Snowbound Mystery

  “It’s that old weather breeder,” said Benny. “Hurry up, Henry, and unlock the door. My hair is all wet.”

  When the Aldens were safely in the cabin, Henry put more wood on the fire. Soon the place was warm and cozy. They sat around the fire, cooking hot dogs on sticks.

  “Hold my stick,” Benny said to Violet. “I’ll get my radio. Maybe we can hear a weather report.”

  The hot dogs were roasted when Benny said, “Listen, here’s the report.”

  “Rain tonight and clearing tomorrow,” a voice on the radio said. “Mild weather will continue.”

  “We aren’t going to be like Noah in the ark with forty days and forty nights of rain,” said Benny. “One afternoon and night are enough for me.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Benny’s Puzzle

  The next morning the sun came out.

  “What a beautiful day,” said Violet. “It’s perfect after that rain.”

  “This is our day to go nutting,” Benny said.

  If he had known it, it was their day for something else, too.

  “Now what shall we put the nuts in?” Jessie asked, bustling around. “I guess the grocery bags are strong enough.”

  “Let’s go right after breakfast,” said Benny. “We haven’t any beds to make. Nobody can make a sleeping bag.”

  “I think the nut trees are about halfway to the store,” said Henry.

  “Nothing to it,” said Benny. “A short walk.” He took an empty bag and started ahead with Watch.

  Nobody knew how many nuts were left under the leaves. The woods seemed to be full of fat gray squirrels. They chased each other in the trees along the way and scolded the Aldens for walking in their woods.

  After a while the Aldens found the nut trees. There were a great many of them, close together.

  “Here we are,” said Jessie. “Let’s go to work.”

  Benny found a long stick and began to turn over the dry leaves. Everyone else got a long stick, too. And there were the hickory nuts! Some had fallen down in their green shells. Some hickory nuts were just lying among the dry leaves, all husked.

  “Leave the outside shells on,” said Henry. “We have all day to get them off.”

  The bags began to fill. Nobody had been there to hunt nuts except the squirrels.

  “How many do we want anyway?” asked Benny. “I have fifty-one.”

  “Why do you ask, Ben? Don’t you like to pick them up?” asked Jessie.

  “Oh, it’s all right,” said Benny. “But I am thinking we ought to go on to the store.”

  “Yes,” said Henry. “Let’s leave the bags of nuts here.”

  “No, sir!” said Benny. “I don’t trust those squirrels. They would find them just as soon as we went away, and they could open the bags, too. They might eat the bags and all!”

  Benny stood still looking at a tree stump. He said, “Henry, we don’t want to carry four big bags of nuts a mile and a quarter and then back again. Why couldn’t we put the bags in that hollow stump and cover it with heavy branches?”

  “We could,” said Henry. “Let’s try it.”

  The Aldens put the four bags into the stump and dragged up old branches of evergreen to cover it.

  Jessie said, “There! No squirrels can get in now, Henry.”

  Henry said, “No, I don’t think they can. We’ll soon be back anyway. Let’s go.”

  “Well, hello, Aldens!” said Tom Nelson when they pushed the door of the store open.

  “Hello,” said Jessie, smiling. “It is such a beautiful day after the rain that we went nutting. We picked up four bags of hickory nuts.”

  “Good,” said Tom Nelson. “I know what you can do. Chop up the nutmeats and mix them with chopped apples to make a salad. It’s delicious.”

  Just then Mrs. Nelson and Puggsy came down the stairs. “I heard what you said about the weather,” said Barbara, “but I don’t think it’s going to last. I feel a real storm coming.”

  “Well,” said Benny, “we’ve seen storms before. Once we were on a trip, and we had a rainstorm and we had to live on potatoes. Nothing but potatoes.”

  “That makes me think,” said Jessie. “We could buy some baking potatoes and roast them in the fireplace.”

  She picked out a dozen potatoes. She bought more buns, currant jelly, sugar, and some eggs. Then they started for home.

  Henry looked at his watch and said, “It’s almost noon.”

