The Mystery of the Man in the Tall Black Hat

by Margaret M. Sandberg

  “Tire patches won’t do any good unless we have the rest of the tools to fix a tire.”

  “I thought of that, too.” Barney patted the bar of his bicycle to which he had strapped a tire pump. “The rest is in the pocket of my raincoat,” he added, smiling.

  “OK, you win,” Tod grinned. “I’m just glad you’re the one who has to keep all that junk from jiggling out of the basket.” Tod mounted his bicycle and turned to leave.

  “Aren’t we going to check on the polliwogs?” questioned Barney.

  “Oh, oh, I almost forgot. Come on.” Tod wheeled his bicycle toward the woodshed.

  They watched the tadpoles for a few minutes but were not able to find one which had sprouted legs. Tod turned his attention to the frog eggs.

  “They’re hatched!” he exclaimed. Most of the black half-inch tadpoles had emerged from the eggs and clung to the jellylike substance.

  “We’d better feed them,” suggested Barney. He stood up and searched for the fish food, finally locating it where it had fallen into the grass.

  “Let’s get started,” Tod said, as he watched Barney dump some of the food into the pond. He adjusted the canteen of water which he had attached to his belt, grasped his lunch sack tightly against the handle bar, and mounted his bicycle.

  The day was sunny, yet cool enough to be comfortable. White puffs of cloud drifted across the sky. The tall trees which lined the road thrust their dark branches against the blue overhead.

  Half an hour later the boys coasted down the winding road and onto the wooden planking of the bridge which crossed Gull Lake.

  “Look, Barn!” Tod exclaimed as he slowed to a stop. “Sail boats!” They dismounted and watched as a light breeze ruffled the water into intricate patterns. The wind billowed the sails, and the boats skimmed lightly over the water.

  After crossing the bridge, they followed the winding road uphill between elegant lakefront homes set back of spacious lawns and elaborate fences.

  “How long do you think it will take?” panted Barney, when they stopped to drink from the canteen.

  “I don’t know, but after this hill the rest should be easy.” Tod strapped the canteen back onto his belt. At the top of the steep grade they stopped to rest on a strip of lawn.

  “It sure feels good to know that’s over,” gasped Barney, flopping down on his stomach.

  After resting for a few minutes, the boys continued along the drive as it wound downward, once again reaching the lake edge. They rode slowly, sheltered by the branches of the tall trees which grew close to the lakeshore.

  “Look at the ducks!” called Tod. They parked their bicycles and watched the antics of the mallards as they dipped their green heads into the water and paddled awkwardly about with huge webbed feet.

  Tod opened his lunch sack and pulled out part of one of his sandwiches which he broke into small bits and tossed out into the water. Several ducks immediately fought over the morsels of bread. Overhead a gull swooped low and hovered close by, hopeful of a share in the tidbits that Tod and Barney continued to toss into the water.

  Mounting their bicycles again, Tod and Barney followed the road to the end of the lake. They dismounted and walked, pushing their bicycles up the final incline to the top of the rise. The trees thinned out, and on both sides of the road Scotch broom bushes mingled with thickets of oak trees. An occasional house dotted the landscape like a bright spring flower.

  They reached the highway, and their bicycles seemed to fairly fly over the smooth asphalt surface. Stately firs and rustic oaks grew more thickly as they neared the hospital grounds.

  “Let’s eat before we get there—just in case,” suggested Barney.

  “Just in case of what? What do you think is going to happen?”

  At that moment the shrill scream of the siren shattered the still air. Barney stopped his bicycle and covered his ears.

  “You know something, Barn? You just mention food and the noon whistle blows. OK, so we eat, but let’s find a better place than this.”

  A little way farther Tod turned onto a side road, and shortly they were riding through a wooded area.

  “Over there, Tod.” Barney nodded his head in the direction of a small creek. They propped their bicycles on the kickstands and sat down in the cool grass. Barney spread his lunch out on the ground in front of him.

  “Say grace over my food too, will you?”

  Tod grinned and both boys bowed their heads as Tod prayed.

