by Stan
“You screamed in your sleep,” said Brother. “Must have been dreaming.”
Sister told Brother about her nightmare. “Now I’m definitely not going with you and Papa to Grizzly Mansion tomorrow,” she said.
“But it was just a bad dream, Sis,” said Brother. “Nothing scary is going to happen at the mansion tomorrow. It’ll be broad daylight. I don’t believe in ghosts, you know, but the ghosts I don’t believe in only come out at night.”
“Hmm,” said Sister. “You might be right about that.”
“Of course I am,” said Brother. “Now go back to sleep.”
But Sister couldn’t sleep at first. It was too quiet. Every little creak of the tree house made her imagine highway robbers climbing along the branches toward the windows.
Then Brother started snoring loudly. Sister imagined that Brother’s snoring was the sound of saws cutting through the branches. That made the highway robbers fall to the ground and run away.
And so, finally, Sister drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 5
Isn’t It Obvious?
Sister still wasn’t sure about going to Grizzly Mansion when Brother asked her the next morning after breakfast.
“Well, you don’t have to decide right this minute,” said Brother. “I’m sure Papa isn’t finished fixing the chair yet. Let’s go out to the workshop and see how he’s doing.”
The cubs found Papa kneeling on the floor with chair parts spread around him. He was frowning at something in his hand.
“What’s wrong, Papa?” asked Brother. “Can’t you fix it?”
“Oh, I can fix it—that’ll be easy,” said Papa. “The problem is, this chair is definitely not an antique.”
“How can you tell?” asked Sister.
Papa held up a shiny screw. “This screw is brand-new,” he said. “Made with modern machine tools.”
“Maybe someone replaced the screws,” Brother suggested.
Papa shook his head. “I remember working on this very chair a few years back when Lady Grizzly bought it,” he said. “I took it apart, cleaned it, and refinished it. It had original hand-made screws. They were still good, so I used them again when I put the chair back together. I know for a fact that no one has worked on the chair since. Now, let’s see . . .”
Papa picked up one of the legs and examined it. “Ah, you see?” he said. “It’s a fake! Now that I look at it more closely, I can see that it was made with modern tools. It’s hand-made, and it’s a very nice piece of work. It looks just like the original. But it’s definitely a copy. You see these screw holes? They were obviously made with an electric drill!”
“Wait a minute,” said Sister with a frown. “How can an antique change into a fake?”
Brother laughed. “It didn’t change, Sis,” he said. “Someone must have stolen it and left a fake in its place!”
For a moment Sister kept frowning. Then her frown vanished, her mouth came open, and her eyes grew wide. “That means Maisie was right!” she cried. “She really did see the ghosts of Bad Bart and his bandits stealing furniture!”
“Now, Sis,” said Papa. “That can’t be true. I agree with Squire Grizzly. Maisie imagined the whole thing.”
“You mean it’s just a coincidence that an antique has been stolen?” said Sister.
“Er . . . uh . . . well, I . . . ,” said Papa. “Brother, explain it to your sister.”
“Me?” said Brother. “Well, I . . . er . . . uh . . .”
“Never mind,” said Papa. “The important thing is that we have to get right over to Grizzly Mansion and tell the squire!”
Sister took a step backward toward the workshop door. “That’s okay,” she said. “You guys can go without me.”
“Come on, Sis!” said Brother. “You’ve got to go! Cousin Fred, too!”
“Oh, yeah?” said Sister. “Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” said Brother. “This is a job for the Bear Detectives!”
Chapter 6
Strange Behavior
Papa and the cubs hurried over to Grizzly Mansion, stopping on the way to pick up Cousin Fred.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Papa Bear,” said the security guard at the front gate. “I wasn’t expecting you until after lunch.”
“Urgent business,” said Papa.
When Greeves answered the front door, his eyebrows went up. “Oh, it’s you, sir,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to see Squire Grizzly right away,” said Papa. “Someone has stolen one of Lady Grizzly’s priceless antiques!”
