Boxcar Children 12 - Houseboat Mystery (6 page)

The girl said to Benny, “Just turn that switch.” Benny did so.

Suddenly the farm came to life with a great rattle. The man began to milk the cow. The woman began to throw the corn. The hens began to peck the corn. The boy began to pump the well. Real water ran out of the pump into a pail. The two horses began to trot down the road.

What a great noise—clack, clack! Everyone watching the model began to laugh. A woman standing near the Aldens said, “That is the cleverest thing I ever saw in my life!”

At last Jessie said, “Grandfather, we’ll never have time to see all these things. Maybe we ought to go into another building that Benny likes.”

“Yes, my dear. What do you want to see, Benny?” Grandfather asked.

“The animals,” said Benny.

The Aldens went out, looking at more dolls on the way. Sam and Dolly were waiting outside, but both of them seemed to be asleep. Just then another horse and carriage exactly like Sam’s came trotting along with a load
oi
people.

“That horse is as thin as Dolly,” said Henry in surprise. “And the man looks like Sam, doesn’t he?”

“Maybe he is Sam’s brother,” said Benny. “Maybe the horse is Dolly’s sister.”

Grandfather laughed. He didn’t know then that Benny was exactly right.

The Aldens didn’t want to wake Sam and Dolly so they went on foot down the street. Soon they came to a bright red brick building. Over the door was the word “Animals.” The Aldens went inside.

In this building they saw beautifully-mounted foxes and wolves, a deer, and a raccoon. But Benny went straight for a small dinosaur standing in the middle of the room. It was about as tall as Benny, but the sign said, “This is a model of a dinosaur fifteen feet tall and forty feet long.”

“Just think!” said Jessie, looking at the model. “Those animals used to be walking around here.”

Benny said, “If one of them stepped on me, he wouldn’t even know it.”

“That’s right, Ben,” said Henry. “Just the way we step on a bug and don’t know it.”

Along the sides of the room were large stones with dinosaur footprints in them. One footprint looked like a bird’s and another like an elephant’s. There were dinosaurs’ leg bones that were taller than Benny.

Soon Jessie said, “I must think about cooking supper. I think we ought to go, Henry. But I’m sure we want to come again tomorrow. We can sleep in the houseboat right at the dock.”

Benny said, “We
must
come back tomorrow. We have to find out more about Sam.”

Sam and Dolly were still asleep when the Aldens came out of the museum. But the second horse was going by with a load of people. Henry happened to look at his grandfather. Mr. Alden was staring at the second horse. He looked from one horse to the other.

“Henry!” said Grandfather. “Those two horses are a matched pair! I’m sure they came from the Blue Grass country. If I’m right, they were once beautiful horses, worth a great deal of money.”

Benny looked at Sam, fast asleep. Then he looked at the other driver. He exclaimed, “You can hardly tell those two drivers apart! One’s awake and one’s asleep. That’s the only difference.”

Jessie said, “You’re right, Ben. They look like twins.”

Benny said, “A matched pair of horses and a matched pair of drivers!”

“Shh, Ben. They’ll hear you,” said Jessie.

Indeed, someone at April Center did hear Benny. A workman said, “That is a matched pair of horses, all right. I can remember when they first came here. They held their heads up high. The old jockeys did, too.”

“What’s the matter with the horses now?” asked Benny.

The man shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t ask me,” he said, walking away.

Benny called after the man, “Are the two men brothers?”

“Yes,” answered the man. “Sam and Jeff. The horses are Dolly and Molly.”

The Aldens walked to the dock without waking Sam. It seemed strange to eat supper on the houseboat when it was quietly resting at the dock.

“Well, we learned a little about Sam,” said Benny. “His brother’s name is Jeff. I’m glad we’re spending another day at April Center. I want to see the country store tomorrow. And besides, I have a plan in mind.”

Violet smiled. “I suppose you don’t want to tell us your plan?”

“No,” said Benny. “Not yet.”

CHAPTER
6

Something Wrong

T
he next morning the Aldens waited only long enough to eat breakfast and change the name of the houseboat.

