Henry unlocked the deserted house and went in first. The sun streamed through the window.
He motioned the others to follow. Slowly they went in. The wooden floor creaked. The first large room had a table with five chairs. A stool sat in the corner by a stone fireplace, and a wood-burning stove was in the center of the room. A huge cobweb stretched across one corner.
“Look!” Jessie exclaimed. “A stove! We can have a fine hot supper.”
Benny smiled. “That’s good news. But it’s broken.”
“It will be easy to fix,” Violet said. “Only the oven door is off its hinges.”
“Don’t worry,” said Jessie. “I can push it back in place.” She opened and closed the squeaking cast-iron door.
Next they went into a bedroom. Two bunk beds were against one wall. A sagging string held up a tattered curtain at the window. It was clear Pete had other things on his mind besides keeping house.
“Neat!” Benny shouted. He dashed to the beds’ ladder and climbed up to the top bunk. He bounced up and down on the mattress, causing the dust to fly. “I want this bed!” he yelled.
“You’re welcome to it,” Henry said, sitting on the bottom bunk. He coughed. “Whew! Too much dust!” He glanced at Jessie. “Where shall we begin?”
Jessie nodded. She knew exactly what to do. She’d already run upstairs and found two more bunk beds up there. “First, we need to clean the two windows in this room and the two in the kitchen. That way we can see outside.”
“Why?” Henry asked, rubbing off the window grime so that he had a small peephole. “There’s nothing to see. No one is in this desolate area but us, and there isn’t even a phone in the house.”
Violet swallowed. “No one but us?” she asked in a low voice. “That gives me the creeps.”
“We’re safe as we can be,” Henry said. “Pete’s restaurant is only two miles away.”
“I know,” Violet said, but she didn’t sound reassured.
“Next,” Jessie said matter-of-factly to show she wasn’t nervous and to help Violet, “we’ll take the four mattresses outside and whale the daylights out of them.”
“Right!” Henry grinned. “Unless Benny wants to bounce the dust out!”
“No, no,” Violet said.
“Just teasing,” Henry said. He rolled up his sleeves and lifted a mattress over his shoulder and headed for the door. “Come on, Benny,” he called. “We’ll do one at a time.”
Eagerly Benny scrambled down the ladder.
“Violet,” Jessie said, “let’s tackle the floor. I saw an old broom and a mop by the stove. There was a pail, too.”
“Right,” Violet agreed. “This floor could use a scrubbing.”
“It could use two scrubbings,” Jessie said, tying a scarf over her hair. “Let’s get started.”
“Where’s the water?” Violet questioned.
Jessie pointed out the window. “See that pump? We’ll have plenty of fresh water, and there’s a dry sink in the house.”
Jessie fetched a pail of water, bubbling with soap suds because of the detergent she’d added.
First the girls scrubbed the kitchen, then the bedrooms. The floors began to shine.
The boys went in and out with first one mattress, then another. The four Aldens worked all afternoon. They washed the windows and cleaned the stove.
Benny came in and wiped his forehead, smudging a streak of dirt even further across his face. He dropped into a chair. “Whew! We pounded four mattresses. We washed four windows. I’m tired and . . .”
“I know,” Violet said with a laugh. “You’re tired and hungry.”
Benny cocked his head to one side. “How did you know what I was going to say?”
“We all know what you were about to say,” Henry said. Playfully he poked Benny in the ribs. “Besides, I’m hungry, too.”
“So am I,” Violet said.
“Me, too,” Jessie agreed.
Henry threw back his head and laughed. “Then it’s a majority. Let’s unload the supplies and eat.”
Jessie went out to the pump to wash her face and hands.
Next Violet went out to the pump, then Henry, then Benny.
“We’ll need wood for the stove,” Jessie said.
“I’m way ahead of you,” Henry replied with a smile. “There’s a bundle of wood by the front door.”
Jessie peeled potatoes and onions and scraped the carrots. Henry set a pot of water on the stove. When the water boiled, the girls dropped in a soup bone they had brought and the vegetables.
“A hot supper will taste good,” Jessie said.
“I’ll say it will.” Benny rolled his eyes and patted his stomach. It didn’t take too long for the soup to cook. With a crusty bread they had brought from home and fresh pears and cookies, they had a delicious meal.
After supper Violet sat on the window ledge. “There’s the library,” she said softly.
“Where?” Benny asked eagerly, craning his neck to see.
“On the hill over there.” Violet gazed at the gray building. “How sad and lonely it looks.”
“We’ll cheer the old place up tomorrow,” Jessie said. “We’ll be chattering and going through its old books.”
“Oh, yes,” Benny said, clapping his hands. “We’ll make the library happy. We’re going to save it.”
But that night before Violet got into bed, she stared out the window. She wondered if anything could save the old library. |