The Boxcar Children Mysteries: Books One through Twelve (102 page)

“No,” said Benny. He kept wondering why Freddy had invited him and Mr. Wilder-Smith to watch while he cheated the people. Benny took his box of stuffing and the two walked over to the house where the Eastons lived.

Mrs. Easton was waiting at the door with a smile. At that moment Mr. Wilder-Smith came along.

“Well, here we all are,” said Freddy. “Now you can watch me work. Mrs. Easton, we are all happy to be here. Let’s get started.”

Benny could hardly believe his eyes when Mrs. Easton put an old stocking on the table and poured out a pile of money. Some of the coins were very old, and a few had hardly been used at all.

Mrs. Easton said, “Some of that money was saved by my grandfather.”

They sat down at the table. Mr. Willet moved like lightning. He picked out one coin after another and dropped each in an empty box. He checked some coins by using a magnifying glass. Mr. Wilder-Smith just looked on. He did not seem to know a thing about coins.

“Is this an old penny?” asked Benny. It was almost as big as a half dollar, but it was made of copper.

“Yes, that’s an old penny. Let’s see. The date is 1864. I can pay Mrs. Easton ten dollars for it.” He put a ten-dollar bill on the table and the penny in the box.

Mrs. Easton smiled and said, “Mr. Willet works fast. He knows his business.”

“You can say that again!” said Freddy. He showed his teeth in a wide smile. He went on, “This is a nice job, Mr. Wilder-Smith. I have already bought five-hundred dollars worth of coins and things from these fishermen. They are very grateful to me.”

“No wonder, old boy,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith. “What in the world do you want them for?”

“Oh, I’m crazy about old things,” said Freddy. “I like ’em all. But I like coins best.”

Benny said, “I don’t see how you remember the prices without a book.”

“Easy!” said Freddy. “I’ve been at this business for many years. I know a coin the minute I see it.”

“I say,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith, “you might make a mistake.”

“Not me,” said Freddy. “I know these coins like old friends. I never make a mistake. There! This is the best one I’ve found.”

He pushed a dime over to the two visitors. “Here is a new coin in perfect condition. But look at the date. 1901S. I’ll pay Mrs. Easton plenty for that. She’ll never forget Freddy Willet, you bet.”

“I certainly won’t,” said Mrs. Easton.

“I’m sure of that,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith. “That dime looks as if it had never been used.”

“That’s right. It never has been used. That dime has sat here for more than sixty years.”

“By Jove, I thought a worn-out coin was worth more,” said the Englishman.

“No, not if it’s worn smooth. Then it’s worth nothing. See this big copper penny? Smooth as silk. I can’t read the date. That penny is old enough, but it’s not worth a cent!” He laughed loudly at his own joke.

“That’s all,” said Freddy. “The rest are no good. I’ll just settle up with Mrs. Easton.”

“Thanks very much,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith. “It was a jolly good show. I learned a lot from you.”

“I guess you learned something today, too, young man,” said Freddy.

“Yes, I did,” said Benny. He said goodbye to Mrs. Easton, and he and Mr. Wilder-Smith went out together.

Benny whispered quickly, “Hole in the log.” And Mr. Wilder-Smith whispered, “Look three times a day.”

Then Benny went one way and Mr. Wilder-Smith another. They did not seem to know each other, for the Englishman took off his hat to the boy.

Benny had a great deal to tell his family. He told it in a whisper.

Jessie said, “It’s funny how we all whisper. It seems as if somebody is listening all the time.”

“Maybe someone is,” said Violet.

They were noisy enough when Jessie put the baked stuffed fish on the table. They had baked potatoes, too, and onions, and apple pie and cheese.

“A big dinner at last,” said Benny. “I’m hungry.”

When it grew dark, the Aldens sat out in the yard in front of the hotel. Henry was on one end. He turned suddenly as he heard a noise coming from the bushes behind the house. It was a whisper.