Benny climbed up the ladder to change the letters. He said, “I hate to take
The Watch Alden
down. But you’ve had your day, Watch. Today it will be
The Mrs. McGregor."

When Benny climbed down, Henry was saying, “I wish we could find out why those horses are so thin. We know that Mr. April pays Sam well.”

Jessie added, “Sam said he gives as much as he can to Dolly.”

“And we know Sam loves his horse,” said Violet. “It doesn’t seem to make sense.”

Benny thought a minute. Then he laughed. “The only way to find out is to ask Sam,” he said.

“Oh, no,” said Jessie, shaking her head. “I would never ask Sam!”

“I would,” said Benny. “I bet Sam would tell me.”

Henry laughed. “I bet he would, too, Ben. Try it! No harm done if he won’t tell.”

Violet said, “Sam likes Benny. I think he would say that Benny was comical, just as Mr. Rivers did.”

So the Aldens locked up the houseboat and went back to April Center. As they walked through the gate Benny looked around for Sam. But Sam was nowhere in sight.

“You’ll like the country store, Ben,” said Henry, walking along. “They will have everything in there—cloth, sugar, cheese, and a cracker barrel.”

The cracker barrel was the first thing the Aldens saw when they went into the store. The storekeeper looked up at Benny and said, “Help yourself to a cracker!”

There was a hole in the cover of the wooden barrel. Benny put his hand into the hole and pulled out a cracker. Henry came next. He said to the man, “That hole is almost too small for my hand.”

“That is why the hole was made small,” replied the man. “Nobody can get two crackers out at one time. They used to try in the old days, but they never could do it.”

Three old men were sitting around an old stove, smoking pipes. Grandfather looked around the room and said, “This looks exactly like the old country store I went in when I was a boy. See the old-fashioned stick candy?”

“Red-and-white stripes,” said Benny. “I bet it is peppermint.”

The storekeeper said, “Try the coffee grinder, folks. Right over there.”

They all went to look at the coffee grinder. Jessie said, “I don’t suppose you sell the coffee, do you?”

“Oh, yes, I do,” the storekeeper answered. “You can buy coffee, candy, cheese, and oats for horses. All the other things are just to look at.”

Jessie said, “We’ll take a pound of coffee, then.”

The man poured a pound of brown coffee beans into the coffee mill. He said to Benny, “Grind away, son!”

Benny took the handle and turned it round and round. It was hard work. The ground coffee came out in a bag and was all ready to use.

“Did you say you sell cheese?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Right here!” The man showed them an enormous round cheese, as big as an automobile tire. “I’ll cut off whatever you want.”

“I never saw such a big cheese,” said Jessie. “I’ll take a pound.”

“Now what about oats for a horse?” asked Henry.

“Yes, we sell oats,” said the man. “But what do you want oats for?”

“I was thinking about Sam’s horse, Dolly,” said Henry.

The storeman stopped smiling and shook his head. “It’s a funny thing about that,” he said. “Sam used to buy a lot of oats for Dolly. And his brother Jeff did, too. But they don’t buy so much now. Not half as much as they used to. I can’t understand it. It’s been going on for almost a year.”

Benny said, “Oh, let’s buy some oats for Sam. We can tell him it’s a birthday present for Dolly.”

Henry nodded. The man took a big bag of oats out of a corner and gave it to Henry.

As the Aldens went out to the street, they saw Sam and Dolly. Sam had no customers, but he smiled at the Aldens.

Benny said to his family, “You go along. I’d rather stay here with Sam. He isn’t busy right now. I’ll be along soon.”

Benny climbed up into the wagon and sat down beside the old jockey.

“How is Dolly today?” he asked.

“Fine,” said Sam. “See her ears now? She knows we’re talking about her.” Indeed, her ears were turned backwards.

“I’ve been thinking, Sam,” said Benny. “It seems to me that you are in some kind of trouble.”

The old driver turned to the young boy and said, “That is surely kind of you. Most people don’t care about an old carriage-driver.”

“I care,” said Benny.

“I know you do,” said Sam.

“Well, Sam,
are
you in trouble?”

“No, not exactly,” said Sam.

