The Mystery on Stage

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  For a few seconds after Sarah stopped, there was silence. Then everyone began to applaud. Some even stood up and cheered. Sarah looked very pleased until she glanced at her watch. “Oh, no, I didn’t realize how late it was getting,” she muttered softly.

  “Oh, do you have to go?” Melody asked, looking pleased.

  Sarah turned a little pale. “No, not right away,” she answered.

  “Good,” Jim said. He looked at Sarah closely. “I’d like you to stay to read with the other actors. I also want you to do some simple dance steps on stage this afternoon.”

  Sarah nodded.

  Melody turned her back on Sarah and began whispering to the girl in a white frilly shirt sitting next to her.

  “All right, let’s continue,” Jim said briskly.

  Jessie barely listened to the other girls’ tryouts. No one could compete with Sarah for the lead, that was sure.

  “I don’t see why we have to sit here while you audition all these girls!” An angry man interrupted Jessie’s daydreaming. “It’s a waste of our time!”

  “The auditions for Dorothy are almost finished.” Jim sighed and glanced at his clipboard. He turned in his chair to face the angry man. “We’ll begin the auditions for the other major roles as soon as some of these girls take a short break, Mr. White.”

  To Jessie’s surprise, Jim asked her to come back after the break to read with the adults. He invited Sarah, Melody, and two other girls to come, too.

  Jessie’s family crowded around her. “Jessie you were great,” Henry said proudly.

  “We’re staying for the rest of the auditions,” Benny said. “We want to be here when you get the part.”

  “They won’t announce the results until late tomorrow afternoon,” Jessie said, laughing. Mr. Maynard has a lot of people to cast. But I’m glad you’re staying. I should be finished soon.” She hurried back to the table.

  The man in the tin costume sat next to Jessie. He introduced himself as Harold Carlton. Of all the adult actors, he was the best by far. The director must have thought so, too, because anytime Harold read, Jim leaned back in his chair and smiled.

  The impatient man, Richard White, was reading the lines for the Wizard. He stopped for a moment to mop his forehead with a handkerchief. “It’s too warm in here,” he complained. “Can’t you tell them to turn down the heat?”

  “The janitors aren’t here today. We can leave a note for them,” Jim answered wearily.

  “You must be awfully hot with that tin helmet on all the time,” Richard continued, turning to Harold. “Why don’t you take it off?”

  “That’s not in the script,” Harold joked.

  Jim shrugged. “A good actor performs even when he’s uncomfortable.”

  “I see,” Richard said irritably. But he continued reading in his loud, booming voice.

  “I must admit he’s got the right voice for the Wizard,” Sarah whispered softly to Jessie. “It’s too bad about his personality.”

  Jessie giggled. Sarah smiled back at her, but Jessie noticed she kept looking at her watch. As time passed, Sarah grew more and more fidgety.

  When they were in the middle of the scene with the Wicked Witch of the West, the stage manager interrupted.

  “Excuse me, Jim, but there’s a phone call for you.”

  Jim frowned. “Who is it?” he asked.

  “A man,” the stage manager answered. “He wouldn’t give his name, but he said it was important.”

  Jim pressed his hands together and sighed. “I’ll be right back,” he told the actors. But he was gone more than fifteen minutes. When he returned, he looked pale.

  “That was a crank call,” he said slowly. “Whoever it was told me not to direct this show. If I did, there would be trouble.” Jim nervously twirled the pencil in his hands.

  The actors all looked up from their scripts. Some seemed puzzled, others scared.

  “Oh, it’s probably just a dumb joke,” Jim said, but the others could tell he was worried. “Anyway, let’s continue, shall we?” He sat down in his big chair and took up the script.

  Sarah, after another look at her watch and at the clock in the back of the room, stood up. “I really have to go now. May I be excused?”

  “Well yes, if you must,” Jim told her. “But I don’t like performers to leave in the middle of a scene. The auditions for the lead roles should be over in another hour, and I did want to see if you can dance.”

  Sarah gasped and turned pale. “Oh, I can’t stay any longer today. Really I can’t.”

