Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, and Soo Lee were coming out of the hardware store the next morning with more paint and supplies for the boxcar, when a voice said, “Hush, Becky. If you’re good, I’ll ask these nice children to tell you about their boxcar. Remember? You saw their picture in the newspaper this morning!”
The Aldens turned to see a young woman holding the hand of a little girl with golden curls and blue eyes. The little girl was wearing a pink dress with a big white sash, lacy pink tights, and white shoes with silver buckles. She was wearing a pink coat that exactly matched her dress.
“Oh! How pretty you look!” exclaimed Violet. “Just like a picture in a magazine.”
“Say thank you, Becky,” said the young woman.
Becky pushed out her lip and pouted.
“This is Becky Jennings and I’m her baby-sitter, Martha. We saw your picture in the newspaper with the article about the parade,” Martha went on. “It was a very nice picture, wasn’t it, Becky?”
Becky still didn’t say anything.
“Thank you,” said Henry.
“Becky liked your boxcar, didn’t you Becky?”
Suddenly Becky’s face turned very red. Her eyes screwed shut. Then she began to scream!
“I want it!” she screamed. “Mine, mine, mine! My boxcar! I want the boxcar! MINE. GIVE IT TO ME!”
Everyone was so shocked that they didn’t know what to do.
Becky jerked her hand out of her baby-sitter’s hand. Then she flung herself down on the ground and began to kick her heels and pound her fists in the dirt. “MINE. OOOOH!” she wailed.
Suddenly, she didn’t look like a picture in a magazine anymore.
Martha’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. She bent over and picked Becky up. “Stop that!” she pleaded.
Becky screamed louder. Martha turned and began to carry the screaming child away. “I’m sorry about this,” she called over her shoulder to the Aldens. “It was nice meeting you. . . .”
As she left, the Aldens heard her say, “Becky! Stop screaming! Your father will buy you a nice, new playhouse of your own! You don’t need the boxcar! He’ll . . . he’ll buy you your own boxcar for a playhouse! You know he will. ...”
The two disappeared around the corner as the Aldens watched. Two women who were standing nearby, and had seen the whole thing, shook their heads in disapproval, and a short man with a plaid jacket just stared after Becky and her baby-sitter.
One of the women sniffed loudly. “Well,” she said. “Mr. Harold Jennings may be one of the richest men in Greenfield. But all that money and that fancy house on Mansion Road hasn’t given his daughter good manners!” The two women walked away.
Jessie said, “What a spoiled girl!”
“I’m glad she’s not my sister!” said Benny.
“Or my cousin!” said Soo Lee.
Still shaking their heads in amazement, the Aldens hurried home.
They’d just reached the hill near their house when Henry stopped and pointed. “Look!” he said.
Down below, at the bottom of the hill, stood Susie. She was wearing her harness, but she wasn’t pulling the wagon. She kept shaking her mane and snorting as if she was upset.
“What happened to Sam? Where is his wagon?” said Violet in a worried voice. Then her eyes widened. “Oh, no!” she exclaimed.
The others gasped. They’d seen it, too.
Sam’s wagon had crashed against a tree at the bottom of the hill. It was in what seemed like millions of pieces. One of the wheels lay in the road. Ice cream was melting on the sidewalk.
Just then, Sam came out into the road from the bushes where he had gone to pick up another wheel. He looked up and saw the Aldens and waved.
They hurried to the bottom of the hill.
“Sam! What happened?” asked Jessie.
Sam shook his head. “I’m not sure. We were just going up the hill when somehow the wagon got loose and slid right back down! I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m lucky I wasn’t in it — and that Susie wasn’t hurt!”
“Can you fix it?” asked Henry.
Again Sam shook his head. “Don’t know if I can,” he said. “But I’m sure gonna try.” He looked sadly around at the pieces of his wagon and at the melting ice cream. “I’m trying to gather up as much stuff as I can to take home. Then I’ll come back with my truck to get the rest.”
“We’ll help you,’ said Henry.
“Of course,” said Jessie.
The children helped Sam gather up some of his belongings while he tied a few of the bigger items from the wagon on Susie’s back. Then, holding Susie’s bridle, Sam led the way to his home. They put everything in the red barn behind Sam’s house.
“After I get Susie out of her harness and settled into her stall in the barn here, I’ll go get the rest of the wagon pieces,” said Sam. “I appreciate your help.”
“Don’t worry, Sam. You’ll be able to fix your wagon,” said Soo Lee.
“Maybe,” said Sam. But he didn’t sound as if he believed it.
The last thing the children saw as they left was Sam standing in front of the barn, holding the wheel of the wagon and shaking his head sorrowfully.
“Time for me to go,” said Soo Lee, late that afternoon. She sighed. “I wish I could have finished.”
“We didn’t expect to finish today, Soo Lee,” said Henry. “Don’t worry. We’re almost done and we’ve got plenty of time before the parade.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Soo Lee. She got on her bicycle and pedaled away.
