We aren’t used to traffic,” said Jessie, laughing. “We haven’t met many cars, Ben.”
Benny said excitedly, “But this one is stopping! Oho! It’s trying to stop us!”
The car drove up so near the Aldens that they had to get off their bikes.
Jessie whispered, “It’s that same man and woman who wanted to buy Shadow—or just take him.”
This time both the man and woman got out of their car. The man said, “I’ve been thinking about you kids. Are you sure you didn’t steal this dog?”
“Steal him!” exclaimed Benny. “Of course we didn’t steal him! We wouldn’t steal anything, not even a penny.”
“But you still have a dog that doesn’t belong to you. You say that yourselves. We saw you before, remember?”
“Look here,” Henry said, “we are on our way home now. We have been trying all the time to find out who owns the dog.”
“Well, that’s what you say,” said the man. “You don’t want the police to find you with a missing dog, do you? I know what that dog is worth as a show dog. You’d better sell him to me.”
The woman bent over to pat Shadow, but the little dog growled.
Just then another car came along. The driver slowed down and put his head out the window.
“Any trouble over there?” he asked kindly.
“Well, a little,” said Henry.
“I say a lot!” exclaimed Benny. “This dog has followed us for four days on our bicycle trip. Now this man says we stole the dog, but we didn’t. We are going home now to find the owner.”
The stranger looked at the man and woman closely. Then he looked at the Aldens. He said, “Can’t you folks see that these young people are telling the truth? I never saw them before, but I would trust them. They look honest to me.”
“Well, you can’t tell by looks,” argued the man. “They have had a strange dog with them for four days, and they don’t know where he came from. Maybe they did steal him. Nobody can tell for sure.”
“Well,” said the man in the car, “I think you had better be on your way. Never mind about the dog. He isn’t your dog, either, is he?”
Now the couple saw that the young people had some real help. They turned and got into their car and drove away.
“Look!” said Benny. “Look at their license plates.”
Jessie said, “What do you know! Those people are two thousand miles away from their home. That license plate is from the West Coast, and here they are in New England.”
Henry nodded. “Maybe they are the ones who try to pick up dogs. People do steal dogs and sell them.”
“Did you get their license number?” asked the stranger, starting his motor.
“I did,” said Violet.
“I did,” said Benny. “I can remember it.”
“I wrote it down myself,” the stranger said. “I don’t think they will bother you again. But if they should, here is my card with my name and address.” He handed a card to Henry.
The Aldens read the card. It said Hartman’s Detective Agency.
Benny asked, “Are you a plainclothes detective, Mr. Hartman?”
“Well, something like that,” replied the man with a smile.
Violet said, “Oh, I am so glad you came along. I don’t like trouble, and those people seem to be trying to make trouble for us.”
Jessie said, “We certainly thank you for taking our part.”
“You’re very welcome. Glad I could help,” said Mr. Hartman, driving away.
The Aldens stood still for a minute and watched the car drive out of sight.
“Well, I’m all tired out!” said Benny crossly. “All that fuss over a nice little dog. Makes me mad!”
Jessie looked closely at Benny. He did not say things like this very often. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” she said. “Let’s eat lunch early. That will be something different to do. Just look for a place to eat.”
They all agreed that this was a good idea, and they pedaled off down the road. Shadow was glad, too. He ran ahead, barking. Violet came last.
A mile later, the others heard Violet call, “Wait!”
They stopped and Jessie called back, “What is it, Violet?”
“I’ve got a flat tire,” said Violet. “I must have run over something very sharp.”
Henry looked at the tire. “I should say you did. It’s a sharp stone shaped just like an arrow. The tire is cut through. It will have to be fixed before you can ride on it.”
“A new tire might be better,” Jessie said.
Benny said, “Well, I guess this isn’t our day. We’ll have to find a place that fixes bikes. It would be neat if we could find a repair shop that serves meals. Or a restaurant that mends bikes.”
The others had to laugh as they all walked along pushing their bicycles.
Jessie was glad that Benny could make jokes again, but she wondered how far they would have to walk to find a repair shop.
They all looked down every side road and at every sign along the way. After a mile or so, they saw a big building in the distance. Soon they could read the sign, “Stop at Big Jeko’s Place.”
“Look,” said Jessie. “Is that a gas station?”
“I don’t know,” replied Henry. “It looks like a junk shop to me.”
But in a minute a big giant of a man looked out of the open door. “Trouble?” he called. “Come in and I see.”
Violet gave him her bicycle and they all watched him anxiously. Then Big Jeko nodded and smiled, “I fix quick. You going far?”
“Yes,” replied Henry. “We’re going to Greenfield.”
“I know Greenfield,” said the man. “Too far away. Maybe I fix tire and maybe it come off. I guess a new tire for this bike.”
“I think so, too,” agreed Henry. “Have you a tire the right size?”
“All sizes.” Big Jeko took down a tire hanging on the wall and began to take off the old one.
Violet said, “It’s my bike. I’m glad you can fix it.”
Big Jeko went on working. He said, “I come from Bulgaria. Speak poor English. But you are good kids. Not like some. A good dog, too.”
Shadow was indeed a good dog. He sat still and waited without a whine. He sniffed the air.
Violet said, “Mr. Jeko, we were looking for a restaurant when I had my flat tire. Do you know a good place to eat?”
The big man laughed. “Yes, I know. Right here. Big Jeko’s Place.”
“You mean you serve meals here?” exclaimed Benny. He looked around curiously. He didn’t see any place where they could eat.
“No. Just today I serve lunch for you. Look in there.” He pointed to the back room.
Benny and Jessie looked in. Something smelled delicious. There was an old-fashioned stove with a black kettle on top. A woman turned around and smiled at the Aldens. “You like pilaf?” she said. “You stay for pilaf.”
The Aldens looked at each other. Jessie said, “I don’t know why not. Let’s stay, Henry.”
Big Jeko’s wife said, “Good. Sit down, please.” She took four bowls off a shelf.
Then she put the pilaf into each bowl. “You eat,” she said to the Aldens. “Here, dog.” She put a big lamb bone on the floor for Shadow. There was a lot of meat on it.
The lunch was made of rice and lamb and onions and tomatoes and all sorts of delicious things, just what the Alden children liked. They ate the pilaf with pieces of hard bread.
When they had finished eating, they all thanked the woman and went out into the shop. The bike was fixed, and Henry paid Big Jeko for the tire and the lunch.
Then Big Jeko surprised them. He said, “You like dog show? Dog show here in Ashby? I have tickets.”
“You have tickets to sell?” asked Jessie. “We have heard of the dog show in Ashby.”
“I have lots of tickets,” Big Jeko replied. “I make all the cages for dogs. I make wire cages.” He pointed to some square cages in the corner. “Then they give me lots of tickets.”
Benny said, “Oh, we could use four tickets. This dog with us is a show dog. He ought to be in the show, really.”
“Yes, I know,” said Big Jeko. “Good show dog.” He handed four tickets to Henry.
The Aldens shook hands with Big Jeko and got on their bikes. “We won’t forget you, Mr. Jeko,” said Violet. “You were so kind to us.”
They all waved good-bye and rode away.
“I take it all back about our day,” said Benny. “We got our lunch, we got the bike fixed, and now we have four tickets to the dog show. It’s our lucky day, after all.”
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