The Secret of the Scarecrow (5 page)

“Is the mascot a scarecrow?” Nancy asked.

“Maybe,” Tommy teased. “Maybe not.”

Nancy rolled her eyes. Tommy was playing a game—and it wasn't soccer. “Come on, Tommy,” she urged. “Tell us!”

“I've got to go,” Tommy said, tucking the ball under his arm. “My dad is waiting for me.”

“Phooey,” Bess said as Tommy ran off. “Now we'll never know if their mascot was Autumn or not.”

Nancy felt frustrated too. Until she remembered something about Kevin . . .

“Who says we won't?” Nancy said. “Kevin is always bragging that he lives across the street from the park.”

“So?” George said.

“So,” Nancy said with a smile. “Next stop, the Garcias'!”

The girls left the park and carefully crossed the street. They read the names on the mailboxes until they found the Garcias'.

“If Kevin does have Autumn,” Nancy said, “he's probably keeping her in his room.”

“I'm not going in a boy's room!” Bess
complained. “You never know what gross things we'll find.”

“As long as we find Autumn—who cares?” George said.

As they approached the house, they heard voices. They weren't coming from the house but from a tool shed next to it. The door was closed, making the voices hard to hear.

“Let's go closer,” Nancy said quietly.

But then the door began to open. Quickly the girls hid behind a thick tree trunk.

Nancy, Bess, and George peeked out from behind the tree. As Kevin, Peter, and Quincy filed out they dusted what looked like yellow grass from their clothes.

“That looks like hay,” Nancy whispered.

“Autumn is made of hay,” Bess said. “Maybe she's in there!”

The girls watched Peter stuff bunches of hay up his sleeves. “I'm a scarecrow!” he began shouting. “Look at me, I'm a scarecrow!”

“Scarecrow, huh?” George whispered. “Something
tells me we came to the right place.”

The boys laughed as they tossed hay at one another. Kevin then said, “Let's shoot some hoops in my backyard.”

The boys ran around the house. When the coast was clear, the girls stepped out from behind the tree.

“We've got to look inside,” Nancy said.

“Yeah,” George agreed. “I have a feeling we'll find a lot more than tools.”

Luckily Kevin had left the shed door open, so the girls slipped inside.

“Where are you, Autumn?” Bess called. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

They found gardening tools, a lawn mower, bags of planting soil, and more hay scattered on the floor. But where was Autumn?

“Look!” Bess suddenly cried.

She pointed to a row of metal shelves against one wall. On one of the shelves was a long cardboard box. Written on the side were the words: “Most Awesome Mascot in the World!”

“That box is big enough to fit Autumn,” George said. “I'm looking inside.”

Nancy, Bess, and George moved toward the shelf. Suddenly the box began to wiggle. The sounds of scratching and bumping came from inside too!

“You guys.” Bess gulped. “If Autumn is in there . . . she's alive.”

George led the way as the girls inched toward the shelf. Reaching up, George pulled at the box only to have it tip on its side. Bess shrieked. Clumps of hay began to drop out of the box all over the girls!

“Ewwww!” Nancy cried.

But that wasn't all. After a shower of hay came something big, fat, furry—and definitely alive.

“It's a giant rat!” Bess shrieked.

The creature dropped off Bess's shoulder onto Nancy's foot. She was about to scream too when she realized it wasn't a rat at all. In fact, it looked just like one of their class pets.

“It's a guinea pig, you guys!” Nancy said with a smile. She gently picked it up when the boys charged into the shed.

“What are you doing with our mascot?” Peter demanded.

The startled guinea pig leaped out of Nancy's hands, landing on the floor. He kicked up his feet before ricocheting around the shed.

“Get him!” Kevin cried.

The kids scrambled around the shed trying to catch the guinea pig. Heads bumped. Tools crashed to the floor. But the guinea pig was too fast to grab!

“We thought you wanted a scarecrow as a
mascot,” Nancy shouted as the chase went on.

“We did!” Quincy shouted back. “But not a girlie-girl one like that Autumn.”

“So my mom bought me Vinnie,” Kevin said. “Guinea pigs make awesome mascots when they're not making a mess.”

“Gotcha!” George said as she grabbed the guinea pig. She handed him to Kevin, who put him right back into his box.

“If Vinnie's so awesome,” Bess said, “why is he living in a stinky cardboard box?”

“He won't be there for long,” Peter said.

“My dad is building an awesome guinea pig habitat,” Kevin explained. “It's going to have tunnels and caves—even a slide.”

