The Boxcar Children Mysteries: Books One through Twelve (6 page)

She ladled out the stew into plates and bowls and put a spoon in each one.

“Oh, oh!” said Benny. “I am so hungry. I must eat my supper!”

The meat was well cooked, and the vegetables were delicious. Violet passed her plate for more turnips.

“I’d like some more onions,” said Henry.

All the children ate until they could eat no more.

“That was the best meal I ever ate,” said Jessie.

“Me, too,” said Violet.

“I have time tonight to make Benny’s cart,” remarked Henry. “We’ll want a cart.”

“Will you make it with my wheels?” asked Benny.

“Yes, with your wheels,” answered Henry. “But you must cart stones in it when I get it done.”

“Yes,” said Benny. “I will cart stones or rocks or anything.”

“Tomorrow will be Sunday, and I can stay at home,” Henry went on. “Do you think it’s all right, Jessie, to build the dam for a swimming pool on Sunday?”

“Yes, I do,” said Jessie. “We are making the swimming pool so that we can keep clean.”

Henry began happily to hammer out the bent nails with his new hammer. Soon he had some good nails.

“You and I will go and find some boards, Benny,” he said. “Come on.”

Soon the boys came back with some boards from the dump. Henry sat down and began to make the cart. He could not see very well, because it was getting dark and there was no moon. But at last the cart was done, and he gave it to Benny.

“Thank you,” said Benny, politely.

After his sisters had admired the cart, Benny pulled it around just for fun. Then Henry put it in the boxcar for the night.

Henry said to Jessie, “I hope we do not hear that queer noise tonight.”

“I hope not, too,” said Jessie. Then she laughed. “Look at Benny,” she said. “He has gone to sleep with his hand on his cart.”

Henry laughed, too, but he laughed at himself, because he was going to sleep with his new hammer under his pillow.

T
HE BOXCAR CHILDREN
were so tired that they slept until ten o’clock Sunday morning.

When they woke up at last, they hurried through breakfast and went to work on the swimming pool.

“Well make a dam across the brook,” said Henry.

“Here is my cart,” said Benny. ’I’ll cart stones and logs in it.”

“Good for you,” laughed Henry.

First the four children went down the brook to look at the pool Jessie had seen. The water was quiet here, and there was clean sand all around the little pool.

“It’s big enough for a swimming pool,” Henry remarked, “but I don’t think it’s deep enough.”

He put a long stick in it to see how deep it was. When he looked at the wet stick, he found that the water was about a foot deep.

“The swimming pool should be three times as deep,” he said. “Then it will be deep enough to swim in and won’t be too deep for Benny. We’ll build the dam here with logs and stones.”

While the other children started the dam, Jessie washed all their stockings.

“We won’t want our stockings on while we are working in the brook,” she remarked, as she rinsed them and hung them on the clothesline to dry. “So this is a good time to wash them.”

It was hard work building the dam, but the children liked hard work. Henry and Jessie pulled the logs to the brook, and Violet and Benny carried the stones, with the help of the cart. Now and then Henry was called on to help with a heavy stone. But the two younger children carried most of them.

“Splash the stones right into the water,” Henry told them. “But be careful to keep them in a line between these two trees.”

The children watched with delighted eyes as the wall of stones under the water began to grow higher and higher.

“The rock wall will help to hold the logs in place,” said Henry.

At last it was time to lay the logs across the brook.

“Let’s lay the first ones between these two trees,” said Jessie. “Then the trees will hold both ends of the logs.”

“Good work!” cried Henry, much pleased. “That’s just what we’ll do.”

But when the first big log was splashed into place on top of the stone wall, the water began to run over the top of the log and around both ends.

“Oh, dear!” cried Jessie. “The water runs around the ends every time! What shall we do?”

“We’ll have to put lots of logs on, with brush between them,” said Henry. “We’ll put on so many that the water
can’t
get through.”

They laid three logs across, with three more on top of them, and three more on top of those. Violet filled her arms with brush and held it in place until each log was laid. Benny filled the holes at the ends of the logs with flat stones. Such wet children never were seen before, but the hot sun would dry them off, and no one cared.

