Bicycle Mystery

by Gertrude Warner

  “Oh, dear,” called Jessie. “Let’s find some shelter. We can’t get to the motel in this rain. We’ll be soaking wet.”

  “I’m soaking wet now,” Benny said. “Raincoats are no good.”

  Henry called, “Just watch for any old shed. The water is dripping off my nose and ears.”

  “We might find a haystack,” said Benny. “That would be like the days in the boxcar.”

  Violet pushed back her wet hair. “A haystack would be soaking wet, too.”

  The Aldens watched both sides of the road as they pedaled along. Then they saw the old house.

  It was set back from the road, among some trees. Not a soul was around. Every window in the house was broken, and the door was banging in the wind.

  “There!” called Benny. “There’s your old house. It’s got a roof, anyway.”

  Henry said, “I’m sure the roof leaks, but that won’t make much difference when every window is broken. I’ll go first and you follow me.”

  “No,” said Benny firmly. I’ll go with you. We’ll go together and scare out the ghosts.”

  They all laughed, for they knew there were no ghosts. The two boys pushed the door back and looked into a big room. There was nothing in the room, not even a carpet.

  “Nobody here,” called Henry. “You girls get off your bikes and push them right in.” He and Benny set their own bikes in a corner and looked around.

  “Well, the roof doesn’t leak,” said Jessie. “And this side of the room away from the windows isn’t wet at all.”

  “Just a little damp,” said Benny. “But no puddles to sit in. Let’s stay here on the dry side and look at our new mansion.”

  Violet looked at the bare room and said, “I’m sure the owner of this house won’t mind if we stay here until it stops raining.”

  “I don’t think the owner cares about his house,” said Henry. “We can’t hurt it anyway.”

  The rain still blew in the windows, and the water began to run into a corner.

  Benny said, “I wish that water knew enough to run out the front door.”

  Henry replied, “Well, Ben, if the water rises too high, we can go upstairs. In fact, I think I’ll go up and see what it looks like.”

  Henry had plenty of company. They all went upstairs to find two empty rooms and a bathroom.

  “But the bathroom is no good,” said Benny. “The pipes are all broken.”

  “Nobody here for a long time,” Henry said.

  Jessie looked at the tub. She said, “This might be a good place to dry our clothes, though. See that rod over the tub? Once they must have had a shower curtain.”

  “Good,” said Henry. “Let’s look at the rest of the house.”

  The rain came in only at the front, just at it did on the first floor.

  “These were the bedrooms,” said Violet. “I do wonder why the owner doesn’t fix this up. It’s a lovely old house.”

  Jessie answered, “I don’t think the owner has been around here for a long time.”

  “It’s getting dark and I’m hungry,” said Benny. “How about having a little something to eat?”

  “There! I was just waiting for you to say that, Ben,” said his brother. “There’s no electricity, and we certainly don’t want to eat by a flashlight. Let’s eat now while we can still see.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Jessie. “We all have dry clothes in our packs, and we each have a towel. Let’s get dry first. We can put on our dry clothes and hang the wet ones on the rod over the bathtub.”

  “That’s all right with me,” said Benny. “It won’t take long. I’ll be the first one ready.”

  And he was. The girls laughed as they heard him clattering down the wooden stairs.

  “We’ll have to go to bed early tonight,” Jessie said, “if we want to see our way. And we’ll eat our emergency rations. I never really thought we would use them. I thought we could always get to a motel. But here we are in the pouring rain, and no motel.”

  Benny was taking out the emergency rations when his sisters came downstairs.

  Violet said suddenly, “Remember the boxcar days? Put down one paper napkin for a tablecloth and save every crumb. If we leave crumbs, we’ll surely have mice.”

  “We could have anything,” Benny said cheerfully. “Anything could get through the broken windows. Even a bear.”

  “No bears in this part of the country,” said Violet peacefully. “But we could have mice if we leave crumbs.”

  Four napkins were soon laid on the floor, and the Aldens began to eat.

