“Guess what, Grandfather?” Benny was bursting with news at dinner that night.
James Alden was helping himself to some of Mrs. McGregor’s creamed chicken. He looked puzzled, but only for a moment. “I bet you found a mystery to solve,” he said, turning to his youngest grandson. “Am I right?”
Benny’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”
Grandfather chuckled. “Because my grandchildren attract mysteries like a magnet attracts iron.”
At that, the four Alden children couldn’t help laughing. They went on to tell Grandfather everything that had happened when they went to visit Sam. When they were finished, their grandfather said, “Sam’s right. You do have your work cut out for you.”
“That’s for sure,” said Jessie. She passed the hot biscuits to Violet. “Especially when the clues are in such a strange poem.” Jessie had the oddest feeling she’d heard the first few lines of that poem somewhere before. But she couldn’t quite put her finger on where it was.
Violet sighed. “We only have one week to find the secret code word for Sam.”
“That doesn’t give you much time, does it?” said Grandfather.
Violet shook her head as she buttered a biscuit. “It sure doesn’t.”
“And don’t forget,” Henry reminded them. “There’ll be other people in Greenfield trying to find it, too.”
The Aldens looked at one another—they were all thinking the same thing. The hollow tree could be anywhere. Where would they start?
“There’s a street map of Greenfield in my study,” Grandfather suggested. “If you think it might help, I’ll get it out for you after dinner.”
That did seem like a good idea. “Thank you, Grandfather,” said Violet. “A street map will help a lot.”
By the time they were having dessert, Henry was deep in thought. After taking a bite of his apple pie, he said, “It’s a funny coincidence that an old friend of Sam’s is handling the millionaire’s estate.”
Jessie didn’t think it was strange at all. “Almost everyone in town is a friend of Sam’s,” she reminded him.
Benny agreed. “He’s lived here all his life.”
“Not quite,” corrected Grandfather. “Sam was born in Greenfield and he went to school here for a number of years. But the Snow family moved away after Sam’s mother died. That’s when his father decided to run the family business in Boston.”
Henry was surprised to hear this. “I thought Sam had always lived in Greenfield.”
Grandfather shook his head. “Sam and his brother were teenagers when they moved away. After they finished school in Boston, they went to work in the family business, too. Just like their father. But I think Sam always missed small-town life. After his father passed away, Sam gave up his job at Snow Carpets. That’s when he moved back to Greenfield. He’s been washing windows for a living ever since.”
Violet said, “Sam loves washing windows. I can’t imagine him doing anything else.”
“I know what you mean,” said Grandfather. “Of course, Sam would be rich if he’d stayed in Boston and run the family business with his brother. But his job in Greenfield makes him happy.”
Benny grinned. “Pretty soon, Sam will be rich.”
Violet clasped her hands together. “Oh, this is so exciting,” she said. “Let’s start looking for the hollow tree first thing in the morning.”
The others were quick to agree. They could hardly wait for tomorrow.
After breakfast the next morning, the children set to work making a picnic lunch to take along on their search for the hollow tree.
Jessie got out the bread, egg salad, lettuce, and pickles. Violet took apples from the crisper. Benny found paper plates and napkins. Henry filled a thermos with pink lemonade.
Jessie loaded everything into her backpack. “Let’s take a look at Grandfather’s map before we set out,” she suggested.
The four Aldens and Watch hurried out to the boxcar.
“This is a wonderful street map,” Henry said, unfolding it over the blue cloth that covered the table. “It even shows the small lanes and alleyways in town.”
“Where should we start?” Benny asked.
“Well, we have a few choices,” said Jessie. The others watched as she traced her finger along the map. “We can start downtown on Main Street . . . or over here in the Morningside neighborhood . . . or we can search the Greenfield College area first.” Jessie was the best map reader in the family. She always knew how to get where they were going.
Nobody said anything for a moment. Then Violet drew in her breath as a sudden thought came to her.
“The poem!” she cried.
Everyone looked at her. “What about it?”
“It gives us a clue where to begin!” Violet’s voice rose with excitement as she recited: “When the sheep in the meadow/ And the cow in the corn/ Do a figure eight/ In the early morn.”
Henry snapped his fingers in sudden understanding. “In the early morn—the Morningside neighborhood!”
“Wow!” Benny was excited. “We figured out the first clue already.”
“That was good detective work, Violet,” praised Jessie.
“Thanks.” Violet was bending over the map again. “I like the Morningside neighborhood. The streets have such interesting names.”