When the three top logs were laid in place at last, the four tired children sat down to watch the pool fill. But Henry could not sit still as the water came higher and higher up the dam.

“See how deep the pool is getting!” he cried. “See how still it is!”

At last the pool was full, and the water came over the top of the dam and made another waterfall.

“Just like a mill dam!” said Henry. “Now the pool is deep enough for all of us to swim in.”

“You boys can have the first swim,” said Jessie. “We girls must go and get dinner. We’ll ring the bell when we are ready.”

The boys splashed around in the pool, while the girls made a fire and hung the kettle of brown stew over it, stirring it now and then. Violet cut the bread and then got the butter, hard and cold, out of the refrigerator.

When everything was ready, Jessie rang the dinner bell. This bell was only a tin can from the dump. Jessie had hung it on a tree with a string, and she rang it with a spoon. Then she got the ladle and began ladling out the stew.

“That’s the dinner bell,” said Benny. “I know it is. Come, Watch. Don’t you want some dinner?”

Watch had had a swim, too. He came out of the water and shook himself. The two boys put on their dry clothes and went to Sunday dinner.

“Let me ring the bell again,” said Benny.

“I like stew even better today,” said Henry, eating hungrily.

“That’s because we worked so hard,” remarked Jessie. “Let’s go for a walk in the woods this afternoon.”

“Oh, let’s!” cried Violet. “Let’s go exploring again.”

The children washed the dishes and then started on their walk.

As they went along, Watch began to bark. At first the explorers were frightened.

“Oh, what is it?” cried Violet.

“Maybe it’s a rabbit,” said Henry.

Then they saw a hen running away through the woods. Watch ran after her, but Henry called him back.

“Don’t run after the poor hen,” he said.

“The hen had a nest,” remarked Benny.

“What?” asked Jessie.

“She had some eggs in it,” said Benny. “Come here and see.”

Jessie looked on the ground where Benny was pointing and saw a nest with five eggs in it.

“A runaway hen!” said Jessie. “She wanted to hide her nest so she would have some chickens. We’ll have the eggs for supper. I know how to cook eggs.”

The eggs made a delicious supper. Jessie put them in a bowl, with a little salt, and Violet took a spoon and stirred them as hard as she could.

“Put in some milk, Violet,” said Jessie, “and stir them some more.”

Henry started up the fire. The big kettle was hung over the fire, and Jessie put in some butter. She watched the butter until it was nice and brown, and then she put in the eggs.

“Sit down,” she said. “Be all ready to eat when the eggs are done.”

Violet put the blue tablecloth on the ground. She got the bread and butter and the plates and spoons, and the children all sat ready for supper.

“Here I come!” cried Jessie. “Hold out your plates.”

“Oh, Jessie!” cried Benny. “This is the best meal I ever ate. I found the eggs, and you cooked them.”

“Yes, you did, Benny,” said Henry. “Thank you for a fine meal.”

“Tomorrow we’ll have to eat bread and milk,” said Jessie.

But when tomorrow came, the children had more than bread and milk, as you will soon see.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
Henry thought and thought about taking the other children to pick cherries with him. At last he told his sisters about it as they ate bread and milk for breakfast.

“Dr. Moore said he wanted more children to help. Do you think all of us ought to go, Jessie?”

“Well,” said Jessie, “I don’t know. You see, there are four of us. If Grandfather is looking for us, it would be easier to see four than one.”

“Yes, that’s so,” answered Henry. “But we can go down the hill and through the streets two by two. I’ll take Benny and go ahead. Then in a little while you and Violet can come with the dog.”

“Good!” said Jessie. “Watch can tell where you go.”

The children took down the clothesline and shut the door of the car. Everything was in order. Then they started out.

When they arrived at the orchard, they soon saw that they were not the only workers. The doctor was there, and the cook, and two men carrying ladders and baskets.

“Good morning, Henry,” said Mrs. Moore. “Can you work today?”