Bicycle Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Shh!” Henry said. “It’s midnight. Shadow, what is wrong with you?”

  By now Benny was awake. “Maybe someone is outside and Shadow hears him,” he said.

  Shadow gave a short whine now.

  Jessie and Violet were standing in their doorway, looking at Shadow and the boys.

  Violet said, “Shadow didn’t bark for nothing, that’s sure. What’s the matter, Shadow? Show us.”

  Shadow seemed to understand. He ran to the outside door and sniffed.

  Henry very carefully opened the door just a crack.

  “Smoke!” Benny exclaimed. “I smell smoke!”

  “Fire somewhere!” Henry said. “Come on, Benny. You girls and Shadow stay right here.”

  Jessie put her arms around the little dog’s neck and held him.

  The girls heard Henry and Benny running toward the manager’s office.

  “I see smoke coming from that lovely dining room!” Violet said. “There’s a fire there.”

  “We’d better stay right here,” said Jessie. “This part of the motel isn’t in any danger.”

  Indeed all the smoke was coming from the new dining room. The manager, in a raincoat, ran out in his bare feet. He had a fire extinguisher and turned it on the fire. Other men hurried to help. They turned a fire hose on the fire, and it soon began to die out.

  “Not bad,” said one man. “We got it before the fire really got going. You’re a lucky man, Mister.”

  “Yes, I am,” said the manager. “That part of my motel is new. I’d hate to lose it.”

  “Who found the fire?” asked a woman.

  “Those kids in the end rooms,” said the manager. But he didn’t say a word about the dog. He had heard Shadow bark. But it seemed no one, except the Aldens, had heard anything.

  The manager ran quickly over to the Aldens. He spoke in a low voice. “Your dog saved my motel, kids,” he said. “I want you to know that. But I don’t want the people to know there is a dog here. Everybody would want to bring dogs.”

  “We won’t say a word,” replied Benny. “And Shadow doesn’t care for any glory.”

  Jessie said, “Besides, we want to be on our way early in the morning.”

  “Stop for breakfast,” said the manager. “Just tell me what you want and what time. I’ll get it for you myself. I may not go to bed again. Now that the fire is out, I have to clean up. What would you like for breakfast?”

  Benny said, “I’d like a real breakfast. Bacon and eggs and toast and milk and orange juice.”

  The manager laughed. “How about some sausage?”

  “No thanks, I like bacon better.”

  Henry said, “Maybe we should leave about six o’clock. We have a long day’s ride ahead of us.”

  The manager said, “That would be fine. Then nobody would see the dog, and I wouldn’t have to explain. I hope you’ll come back again. You did a great thing for me, smelling that smoke in time.”

  The Aldens went back to sleep and so did Shadow. But the manager could not sleep. He wanted to be sure the fire did not break out again. He was in the dining room with the table set for the children when they came in very quietly.

  They had wheeled their bikes over to the dining room, and Henry had Shadow under one arm.

  Henry tried to pay the manager for the rooms and meals.

  “No,” the man said. “I will let you pay for one room but no meals. If you hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have any dining room this morning.”

  “That was Shadow,” Benny said.

  “Yes, I know. I owe a lot to that dog. But come again sometime without him. You can always spend the night here free.”

  Benny finished the last of his breakfast and said, “I’m ready. Let’s go!”

  “We’re all ready,” Jessie said. “Off we go!”

  Shadow wagged his tail. The Aldens had their knapsacks on. They waved to the manager and set off on their bikes. The morning was cool and it was pleasant to ride when there was no traffic.

  Sometimes Shadow ran along beside the bikes. Sometimes Henry gave him a ride. He really seemed part of the family.

  After miles of riding, Henry said, “Now we are not far from Aunt Jane’s.”

  “Good,” said Benny. “Aunt Jane will get us some lunch. Or Maggie. I guess it will be Maggie.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Catch as Catch Can

  Benny said suddenly, “Now I know where we are! There’s the old lighthouse where we stayed that summer. Remember?”

  “That was fun, living in that lighthouse,” said Violet.

