The Mystery at the Dog Show

  “I can’t believe Mrs. DeCicco would do something like that!” exclaimed Violet.

  “Time to go,” said Grandfather Alden. He turned to Mrs. Teague. “But we’ll be back tomorrow to see Sunny win again!”

  “Is the Best Dog in Show contest tomorrow, Grandfather?” asked Benny as they left the Greenfield Center.

  “No, that’s the night after tomorrow, Benny,” Grandfather explained. “Remember when Caryn said that all the breeds of dogs are divided into seven different groups?”

  Benny looked puzzled.

  “Sunny is in the Sporting Dog group, remember?” Jessie said.

  “Y-yes.” Benny still looked as puzzled as he sounded.

  “Well, tomorrow Sunny will compete against the other sporting dogs to see who is the very best sporting dog.”

  “Oh,” said Benny. “I think I see … when Sunny wins tomorrow, will she be the best sporting dog at the dog show?”

  “Yes, Benny!” Henry said. “Then, the next night, the best dog in each group — Herding, Sporting, Working, Terrier, Hound, Non-sporting and Toy — will compete to see who is the best dog in the whole show.”

  “Okay,” said Benny. He gave a little skip. “Can we come see Sunny win tomorrow night and the next night, too?”

  Grandfather Alden laughed, but before he could answer, they saw Plum and his owner again.

  “Oh, look,” said Violet. “Plum won the blue ribbon!”

  Sure enough, Mr. Burger was holding a blue ribbon and looking very pleased.

  “Congratulations!” called Jessie.

  “Thank you!” said Mr. Burger. Then he saw who had said it, and his smile froze. He turned on his heel and marched Plum in the other direction.

  Watching them go, Violet shook her head. “I don’t like Mr. Burger very much. But Plum is a nice dog.”

  CHAPTER 7

  A Surprise for Sunny

  I want to make a surprise for Sunny,” announced Benny the next morning after the Aldens and the Teagues had finished breakfast and Grandfather had taken the Teagues on a tour of Greenfield. Benny and his brother and two sisters had gone to their boxcar. Violet and Henry were sweeping it out and dusting it while Jessie and Benny oiled a squeaky hinge on the boxcar door and fixed a rickety leg on the table.

  “A surprise, Benny? What kind of a surprise?” asked Violet.

  “Something special for when Sunny wins the whole show,” Benny told her. He frowned, thinking hard. “Maybe a chocolate cake.”

  Henry laughed and shook his head. “Sunny might like chocolate cake, Benny, but I don’t think it would be very good for her.”

  “Oh, yes,” said Benny. “I remember Mrs. Teague telling us that chocolate could make dogs very, very sick.” His eyes widened at the awful thought of not being able to eat chocolate.

  Violet had been thinking hard, too. Suddenly she clapped her hands together. “I know! We could make a flag for Sunny, or a banner, to wave at the show for her when she wins!”

  Benny clapped his hands together, too. “Yes! A beautiful, big banner!”

  Violet reached up and pulled a shoebox off one of the shelves in the boxcar. “We still have paints in here from the time we made signs for our helper service,” she said. She studied the contents of the box thoughtfully and said, “But not enough to make a really great banner.”

  “Well, we’re almost finished here,” said Henry. “As soon as we do, let’s ride our bicycles into town and get some more art supplies.”

  “Good idea,” said Jessie. She checked the leg on the table one last time to make sure that it wasn’t loose anymore and then stood up. “We can get a long roll of paper for the banner.”

  “We need some way to hold it up, too,” said Violet. “Maybe a stick or pole — sort of like a short flagpole — at each end, so we can raise it up high.”

  Henry added, “Yes, and we could roll the banner up from each end, then. That would make it easy to carry without tearing it.”

  “I get to hold one end of the banner, don’t I?” demanded Benny.

  “You and I will hold one end, Benny, and Violet and Jessie can hold the other,” answered Henry.

  “Okay,” Benny agreed.

  As quickly as they could, the Aldens finished their work in the boxcar. Soon they were on their bicycles riding into town to get supplies to make a banner for Sunny.