  Jessie said, “We’d better save some food for breakfast. It may not stop raining. Save some of the milk and crackers.”

  “That’s right,” said Henry. “Benny always has to eat before he goes anywhere.”

  “Even to bed,” said Benny. He yawned.

  There was no trouble about the crumbs. They ate every one. The rain still poured down and blew in at the front windows.

  Henry was thinking. He said, “You girls sleep upstairs. Ben and I will put our sleeping bags down here. We’d better sleep in our clothes.”

  “You were right, Benny,” Jessie said. “We do need our sleeping bags after all.”

  “But I thought we’d be sleeping out,” Benny said.

  After their exciting day, the Aldens went to sleep without any trouble. The rain still pounded on the roof, but they were safe and dry.

  But just as it was getting light in the morning, Jessie and Violet were wakened by a noise downstairs. It sounded like an animal whining.

  “What’s the matter, Henry?” Jessie called down the stairs.

  “Well, you might say we have a visitor. A dog wants to come in the window.”

  Jessie and Violet then heard Benny laugh softly. “At least we think it’s a dog. He barks anyway. He has come in the window already.”

  The dog went on whining, but it was a different sort of whining. Once in a while the dog gave a bark.

  Violet turned to Jessie. “Let’s go downstairs and see what kind of dog we have. He doesn’t seem to be very happy.”

  “I don’t blame him,” said Jessie. “It’s still raining. No dog would be very happy in this pouring rain. But I should think he’d be glad to get in the house.”

  The girls went downstairs.

  They looked at the dog. They saw that it was small and smoky gray. Hair hung down all over his face and bright black eyes. His tail was wagging, and he was trying to climb up Benny’s legs.

  “Come here, dog,” said Jessie. The dog turned around instantly and trotted over to Jessie.

  “Oh,” said Benny, “an obedient dog.”

  “Yes,” said Jessie with a nod. “I think he has had some training. Sit!” The dog sat down.

  “Well, well,” said Henry. “Come! Heel!”

  The dog trotted over to Henry’s left side and looked up at him. Henry began to walk around the room. The dog followed him just behind his left foot.

  “He minds better than some children,” said Violet.

  Henry turned around and the dog turned around. “Sit!” said Henry, and the dog sat down.

  Then Henry said, “Stay!” and walked back to the others. The dog did not move. But he didn’t stop whining.

  “Maybe he’s hurt,” Henry said. “Come here, fellow.” The dog came over to him once more. Henry looked him all over and felt the dog’s ears and legs. At last he said, “He seems to be all right.”

  Jessie took the little dog in her lap and felt his neck. “My, he’s soft,” she said. She hugged him, and he licked her hand. She said, “No, I don’t think he’s hurt.”

  Suddenly Jessie noticed something. “That’s strange,” she said. “He doesn’t have any collar.”

  “He’s just a stray dog,” said Benny. “He’ll probably go along soon.”

  “I don’t think he’s a stray dog,” said Henry. “I think he belongs to somebody. Somebody must have trained him to obey. And somebody loved him.”

  The little dog put his hea
d on one side and looked up at Henry out of one bright eye.

  “Oh, look at him!” Violet said. “He’s so cute when he does that. Do you suppose we can find his owner?”

  Henry looked thoughtful. “I’d say he has to do that for himself. Let’s see what he does when we get ready to start off on our bikes.”

  Benny said, “No collar, no tag, no anything. We don’t even know his name. Not much to go on.”

  “You’re right, Ben,” said Jessie. “Nothing to go on.”

  Violet said, “Somehow I don’t want to go back to bed.”

  Henry laughed. “We all know the answer to that. As Ben would say, ‘Let’s have breakfast!’ ”

  CHAPTER 4

  Sunshine and Shadow

  Listen!” said Violet. “It isn’t raining as hard this morning as it was last night. Maybe it will stop soon.”

  “It’s only six o’clock,” said Henry. “But we should be on our way as soon at it stops raining.”

  “This won’t be much of a breakfast,” said Jessie as they sat down on the floor.

