Animal Shelter Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Are you feeling well, Violet?” Mrs. McGregor asked. “You look a bit peaked this morning.”

  “I am tired, Mrs. McGregor,” Violet told the housekeeper. “The rain woke me up during the night. I thought I heard Lad howling.”

  “Rain? I don’t think it rained,” Mrs. McGregor said as she broke an egg into the frying pan. “It’s bright and sunny, just like yesterday. You’ll feel fine once you have a nice big breakfast like Benny’s.”

  “I can’t eat right now,” Violet said. “Not until I check the boxcar.”

  The animals heard Violet coming and started up some real howling. Violet slid open the heavy boxcar door and looked inside. She hardly ever raised her voice, but this morning she did. “Henry! Jessie! Benny! Grandfather! Come out back!”

  Watch was the first to bound out to see what the excitement was all about. When he reached the boxcar, he didn’t like what he saw at all. Another dog! Another cat! Was there no end to the animals who were taking over the Alden house?

  “Where did this pooch come from?” Henry asked.

  A large white dog with black markings looked out at everyone with frightened eyes.

  “And look over here!” Benny said.

  “There’s a big gray cat in this cage! Where did it come from?”

  “Who are these two animals?” Mr. Alden asked his grandchildren. “Do you suppose Dr. Scott dropped them off from the shelter last night??

  Violet shook her head. “These animals couldn’t be from the shelter. They weren’t there yesterday.”

  “Dr. Scott wouldn’t just leave them here without letting us know,” Jessie added. “Maybe someone was here last night, Violet, and you really did hear something going on.”

  By this time, the boxcar was noisy with barking dogs, crying cats, and five Aldens all talking at once.

  It was Henry who noticed the new dog rubbing noses with Lad. “Lad knows this dog, too!” Henry said. “The hook on the dog’s tag broke off, but his collar looks just like Lad’s.”

  “Not just the collar—the whole dog looks like Lad!” Jessie said. “Only this dog is white where Lad is black, and black where Lad is white. They both must belong to Miss Newcombe.”

  “I guess I wasn’t dreaming after all,” Violet said. “Someone brought these animals here during the night. I wonder who?”

  The Aldens heard Jessie’s newspapers hit the sidewalk. “You’ll have plenty to do today,” Mr. Alden said. “Papers to deliver, two new pets to look after, and another mystery to figure out.”

  Henry was in the boxcar getting leashes for Watch, Lad, and the new dog when all the dogs started howling and barking at the same time. Then Watch broke away and raced to the front yard.

  “What’s the matter with these dogs?” Violet asked.

  “I thought I heard a car door slam,” Jessie said.

  When the Aldens reached the front yard, all was quiet. The bundle of newspapers was where it was every morning. Everything was still except for a very nervous Watch, trailed by Lad and the new dog, who looked plenty nervous, too.

  “I wonder what this is all about,” Henry said, trying to calm all three dogs.

  Violet checked down the street where the dogs were looking. “I’m sure they didn’t bark for nothing, especially Watch. He never barks unless something is wrong.”

  Jessie bent down to sort out her newspapers. Turning pale, she cried, “Here’s what’s wrong!” She held up a torn, dirty sheet of paper. “Someone must have just stuck this inside my newspaper bundle after it was dropped off.”

  Henry grabbed the paper and read it out loud: “ ‘This is your last warning. Mind your business!’ ”

  “So that’s what upset the dogs,” Jessie said. “Well, whoever wrote this will have to write a longer note next time, because I’m going to go right on minding Miss Newcombe’s business until we find her!”

  The Aldens never did a faster job of helping Jessie with her newspaper route. They even set the dogs to work carrying papers up to people’s porches, and the route was finished in record time.

  “All done,” Jessie told everyone when all the newspapers were gone. “Now let’s get to Miss Newcombe’s house right away. I kept one paper out, and I’m going to deliver it there no matter what!”

  The Aldens listened carefully for traffic when they reached Fox Den Road. No rusty pickup truck was going to surprise them this time!

