Pumpkin Head Mystery (3 page)

Sally turned to Mr. Bolger. “I will keep talking to my parents,” she said. “Maybe they will change their minds.”

“They will have to,” Mr. Bolger said. “A lot of problems have been going on at this farm. Soon they won’t be able to afford to stay here.”

“How do you know about the problems?” Sally asked. “How do you know what they can afford?”

Mr. Bolger winked at Sally. “Oh, word gets around,” he said.

Suddenly Bessie groaned and held her head.

“Bessie!” cried Sally. “Are you okay?”

Bessie’s face was white and she was shaking. She tried to stand.

“Let me help you,” Henry said.

Bessie grabbed Henry’s arm and stood up. “Maybe I should go home,” she said. “I don’t feel very well.”

“I’ll give you a ride,” Mr. Bolger said.

Bessie waved him away. “No! I don’t need your help.”

“But I insist!” Mr. Bolger said. “You don’t live far and, besides, I wanted to give you…” He leaned close to Bessie and whispered the rest of the sentence in her ear.

Bessie looked surprised. She quickly got into Mr. Bolger’s car and they drove away.

Sally helped pick up the rest of the pumpkin pieces. “It’s nice of you children to help out here,” she said. “My own children are about your age. They love their grandparents and this farm, too.”

“We don’t mind helping out,” Jessie said. “We like it here.”

“And your parents are very nice,” Violet added.

Sally tucked her hair behind her ears. “Yes,” she said. “They are nice, but stubborn, too. This farm is no place for them anymore. I live in a very nice neighborhood in Florida. It is important for my parents to live near me and my family. One way or another, I must convince them to sell this farm.”

“It’s such a beautiful farm,” said Violet. “I can see why they don’t want to leave.”

Sally stood up and brushed the dirt from her jeans. “It is beautiful. But it is so much work. And strange things have been happening here. It worries me a lot.”

“Like the broken pumpkins?” Benny asked.

“Yes, and…” Sally hesitated for a moment. “Other things, too.”

“What other things?” asked Benny.

Sally crossed her arms. “All right, I’ll tell you,” she finally said. “My parents didn’t want me to frighten you, but you should know that this farm is haunted.”

“But that’s impossible!” Henry said.

“I know!” Sally agreed. “It does seem impossible. But all I know is that something strange is happening out in the fields at night. A glowing pumpkin head floats through the air like a ghost. It has no body beneath it. It is very creepy. There are voices, too.”

“What kinds of voices?” asked Violet. Her eyes were wide.

“Spooky voices,” Sally said. “They say things like ‘Stay away from this farm’ and ‘Leave our spirits in peace.’ ”

Benny dropped a large pumpkin piece that was in his hand. He looked nervously around. “Has your farm always been haunted?”

“No,” Sally said. “It was a peaceful farm when I grew up here. It all seemed to start about the time I came for my visit. Some of our workers have been so frightened, they have quit. My father can’t even figure it out. He rode his horse into the fields one night to chase the pumpkin head. But the horse was so startled, she bolted. My father fell off and hurt his leg.”

“That’s terrible!” Violet exclaimed.

Just then a bus pulled up the lane and into the gravel lot. “Oh my!” Sally said. “It’s the Girl Scouts. They’re early. Henry, would you please run to the barn and ask Jason to get the tractor ready?”

Soon, girls in scout uniforms were everywhere. They picked up small pumpkins and gourds. Some liked the flowers and others wanted to buy the colorful Indian corn. A few leaned over the fence and threw feed to the goats. They were polite, but they kept the Aldens busy.

Jessie stood in the booth and added up their purchases. She took the money and made change. She sold the tickets for the hayride. Violet tried to calm one little girl who had been stung by a bee. Benny didn’t know what to do. He had never been surrounded by so many girls!

The troop leader clapped her hands several times. The scouts became quiet and formed a group. They walked toward the barn where Jason was pulling out the tractor. A long farm wagon with metal rails was hitched to the back of the tractor. It was padded with bales of hay.

Henry helped the girls up and they took seats in the hay. The tractor rumbled away and the girls laughed and clapped.