  “What about our new dog?” Benny asked. “He’s got to eat, too.”

  “Let’s each give him a part of our breakfast,” said Jessie. “He’ll have enough.”

  It was a good idea, but it was hard to give up some of their small breakfast. They felt better, though, when they saw how hungry the dog was.

  “Don’t eat so fast, dog,” Benny exclaimed. “Make it last.”

  But the dog had no idea of making it last. He snapped up his share of crackers and milk. Then he looked up for more.

  “I don’t think he’s had anything to eat for at least a day,” said Violet.

  Henry put his things away and stood up. “Look, it’s stopped raining,” he said. “We must find a place where we can get a real breakfast. And then we must see who has lost a dog.”

  “Yes,” agreed Jessie. “I think something is wrong with him. Listen! He still whines. He must belong to somebody.”

  The Aldens packed up all their things. They strapped the sleeping bags on the back of their bikes.

  “We can’t say good-bye to anybody,” said Benny. “And we can’t lock the door.”

  The four Aldens took their bikes and went out of the old house. Henry shut the front door as well as he could. Then they walked their bikes along the wet path to the road.

  “That dog is going to follow us,” said Benny.

  “We shouldn’t let him,” said Jessie firmly. “We’ve got one dog at home, and Watch wouldn’t like another. And besides, I still think he must live nearby. See? His paws don’t look sore, and they would if he had come a long way.”

  Jessie looked down at the little dog and he just wagged his tail. “Go home!” she said. “That’s a good dog, go home now. Go home!”

  But the dog did not go home. He stood still in the path and watched the Aldens. When they got on their bikes, the dog followed them.

  Benny said, “Don’t pay any attention to him. Maybe he’ll trot off home. And the first one who sees a store gets a dime.”

  Henry went first and Violet last. The little dog ran along behind Violet’s bike.

  “We must find a place to eat, and a store to buy more emergency rations,” Jessie said.

  “Maybe we’ll find them both at the same place,” Violet said. “I hope so.”

  The Aldens passed several houses, but they saw no people. The dog followed them, still whining.

  At last the children saw a building that looked like a country store.

  “We all saw the store at the same time,” said Jessie. “Nobody gets the dime.”

  It was a store, but it wasn’t open. The Aldens sat down on the steps and waited. The dog sat beside them and waited, too.

  “After all, it’s not seven yet,” said Jessie. “Maybe the store doesn’t open until eight.”

  “Well, if it’s eight,” said Benny, “I shall die of starvation.”

  But the store did not open at eight. It was seven o’clock when a man came down the road, taking a key out of his pocket.

  “Hi, kids!” he said. “What can I do for you?”

  The dog whined and the Aldens all jumped up.

  “We want a lot of things,” said Benny. “But first we want to buy something to eat right away.”

  The man put the key in the door and opened it.

  “Look around,” said the storekeeper. “But that doesn’t mean your dog! See that he doesn’t get into anything.”

  Benny said, “Come. Sit.” The dog trotted to Benny and sat down.

  “Well, some dog!” the man exclaimed. “I wish my children minded me like that.”

  “You don’t know this dog, then?” Henry asked. “He isn’t ours. He just followed us.”

  “Never saw him before in my life,” the man answered.

  “He can’t live very far away,” said Henry. “See? His feet aren’t sore. He hasn’t come a long way.”

  “Maybe somebody dropped him out of a car. It’s a mean thing to do, but some people do it,” said the storekeeper. “You can be sure that dog never came from around here. He’s a funny looking dog. I never saw one just like him. I’ll ask around, but I’m sure nobody will know about him.”

  “We don’t want to keep him,” Benny said. “We’ve already got a good dog at home.”

  “Watch wouldn’t be very pleased to see a strange dog,” Henry said. “Especially a dog that minds when Watch never minds any more.” Everyone laughed.

  Jessie was busy picking out more supplies for their emergency rations. Then she started on things for breakfast.

  The man kindly washed out the four Thermos bottles and filled them with milk. Jessie bought bread, two extra bottles of milk, butter, cereal, and bananas.

