The Boxcar Children Mysteries: Books One through Twelve (98 page)

The Aldens said no more until they were on the beach.

Then Benny said, “I don’t think Miss Gray is really polite, but I suppose that’s her way.”

“We knew she was different,” said Jessie. “That’s why she lives all alone and never goes out. Maybe she doesn’t like people.”

Henry said, “We know she’s a writer. Maybe she has to be alone. In a way I thought she liked the idea of the school, even if she didn’t say so.”

“Anyway, she gave us the schoolhouse,” said Benny. “And that’s why we went up there.”

Then they walked as fast as they could to find Mr. Alden.

“Oh, Grandfather!” cried Benny when he saw a figure sitting in the sun by the hotel. “Please let us go to Northport this afternoon and buy paints and school things. We’re going to teach school!”

“Teach school!” said Grandfather.

The young people tried not to talk all at once.

“We went up to ask Miss Gray—” began Benny.

“Oh, you did? I thought she didn’t like visitors.”

“Well, that’s right, she doesn’t. That’s sure! But she gave us everything we asked for.”

“Bless my soul! What did you ask for? From a perfect stranger!”

Henry looked straight at his grandfather and said, “It turned out very well, Grandfather. You see the red-haired twins asked us if we would help them with schoolwork. Just to catch up, you know. They said every child on the island would come. So that’s why we wanted the schoolhouse.”

“And she gave it to you?” asked Mr. Alden, laughing.

“Well, yes,” said Jessie. “She doesn’t talk much. But she must have liked the idea, really. She gave us the keys.”

“She gave us a rough time, too,” said Benny.

“Hard to talk to?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Very!” said Henry.

Benny said suddenly, “I’d like to forget Miss Gray. She is no fun at all. I’d rather think about our school. I’m going to ring that bell. And I’ll ring it for recess, too.”

Grandfather nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I know how you feel, Benny. I never saw a bell rope myself without wanting to pull it.” But he could see that his grandchildren had not received a very warm welcome from Miss Gray. He decided to talk with Henry later, when they were alone.

Violet said, “Grandfather, we think Marie and Hal Moss can paint. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they really could paint well?”

“Yes, my dear, it is a great thing to discover an artist. This school idea is a surprise to me, but it’s fine. I never know what you will think of next!”

Henry said, “We thought we could go over to Northport and buy some paints and school things.”

Mr. Alden laughed. “Yes,” he said, “you can take the car. And maybe you will take me, too.”

Everyone laughed at this. They always had a better time when Mr. Alden came along.

Thirty miles seemed a long drive because they wanted to get there and buy the things. They went first to a store to buy paints.

“Better get enough to go around,” said Mr. Alden. “Give them a bit of fun. It isn’t much fun with two sharing a paintbox.”

In the end they bought ten boxes of paints. The older children could each have a box. They bought colored paper, small scissors, gold stars for Benny, and a stapler.

Jessie said, “Marie told us that there is plenty of chalk in the schoolroom closet. And there are pencils and paper left from last year, and some school books.”

“Well,” said Grandfather, “if you forget anything, we can come again. Let’s eat supper at this little restaurant. It seems to be called the Sea Shell.”

The Aldens noticed a bright red sports car parked in the yard. The top was down. “That car looks strange up here in such a quiet town,” said Henry.

“It looks as if it goes fast,” said Benny.

As they went into the Sea Shell a man with blond hair came out. He smiled at the Aldens and showed all his teeth. He said, “Hi, there!” although he was a perfect stranger. They watched him as he started the red car. Off he went like the wind.

“I told you that car could go fast,” said Benny. “And wait! That man had blond hair, all right, and he smiled and showed all his teeth. There can’t be two men like
him!
Just what Miss Gray said.”

W
hen the Aldens drove back to the island they saw Hal and Marie waving to them from the beach. Marie shouted, “Please come over!”

“You go on,” said Grandfather. “You don’t need me.”

The four Aldens ran down to the beach.

