man Spotty growled at!"
"Oh, you do!" cried Benny. "Then he must be the man that said you set
the fire!"
"That's right," said Mike. "Isn't that a mystery?"
"Yes, it is," agreed Benny. "The next thing to do is see Mr. McCarthy."
"Right!" said Mike. "But we won't rush it! Mr.
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Mike's Mystery
Carter said I ought to become an FBI agent." "Yes, he did," said Benny.
"And I'd like to see that newspaper picture again."
So the two boys ran downstairs to find the old newspaper.
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CHAPTER 8
Secrets
Everyone looked for the newspaper, but no one could find it.
"All the newspapers are in that box," said Maggie. "I saved them all."
"They are all here but the right one," said Benny.
"I had one, but it burned up with my house," said Mike.
"Well, never mind," said Aunt Jane. "You can always buy another at the
newspaper office."
Henry said, "Mike, you know this is the time we
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buy a stove. You can look at the newspaper any time."
"This is a very important paper," said Benny. "But I guess we can wait."
"Well, come on then," said Jessie. "What fun it will be to get all those
things! I never bought a stove before."
"Don't you think Mrs. Wood ought to go with us?" asked Violet. "She
ought to pick out the stove she wants."
"Right, as usual," said Henry. "Come on, let's go. Yes, Watch, you can
come this time." Lady stayed with Aunt Jane, as she always did.
The children stopped at the blue house. Mrs. Wood was glad to go with
them.
"Let's take Spotty, too," said Mike.
"He doesn't like to be tied up. He'd love to go."
"Will he like to go with Watch?" asked Jessie.
"Let's try," said Mike. Everyone was glad when at last the two dogs
trotted along together.
The store was a big one. There were all sorts of things in it. There
were tables and chairs and stoves
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and dishes of all kinds. Mrs. Wood looked around. She was delighted to
pick out a huge stove. It had large ovens. The refrigerator was big too.
"It will have to be big for all those pies," said Benny. "What color do
you want, Mrs. Wood?"
"Well, I don't care at all," said Mike's mother.
"The girls like blue," said Benny.
"Let's get all blue things, then," said Mrs. Wood. "Just look at that
beautiful blue sink!"
The man said, "We will put them all in for you. Where do they go?"
"In that big empty building at the mine office," said Henry. "My
grandfather said to pay you when they were all in."
"That's O.K.," said the man with a smile.
"Mr. Carter says insurance will pay for our loss from the fire," said
M
rs. Wood. "I hope so, because we lost almost everything."
"Oh, Mrs. Wood, let's buy dishes!" cried Violet.
Everyone looked at Violet in surprise. Violet was usually so quiet.
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Jessie put her arm around her sister. "You dear," she said. "We will
certainly buy dishes. Is that all right with you, Mrs. Wood?"
"Yes, I love to have you help me," said Mrs. Wood. "You have such good
ideas."
"Where will you put the dishes?" asked the storekeeper. "You're not
going to live up at the mine, are you?"
"Live there? Oh, no," said Mrs. Wood. "But we can put the dishes up
there for now."
"Why
couldn't
you live there?" asked Benny, suddenly. "You've got to
live
somewhere"
"And it will take a long time to build the pink house again," added
Henry.
"Yes, I don't like to stay too long with Mrs. Smith," said Mrs. Wood. "I
shall have to live somewhere. I wonder if there is anyone at the mine
all night?"
"There are four watchmen," said Henry. "I found that out. Then Mr.
Carter lives in the green house. That's the nearest house."
"I shall talk with Mr. Carter," said Mrs. Wood.
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"But we must pick out the bowls and dishes, first."
"What lovely colors!" said Jessie.
There were plates and cups of all colors, pink, blue, yellow, green,
violet and light orange.
"Why don't you have one plate of each color?" asked Benny. "That would
make six."
"I must have seven," said Mrs. Wood with a laugh. "Because you must all
come to supper sometime."
Jessie said firmly, "I think you need a dozen, Mrs. Wood. That would be
two of each color."
"Yes," said Benny. "And then I could use the pink cup-I mean if I ever
came to supper."
Jessie laughed. "Benny has a pink cup at home," she told
Mrs.
Wood. "He
loves it because he had it in the Boxcar. I certainly would not like to
break that pink cup."
"We must have knives and forks, spoons, and pans, too," said Mrs. Wood.
The storekeeper seemed to be thinking. At last he said, "Mrs. Wood, may
I say something? I wouldn't buy too many things if I were you."
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"Why on earth not?" cried Mike.
"Well, I can't say too much," said the man. "But I know your friends are