  “Why not?” Melody asked loudly.

  Sarah didn’t answer. Instead, she bit her lip and looked at the floor. She looked as if she were about to burst into tears.

  “All right,” Jim said gently, giving Sarah a puzzled look. “You can go. We may call you back tomorrow.” Sarah nodded, grabbed her purple coat, and rushed out the door.

  Everyone else around the table looked at one another.

  “I think it’s rude she didn’t even wait for the others to finish,” Melody whispered loudly. The girl in the frilly white shirt nodded.

  Jim sighed. “All right, let’s continue, shall we? Melody, why don’t you read Dorothy’s lines.”

  Melody tossed her head and began reading. Jessie tried to concentrate on her lines as she read the part of the Cowardly Lion, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah. Though Jessie did not want to admit it, she wondered whether Sarah had anything to do with the mysterious phone call.

  CHAPTER 3

  A Cast of Characters

  “Why don’t we go to the park for a late lunch?” Henry suggested the next day. “This way we can be nearby when the results are posted.”

  Soo Lee yawned and stretched her arms. She had spent the night with her cousins on a cot in Violet’s room. “What is there to eat in the park?” she asked.

  Henry smiled at the little girl. “Grandfather gave me some money. We can buy lunch things at the grocery store on the way over.”

  “That sounds good. I want peanut butter,” Benny said.

  “Me, too,” Soo Lee agreed.

  Benny put on his navy-blue jacket. “Why don’t we take Watch with us? Once Jim sees all he can do, he’ll give him Toto’s part right away.”

  The others laughed. “It wouldn’t hurt to take him for a walk in the park,” Jessie said.

  “Come here, boy. I hope you remember all the tricks I taught you,” Benny said. Watch held his paw up to shake Benny’s hand. Benny shook it and clipped on Watch’s red leash.

  “Jessie, did I tell you the stage manager said I could be an errand boy? And Soo Lee can help me,” Benny said.

  Jessie laughed as she walked out the front door. “Yes, Benny, you did tell me.”

  “Now we really can all work together,” Benny continued. “We may even have a mystery to solve again.”

  “Yes, if that phone call was for real, we sure will,” Henry said. He stopped at the corner to wait for the light.

  “Remember,” Jessie reminded her brothers. “I don’t have a part yet.”

  “Oh, you will,” Henry said. “We heard what the director said when you finished reading. He didn’t say ‘that was well done’ to anyone else.”

  “Except Sarah,” Jessie walked quickly to keep up with Henry. “He was so impressed with her, he didn’t know what to say.”

  “I just hope Melody doesn’t get a part,” Benny said as he caught up with Jessie and Henry. “I wouldn’t want to spend the next month working with her.”

  “I don’t know Benny, she might,” Jessie answered. “She has a very good voice.”

  “So does the man in the tin costume,” Violet said. “I heard him practicing.”

  “I wonder why he never wants to take his costume off,” Benny said as he held open the door to the deli.

  “He must like his costume very much,” Soo Lee said.

  The Aldens bought chicken salad, potato chips, apples, small cartons of orange juice, rye bread, slices of a chocolate layer
cake Soo Lee admired, and paper plates. “You have a sweet tooth just like Benny,” Henry teased his cousin.

  As the Aldens walked toward the park, they noticed Richard White farther down the street. He stopped at a store window to admire his reflection.

  “Boy, he’s stuck up,” Henry muttered to Violet.

  Violet nodded as the children all crossed the street to the park.

  The Aldens settled themselves on the stone benches near the Community Playhouse, and carefully made their sandwiches. An actress they had met the day before walked by and smiled. “The results should be posted soon,” she said.

  Benny swallowed a bite of his apple. “Maybe we should go see,” he suggested.

  Soo Lee looked longingly at the slices of chocolate layer cake. Jessie smiled at her. “We can wait until you’ve had your cake. The results probably aren’t posted this early.”

  “That’s fine with me.” Benny grinned.

  “We thought it would be.” Henry tickled his brother playfully in the ribs. Benny laughed. “Don’t do that while I’m eating,” he protested.