  When they got to Miss Newcombe’s gate, Jessie whispered, “Look, the No TRESPASSING sign is still up, but the gate’s open today. Violet, you and Benny wait out here while Henry and I go up to the house and ring the doorbell.”

  Violet, Benny, and the three dogs stayed out of sight of the house but well away from the road. They looked on as their brother and sister marched straight up to the house and rang the bell.

  When the door finally opened, they heard Jessie’s clear voice speak out. “Good morning. I’m delivering free copies of the Greenfield Daily News this week. Would you like one?”

  Through the bushes, Benny and Violet could see that the man talking to Jessie was one of the same men who had been at Mr. Seed’s hardware store! He was staring angrily at their sister. “We don’t want any paper in this house,” he finally answered. “And if you see the fellow who put this milk in the cooler, tell him not to come back. We don’t want any deliveries. Especially from you snoopy kids, you hear?”

  This didn’t stop Henry. “Maybe someone else in your house would like our paper,” he told the unshaven man. “Home delivery saves a lot of car trips to town. Won’t you check with the other people in your household?”

  For an answer, Henry got a door slammed in his face.

  “Did you see anyone else in there?” Violet asked when Jessie and Henry came back to the gate.

  “No one,” Henry answered. “Just that man. He was one of the men who bought the dynamite at Mr. Seed’s.”

  Jessie’s brown eyes grew large and bright. “You know who else he is? The same man I heard on the phone. I’m sure of it. He finishes what he’s saying with ‘you hear.’ As if we couldn’t hear a loud voice like that!”

  Violet shivered. “Do you really think it’s the same person, Jessie? Why would Miss Newcombe let someone like that live in her house?”

  Henry looked worried. “Maybe she didn’t let them in, Violet. Maybe they scared her away.”

  “Well, that man didn’t scare these dogs away. Look, they want to go back to the house,” Benny cried.

  Sure enough, Lad and the white dog were pulling hard on their leashes and half dragging Benny up the driveway toward the house again.

  “They know this is their home,” Violet cried. “Well, I’m just going to march up there and see what happens. Let’s see what the man has to say about that!”

  This time, four Aldens and three dogs went up to the porch. Violet rang the bell.

  The door flew open. “I told you, I don’t want what you’re selling, you hear?” the man shouted when he saw a porch full of Aldens and dogs. “Now, git!” he said.

  Suddenly, Lad pulled so hard on the leash, it slipped from Benny’s hand. He dashed into the house! Before the Aldens had time to think about their manners, they were in the house, too.

  With Watch and the new dog, Benny and Henry flew down a hallway.

  “Lad! Lad! Come back!” Benny yelled. He chased the dog to the back of the house.

  “You kids stay out of this house and keep those hounds out, too,” the man shouted. “I say, get out of here!”

  Henry hurried back and stood in front of the man. “We won’t leave without our brother or the dogs!” he said. Then Henry ran off again to find Lad.

  Jessie stood tall, too. “That black dog and this white one live in this house,” she told the man.

  “No one lives here but me,” the man said.

  Violet was shaking, but she spoke up all the same. “Where is Miss Newcombe?” she demanded. “This is her home.”

  The man stepped toward Violet. “And what business is that
of yours, little girl? None at all, I say. I’m in charge of this property now, and I don’t have to explain anything to trespassers!”

  By this time, Henry had caught Lad by the leash, and Benny was right behind. “Don’t worry, we’re leaving. But you can’t keep us from looking for Miss Newcombe,” Henry said.

  Before anyone could stop Benny, he spoke to the man, too. “We have a deed to her house, and my grandfather is going to bring it to the state capital to see who owns this house.”

  “We’ll see about that!” the man warned. “Now get off this property, you hear?”

  When everyone was safe at the end of the driveway, Jessie put her arm around Benny. “Are you all right, Benny?”

  “I’m good,” Benny said, “but that man is bad. And I think there are other people in that house, too. I heard a door bang and some footsteps while I was chasing Lad.”

