“These book tables are as well organized as a library,” Miss Chase told the Aldens the next day. “I’m glad to see Violet reading one of her fairy tales because some of these books have been sitting in this shop unread for decades.”
Henry laid down an armful of books on a sale table. “We’re almost done!” he said. “Now we can clean up the inside of the bookshop before the painters come.”
Jessie checked each table to make sure the books were in alphabetical order. She turned to Miss Chase. “I hope you make lots of money on these dusty old books. Then you can order some brand-new ones for your brand-new shop!”
“All that’s left is to hire someone who knows a lot about these books to help me price them,” Miss Chase said. “I do hope someone will answer my newspaper ad.”
“How come you didn’t . . .” Jessie started to say before she stopped. She didn’t want to be nosy.
“. . . hire Ezra Bindry?” Miss Chase said, finishing Jessie’s question. “I’d like nothing better. But Ezra goes out of his way to say he doesn’t like mystery books — or the people who write them! He’s a strange one. He doesn’t really read the words in books. He just looks at how they’re made, not what they say. They could be shoes or hats or loaves of bread.”
“I wish some of these books were loaves ofbread,” Benny said when he heard this.
“What if Mr. Bindry answers your ad?” Violet asked Miss Chase.
“Why, I guess I’d give him the job,” Miss Chase answered. “Maybe now that Mrs. Post doesn’t stand between us, I can start fresh with Ezra.”
Everyone was surprised to hear someone trying to open the courtyard door.
“That’s funny,” Violet said when she went to see who was there. “I put a sign up saying we’re closed until Saturday.” But before she could unlock the door, Violet felt it push open.
“Why, Rex!” Miss Chase said when she saw who was there. “What brings you here?”
Mr. Phillips’s answer was a frown. He shifted from foot to foot and dropped his keys. Violet put down her copy of Tom Thumb to pick them up.
“I’ve got them,” Mr. Phillips snapped, stepping on his keys. He picked them up and handed Violet her book. “Where’d you get this book anyway?”
“It’s a present from me, Rex,” Miss Chase said. “I’m sorry, but the shop isn’t open for business yet.”
Mr. Phillips explained his visit. “Since I’m an old friend of Mabel’s, too, I wanted to look around before the sale. I expected to be the owner by now, but you seem to have arranged to get the bookstore for yourself.”
Miss Chase blushed at Mr. Phillips’s rude remark.
“I didn’t arrange anything of the kind, Rex. Mr. Alden is renting me the bookstore. I expect to pay him back shortly. I certainly don’t have to explain things any further.”
“All right. All right,” Mr. Phillips said. “I just want a quick look.”
Miss Chase stepped between Mr. Phillips and the book tables. “I’m sorry, Rex. The Aldens have put these books in perfect order for my sale. Everything is all set to be priced. Our sale starts Saturday morning at nine sharp. I will see you then.”
With that, Miss Chase guided Mr. Phillips out.
“What a difficult man! He was always pestering Mabel Post, too,” Miss Chase explained. “The only thing they had in common was stamp collecting. Rex was convinced Mabel had a valuable stamp she had hidden away. In any case, Rex already bought all her albums. What more could he want?”
“I’m sure glad he left,” Henry said. “Now we can get started washing down these shelves before the painters get here.”
“Good idea,” Miss Chase said. “With all of us pitching in, we’ll be done in a snap.”
They got right to work. Henry started with the top shelves while the younger children washed the bottom ones.
Benny was full of questions. “Are the painters painting the walls black? Can we keep those cobwebs up on the ceiling? Maybe the shop should look like a haunted house!”
Miss Chase laughed. “I don’t know about black walls and cobwebs, Benny, but I love Violet’s idea to decorate the store windows and walls with black paper footprints. Oh my, there’s someone staring in the window.”
The children turned around.
“It’s Mr. Bindry,” Henry said. “I bet he wants to snoop around like he did yesterday. I told him to come back on Saturday.”
Miss Chase opened the bookshop door. “Come in, come in, Ezra,” she said, giving the grumpy man a big smile. “Can I help you with anything?”
“I’d like to speak with you privately, Olivia,” Mr. Bindry said as he gave the Aldens a disapproving look.
“Oh, these are my helpers, Ezra,” she explained. “This is Jessie, Violet, and Benny. Henry told me you met yesterday. I’ve been so busy I must have left the door unlocked.”
“Yes, why yes . . . that’s right,” Mr. Bindry said. “Anyway, I’m here for the job of pricing the books. Nobody knows more about books in these parts than I do. You couldn’t go wrong since I’m already familiar with most of the books from Mabel’s shop.”
“I’d like that,” Miss Chase said.
“Well, these children can’t do everything,” Mr. Bindry said. “Anyway, children and old books don’t mix.”
