After cooling off in the pond, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny changed into clean shorts and T-shirts, then hurried downstairs. They found Aunt Jane reading the newspaper in the living room in front of a whirling fan. She looked up as they trooped into the room.
“I bet that swim felt good!” she said.
“The swim did feel good. And now I feel good and hungry!” said Benny.
Aunt Jane laughed. “We’ll get supper going in a minute. But first, come and see this.” She nodded toward the newspaper on her lap.
“What is it, Aunt Jane?” Violet looked over her aunt’s shoulder as they gathered around. “Oh!”
In bold letters that seemed to jump off the page, the headline read, IS THE GHOST OF HORACE WAGNER HAVING THE LAST LAUGH? And just beneath that headline was a picture of Sharon Corkum smiling into the camera.
“Look!” cried Benny. “Sharon’s holding up the antique birdcage. And you can see Nester, too.”
Jessie nodded. “Jake must have taken that picture just before we got back from lunch yesterday.”
Aunt Jane sighed. “Carl Mason isn’t going to be pleased with this kind of publicity.”
The Aldens understood why when Aunt Jane read the article aloud. It was all about the farmhouse sign being moved to the barn and the canary appearing inside the antique birdcage. It finished with an account of Horace Wagner and his practical jokes.
The children looked at one another in dismay. Although they had searched everywhere, they hadn’t come up with any clues to help solve the mystery. And now it was too late. They still didn’t know who the copycat was, and Gwen could lose her job. Mr. Mason would be sure to see that newspaper article when he got back the next day. And the chances were good he’d blame Gwen for not putting a stop to the practical jokes.
They talked about the mystery as they helped Aunt Jane make a pizza for supper. Violet chopped green peppers and onions. Jessie sliced mushrooms and tomatoes. Henry grated mozzarella cheese and put it in a bowl. Benny stood on a chair at the stove and stirred the tomato sauce. And Aunt Jane shaped the dough.
“It’s just unbelievable,” said Aunt Jane, who had listened wide-eyed as the children told her all about the latest prank with the too-short pants. “Those practical jokes won’t seem very funny if Gwen loses her job.”
Violet looked over at Aunt Jane. “Do you really think that could happen?” she asked. Her voice sounded tense.
“There’s just no telling what Carl Mason might do,” said Aunt Jane as she turned down the heat under the sauce. “But even if Gwen doesn’t lose her job, I’m afraid she will lose volunteers. Not many people will want to work at the farmhouse if they believe it’s haunted.”
“Oh!” cried Jessie. “I never thought of that.”
“Well, you can bet Gwen’s thought about it,” said Aunt Jane.
While the pizza was in the oven, Jessie and Violet helped Aunt Jane wash the strawberries for dessert. Benny put plates and napkins on the table. And Henry filled four tall glasses and one cracked pink cup with cold apple cider and put them around the table, too.
“It’s a good thing we made an extra-large pizza!” Benny said when he had finished his third slice.
Aunt Jane smiled over at the youngest Alden. “I knew you’d be hungry after putting in a full day’s work, Benny.”
“And we worked very hard today too,” Benny told her as he wiped tomato sauce from his chin. “Henry and I made ice cream the old-fashioned way. The visitors helped, too. They turned the crank on the ice-cream freezer around and around.” He looked over at his aunt. “And you know what else?”
“What?” Aunt Jane smiled as she dished up the strawberries. She was eager to hear all about their day.
“Everybody had a chance to sample the ice cream!” said Benny.
Henry couldn’t keep from laughing. “I think you had more than one sample, Benny!”
“Jessie and I helped out with Miss Pennink’s workshop,” Violet put in. “We were showing how old clothing was recycled during the Victorian era.”
Jessie knew Violet would be too shy to say anything, so she spoke up for her. “Some of the older kids didn’t want to make a braided rag rug or a rag doll. So Violet showed them how to make a rag octopus—like the one Mrs. McGregor made for her sister. It was such a big hit, Gwen’s going to include it in the workshops from now on.”
“I tore some of the old clothing into long strips,” Benny reminded them.