  “Here’s a good bone for your dog,” the man said.

  “Oh, thank you!” said Jessie. “I suppose we’ll have to take him with us. But every minute I feel we are taking him farther away from his home.”

  “Too bad,” said the man, shaking his head. “I can’t keep him here. I don’t want a dog around my store. You’ll have to take him with you.”

  There was nothing else to do. The pretty little whining dog ran along with the Aldens on their bicycles.

  Benny said, “We don’t know what his real name is. But I have a name for him. We ought to call him Shadow. He follows us just like a shadow.”

  Violet added, “And he’s blue-gray, like a shadow.”

  From that moment, the dog’s name was Shadow.

  “There are a lot of good places along here for a picnic breakfast,” Jessie called back.

  “I hope no cows,” called Violet.

  Benny looked at the field they were passing. “No, nothing but daisies, Violet. Not a cow.”

  The Aldens rode along, finding only one hill where they had to get off and walk. Then they saw just the right field. There were bushes and trees to hide them from the road, and there was a big flat rock for a table.

  Soon the bikes were lying on the grass, and the family was sitting around the stone table.

  “I wish I had some butter for my bread,” Benny said.

  “I did buy some, Ben,” said Jessie. “I bought just enough for breakfast. It won’t keep in the hot sun.”

  The sun was out, and everyone was happy. Shadow sat down without being told and waited politely. Jessie poured some milk for him in a paper plate. Then she broke up some bread and dropped it in the milk.

  “You can have your bone for lunch,” she said.

  The Aldens started to eat their cereal and bananas and milk. “No banana for Shadow,” Benny said, laughing. “But what are we going to do with him, Henry?”

  “I really don’t know,” replied Henry. “He must live somewhere around here. With us, he’s getting farther away all the time. But it can’t be helped.”

  So Shadow followed his new family when they started on.

  CHAPTER 5

  Eight Helping Hands

  Now that breakfast was over, Benny said,
“My, I feel good. I feel like having an adventure. I only wish our shadow would stop whining. Shadow, don’t you know that shadows don’t whine?”

  But Shadow paid no attention. He ran along, whining softly.

  Violet said to Benny, “I don’t know why you want another adventure. I’d say we have had an adventure already—not to say a mystery.”

  “Well, I like adventures all the time,” replied Benny. “Now look—isn’t that a vegetable stand up the road? It has a big red sign. Now that’s interesting.”

  “There’s a boy selling vegetables,” Jessie said, looking down the road.

  Then the Aldens saw a man carrying a basket from a field to the roadside stand. He walked slowly, and seemed tired.

  “Why doesn’t that boy help?” Benny asked.

  They all found the answer when they rode up to the stand. The boy had one leg in a cast. A pair of crutches stood in the corner of the shed behind him.

  The boy saw the Aldens looking at him. “I fell in the barn and broke my leg,” he told them.

  “Oh,” said Violet. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll be all right,” the boy said. “But the trouble is that my father needs my help right now. All I can do is keep the stand open for him. I can’t help with the picking and carrying.”

  The boy stopped talking and looked worried.

  “Could you use a little help?” asked Henry. “We are just passing through.”

  “Did you say help?” exclaimed the boy. He could not believe his ears. “What do you mean, help?”

  “We mean just what we say,” said Henry, and the other Aldens all nodded. He got off his bike and the rest did the same. “We’ll be glad to help you if you tell us what to do.”

  The man and the boy stared. Then the man said slowly, “I never heard anything like this. We’ve got work enough if you really mean it.”

  For answer, the Aldens wheeled their bikes behind the stand.

  The father said, “I have ripe tomatoes, cabbages, and beans to pick. It’s more than I can do alone.”

  Jessie said, “Violet and I can pick beans. We know how to do that.”

  Henry said, “Show me how to cut the cabbages and I’ll work at that.”

  “That leaves me with the tomatoes,” Benny said. “I like tomatoes the best, anyway.”