“I put it on Richard’s dressing table,” Jonathan said. “What a cluttered mess! I’m not surprised the sword got misplaced.”
“Was he there when you left it?” asked Henry.
“No,” Jonathan said. “I’m not sure where he was.”
“What time was it?” asked Jessie.
Jonathan thought for a moment. “It was right after the show, probably about ten o’clock. I just left the sword on the dressing table and walked out.” He shrugged. “Never occurred to me that something might happen to it.” He looked back at his magazine.
The Aldens had no more questions, so they left. “See you later,” Benny called.
Outside Jonathan’s tent, Jessie made a couple of notes in her notebook.
“Richard Worthington’s tent next?” Violet asked. The others nodded, and they set off in that direction.
“We didn’t learn much from Jonathan,” said Henry.
“Except for one thing,” Violet said. “He didn’t seem very concerned about the sword.”
“No,” Jessie said thoughtfully. “He certainly didn’t.”
A moment later the children were at Mr. Worthington’s tent. The flap was propped open, and they could see him inside. The Aldens immediately saw that Jonathan was right—the dressing table was a complete mess, as was the rest of the tent. Piles of clothing and armor and bits of hay were strewn about everywhere.
“Mr. Worthington?” said Henry.
“Yes?” he responded, looking up from a pile of clothing he had been sorting through. He did not seem happy to have visitors.
“We just wanted to talk to you about the missing sword,” said Jessie. “If you don’t mind.”
“I knew that young scoundrel should never have borrowed my sword,” Mr. Worthington said. “I warned them something bad would happen.”
“Jonathan said he left the sword in here after the show,” said Jessie.
“I don’t care what Mr. Fairbanks says. When I came in last night, there was no sword,” said Mr. Worthington.
“What time did you come back to the tent?” asked Henry.
Mr. Worthington frowned. “I don’t know. I don’t wear a watch.”
“Was it right after the show ended?” asked Jessie. “That was ten o’clock.”
“No, I stayed for a few minutes to sign autographs,” Mr. Worthington said. “I probably got back here around ten-fifteen.”
“Did you look all around here for the sword?” asked Jessie, her eyes traveling around the tent.
“Yes, Ms. Greene and I turned this tent upside down looking for the sword,” said Mr. Worthington. “I assure you it’s not here.”
“I wonder where it could be,” said Jessie.
“I suggest you ask Mr. Fairbanks.” And with that Mr. Worthington strode angrily out of the tent.
The Aldens all looked at each other, stunned.
“We didn’t learn much from him, either,” said Henry, sighing.
“No, except that he thinks Jonathan is to blame,” said Jessie, writing in her notebook. She glanced at her watch. “We’d better get to the costume shop or there won’t be any swords for tonight’s show.”
The children had been to the costume shop several times to buy things for their Halloween costumes. It was just a short walk from the park. As they walked, they talked about what could have happened to the sword.
“Do you really think someone stole it?” Benny asked.
“I hate to think that,” said Henry. “But what else could have happened to it?”
“Who would have stolen it?” asked Violet.
“Jonathan is the most likely suspect,” Henry said. “He was the last one who had it. He says he put it in Mr. Worthington’s tent, but no one saw it there.”
“Remember how happy he was to get the sword?” Violet said. “He kept saying it was just what he needed.”
“I’m wondering if maybe Richard Worthington stole the sword,” Jessie said. “He was so angry when Hannah asked him to give it to Jonathan.”
“He claimed he was the ‘rightful owner,’” Henry recalled.
“A pretty strange thing to say since the sword really belongs to Hannah,” Jessie said. “And today he kept saying, ‘I warned them something bad would happen.’”
“So do you think that he’s just pretending he never saw the sword last night, but actually he’s hidden it away somewhere?” asked Violet. “And now he’s trying to put the blame on Jonathan?”