The Aldens began putting away the paint and washing the paintbrushes. Watch, who’d been sleeping inside the boxcar under the table, came to the door and barked. He was hoping that now it was time to play.
Benny picked up a stick. “Here boy! Catch!” Watch jumped out of the boxcar and he and Benny began to play a game of catch-the-stick.
“What a smart little dog!” said a man’s voice.
Jessie was so startled that she jumped up. “Who are you?” she blurted out to the short, slight man who was standing there. He had on a plaid jacket and brown pants, and had three thin strands of brown hair combed over a bald spot on the top of his head. His nose was long and red at the end.
Watch heard how surprised Jessie sounded and stopped playing catch with Benny. He ran over to stand beside Jessie. He lowered his head and growled at the man.
“Good dog! Nice dog!” said the man. “Er, I’m sorry if I scared you. My name is, er, Ralph. Ralph Winters. I, er . . .” Ralph stopped and looked at Watch nervously. “He’s not going to bite me, is he?”
“No,” said Jessie. Then she added honestly, “At least, I don’t think he is.”
Watch stopped growling. But he still watched Mr. Winters carefully.
Just then Henry and Violet came out of the boxcar.
Jessie introduced them to Mr. Winters.
Still glancing at Watch, Mr. Winters nodded. “I’m glad to meet you all. I wondered if you could help me?” he said.
“We will if we can,” said Violet.
“It’s about your boxcar,” said Mr. Winters. “I saw the article in the paper and I want to buy it!”
“Oh, no!” Benny cried. “Did Mr. Chessy send you!”
Now it was Mr. Winters’ turn to be surprised. “Mr. Chessy? Who is Mr. Chessy?” he asked. “I represent Senator Teacher. She is running for office and she wants to use your boxcar as part of her campaign!” Mr. Winters threw out his arms as if he were making a wonderful announcement.
The four children stared at him in disbelief. Henry finally said, “Our boxcar’s not for sale.”
“Oh, but wait until I tell you about it,” said Mr. Winters eagerly. “She’s conducting an old-fashioned whistle-stop tour. That means that she is going to ride the train from town to town and make speeches from the back of the last car on the train, just like President Harry Truman did in 1948. The car will be specially designed with a platform attached to the back for her to stand on. Your boxcar would be perfect — with a little redesigning, of course.”
Mr. Winters rubbed his hands together. He licked his lips. His eyes shifted nervously from side to side. “What do you think?” he asked. “Are you going to help Senator Teacher?”
“I’m sorry,” said Henry firmly. “We’d like to help you. But the boxcar isn’t for sale — at any price.”
“Please! Just think about it!” cried Mr. Winters. “Here’s my business card at the senator’s offices in Greenfield. Like I said, think about it and give me a call.”
“We have thought about it,” said Benny. “Lots. And we’ve said ‘no’ lots, too.”
“Thank you for your offer,” said Jessie firmly. “Good-bye.”
Suddenly Mr. Winters looked angry. “It’s very selfish of you not to want to help,” he said. He turned around and stomped away.
“Good grief,” said Jessie. “Can you believe it?”
“He was not a nice man,” said Benny. “He was mean. I didn’t like him and Watch didn’t like him. We’re glad he went away.”
At that, Jessie had to laugh. “We are, too, Benny. Now let’s go get ready for dinner. We have a lot more work to do tomorrow on our boxcar!”
It rained the next morning, but in the afternoon the Aldens got back to work. The first coat of paint had dried and it was time to put on a second coat.
After they gave the boxcar its second coat of paint, they would have to paint the trim. The floor needed sanding and the metal parts needed polishing.
Meanwhile, Mrs. McGregor was planning the special Founders’ Day dinner. The Aldens were going to be in the parade in the morning on Founders’ Day. Then they were going to come home and have their special dinner that afternoon.
For several days the Aldens worked hard on their boxcar. They began to worry that they wouldn’t finish in time for the parade.
But they did. At last the wood of the boxcar was smooth from sanding, and shiny with new paint. All the rusty metal hinges and latches had been polished until they shone. The wheels had been oiled so that they would turn smoothly and the spokes of the wheels had been painted, too. It was hard work, but the Aldens loved seeing the old boxcar look so shiny and new. They were very proud of it.
“I knew we would finish with plenty of time for the parade,” said Henry, smiling.
Violet clasped her hands together. “It looks wonderful.”
“Let’s get Grandfather,” said Jessie. She and Henry went to get Grandfather Alden.
When they came out, they all stood in front of the boxcar except Watch. He sat proudly inside, his ears up and his tail wagging. He seemed to know how special the boxcar looked.
“You’ve done a wonderful job,” said Grandfather. “You’ll be the stars of the parade.”
“Our boxcar will!” said Henry, Everyone was very pleased. It would be good, however, to take a few days off from working on the boxcar, before it was time for the parade.
Benny gave the boxcar a pat as he left. “See you tomorrow, old boxcar,” he said. Then he followed his brother and sisters and Grandfather into the house for dinner. |