“Benny!” she called. “Is that you?”
“Jessie! We’re over here!” Benny called.
Henry, Violet, and Benny ran toward Jessie. “What happened?” she asked them. “Is everyone okay?”
“We’re fine,” Henry said. “We’ll explain later. Let’s all go back and get warm first.”
The Aldens were glad to sit around the big bonfire. The customers had finally all gone home. Mrs. Beckett brought out blankets for everyone. Bessie carried a steaming pitcher of hot chocolate and a plate of marshmallows. Jason sat with his head in his hands.
“Don’t worry, Jason,” Sally said. “There wasn’t anything you could do about it.”
Jason shook his head. “Were the people on the hayride very frightened? Do you think they will stay away from the farm?”
“Some were frightened,” Jessie said. “But I think that most had a very nice time.”
“Yes,” Violet added. “I heard one couple say that they would come back next week. They said that they would love to live in such a beautiful place.”
“What?” Jason jumped up. “What a thing to say! They cannot live here. This is a farm. This will always be a farm!” He turned to Mr. Beckett. “We do not even need to have these hayrides.”
“But the hayrides bring in customers and money,” Mr. Beckett said.
Jason stood near the fire. Bright orange light lit up his face. “There are better ways to make money. This is a farm, not an amusement park!”
Suddenly, Benny fell off the bench onto the ground. He had fallen asleep next to Jessie.
“Oh, my!” Mrs. Beckett said. “Are you all right, Benny?”
Benny rubbed his eyes. “I guess so. What happened?”
“It is late,” Mrs. Beckett said. “We can talk tomorrow. These children need to go home to bed.”
“They cannot ride their bikes in the dark,” Sally said. “It is too dangerous on these roads. Jason, will you give them a ride home in the truck?”
Jason stopped his pacing. “Of course,” he said. He went to load the bikes into the back of the pickup truck. Henry carried the sleepy Benny. Jessie folded the blankets for Mrs. Beckett.
“I left my water bottle in the booth,” Violet said. “I will meet you in a minute.”
Violet ran to the booth. She could hear Bessie talking inside. “Yes, some people were frightened,” she said, “but not everyone. Something much worse will have to happen to scare everyone away.”
Violet did not want to interrupt. But she felt uncomfortable listening to Bessie’s private conversation. She knocked on the door of the booth.
The door flung open. “Violet!” Bessie quickly dropped her phone into her pocket. “Don’t you know that it is not nice to snoop on people?”
“I’m sorry,” Violet said. “But I am not snooping. I just stopped by to pick up my water bottle.” Violet pointed to the bottle sitting on the counter. “I am going home now.”
“Oh.” Bessie handed the bottle to Violet.
“Me, too. I was just calling my husband to tell him that I am on my way.”
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were very tired. It was hard to stay awake on the way home. Henry sat up front. He gave directions to Jason.
“Here?” Jason asked. “This is your driveway?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “Make a left. This is where we live.”
Jason seemed surprised. He parked the truck in front of the house. He helped Henry to take the bikes out of the back. When Jessie opened the front door of the house for Benny, Watch dashed outside. He began to growl and bark at Jason.
“Watch!” Jessie called. “Stop that! Come back!”
But Watch did not stop. He barked angrily at Jason.
“You have a mean dog,” Jason said. “You should keep it on a leash.”
“Watch is not mean!” Jessie knelt down beside her dog. “I am sorry that he is barking at you this way. I don’t know what has gotten into him.”
Jessie took Watch by the collar. She led him into the house. But Watch continued to growl until Jason had driven away.
Jessie held her dog in her arms. Watch was trembling. “What is it, boy?” she asked. “What has gotten you so upset?”
CHAPTER 8
The Secret Room
Benny woke to the smell of warm apple cinnamon waffles. He jumped out of bed. The first thing he did was look out the window. There was frost on the ground. Red leaves were falling from the old tree out front. But Sam was still missing.