  Henry said, “It shows we are not many miles from Aunt Jane’s.”

  They all looked toward the old lighthouse, but they did not stop.

  As they came near Aunt Jane’s big farmhouse, they heard a dog barking. Shadow barked in answer.

  “That must be Aunt Jane’s dog Lady,” Violet said. “When Lady was a puppy, we gave her to Aunt Jane. I hope Lady and Shadow won’t fight.”

  Aunt Jane and Uncle Andy waved from the front porch.

  “How good to see you!” Aunt Jane said. “We have been looking for you. But Lady saw you first.”

  Uncle Andy said, “You didn’t tell us you were bringing a dog.”

  Henry held Shadow. “We didn’t have a dog then,” he said. “We don’t want the two dogs to fight.” He put Shadow on the grass. The two dogs wagged their tails. They seemed friendly, although they kept on barking.

  Then the four Aldens told how they happened to have the dog.

  Uncle Andy said, “Here, Shadow, let me see you.” He looked carefully at the little dog. “That’s a Skye terrier,” he said. “Those dogs come from Scotland. From the island of Skye. That kind of a dog is more than three hundred years old.”

  “You know everything, Uncle Andy,” Benny said.

  “Well, boy, I’ve traveled a lot. You go get that red dictionary in my den. You’ll find a good picture of your dog.”

  Benny soon brought out the red book. “That’s Shadow all right,” he said. “When we get home we will advertise in the paper, Found: Skye Terrier.”

  “I wonder how he got lost,” said Aunt Jane.

  “That’s our mystery, Aunt Jane,” Jessie said. “You know Benny always has to have a mystery.”

  “Do you think he was stolen?” Uncle Andy asked. “You said he didn’t have a collar.”

  Henry answered, “We don’t know. But that man and woman who stopped in their car thought we had stolen him!”

  “That’s exactly what they thought!” Benny said.

  “Let us know what happens to Shadow,” said Aunt Jane. “I’m sure you don’t know it, but Uncle Andy wants to fly to Spain. He wants me to go with him.”

  “Right!” Uncle Andy said. “Your Aunt Jane always goes where I go. I’m going to the airport this afternoon to pick up the tickets.”

  Benny said, “That is just like you, Uncle Andy. Always going somewhere.”

  “Lunch, kids!” Uncle Andy said next. “I’ve been waiting for you, and lunch was ready a long time ago.”

  “Well, I’m ready,” said Benny. “You can believe that, Aunt Jane.”

  “Yes, sir!” Aunt Jane said—she remembered Benny’s appetite very well. “It is hard to fill you up.”

  The Aldens were delighted to see Maggie, who had worked so many years for Aunt Jane. She had made an enormous egg salad for lunch. She had platters of ham, glasses of milk, and hot rolls.

  After lunch, Jessie and Violet sat down to talk with Aunt Jane. Henry and Benny rode along with Uncle Andy to the airport. They took Shadow with them. Just as they parked the car, Uncle Andy said, “Look at that!”

  A big dog was running across the parking lot for the airport. A man was trying to catch him.

  The dog was a boxer. The Aldens could see that the dog didn’t want to be caught. The man was having no luck at all.

  “Hi!” Benny called. “Come back here and I’ll catch your dog for you.”

  “Oh, Ben, don’t say that,” sai
d Henry. “You can’t catch a strange dog.”

  “Yes, I think I know a way,” said Benny.

  The man called, “I can’t run after that dog any more. I have to meet a plane and I’m wasting time.”

  Benny called, “Don’t worry. I think I can catch him.” He got out of Uncle Andy’s car and let Shadow out, too. Shadow began to trot after the big dog.

  “Stay!” said Benny. Shadow sat down.

  “My,” said the stranger. “I wish my dog would mind like that.”

  “He would,” Benny answered, “if he took lessons. Now just wait. Stand behind that little truck where your dog can’t see you. Have his leash ready.”

  The boxer noticed that nobody was chasing him. He looked back and saw Shadow sitting in the parking lot.

  The boxer wagged his short tail and trotted back to see the strange dog.

  Benny asked the man, “Are you ready? Catch your dog while he is making friends with my dog.”

