Today we meet Ms. Singh’s cats,” announced Violet. “I can hardly wait.”
Henry, Violet, Jessie, and Beth were waiting for Benny on the front steps of the big old white house.
Just then, Benny came hurrying out of the door. “Here I am!” he announced cheerfully.
“We’re going to feed Ms. Singh’s cats, Benny,” said Jessie.
“Oh, good,” said Benny, getting on his bicycle. “I like cats. Watch does, too. Don’t you, Watch?”
Watch barked and began to trot happily alongside Benny’s bicycle as they headed for Garden Street.
It wasn’t very far away, a pleasant street that lived up to its name.
“Ms. Singh’s house has an apple tree in the front yard,” said Henry. “She said it’s the only one on the street.”
“Apples!” exclaimed Benny. “I love apples.” Suddenly he pointed. “There it is.”
The five children left their bicycles under the apple tree and went around to the back door.
“Let’s see,” said Jessie. “The key should be under this doormat.” She raised the edge of the mat. But there was no key.
“Maybe if you lift up the whole mat,” suggested Beth.
Jessie picked up the mat. There was a clean space, slightly paler than the rest of the step, where the mat had been. But there was no key.
“That’s funny,” said Violet. “Are you sure Ms. Singh said the key would be under the mat?”
“Yes.” Jessie frowned. “Maybe I misunderstood her. Maybe it was the front door mat.”
The Aldens and Beth went around to the front door of the house. But when Jessie lifted the front doormat, no key was under it.
“Maybe Ms. Singh left the key somewhere else, like in the mailbox,” suggested Beth.
“I hope so,” said Violet, looking worried. “What if we can’t find the key? We won’t be able to feed the cats.”
“Oh, no,” cried Benny. “They’ll starve.”
Henry, who was the tallest, stood on his toes and looked into the mailbox. He reached his hand inside and felt the bottom of the box. “No,” Henry reported. “No key here.”
“Oh dear,” said Violet. “Do you think she forgot?”
“Maybe the key slid out from under the mat somehow,” Henry said. “Benny, why don’t you and Violet come with me and we’ll check around the back door.”
“Good idea,” said Jessie. “Beth and I will look here in front.”
Jessie and Beth searched all around the front door, from the top of the door sill to the flowerbeds on either side, but they found no key.
“It’s not here,” said Jessie.
“Maybe Henry and Violet and Benny found it,” said Beth. “Let’s go around to the back door and see.”
But the key was nowhere around the back door, either.
“Watch looked, too,” Benny announced. “He sniffed and sniffed, but he didn’t find a key. So maybe she did forget.”
“That’s hard to believe,” said Violet.
“How are we going to feed the cats?” asked Benny.
Henry said, “If Ms. Singh left a window unlocked, we could open it and go inside that way.”
“I don’t like having to do something like that,” said Jessie. “But I guess it is an emergency.”
“Yes, we can’t let the cats starve,” said Violet.
The children checked the windows on the ground floor, but Ms. Singh had locked them all tightly before leaving. Benny, peering through the kitchen window, said, “I can see one of the cats now! It’s big and white, with one black spot right over her eye.”
The cat saw Benny, too. She leaped up on the windowsill and meowed. Watch, sitting on the grass, barked. The cat flattened her ears and jumped away from the window.
“You scared her, Watch,” scolded Benny.
Just then Jessie called, “Look! There’s the basement door! Maybe we can get in that way.”
The Aldens and Beth hurried to the back corner of the house and down the narrow stairs to the basement door. It was a little, low door and the basement inside was very dark.
“Ooh,” said Benny. “This is scary.”
Watch growled softly.
“Oh, no. You can’t come with us, Watch. You would chase the cats!” said Jessie scoldingly.
Benny had an idea. “I’ll take Watch outside and then meet you at the back door. You can let me in there.”
“Good idea, Benny,” said Violet.
Relieved, Benny hurried out of the dark basement.
The others made their way carefully across the basement. Then Henry and Jessie went up the creaking basement stairs.
Cautiously, Henry tested the door at the top of the stairs. It was open!
“Thank goodness,” said Violet, following them up the stairs with Beth beside her. “Now we can feed the cats!”
The basement door opened into a short hall that led into the kitchen. Beth went to the back door and let Benny in.
“Look, here’s a note from Ms. Singh,” said Violet. She picked it up from the kitchen table and read aloud, “Dear Boxcar Helpers, welcome, and thank you for feeding my cats, Spot and Rover.”
“So she didn’t forget we were coming,” said Henry.
Violet nodded and kept reading: “The wet food is on the counter. They each get a small can of wet food, a fresh bowl of water, and please fill the big green bowl with dry food. The dry food is in the bucket with the lid by the refrigerator. Just leave the key under the back doormat where you found it when you are finished. Thank you.”
Jessie said, “She doesn’t sound like she forgot to leave the key.”
“It’s a mystery,” agreed Henry. “But we will solve it!”
Just then, the children heard a clock chime in the living room.
“Uh-oh,” exclaimed Beth.
“What is it?” asked Jessie.
“I should be going. My parents wanted me to be home early for lunch today.”
“It is almost lunchtime,” said Henry. “It took us so long to get inside, the morning is almost gone.”
“Well, I’ll see you later,” said Beth.
“I’ll walk you to your bicycle,” Jessie said.
When Jessie came back in the kitchen she was holding something and looking very puzzled.
“What is it, Jessie?” asked Henry.
“Look.” Jessie held out her hand. In the palm was a silver key.
“The house key?” asked Violet.
Jessie nodded. “It fits the door.”
“Where did you find it?” asked Benny.
“By the flowerpot at the foot of the back door steps.”
“We looked there!” said Benny. “We looked everywhere!”
“I suppose we could have overlooked it,” said Henry slowly. “But it doesn’t seem likely.”
Jessie shook her head. “I don’t think we did, either.”
“Then how did the key get there?” asked Violet.
Henry handed the key back to Jessie. “I’m surprised Beth didn’t see it on her way out,” he said.
“Well,” said Violet. “She was in a hurry.”
Jessie put the key in her pocket. “Anyway, we’ll just keep this key so we can get in tomorrow, and then after we feed Spot and Rover tomorrow, we’ll put it under the mat.”
“Good thinking,” said Henry.
“Like Beth said, this has been an adventure,” said Jessie.
“I guess so!” said Violet. “Let’s hope we don’t have any more!” |