“Benny! Come with me to the schoolhouse. Bring the back door key. Follow me through the bushes.” It was John Carter’s voice.

They all heard it. Henry gave the key to his brother. Benny went without a sound.

“Why did he want Benny?” Jessie wondered.

“Maybe his small size is better than my big size,” guessed Henry, speaking low. Then he began to talk about other things in his own tone of voice.

At ten o’clock Benny came back. He was very much excited.

“Whisper, Ben,” said Henry. “Who knows who is listening?”

So Benny said in a whisper, “We tried the room in the chimney. We could both get in, and we could see right through the coat button into the schoolroom. Mr. Carter thinks Freddy is hiding things in the schoolroom. But we couldn’t find them. He is going to hunt again. He thinks Freddy will stay a while longer because he has a lot of families left to visit.”

“Well, well,” said Mr. Alden. “You will have something to tell Max. It won’t be dull, either.”

“It’s funny,” said Benny. “We didn’t do anything to make this happen.”

“No, Benny,” said his grandfather. “But you all kept your eyes open. You cared enough about your new friends to worry about them. And you listened when they told you about the man who paid so much for a quarter. You guessed that he was cheating in every trade.”

“But we can’t prove a thing,” said Henry.

“No,” said Grandfather. “That’s why I am so glad to see John Carter.”

T
he Aldens could hardly teach school on Monday with Mr. Willet making calls on every family in the village. All the children knew about it. They couldn’t help talking about it. At recess they did not want to play. They wanted to talk.

“Oh, my ma’s got an old gold pin with a lion’s head on it,” said one girl. “The Money Man’s going to pay her real money for it. And she’s got an old garnet ring, too.”

“And my grandma’s got a big box of old valentines,” said her brother. “The Money Man is going to buy those.”

“My pa has got an old tin dish they used to cut meat on,” said Tommy Spoon.

“Could that be pewter?” asked Violet.

“Pewter? No, I never heard of that.”

“And we’ve got an old hourglass they used in church over in Northport,” said Eddie.

“We’ve got a glass paperweight full of flowers. The Money Man is just crazy over it,” said another child.

Then suddenly Hal got up on a rock and began to talk. “You kids, listen here!” he began. “You got all the afternoon to talk about the Money Man. And this morning you got a good chance to learn something. We don’t ever get any teachers like these Aldens, teaching us interesting things. And they won’t be here much longer. Let’s stop talking and learn. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Some of the children clapped for Hal’s speech, and soon everyone was busy. The morning flew by. Then Violet said, “Now let’s paint. We can go down to the beach.”

Marie and Hal were more excited than the other children. Marie begged, “Please teach me to paint the harbor the way the artist did.”

“I’ll help you as much as I can,” Violet promised.

The girls and boys took their painting things down to the water. The Aldens helped them get started. Violet had Marie and Hal draw the harbor first with pencil. She showed them only one thing. She said, “Notice that the lines of the wharf look as if they get closer together as they stretch into the water.”

As soon as Violet had shown the children how to hold their brushes she said, “Now paint away, just as you feel.”

Soon Jessie and Henry came over by Violet to watch the Moss twins.

Both Hal and Marie dashed on blue and green paint that was just the right color for the sea. The boats that they made looked like real boats, but they were drawn with only a few lines. It was hard to believe that this was the first time the twins had had watercolors.

All at once Violet knew the truth. Here were two natural artists, much better than she would ever be. There was something different about their painting—something all their own.

Marie cried, “Oh, here’s that purple place,” and she splashed purple and black under the wharf. She was not careful at all. Her picture made Jessie exclaim, “Beautiful!”

Hal’s picture was just as good, but it was different.

“May I take your paintings to show our grandfather?” Violet asked the twins.

“I could paint another!” cried Hal. “I know a different way to paint the ocean, the way it looks in a storm.”

Just then Mr. Alden came walking along the beach to see what was going on. Violet ran to show Mr. Alden the two paintings.