  The boxer walked up to Shadow. He wagged his tail. Shadow never moved. He just wagged his tail, too. That was hard because he was sitting on it.

  “I’m coming out slowly,” the man whispered.

  “Right,” Benny agreed. Now everyone was watching to see if the man could catch his boxer.

  The big dog was so busy making friends with Shadow that he didn’t notice when his master snapped the leash on his collar.

  “There!” Benny said. “There’s your dog.”

  Uncle Andy said, “That’s pretty smart, Benny. I didn’t believe you could do that.”

  “Thanks, boy,” said the man. “Now I can meet the plane all right.” He put the dog in his car.

  A woman had been watching all this time. She said to Henry, “Your dog is a Skye terrier, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, we think so,” replied Henry.

  Benny broke in, “He isn’t our dog. He just follows us.”

  The lady looked at Benny. “I just came from Boston,” she said. “My sister lives there and she told me a friend of hers had lost a Skye terrier.”

  Benny shook his head. “This dog could never have come from Boston. We are going to find his owner as soon as we can.”

  “Good luck,” the woman said. “He’s a beautiful dog.”

  That evening Aunt Jane said, “I’m sorry you aren’t staying with us longer. But I know you want to get home to solve the mystery of Shadow’s owner.”

  Jessie said, “We were going to stay just one night anyway. We’ll come back for a longer visit in the fall.”

  The next morning the Aldens packed up again. Maggie gave them another set of emergency rations. She said, “Come again soon. I like to have young people around and two barking dogs, too.”

  The Aldens got on their bikes and rode off as Aunt Jane and Uncle Andy waved good-bye. Lady barked and wagged her tail. Shadow barked, too.

  Benny said, “I like to hear you bark, brother. It’s much better than whining.”

  Shadow ran ahead of the bikes. Jessie said, “I believe that dog knows he’s going home. He seems glad to go back.”

  “Maybe that’s why Shadow has whined so much,” Henry said. “He knew we were going the wrong way. Don’t let him run too long, Benny. His paws will get sore.”

  Benny said, “Pretty soon I’ll give him a ride.” And in about a half hour, he picked Shadow up and set him in the basket in front of the handlebars.

  As they rode along, the four riders began to sing. It was a slow song and they really needed a guitar. When Shadow heard it, he began to howl.

  Benny was singing the guitar part, “Plunk, plunk, plunk!” He laughed. “That’s what makes you howl, Shadow. I didn’t know you could howl.” Then he went right along singing.

  The minute the song was over, Shadow stopped howling. He just rode along in his basket, looking happy. That made Benny laugh again.

  “You win, Shadow,” Henry called. “We’ll stop singing and you stop howling.”

  After a few hours of pedaling, Benny said, “Look, we are coming to a crossroad. It looks like heavy traffic ahead!”

  CHAPTER 9

  Lucky Day

  We aren’t used to traffic,” said Jessie, laughing. “We haven’t met many cars, Ben.”

  Benny said excitedly, “But this one is stopping! Oho! It’s trying to stop us!”

  The car drove up so near the Aldens that they had to get off their bikes.

  Jessie whispered, “It’s that same man and woman who wanted to buy Shadow—or just take him.”

  This time both the man and woman got out of their car. The man said, “I’ve been thinking about you kids. Are you sure you didn’t steal this dog?”

  “Steal him!” exclaimed Benny. “Of course we didn’t steal him! We wouldn’t steal anything, not even a penny.”

  “But you still have a dog that doesn’t belong to you. You say that yourselves. We saw you before, remember?”

  “Look here,” Henry said, “we are on our way home now. We have been trying all the time to find out who owns the dog.”

  “Well, that’s what you say,” said the man. “You don’t want the police to find you with a missing dog, do you? I know what that dog is worth as a show dog. You’d better sell him to me.”

  The woman bent over to pat Shadow, but the little dog growled.

  Just then another car came along. The driver slowed down and put his head out the window.

  “Any trouble over there?” he asked kindly.

  “Well, a little,” said Henry.

