The girls left Cap and Doodle dozing on the front porch. Violet climbed a tree and handed the apples down to Jessie. When her bucket was half full, Jessie stepped back and fell flat, her apples rolling off in all directions. “What happened?” Violet asked. “Are you all right?”
Jessie looked up from the ground. “There are holes all around here. They’re like those at the barn except these have soft dirt thrown back in them so you can’t see them.”
Violet climbed down and helped gather up the apples. Then, they walked around and found over a dozen holes. “I thought Cap was just nervous,” Jessie said on the way back to the house. “Now I’m feeling nervous myself.”
Violet nodded. “I wasn’t nervous this morning, I was scared. I like mysteries to make better sense than this.”
“Me, too,” Jessie said. “We have all questions but no answers.”
Back in the kitchen, Jessie sorted the apples. She kept the perfect ones for eating. She and Violet peeled the others for cooking. Violet sang happily as she got out lard and flour and salt.
“What are you going to make?” Jessie asked.
“A surprise apple pie,” Violet said.
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Jessie said, looking doubtful. “I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find a pie pan anywhere. I did find a lot of books stacked behind the roasting pan.”
The girls looked at each other and laughed. “That’s just too strange. Now how can I bake a pie without a tin?”
“How about turnovers or dumplings?” Jessie asked.
“Dumplings,” Violet cried. “With raisins and cinnamon.”
When her dumplings were bubbling in the oven, Violet took her turn at stirring the simmering applesauce. Jessie began to read one of the books. When the applesauce was done, she took the book with her as they joined Cap and Doodle on the porch.
“Look!” Jessie said. “I found the bird that makes the noise like a kitten. It is called a catbird or a Missouri mockingbird. I even found a picture of it.”
“Let me see,” Cap asked, reaching for the book. “I declare, you’re right, Jessie. This picture is exactly like the bird Violet described.”
“I’ve never heard of a catbird before,” Violet said.
“Listen to what it says here,” Cap said, reading aloud from the book. “It gets its name from its call note, a complaining ‘mew’ like a cat.” Still smiling, Cap looked inside the front cover of the book. He slammed it shut and handed it back to Jessie with a cross look on his face.
Jessie waited until Cap went back to his own reading to look at the inside page. She almost wished she hadn’t. The words were written in a childish scrawl: “This book belongs to Jason Lambert.” It brought tears to her eyes to think that Cap had a son who was no longer his friend.
Benny chattered steadily on the way to town, but Henry only half listened. Violet and Jessie had written down their grocery list, but he wasn’t sure what he needed until he asked someone. He had a plan. He only hoped that what he wanted to do was possible. He was grateful that their grandfather always gave them enough money.
“That’s the grocery store up ahead,” Benny said.
“First we call home,” Henry told him.
Mrs. McGregor answered on the third ring and laughed when she heard Henry’s voice. “I told your grandfather you’d get in touch,” she said. “He’s going to call back tonight. Do you want me to give him any messages?”
“Only that we love him and we’re all fine,” he said. “And Benny sends his love to Watch.”
“Tell him Watch is fine and loves him, too.”
Benny beamed. “Now the grocery store?” he asked.
“Now the hardware store,” Henry told him. “You like hardware stores, too, remember?”
“Maybe a little,” Benny admitted.
Once he explained his plan, the woman who waited on Henry knew right away what he needed. “Is there a light fixture on the porch you described?” she asked.
Henry told her there was only an electrical outlet under the window. Then she brought him a floodlight with a heavy-duty extension cord. “You’ll need to fasten the cord against the house so it won’t whip in the wind. And this bracket to rest the floodlight in. Does Cap have a fox after his hens?”
Henry nodded. “My sister saw one this morning. Cap thinks he might have a hawk or an eagle, too,” he said.
She nodded. “This light will scare off any of those.”
“Now the grocery store,” Henry told Benny, grinning. Then he touched Benny’s arm. Benny looked at him and then in the direction Henry was looking.
“There’s that Mr. Jay again,” Benny whispered. “Why isn’t he back on the ship where he belongs?”
“I wonder about that myself,” Henry said. “The minute I looked at him, he turned and went away fast. It really puzzles me the way he always does that.”
Benny nodded. “Me, too. Maybe he can’t stand our looks.”
A bell rang over the door of the grocery store. The grocer beamed at them. “Our strangers are back. I hope you found Cap Lambert all right?”
“He’s still on crutches, but he’s fine,” Benny said. “He has the greatest rooster in the whole world.”
The grocer laughed and started reaching for the things on the girls’ list. “That’s for certain. Doodle’s a beauty. Which size do you want of this canned ham?”
“The biggest one,” Henry said. “We all like to eat.” Since the man was so friendly, Henry asked him Benny’s question. “We saw one of the men from our riverboat out there. We wondered why he’s still around town instead of back on the boat.”
“That is peculiar, isn’t it?” the grocer agreed, filling a little bag with sunflower seeds. “But I know the man you mean. He’s been around town for days. I never see him with anyone or talking to people. He reminds me of somebody, but I can’t figure out who. He’s not a very friendly fellow.”
He handed Benny the sunflower seeds. “Here,” he said. “These are for Cap’s old rooster. Give them both my best.”
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