“Yes, and that was very helpful,” Violet told him.
Aunt Jane nodded. “I’m sure Gwen appreciates all the help you children have given her.”
“I just wish we could solve the mystery of the copycat,” said Henry as he ate his strawberries. “That would really help Gwen.”
Aunt Jane reached for an envelope that was on top of the refrigerator. “You left your photographs on the table this morning,” she said, handing the envelope to Violet. “Weren’t you planning on showing them to Gwen?”
Violet nodded. “I forgot all about them. I’ll try to remember tomorrow.”
“I love the photo taken in the farmhouse office,” said Aunt Jane as she sat down.
Violet flipped through the photos. “Which one do you mean, Aunt Jane?”
“I bet it’s the one Gwen took of us in our Victorian clothes,” guessed Jessie.
Aunt Jane smiled when Violet held it up. “Yes, that’s it!”
“We should put that one in the Alden family album,” suggested Benny. “Don’t you think so, Violet?”
But Violet didn’t answer. She was staring hard at the picture. Something about it bothered her. But she didn’t know what it was. Finally she gave a little shrug and tucked the snapshot back into the envelope.
“Don’t you think so, Violet?” Benny said again, a little louder this time. “Don’t you think that one should go in the Alden family album?”
Violet looked up in surprise. “Oh, yes! That’s exactly where it should go. It will always remind us of our trip back in time.”
“And the mystery of the copycat,” added Henry.
While they cleared the table after dinner, the Aldens still talked about the mystery.
“It’s funny,” said Benny. “The practical joke with Nester was just like the thaumatrope.” He carried the empty glasses over to the sink. “First there wasn’t a bird in the cage, and then there was.”
Jessie nodded. “There’s one difference, though. The canary in the antique birdcage wasn’t an optical illusion. Neither were those shortened pants.”
“But they were tricks,” said Henry, stacking the plates on the counter.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about Sharon,” said Jessie. “It’s funny she didn’t find the birdcage until Jake arrived with his camera.”
Violet turned off the tap. She told the others how she had caught a glimpse of burrs on Sharon’s socks the day the sign disappeared. “Benny said there were weeds behind the barn where he found the sign. Right?” She turned to her younger brother.
“I guess that is suspicious,” Benny said uncertainly. “But maybe Sharon was just out gathering wildflowers and that’s where those burrs came from.”
“That’s a possibility, Benny,” said Jessie as she slipped the dessert spoons into the soapy water. “I don’t think we can rule Sharon out as a suspect, though. I know she was nice to you yesterday, but I still don’t trust her. She could have taken Gwen’s keys to get into the farmhouse and then set up the practical jokes.”
Henry agreed. “And I’m sure she’s heard plenty about Horace and his practical jokes from Miss Pennink.”
“Sharon’s so hard to figure out,” Benny said, carefully drying his cracked pink cup. “She was nice at first. But then she got angry.”
Jessie nodded. “Her whole attitude changed as soon as Gwen mentioned we’d be working at the farmhouse.”
“Gwen mentioned something else, too,” Henry reminded them. “She said we were good at solving mysteries.”
“Oh!” cried Violet, rinsing the soapy dishes. “You think that’s why Sharon was acting so weird?”
Henry shrugged. “If she is the copycat, she sure wouldn’t want us snooping around.”
“What I can’t figure out,” Violet went on, “is why Sharon would want everyone to think the house is haunted.”
“Maybe she’s trying to get even with Gwen,” Jessie guessed.
Violet thought about this. “You mean because of the fashion shows?”
“It’s a possibility,” said Jessie.
“But her sister’s job is on the line!” Violet looked startled. “I can’t believe Sharon would do anything to hurt Gwen like that.” It was too awful to think about.
“It’s hard to believe, Violet,” said Jessie. “But you heard how angry she was at the ice-cream parlor last night. And she did tell Gwen she’d be sorry.”
“You know,” said Henry, “Sharon isn’t the only suspect. There’s somebody else we might want to include on that list.”
“You’re thinking of Draper Mills, right?” guessed Jessie.