  In the art supply store, they found just the right roll of paper for making a long banner. Benny picked out some gold paint for writing Sunny’s name on the banner. “It sort of matches her coat,” he explained.

  But they couldn’t find poles to attach to the ends of the banner.

  “Why don’t you try the hardware store,” suggested the owner of the art supply store. “Maybe a yardstick would be just the thing.”

  “A yardstick! That might work. Thank you,” said Henry.

  Carrying their supplies, the Aldens went into the hardware store. Inside, they found all kinds of sticks and poles, flat and round, used for building things. “This is great,” said Jessie holding up a thin, smooth, round wooden pole that was almost as long as she was tall. “It’s called a dowel. I wonder what it is used for?”

  “I don’t know, but look at this green pole. It’s used for staking up tomatoes and peas and beans in gardens,” said Henry.

  “Both of those would work,” said Violet.

  “Here are the yardsticks!” cried Benny. He held up two yardsticks, with the flat sides marked out into feet and inches. “Why are they called yardsticks?”

  “Because they are three feet long. That’s a yard,” explained Violet.

  “Oh,” said Benny. He waved the sticks. “I like these. Let’s use the yardsticks.”

  “It would probably be easier to attach the banners to the flat sides of the yardstick,” said Jessie, putting the dowels down reluctantly.

  “True,” said Henry. “Yardsticks it is, Benny.”

  “Good.” Still holding the yardsticks up high, Benny led the way down the aisle to the cash register. But at the end of the aisle he stopped and pointed one of the yardsticks in front of him. “Look,” he whispered loudly. “There’s the polka-dot woman! The one with the dog named Zonker!”

  Sure enough, ahead of them at the counter was the woman who owned Zonker. Today she was wearing a black-and-white spotted jumpsuit. But Zonker wasn’t with her. Instead, she was lifting a small black-and-white spotted cat out of a battered cat carrier held together with tape and wire, and into a new heavy-duty plastic carrier. “Thank goodness you had one of these,” she said. “Spike was about to tear up his old one! We always travel with him, you know. He and our dog, Zonker, are best friends.”

  The hardware store owner smiled. “You got the last one. Looks like it’s time to order some new ones.”

  “Thank you again,” said the woman, picking up the cat carrier and carrying it out of the store. The cat inside poked his paw out and began batting at the latch. “Oh, no you don’t Spike,” they heard her say as she pushed the hardware store door open. “That’s a special latch. It’s catproof!”

  “Wow,” said Benny. “A cat and a dog are best friends. Did you hear that?”

  “It is funny, isn’t it,” said Jessie as they made their way to the counter and paid for the two yardsticks. “Most dogs don’t like cats, and most cats don’t like dogs.”

  “I guess some cats — and some dogs — are different,” said Henry, laughing.

  They went back to the boxcar and unrolled the paper carefully.

  “Let’s draw a picture of Sunny,” said Benny. “And Watch.”

  Watch stood with his paws on the edge of the boxcar door, watching them.

  “We can do Sunny at one end and Watch at the other,” agreed Violet.

  “What do we write on the banner, Benny?” asked Jessie.

  “Hooray for Sunny!” answered Benny promptly.

  “Good,” said Henry. “It will look great!”

  Working together, they carefully drew pictures of Sunny and Watch. The
n, as Violet and Benny painted the pictures, Henry and Jessie wrote in big, bright letters, Hooray for Sunny! At last they were finished. They all stepped back to admire their work.

  “It looks just like Sunny. And Watch, too,” said Henry.

  “I know,” said Benny proudly.

  They all laughed. Just then, they heard Mrs. McGregor’s voice. “Lunchtime!” she called.

  “We’ll put the yardsticks on when it’s dry, after lunch,” said Jessie.

  “It’s a beautiful poster,” said Benny. “See? I even put gold stars around Sunny and Watch,”

  “It is a beautiful poster, Benny,” said Violet.

  Pleased with their morning’s work, the Aldens hurried back to the house to wash their hands and have their lunch.