  “I say a lot!” exclaimed Benny. “This dog has followed us for four days on our bicycle trip. Now this man says we stole the dog, but we didn’t. We are going home now to find the owner.”

  The stranger looked at the man and woman closely. Then he looked at the Aldens. He said, “Can’t you folks see that these young people are telling the truth? I never saw them before, but I would trust them. They look honest to me.”

  “Well, you can’t tell by looks,” argued the man. “They have had a strange dog with them for four days, and they don’t know where he came from. Maybe they did steal him. Nobody can tell for sure.”

  “Well,” said the man in the car, “I think you had better be on your way. Never mind about the dog. He isn’t your dog, either, is he?”

  Now the couple saw that the young people had some real help. They turned and got into their car and drove away.

  “Look!” said Benny. “Look at their license plates.”

  Jessie said, “What do you know! Those people are two thousand miles away from their home. That license plate is from the West Coast, and here they are in New England.”

  Henry nodded. “Maybe they are the ones who try to pick up dogs. People do steal dogs and sell them.”

  “Did you get their license number?” asked the stranger, starting his motor.

  “I did,” said Violet.

  “I did,” said Benny. “I can remember it.”

  “I wrote it down myself,” the stranger said. “I don’t think they will bother you again. But if they should, here is my card with my name and address.” He handed a card to Henry.

  The Aldens read the card. It said Hartman’s Detective Agency.

  Benny asked, “Are you a plainclothes detective, Mr. Hartman?”

  “Well, something like that,” replied the man with a smile.

  Violet said, “Oh, I am so glad you came along. I don’t like trouble, and those people seem to be trying to make trouble for us.”

  Jessie said, “We certainly thank you for taking our part.”

  “You’re very welcome. Glad I could help,” said Mr. Hartman, driving away.

  The Aldens stood still for a minute and watched the car drive out of sight.

  “Well, I’m all tired out!” said Benny crossly. “All that fuss over a nice little dog. Makes me mad!”

  Jessie looked closely at Benny. He did not say things like this very often. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” she said. “Let’s eat lunch early. That will be something different to do.
Just look for a place to eat.”

  They all agreed that this was a good idea, and they pedaled off down the road. Shadow was glad, too. He ran ahead, barking. Violet came last.

  A mile later, the others heard Violet call, “Wait!”

  They stopped and Jessie called back, “What is it, Violet?”

  “I’ve got a flat tire,” said Violet. “I must have run over something very sharp.”

  Henry looked at the tire. “I should say you did. It’s a sharp stone shaped just like an arrow. The tire is cut through. It will have to be fixed before you can ride on it.”

  “A new tire might be better,” Jessie said.

  Benny said, “Well, I guess this isn’t our day. We’ll have to find a place that fixes bikes. It would be neat if we could find a repair shop that serves meals. Or a restaurant that mends bikes.”

  The others had to laugh as they all walked along pushing their bicycles.

  Jessie was glad that Benny could make jokes again, but she wondered how far they would have to walk to find a repair shop.

  They all looked down every side road and at every sign along the way. After a mile or so, they saw a big building in the distance. Soon they could read the sign, “Stop at Big Jeko’s Place.”

  “Look,” said Jessie. “Is that a gas station?”

  “I don’t know,” replied Henry. “It looks like a junk shop to me.”

  But in a minute a big giant of a man looked out of the open door. “Trouble?” he called. “Come in and I see.”

  Violet gave him her bicycle and they all watched him anxiously. Then Big Jeko nodded and smiled, “I fix quick. You going far?”

  “Yes,” replied Henry. “We’re going to Greenfield.”

  “I know Greenfield,” said the man. “Too far away. Maybe I fix tire and maybe it come off. I guess a new tire for this bike.”

  “I think so, too,” agreed Henry. “Have you a tire the right size?”

  “All sizes.” Big Jeko took down a tire hanging on the wall and began to take off the old one.

  Violet said, “It’s my bike. I’m glad you can fix it.”

  Big Jeko went on working. He said, “I come from Bulgaria. Speak poor English. But you are good kids. Not like some. A good dog, too.”