“What do you mean,
not exactly?”
asked Benny.

“Well, I got no trouble myself, but I hear that my brother Jeff has. So I feel poorly. Yes, boy, I’m sure enough worried about Jeff.”

The man and the boy sat a while without saying a word.

Then Benny said, “Sam, my grandfather is a smart man. Maybe he could get Jeff out of trouble.”

“No, boy. Nobody could do that,” Sam answered.

Benny put his hand on Sam’s arm. “Now, Sam! What a silly thing to say! You don’t know what my family can do when we get started. But how can we help you when we don’t know what the trouble is? Don’t you trust me?”

Sam drew a long breath. “I’d like to trust you, boy. I’d surely like to!”

“Well, then, tell me about Jeff. Has he done anything wrong?”

Sam turned and looked at Benny. “I know Jeff wouldn’t do anything wrong. I don’t believe it! I never believed it!”

“Who says he’s done something wrong?” asked Benny.

“Well, somebody says he has,” answered Sam. “But I can’t tell you who it is. Then I’d be in trouble.”

“You’re in trouble now,” said Benny.

Sam was thinking. He looked at Benny for a long time. He knew he could trust Benny. Sam took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to tell you, boy. A man comes to me every month and I give him half my pay. If I don’t, he says he will tell the police about Jeff.”

“I see,” said Benny, nodding his head. “So that is why you can’t afford to feed Dolly enough.”

“Yes, that’s why. I give Dolly as much as I can. But I have to eat, too.”

Benny nodded again. Then he said, “Would you believe me, Sam, if I said you would be out of trouble soon?”

“I don’t know,” said Sam. “That would be a great day.”

Benny began to climb out of the wagon. He said, “Well, don’t worry anymore, Sam. It won’t be long now!”

Benny walked away. As he looked back, he saw three people getting into Sam’s wagon. He stepped out of sight. He waited until Sam had turned the wagon around and trotted off. Then Benny walked slowly down the street looking for Jeff. He found him outside an old-fashioned house waiting for his customers.

Benny looked up at Jeff and said, “May I come and sit with you a minute?”

“Sure,” said Jeff. He was surprised.

When Benny was in the front seat, he said, “You don’t know me, Jeff, but Sam does.”

“Yes, I know you,” said Jeff. “Sam told me all about the Aldens. He said the old man is very kind.”

“You mean my grandfather?” asked Benny. “He isn’t old.”

“Oh, I don’t mean old,” said Jeff. “He’s just grown up.”

“I wonder if you would talk to me, Jeff,” asked Benny.

“Oh, yes, I’d like to talk to you. Any of your family. I’d be glad to.”

“Well, then,” said Benny, “tell me this. Are you in trouble?”

Jeff turned around to Benny just as his brother had done. “No,” he said. “But don’t tell Sam.”

“Why?” asked Benny. “I won’t tell Sam.”

“I just worry about Sam,” said Jeff. “I hear tell
he
is in trouble. So I worry all the time.”

Benny said, “Do you think Sam has done anything wrong?”

“No!” said Jeff. “Sam wouldn’t. He’s my twin brother.”

“But somebody told you he has. Is that right?” asked Benny.

“Yes, that’s right. But I still don’t believe him. And don’t you tell, boy!”

“I won’t,” said Benny. “You know, Jeff, I thought something was wrong.”

“Now why did you ever think that?” asked Jeff.

“Well, because Molly is so thin,” said Benny.

“Think of that!” said Jeff. “Nobody cares about an old thin horse.”

“You
care a lot about Molly, don’t you?” asked Benny.

“Oh, yes. I brush her and brush her. See how she shines?”

“But you don’t feed her very well,” said Benny quietly.

“No,” said Jeff sadly. “But I do the best I can.”

“I know that,” said Benny. He began to climb down. He had learned what he wanted to know. Then he had an idea. He said, “By the way, Jeff, have you seen two men in a big black car driving around April Center? I’m interested in cars and it’s a special one.”

Jeff looked quickly at Benny and then away. It seemed as if he was going to nod, but he said, “Two men in a black car? I see lots of men and lots of black cars. They all look alike to me.”