  “Okay, I’ll wait until you’re finished,” Henry promised, reaching for a slice of cake.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re finding something to laugh about,” a girl said. Benny looked up from his plate and swallowed.

  “Melody?” he said surprised.

  Melody’s eyes and nose were puffy and red. Benny was afraid Melody would yell at him again, but to his relief she ignored him and turned to Jessie.

  “I didn’t get the part of Dorothy,” Melody said angrily. “How could Jim give the best part to that rude girl who wouldn’t even wait for the rest of us to finish?”

  “Sarah has the part of Dorothy?” Jessie asked. She wasn’t at all surprised. “So, the results are posted,” she said more loudly.

  Melody sniffed and dabbed her eyes with a pink tissue. “Yes, they want me to be the Scarecrow, but I haven’t decided whether or not I’ll even act in this dopey play.” Melody gulped. “It would serve them right if I just left.”

  “We should go see the results,” Henry said, paying no attention to Melody. He gathered the remains of the picnic in a paper bag and walked away. Melody stared after him and blew her nose.

  “I really wish she hadn’t gotten a part,” Benny muttered as the Aldens entered the Playhouse. Inside, several people clustered around a bulletin board on the far wall.

  “Henry, you’re the tallest, why don’t you see if you can read it?” Jessie suggested. She suddenly felt as if she had butterflies in her stomach.

  Soon Henry rejoined his family. He was all smiles. “Jessie,” he said proudly, “you have the part of the Cowardly Lion.”

  “Oh, Jessie, that’s my favorite character in the whole play!” Benny patted his sister on the back.

  “You’ll have a much better costume than if you were Dorothy.” Violet grinned, thinking of the fun she’d have making Jessie a furry suit with a long lion’s tail.

  “I’ve been assigned to work on scenery and lighting. You’re to work on costumes, Violet. We have a meeting with the stage manager this afternoon,” Henry said.

  “What about me and Soo Lee?” Benny asked.

  “You’re down as a ‘gofer,’ Benny,” answered Henry.

  “What?” Benny raised his eyebrows.

  “That means you run errands for the director. He might ask you to deliver packages or messages.”

  “That sounds like an important job.” Benny stood up, proudly.

  “Soo Lee is going to help with scenery,” Henry continued.

  Soo Lee smiled. “That’s good.”

  “And when the play opens, Soo Lee, they want you to be one of the ushers.” Soo Lee looked at Henry.

  “An usher is someone who shows people to their seats,” Henry explained. Soo Lee nodded.

  “Who got the part of the Wizard?” Jessie asked.

  “Richard,” Henry answered. “Harold is the Tinman.”

  “Look, he’s over there.” Benny nudged Jessie. “And he’s still wearing his tin costume. Isn’t that funny?”

  “What about Toto?” Jessie asked her brother.

  “That part is still open. This may be Watch’s big chance.” Henry smiled, thinking of Watch on the stage.

  “What are we waiting for?” Benny asked. “We need to get Watch an audition.”

  “They also need someone to play Aunty Em, Dorothy’s aunt,” Henry added.

  Jessie was quiet a moment. “You know, Mrs. McGregor would be a wonderful Aunty Em,” she said slowly. “She even knows most of the lines after helping me for my audition.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea, Jessie,” Violet said.

  “Do you think she’d do it?” Henry wondered.

  “It wouldn’t hurt to ask her. Why don’t we call her right now?” Jessie suggested.

  Henry fished in his pockets for some change, as they all walked to a phone booth. “I’ll call,” Violet offered. The others crowded around as she put the change into the phone.

  At first Mrs. McGregor sounded a little flustered at the thought of acting on the stage, but Violet finally convinced her to come down to the Playhouse and meet the director.

  “She’ll be here in a few minutes,” Violet said as she hung up the phone. “She’s driving.”

  “I’ll go get Jim and tell him about Mrs. McGregor and Watch,” Jessie said.

  When Mrs. McGregor arrived, the children could tell she was pleased even though she kept saying she couldn’t really act.

  “We’ll see about that,” Jim said. He picked a scene for her to read and had Jessie read Dorothy’s lines.

