The next day after breakfast, the Boxcar children went to get Soo Lee. She lived with cousins Joe and Alice in an old gray shingled house on the edge of Greenfield. When Joe and Alice had decided to move to Greenfield and had bought the old house, it hadn’t been as nice as it was now. The Boxcar children had even thought it was haunted — by a singing ghost!
But the children had helped fix up the old house and had solved the ghost mystery. Now the house looked welcoming as the four children rode up on their bicycles.
Soo Lee was sitting on the steps when they arrived.
“You’re right on time,” she said, her eyes sparkling. She got on her bike, and soon the five of them were on their way to Mr. Woods’s house to find out more about the missing cat and maybe to meet Mrs. Valentine’s niece.
The day was bright and sunny. The Aldens rode their bicycles briskly through Greenfield, enjoying the feel of the air on their faces. They waved at the people they passed, who all seemed to be enjoying the day, too.
But when they reached Tucker Lane, Violet stopped her bike, a worried expression on her face.
Henry looked back. “What is it, Violet?” he asked, getting off his bicycle. The others got off their bicycles, too.
Violet bit her lip and looked down the street toward the big stone house. “Mrs. Valentine said Mr. Woods didn’t like anybody. What if he’s mean?”
The other children looked thoughtful. Then Soo Lee said, “She didn’t say he was mean, did she?”
Jessie said, “No, she didn’t. Maybe he’s just nervous when he meets new people, Violet. Maybe he’s shy.”
Violet was shy herself, so she could understand how that felt. She nodded slowly and looked a little less worried. “Maybe he is shy,” she said.
“We won’t know until we get there,” Henry pointed out.
“Okay,” said Violet. “Let’s go!” She got on her bicycle and began to pedal determinedly toward the big stone house. The others quickly followed.
As they got closer, they could see that the house didn’t look so scary. The wide front porch had big wicker chairs on it. Brightly colored pillows made the chairs look even more comfortable. A table with a pot of flowers on it stood at one end of the porch, and there were hanging baskets with ferns in them all around.
“Mr. Woods may not like people, but he likes plants,” Jessie observed.
They walked up the stairs and Henry knocked on the door, using the heavy old brass knocker.
No one answered. Henry knocked a second time. But still no one answered.
“Maybe no one’s home,” said Benny.
“Mrs. Valentine’s niece is arriving today. Maybe she went to meet her,” said Henry.
“But Mrs. Valentine said Mr. Woods never goes anywhere or talks to anybody,” said Violet softly. “He must be here.”
“He goes on walks,” Benny reminded them. “That’s how he found Spotzie.”
“True,” said Henry. “Maybe that’s what he’s doing now.”
“Even if he is here, I don’t think he’s going to answer the door,” said Soo Lee.
“Yes, we’ve knocked long enough,” agreed Henry. “I guess we’d better go.”
Suddenly, Violet said, “Did you see that?”
Everyone looked at Violet, then in the direction she was staring.
“What, Violet?” Jessie asked.
“I thought I saw someone behind the curtain at the front window,” Violet said.
They all watched the window. But they couldn’t see anything.
“Maybe it was a draft inside,” said Henry.
“Or maybe Mr. Woods is home, like Soo Lee said, and he just won’t answer the door,” said Jessie.
“Do you think he has been watching us the whole time?” asked Benny.
“I don’t know, Benny,” said Jessie.
“That’s sad, if he’s too shy to answer the door,” said Violet. “He must miss Spotzie a lot.”
“We can find Spotzie,” declared Henry.
“Yes,” said Violet. “Let’s get started right now.”
“Mrs. Valentine said Mr. Woods goes out and looks for Spotzie every day. But if he doesn’t like people, I bet he hasn’t asked the neighbors,” said Jessie. “We can ask.”
“Yes, let’s do that,” said Violet.
Jessie looked down the street. “There are eleven other houses on this street,” said Jessie. “Soo Lee and Benny and I will go to those six houses over there. Violet, you and Henry can go to the other five houses. Then we can meet at the corner.”
“Good idea, Jessie,” said Henry. “Come on, Violet, let’s go.”
Jessie, Soo Lee, and Benny headed to the first house on their side of the street. A man in a straw hat was standing in the small rose garden in front. They asked if he’d seen a little calico cat.
“I don’t like cats,” he replied. “They’re always digging in my garden.”
“She’s a nice cat,” said Soo Lee. “I don’t think she would do that.”
The man looked down at Soo Lee, and the frown left his face. “Well … spotted, you say? I’ll keep an eye out for her. But I haven’t seen her.”
No one was home at the next house. At the third house, a big dog came running down to the gate, barking loudly.
“Uh-oh,” said Benny, backing up. “It’s a good thing Watch isn’t with us!”
As if he knew who Watch was, the dog barked even more loudly.
“I don’t think any cats would go there!” exclaimed Jessie. “Come on.”
No one at the last three houses that Jessie, Benny, and Soo Lee visited had seen a little lost cat, either.
Henry and Violet didn’t have any better luck. At the first house, a man holding a crying baby opened the door.
“Cats?” he said. “Who has time for cats? Besides, I’m allergic to them. So is my son.” He nodded at the baby he was holding. The baby cried and cried.
“Thank you,” said Violet politely.
At the next house, a young woman wearing glasses and holding a book in one hand came to the door. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with one finger and peered out at them. “Yes?”
A moment later, a big fat orange cat stuck its head out the door, too.
“Lost cat?” she said when Henry told her why they were there. “Oh, no. No cat would dare come around this house.” She bent to pat the orange cat’s head. “Malcolm here is a very tough watch cat. He wouldn’t allow another cat on his property. But I’ll keep my eyes open.”
No one at the next three houses had seen Spotzie either, but everyone the children spoke to promised to stay on the lookout for the little calico cat.
The five children met on the corner at the end of the street.
“No luck,” Jessie told Henry as he and Violet walked up.
“We didn’t have any luck, either,” Henry answered. “We’d better be getting home. It’s almost lunch, and we’ve got chores to do.”
The five children got on their bikes and pedaled slowly back to the big old house.
“Where could that cat have gone?” wondered Jessie.
Henry shook his head. “It’s a mystery, that’s for sure.”
Violet, who was riding next to Soo Lee, said softly, “Poor Spotzie. She’s lost and all alone.”
“We’ll find her soon,” Soo Lee said.
“I hope so,” Violet answered. “I hope so.” |