  CHAPTER 8

  An Unexpected Visitor

  At last it was evening, time to go to the dog show. The Aldens had finished the banner and put it carefully away, until the next night when they felt sure Sunny would compete for Best in Show. Then they’d gotten dressed up and gone to the Center. They saw that everyone else was dressed up for the evening’s judging, too. Some of the handlers were wearing long dresses or dark suits. One man even had on a tuxedo. Excitement was in the air.

  Mrs. DeCicco was dressed up, too. She was wearing a short, glittery dress with silvery high-heeled shoes.

  “You look great, Mrs. DeCicco,” Benny told her.

  Mrs. DeCicco seemed startled for a moment as if she were surprised to see them. Then she smiled. “Thank you, Benny,” she said. “I think this dress will stand out in the show ring, don’t you? It doesn’t hurt to catch the judge’s attention, you know.”

  “Why are you carrying scissors?” asked Benny.

  “Scissors?” Mrs. DeCicco looked down at the small scissorlike instrument in her hand.

  “Oh!” exclaimed Violet. “Those aren’t scissors, are they? They’re grooming clippers. Remember, the groomer who was working on Curly had grooming clippers just like that.”

  “Do you trim the beagles?” asked Jessie. “They don’t seem to have much hair to trim.”

  Mrs. DeCicco looked startled again, and then a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. “Well,” she said, “Er, actually, don’t tell anyone, but I was just on my way to do a little trimming on my own hair. My bangs are a little too long, and these are much sharper than ordinary scissors, you know! I keep them just for me.” With an embarrassed little laugh, she waved and left.

  “Euuw,” said Jessie. “Dog scissors!”

  “She just uses them for her own hair, Jessie. You heard her,” Violet said. “She doesn’t need them for the beagles.”

  “I think it’s sort of suspicious, anyway,” said Henry. “Maybe that’s not why she has them at all.”

  “Do you thinks was the one who clipped Curly?” asked Violet.

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “Maybe… .”

  Just then, Grandfather said, “There’s Mrs. Teague. Come on, everybody.” The Alden children followed their grandfather into the stands to join their friend.

  “Oh, look! We have ringside seats,” said Jessie as the Aldens sat down. “This is great!”

  Mrs. Teague nodded, looking pleased by Jessie’s excitement. “They always give the winners the best seats for the final judgings.”

  “Thank you for inviting us,” said Violet, and the others joined in with their appreciation.

  “I’m glad you could be here,” Mrs. Teague added. “It is wonderful for Sunny to have her own cheering section.”

  “Hooray for Sunny!” cried Benny.

  Everyone laughed. “Not yet, Benny,” said Jessie. “But soon.”

  “Look!” said Henry. “Here comes the first group of dogs.”

  “The terriers,” said Mrs. Teague. She pointed to a small dog with a short tail and pointed face. “That’s the fox terrier champion, called Chaser. He’s favored to win the best of the terrier group.”

  “If he wins, that means he’ll compete for best dog in the whole show, Benny,” Violet explained.

  Benny nodded seriously.

  Even the judges were more dressed up that night. The judge of the terrier group had on a tuxedo with a red cummerbund and a red bow tie. He had rosy cheeks and little round glasses that he kept pushing up on his short, turned-up nose.

  The dogs walked into the ring. An expectant hush fell over the audience.

  Suddenly Chaser lunged to the end of his leash and began barking hysterically!

  The square black Scottish terrier next to him did the same thing!

  Then all the dogs began to jump and bark. One dog pulled loose from her handler and ran across the ring, knocking over a small table before anyone could catch her. Two other dogs got their leashes tangled as they leaped and struggled to get free. Shouts of surprise filled the Greenfield Center.

  “Oh no!” cried Violet. “Look!”

  A very frightened black-and-white spotted cat was dodging across the arena, skittering away from each dog, and from the people who were now trying to catch him.

  “Look over there! By the entrance! Isn’t that the same man we saw yesterday? At the basset hound cage?” said Henry.

  “Where? I don’t see anyone,” said Jessie.

  “Come on!” said Henry as the cat darted between the legs of the officials. “That cat needs help!”

  The Alden children jumped out of their seats and hurried to the stairs leading to the arena floor.

