MRS. TRADDLE’S GARDEN
Fatty Nolan, whose rapid-fire talk had taken Teddy and the others by
surprise, raced toward a man who was crossing one end of the meadow
into the woods. The man had a rope, as the boys and girls could notice.
But he did not appear to be a cowboy.
“I’m going to help him catch that steer!” cried Fatty.
A little later he and the man, whom Teddy and his friends did not know,
disappeared in the woods where the deer had first been seen.
“Well, what do you make of this?” asked Teddy of his chums.
“You’ve got me,” replied Dick. “Fatty Nolan? Who is he, anyhow?”
“I never saw him before,” said Joe. “He must have just come to
Oakdale.”
“He seems friendly enough,” said Lucy.
“Didn’t he talk fast!” laughed Margie. “And isn’t he fat?”
“His name sure fits him!” agreed Teddy. “But I’d like to know how many
wild animals there are running loose around here? First we see a deer
and now Fatty Nolan tells us about a steer.”
“I think it’s the same thing,” suggested Joe. “The man must have said
_deer_ and Fatty took it to be _steer_.”
“Having seen the man with a lasso,” spoke Dick, “Fatty would naturally
think of a runaway steer. But I believe the man must have said deer.
You’re right, Joe.”
“Then he’s after the deer,” Teddy remarked. “And I guess that’s about
the end of the mystery.”
“If the man catches him,” said Joe. “He might not, you know. That deer
is a fast runner.”
“That’s right,” Teddy agreed. “Maybe he can’t catch the deer, and our
club will still have a chance to do it and solve the mystery.”
“Do you think it is much of a mystery?” asked Margie.
“You can’t tell,” said Lucy. “We didn’t think the dog was going to be a
mystery, did we, Teddy?”
“No. Nor the pony and parrot, either. But they both turned out to be
swell mysteries,” said Teddy.
“And I think the deer will,” declared Joe.
“Besides, the deer, there’s this mystery about Fatty Nolan,” said Dick.
“Who is he, anyhow?”
This small mystery was soon solved. For though Fatty and the man with
the rope did not appear again for some time, as the boys and girls were
coming from the lane into the main highway they met Mr. Mason once
more. The farmer was in a small auto and stopped to ask if the Mystery
Club wanted a ride home.
“Thanks. If you will drop us off in town, near Mrs. Traddle’s store,
we’ll be much obliged,” said Teddy.
“Why do you want to get out at Mrs. Traddle’s store?” asked Dick.
“Because I’m going to treat this club to sodas,” Teddy answered. “We’ve
had a hard day. A soda will be good for us.”
“Fine!” chorused his chums.
“Do you mean us, too?” asked Margie.
“Of course,” laughed Lucy’s brother.
“What club is this?” asked Mr. Mason when they were all in his car.
“Oh, the deer mystery club,” Teddy explained. “You know. The deer that
was in your meadow.”
“Oh, yes. Well, he’d better keep out of my garden! Did you see the deer
again?”
“No but we saw a man with a rope who was running after him, I guess,”
Joe said.
“Hum! Just as I thought! A stray deer got out of a railroad car,” said
the farmer. “Well, I hope they catch him.”
“Who is this new boy, Fatty Nolan?” asked Teddy.
“Nolan? A fat lad? Why, he’s the son of Samuel Nolan who is a farmer I
hired to work part of my place on shares. The Nolan family just moved
here yesterday. Came from over Portchester way. They’re occupying that
little old house where Mr. Huntley used to live. So you’ve met the fat
boy, eh?”
Teddy told of the meeting and something of the stout lad.
“Yes, he is quite a talker, I noticed that,” said Mr. Mason. “Well,
here you are at Mrs. Traddle’s.”
“Thanks for the ride,” Teddy said. “Won’t you come in and have a soda?”
“Thanks, no. I’ve got to get along. But if you see that deer, I hope
you capture him, or help that man to do it. I don’t want a deer messing
up my garden and cornfields.”
The boys and girls crowded into Mrs. Traddle’s small store.
