“Eat them,” said Lars. “The seeds are nutty and rich. Then you eat the soft part of the fruit with the razor clam shells.”
“We must make those spoons very soon,” said Henry. “We need spoons for everything.”
“I like this,” said Benny. He bit into a seed. “It does taste nutty.”
“I’ll open the canned meat,” said Henry. “Then we’ll have meat and bread together.”
He did so. With cold meat and hot breadfruit, the family enjoyed a full meal. They had bananas for dessert. They did not know that someone was watching them all the time.
The days went by very fast now. Every day brought more surprises. They made the two huts ready for rain, but it did not rain. Every day was beautiful. The Blue Bay was bluer than ever, and the green bay was greener.
One day they all went to the spring for water. Benny looked first at the white shell. It had been moved.
Benny said to himself, “That shell has been moved. It was right next to this white stone. Now it is over on the other side. I bet someone drinks here every day.”
But they never saw anyone. The myna bird did not come back. They dug the sand out of the Explorer II boat and washed it. They pulled it higher on the sand. It looked fine. But this time they did not hear any whine from the treetops.
Everyone had a fine spoon now. They had bowls too. They made a bowl from half a coconut shell. Jessie said, “I like coconut milk better than dry milk now. It is sweeter.”
“I like sugar cane the best,” said Mike. “That is the sweetest of all.”
“Sugar cane is our candy,” said Benny. “We can pick it any time we want to.”
And so the days went by. Nobody ever thought of the Sea Star, because they didn’t want it to come. They were having too good a time.
CHAPTER 10
Trapped
One day Henry said suddenly, “I don’t want a nap today.”
“I don’t either!” shouted Benny and Mike at the same time. “Let’s walk over into the woods. It is cool enough there.”
Mr. Alden laughed. He said, “I want a nap just the same.”
Lars was fixing a hole in the roof of the girls’ hut. “I think I’ll stay home and work on the roof,” he said. “You can explore if you want to. It is safe enough.”
Henry said, “I’d like to see the other side of the island.”
Lars nodded. He looked at Henry. “The best way to go is right behind the spring. When you get to the spring, you climb the rocks behind it. Then you go down the other side to the beach. There is nothing there but a beach.”
“Good,” said Henry. “Let’s go!”
All the children jumped up. Off they started. Lars stopped his work to watch them. He said, “Fine children, Mr. Alden.”
“Yes, they are,” said Mr. Alden. “Every one of them.”
Then Lars went back to his work. Mr. Alden went inside his hut to take a nap.
Very soon he came back to the door and looked up. He said, “I don’t like to have the children go off alone, Lars. You know there is someone on this island. Just keep an eye on them, will you? Don’t let them know.”
Lars said quietly, “Yes, sir. I was going to follow them in a minute. I don’t want to spoil their fun. They will never know that I am watching.”
“Good!” said Mr. Alden. “Thank you, Lars. I see that you understand what I mean. They always did like to be on their own.”
The children walked happily through the ferns. Jessie said, “Isn’t this fun, Henry? It’s the first time we’ve been alone. It makes me think of the old days in the boxcar.”
Henry smiled at his sister. “We had to plan everything for ourselves. Nobody helped us. It was fun.”
“Did Jessie keep care of you, Ben?” asked Mike.
“Take care of me,” said Benny.
“Now don’t start that again!” cried Mike. “You know what I mean!”
“Yes,” said Benny. “Everyone took care of me. I was young then. They taught me to read.”
“Didn’t you have to go to school?” asked Mike.
“Well, I did later,” said Benny. “You and I had fun in school, Mike. We had a nice teacher. Now what was her name?”
“I don’t remember,” said Mike. “I just know she was nice. She was always telling us about bananas growing on trees. Think of that, Ben! And here we have really seen them growing.”
“Her name made me think of cows,” said Benny.
“Cows?” said Mike. “It didn’t me. It was nothing like cows. I’m sure of that!”
The children soon came to the spring. They looked at the two beautiful little waterfalls for a minute. Henry looked at the rocks.