Jessie was studying the map, too. “I was thinking we could start on Teaneck Drive, then go over to Saddleback Avenue. After that, we can follow Ice Pond Road past the Greenfield Tennis Club and up as far as Blue Street. If we have time, we can even loop around and cover all the back lanes.” Jessie looked up at the others. “How does that sound?”
Everyone thought it sounded just fine. Henry folded the map and tucked it into his back pocket.
While Jessie put her backpack and the Frisbee in the basket of her bike, Watch looked up at her, wagging his tail.
“Sorry, Watch,” Jessie said. She knelt down and gave the little black-and-white dog a hug. “You can’t come with us this time. We’ll be riding our bikes.”
Benny petted Watch softly on the head. “You can come with us later,” he promised, “when we visit Sam.”
A few minutes later, the Aldens were pedaling along the peaceful streets of Greenfield.
“Keep your eyes open for a hollow tree!” Henry reminded them.
The Aldens kept their eyes open. They rode up and down many streets of the Morningside neighborhood. But by noon they still hadn’t caught even a glimpse of a hollow tree. When they stopped their bikes on Ice Pond Road to wait for a light to change, Benny spoke up.
“Is it time to eat yet?” he asked hopefully.
Henry glanced at his watch. “Close enough. I’m ready for a break.”
“I second that!” Violet said, and Jessie nodded.
Before too long, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny were sitting cross-legged on the lawn of the Greenfield Tennis Club. “What a perfect day for a picnic,” Jessie said as she passed around the paper plates and napkins.
Benny sighed. “It’s not a perfect day for solving a mystery.” He held out his special cup as Violet poured the lemonade. It was the cracked pink cup he had found when they were living in the boxcar.
“We can’t give up,” Violet told him.
“That’s true,” said Henry as Jessie handed him an eggsalad sandwich. “But at this rate, we’ll never solve the mystery in a week.”
“I know,” Jessie agreed. “It’ll take us forever to search every street in town. We haven’t even finished the Morningside neighborhood yet.”
No one said anything as they ate their sandwiches and pickles. There was nothing to say. What else could they do except ride up and down the streets? They couldn’t think of any other way to find the hollow tree.
After lunch, Jessie pulled her notebook from her back pocket. While the other Aldens played Frisbee nearby, she reread the Spider’s Clue poem. Once, twice, three times. Something was still puzzling her about the first few lines of the poem. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d heard the words somewhere before. She was still trying to sort out her thoughts when her sister and brothers sat down again.
Benny crunched into an apple. “There sure are a lot of trees in Greenfield,” he said, still thinking about the mystery.
Violet nodded. “Especially here in the Morningside neighborhood.”
“Looking for a hollow tree in this neighborhood,” said Benny, “is like . . . like—”
Henry smiled over at his brother. “Like looking for a needle in a haystack?”
“That’s just what it’s like,” exclaimed Benny. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!”
Jessie looked at Benny in surprise. A funny look came over her face. Then she clapped her hands.
“Benny!” she exclaimed. “That’s it!”
“What?” said Benny.
“I knew there was something familiar about the first few lines,” she told them.
“The part about the sheep in the meadow and the cow in the corn, I mean.”
The others stared at Jessie. They looked totally confused.
“When Benny mentioned a haystack,” Jessie explained, “something just clicked. Those first few lines of the poem are from a nursery rhyme!”
“What nursery rhyme?” asked Henry.
Jessie shrugged. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I can’t really remember how it goes. But it says something about a cow and a sheep and a haystack.”
“Let’s find out about it,” suggested Violet. “It might be an important clue.”
“How will we find out?” asked Benny.
“We can look through some books at the library,” Violet told them. “The ones with Mother Goose nursery rhymes in them.”
The Aldens all decided it was a good idea. After cleaning up and making sure they hadn’t left any litter, the children wheeled their bikes back onto the road and set off again.
Outside the Greenfield Public Library, Jessie said, “I hope this isn’t a wild-goose chase.”
“It’s not.” Benny grinned as they propped their bikes against some trees. “It’s a Mother Goose chase!”
They all laughed at Benny’s joke. Then Jessie suddenly stopped laughing. She looked around uneasily.
“What is it?” asked Henry.
“I’m not sure,” said Jessie. “I just had the strangest feeling we were being watched.”
The Aldens all stopped and looked behind them. But they didn’t see anybody suspicious.
“Maybe somebody’s hiding behind a tree,” whispered Benny, sounding a little uneasy.
Jessie put an arm around Benny’s shoulder. “I’m sure nobody’s hiding, Benny,” she said, not wanting her younger brother to worry. But she wasn’t really sure at all. |