Secret of the Mask by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Author:Gertrude Chandler Warner [Chandler Warner, Gertrude]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-2899-9
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2011-10-26T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

A Two-Horned Mask

The children rang the bell but no one answered. They knocked on the door. Still nothing.

“Grandma Belle can’t go out with a broken hip,” said Violet.

Benny peered through the window. “Her wheelchair’s gone! I left it right there in the corner.”

“Maybe she was feeling better,” said Jessie, “and her grandson took her for a walk.”

“Maybe they’re sitting in the yard,” said Henry.

The children ran around back, but the only thing they found in the yard was a group of small birds chirping along the walk.

“Look,” said Benny. The birds were feasting on pieces of popcorn. The children followed the trail along the walk out to the alley to the trash. They quickly opened the trash cans. Two were empty, but a white box stuck out of the third. “Another one!” said Benny.

Henry lifted it out and tore it open. Popcorn spilled out. Inside was a red, white, and blue mask with two horns on the top. The wood was old and cracked, and the feathers sticking out of the top smelled musty.

Violet ran her fingers over the wood. “It’s beautiful. Why would Grandma Belle throw this away?”

“It’s probably Nurse Rumple cleaning out more clutter,” said Jessie. “We have to warn her not to throw anything else away until we find out if these masks are copies or real kachina masks.”

“I’ll keep this mask here and wait here for them to come back,” said Henry. “You go home and call Grandma Belle. Leave a message on her phone asking her to call us.”

After the three children sped away, Henry discovered old gardening tools in the yard and quickly set to work. He was one of those people who couldn’t bear standing around doing nothing. The tools had rusted from being left outside. Still, they were good enough to clear weeds from the flowerbeds, prune overgrown trees, and trim the bushes around the porch. If Grandma Belle would let him, he would plant a wonderful vegetable garden and grow flowers that would bloom all summer long.

“Who’s that?” said Jessie as they neared their house. A strange car sat in their driveway, and a stranger leaned against the hood. With his white beard, round belly, and bright red suspenders he reminded Benny of Santa Claus. Watch ran to the man, carrying a stick in his mouth.

“Good dog,” said the man, taking the stick and patting Watch’s head. Then he threw the stick far down the block. “Fetch!” he called, laughing heartily as Watch ran after it.

“Hello,” said the children.

The man turned and smiled. “Why, I would know you anywhere,” he said. “You look just like Aldens. I’m Officer Tom Morgan. I talked to you on the phone last night about your garage break-in. Sorry to be so late getting to you. Been busy helping some friends set up tepees for next week’s powwow. Let’s have a look at the scene of the crime.”

The children led him back to garage. But when they opened the door, everything was tidy once more. “There you are,” called a cheerful Mrs.

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