  “You know, I think I’ll go to Sunday school with you tomorrow.” Barney crammed a piece of sandwich into his mouth.

  Tod beamed. “I was hoping you would. I’ll stop by for you.”

  “You don’t have to. I’ll come by whatever time you say.”

  “Better make it about nine-thirty then. We don’t want to be late.”

  Tod finished his sandwich and bit into an apple. “I think we should just ride by the hospital first and see what it looks like,” he said.

  “That sounds OK to me,” Barney answered, still chewing on a peanut butter sandwich from which he had discarded the lettuce. As he finished, he reached for the canteen and drained the last of the water from it.

  Tod fastened the canteen to his belt and led the way out onto the highway. The afternoon had grown warm, and in the sky, clouds floated like fluffs of white cotton. The bicycle tires sang as the boys continued down the smooth highway. They slowed up as they neared the vine-covered stone wall which surrounded the hospital grounds.

  “I didn’t know there were so many buildings!” exclaimed Barney. “Look! There must be at least ten big houses besides the main building.”

  “It looks like a huge park, doesn’t it?”

  Green lawns, neatly trimmed and freshly cut, spread out like a carpet beneath tall firs. Clusters of oak and evergreen shrubs added to the beauty of the well-kept grounds. Here and there were white benches, some occupied.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Tod as he stopped his bicycle. “Look at how big that building is!”

  Through the trees they viewed the five-story, red brick, main building. Except for the many barred windows it looked like any other hospital. A driveway wound from the main gate just ahead of them across the green lawn to the main entrance.

  As they approached the iron gate, they saw that stonework pillars on either side supported it.

  “That must be where the guard stays,” Tod said, pointing to a small stone building abutting the fence.

  They pulled off the highway as a bus approached from behind them. It stopped before the hospital gate, and a young woman wearing a white uniform and a blue cape stepped off. She waved toward the guardhouse and entered the grounds through a small gate adjacent to the main one.

  The boys dismounted and walked their bicycles toward the entrance. A man stepped from the small building as they approached.

  “Out for a bicycle ride?” He smiled when he saw the boys. “It’s a beautiful day for it.”

  “Is that gate locked?” asked Barney.

  “No, son. It’s not locked.”

  “Does anybody ever escape?” asked Tod.

  “Oh, once in a while someone wanders off, but not often.”

  “Are they dangerous? The ones who wander off?” asked Barney.

  “No, son. Those who might hurt themselves or anyone else aren’t allowed out of the building.”

  Tod looked up at the windows which were covered with bars. He shivered when he thought about people being locked up inside.

  “When the siren blew the other day—last Saturday—did someone escape—I mean, wander off?” asked Barney.

  The guard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I believe so. Yes, I recall a man did come up missing. When it began to grow dark he wandered up from the direction you boys came. I just phoned inside and told them he was back and they sent someone for him.”

  “Is anyone missing now?” asked Tod.

  “No, not that I know of. All present and accounted for.” He looked at Tod and then at Barney. “Say
, fellows, why all the questions?”

  Barney began. “Mister, if we told you we saw a man wandering around in the woods two or three miles from here last Saturday afternoon, could that have been the man that was missing?”

  “Possibly, yes, but I doubt if this fellow had time to go that far.”

  “What kind of clothes would he have been wearing?” asked Tod.

  “Oh, the usual. Dark pants.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe blue shirt.”

  “He wouldn’t have been wearing a black suit with long tails, and a stovepipe hat, and carrying a cane?”

  The guard chuckled. “Did you see someone like that out in the woods?”

  “You don’t believe us, do you?”

  “Can’t say that I do,” he answered, shaking his head seriously.

  “Come on then, Barney. We’d better go.” Tod swung onto his bicycle. “Thanks for talking to us anyway, Mister.”

  The guard waved and smiled. “I’d like to have seen your mysterious stranger myself!” he called after them.

  A mile past the hospital they turned left off the highway and followed the steep rise along the gravel road to the brow of the hill, pushing their bicycles most of the way up.

  “Do you suppose anybody will ever believe we saw a man in a stovepipe hat?” asked Barney at last.

