MORE MYSTERY
When Lucy Benson’s brother told her she couldn’t watch him and his
chums race their toy, model airplanes, the little girl felt sad for a
few moments. Then her spirits rose as she said to herself determinedly:
“I don’t care! I’ve got just as good a right in Mason’s meadow as Teddy
Benson, Dick Kelly or Joe Denton. And I’m going there! I’ll take Margie
with me.”
A little later, while Teddy and his chums were on their way to the deer
mystery, Lucy hurried into the yard of the Kelly home. Mrs. Kelly saw
her from a side window.
“Is Margie home, Mrs. Kelly?” asked Lucy.
“I think she is, my dear. She was just going over to your house but I
think she is still up in her room. You may go right upstairs.”
The Benson and Kelly families visited back and forth as if they were
relatives more than friends. So Lucy hurried into the house, calling:
“Margie! Where are you?”
“Just getting ready to come over to your house, Lucy. Come on up. I’ll
be ready as soon as I tie a new ribbon on my hair.”
Lucy hurried into Margie’s room. There was something in the haste and
manner of Lucy that caused Margie to stop and ask:
“What’s the matter? Has anything happened?”
“Teddy wouldn’t let me come to watch him, Joe and Dick fly their
planes,” Lucy reported. “But I’m going anyhow. And if the planes won’t
fly--and I don’t believe they will--we can have the laugh on them.”
“We, Lucy?”
“Sure. You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
“I guess so. Where is it?”
“Down in Mason’s meadow. We haven’t anything to do so we might as well
go there as any place else, don’t you think?”
“Of course. Won’t the boys be surprised?”
“Well--maybe,” said Lucy slowly. “I think Teddy sort of suspects I’ll
follow him. But I don’t care. I’ve got a right to.”
“Of course we have,” agreed Margie. “They can’t keep us out of Mason’s
meadow.”
So the two girls hurried toward the same field where, a little while
before, Teddy and his chums had started to fly their planes. On the way
the girls decided to stop in the candy store kept by old Mrs. Traddle.
“I’ve got part of my allowance left,” said Lucy. “I’ll treat you,
Margie.”
“Oh, that’s lovely. Next time I’ll treat you. But let’s save some of
the candy for the boys.”
“What! Give them candy after they wouldn’t let us come to see them fly
their planes? I should say not!”
“Oh, I don’t mean give them any candy,” explained Margie with a laugh.
“But we’ll save some to eat in the meadow after we get there. And when
the boys see us eating candy--”
“Oh, I see what you mean!” laughed Lucy. “Sure, we’ll do that. It will
make them wish they’d invited us. What do you like best, jelly beans or
gum drops?”
“I like both. But you get more jelly beans for a nickel than you do gum
drops. Gum drops are expensive.”
“We’ll get some of each,” decided Lucy.
Now it wasn’t as easy to buy candy at the store of old Mrs. Traddle as
it might seem. For one thing Mrs. Traddle was very deaf but she never
would admit it. She thought her hearing was fine. So the boys and
girls, after finding out that if they asked for chocolate drops often
were handed lollypops, had gotten into the habit of pointing out in the
show case what candy they wanted.
But this time Lucy, being in somewhat of a hurry, forgot, for the
moment, that Mrs. Traddle was deaf. So, going into the store, Lucy said:
“I want five cents worth of jelly beans and gum drops, mixed, please.”
“Oh, yes, there is quite a breeze today,” said Mrs. Traddle, as she
pulled her spectacles down off the top of her head to where they could
sit on her nose and be in front of her eyes. “A very good breeze
indeed. How many sticks did you say, my dear?”
“I didn’t say STICKS,” spoke Lucy. “I said I wanted my candy MIXED,
Mrs. Traddle. Gum drops and jelly beans.”
“Why, of course I have screens in here, Lucy,” said Mrs. Traddle. “How
else could I keep out the flies? Screens? I should say so. Flies are
dreadful around a candy shop. Now tell me what kind you want and I’ll
wait on you. But please hurry. I have a cake in the oven.”
Mrs. Traddle glanced back toward the living rooms in the rear of her
little candy shop. Now Margie thought she would try. So, raising her
voice, she said:
“We want jelly beans and gum drops!”
“Yes, it is pretty good weather for crops,” agreed Mrs. Traddle. “We
could do with a mite more of rain, though. But, in general, as you say,
crops are good. Now did you want some candy?”
The two girls looked at each other helplessly. Then Lucy did what she
should have done at first. She pointed to the glass dish of jelly beans
and to the one containing gum drops. Then she put her five-cent piece
on the top of the show case and made a mixing motion with her hands.
“Oh, of course! Why didn’t you say so at first?” asked Mrs. Traddle,
somewhat peevishly. “Children come in here talking about fly screens
and crops and don’t seem to know what they want. Jelly beans and gum
drops, of course. Mix them up. Certainly. Your motion, Lucy, reminds
me I mixed up a cake and it’s in the oven now. I’ll have to hurry and
take it out. Here’s your candy.”
Whether it was because she liked the two little girls or because she
was in a hurry, Mrs. Traddle gave Lucy a very generous five cents’
worth of candy and the two girls went out of the store rejoicing.
The girls ate part of the candy on their way to Mason’s meadow. They
saved some with which to make the boys envious. In a short time they
were at the field. But they saw no signs of Teddy, Dick or Joe.
“Maybe they’ve been here and gone,” said Margie.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Lucy. “It takes quite a while to wind up
those rubber band motors. Maybe they’re over by the woods. Come on!”
The girls hurried across the field and, in a short time, came to the
place where Joe and Dick had left their airplanes to follow Teddy into
the gully.
“Oh, look!” exclaimed Margie. “Here’s my brother’s plane!”
“Then the other must be Joe’s,” said Lucy. “For it isn’t Teddy’s.”
“How do you suppose the planes got here?” asked Margie.
“Why,” said Lucy, considering, “I guess the boys flew them and the
planes came down and the boys couldn’t find them. But we have. And we
can take the planes home and won’t the boys be surprised?”
“I should say so!” exclaimed Margie. “But where is Teddy and his plane?”
“Maybe his flew another way, and he and Joe and Dick are hunting for
it,” suggested Lucy. “Anyhow, we have found two of the planes and we’ll
take them home with us. When the boys are feeling sorry that they have
lost them, we’ll give them back.”
“Oh, what fun!” laughed Margie.
The two girls each picked up one of the toy planes and were starting to
walk back across the meadow when Margie exclaimed:
“Hark! Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Lucy asked.
“That noise.”
“What sort of a noise?” asked Lucy.
“A--a sort of a--a whoofing noise!” whispered Margie. “It seemed to
come from those bushes near the edge of the wood. Listen! There it is
again!”
Lucy heard a noise and said:
“It was more like a cow snorting than a whoofing noise.”
“Well, maybe it was a cow,” admitted Margie. “Anyhow it was a noise
and--oh, look, Lucy! It’s coming for us--that noise. Oh, it’s a wild
cow--or something. Run! Run!”
Lucy gave one look and then, holding tightly to Joe’s plane as Margie
was carrying Dick’s, the two girls turned and ran as fast as they could
crying:
“Help! Help!”