“I’m glad Mr. Mason didn’t accept my invitation,” said Teddy in a low
voice to Joe. “I only have enough money to treat this crowd. I’d have
had to charge Mr. Mason’s soda.”
“Lucky he didn’t come in,” laughed Joe.
Mrs. Traddle came bustling out from her rooms in the rear of the store.
“Give your orders, girls and boys,” invited Teddy. “What flavors have
you got, Mrs. Traddle?”
“Oh, yes, I know you’re all neighbors,” smiled the little old lady, her
deafness causing her to mistake the words of Teddy.
“You can see the list up over the mirror,” said Lucy to her brother.
“And I think,” she went on, “it will be easier to point to the flavors
of soda we want instead of trying to tell her.”
“That’s right,” said Joe. “Then she won’t mix lemon and vanilla as she
did for me once.”
Mrs. Traddle quickly understood when the soda flavors were pointed out
by Teddy on the list as his friends named them. And soon the five chums
were sitting on stools and enjoying the drinks.
“Where have you been? To a party?” asked Mrs. Traddle when she had rung
up the sales on the cash register.
“We’ve been chasing a deer,” Teddy said.
“Oh, my goodness, a _bear_! I wouldn’t chase bears if I were you,” said
the old lady. “I don’t think your folks would like that. Besides, it’s
dangerous. _Bear!_ My gracious!”
“Not a BEAR. A DEER,” said Teddy in a loud voice.
“Oh, a _deer_? That’s different. A deer is harmless, I guess, though I
never chased one.”
“This one chased us,” said Margie. “And we ran.”
“Whose deer was it?” asked Mrs. Traddle.
“It’s ours,” Teddy said.
“Oh, I didn’t know you had a deer,” Mrs. Traddle was much surprised.
“But then I suppose I’m old fashioned. Dogs and cats were all we had
for pets when I was a child.”
“It isn’t _exactly_ our deer, but we sort of saw it and we are going to
get it and solve the mystery of it,” Teddy said. But it is doubtful if
Mrs. Traddle heard this last explanation. Some other customers came in.
And as Teddy and his chums went out, they heard the store keeper
telling her new customers something about the deer the Benson children
had for a pet.
“No use bothering to explain,” Teddy said. “It’s too hot to have to
talk loud enough for Mrs. Traddle to hear.”
Margie and Lucy had decided to go on a little picnic next day. Teddy
asked Joe and Dick what they planned to do.
“Why not have another try for that deer?” asked Teddy as his chums had
no particular place to go.
“Sure,” agreed Joe and Dick.
“If we’re going to solve the mystery,” Teddy went on, “we might as
well start. Come over to my house right after breakfast.”
“We’ll do that,” Joe promised and Dick agreed, adding:
“We can have a talk with Fatty Nolan and see if he found out anything
about the man with the rope.”
“That’s a good idea,” Teddy assented.
The boys and girls soon separated to go to their several homes, all
being in the vicinity of Teddy Benson’s house.
After spending an hour or two that evening making some repairs to his
toy plane, Teddy went to bed. He thought with pleasure of what might
happen next day, when he and his chums would start on the trail of the
mysterious deer.
Once during the night Teddy was awakened by hearing a noise at the back
door. He sat up in bed, thinking for a moment it might be the deer,
coming to knock as, once, a mysterious pony rang the door bell. But
then Teddy heard a clatter of milk bottles and knew what had caused the
noise.
Teddy was at breakfast next morning when he saw Mrs. Traddle coming
around the side of the house. She saw Mr. Benson, who was cutting the
grass before he went to the office.
“Good morning, Mrs. Traddle!” greeted Teddy’s father. “What brings you
out so early?”
“It’s your children’s pet deer!” said Mrs. Traddle in a loud voice.
“A pet deer!” exclaimed Mr. Benson. “My children have no pet deer.
There must be some mistake.”
“No. Excuse me, but there is no mistake,” said Mrs. Traddle. “They told
me about their pet deer yesterday. Last night the deer got in my garden
and ate it all up. I’ll have to be paid damages, Mr. Benson. You should
see the ruin that deer made in my garden!”