When Benny came downstairs, Henry, Jessie, and Violet were already at the table. Mrs. McGregor set a full plate in front of Benny. “I hope you’re hungry,” she said.
“A little bit,” Benny answered.
“A little bit!” Mrs. McGregor put her hand on Benny’s forehead. “Are you feeling sick? Benny Alden has never been only a little bit hungry.”
Benny did not smile. He rested his chin in his hand. “I just keep thinking about Sam. I wonder if I will ever get him back.”
“What happened when you ran into the fields last night?” asked Jessie. “Did you find anything?”
“I wasn’t afraid,” Benny said. “I knew that the pumpkin head was Sam. I would recognize him anywhere. I ran after him. The head was floating around and screaming. But there was no body. Then all of a sudden it disappeared.”
“That’s very odd. How could that happen?” asked Jessie.
Benny shook his head. “I don’t know. One minute the pumpkin head was there and the next minute it was gone.” He took a small bite of his waffle. “Why would my scarecrow keep running away from me?”
“Scarecrows can’t really run, Benny,” Henry said. “Someone is playing tricks. I think your scarecrow is somewhere on the Beckett’s farm. If we can find Sam, maybe we can find out who is playing the tricks and why.”
Jessie opened up her notebook. “Do you have any idea who could be playing the tricks, Henry?”
“It could have been Jason,” Henry said. “He was not on the tractor when the pumpkin head was floating in the fields.”
“That’s true,” said Violet. “But maybe he just went back to get help.”
“Sally said that she saw the pumpkin head,” Jessie added. “And then after it disappeared, she showed up with a flashlight. So it could have been Sally, too.”
Violet poured syrup over her waffle. She remembered what she had overheard last night. “Don’t forget about Bessie. When I went to get my water bottle from the booth, I heard Bessie talking to someone on her cell phone. She was mentioning how the customers weren’t scared enough by the pumpkin head. She thought something worse needed to happen on the farm to scare people away.”
“But wasn’t Bessie in the booth all night?” Henry asked. “How could she have caused the trouble with the pumpkin head?”
“I don’t know,” said Violet. “I suppose you’re right.”
“No!” Jessie was writing quickly in the notebook. “Bessie was not in the booth all night. When Sally and I went looking for you in the fields, we saw Bessie in the cornstalks. She said she was there to help. But she was surprised to see Sally and me.”
Benny finished his waffle. He did not ask for seconds. He was thinking hard. “Maybe it was not Sally, or Jason, or Bessie,” he said. “Maybe Sam really is a haunted scarecrow!”
“But there’s no such thing,” said Violet.
Benny pushed his plate away. “Watch was afraid of Sam. Then Sam disappeared. Now he floats without his body. How can anyone make a pumpkin head float unless it is haunted?” Benny’s eyes were wide.
Henry, Jessie, and Violet did not know how to answer Benny’s question. The floating pumpkin head was a mystery.
When they arrived at the farm later in the morning, the four Aldens saw Mr. and Mrs. Beckett getting into their car.
“We’re off to the doctor!” Mrs. Beckett said. “It’s time to get a checkup on Mr. Beckett’s leg. We’ll be back soon.”
“Good luck!” Violet said. “I hope you get good ne
ws from the doctor.”
“Thank you.” Mrs. Beckett put her husband’s crutches in the back seat. She pulled a key from her pocket and handed it to Violet. “This is for the booth,” she said. “Would you children be able to open up the farm stand today? Bessie has called in sick again. That poor woman has not been well lately.”
“We would be happy to,” Violet said.
Mrs. Beckett smiled. “Thanks to your wonderful fliers, we sold a lot of pumpkins and flowers last night. You may need to get more pumpkins for the farm stand. You can pick them from the pumpkin patch. The mum plants are sitting in rows beside the barn. Choose whichever ones you like for the stand.” Mrs. Beckett got into the driver’s seat. She waved good-bye as the car pulled away.
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny headed into the barn.
“The wheelbarrows are in the back,” Jessie said.
“Hey! Look at me!” Benny called. He had climbed to the top of a big pile of hay bales.