“He was very angry that Jonathan was using ‘his’ sword,” said Jessie. “Today he called him a scoundrel. Maybe he wants to get Jonathan in trouble.”
“Hannah said Mr. Worthington could be very moody,” said Violet. “And he sure seems that way.”
They had reached downtown Greenfield. The children walked up Main Street to the corner where the costume shop was.
The store was crowded with costumes of all kinds. There were colorful clown costumes, scary witch dresses, elegant princess gowns, even a furry dog suit.
“Hello,” said the man behind the counter. “Can I help you?”
“We need some swords for the medieval fair at Pleasant Valley Park,” Jessie said.
“I’ve heard about that fair,” the man said. “So you need something a medieval knight would use?”
“Yes,” said Jessie.
The man opened a drawer and pulled out several different swords. One was made of cheap plastic and didn’t look real enough. Jessie was also worried it might break, like the first one had. Another sword was too small. After considering all of them, the children selected two sturdy swords with fancy handles.
“These will be fine,” Jessie said, taking the money out of her backpack to pay for them.
As they walked back to the park, Benny and Jessie each took a sword and dueled. “These are great,” Benny said.
“But nothing like the one that was stolen,” said Violet. “It was really beautiful.”
“That reminds me,” said Henry. “Annie was talking about how beautiful the sword was. And how valuable. Do you think … ?”
Jessie stopped dueling. “That Annie stole it?” she asked thoughtfully.
“No!” cried Violet. “Not Annie.”
“She was wandering around in the dark last night,” Henry reminded her. “She could easily have taken it.”
“Jonathan was wandering around, too,” Violet said.
“And who knows where Mr. Worthington was,” said Benny.
Jessie shook her head. “There’s definitely something strange going on at the fair.”
CHAPTER 5
Sir Benny
The Aldens brought the new swords to Hannah as soon as they got back to the park.
“These are great,” Hannah said as Jessie handed her the money that was left. “You’ve saved the show.”
“Any more news about the real sword?” asked Henry.
“No,” said Hannah grimly. She checked her watch. “The show starts soon. I’d better get you all started.”
Hannah had found them all costumes to wear so they would look as if they were from the Middle Ages.
“Boys your age would be training to be knights,” Hannah said to Benny and Henry, handing them light cotton pants with tunics over them. “In the Middle Ages, you would really have worn tights, not pants, under your tunics.”
Both boys made faces.
“Tights! Those are for girls!” Benny cried.
“I had a feeling you might be more comfortable in pants,” Hannah said.
“Thank you,” Henry told her.
“Whew!” said Benny.
Hannah gave Jessie and Violet long dresses to wear. The girls changed into their dresses excitedly. They took turns braiding each others’ hair, and in no time they looked just like ladies-in-waiting for a princess.
“Another night you can be a musician and a jester,” Hannah said, holding up some colorful checkered tights and tunics. “But for now you look just right.”
Hannah sent Henry off toward the st
able to help dress the horses in the elaborate gear they wore for the show. Violet and Jessie went to Annie’s tent to help her dress. Benny walked off toward the knights’ tent to help Jonathan. He was carrying one of the swords they’d bought.
When he entered the tent, Benny was surprised to find Jonathan whistling happily. Everyone else at the fairgrounds seemed to be feeling bad because of the stolen sword.
“Hello!” Jonathan said brightly when he saw Benny.
“I brought you this sword to replace the one that was stolen,” Benny said.
“Thanks,” Jonathan said, taking the sword. He looked at it briefly. “Nothing like the other one, but it will do for the show.”
“Can you believe the other sword was stolen?” Benny asked.
“It’s terrible, isn’t it?” said Jonathan. But he still didn’t really seem bothered. “Let’s get going, my young page.” He pointed to a pile of clothing and armor he needed to put on before the show.
“What is a ‘page’ anyway?” Benny asked.
