Mike's Mystery
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going to give you some things."
"Oh, how kind they are!" cried Mrs. Wood. "I never thought of such a
thing!"
"Don't tell I told you," said the man.
"We won't tell, any of us," said Benny. "It would be awful if you bought
things, and then people gave you the same things."
"Really, I think you have bought enough, now," said the storekeeper.
"Let's leave it. You can ride in the truck if you want to. You children
ride in the back with the stove, and Mrs. Wood can sit with the driver."
"I want to sit with the driver, too," said Mike.
"All right," said the storekeeper. "Get in."
The two dogs were waiting outside the store. At last, all the things,
children and dogs were in the truck. Everyone laughed as the truck went
by.
They waved to the children. The children waved back. The dogs barked and
barked.
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Mike said, "How are you going to get that heavy stove into the room at
the mine, Mister?"
The driver smiled. "I'll have plenty of help," he said. "You wait and
see."
"I suppose you telephoned," said Mike.
"No, but the storekeeper did," said the driver. "We all have some
secrets, don't we? Just look over there, right by the mine office!"
The truck slowly came to a stop. The children stared at the crowd, and
then they all laughed and laughed.
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CHAPTER 9
Quick Work
When the truck stopped at the mine office, a crowd of workmen stood
waiting. The men were all smiling. Henry, Benny and Mike jumped out of
the truck and helped Jessie and Violet out.
The driver helped Mrs. Wood down from the high seat. "We'll help you
move these things into the building," said one man. "You tell us where
you want them to go."
Mrs. Wood and the children and the driver went in. They looked around.
The dogs ran around barking.
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Quick Work
Just then Mr. Carter came out of the office.
"Oh, Mr. Carter, hello!" said Henry. "You are just the man we want."
"I want to see him too," said Mrs. Wood. "I want to ask him something."
"Ask away, my lady," said Mr. Carter with a smile.
"Well," said Mrs. Wood slowly, "I can hardly wait to make a pie. And I'd
love to live right here in this room with my two boys."
"That's just what I said!" shouted Benny. "I said you've got to live
somewhere, and why not here?"
"Yes, you did, Benny," agreed Mrs. Wood. "That is what gave me the idea.
You see, Mr. Carter, the boys say there are watchmen up here all night.
They would help me if I needed anything. And it wouldn't take long to
put up some rough boards and make two rooms, would it? It would be so
handy for me to start my pies early in the morning."
"Oh, what a wonderful idea!" cried Jessie. "We can help Mrs. Wood, too,
Mr. Carter."
"Yes, I think it could be done," said Mr. Carter.
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"I have talked with Mr. Gardner, the big boss, Mrs. Wood. He says if I
say O.K., he says O.K."
"Oh, isn't this fun!" shouted Benny. "Who would put up the rough
boards?"
Mr. Carter laughed. He pointed at the workmen who were bringing in the
stove.
"Would they?" asked Violet softly.
"Yes, they would," said a workman who heard what Violet had said. "We
have time off today."
"Then you could make the rooms today!" shouted Mike. He never liked to
wait for anything.
A workman laughed at Mike. "You'll have to help us, son," he said.
"Oh, yes, I will," said Mike. "I'll be the one to tell you where the
things go."
"That is called a boss," said the man. "Boss Mike."
Benny said, "Mike would be a good boss. He really would. And so would I.
You see, that window will make Mike's room, and the next window will be
Mrs. Wood's room. Every room will have one window so that it will have
plenty of light."
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"Not so bad!" said the man. "There is water in the office already. So we
will just get longer pipes to go to your sink."
What a noise there was! Men were cutting holes in the floor for the
pipes. Others were pounding away at the pipes. The dogs barked and
barked. Mr. Carter telephoned three times and soon some long boards
arrived at the door. More men came.
"My room can be small," said Mrs. Wood. "Just big enough for a bed."
"Mine ought to be bigger," said Mike. "Because Pat and I will have two
beds, and I want another bed for Ben. I want him to sleep up here
sometimes."
"That will be easy," said a man. "One small room, and one big one. Are
you going to sleep here tonight?"
"No," said Mike. "No beds."
"What did you say?" shouted Benny. "Look out of the window!"
Another truck had just come. A bed was sticking out of the back. It was
an Army cot.
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Mr. Carter ran down the steps and said a few words to the driver.
Violet thought the driver said, "I'll be back soon," but she was not
sure. The driver saw the children. He called, "Come on, kids! Help me
take out these things."
The boys were delighted to help. They found some folding chairs under
the cot.
"Where did these things come from?" asked Henry.
"From the neighbors," said the driver. "Everyone wants to help Mrs.
