Mystery Ranch Read online

  “If your brothers are like you, I’d like to see them, too. Take the glass now, and go. I’m tired.”

  Jessie bent down again and lowered the little lady from her high pillows.

  “Call Maggie now,” said Aunt Jane.

  The girls went out quietly and called Maggie. They finished washing the dishes. Then they waited in the front room for Maggie.

  “You see how she is,” said the tired woman. “First she wants me, and then she doesn’t. I think she is finally settled for the night. You might as well go to bed, too.”

  “A fine idea,” said Jessie. “Where do you sleep?”

  “In this room off the kitchen,” said Maggie. “If you want anything in the night, you can come down.”

  “Thanks, Maggie,” said Jessie. “We won’t feel so strange here, knowing that.”

  “Well, thank you both,” she answered. “It’s wonderful to have someone nice to talk to.”

  The girls went up to their big room. They climbed into bed and talked awhile.

  “How beautiful the stars are!” Violet said. “They seem so near.”

  “I have never seen stars so bright before,” said Jessie. “It’s because there are no other lights at all.”

  Just as they were going to sleep, Jessie laughed and said, “Violet, where do you suppose that young man went? The one on the train.”

  “I can’t think,” answered Violet. “He just disappeared in the air!”

  “A Mystery Man really,” said Jessie.

  And so they fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 5

  A Day at the Ranch

  Sam, the neighbor, woke the girls the next morning, bringing the milk. The girls could hear Maggie in the kitchen, “Shh, Shh! Sam Weeks! You’ll wake those girls.”

  “I want to wake them,” said Sam. “I want to see them.” He began to whistle.

  The girls laughed while they washed their faces in the big wash bowl in their room. They dressed quickly. They wanted to see Sam, too.

  “Well, well!” he said, as they came into the kitchen. “I hear you came to see your Aunt Jane. Are you planning to stay here all summer?”

  “Sam!” cried Maggie. “How do they know?”

  “We really don’t know how long we’ll stay,” said Jessie. “We don’t know how long Aunt Jane will want us.”

  “I’m worried about you,” Sam said. “I’m afraid you won’t get enough food. Maggie had to eat at our house when she got real hungry.”

  “Well,” answered Jessie, dropping some eggs into hot water, “We can buy food. Grandfather gave me some money.”

  “I hope your aunt will let you eat it after you get it,” said Sam. He turned to go.

  He stopped at the door and turned to Maggie.

  “A stranger got off the train last night,” he said.

  “Yes, we know!” cried both girls.

  “That’s right, you would know,” said Sam.

  “We call him our Mystery Man,” said Jessie.

  “He’s a mystery, all right,” said Sam. “I noticed him because not very many people get off that fast train.”

  Sam watched the three people sit down at the pretty table. He turned and walked quickly out the kitchen door.

  Jessie smiled as she poured hot milk on a piece of toast.

  “A little salt,” she laughed, “and Aunt Jane’s breakfast is ready.”

  She carried the plate into Aunt Jane’s bedroom.

  “More food, I suppose,” said Aunt Jane.

  “That’s right,” said Jessie. “It’s milk toast. Delicious! Now, while you eat, I’ll tell you our plan. Maggie is taking us to the store this morning to buy food. And while we are near the station, we’ll send a telegram to Grandfather. We’ll tell him we are having a fine time.”

  “A fine time? Pooh!” said Aunt Jane.

  “But it’s true, Aunt Jane,” said Jessie quietly. “We love the ranch already. It’s a beautiful place!”

  “I’m the only person who has ever really liked this ranch,” her aunt said. She began to eat her breakfast. Jessie watched her.

  “She seems almost starved. If she is hungry, why doesn’t she want to eat?” Jessie said to herself.

  Jessie picked up the empty plate and left the room quietly.

  When Jessie came into the kitchen, she saw Maggie at the back door with the horse and wagon. To her surprise, Violet was already on the seat.

  “Don’t we lock the door?” she asked.

  “No, we never do. Nobody ever comes here,” said Maggie. “Go on, old boy!”

  As the horse walked slowly along, the girls made up a telegram to send to their grandfather. Tom Young, the station agent, sent the telegram.

  “A telegram every day. Quite an exciting town!” he said.

  Just then they heard a train whistle. “The train goes the other way every morning,” said Maggie. “Do you want to watch it come in?”

  They saw the train come into the station. Nobody got on and nobody got off.

  “That’s the way it always is,” said Maggie. “Soon the train won’t stop at Centerville any more. It doesn’t pay.”

  Maggie and the girls went to the store. They bought enough groceries to last a week and loaded them into the wagon. The old horse walked even slower than usual going home, because of the load.

  When they came back to the ranch, they found Aunt Jane very cross.

  “Humph!” she said to Maggie. “You go off riding all over the country and leave me here alone so that anything can happen!”

  “But, Miss Jane,” Maggie said, “what could possibly happen to you out here?”

  “I was nearly fooled into selling this ranch! That’s what could happen,” the little old lady answered.

  “Now, Miss Jane, this must be another one of your strange ideas,” Maggie said.