The butler’s eyebrows raised even higher. “Oh, dear,” he said. “That’s awful. But I’m afraid the squire is not at home. He went to an early business meeting in town. He won’t be back until after lunch.”
“What about Lady Grizzly?” asked Papa.
“Oh, she’s sound asleep, sir,” said Greeves. “I couldn’t possibly wake her. She’s been under such a strain lately, you know. We all have.”
“You’re right, Greeves,” said Papa. “We’ll come back later.” He turned to leave, but he stopped and looked at Greeves.
“Yes, sir?” said the butler.
“Oh, nothing,” said Papa. “It’s just that you look much more rested. The bags under your eyes are gone. You must have finally gotten some sleep.”
“Oh . . . er, yes,” said Greeves. “I did much better last night, sir.”
“That’s good,” said Papa. “Well, we’ll see you after lunch.”
“Good-bye, sir.”
As Papa and the cubs walked back to the car, they heard Bonnie calling them. “Hey, guys! Over here!” She was jumping rope on the lawn by the east wing.
“Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, a hundred.” Bonnie stopped jumping just as they reached her. “Sorry I didn’t come over,” she said. “I wanted to get to a hundred. Why are you leaving so soon? Didn’t you just get here?”
Papa explained that Greeves had told them the squire was away.
“No, he’s not,” said Bonnie, frowning. “He’s in the dining room finishing his breakfast. Boy, that Greeves has been acting strange lately. All the servants have. I guess it’s because of that silly ghost business.”
“We thought you didn’t know about that,” said Brother.
“It’s impossible to live in this mansion without knowing,” said Bonnie. “Auntie and the servants are always talking about it. Come on, I’ll take you to Uncle Squire. We’ll use the side door. It’s quicker.”
Chapter 7
Good News and Bad News
Squire Grizzly was sitting at the dining table in the east wing of the mansion, sipping a cup of coffee. Spread around the table were serving dishes half filled with pancakes, sausages, and potatoes.
“Good morning, sweetie,” he said when he saw Bonnie. “Oh, it’s Papa and the cubs. Would you join me for breakfast? I’ll ring Greeves for more juice and coffee.”
“You ought to have a talk with Greeves, Uncle,” said Bonnie. “He just sent Papa and the cubs away. Said you’d gone to a meeting in town.”
The squire frowned. “He did? That’s odd.” With his foot he pressed a button connected to a cord that ran under the table. A bell rang in the front hall, and soon Greeves appeared.
“Oh, you’re still here, sir,” said the butler with surprise.
“Of course I’m ‘still’ here,” said Squire Grizzly. “Why did you tell Papa I’d left?”
“Well,” said Greeves, “I knew you had that meeting this morning, sir, and I saw the chauffeur leave.”
“That meeting is tomorrow morning, Greeves!” said the squire.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, sir,” said the butler. “I’m getting so forgetful. My head’s been spinning from all those sleepless nights lately.”
“But you look well rested today,” said the squire.
“Only on the outside, sir,” said Greeves. “On the inside, I’m a wreck.”
“Oh, all right,” said Squire Grizzly. “You can go now, Greeves.”
“Thank you, sir.”
When the butler had gone, Squire Grizzly turned to Papa and said, “Well, what about that chair, Papa? Don’t tell me it’s already fixed!”
“I won’t,” said Papa. “Because it isn’t.”
“But can you fix it?”
“I’m not sure how to break this to you, Squire,” said Papa. “There’s good news and bad news.”
“What’s the good news?” asked the squire.
“The good news is that the chair will be easy to fix,” said Papa.
“Fine,” said the squire. “Then fix it. What’s the bad news?”
“The bad news,” said Papa, “is that the chair’s a fake.”
“It’s a what?” said the squire.
“A fake,” Papa repeated. “A cleverly made copy. Brand-new.”
“That means we’ve been robbed!” cried the squire, pounding the table. “But when? How? And by whom?”
Chapter 8
Rudely Awakened
“I’ll bet the ghosts did it!” said Sister. “The ones Maisie saw!”