  Henry led his brother and sisters out the gate. “Benny’s right. When I ran to the back of the house to follow Benny and Lad, I thought I saw someone disappear into a back room. Another man. They’re the same men who bought the dynamite at Mr. Seed’s and who nearly ran us over with their truck.”

  “I can’t believe strange people would be in a nice old woman’s house,” Violet said. “And to act as if Lad didn’t live there! Why, anyone could see both dogs knew that house very well.”

  When the Aldens peeked through some evergreens at the house, Jessie stared longer than anyone else. “Look, Henry. The truck that tried to run us over is parked back there,” she whispered.

  Henry took a look. “It’s the same pickup truck! That man who answered the door isn’t alone in there, I’m sure of it. I’m going to sneak around the side of the house and see what that truck says.”

  Violet and Benny looked on as Jessie and Henry walked through a clump of trees that led toward the house.

  With each footstep, Jessie and Henry seemed to crack a branch or an acorn or scare a bird out of a bush. They were sure the men in the house could hear every snapped twig and crunched leaf.

  “I think we can get a good look through those loose stones,” Jessie told Henry when they got to the wall that surrounded the property.

  “I’ll take out this rock from the wall,” Henry said.

  A chipmunk dashed out from the space where the rock had been, and Jessie and Henry jumped back.

  “Whew!” Henry said.

  He and Jessie bent down low. They peered through the wall opening. Now the rusty truck was only a few feet away.

  Jessie read the peeling sign on the side of the truck. “It says, ‘Wolf Demolition.’ In smaller letters it says, ‘We take down buildings any size.’ ” Jessie’s eyes opened wide with worry. “Do you think they’re going to tear down Miss Newcombe’s house, Henry?”

  Henry shook his head. “I guess that’s why they bought all that dynamite. But maybe Miss Newcombe hired them for that. This is the last piece of farmland so close to town. It’s probably more valuable to build on it than to keep it as a rundown farm. Maybe Miss Newcombe needs money, and wants to sell the land to somebody who wants to build on it.”

  Henry and Jessie ducked when they heard the door squeak open. They took turns peeking through the stones. The unshaven man stood on the side porch smoking a cigarette while he talked to some other men still inside the house.

  “We’ll just let her in the house to get her things, and that’s all,” one deep voice said from inside. “If she even comes back. I think we scared her good.”

  “Maybe. She’s got a few days to get back. Then we’ll turn this place into dust,” another voice said. “Can’t believe the old lady’s been sitting on this gold mine, and it ain’t even hers. Too bad the boss took so long to get that land search done. We’d better make sure those kids don’t start snooping around the Land Records office at the capital before we get there.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” the man on the porch said. “They’ll never get there in time.” He put out his cigarette in the window box and went inside.

  Henry and Jessie could no longer hear the three voices, but they’d heard enough. They crept back through the woods to find Violet and Benny.

  “Did you find out anything?” Benny asked.

  “We found out that truck is from a demolition company that’s going to tear down Miss Newcombe’s house,” Henry said.

  “The men in there said this isn’t even her house,” Jessie added. “At least that’s what we think they said. We only heard a little.”

  “We heard enough to know that Miss Newcombe’s home is in danger,” Henry said. “We have to find her, and we have to get the deed up to the state capital right away!”

  CHAPTER 7

  A Good Deed

  The next day, everyone was up early so they could get a fast start on their trip to the state capital. Grandfather’s friend, Elizabeth Thompson, who did some work with the Land Records Office, had said they could file the deed immediately.

  “Now you make sure to give yourself time to have those peanut butter sandwiches at lunchtime,” Mrs. McGregor told everyone as they got into Mr. Alden’s roomy car. “I know you’ll be hungry.”

  “I know I will be, too,” Benny said.

  Jessie checked her long list of chores. “The animals are all fed and walked for the day,”she told Mrs. McGregor.

  “Don’t worry about a thing,” Mrs. McGregor said.

  “We won’t,” Mr. Alden said when he backed out his car. “We’ve got a full tank of gas and the excellent lunch you prepared to keep us all from starving.”

  Jessie held up the all-important black notebook for Mrs. McGregor to see. “And tucked safely in here is Miss Newcombe’s deed.”