  “It took a long time to pick up all those nuts,” said Benny. “I hope they are still in the stump.”

  The nuts were there, but two squirrels ran away from the pile of branches as the four Aldens came in sight.

  When the family reached the cabin, Jessie said, “Now everyone find a flat stone to pound on and another stone to pound with.”

  “Just like Indians,” said Violet. “Nut cracking stones.”

  They found stones and brushed off the dirt and leaves from them.

  Jessie said, “Let’s crack the shells now, and later we can pick out the nutmeats.”

  “No,” said Benny. “Let’s have lunch first. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk won’t take long.”

  After lunch they all sat down on the floor, each one before a flat stone. As soon as the nuts were cracked they threw them, shells and all, into the saucepan.

  They worked for about an hour, and then Jessie said, “Now let’s sweep up this floor. It’s just covered with nutshells.” She got to her feet and looked around for a broom.

  “I looked yesterday for a broom,” said Violet. “We haven’t got one.”

  Jessie said, “It seems as if there must be a broom here someplace. But there’s not one in sight.”

  “It seems odd,” said Benny. “There ought to be a broom closet right at the end of the fireplace. I remember seeing a cabin built that way.”

  “Well, there isn’t, Benny,” said his older sister. “So just let it go.”

  But Benny began to look for a broom closet. He put the two shovels and the ax in another corner. The fireplace stood out into the room about a foot. Benny looked at this wall. It was made of narrow boards with a line like a crack between each board.

  “Here’s where the doorknob ought to be,” said Benny. “But there’s only a little hole.” Then he thought what he had said. “A hole! A hole!”

  He pulled his knife out of his pocket and opened the biggest blade.

  The others came over to watch Benny. In great excitement Benny began to pry at the boards to see if he could find one that would open. And he did! First the top opened, and then he could pull the rest of the door with his fingers.

  “Well!” said Henry. “Good for you, Ben! That’s a real broom closet!”

  Jessie exclaimed, “It goes way down to the floor!”

  “And there’s a broom in it,” said Violet.

  There was a broom, a brush, a dustpan, and a shelf with cleaning cloths and two bars of soap. Also on the shelf was a little white doorknob with the point broken off.

  Henry looked at the closet and the shelf. “This wood is old,” he said. “Tom Nelson’s grandfather must have built it a long time ago.”

  “How can you tell it’s so old, Henry?”

  “Well, put your hand under that shelf,” said Henry. “You can feel the marks of the hatchet used to cut the wood. It would be smooth if it were modern.”

  Benny felt under the shelf. He could feel the chip marks of the hatchet. “That’s a neat way to tell,” he said. Then Benny ran his hand over the door.

  “That’s different,” said Henry. “The door is planed on both sides, so it is smoother. But it is old, too.”

  “It’s marked, too!” shouted Benny. “Look, Henry! It’s not very plain, but I can read it!”

  This is what he read:

  They all looked at each other. “And what in the world does that mean?” said Jessie. “Copy it, Henry, on a paper, and we can study it.”

  Henry began to copy the letters, but he said, “It doesn’t mean a thing
to me. It won’t do me any good to study it.”

  “Me, either,” said Benny. “What do you suppose that code means?”

  Jessie sat down at the table. “Let’s think about it,” she said. “We know one thing. And that is that the Nelsons are hunting for something in this cabin.”

  Benny said quickly, “And it’s something they don’t want us to know.”

  Henry looked at his brother. “Right, Ben. They turn red when Puggsy tells us anything. They seem to be ashamed of something.”

  Violet added, “And they are so nice!”

  Jessie nodded. “That’s the trouble. But I suppose Tom could have done something wrong a long time ago.”

  “But what is he looking for?” asked Benny. “Maybe he has been looking for those funny letters. Maybe they tell him how to find some money or something important.”

  Violet said, “Well, it’s strange the Nelsons didn’t find them. They must know there should be a broom closet there to keep a broom in.”