“That’s a good climb,” he said. “But I think we can all do it.”
“We can start from the statue’s nose,” said Benny. He climbed up and sat down. Mike climbed up and sat on the statue’s chin. They were very good seats.
“Some day I’d like to find the end of this statue,” said Mike. “See if it has any feet.”
“It is all covered with leaves and bushes,” said Jessie. “But I’m sure we could find it.”
“Not today, though,” said Benny. “Today we are climbing this mountain.”
Henry began to climb. “You all wait and see how I get along,” he said.
Henry went up the rocks very well. Soon he called back, “Here is a nice big place half way up. We can stand here, or sit down and rest. Come along.”
Mike said, “Now, Violet, I’ll help you. Take my hand.”
“Thank you, Mike,” said Violet. “You are a better climber than I am.”
Up they went. “Put your foot here, Violet,” said Mike. “That’s the last step. Then I’ll pull you up.”
Mike was very strong. He was very gentle with Violet. And at last they were all sitting on the wide rocks to rest.
But Benny could not sit still long. He turned and looked on every side. He turned around and looked behind him.
“Look,” he said. “A stump!”
It was a stump. But it was not growing there.
Henry was excited. “Look, everyone!” he cried.
“That stump never grew up here. Someone put it here!”
“That’s right,” said Jessie. “See the stones on every side of it. The stones hold it.”
“The stones keep it straight, so it won’t fall off,” said Benny.
Jessie said slowly, “I wonder what that stump is for.”
“It must be to step on,” said Benny.
“Benny, I think you are right!” cried Henry. “And I am going to step on it and see what I can see.”
Henry put one foot on the stump very carefully. Then he lifted himself by a small tree.
“Well, what do you know!” he shouted.
“What is it?” cried Jessie.
“I can’t believe my eyes,” cried Henry. “It’s a big cave. It is just like our old boxcar!”
“No!” said Jessie. “It can’t be, Henry!”
“Well, it is,” said Henry. “Way off here in the South Seas! Come up and see for yourself. You’ll have to take turns. Jessie, you come first. I’ll come down.”
Henry stepped off the stump. He gave Jessie his hand and up she went.
“Oh, Violet,” she called. “It’s a tall wide cave in the rocks. It’s very long, and the floor is a bed. It is all covered with leaves and ferns. And Henry, did you see the shelf?”
“Yes, I certainly did,” said Henry. “That is how I was sure it was like the boxcar. It has dishes on it.”
“What kind of dishes, Jessie?” called Benny. He could hardly wait for his turn.
“Well, there is a pile of shells for plates. I’ll come down, now. Benny ought to see these dishes.”
Violet said, “Let Benny have my turn.”
Benny was glad. He got up on the stump. Henry helped him. Then Benny saw something that made him more excited than ever.
“My pink cup!” he shouted. “It is like my pink cup!”
> “I think so too,” said Jessie. “I think someone made this place to sleep in.”
“I think someone made it to live in when it rains,” said Henry. “And this has a wide roof where the rocks come out over the cave.”
“Let me try it!” said Mike. “I’ll climb in and lie down.”
Benny came down. Mike went up. He lay down on the bed.
“Oh, it’s as hard as a rock. I could never sleep here!” he cried.
“You might if you had to,” said Henry. “Suppose it was pouring rain outside.”
Benny climbed down as far as the statue’s nose. He sat down and watched Mike. Suddenly Benny saw the trees move above him. First one tree moved. Then another. Benny thought, “Some animal is jumping from one tree to another.”
Without a word, he followed the trees. He crashed through the bushes and ferns. He kept looking up. All the time he watched the tree tops moving.
“Yes,” he thought, “somebody jumps from one tree to the next. Maybe it’s a monkey. But this time I’m going to find out!”
On went Benny. He was so excited that he fell down twice. He picked himself up and crashed on. On and on went the thing in the trees. On and on went Benny. He never thought of the cave now. All he thought of was the mystery.