“Be careful, Benny,” Jessie said.
Henry and Jessie each grabbed a large wheelbarrow. “I’ll give you a ride again, Benny,” Jessie said.
“Where did he go?” Violet asked. “He was here a minute ago. Benny! Where are you?” Violet heard Benny’s muffled voice. “I’m back here behind the hay bales. Come and take a look. I found something!”
At first, Violet could not find Benny. Henry walked all around the pile of hay bales. Then he pushed a few out of the way. Violet, Jessie, and Henry squeezed between the bales.
“It’s like a little room,” Violet said.
“With hay bales for walls,” Henry added.
“There’s even a hay bale desk over here,” Benny said. “It has a red folder and some papers on it, but the words are too hard for me to read. And there’s a map, too.”
“That’s a map of the Beckett farm,” Henry said. “There’s the house. The fields are all marked with their crops. And here is the farm stand.”
“I think I have seen that red folder somewhere before,” Jessie said. “But I don’t remember where.”
Violet looked closely at the map. “Something is wrong,” she said. “The farm stand on this map is too big and it is close to the road. The Beckett’s farm stand is much smaller. It is closer to the house.”
“And why are there pear trees on this map?” Jessie asked. “I do not remember seeing them on the farm. Also, the pumpkin patch is missing.”
“Look what I found!” Benny was wearing a long, black cape and running around the hay bale room. “It’s your missing cape, Henry. You must have left it in here.”
“But I didn’t,” Henry said. “I have never been in here before. I only thought this was a big pile of hay bales.”
“That’s what it looks like from the outside,” Jessie said. “Someone wanted this space to be private. We should probably not intrude here.”
“I like it in here,” Benny said. “It is almost as cool as our boxcar. I think we should build a hay bale clubhouse in our backyard.”
Henry smiled. “That would take a lot of hay,” he said. “But we should listen to Jessie right now. Someone wanted to keep this room secret. We should go.”
“Can I bring the cape?” Benny asked.
“I suppose so,” Henry said. “We can put it away with the other costumes.”
After Jessie, Violet, and Benny left the little room, Henry pushed the hay bales back into place. The little room disappeared once again. It only looked like a big pile of hay bales in the corner of the barn.
Jessie took the cape from Benny and folded it. She was about to put it in the bin with the other costumes when she suddenly remembered something. She had seen this cape last night. But Henry was not the one wearing it.
“Look out!” Benny called. He raced past Jessie pushing a small wheelbarrow. “I am going to beat Henry out to the pumpkin patch!”
Jessie followed her brothers and sister out to the pumpkin patch. They picked the pumpkins from their long, green vines. They piled them into the wheelbarrows. It was hard work to push the heavy wheelbarrows through the field and back to the farm stand.
“Benny and I will unload these pumpkins,” Henry said.
Violet and Jessie placed two dozen mum plants in a long, flat wagon. They pulled the wagon back to the farm stand.
“We are just in time,” Jessie said. “Here come the first customers of the day.”
Violet remembered the key that Mrs. Beckett had given her. She quickly pulled it from her pocket. She opened the door to the booth and stepped inside. She opened the window. She set up the sign with the prices. The cash box was on a high shelf. Violet stood on her tiptoes. As she reached for the box, she knocked the shelf. It came clattering to the floor.
Henry ran inside. “Are you okay, Violet?” “Yes,” she answered. “That shelf was loose. When I reached for the cash box, I knocked it down.”
“I will fix it,” Henry said. “Don’t worry.” Violet picked up the cash box. A newspaper had fallen to the floor as well. “This is odd,” she said. “This is an old newspaper from last month.”
Henry adjusted the shelf. He tightened a loose screw. “Maybe Bessie forgot it was up on the shelf.”
“Look,” Violet said. She showed the paper to Henry.
It was the “Help Wanted” section of the local paper. A red circle was drawn around one advertisement. It read, Office Help Wanted. Good Pay. Call Bolger Construction.