Wood. These came from the store, but- " He stopped and said, "Don't ask
me any more questions."
But Benny went right on. "What are those barrels for?"
"Two barrels of flour," said the driver.
"For pies," said Violet.
"Oh, barrels are very useful," said Benny. "Just put a board across two
barrels and it makes a seat."
"It makes a table, too," said Jessie. "Remember our table in the barn on
Surprise Island?"
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Quick Work 83
[PICTURE NOT SHOWN]
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Soon the children sat in a row on the long board. They were all watching
the rooms go up.
"This is like a ball-game," said Henry.
"It's like a race," said Benny.
Henry said, "Some day we ought to have a race. We ought to have a fair
race for Watch and Spot."
"Do you think so?" asked Mike. "Watch is a very fast runner."
"Oh, ho!" cried Benny. "You're afraid Watch will beat again!"
"No, I am not!" cried Mike. "Spotty is a fast runner, too."
"Now, boys, no fights!" said Henry. "Just enjoy yourselves. Who's coming
now? It's a woman in a car."
"My neighbor from the blue house!" cried Mrs. Wood. She went to the
door.
"Mike, come help Mrs. Smith with that box."
Mrs. Smith
came in smiling. She shook hands with everyone. Then she
said, "Mrs. Wood, all your friends want to help. They have looked over
the things they
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can spare and everyone is giving you something. It's a Surprise Party."
"How kind you are!" said Mrs. Wood with tears in her eyes.
"We planned to have it next week, but Mr. Carter telephoned that now is
the time. So everyone is coming today."
"Well, Mr. Carter is right," said Mrs. Wood. "This is the time I need it
most."
"There are two sheets and two blankets in that box," said Mrs. Smith.
"And more are on the way."
Another car came while she was talking. Then another and another. Soon
the room was full of women with baskets and boxes. They brought
everything that Mrs. Wood needed.
"Oh, oh!" said Jessie. "Isn't this fun, Violet? Look how fast the men
are making shelves!"
"I'll put my pink cup on the shelf," shouted Benny.
"Look out of the window!" shouted Mike. A man was helping someone out of
a car. It was Aunt Jane
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86 Mike's Mystery
with her bright blue eyes and pink cheeks. She had a newspaper in her
hand. Lady walked beside her.
All the children rushed over to Aunt Jane. All but Mike. He just stood
and looked at the paper in her hand.
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CHAPTER 10
Mike's Idea
Oh, Aunt Jane," cried Jessie. "I'm so glad you came! Mrs. Wood is going
to live here and make pies and sell them."
"Yes, I know," said Aunt Jane, laughing. "I know all about it. A little
bird told me."
"Who told you?" asked Benny.
"Well, it was a big bird, after all," said Aunt Jane. "It was Mr.
Gardner, the big boss. He sent a car for me.
Aunt Jane went into the big room.
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Mike went up to her and held out his hand. She gave him the newspaper
with a smile.
She said, "Maggie found it. I haven't had time to look at it, but I am
sure it is the right one, Mike."
Then everyone tried to tell Aunt Jane about the two new rooms.
"They have doors!" said Benny. "Two doors, one in each room." The man
who was putting up the doors laughed at Benny.
Jessie showed Aunt Jane the barrels of flour. Violet showed her the
shelves. There were many dishes already on the shelves.
Aunt Jane had brought some things with her. A man came in with them. He
had some big kettles and long spoons, and some small pans and small
spoons.
"You have to get your own meals, Mrs. Wood," said Aunt Jane. "I thought
the other cooking dishes would be too big for you."
"You are right, Miss Alden," said Mrs. Wood. "I must cook for my family,
too. Where is Mike?"
Mike was not there.
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"But where is he?" cried Jessie. "He was here just a minute ago."
"He's all right," said Mrs. Wood, laughing. "Mike can take care of
himself pretty well. He must have some new idea."
Mike did have a new idea. He was in the office, talking to Mr. Carter.
The newspaper was open on the desk, and they both were looking at the
picture.
"See that man?" asked Mike. "He is the one Spotty growled at. He is
wearing a hat, but you can't see if it is blue or not. Spotty must have
seen him before."
"I have seen him before, too," said Mr. Carter, frowning.
"Where?" asked Mike.
"I don't know where," answered Mr. Carter.
"Well, he was at the fire," said Mike. "I saw him myself."
"And he has been at the mine," said Mr. Carter, "for here is his
picture."
"I don't think he is a very good man," said Mike. "He looks rough to
me."
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"He looks rough to me, too," said Mr. Carter. "We must keep our eyes
open, Mike."
There was a rap at the door.
