Mystery of the Spider's Clue (6 page)

“Why don't we visit Sam on our way home,” suggested Henry.

The four Aldens had worked hard all afternoon washing the windows of Mr. Arnold's red brick house. Now they were pedaling back along the streets of Greenfield, with buckets hung over their handlebars.

Benny was quick to agree with his older brother. “Sam sure will be surprised when we tell him about the Hollow Tree Restaurant.”

“Speaking of Sam,” said Violet, who was riding right beside Benny, “why don't we stop at the nursery on our way and get him a plant.”

Jessie nodded. “It
would
be a nice surprise.”

“That's a great idea, Violet,” said Henry, and the others agreed.

Benny was all smiles. “Sam will have
two
surprises in one day!”

The Greenfield Nursery was overflowing with plants. There were plants in hanging baskets and in flower boxes and in colorful ceramic pots. The children had trouble making up their minds.

“Don't forget,” Benny reminded them, “Sam doesn't have much room. His tables are covered with get-well cards.”

“Good point,” said Jessie. “Maybe we should get him a plant in a hanging basket.”

Violet tilted her head back and looked up. “What about this one?”

The others followed her gaze to a plant in a pretty wicker basket. Beautiful green leaves billowed over the sides of the basket, with several wiry stems dangling low. Along the ends of the stems, smaller plants were growing.

Henry nodded. “I like it,” he said simply.

“Me, too,” added Benny.

Jessie smiled. “It's different from all the others. I think it's just right for Sam.”

“It's hard to choose, isn't it?” said a voice behind them, and the children turned around quickly in surprise.

A woman with gray streaks in her dark hair smiled at them. She was wearing blue overalls with the words GREENFIELD NURSERY embroidered across the front.

“Hi, Adella!” cried Benny. “Remember us?”

“Of course! You're the children who bought the Japanese maple tree.”

Jessie nodded. “You have a good memory.” For their grandfather's birthday, the Aldens had given him a tree with beautiful red leaves.

“Now we're getting a present for somebody else,” put in Benny. “This time, it's for Sam the Window Man.”

“Oh!” Adella smiled more broadly. “Well, in that case, it's half price. Anything in the nursery!”

“Thank you,” said Henry. Then he pointed. “That's the one we want.”

Adella nodded. “Ah, you like the Chlorophytum, do you?”

Benny made a face. “The
Chloro-what
?”

Adella laughed. “Chlorophytum,” she said again. “At least that's the scientific name for it.”

Jessie pulled her notebook and pencil from her back pocket. She quickly scribbled down the name of the plant and the instructions for its care. She wanted Sam to have all the right information.

“Of course, you'll need a hook to hang it on,” added Adella. “We have a nice selection here.” She gestured to an assortment of hooks and then moved away to help another customer.

“Even Adella knows Sam,” Benny remarked. “No wonder he got so many get-well cards. Right, Violet?”

But Violet didn't answer. Something had caught her attention.

Benny followed her gaze to where a young man with sandy-colored hair was watering some plants. He was wearing overalls just like Adella's, and he was having a heated discussion with a woman dressed in pale yellow.

“Isn't that Melissa Campbell?” Violet whispered.

Benny wasn't too sure about that. “Maybe,” he said, trying to keep his voice low. The woman was half hidden by a potted fir tree.

The children didn't mean to eavesdrop. But from where they were standing, they couldn't help overhearing bits and pieces of the conversation.

“I'm telling you, it won't work.” The young man sounded upset.

“Oh, this is turning into a great day!” the woman shot back, though it was plain from her voice that it wasn't turning into a great day at all. “I suppose I'll have to do it myself!”

“Look, I just don't think we can pull it off.”

The woman suddenly clicked her tongue. “Now listen to me, Ray! You want to get rid of your debts, don't you? And I want to get as far away from this boring town as possible! This is our one big chance—and you'd better not mess it up!”

With that, the woman stomped away.

Violet and Benny watched closely until she disappeared out the door. There was no doubt about it. The woman was Melissa Campbell.

Benny's eyes were wide. “Did you hear that?”

Just then, the sandy-haired man came storming down the aisle. He almost bumped right into Benny. Whirling around on his heel, he snapped at them, “You kids shouldn't be underfoot! Don't you have better things to do than stand around here?”

Then he stalked off.

“What was that all about?” Henry wanted to know.

Benny shrugged. “I didn't mean to get underfoot,” he said in a small voice.

Jessie put an arm around him. “Don't worry, Benny,” she said, trying to comfort him. “You didn't do anything wrong.”

Henry frowned. “I wonder what Melissa meant about one big chance.”

“I think they're up to no good,” said Benny.

“We can't be sure, Benny,” Violet told him.

“Well, they're up to something!” he insisted.

Henry nodded. “There seem to be a lot of strange things going on in Greenfield lately.”

“Thanks, kids. A plant is just what this room needs,” said Sam as Henry fastened the hook to the living room ceiling.

Jessie consulted her notebook. “It's a Chlorophytum. And it needs lots of water.”

Sam thought for a moment. “I don't know a whole lot about plants,” he admitted, “but I think there's a more common name for that particular one.” He scratched his head. “I just can't remember what it is.”

After making sure the hook was secure, Henry carefully hung the basket by the window.

Sam looked around gratefully at the Aldens. “I was just about to whip up something for dinner. I'd love a bit of company if you'd like to join me.”

“We
would
like to stay,” Jessie said, speaking for them all, “but why don't you let us get dinner ready.”