  Henry nodded. “I know what Benny means. I’m sure Tom’s father or grandfather cut those letters. They weren’t cut for nothing. But the Nelsons don’t want to tell us. So let’s not say anything about the letters until they do.”

  “Right,” said Benny. “The next time we go down to the store we’ll see what they say.”

  “The afternoons are short in the fall,” Henry said. “It’s too late to go up on the roof. Put on your radio, Ben, and let’s hear what the weather will be.”

  They waited until the half hour for the weather report.

  The announcer said, “A storm is coming from the south and west, but it is not supposed to hit this area. It will go further north and miss us entirely. The northern New England states should prepare for a storm.”

  “No need to worry then,” said Benny. He turned off the radio.

  At suppertime it was almost too dark to see.

  “What are we going to do tomorrow?” asked Benny as he finished his hamburger.

  “Fix the roof,” said Henry. “You can help me, Ben. We’ll find the hole the squirrels use for a door and nail a board over it.”

  But Henry didn’t know that his plans would be changed for him.

  As Benny went to bed, he said, “Maybe that code we found is a secret way to get rid of squirrels.” And he laughed.

  CHAPTER 6

  Snow!

  The next day the weather had changed. The sky was very gray. There was no sun. But the Aldens started out for the store.

  “It’s much colder today,” Violet said. She put up her hood and tied it under her chin.

  Jessie said, “No blue sky today. Maybe yesterday was a weather breeder, after all. You remember Barbara said she thought a storm was coming.”

  “Well, never mind,” said Benny. “After all, it’s too early for snow. And the radio report said the storm would not hit us.”

  Benny trotted along with Watch. They walked faster this time. They did not stop to look at anything on the path.

  “Two and a half miles is a long way on a chilly day,” said Jessie, “but it’s just a nice walk in good weather. We’d better not stay very long at the store, Henry.”

  “Right,” agreed Henry. He looked up at the sky again. “The clouds seem to be getting heavier,” he said. “I hope we can fix that roof before it rains again.”

  At last the four Aldens reached the Nelsons’ store. This time there were a few other customers in the store. They were getting big bags of groceries.

  A woman smiled at Jessie. She said, “We think we’ll have rain soon, so I’m buying a lot of things. Maybe you folks ought to do the same. Sometimes it rains here for days.”

  “Thank you,” said Jessie gratefully. “We’re getting supplies, too. We have to walk over two miles to get here. Henry, pick up some canned meat and bacon while you are on that side, and some spaghetti and tomato sauce. I’ll get more chocolate and hot dogs and hamburgers and dry milk.”

  “I’ve got more dog food,” called Benny.

  The other people went out with their bags. Tom said to Henry, “You see we don’t get many customers now. The summer people have gone, and many people have moved away for good. I think I’ll have to move if I want to make a living.”

  “Don’t move before we do!” Benny said.

  As he spoke, Mrs. Nelson came downstairs. She said, “I think it is going to snow. It feels just like it to me.” She frowned. She looked worried.

  “Snow!” Benny said. “It’s too early for snow.”

  “Yes, it’s too early, but just the same you had better go right back. You don’t want to get caught on the trail if snow comes. If you wait here you may.”

  “That’s right, Mrs. Nelson,” said Henry. “Put up your hoods, everybody, and tie your scarves on tight.”

  Mrs. Nelson took a quick step toward the girls. She said, “Oh, Jessie, you know I want you to stay, don’t you? I don’t want you to hurry away!”

  “Oh, Barbara, we do,” answered Jessie. “Of course we know it. But we mustn’t get caught in the storm. Now here we go. Got everything?”

  Watch was on his way as soon as the door was opened. The Aldens wasted no time. They walked along the path as fast as they could. Soon they were out of sight of the store.

  “Not too fast, Ben,” called Henry. “Save your fast walking for the end, like a race.”

  Benny slowed down. He began to think of the secret code and of Tom Nelson moving away. “Is Tom Nelson running away?” he wondered. Then suddenly he turned around. “What do you know, Henry. It’s snowing!” he said.

  “It is!” Jessie said. “Maybe it will stop as suddenly as it began.”