“What have they done?” said a voice from the entranceway to the dining room. “And who was robbed?”
It was Lady Grizzly. She was wearing a nightgown with a robe over it. She looked exhausted.
“I thought you were asleep, dear,” said Squire Grizzly.
“I was finally dozing off,” said Lady Grizzly, “when I heard someone shout the word robbed and bang the dining room table.”
“Oh . . . er . . . that was me, dear,” said the squire sheepishly.
“Never mind that,” said Lady Grizzly. “Who was robbed?”
The squire gave Papa a glance and said, “I’m not sure how to break this to you, dear. There’s good news and bad news.”
“Tell me the bad news first,” said Lady Grizzly.
“The bad news is that I sat in your favorite rosewood chair and broke it.”
“Oh, dear!” cried Lady Grizzly. “Didn’t I tell you to go on a diet? But what’s the good news?”
“The good news,” said the squire, “is that the chair I broke isn’t really your favorite rosewood chair after all.”
“I don’t understand,” said Lady Grizzly. “What is it, then?”
“It’s . . . er . . . a fake,” said the squire.
“A fake?” cried Lady Grizzly. “That’s not good news. That’s terrible news! We’ve been robbed!” She fell back into a chair. “Check all the furniture in the west wing immediately! Oh, my beautiful antiques!”
Papa and the squire hurried off. They were gone several minutes. When they returned, they had gloomy expressions on their faces.
“Bad news,” moaned Lady Grizzly. “I can tell.”
Papa nodded. “It’s not just the rosewood chair,” he said. “A dozen of the oldest and most valuable antiques in the west wing have been replaced with fakes.”
Chapter 9
Ghostly Logic
Lady Grizzly could hardly speak. Her breathing came in short bursts. Finally, she cried, “My collection is ruined!”
Squire Grizzly hurried to her side. He took her hand in his and patted it. “Don’t worry, dear,” he said. “We’ll catch these burglars and get your antiques back!”
“No, we won’t,” moaned Lady Grizzly.
“But why not, dear?” said the squire.
“Because we can’t catch ghosts!” wailed Lady Grizzly.
“Oh, Auntie,” said Bonnie. “It wasn’t ghosts who stole your antiques.”
“That’s easy for you to say, dear,” said Lady Grizzly, drying her eyes with a handkerchief. “You probably don’t even believe in ghosts.”
“You’re right,” said Bonnie. “I don’t believe in ghosts. But the ghosts I don’t believe in would never bother to replace stolen antiques with fakes. They’d just take them. You yourself just said that we can’t catch ghosts. But whoever switched the antiques with fakes did it so no one would know the antiques were missing. And why? Because they were afraid of being caught.”
The dining room was silent as everyone thought about what Bonnie had said.
“She does have a point, dear,” said the squire to his wife.
“Indeed, she does,” said Lady Grizzly. She looked surprised. “In fact, she’s absolutely right. I do believe in ghosts. But the ghosts I believe in would act exactly the same way that the ghosts Bonnie doesn’t believe in would act!”
“Huh?” said the squire, with a puzzled look. “Oh, never mind. At least we all agree that the burglars are not ghosts.”
Everyone but Sister Bear, that is. Sister still wasn’t convinced. Especially after that nightmare she’d had the night before. But it wasn’t only the nightmare. It was Farnsworth Grizzly’s eyes following her from his portrait. And something else was just as puzzling . . .
“But what about Maisie?” Sister said. “How do you explain what she saw in the ballroom? She couldn’t have imagined it all. That would be too much of a coincidence.”
Everyone thought hard. It was a tough question.
Finally, Bonnie said, “I’ve got it. Maisie really did see the burglars that night. But she just imagined that they were dressed like Bad Bart and his men. And her imagination turned their flashlight into a candle, too.”
“Yeah,” said Brother. “Her imagination turned real burglars into ghosts because she already believed that the mansion was haunted!”
Everyone liked the idea. Even Sister had to admit that Bonnie had come up with a pretty good explanation. “It could be true,” she said.