  “Just pretend you’re practicing with Jessie again at the kitchen table,” Henry suggested.

  Mrs. McGregor nodded and began to read. The children could tell Jim liked her voice. When he told Mrs. McGregor she had the part, she beamed.

  “You’re becoming a real acting family,” Jim said. He liked the Aldens. “Even your dog has a part.”

  “Hooray!” Benny almost shouted. “Did you audition him?”

  Jim laughed. “Not really. I just watched him with Jessie. I just hope when he’s on stage, he’ll follow Dorothy around and not the Cowardly Lion.”

  “We can train him,” Benny said. He felt sure Watch could do anything. He patted the dog’s head. “You’re such a good dog, Watch.”

  Watch barked and wagged his tail. Everyone laughed.

  Jim looked at his watch. “It’s almost time for our cast meeting in the auditorium.” He nodded to Mrs. McGregor and Jessie. “Bring Watch to the meeting with you.”

  Jessie took Watch’s leash from Benny. “I think we better put this on him,” she said.

  “The crew has a meeting with Nancy Wu backstage,” Jim told the others. “She’s going to give you a tour and get you started on your assignments.”

  “I guess we’re crew, Soo Lee,” Benny said. Together, they followed Henry and Violet backstage.

  “Henry and Stuart will be working on lighting,” Nancy Wu was saying during the backstage tour. She nodded toward Henry and an older boy named Stuart. Then she motioned toward the large gray panel that had numerous controls and switches.

  “This lighting board controls all the lights used during the play,” Nancy continued. “The rest of you must not touch this board, or any of the lights, either. That’s very important.” Nancy made sure everyone was listening before she continued.

  “Okay, this way,” she directed, as she pulled a thick electrical cord out of the way. The crew walked past the lighting board and down three steps. Piles of wooden planks and rolls of canvas were stacked along the gray walls of the large backstage area. “We’ll be building the sets here,” Nancy said.

  “Have the sets been designed?” Violet asked shyly.

  “Yes, we’re using the designs from another production of The Wizard of Oz that Jim directed. But we still have to build the sets.”

  Henry looked at all the tools stacked on a shelf near the lumber. He could
already tell he was going to like working on this play. He loved to build things.

  “Violet, you’ll be especially interested in this part of the tour.” Nancy opened the door to the costume room. Dresses, pants, jackets, animal costumes, even suits of armor hung on racks, closet bars, or hooks. Shelves on one side of the room held hats, helmets, caps, and shoes in all shapes and sizes.

  “Oh, some of these costumes are so beautiful!” Violet stepped into the room so she could see some of the dresses better. She gently touched the sleeve of a long red velvet gown.

  The group continued up three steps to the other side of the stage. The crew could hear some of the performers rehearsing behind the curtain. All of a sudden, a loud shriek could be heard from every corner of the auditorium.

  “They must be rehearsing the tornado scene,” Henry suggested.

  Nancy shook her head. “There isn’t a scream like that anywhere in this script.”

  Now they recognized Melody’s voice. “Look what you did,” Melody was saying very loudly. “I won’t act with someone so clumsy! I bet you made me fall on purpose.”

  The children looked at one another. “I might have known it was Melody who screamed,” Nancy said.

  “Should we see if we can help?” Henry asked.

  Nancy shook her head. The crew could hear the voice of the director and Sarah’s voice trying to calm Melody.

  “Don’t come near me,” Melody yelled before she burst into tears and rushed offstage. Jim came after her. Some of the other performers followed, including Jessie and Sarah.

  “What happened?” Violet asked Jessie.

  “Melody fell when she was practicing the dance the Scarecrow does with Dorothy. She’s blaming Sarah.”

  “Is she hurt?” Violet asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Jessie shook her head. “In fact, I don’t think Sarah even touched Melody.”

  In the meantime, Melody had found a phone backstage.

  “Mom,” Melody said. “I need you to come pick me up right away. Something awful has happened.”

  Jim sighed and looked at Nancy. “I think we’ve done enough for today. I’ll see all the performers tomorrow.”