  “Probably not until someone besides us sees him.”

  “If he isn’t from the hospital, where do you suppose he came from, Tod?”

  “I sure wish I knew!”

  From the top of the hill the riding was all downward. It was another two miles to Wildwood. Tod looked at his watch before they began the descent. “It’s two o’clock, but we still have plenty of time before I have to deliver papers.”

  The cool wind felt good against their faces as they started down the tree-lined roadway. Tod lifted his legs and placed his feet on the handlebars, leaving the pedals of the bicycle spinning freely. He lifted first one hand, then the other from the hand grips and maneuvered the bicycle with his feet. Grabbing the bars again he turned to see Barney close behind him trying to get his feet onto the handlebars of his bicycle. Tod was glad when he saw that Barney had given up. He was so awkward. He braked slightly, and a moment later Barney spurted ahead of him.

  “Look, Tod!” he yelled. Tod watched as Barney freed both hands from the bars and lifted his feet from the pedals. He pedaled hard to catch up. Suddenly Barney’s bicycle swerved, and Barney sailed clumsily over the handlebars. He fell in a crumpled heap on the road amidst the clutter of articles from his bicycle basket.

  Tod skidded to a stop. He was down beside Barney in an instant. “Barney! Barney! Are you OK?”

  Barney lay perfectly still.

  Tod’s heart was pounding wildly. He knew he had to do something. Barney groaned and moved slightly. Tod saw blood on his face and reached for the canteen at his belt. It was empty. If only he had thought to fill it at that little stream where they had eaten their lunch.

  He reached for the raincoat that Barney had brought with him and which now lay on the road with the rest of the scattered contents of the basket. He covered Barney as best he could. If only a car would come along so he could get help! Or if he could get to a telephone!

  Barney groaned again.

  “I just have to do something,” Tod said aloud.

  He stood up and looked around. He glanced up the road while listening intently, hoping to hear the sound of an approaching car. A jay flew overhead and screeched loudly. The wind moaned through the branches of the trees, and there was a rustling in the brush.

  All at once Tod noticed the house set back among the trees. It had been vacant for at least two years—ever since the Henrys had moved, he remembered. The dark windows stared at him blankly. Weeds and vines had grown up around it, but there was something different about it today. For just an instant he couldn’t figure out what it was. Then he detected a thin wisp of smoke spiraling upward from the brick chimney.

  Glancing quickly at Barney, Tod dashed through the undergrowth toward the house, unmindful of the low bushes scratching his legs.

  When he reached the door he pounded on it wildly with his fists. Everything was strangely silent when he finally stopped to listen. Maybe he’d made a mistake. Maybe he had imagined seeing smoke.

  He knocked again and called, “Please help me!” When there was no answer he tried the doorknob and found that the door was unlatched. He pushed it open and looked in upon a small room. A fire was burning low in the fireplace. Tod moved cautiously into the room.

  “Is anybody home?” he called. When there was still no answer, he looked around for a telephone.

  “What do you want, young feller?”

  Tod started, his heart pounding against his chest. He turned to face an elderly man who sat before the fire in a large chair. His dark eyes flashed angrily beneath a shock of snow white hair.

  “Can I use your phone?” Tod finally found his voice. “My friend fell off his bicycle. He’s hurt.”

  “Can’t hear you!” shouted the man.

  Oh, no, thought Tod. He must be deaf!

  “Can I use your phone?” he yelled, glancing quickly about.

  Maybe the man would be angry, but he just had to get help for Barney. The man continued to glare but didn’t move to get out of his chair. Tod went through a doorway and found himself in a small kitchen. There was no phone.

  He noticed a pitcher on the sink, turned on the cold water and filled it from a faucet, from which the water seemed to run ever so slowly. Passing through the room where the old man sat, he held up the pitcher and yelled, “I’ll bring back the pitcher!”

  “Young feller! Where are you taking that pitcher?” bellowed the old man.

  Tod didn’t try to explain.

  Barney was trying to sit up when Tod reached him. “Barney! Are you OK?” He was down beside him with the water and began sponging the blood from Barney’s face with his handkerchief. Barney seemed dazed.

