A Pair of Legs
Feeling almost as if he were a suspect in a crime case, Dan followed Mr.
Hatfield and the two police officers into the house.
Captain Eggleston began the interview by asking routine questions of both
Dan and Mr. Hatfield. Then abruptly he announced that a check had been
made of the car license number noted down by the Cubs on the night of the
heavy rain storm.
“The automobile belongs to Frank Jankowski, a salesman for the V. H.
Everetts Hardware Co.,” he informed.
“Mr. Jankowski!” Dan exclaimed.
“Obviously, the boys were mistaken in thinking that the car was following
us,” Mr. Hatfield said. “Imagination plays strange tricks on the mind. I
thought myself—at least for a while—that we were being followed.”
“You’ve given us several false steers in this investigation,” Captain
Eggleston said rather severely. “What are you trying to hide?”
The question irritated Mr. Hatfield. He tried not to show resentment and
kept his voice controlled as he replied:
“Absolutely nothing.”
“You say you placed the money box in the drawer of your desk?”
“That is correct.”
“You considered it a safe place?”
“Safe enough. If I hadn’t, I’d have made other disposition of the box.”
“Why did you delay in calling police?”
“We’ve gone over all that before,” Mr. Hatfield said wearily. “It was
late, and frankly, I was tired. I didn’t feel equal to a long harangue
with police until I was more rested. So I waited until morning.”
“The first discovery that the box was gone was when police arrived here?”
“That is correct.”
“And to your knowledge, no one entered or left the house in the
meantime?”
“My wife was here, of course. I don’t recall anyone else, unless one of
the Cubs dropped in.”
“No woman?”
“Not so far as I know.” Mr. Hatfield was amazed by the question. He could
tell that Captain Eggleston was leading up to a climax, but what it was
he could not guess.
The police officer withdrew an ornamental button from his pocket.
Carelessly, he dropped it on the table.
Dan noticed that the button was an unusual one of black jet, cut in a
diamond shape.
“Ever see that before?” Captain Eggleston asked.
“I don’t think so,” Mr. Hatfield replied, examining the button minutely.
“Why?”
“Your wife allowed us to examine the study again. We found this button in
the drawer where she said you had kept the tin box.”
“It looks like a button from a woman’s dress. But I don’t recall that my
wife has one with jet fasteners.”
“So she said.” Captain Eggleston picked up the button and dropped it into
his pocket again. “The button may or may not be a clue. It’s not much to
go on in any case.”
“You think the box may have been taken by a woman?” Mr. Hatfield asked in
amazement.
“This button is the only thing that points in that direction. It may have
been in the drawer for a long while.”
“I never saw it before. At least I never noticed it.”
The policemen at last seemed to accept Mr. Hatfield’s word that he had
told them everything he knew about the disappearance. They asked Dan a
few routine questions and finally left.
“I’ll be jogging along too,” Dan said. “If I don’t get a move on, I’ll be
late for supper.”
“Don’t forget your roofing discs,” Mr. Hatfield reminded him. “See you
tomorrow. Meanwhile, don’t worry about the money. Sooner or later, police
will turn up a clue.”
On his way to the door, Dan asked the Cub leader if he thought the jet
button had any real significance.
“I can’t see it myself,” Mr. Hatfield replied. “Though how the button
came to be in the desk is a puzzle too. This whole thing is a headache.”
“It was my fault for finding the box in the first place.”
Mr. Hatfield laughed and clapped Dan on the back. “Now, none of that
talk, Dan!” he chided. “We’ll get the thing straightened out. Forget
about it and let me do the worrying.”
Despite the Cub leader’s admonition, Dan could not drive thoughts of the
tin box from his mind.
That night, from his father, he learned that it was generally known in
Webster City that the Cubs had found the box. Furthermore, a number of
thoughtless persons were criticizing Mr. Hatfield for not having taken
better care of the money.
“It’s awkward that several people have put in a claim to the cash,” his
father added.
“At least two of ’em must be fake claims, Dad.”
“I’d judge so,” agreed his father. “But to prove it may not be easy.”
On the following day, the Cubs met briefly at the church to compare notes
on how they were making their suits of armor.
Mrs. Hatfield and Mrs. Holloway both were there to help the boys with the
work. Brad was the only one who had finished his suit. In a burst of
enthusiasm he had gone ahead, making a cardboard horse which could be
worn over his shoulders.