  “Strange, is it? Well, look at this.” She pulled a paper from beneath her pillow. Maggie and the girls came closer to the bed to see what it said. It was an offer to buy the ranch for ten thousand dollars.

  “Think of it!” Aunt Jane said. “Ten thousand dollars for my ranch! But I told those three men that my ranch isn’t for sale at any price. I have other plans for it.”

  “Dear Aunt Jane,” said Violet softly, “do you mean three men came into your room?”

  “Yes,” replied Aunt Jane. “But don’t you worry, my dear. I could manage them.”

  Aunt Jane leaned her head back on her pillows again.

  “Go away, now. All this excitement has made me tired.”

  Maggie and the girls went into the kitchen.

  “I’d think she would be glad to get rid of the place at any price,” said Maggie.

  “I’m glad she didn’t sell it, though,” said Violet. “It’s such a beautiful ranch. I wonder what plans she has for it.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Golden Chimney

  We’ll have a real dinner today,” laughed Jessie. “Maybe Aunt Jane will eat some of this good food if I don’t give her too much.”

  “I doubt it,” said Maggie. “She hasn’t eaten a real meal in two years.”

  Jessie was right. Maggie was amazed when she saw Aunt Jane’s empty dishes.

  “You girls certainly have a way with you,” she said. “I have never seen her eat so much.”

  After the dishes were washed, Jessie softly opened her aunt’s door.

  Again, Aunt Jane looked as if she had been lying there waiting for something to happen.

  “Well,” she said, “what do you want now?”

  Jessie spoke softly, “Violet and I wonder if we could explore this house.”

  “Go ahead,” said her aunt. “There are no secrets here that I know of.”

  “No mysteries?” laughed Jessie.

  “No,” said Aunt Jane. “There are no mysteries, but it is a strange house. You’ll find that it was built a little at a time. There are really four parts to the house.”

  As Jessie started to go out, her aunt called, “Be sure to look at the big chimney on
the other side of the house. It is the prettiest thing here. It was made of stone from our own mountains.”

  “We will,” said Jessie.

  The two girls smiled at each other and went into the front room.

  “Let’s explore the whole house,” said Jessie.

  Violet laughed.

  “I wonder why we love to fix up old houses?”

  The girls stepped into the front hall. They went across it to the other side and found themselves in a front room like the one they had just left.

  “This side of the house is exactly like the other one!” said Jessie. “See, here is the kitchen, the little bedroom, two front rooms and a side door.”

  “Here is the chimney and the fireplace,” said Violet. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  “The stone is smooth and shiny!” cried Jessie. “See the tiny spots of yellow! Could they be gold?”

  “They look brighter yellow than gold,” said Violet. “The black spots are pretty, too.”

  Upstairs they found eight bedrooms.

  “What fun it would be to put on new paper and paint!” cried Jessie.

  Violet had opened the door of the little room right over Aunt Jane’s.

  “Oh, what a beautiful room!” she whispered. “Do come and look!”

  It was the loveliest room in the house. The old wall paper was soft rose color. The window had fine white curtains. The small bed was high, like the big one in their bedroom. But this one had a top, covered with white curtains like those in the window.

  “I wonder who fixed this room,” said Violet. “Wouldn’t it be pretty with violets on the wallpaper? I would love to live in this room.” “It looks just like you, Violet,” said Jessie.

  The girls finished their exploring and went back downstairs.

  When they walked back to the kitchen, they heard Aunt Jane calling Maggie. Violet went in to see what she wanted.

  “Did you see the chimney?” asked her aunt.

  “Yes,” said Violet. “It is beautiful.”

  “The stones came from our mountains,” said Aunt Jane. “We thought once that those mountains were full of gold, but the gold was not real.”

  “The yellow and black spots make the chimney look very pretty, though,” Violet said.

  “Yes. That was one reason why my father used the stones for the chimney,” her aunt answered. “And he also said that the chimney would always be a lesson to him. Every time he looked at it he could remember how he had to work hard for anything worth having. That way, he wasn’t too disappointed that he had not found a lot of gold.”

  “This is really a beautiful house,” Violet said. “There are so many pretty things here. Tell me, Aunt Jane, who fixed the little bedroom right over this one?”

  Aunt Jane was very quiet for a minute. Violet thought she was not going to answer. Then she said,

  “That was my room once,” she said. She had tears in her eyes.

  CHAPTER 7

  The Boys Come

  Two days passed before Maggie finally spoke her mind. She was feeling much better now with three delicious meals a day. And she enjoyed having someone to talk to.

  Maggie and the two girls were sitting on the back steps, enjoying the cool evening breeze. The dinner dishes were done, and the first stars had come out over the ranch.

  “Maybe I haven’t any right to ask,” Maggie began. “But I wonder what your grandfather is going to do about your aunt. She needs some care all the time. You girls can’t stay here all summer.”

  “Maybe we can,” said Violet softly. “We love it here, and I think Aunt Jane is used to having us now.”

  “There is one thing that’s missing, though,” said Jessie.

  “Yes, I know,” said Violet. “We both miss the boys.”

  Violet looked very sad.