Sam thought about this for a moment. “Well . . . if you're certain it's not too much trouble.”

The Aldens were eager to do whatever they could for Sam. “It's no trouble at all,” said Henry.

While Sam relaxed, the children hurried off to the kitchen. After letting Mrs. McGregor know about their change of plans, they washed their hands and set to work. They found leftover chicken in the refrigerator, along with fresh fruits and vegetables. There was a large box of rice in the cupboard.

“How about a stir-fry?” suggested Jessie, and the others agreed.

While she waited for the water to boil for the rice, Jessie cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Henry sliced up mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and celery. Violet and Benny chopped bananas and apples for a fruit salad.

The youngest Alden was still thinking about the mystery. He paused as he spooned fruit salad into bowls. “I wonder what kind of clue a spider would leave.”

Henry stirred the chicken and vegetables together in a pan on the stove. “That's a good question, Benny.” He added a dash of soy sauce to the stir-fry. “One thing's for sure: The Spider's Clue is somewhere inside the Hollow Tree Restaurant.”

When they were all seated at the table, Sam took a bite of the stir-fry and nodded approvingly.

“Tastes just as good as it smells,” he said.

Violet looked relieved. “We were hoping you'd like it.”

Taking turns, the children told Sam all about their day. “The clues led us to the corner of Blue Street and Ice Pond Road,” said Jessie. She took a sip of milk. “We thought we'd struck out until we stopped for lunch at the—”

“Hollow Tree Restaurant!” finished Benny.

Sam shook his head in disbelief. “I should have thought of that myself. After all, I stop in there all the time. There really was a hollow tree there once, you know. In fact, that's how the restaurant got its name.”

The Aldens looked at him in surprise.

“On that very spot?” asked Henry.

With a sweep of his hand, Sam said, “The whole Morningside area was just farmland back then. All open fields and meadows. When we were kids, my brother and I used to play hockey there with Thomas on a pond that would freeze over every winter.”

“No wonder it's called Ice Pond Road,” Henry realized.

“My brother, Simon, would stash our lunches in the hollow tree. When we got hungry, we'd just skate over and grab something to eat. Guess that's why I remember it so well.” Sam stopped talking and took a breath. “When I moved back to town years later, that whole area had been built up.” His voice suddenly wavered. “I knew things would never be the same again.”

When a frown crossed Sam's kind face, Violet couldn't help wondering why the past bothered him so much. But she didn't ask.

“I think that's the right place for the Chlorophytum,” Jessie said, changing the subject. “By the window, I mean.”

Violet smiled gratefully at her older sister. She could always count on Jessie to come to the rescue. “It does look nice there,” Violet added.

“And I'll make sure it gets enough water,” said Sam. He seemed relieved to be talking about something else.

After dinner, the Aldens cleared the table while Sam went into the living room to lie down.

“It's funny how the clues keep reminding Sam of the past,” said Benny.

The others nodded. They'd noticed this, too.

Violet filled the sink with hot soapy water. “It really is strange,” she said in a quiet voice. “Sam gets so unhappy whenever the past is mentioned.”

“I just wish we could help.” Jessie stacked plates on the counter.

Henry thought about that. “We can't help if we don't know what's wrong,” he said.

“Why don't we ask,” suggested Benny.

Henry shook his head as he put the leftover rice in the refrigerator. “Remember what happened when Thomas mentioned the past?”

“Sam didn't like it one bit,” Benny recalled.

“Besides,” Jessie added, “it's not really any of our business.” She reached for a dish towel. “If Sam wants to tell us, he will.”

The children finished quickly. In no time at all, the table had been cleared, the dishes washed, and the kitchen counters wiped clean.

“As soon as I'm on the mend,” Sam told them when they sat down again in the living room, “it'll be my turn to cook. I make a pretty good bowl of chili.”

“It's a deal!” said Jessie. It made her smile to think of Sam bustling about again.

Benny was staring hard at the Chlorophytum. “That plant looks like a big green spider hanging from the ceiling,” he said thoughtfully.

Violet studied the Chlorophytum. Benny was right. It really did look like a green spider.

Sam snapped his fingers. “Spider plant!” he exclaimed. “That's the name I couldn't remember. Chlorophytum's the scientific name, of course. But most folks just call it a spider plant.”

Violet's brown eyes widened. “I think we should be paying another visit to the Hollow Tree.”

“Oh!” cried Jessie, as she caught Violet's meaning. “Do you think one of the plants in the restaurant could be a spider plant?”

Henry answered first. “I'm sure of it! And that's just where we'll find the Spider's Clue.” He sounded excited.

“Yippee!” cried Benny clapping his hands.

“Unless I miss my guess,” Sam put in, “you'll have this mystery wrapped up real soon.”

But would it be soon enough? Tomorrow was the twelfth of July, the last day to solve the mystery. The Aldens were quickly running out of time.

Watch growled softly.

Benny sat up in bed. “What's wrong, Watch?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

After a long day the Aldens had sat up in the boxcar, talking about their mystery. But now it was the middle of the night and they were all in bed. The house was dark and quiet. Why was Watch barking?

“Grrr,” Watch growled again. He began to scratch at the bedroom door.

Benny slid out of bed and padded across the room. He opened the door. Watch dashed out into the hall, then raced down the stairs, barking loudly.

Henry, Jessie, and Violet came out of their rooms.

“What's the matter with Watch?” Jessie wanted to know.

Before Benny could answer, Grandfather stepped out into the hall, pulling his bathrobe around him.

“What's all the fuss about?” he asked, flicking the light switch.