“Of course it’s true!” said Squire Grizzly. “Any explanation that good deserves to be true!”
Chapter 10
Tillie’s Tale
“Well,” said Lady Grizzly, “if we all agree that ghosts didn’t steal my antiques, then who did?”
The room was silent again. No one seemed to have any ideas.
“There must be a carpenter involved,” said Papa finally. “One who got a good close-up look at the antiques. I don’t know of any carpenter who could make such fine copies from drawings or photographs.”
“But the carpenter may not have been in on the burglary,” said Lady Grizzly.
“Hmm,” said Papa. “A good point, Lady Grizzly. The burglars could have taken the antiques to the carpenter and paid him to copy them without his ever knowing they were stolen.”
“If that’s what happened, I can find out in minutes,” said Lady Grizzly. “Make a list of the stolen items, Papa. I shall telephone every carpenter from Beartown to Big Bear City and ask them if they’ve made any of these copies.”
Papa made the list and gave it to Lady Grizzly, who hurried off to her east wing study.
“I just thought of something,” said Squire Grizzly. “It must have been very tricky getting those antiques out of the mansion and those copies into it. Someone inside the mansion must have helped the burglars!”
“That’s easy,” said Bonnie. “I’ve been in lots of mystery plays, and you know what always happens in them. The butler did it!”
“Greeves?” gasped Squire Grizzly. “Impossible! Greeves has been with us for thirty-five years. He is one of our most loyal and trusted servants.”
“What about his strange behavior lately?” said Bonnie.
“His forgetfulness?” said the squire. “Everyone’s forgetful from time to time. Especially when they’re tired.”
“I guess you haven’t heard Tillie’s story,” said Bonnie. “Maybe you should ring her.”
The squire rang for the housekeeper. Moments later she appeared. “You rang, sir?” she said.
“Tillie,” said Bonnie, “please tell my uncle what you told me about Greeves a few days ago.”
“Yes, miss,” said Tillie. “Well, sir, it happened on Greeves’s day off nearly two weeks ago. Early in the morning I saw him drive off in his car. He was wearing ordinary clothes. But a few minutes later he was back in uniform again, standing in the front hall. He said he’d almost forgotten that the ext
erminators were arriving that morning. They were supposed to get rid of the mice in the old cellar under the west wing. Now, here’s the odd thing about it, sir. The very next morning, when I asked him if the exterminators were finished in the west wing, he said, ‘What exterminators?’ He didn’t remember returning to the mansion to let them in.”
“Hmm,” said Squire Grizzly. “That certainly is odd.”
“That’s not all, sir,” said Tillie. “Greeves remembered all about the exterminators later. This morning I heard him use the intercom in the front hall to tell the security guard that they were coming back today.”
“Hmm,” said the squire once more. “Thank you, Tillie. You may go.” With a curtsy, Tillie left the room.
“Well, Uncle,” said Bonnie, “is that strange enough for you?”
“It’s stranger than you think,” said the squire.
“Why is that?” asked Papa.
“Because,” said the squire, “neither Lady Grizzly nor I ever told Greeves to call the exterminators.”
Chapter 11
To the West Wing!
“I’ll bet those exterminators are crooks!” said Bonnie. “And Greeves is helping them!”
Squire Grizzly looked stunned. “I just can’t believe that,” he said. “I’ll ring Greeves and give him a chance to explain all this.”
The squire rang for the butler and waited. But no one came. He rang again. And again and again. Still Greeves didn’t appear.
“Greeves!” roared the squire. “Where are you? I must speak with you!”
Still no answer.
“He’s probably in the west wing, stealing more furniture!” said Bonnie.
Squire Grizzly dashed to the intercom on the wall and pressed a button. “Harris?” he said.
“Yes, sir?” said the front gate’s guard.
“Have the exterminators arrived yet?”
“The Bug Bears?” said the guard. “Yes, sir. About half an hour ago. They drove their van around to one of the side doors of the west wing. Greeves was going to meet them there.”