Hal said, “Guess who is coming to the island! The Money Man!”

Benny said, “The Money Man? Now who is that?”

Marie said, “Oh, he’s a wonderful man who buys money. Pa had a quarter, and the Money Man gave him ten dollars for it.”

“Whew, that’s a lot of money!” said Benny. “How do you know he is coming again?”

“Somebody saw him in Northport and told Mr. Fenton,” said Hal.

“Does he have blond hair?” asked Benny.

“Yes, he does, and white teeth,” said Hal. “He has a big smile. He smiles at everybody.”

“There you are, Jessie,” said Henry with a nod.

Jessie said, “Yes, Mr. Fenton was right. You couldn’t miss that man.”

Marie said, “My pa says we ought to help you clean up the school. After all, it’s for us. The big boys can help carry water, and there are more children to help if you want them.”

“Good!” said Henry. “Let me see. We do need help, but it’s too late to do anything now. Let’s clean the school tomorrow morning and begin school the next day. That’ll be Thursday.”

“Funny day to begin school,” said Benny. “But what do we care? We bought some paints and things in Northport.”

“Let’s meet at eight o’clock tomorrow morning at the school,” said Jessie. “Eight of us can do a lot of work.”

As it turned out, there were more than eight. Several other children were waiting with Hal and Marie when the Aldens arrived the next morning.

Henry unlocked the front door, and they all went in and looked around.

“The room is dusty,” said Marie.

It was an old-fashioned schoolroom. The desks and seats were fastened to the floor.

“I’d like my children in the front row,” said Benny. “Your big children can sit in the back seats.”

This was really the only way, because the front seats were small and the back seats were large.

Henry set everyone to work. The children took the books off the shelves and washed the shelves. Every book was dusted and set back. The children were delighted with their own work. The biggest boys washed the seats and desks. The teacher’s desk was washed, and a new pink blotter put in the middle.

“Will somebody bring flowers for this desk tomorrow?” asked Jessie.

“Oh, I will!” cried a child named Isabelle. “We have a big vine of pink roses all over our roof.”

There was a wood stove in the back of the room and a woodbox. Hal wiped off the stove. Then he said, “How about the woodbox? It looks all right to me.”

Henry agreed. “Just brush off the top. We certainly won’t have a fire. Leave the wood for winter.”

A little later Benny was standing still, looking at a big picture on the wall. It hung in the front of the room where the big chimney was. He said, “Look at this picture of George Washington. White wig and hair ribbon and all! What can we do about that? It looks dark and dirty.”

The painting showed the first President in his old-fashioned costume, standing beside a table.

“You can’t clean that, Benny,” said Violet. “It would spoil it to wash it. And it’s too high, anyway.”

“Just let it alone, huh?” said Benny. “I’m glad we don’t have to wear fancy clothes like that with all those buttons down the coat.”

“So am I,” said Jimmy. “I’ve got to go home now, Mr. Benny.”

“Don’t call me Mr. Benny. I’m not really a teacher. Why do you have to go home?”

“I’ve got to find some old bottles out in the fish house,” said Jimmy. “The Money Man wants ’em. I’ve got to have them all ready.”

“Yes,” agreed his sister. “He even wants an old olive bottle! I’ve found that already. It says Queen Olives, 1875, on it. Ma says her ma must have bought it. Isn’t he a funny man? To want an old dusty bottle almost a hundred years old?” Then she added quickly, “But he’s wonderful just the same.”

All the children were listening now. They nodded their heads. An older boy named Jeffrey Frost said, “My pa and ma have been waiting for the Money Man to come. He told them to find all the funny old things they could. He likes ’em! Ma found an old glass pitcher and a whale’s tooth with pictures on it.”

Henry said, “Jeffrey, do you know where that whale’s tooth came from?”

“Oh, yes, my great uncle made the pictures when he sailed on an old whaling ship. That tooth is so heavy you wouldn’t believe it!”

Jessie said, “Well, we’ve finished our work here, anyway. We’ll all go home now and start school tomorrow.”