Jonathan was changing from his regular clothes into gray padded long underwear. As he dressed he told Benny all about the Middle Ages. “You know what a knight is, right? Someone who protected the king and the noblemen. If you wanted to be a knight, first you became a page in a wealthy lord’s manor. Boys about your age would start off as pages, living with a noble family.”
“At my age?” Benny asked. He couldn’t imagine being sent away from his own family when he was still so young. He thought for a moment. “What would I do as a page?”
“You’d serve meals and help the lord get dressed each morning,” Jonathan said.
Benny made a face. “That doesn’t sound like much fun.”
“You’d also learn how to ride on a wooden horse and fight with a wooden sword,” Jonathan went on.
“Now that’s better,” Benny said, grinning.
“Then, when you got to be about Henry’s age, you’d become a squire,” said Jonathan. “Squires were like assistants— they followed their masters into battle and looked after the horses and armor.”
“Henry would like that,” Benny said.
“And once you were about twenty-one, you’d be made a knight,” said Jonathan.
“How do they make you a knight?” Benny wanted to know.
“There’s a special dubbing ceremony,” Jonathan said. “Kneel down. I’ll show you.”
Benny knelt in front of Jonathan.
“Now bow your head.”
Benny did as Jonathan told him.
“Now the lord would lightly tap your shoulder with a sword.” Jonathan picked up the new sword Benny had brought him and touched it to Benny’s shoulders.
“Rise, Sir Benny. You are now a knight!” Jonathan and Benny both laughed. Then Jonathan looked at his watch. “I’d better hurry up—the show starts in half an hour.”
“It won’t take you that long to get dressed,” said Benny.
“Not with your help,” Jonathan agreed. “But you know it used to take knights as long as an hour to put on all their armor.”
“You sure know all about knights,” said Benny.
“I did a lot of reading on the subject,” Jonathan said.
“Just for this show?” Benny asked.
“No, actually it was because—” Jonathan began. Then he stopped himself. “We’ve been talking too much. Come on, help me get ready, or I’ll be late.”
Benny wondered what Jonathan had started to say. But there was no time to ask. There was too much to do to get Jonathan ready for the show.
First Benny helped Jonathan strap on his leg armor over his long underwear. Next came the breastplate and backplate.
“This is heavy,” Benny said.
“And this isn’t even real armor,” said Jonathan. “Back in the Middle Ages a suit of armor could weigh as much as forty or fifty pounds! I’m glad my costume doesn’t weigh that much. It’s actually pretty flexible. Even back in the old days it was. It had to be so that the knights could move around in battle.”
“Why did they wear the armor, anyway?” Benny asked.
“To protect themselves from their enemy’s weapons,” Jonathan explained as Benny helped him put on the pieces covering his shoulders and arms.
Next, Benny helped Jonathan strap on his silvery cape, which fluttered behind him as he walked. Jonathan smiled in the mirror as he combed his hair. “Noble knights of the Round Table, here I come,” he said to himself. Last, Benny helped Jonathan put on his long metal gloves and helmet.
“Hand me my sword,” Jonathan said just before leaving the tent.
Benny handed him the new sword.
“See you after the show!” Jonathan called out cheerfully.
Benny couldn’t believe Jonathan was in such a good mood. Wasn’t he at all worried about the stolen sword? After all he’d been the last one seen with it. But for some reason, Jonathan seemed to be happier than ever. Benny couldn’t help wondering why.
That night, again the show went well. The two swords the children had bought worked fine, although they lacked the sparkle of the missing sword.
When the show ended, the children changed out of their costumes and left them in Hannah’s office. Grandfather came to pick up the children since it was dark out. They piled wearily into the car.
Jessie told their grandfather about the missing sword.
“How terrible,” Mr. Alden said. “Hannah must be very upset about the sword.”
“Yes, she is,” said Violet.
“We promised to help her,” Jessie recalled. “Tomorrow we’ll have to get to the park a little bit earlier so we can look around. Maybe we can find the sword, or at least get an idea of who might have taken it.”