“Is it ever going to stop?” he thought. He was out of breath. The bushes and ferns were much bigger than he was. “I won’t stop! I won’t stop till it does!”
But he did. He put his foot down and everything gave way under him. Down he fell. As he fell, he thought, “Hope there is no water in this!”
But no, the hole was deep, and dry. “I’m glad!” thought Benny. “But now how do I get out? I’d better yell. I hope Henry can hear me!”
Benny did not have time to make a sound. Over the edge of the hole he saw a boy, very thin and brown, with long hair.
“Who are you?” asked Benny looking up.
“I’m Peter,” said the boy.
“Oh, you look like a girl!” said Benny. “Long hair!”
“No, I’m a boy,” said Peter. “I can’t cut my hair with my knife. Come on, now, Benny. Give me your hand.”
Benny took hold of the brown hand. He thought it would be soft like a girl’s, but it was very hard like a dog’s paw.
Peter pulled Benny out of the hole. “That hole is my store house,” said Peter. “It is a trap, too.”
“So I see,” said Benny. “How do you know I’m Benny?”
“Oh, I’ve watched you for a long time. I know you all,” said Peter.
The two boys sat down and looked at each other. They never thought of the family back at the cave.
CHAPTER 11
Peter
Back at the cave, Mike was saying, “You can have another turn, Ben. I’m coming down.”
But of course Benny did not answer. He was not there.
“Goodness!” cried Jessie. “Where is Benny?”
They began to call, “Benny! Benny!” They all listened.
“I hear a funny noise over that way,” said Violet, pointing. “It sounds like Benny! He is in trouble!”
The children crashed through the bushes and over rocks. They were calling “Benny!” all the time. And suddenly right before their eyes they saw a strange sight. Benny and a stranger were sitting on the edge of a deep hole.
“Oh, Benny, are you hurt?” cried Jessie.
“Not at all,” said Benny. “This is Peter! I fell into his trap and he pulled me out.”
Henry came and sat down by the boys. He said to Peter, “Have you been all alone on this island?”
“Yes,” said Peter. “I’ve been alone for about three weeks.”
“Three weeks!” cried Henry. “How do you know?”
“I cut some marks in a tree. Mr. Anderson was with me at first. He cut the marks for six months. So after he went, I cut them myself. One every day.”
“Who was Mr. Anderson?” asked Jessie.
“He was a sailor,” said the boy. “Our ship hit a reef and went down. I was in a lifeboat with Mr. Anderson and we came to this island. We were together for six months, and Mr. Anderson went swimming and I never saw him again.”
“So you have been here almost seven months,” said Jessie.
“That’s right,” said Peter.
“How in the world do you get along alone?” asked Jessie.
“Oh, I get along fine,” said Peter. “I do just what Mr. Anderson did.”
“Tell me something, Peter,” said Mike. “How did you happen to make your bed in the cave?”
“I thought it would be fun,” said Peter. “Once I read about some children who were all alone. Then it rained so hard, I had to get somewhere out of the rain. Those rocks make a fine roof. I used to sit and watch the rain before you came to the island.”
Henry whispered to Benny. “Don’t tell him about us now. Later you can.”
Mike looked at Peter and said, “Did you take our crackers that day?”
Peter looked upset. “I am sorry about that,” he said. “I have been here so long, and everything was free. I could take anything I wanted. Bananas, fish, coconuts, oysters, crabs and sugar cane. When I saw the crackers I took those, too.”
“It’s all right,” said Mike. “Nobody thinks I took them now.”
Henry said, “Peter, why didn’t you call out to us before? Were you afraid of us?”
“Yes, I was,” said Peter. “Mr. Anderson said I must keep very still if I saw anyone on this island. I mustn’t let anyone know I was here.”
“I suppose he meant dangerous men like cannibals,” said Henry. “But there aren’t any more cannibals around here.”
“I didn’t know,” said Peter. “You might be dangerous! I have watched you for a long time, and now I know you are all right.”
“A good thing we found you!” said Henry.