  The small black-and-white form streaked by.

  “He’s heading for the benching area!” gasped Henry. “We’d better catch him before he gets back there.”

  The children raced down the corridor just in time to see the cat dodge through an open door that said FIRST AID. A young man in a white coat who had been sitting by the door jumped up in surprise.

  “Was that a cat?” he asked in amazement.

  “Yes,” panted Violet. “We have to catch him.”

  “Quick, go inside!” said the young man. “I’ll close the door!”

  “Thanks,” said Henry as the children hurried by the young man and into the small first aid room.

  Benny bent down and looked under the narrow bed on one side of the room. “There he is. He’s hiding under the bed.”

  “Oh, poor kitty,” said Violet. “He must be so scared. We should be very quiet and let him calm down.”

  The Aldens sat down on the floor, and Violet began to talk softly to the frightened cat. At last the cat let her reach under the bed and pick him up.

  Violet looked puzzled. “You know, this cat looks like Spike — the cat we saw in the hardware store with the polka-dot woman.”

  “You’re right!” exclaimed Henry.

  Violet looked even more puzzled. “But how did he get loose at the dog show?”

  “I don’t know,” said Henry, “but we’d better get him out of here now!”

  Benny patted the cat’s head.

  “Oh, good, you caught him,” said the young man. “I’ve been a nurse for a while now. But it’s the first time I’ve ever had a cat in the first aid room!”

  “What do we do now?” asked Benny.

  “Maybe we should find the polka-dot woman, and ask her if this is her cat,” said Jessie.

  “Or we could take him to the Greenfield Animal Shelter,” Violet suggested. “They’ll know how to find his owner. He has a collar.”

  “But we can’t go now,” said Henry. “We have to see Sunny compete.”

  “I have an idea,” Jessie said. “Wait here.” She ran down the corridor toward the benching area. A few minutes later she hurried back, holding a small animal carrier. It had air holes in the side and a screen door that latched shut in the front.

  “That’s perfect,” said Violet. “We can put the cat in here until after the show, then take it to the shelter.”

  “Where did you get the carrier?” asked Henry.

  “Mrs. DeCicco,” said Jessie, trying to catch her breath. “She said she just happened to have an extra one
. I ran into her right outside. She said she always brings extra travel kennels for her beagles. She said we could bring it back tomorrow.”

  Carefully, Violet slipped the black-and-white cat into the carrier. Then they took the cat back with them and put the carrier on the floor at their feet.

  “You did a good job,” said Grandfather.

  “Yes. “Mrs. Teague smiled. “And you still have time to watch the judge finish the terrier group. It took a little while to get everyone settled down.”

  As the children watched, it became clear that some of the terriers were still upset by all the commotion caused by the cat. One small, bouncy terrier kept turning its head all around instead of looking straight ahead as it was led in a circle around the ring. Other terriers kept barking as they stood waiting their turn. The owners looked even more upset than the dogs. And Chaser kept pulling on his leash.

  Mrs. Teague shook her head as she watched Chaser. “That’s not good,” she commented.

  At last the judge chose the best of the terriers. But it wasn’t Chaser. It was the white bull terrier who won.

  There were gasps from the audience when the judge announced her choice. “It’s an upset victory for the bull terrier,” said Mrs. Teague.

  “That’s Shug!” said Violet. “Remember that bull terrier we met when we were walking Mrs. DeCicco’s beagles?”

  “Yes!” the other children said. They applauded as the terriers were led out of the ring.

  When Sunny’s turn came, they applauded even louder.

  “How can the judge not see she’s the very best!” whispered Violet.

  “The other dogs are good, too,” said Henry, trying to be fair.

  It was true. The black labrador retriever was obviously a champion. He walked confidently around the ring, his head held high, causing the judge to nod approvingly. And a beautiful Irish setter with a gleaming red coat won a loud round of applause from the spectators.

  “Oh, dear,” said Violet. They all cheered extra loud when Sunny’s turn came.

  The judge motioned for the Sporting Group to circle once more. Then she had all the dogs line up again. Slowly, she walked up and down the line.