CHAPTER 9
A Plan
The farm stand was very busy. Customers were buying pumpkins and fall wreaths and fresh vegetables.
Sally walked toward the stand with a large basket of tomatoes. “I just picked these from the greenhouse. Do we have room for them?”
Jessie quickly made a spot on a table for the basket. “They look wonderful,” she said.
“Yes,” Sally answered. “Jason has a special talent. Everything he plants grows big and tasty! Every year his tomatoes are the best. I use them to make sauce and I bring some of it home to Florida.”
Henry was standing nearby. He was breathing hard. He had just carried a very large pumpkin to a customer’s car. “He certainly grows big pumpkins, too.”
Sally looked out toward the fields. “No,” she said. “My father grows the pumpkins.”
“Doesn’t Jason like pumpkins?” Benny asked.
“It’s not that,” Sally explained. “Jason would rather plant other crops. I suppose farmers have different ideas about what is best to grow.”
Henry unloaded more pumpkins from the last wheelbarrow. “What would Jason do if Mr. Bolger bought the farm and built houses here?” he asked.
Sally sat in an old chair next to the vegetable stand. “I asked about that. Mr. Bolger said that he would give Jason a job building the houses.”
“I don’t think Jason would like that,” Henry said.
Sally sighed. “You’re right, Henry. Jason would not like it. He has worked on the Beckett farm his whole life. It is a special place to him. I cannot imagine him as anything but a farmer.”
Jessie picked up a few gourds that had fallen under the table. “When your parents are ready to sell, perhaps Jason can buy the farm.”
“I’ve thought of that, too,” Sally said. “But Mr. Bolger has a lot of money and Jason does not.”
After her customer left, Violet came out of the booth to get some air. “It certainly has been busy today.”
“Isn’t Bessie here?” Sally asked.
“No.” Violet fanned herself. Her face was red. “Bessie called in sick. She cannot work today.”
“That’s odd,” Sally said. “I saw Bessie in town this morning. I went to the bank and she was walking down Main Street. She did not look sick.”
“Maybe she was going to the doctor,” Jessie said.
Violet and Henry looked at each other. They thought they knew where Bessie was going, but they did not know for sure.
“I have only a few more days on the farm,” Sally said. “Then I must go home to Florida. I ho
pe Bessie gets better before I have to leave.”
“Your parents will miss you,” Violet said.
“Yes.” Sally wrung her hands together. “And I am so worried about the problems here. I must try one more time to convince my parents to move to Florida with me.”
Just then, the Beckett’s car drove up the driveway and parked in front of the farmhouse.
“Excuse me,” Sally said. She walked away toward the house.
There were no customers at the stand, so Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny sat in the shade of the big tree. Henry and Violet explained about the newspaper they had found in the booth.
Jessie was surprised. “So you think that Bessie is working for Mr. Bolger?”
“I think she is,” Violet said. “Remember how we saw her coming out of his office when we were having lunch at the diner?”
Benny was munching on an apple. “But doesn’t Bessie already have a job on the farm? How could she work for Mr. Bolger?”
“Some people work two jobs when they need extra money,” Henry explained. “She might work at night or on days that she has off.”
Violet leaned back against the tree. “Or on days when she calls in sick!”
Jessie remembered something. “Didn’t the waitress at the diner tell us that Bessie was working two jobs?”
“That’s right,” Henry said. “I had forgotten that. She said that Bessie needed money because her husband was sick.”
“I feel bad for Bessie,” Violet said. “But do you think she is causing the problems on the farm? Maybe she is helping Mr. Bolger to force the Becketts into selling.”
“It’s hard to say,” Jessie answered. “We do not even know for sure if Bessie is working for Mr. Bolger.”
Violet was staring at the booth. “I think I have a way of finding out for sure.”
Violet was about to explain, but Mrs. Beckett was calling to the children from the front porch. “Come on up to the house!”
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny hurried to the farmhouse. “Is everything all right?” Jessie asked.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Beckett. “We are having a celebration lunch. We wanted you to join us!”