  “What happened?” Barney lay back down. “Oh, now I remember. I was riding no hands. I think I hit some loose gravel.”

  “You sure hit something. Are you OK?”

  Barney stretched his legs. “Ow! That hurts!”

  “You ripped a hole in your pant leg.” Tod continued to wipe the blood from Barney’s head. “Do you think you can ride home?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll try.”

  Tod finished cleaning Barney’s face as best he could and looked around for the first aid kit. It was lying a little off to one side of the bicycle but was still tightly closed.

  “I told you it would come in handy.” Barney tried to grin as he sat up. Tod dabbed iodine on his scratches.

  “You didn’t have to scare me half to death to prove it,” said Tod. “There. Now I’ll bandage it.” Tod taped the bandage in place. “Just sit still while I return this pitcher.”

  “Can I have a drink first?” asked Barney.

  Tod lifted the pitcher to Barney’s lips.

  “I’ll be right back,” Tod said as he turned away.

  He entered the house without knocking. As he went into the room he held up the pitcher, smiled to let the man know he was returning it, and then placed it back on the kitchen sink. On his way out he shouted, “Thanks!”

  Barney was still sitting where Tod had left him and with help was able to get to his feet. “I could ride you on my bicycle, Barney,” offered Tod. “We could hide yours in the woods and come back for it tomorrow.”

  It was a struggle for them both before Barney was seated on the back of Tod’s bicycle. Tod mounted and was ready to ride away when he glanced back toward the house. He could hardly believe what he saw. The man they had seen in the woods and at the gravel pit was approaching the house through the woods. A moment later the man in the stovepipe hat was blocked from view. Tod braced himself and pedaled homeward.

  As they drew near to Sebastians’, Barney asked, “Tod, would you come in with me? Mom will throw a fit when she sees me. Maybe yo
u can explain how it happened. I don’t want to tell her I was riding no hands. She’ll kill me.”

  Tod stopped the bicycle by the steps of the house. “I can’t stay very long. I have to go on my route pretty soon.”

  “Ouch!” Barney groaned as he slid off the rear fender. “I sort of hurt all over.”

  Mrs. Sebastian had heard them coming. She put her hand to her mouth as she met them at the door. “Barney! What’s the matter? What happened?”

  “Nothing, Mom. I just fell off my bicycle.”

  “Are you hurt bad? You’re all bandaged up.”

  “I put the bandage on, Mrs. Sebastian,” explained Tod. “He’s just scraped up a little bit.”

  Tod helped Barney into the room and to a chair. Barney winced in pain as he sat down.

  “Barney! You are hurt. Why did you do it? How did you fall off your bicycle?” Mrs. Sebastian fussed and twisted her hands together.

  Tod had gone back and was standing in the open doorway. “We were riding home on the Hillsdale road, Mrs. Sebastian. I guess Barney must have hit some loose gravel. The next thing I knew he was lying on the ground.”

  Mrs. Sebastian bustled toward the phone. “I’d better call the doctor.”

  “He doesn’t have any bad cuts—only scrapes and bruises.”

  “I want to make certain my Barney is all right.” Mrs. Sebastian dialed the doctor’s number.

  “I’d better go, Barney, or I’ll be late for my papers. See you.”

  “Tod?” He turned back to look at Barney. “Remember, I’ll be at your house at nine-thirty tomorrow morning.”

  “OK, Barn. I’ll wait for you.” Tod grinned as he headed for home. He was glad Barney hadn’t forgotten his promise.

  Almost before he had time to get off his bicycle, Tricia ran out of the house to greet him. “Come quick, Tod. I want to show you something!”

  “I have to go on my route, Tricia. It’ll have to wait.”

  “No, you’ve got to come now,” Tricia insisted.

  Tod followed her past the house and out back of the woodshed. “Look,” she beamed. She pointed to a piece of paper tacked to the woodshed wall above the frog pond.

  Tod read, “We found a polliwog with legs at 2:21 this afternoon.” Underneath the girls had signed their names.