“Good plan,” Henry said. “We’ll go over there first thing.”
CHAPTER 6
In the Kitchen
When The Aldens arrived at the park the next morning, they looked for Hannah. They finally found her in the kitchen building. She was talking to the chef, who was a large man in a white apron and hat.
“I sure am happy to see you!” she called when she saw the Aldens. She motioned for the children to join her. “I think you mentioned that you like to cook?” she asked.
“We love to cook,” Benny said. When the children had lived in the boxcar, they had cooked all their own meals, and they still enjoyed cooking together.
“Great,” said Hannah. “This is Anthony, our chef.”
“And you must be the Aldens. I’ve heard so much about you,” Anthony said.
“I need you to help out in the kitchen. Anthony’s assistants didn’t come in today,” said Hannah.
Anthony explained, “One took the day off for a family emergency, and the other called in sick.” He sighed. “How am I supposed to get all the food ready without my staff?”
“Don’t worry, Anthony. The Aldens know how to get things done,” said Hannah, as she walked out of the kitchen.
Anthony nodded, but he looked as if he didn’t quite believe her.
“We need to wash our hands,” said Jessie. She was ready to get to work.
“The sink’s over there.” Anthony pointed. The children washed their hands with soap and warm water. Then they tied on the white cloth aprons Anthony gave them.
“First we need to get the soup ready,” said Anthony. “To be really tasty, it needs to simmer for several hours.”
Anthony gave Benny and Violet vegetable scrapers and showed them where the bags of potatoes and carrots were. Benny and Violet washed and scraped the vegetables. They handed them to Jessie and Henry, who chopped them on a heavy wooden cutting board. Soon a huge pile of chopped carrots and potatoes filled the cutting board. Benny and Violet threw the long curls of brown potato skin and orange carrot peelings into the garbage.
When Anthony saw how quickly they’d chopped the vegetables, his face broke into a grin. “Great work!” he said. “Hannah was right —you do know how to get things done.”
Anthony showed them a large p
ot of broth on the stove. The children gathered up the chopped vegetables and put them into the pot.
“There, now that can simmer while we prepare the rest,” said Anthony. “Of course, if this were a real medieval kitchen, this pot would be hanging over an open fire in a huge hearth. But here, we use a modern stove.”
Benny sniffed the air. “That soup smells delicious.”
“It was delicious when we had it the other night,” said Violet.
Next Anthony got out flour, yeast, salt, and several large bowls. He gave each of the children a measuring cup to fill with water at the sink. Then, following Anthony’s lead, the children mixed the dough for the bread. Then Anthony sprinkled flour all over the wooden table, and each of the children took the dough they’d made and kneaded it with their hands.
This was Benny’s favorite part. “This feels like molding clay,” he said.
After they had kneaded the dough for several minutes, Anthony took the mounds of dough and placed them in large bowls to rise.
“Later, I’ll shape the dough into loaves and bake the bread,” he explained. “Now all we have left to prepare is the chicken.” He went to the large refrigerator and pulled out several trays of raw chicken and some bowls of a reddish-brown sauce. He handed the children large basting brushes. “We’re going to brush the sauce onto the chicken before we roast it.”
The children dipped their brushes into the bowls and then painted the sauce onto the chicken.
“This is fun!” said Violet.
When all the chicken had been coated with the tangy sauce, Jessie and Henry helped Anthony put the trays back in the refrigerator.
Anthony put his hands on his hips and looked around the kitchen with satisfaction. “We’re in good shape,” he said. “Nothing else needs to be done right now. Thank you so much for your help.”
“It was our pleasure,” said Jessie as they left to find Hannah and see what else she needed them to do.
The Aldens found Hannah in her office. “Are you done cooking?” she asked.
“Yes, Anthony said everything was ready,” Jessie said.
“Great, because now I need you to find Richard’s crown,” said Hannah.
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