Henry nodded. “It seems odd that he was at the farmhouse so early yesterday morning.”
Violet turned to face Henry. “Well, he does do repairs around the house.”
“I know,” said Henry, nodding. “But Gwen seemed surprised when he said he was fixing a window shade.”
Benny looked thoughtful. “She didn’t know any of the shades needed fixing.”
“And Draper was acting very nervous,” added Jessie. “Did you notice?”
Henry and Benny nodded. They’d picked up on this, too.
“Draper isn’t comfortable around people,” Violet was quick to remind them. “Gwen and Aunt Jane both told us that. Just because he was acting nervous, that doesn’t make him suspicious.” Violet was shy, and being around a lot of people made her nervous, too.
“That’s true, Violet,” Jessie said quietly as she put the clean spoons away in a drawer. “But we can’t be sure he wasn’t getting things set up yesterday morning for the practical joke. We have to consider every possibility. Draper was in the right place at the right time.”
Benny had something to add. “Maybe Draper moved the sign, too. He doesn’t like anybody stopping at the farm.”
Violet looked at Benny, then over at Jessie and Henry. She could see they believed it was possible. “Draper is afraid his flowers will get trampled. That’s a reason for moving the sign, but why would he play those practical jokes with the canary and the shortened pants?”
“To convince everyone the house is haunted,” Henry said. “Maybe he’s hoping it’ll keep people away.”
Jessie handed Violet the pizza platter to wash. “And Draper does have his own set of keys.”
Benny added, “I bet he knows a lot about the Wagner family. After all, he’s worked on the farm for a long time.”
“I suppose it’s possible,” Violet admitted reluctantly. She didn’t like to be suspicious just because someone was nervous.
“I just thought of something else,” Henry said. “There’s one other person with keys to the farmhouse. And this person knows more about Horace Wagner than anybody else does.”
Jessie looked puzzled. So did Violet and Benny.
“Who is it?” they all said at the same time.
“Miss Pennink,” answered Henry.
“Miss Pennink!” The others were so surprised by this, all they could do was stare in disbelief.
“Oh, you don’t really suspect Miss Pennink, do you, Henry?” said Violet.
“I don’t want to think she would do something like that, Violet,” he told her. “But we have to consider everybody. And I heard she sometimes opens the house early in the morning if Gwen has a meeting in town with Mr. Mason. So she must have her own keys.”
They had to admit that it was possible. Wasn’t Miss Pennink upset because her great-great-grandfather was being ignored by Carl Mason? And hadn’t Miss Pennink told them that one way or another she’d make sure people knew about Horace Wagner? What better way than by playing his practical jokes all over again?
“But which one is the copycat?” Benny wondered aloud. “Miss Pennink, Draper Mills, or Sharon?”
“I think we should include Jake North on our list of suspects,” said Violet.
Benny looked confused. “But Draper Mills is Jake’s uncle, remember? That means Jake had a good reason for being at the farmhouse last night.”
“I know,” Violet said. “Except . . .”
Jessie asked, “What is it, Violet?”
“Well, it also means that Jake could’ve borrowed Draper’s keys!” said Violet. “And his uncle probably has told him all about Horace and his practical jokes.”
“Good point,” said Henry.
Benny was deep in thought. “You don’t think . . .” he said, and then stopped himself.
“Are you wondering if the farmhouse might really be haunted?” Violet asked in a gentle voice. Then she quickly added, “I don’t blame you, Benny. I’ve wondered about that myself.”
Benny turned to Jessie. “Do you believe it’s haunted?”
Jessie didn’t answer right away. Finally, she said, “No, I don’t.”
“Now that I think about it,” Violet put in, “I’m sure it isn’t.” She wasn’t really sure, but she wanted Benny to believe she was.
Benny looked up at his older brother. “What do you say, Henry?”
“There’s no such thing as ghosts, Benny,” Henry told him firmly.
“I didn’t think so,” Benny said, looking relieved. And then he added, “But I can’t help wondering what’s going to happen next.”
“I have a feeling we won’t have to wait long to find out!” declared Jessie. |