"Come in," called Mr. Carter. It was Benny.
Benny said, "Oh, here you are, Mike! We lost you. I have another idea."
"Sit down," said Mr. Carter smiling. "We'll all sit down, and you tell
us your idea."
"Well," began Benny, "you know Mike was making a new dog house for
Spotty."
"No, I didn't know that," said Mr. Carter.
"Well, he was," said Benny. "And you know how Mike is. He isn't very
neat."
"I am too, neat!" cried Mike.
"No, Mike. Listen! You had boards in the cellar. You had some boards by
the heater, and some boards by the stairs, and some boards on both sides
of the room."
"Well, yes, I did," said Mike. "But they were neat. They were standing
up, neatly."
"But I mean they were on all sides of the cellar,"
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Mike's Idea 91
[PICTURE NOT SHOWN]
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cried Benny. "Don't you see? That's why the fire started on all sides of
the house!"
"Good for you, Benny," said Mr. Carter. "The firemen think the fire was
set by somebody."
"I didn't. I never did!" shouted Mike.
"Be quiet, Mike!" said Mr. Carter sharply. "I never said you did. I said
somebody."
"Well, who?" asked Mike. "Who would set our house on fire with Spotty in
the cellar?"
"I don't know yet," said Mr. Carter.
Then Benny said, "Think hard, Mike. What did you ever say to make anyone
mad at you?"
"I never said anything."
"Yes, you must have," said Benny. "You know you talk a lot, Mike."
Mike began to think. "Maybe I did say something one day. But it was last
summer," he said. "Maybe I said I was glad Miss Alden didn't sell her
ranch to those three men. Remember that, Ben? Maybe I said I would know
them in a minute if I saw them."
"Oh, my," said Mr. Carter.
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Benny said, "But Mike, you wouldn't know them, because you never saw
them!"
"I know it," said Mike. "I'm sorry now I said it. I suppose that man in
the picture heard me, and he thought I knew him."
"Well, Mike," said Mr. Carter slowly, "you see that's why the story
started that you set your own fire. The man in the picture may have
heard you, and he was afraid of you. That would make him want to do
something to hurt you the first chance he got."
"We can't prove it," said Benny.
"We will, though," said Mike. "You just wait."
"Yes, Mike, I think we will. Now, boys, I am going to tell you
something. I know you both talk too much. But you must not talk too much
about this."
"I won't," said Benny.
"I won't," said Mike.
"The three men who wanted to buy Miss Alden's ranch last summer are
>
known to be bad men. When they found the uranium by accident, they did
not tell anyone. They tried to buy the land for almost noth-
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ing. They were wanted in another state by the FBI. When they came to
this state, the FBI caught them and put them in jail. But one of them is
out now, I hear."
"Are you in the FBI?" asked Benny.
"I work for your grandfather, but I help the FBI too. I think this man
may be one of those three, but you can't see his face clearly in the
picture."
"They were mad because Aunt Jane wouldn't sell the ranch," said Benny.
"Right," said Mr. Carter. "He may do something to the mine if we don't
stop him. So we are having two more night watchmen. Your mother will be
perfectly safe up here."
"Let's go and help them settle things for the night," said Benny.
Things were going very well without them. Everyone was rushing around
fixing the rooms. A real table was set up for the pies. One barrel of
flour was opened. Pat came in with some more men. They were bringing big
cans of cherries and peaches and blue-
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berries and apples. They had great bags of sugar. There were piles of
pie tins.
"Oh, how kind everyone is!" cried Mrs. Wood.
At last the oven worked, the refrigerator worked, and the sink worked.
The cans of beautiful fruit were ready for pies. The rolling pins and
boards were ready on the table.
Benny and Mike were in time to help set up the beds. Jessie and Violet
began to put on the white sheets.
Then Mike surprised them all. He said, "Ma, I'd rather stay down at the
house with Ben. You see, Miss Alden fixed up a nice room for me. She
said I could bring all my things, and have Spotty in my room. I don't
think it would be very nice for me to refuse it."
"Well, Mike!" cried Mr. Carter. "You certainly are getting to be a very
nice, kind boy!"
"I'm very glad you are going to stay with us," said Aunt Jane with a
smile.
"Yes, Mike," said his mother, "that was very thoughtful of you."
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"I want to go with Ben," said Mike. "We can talk." "Right! Right!" said
Henry. "You can certainly talk!"
"I will take care of you, Ma," said Pat.
"Yes," said his mother smiling. "Pat will take care of me, and Mr.
Carter says there are six night watchmen now instead of four. I wonder
why?"
Mike and Benny looked at each other. They did not wonder at all.
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