  But it did not. It snowed harder. The snowflakes were small and fine. Even through the thick trees the snow fell faster and faster.

  “I wouldn’t like to be stuck in the snow!” exclaimed Benny. “Nobody would know where we are!”

  “We won’t get stuck, Ben,” Henry told him. “Don’t worry about that. You couldn’t really get stuck in the deep snow because we can walk two miles before the snow can get that deep. Just keep going.”

  Watch was the one who trotted along steadily, without hurrying. He never looked to the right or to the left, just straight ahead.

  “Good boy,” said Benny. Watch didn’t even turn his ears.

  “I’d never believe this,” said Henry, “if I didn’t see it. The snow is already an inch deep.”

  Jessie added, “Remember, Henry, this is in the woods, too. It must be deeper than this where there are no trees. Oh, I’m just about frozen. Isn’t it cold?”

  “Well, we have enough stuff to eat when we get to the cabin,” said Benny. “If we ever get there. We can make our food last a long time if we get snowed in.”

  Uphill and downhill they went, bowing their heads in the driving snow. The flakes were bigger and bigger. The children could hardly see the path. They slipped a few times, but nobody fell.

  Watch’s legs seemed to grow shorter and shorter. He could not trot now, he had to hop along over the deep snow.

  But they made it. When Henry unlocked the cabin door the snow was four inches deep on the step. They stamped their feet and went in and locked the door behind them.

  “Well!” said Jessie.

  Nobody else said a word. They all took off their jackets and hung them on nails to dry. Henry fixed the fire, saying nothing. It was already twelve o’clock. Jessie got a pan of water from the faucet and put it on the stove to heat. She thought her family needed some hot chocolate. They thought so, too, when they smelled it.

  Violet got out the frying pan and soon bacon was frying. When they sat down to eat, Henry said, “Now I have something to say. This is a very early snow. Nobody expected it. It can’t possibly last long and we are in no danger.”

  Jessie said, “Just one thing bothers me. Grandfather must be worrying about us, and the Nelsons probably are, too.”

  “But we can’t do a thing about it,” said Henry. “We can’t get down to the road a
nd we can’t send a message.”

  “So let’s enjoy it!” finished Benny.

  “That’s exactly what I mean,” said Henry, smiling at his brother. “I’m going out in the snow soon to shovel the steps and a narrow path around the house. Then I’m going to clear a small place in the back of the house under the window where the trees were cut down. Right under the bird feeder.”

  “I’ll help you,” said Benny. “There are two shovels.”

  “Thanks, Ben.”

  It was cold and still snowing hard. The two boys managed to shovel an open square under the window. They threw the snow to one side.

  Henry said, “This cleared place will fill up right away, but we can shovel it out again.”

  “It will be easier the second time,” Benny said. “Not so deep.”

  Henry looked up at the roof to see the squirrels’ hole, but he could hardly see the roof! It was deep with white snow. He said, “I guess the squirrels won’t have to worry for a while. I’m not going up on the roof today, hole or no hole.”

  “Another noisy night, then,” said Benny. “We could invite the squirrels down and play with them, if we didn’t have Watch.”

  “Now, Ben, don’t get any ideas,” said his big brother. “I’d just like to know how big that hole is.”

  The hole was simply enormous. But the Aldens did not know that yet.

  CHAPTER 7

  Making Do

  That night when the Aldens went to bed it was still snowing. And it was getting colder. More than that, the wind was beginning to blow.

  “I call this a blizzard,” said Henry. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  And indeed there had never been anything like it in this part of the country at this time of the year. The wind made so much noise that the children did not mind the squirrels at all. They somehow managed to sleep.

  But when the family woke in the morning they could hardly see outdoors! The snow was so deep that it covered the lower half of the one window.

  “Poor Grandfather,” said Violet as she tried to look out. “I’m sure he is worrying about us.” She climbed on the window seat and looked over the snow, then she called, “Henry, you won’t believe it! The snow is up to the bird feeder and the basket is buried in snow.”