The Lighthouse Mystery by Gertrude Warner

Author:Gertrude Warner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2010-10-09T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Who Needs a Friend?

The Alden family did not stay dumb for long.

Tuesday Benny said, “Let’s see if we can find out where Captain Snow lives.”

“Just step down to the store,” said Henry, laughing.

Everyone laughed.

“Wait just a minute until we finish the breakfast dishes,” said Jessie, “and we can all go.”

It was Grandfather who asked Mr. Hall, “Do you know Captain Snow of the Tahiti?”

“I’ll say I know him,” said Mr. Hall. “I’ve known him ever since he was a boy. He’s brother to the Cook boy’s mother.”

“Aha!” said Jessie.

“Aha!” said Benny. “That explains a lot of things.”

Mr. Hall leaned on the counter. “Larry always goes over to see his uncle when the Tahiti comes in. His uncle gives him something every time, but nobody has ever found out what it is.”

“Maybe he gets it in a covered pail,” said Benny, looking at Mr. Hall.

“How did you know that?” asked Mr. Hall.

“I saw him come home late one night and he had a pail,” said Benny.

“Sometimes his uncle gives him a box,” said Mr. Hall, “and sometimes a glass can. What do you suppose is in all those things?”

“We think we know,” said Henry. “It’s seaweed or plankton.”

“And what’s plankton, young feller?”

“It doesn’t grow here close to shore,” said Violet.

“It grows in the deep sea,” said Henry. “In some places the deep sea is full of it.”

“And what is it?” asked Mr. Hall.

“It’s what a whale eats,” said Benny. “It’s plants and tiny fish and eggs and stuff you can’t see with- out a microscope, but whales live on it. The whale takes a big mouthful and swallows the plankton and strains the water out of his mouth.”

“Fishes eat it, too,” Henry added. “It’s something like the way land animals feed on growing plants and smaller animals.”

“Plankton tastes awful,” said Benny. “They say there’s enough plankton in the deep sea to feed the world.”

“You don’t say!” said Mr. Hall. “Too bad it doesn’t taste good. But what I want to know is what the Cook boy wants it for.”

“We think he studies it and experiments with it,” said Henry.

“He’s a smart boy all right,” said Mr. Hall. “Maybe Captain Snow would know.”

“Where does he live?” asked Henry.

“Way up the street,” said Mr. Hall. “Do you know where they’re fixing the driveway?”

“Yes, that’s where we got our cement,” said Jessie.

Mr. Hall said, ‘There’s a white house near that corner and that’s Captain Snow’s. He lives with his mother.”

Benny said, “But most of the time he’s out at sea.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Hall. “Most of the time.”

Then Watch began to wag his tail. He went to the door.

A tall man came in and said, “Well, hello, dog. You are a good watchdog. Your name ought to be Watch.”

“It is!” cried everybody.

“You’re Captain Snow of the Tahiti,” said Benny. “We were just coming down to see you.”

“Good,” said Captain Snow. “You are the Aldens who went over my ship. Just give me some crackers and five pounds of sugar, Mr. Hall. Then I’ll go right home.

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