“Well, well!” he said. “What have we here? Watercolors? These are really good! These artists ought to go to art school. Not now, but later.”

School was over for the morning. The bell was ringing. Henry knew that Benny would soon lock the schoolroom door and come back to the beach.

“Old Ben wants his lunch,” he said, laughing.

“So do I,” said Mr. Alden. “I wish Benny would come.”

As they were eating, Violet said slowly, “I think Miss Gray ought to see these paintings.”

“Oh, so do I,” said Benny. “I’m sure she’d like them.”

After lunch the whole family set out with the two pictures. They climbed the cliff walk and rang Miss Gray’s bell.

Eva opened the door. She laughed. “I don’t have to ask any more when it’s you,” she said. “Come right in.”

When Miss Gray saw the Aldens she really smiled. It was the first time the Aldens had seen her smile like this.

“How is Freddy?” she asked.

“Well, Freddy is getting into trouble,” said Grandfather. “He is too brave. He is going a little too far.”

“How about the books?”

Mr. Alden had to say, “We don’t know yet about the books.”

“I’m sure you will get them back,” said Benny. “You see—”

Henry looked at his brother. Benny stopped.

Miss Gray said, “Yes? What were you going to say?”

“Well, I guess it wasn’t important,” said Benny. “We’re watching Freddy most of the time.” Benny was not sure what Miss Gray knew about her English guest.

Mr. Alden said, “We really came to show you two watercolors. We’d like to know what you think of them.” He passed them to Miss Gray.

“The harbor,” said Miss Gray. “Very good. Were they done by one artist or two?”

“Two,” said Violet with bright eyes. “The twins, Hal and Marie Moss.”

“Hal and Marie!” said Miss Gray. “They never had a lesson!”

“No,” said Grandfather, “they were born that way.”

Jessie said, “They have seen only three paintings in their lives. An artist came here long ago and painted their house and the harbor. And there’s George Washington in the schoolroom.”

“That’s why they have a style of their own,” said Miss Gray with a nod.

Violet said, “We have to go home the first of August. Somebody ought to look after those twins.”

Miss Gray looked straight at Violet. “I will,” she said. Then she seemed to be having a hard time with her words. At last she said, “When you go home, I’m going to teach your school myself.”

“You?” cried Jessie. “Are you strong enough?”

“I’m strong enough,” said Miss Gray. “Those twins live in my own town, and here I sit writing books. Nobody ever knew those children could paint. If you hadn’t come along, I don’t believe anyone would ever have found them.”

The Aldens started to go. Miss Gray went to the door with them. As Grandfather bowed to her, she said, “Mr. Alden, Violet found the two artists, and your Benny found
me.”

T
he next day everyone saw Freddy Willet coming and going about the island in his red sports car. But no one ever saw him open the trunk, and there were no boxes in the front of the car.

“He must be hiding the library books in the schoolhouse,” said Benny. “There’s no other place here where he could hide the bigger things he has traded. But Mr. Carter can’t find a thing.”

Henry looked serious. “Time is getting short,” he said. “In another day or two Freddy will have everything of value that can be found on this island.”

After supper the Aldens found a long note hidden in the hollow log on the beach. In it John Carter said, “Fred Willet is Harold K. Frederic. He has two other names he also uses. Canadian police want him for smuggling. All we have to do is get him to the border.”

That evening the Aldens sat outside their hotel as they always did. When it was quite dark, they grew more and more excited. They were sure something was going to happen. They were not at all surprised to hear a whisper: “Benny, follow me.”

While the others talked about the weather, Benny slipped after John Carter.

At first Benny thought that the schoolhouse was dark. Then he saw that something had been hung over a window. It was a car blanket. A dim light showed through another window.

Without a word, John Carter and Benny crept in at the back door. They went into the tiny chimney room. Mr. Carter looked through the hole in Washington’s coat button. He let Benny look.