“He deserves it,” Quincy said. “We already won a game today thanks to Vinnie.”

Nancy believed the boys about their new mascot. But could they have still stolen Autumn?

“What time was your game?” Nancy asked.

The boys seemed surprised at the question.

“Nine thirty,” Quincy answered. “But we
were in the park warming up at nine.”

“Why do you want to know?” Kevin said, raising an eyebrow. “And why were you snooping in my dad's shed?”

“Are you spies for the
girls
soccer team?” Quincy demanded.

Nancy shot Bess and George a sideways glance. If they told the boys they were looking for Autumn, they'd know she was missing.

“We were looking for hay!” George said quickly.

“Autumn is way too skinny,” Bess said. “She needs fattening up.”

Nancy scooped up a handful of hay and said, “This is all we need, thanks.”

Nancy, Bess, and George left the shed in a hurry.

“If the boys were at the park at nine, they couldn't have been at Bess's house stealing Autumn,” Nancy said.

“We didn't find Autumn in there anyway,” George said.

“That's the problem!” Bess wailed, raising her arms. “We're not finding Autumn anywhere!”

Nancy dusted the hay off her hands. She looked at her watch and said, “No wonder we can't find Autumn.”

“Why?” George asked.

“Because it's way past lunchtime,” Nancy said with a smile. “Who can solve mysteries on empty stomachs?”

“You're right,” Bess said, smiling too. “Let's go to my house for tuna sandwiches with pickle relish.”

“Pickle relish?” George said. She rubbed her hands together hungrily. “Bring it!”

As the girls neared the Marvin house, they noticed someone sitting on the porch steps. But it wasn't Autumn who'd returned. It was Deirdre Shannon!

“What's she doing here?” Bess whispered.

Sitting alongside Deirdre were two girls from the other third-grade class, Ashley McCoy and Valerie Noh.

“What's up?” Nancy asked.

“I told Ashley and Valerie about our class scarecrow,” Deirdre said. “I thought you could show her to them.”

Deirdre flashed a sly smile and said, “Unless . . . Autumn isn't here.”

Deirdre, Ashley, and Valerie stood waiting for an answer. Finally George shrugged and said, “Yeah . . . Autumn is here.”

“Huh?” Nancy and Bess said at the same time. Why was George saying something that wasn't true?

“Then let's see her,” Deirdre said.

“Sure,” George said. “We just have to get the mice out first.”

“Mice?” Deirdre said.

“Mice love hay just like guinea pigs do,” George explained. “We heard something squeak inside Autumn this morning.”

Nancy tried hard not to giggle. She knew
George was making the mouse up. So did Bess. But Deirdre, Ashley, and Valerie did not!

“Ewww!” Ashley cried.

“If that scarecrow has a mouse living inside, I sure don't want to see it,” Valerie declared.

“Geez, Deirdre,” Ashley said as she and Valerie began walking away. “What were you thinking?”

As Deirdre followed her friends she looked back and scowled.

“She definitely suspects something,” Bess whispered. “Next she'll be writing stuff about us on her silly blog.”

“Who reads her dopey blog anyway?” George scoffed. “Now, where are those tuna sandwiches with pickle relish?”

They were about to head inside when a rustling noise filled the air.

“What was that?” Nancy asked.

“I think it came from over there,” Bess said. She pointed to the hedge between the yard and the sidewalk.

“Give me a break,” Nancy whispered. “Deidre is probably crouched down behind there listening in on us.”

“Hey, I've got an idea.” George snickered. “Let's sneak up on that spy and give her a scare.”

The girls crouched too as they inched their way to the hedge. They were about to pop up and yell “Boo” when something popped up first—a big straw hat!

“Jake McStuffings!” Bess screamed.

The girls stared at the hat above the hedge until it dropped back down.

“Come on,” George said. “If it is Jake—I want to see him with my own eyes!”

Bess unwillingly followed George and Nancy as they raced out of the yard onto the sidewalk. They peeked behind the hedge and saw no one. But then Bess pointed down the sidewalk and shouted, “Over there!”

Nancy turned and saw a shadowy figure racing to the end of the sidewalk. He was dressed in baggy clothes and a big straw hat.

“There goes Jake,” George said.

“It wasn't Jake,” Nancy said, shaking her head.

“Then who was it, Nancy?” Bess asked.

“I don't know,” Nancy admitted. “I just know there is no such thing as a walking scarecrow.”

But as the girls walked slowly to the Marvins' yard, Nancy glanced back at the hedge.

 . . . At least I hope there isn't,
Nancy thought.