“We ought to have the best Round Table of any of the Dens,” Dan declared,
his enthusiasm at high pitch.
At that moment Babe uttered a loud wail. In the act of painting a coat of
arms on a banner, he had upset a can of red paint.
“Dope!” Chips scolded the younger boy. “Why don’t you watch what you’re
doing?”
“I’m sorry,” Babe mumbled. “I accidentally kicked the can with my feet.”
“Just look what you’ve done to the carpet. The church will be making us
pay for it! The trustees will say the Cubs are just a bunch of careless
babies who destroy property.”
“I _am not_ a baby,” the younger boy said furiously. “It was an
accident.”
“Of course it was,” interposed Mrs. Hatfield. “One we’re quite prepared
for too!”
While the Cubs watched in admiration, she wiped up the paint, and cleaned
the carpet with turpentine.
“There, every trace is gone,” she assured the crestfallen Babe. “Chips, a
knight should practice chivalry, don’t you think?”
“What’s that?” he demanded suspiciously.
“It means being polite and courteous to others.”
“Well, Babe was awkward,” said Chips angrily.
“So are we all at times, Chips. Speaking of a Knight’s code of honor, our
Den should have one. Any suggestions?”
“We already have one rule,” Dan recalled. “Be Always Ready.”
“Let’s work out some others,” suggested Mrs. Hatfield. “Everyone think
hard.”
“Keep away from deep water!” Red offered eagerly.
Several of the Cubs snickered. Mrs. Hatfield, however, nodded her head
approvingly.
“An excellent safety rule, Red. I think, though, we may find others which
fit in a little better with knighthood.”
“Knights did a lot of fighting,” Midge said reflectively.
“Which leads us to this thought,” suggested Mrs. Hatfield. “Be prepared
always to fight in defense of right, or your own country.”
“How about doing good for others?” proposed Brad.
“Excellent. Now we have three rules for our knights to follow: ‘Be Always
Ready. Be Prepared. And Do Good Unto Others.’”
“They’re easy rules to remember,” Dan said. “But to follow ’em may not be
quite so simple.”
The Cubs worked a while longer on their armor. As they began to grow
tired, Mrs. Hatfield said it was time to break up the meeting. Before the
Cubs left the church, she reminded them to keep working on their pledge
list for the building fund.
“The money isn’t coming in as fast as we’d like,” she declared. “We’re
especially short from the persons we expected to give fairly large
amounts. So during the next few days dig in and really do your best.”
Dan and Brad were the last to leave, lingering behind to help Mrs.
Hatfield and Mrs. Holloway clean up the litter.
“I guess you meant us, Mrs. Hatfield,” Brad remarked as they closed the
church doors. “Dan and I haven’t been very lucky in signing up our best
prospects. Especially Mr. Merrimac.”
“You’ve worked hard I know,” she praised him. “All the same, it might be
worth while to call on Mr. Merrimac again. He might change his mind if
you use your best powers of persuasion.”
“I doubt that, knowing him,” Brad replied gloomily. “We can try though.”
After leaving Mrs. Hatfield, the two boys walked on to the Merrimac home.
Neither of them had any enthusiasm for the interview ahead.
“Well, let’s get it over with,” Brad sighed, as he shoved hard on the
doorbell. “He can’t do any worse than turn us down again.”
Mr. Merrimac kept the boys waiting. Repeatedly, Brad jabbed his finger on
the doorbell.
“He’s in there,” Dan insisted. “I can hear him moving around.”
“Like as not he’s seen us from a window and is hiding out,” Brad returned
in disgust. “Merrimac is playing hard to get.”
Annoyed because the elderly gentleman refused to come to the door, he
punched the doorbell two or three times in rapid succession and then gave
up.
“Makes me sick,” he complained. “Mr. Merrimac at least ought to see us.
That’s only common courtesy.”
In leaving the premises, the boys walked around toward the rear of the
house.
“Why, the kitchen window is wide open!” Dan observed in surprise.
Mr. Merrimac, they both knew, was no fresh air fiend. Furthermore, the
weather was far too cold for one comfortably to keep a window wide open.
“That’s funny!” Brad said, stopping short. “S-a-y!”
As the two Cubs stared in utter amazement, a pair of legs protruded from
the window.
Before either Dan or Brad could recover from astonishment, a man leaped
lightly to the ground. Seeing the two boys, he ducked his head and ran
toward the alley.