  “It’s a good deed!” Benny called out the window to Mrs. McGregor.

  Mr. Alden and his grandchildren laughed. “It is indeed!” he said. Everyone laughed again, and they were on their way.

  But not for long.

  “Why is the car slowing down, Grandfather?” Henry said when he heard the car sputter. In a few minutes it stopped dead in the middle of the highway.

  Mr. Alden quickly tried to restart the engine, but nothing happened. “I don’t know what the problem is, but we have to get out quickly while the road is clear.” Mr. Alden raced to help his grandchildren out of the car.

  When everyone was safe, Mr. Alden checked the highway. “Henry, you give a push while I steer the car off the road. No one is coming right now.”

  But Mr. Alden was wrong. Just when Henry was giving the last strong push to roll the car to the side, Jessie screamed, “Grandfather! Henry! Watch out!”

  Henry turned around just in time to see the Wolf Demolition truck whiz by, only inches away from the car.

  The Aldens recognized one of the passengers right away. “Looks like you’ll be here all day,” the unshaven man from Miss Newcombe’s house snickered before the truck disappeared in a cloud of oily blue smoke.

  “I bet they’re going to the state capital,” Violet cried.

  “Never mind, Violet,” Henry said while he and Jessie continued pushing the car. “We have the deed. Even though Miss Thompson said the Land Records Office closes early on Fridays during the summertime, we still have time to get there before noon.”

  After the car was safely off the road, Mr. Alden took off his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves. “I’m going to check the engine. Maybe we’ve overheated, or the oil level dropped for some reason. Can’t figure out why, though. Jack Vetrano checked out everything just yesterday.”

  For the next half hour, the Aldens did everything they could think of to get the car started. Nothing worked.

  “The water and oil levels seem fine,” Mr. Alden said after checking the dipstick. “If I hadn’t just filled the gas tank yesterday, I’d almost think we were out of gas.”

  Henry took out his baseball cap from the backseat and put it on. “Grandfather, I’m going to look for help. Maybe there’s a gas station up ahead, and I can get a mechanic back here to take a look at wha
t’s wrong.”

  Henry didn’t waste any time jogging off for help. After he disappeared down the road, a few cars stopped by to offer help, but Mr. Alden waved them away, saying his grandson would be bringing back some help very soon.

  “There’s a red tow truck slowing down!” Benny said awhile later.

  The driver jumped down from the truck, and Henry got out on the passenger side. “This is Mr. Hall, Grandfather. He knows everything about cars like yours.”

  “I’ll work fast,” Mr. Hall said. “Your grandson, here, told me all about how you have to get to the capital by noon.”

  Mr. Hall went over and under the car with his tools. From under the car, everyone heard him say, “Maybe you’re out of gas.”

  “It’s not likely,” Mr. Alden said. “I just had it filled up yesterday, and I didn’t drive it until today.”

  The mechanic took a gas can with a long spout and began pouring gas into the tank.

  “Well, let’s see if a little gas can get it going. It might push out some air that could be in the gas line,” Mr. Hall said as he poured. And poured. “I don’t like to say this, sir, but your gas tank seems to be bone dry.”

  “That’s impossible,” Henry said. “If my grandfather said he filled the tank, he filled it.”

  “Maybe he did, but it’s still dry. With gas prices the way they are these days, maybe somebody drained your gas out.”

  “I have to say I’m quite embarrassed at all this, but you fixed the problem, so give me the bill,” Mr. Alden said to the mechanic.

  Everyone got into the car, which was soon humming down the highway again.

  “I can’t figure it, I just can’t figure it,” Mr. Alden repeated. “I filled this tank with gas when I picked it up from Jack last night.”

  “I think I know what happened, Grandfather,” Henry said. “I think they drained all our gas on purpose because they didn’t want us to make this trip to check on the deed. Then they tampered with the gas gauge so you wouldn’t know anything was wrong.”

  “You’re probably right, Henry,” Mr. Alden agreed. “In any case, we have the deed, and they don’t.”