“We know you can take care of yourself,” said Jessie. “But you can live with us and have some of our food. And we are going away soon. Don’t you want to go along?”
“Yes, I do,” said Peter. “I miss my father and mother. I used to live near Boston.”
“We’ll take you to Boston,” said Benny. “Just as soon as our ship comes. And we’ll find your mother and father for you.”
“Here, old fellow!” said Henry. “Don’t promise! We’ll try. And if anyone can find your parents, Grandfather can.”
Mike said, “Look how brown you are, Peter.”
“Oh, I’m just sunburned. I have been living in the sun for so long.”
“Come on, Peter,” said Henry. “We’ll take you to see Lars and my grandfather.”
Peter did not ask who they were, because he knew very well. He said, “I watched you the day you came to the island. My, I was scared when I saw the ship! I watched you when you found the turtle shell. I heard every word you said. I watched you find my boat, and I was afraid you would take my boat away.”
“Yes, we heard you whine and moan,” said Benny. “I thought someone was in trouble and it was you.”
The family began to walk back to the houses. Jessie said, “Didn’t you almost forget how to talk, Peter?”
“Oh, I always talked to myself,” said Peter. “I talked all day, until you came. And then I had my bird to talk to.”
“What can he say?” asked Mike.
“She,” said Peter. “Old Myna is a girl. She says ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good night’ and ‘Hello, Peter,’ and ‘Thank you’ and ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ and ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Look out, it’s hot!’”
“I can see she is quite a talker,” said Henry. “She must be a lot of company for you.”
“Yes, I love old Myna. That’s her name, because Mr. Anderson said it was a myna bird.”
“Isn’t it better to have people for company, Peter?” asked Violet.
“Oh, yes,” said Peter. “That is why I came to help Benny out of my trap. I thought the time had come. And you were all alone without the others.”
“It’s wonderful,” said
Jessie. “Won’t Grandfather and Lars be surprised!”
But just then Lars was going very fast and very quietly back to the house. When the children came home, Lars was sitting there on the top of the hut still fixing the roof.
“Lars!” shouted Benny. “See what we found! Our Mystery!”
Lars looked up and saw Peter. “Oh, a boy!” Lars said. “Where did you find him? Mr. Alden! Come and see this boy!”
Mr. Alden came to the door and looked out.
“It’s Peter, Grandfather!” said Henry. “He has lived here for six months!”
Mr. Alden tried to wake up. He thought he was dreaming. He said, “Six months! How could he?”
“He lived just the way we do,” said Benny. “Only he never had any crackers or milk or meat.”
Lars said, “Now, Peter, come and sit down and tell us about this. Did you come in that lifeboat that is all filled with sand?”
“Yes, sir,” said Peter. “Mr. Anderson and I came in it six months ago.”
Lars and Mr. Alden looked at each other.
Then Mr. Alden came and sat down too. He said, “Peter, I’d like to know more about the shipwreck. I suppose it was a shipwreck. Can you bear to tell me?”
“Oh, yes,” said Peter. “I’d like to. Maybe it won’t seem so bad if I tell somebody. There was a terrible storm in the middle of the night. We were all seasick. Then the ship hit a reef and began to go down. The sailors got three lifeboats over the side. I was in one with my mother and father and Mr. Anderson. Then some others got in and the boat tipped over. Everybody went into the water. I couldn’t see a thing.”
“Do you think your parents were saved?” asked Mr. Alden gently.
“I don’t know,” said Peter. “Maybe. But it was very dark, you know. I was going down. Suddenly I felt Mr. Anderson lifting me into a boat again. When I woke up, I was here. We never saw any other boat after that.”
“Your parents think you were lost, then,” said Grandfather.
“Yes, I’m sure they do, if they were saved.”
Lars said, “Some people got picked up, because the paper said they were taken to San Francisco.”
“Is that so?” said Peter. He looked at Lars quickly. “Maybe my father and mother were saved. But they would never know about me. Mr. Anderson and I never saw any ship.”
The Boxcar Children Mysteries Box Set Page 37