Jessie stepped out of the hot booth. She wiped her brow. “Whew!” she said. “I can see why Bessie fainted in there. We should get her a fan.”

“I wonder if the Girl Scouts brought cookies?” Benny asked.

Violet smiled. “I don’t think so.”

Just then, Mrs. Beckett walked toward them with a large picnic basket. “You children must be hungry,” she said. “I made you some lunch.”

Benny ran to take the basket from Mrs. Beckett. “Thank you!” he said. “Wow! The basket is warm.”

“I made some fresh pumpkin bread.” Mrs. Beckett spread a blanket under an old maple tree. “It’s one of my specialties. I hope you enjoy it.”

Later, after the Girl Scouts’ bus drove away, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny sat under the tree and opened the basket. There were tasty sandwiches, fruit, and a pitcher of juice.

Benny took a big bite of his sandwich. “Do you think this farm is really haunted, Henry?” he asked.

“No,” Henry replied. “There is no such thing. I think someone is playing tricks to get the Becketts to move away.”

“But who would do that?” Benny asked.

Jessie took a bite of her apple. “Mr. Bolger certainly wants the Becketts to leave. He wants to buy their farm so he can build houses on it. He could be trying to scare them away.”

“I think Bessie is acting suspiciously,” Henry said. “It was terrible how she accused Violet of sneaking around. And what was the secret Mr. Bolger whispered to her?”

Violet held a handful of grapes. She remembered something from yesterday. “The reason I went into the booth was that Bessie was not there. But I soon heard loud voices. Bessie was standing by those trees arguing with someone.”

Jessie began to cut slices of the pumpkin bread. “Even Sally wants the Becketts to move. She said she had to convince them, one way or another.”

“That’s true,” Violet said. “And she admitted that the haunting started right about the time she arrived for her visit.”

“And don’t forget about Jason,” Henry said.

“Jason? But he loves the farm. He told Mr. Bolger to go away,” Violet said.

Henry took a long drink from his cup. “That’s true, Violet,” he said. “But when I went into the barn to tell him that the Girl Scouts were here, he was working on the tractor’s motor.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Benny asked.

“Nothing,” Henry replied. “Except that Jason said yesterday that he didn’t know anything about motors.”

“This sure is a hard mystery,” Benny said, helping himself to another large piece of pumpkin bread. “It makes my head hurt.”

Jessie smiled. “At least your appetite seems to be okay.”

Benny put an apple on his plate as well. “Mysteries always make me hungry!” he said.

As they cleaned up their picnic, Violet noticed straw sticking out of Benny’s pockets.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s for Sam, my scarecrow,” Benny said. “He might have gotten hungry while we were gone today. I can’t wait to light the candle in his pumpkin head tonight.”

When the Aldens pedaled their bikes up the drive toward Grandfather’s house, they were surprised to see Mrs. McGregor and Watch in the front yard. Watch was growling and barking.

Benny jumped off his bicycle and ran to the post Henry had hammered into the ground. Sam the Scarecrow was gone!

“Oh, Benny,” said Mrs. McGregor. “I’m so sorry about your scarecrow. I know how hard you worked on him.”

“What happened?” asked Henry.

“I’m not sure,” Mrs. McGregor said. “When I saw that it was starting to get dark, I thought I would light the candle in the pumpkin head. That way, you could see your scarecrow from the road when you came home. I thought you would like that.”

“Could you really see it from the road?” Violet asked.

“Yes. When I went out last night, I could see it for a long way on the road. It was quite scary.” Mrs. McGregor wiped her hands on her apron. “But when I came out this evening, Watch was barking excitedly. He had a piece of the scarecrow in his mouth. I think he must have pulled Sam down.”

“But where did Sam go?” asked Henry.

“I’m not sure,” Mrs. McGregor said. “Watch could have dragged Sam anywhere.”

“Oh, Watch!” Jessie held her dog in her arms. “You silly dog. Sam was a harmless scarecrow!”

Benny sat on the ground. He pulled the straw he had saved for Sam’s dinner out of his pockets. “I guess Sam won’t need this now,” he said sadly.