“What time does school begin?” asked Jeffrey.

“Nine o’clock,” said Henry. “You’ll hear the bell.”

“I’m going to ring the bell,” added Benny.

“That’s lots of fun,” said Jimmy.

“Maybe you can be the bell ringer later,” said Benny. “Tell all the other children, won’t you?”

“Tell them?” said Marie, laughing. “Most of the children are here now. The rest will know just as soon as we get home.”

“No school in the afternoon?” asked Jeffrey.

“No, I’m sorry,” said Henry. “You ought to help at home.”

“I suppose so,” said Marie. Then her face lighted up and she said, “I’m going to clean up my room just like this schoolroom. My sister will help me. She sleeps there, too.”

The schoolroom was indeed clean. Henry locked the door, and the children ran off in all directions.

The Aldens found Grandfather waiting for lunch.

When they were sitting down at the table, Henry said, “We are worried, Grandfather, about the Money Man. I’m afraid he is cheating everyone on the island.”

“I’m sure he is,” said Jessie. “You see, he paid ten dollars for an old quarter. That made them all trust him. But who knows? That quarter may be worth a hundred dollars.”

“Or a thousand!” said Benny. “You see, Grandfather, there really is a mystery here. I don’t think the Money Man is as wonderful as he seems.”

Grandfather smiled. “Well, Benny,” he said, “I’m sure you will keep your eyes open. If this man goes too far, we’ll try to stop him. But I agree with you. He isn’t wonderful at all!”

I
t was a wonderful moment when Benny rang the school bell. Dingdong! Dingdong! Everyone on the island heard it and smiled. Benny did not really need to ring the bell at all—because every child was already in the school yard.

The girls and boys rushed in. They could hardly wait to see what was going to happen. They had no idea what their four young teachers would do.

“Here’s my seat,” cried Isabelle. “I sat here last year. And here are the pink roses.”

All of Benny’s class rushed up to the small front seats. The big boys and girls sat down in the back seats. And the middle-sized ones sat in the middle. There were twenty children when Benny counted them.

Henry began to talk. The children were suddenly very quiet. He said, “Today we will have four classes. First you tell us what grade you were in last year. Now, who was in Isabelle’s class? You stand up, and Benny will see how many there are.”

“Don’t we call him Mr. Benny?” asked Isabelle.

“No,” said Benny, “just call me Benny. And don’t ever call me Teacher.”

“I always call my teachers Teacher,” said Isabelle.

Benny laughed. “I guess you are going to be my talker. There’s always a talker in every class.”

Soon Jessie said, “We will have a spelling match today and a singing school and a new game at recess.”

“Ah!” whispered the children. They were all smiles. School had never been like this.

There were five children in Benny’s class and five in Violet’s, six in Jessie’s, and four in Henry’s. Henry said, “Sometimes we will change teachers. Now we will write down your names and get started.”

Benny sat down with his class and took all their names. Then he said, “Isabelle, you let somebody else tell me what book you can read.”

Tommy Spoon said, “We can’t read any book. The teacher took the books with her.”

Benny was all ready for this. He had not found any easy books on the shelf.

“I’ll write on the board,” he said. He printed in big letters, “I have a dog.”

“I have a dog,” said Tommy Spoon. “That’s what it says.”

“Right!” said Benny. “You read it, Eddie.” Eddie was the smallest child.

“No,” said Eddie, shaking his head, “no dog.”

“You mean you haven’t any dog?” asked Benny. “Well, can’t you read it, even if you haven’t any dog?”

“No,” said Eddie crossly. “No dog!”

“Well,” said Benny, laughing, “have you a cat?”

Yes, Eddie had a cat. So Benny printed, “I have a cat.” Eddie read it very well. “I know
cat
is the last word. My cat’s name is Fish.”

“Fish!” said Benny. “Why?”

“Because he always comes when we call ‘Fish, Fish.’”

Benny printed the whole story. They all read it together.