The Aldens looked at each other.
Miss Chase straightened herself. “That’s quite enough, Ezra. I’ll have you know that the Aldens are completely responsible for getting Mabel’s books — I should say my books — in perfect order. Just take a look at those tables out there. There’s not a book damaged or out of place.”
“Hrmph,” Mr. Bindry said, making one of his favorite sounds.
“I simply can’t hire you if you’re not willing to work with the Aldens,” Miss Chase informed the old man. “I plan to repay their grandfather for investing in the shop. I need plenty of help.”
Mr. Bindry seemed about to leave but changed his mind. “All right. But just keep these kids out of my hair until Saturday. I’ll price the books out in the courtyard. They can work in here.”
“I agree you need peace and quiet to do your job,” Miss Chase said. “So, here’s what we can do. The children need some fun. I’d like them to take a little time off for some sightseeing today and part of each day they’re here.”
“But we don’t need to go sightseeing,” Jessie said. “We like helping with your shop just as much. Honest.”
Miss Chase smiled. “Now Ezra, how can you resist this lovely family?”
“Hrmph!” Mr. Bindry repeated. He was interested in books, not children.
“I guess ‘Hrmph’ means the arrangement suits you?” Miss Chase asked.
“Hrmph!” Mr. Bindry answered.
“Okay, children,” Miss Chase said. “You’ve done plenty for today. I want you to take a break and go over to the French Market for milk and beignets. Before Mr. Bindry gets started, go out to the book tables and choose any books you’ve had your eyes on. They’re yours.”
“Choose any books they’d like?” Mr. Bindry shouted, not mumbling at all now. “There might be something here worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. You can’t mean they can choose any books?”
Miss Chase folded her arms. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
Henry picked up some books from the mystery table. “These are by my favorite writer,” he said, holding up two mysteries. “Olivia Chase.”
“Same here,” Jessie said, holding up two other Olivia Chase mysteries.
Benny found an old copy of The Boy’s Handbook. “Is this worth a lot of money, Mr. Bindry?”
“Hardly!” Mr. Bindry sniffed. “Every boy your age had a copy years ago. They’re as common as yesterday’s newspaper.”
Benny held onto the nice old book all the same.
“What about you, Violet? Don’t you want to choose anything?” Miss Chase asked.
“Thank you so much, Miss Chase,” Violet said softly. “But I’m happy with my fairy tales.”
“Fairy tales? What fairy tales?” Mr. Bindry asked Miss Chase.
Violet held out her copy of The Little Mermaid. “Can you tell if this is worth anything? It’s part of a boxed set.”
Mr. Bindry’s eyes widened, and he reached out to examine the book. “Worth something? If it’s what I think it is, it’s . . .” The old man stopped talking. “It’s practically worthless.”
Violet bit her lip and hugged the books tightly. “It’s not worthless to me. I’m going to keep the whole set next to my bed so it doesn’t get sold by mistake.”
“Keep out one book for now, okay, Violet?” Jessie suggested. “That way we’ll have something to read if we sit in the park later.” Violet nodded and disappeared upstairs to put the rest of the set away.
Miss Chase saw how Mr. Bindry had upset Violet. She guided him to the far end of the courtyard to get him away from the Aldens. “I can’t have you talking so sharply to these children, Ezra.”
But Mr. Bindry just wouldn’t drop the subject. “If you hire someone to fix a car, you don’t give the car away before the mechanic opens the hood, Olivia. How can I do my work if you’re giving everything away before I even start?”
Miss Chase calmly peeled back the plastic coverings over the book table. “There are plenty of books for you right here, Ezra. I’ll get you a notebook and some pencils so you can get started right away.”
“Mr. Bindry is so grumpy,” Benny told his brother and sisters after they went back inside the bookshop.
“Miss Chase will calm him down,” Jessie said. “She knows what to do. Now let’s put these buckets and sponges away, grab our backpacks, and go to the French Market.”
“Do we have to talk French at the French Market?” Benny asked as he finished cleaningup. “All I know is ‘French fries.’ ”
Henry dumped two pails of water into a small sink in the back of the store. “Don’t worry,” he said.
“I know what I want at the French Market,” Benny said. “Those Benny things. . . .”
“Beignets,” Violet said when she came backdownstairs with everyone’s backpacks for their outing. “They are yummy.”
“Mmm, sounds good to me. Oops,” Henry said when they stepped out into the street and he almost tripped. “Here’s Miss Chase’s newspaper. Let’s check for her ad.” Henry opened to the classified section. He ran his finger up and down the columns of job ads. “Hmm. It must be in tomorrow’s paper.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Jessie cried. “How did Mr. Bindry know about Miss Chase’s ad for a book expert if it’s not in the paper yet?” |