Watch had a small ripped piece of Sam’s pants in his mouth. He dropped it onto Benny’s lap. Watch licked Benny’s face.

“It’s okay, Watch,” Benny said. “I know you don’t understand about scarecrows.”

“How about some dinner?” Mrs. McGregor asked. “It might make you feel better. And you must all be hungry after a long day on the farm.”

“That sounds wonderful,” said Jessie. “Thank you.”

Benny rested his head in his hands. “I’ll be there in a minute,” he said.

Henry, Jessie, and Violet went inside to wash up for dinner. Benny sat by the pole with Watch, thinking.

“You have straw in your coat, Watch,” Benny said. “And you had a piece of my scarecrow’s pants. That means you must be guilty of taking Sam. But where did you put him?”

Watch barked and growled. He ran in circles around the pole.

“Wait a minute,” Benny said. “Something does not make sense.” He felt around in the grass underneath the pole. The only thing he found was a few pieces of straw. Benny stood up. “Wait here, Watch. I’ll be right back.”

Benny ran inside and took a flashlight out of the closet. He jumped down the porch steps and into the yard. “Come on, Watch,” he said, turning on the flashlight. “Let’s go look for Sam. Maybe we can rescue him. I’ll bet you know something, don’t you?”

Watch barked excitedly. He ran toward a stand of trees at the far end of Grandfather’s property. It was very dark, but Benny followed. He shone the flashlight through the trees and under the bushes. He saw two fat toads and a possum with a long tail, but no scarecrow. Benny walked deeper and deeper into the small patch of woods.

Mrs. McGregor put a steaming roast on the table. Henry, Jessie, and Violet helped to set out the mashed potatoes, green beans, and applesauce.

Grandfather filled all their glasses with milk. “That’s odd,” he said. “A table full of food and no Benny. Where is your brother?”

“I’m not sure,” said Jessie. “I thought he was getting washed for dinner. I’ll go check.”

Jessie was back in a minute. Her face looked worried. “He’s not upstairs,” she said, “and he’s not in the yard either.”

“Oh, my,” said Mrs. McGregor. “I hope he’s not still upset about his scarecrow. Where could he have gone?”

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Grandfather all grabbed flashlights and ran outside to search for Benny. Grandfather checked the back yard. Jessie looked in the garage.

“Benny!” Henry yelled. “Where are you?” Henry’s voice was loud, but Benny did not answer.

Violet was shining her flashlight up the driveway. “Listen!” she exclaimed. “I think I can hear Watch barking!”

Grandfather and the children hurried toward the patch of woods where the sound had come from. “Careful,” Grandfather said. They stepped over fallen branches and past prickly bushes. An owl hooted in the trees above them.

Suddenly Watch burst from the bushes, panting. “Watch!” Jessie called. “Where is Benny?”

“I’m over here!” Benny shouted. “I’m stuck!”

Henry ran. He found Benny by a wire fence next to the road. Some of the wire had come loose and was on the ground. Benny’s foot was tangled in it!

“I didn’t see the wire,” Benny explained. “It was dark. And then I stepped into it. But look what I found!” He pointed to a pile of straw on the ground.

A round circle of blood stained Benny’s sock. Grandfather worked Benny free from the wire and carried him home.

Mrs. McGregor stood nervously on the porch. “Thank goodness he’s safe!” she exclaimed. When she saw the blood on Benny’s leg, she hurried to get the first aid kit.

Inside, Jessie washed Benny’s cut and put a bandage over it. “You should never go that close to the road, Benny,” she said. “It’s too dangerous. We were so worried.”

“I’m sorry,” Benny said. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I wanted to find Sam. I thought maybe Watch knew where he was.”

“Sam?” Grandfather asked, as they all sat down to dinner. “Do you mean your scarecrow?”

“Yes.” Benny explained how they had come home to find the scarecrow missing. “At first, we all thought Watch did it. But he didn’t! Watch is innocent!”

“How can he be innocent?” asked Violet. “Watch had a piece of Sam’s pants in his mouth.”

“I know.” Benny scooped a mountain of mashed potatoes onto his plate. “But remember all the broken pumpkins at the Beckett farm today?”