  “Maybe Aunt Jane would let the boys come, too,” said Jessie. “Then it would be perfect.” She looked at her sister.

  “Let’s ask her tomorrow,” Violet said.

  The two girls went upstairs to bed.

  Next morning Jessie took a fine breakfast into her aunt’s room. The little lady began to eat, and Jessie sat down beside the bed.

  “We miss Henry and Benny, Aunt Jane,” she began. “Couldn’t we ask them to come for a few days? I’m sure Grandfather would let them come if you were willing.”

  “Well,” said her aunt, “I’d agree to that.”

  The little lady looked up from her breakfast.

  “But I don’t want to see James, remember that!” she said.

  “Grandfather is really very nice when you get to know him,” said Jessie.

  Aunt Jane gave a short laugh. “Don’t forget that I knew your grandfather long before you did. If these two boys turn out like him, back they go!”

  Jessie was sorry to hear her aunt talk like that. She did not answer. It was the best thing she could have done. Miss Jane was beginning to love the smiles on these two young faces.

  What could she say to make Jessie happy again? she wondered.

  “Tell Benny to bring his dog,” she said.

  What a smile came over Jessie’s face! She did not say that Watch was not Benny’s dog, but hers.

  She said, “Oh, that’s wonderful! Watch will love this ranch! And we’ll keep him out of your room, I promise.”

  “Well, don’t promise that,” said Aunt Jane. “I like dogs in my room if they are good dogs.”

  “Watch is a wonderful dog,” said Jessie. “He saved our lives once.” said Jessie, holding Watch by a strap. “I’ll keep Watch with me.”

  The boys followed Violet into the bedroom. Aunt Jane was almost sitting up against her pillows. Her blue eyes were very bright.

  “Hello, Aunt Jane,” said Benny, going over to the bed. “I’m Benny. And aren’t you a cute little lady!”

  Aunt Jane was taken by surprise. She almost smiled.

  “And I suppose you are Henry,” she said.

  “Yes. We are sorry you are sick,” Henry answered. He hardly knew what to say to this strange woman.

  “Who said I was sick?” asked Aunt Jane. “Well, you certainly don’t look like your grandfather.”

  “No, I’m afraid not,” said Henry.

  “No need to be afraid about that,” answered Aunt Jane. “I’m glad you don’t look like him. And where’s that big dog I’ve heard about?”

  “Jessie, bring in Watch,” called Henry.

  Everyone watched to see what the dog would do. He walked over to the bed and looked at the little old woman. Then he sat down and put out his paw.

  “He wants to shake hands!” cried Benny, delighted. “Shake hands with him, Aunt Jane! You don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

  For a minute, the children thought their aunt was angry. But to their surprise, she sat up and shook hands with the dog.

  “Good dog,” she said, lying back again.

  Watch threw back his head and looked at Jessie. His mouth was open.

  “Oh, Aunt Jane, he’s laughing!” cried Benny. “He likes you!”

  “Well, well,” said Aunt Jane. “I’m glad the dog likes me, at least. You can go now and eat. And shut the door when you leave. I’m very tired from all the excitement.”

  The children went back into the kitchen and sat around the table, talking.

  “Isn’t Aunt Jane a surprise?” asked Jessie.

  “She certainly is,” said Henry, “but I like her.”

  Jessie said, “Just guess what I think. Which one of us will do the most to make Aunt Jane well again?”

  And three voices answered together, “Watch!”

  CHAPTER 8

  Aunt Jane’s Nurse

  The next day was one of Aunt Jane’s bad days. The boys went off gladly to look at the ranch, when they saw how cross she was.

  “Now, Jane,” the girls heard Maggie say, “You let me wash your hands and face.”

  “No!” was the sharp answer. Watch looked at the door and raised one ear.

  “I don’t know what t
o do with you,” cried Maggie. “No breakfast. No washing. No clean bed. What do you want me to do?

  “Do you want the window open?”

  “No. This room is too cold already,” the little lady said.

  “You said a minute ago that it was too hot.”

  “Well, it was, a minute ago.”

  “Oh, dear me,” said Maggie.

  The girls looked at each other. The dog stood up and looked at the door. Violet put the last pile of dishes in the cupboard. Suddenly Maggie came from the bedroom. She shut the door behind her. She was almost crying.

  “Girls, I can’t do a thing with your aunt today. She was like this all the time before you came, but I did think she was getting over it.”

  “I wonder what she would say to me if I went in,” said Violet. “I’d like to try.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Jessie. “Maybe she would be cross to anyone today.”

  “Never mind if she is, Jessie,” answered her sister. “It won’t hurt me.”

  “Of course it will hurt you, if she says mean things!” cried Jessie. “And it will hurt me, too.”

  “I’d still like to try,” said Violet. “Just let me have the soap.”

  Violet knocked softly on the door to her aunt’s bedroom.

  “It’s Violet, Aunt Jane. May I come in?”

  “All right. Come in,” said her aunt.

  Violet went in quietly and put some newspapers in the chair by her aunt’s bed. On the papers she put the big washbowl. Into the bowl, Violet poured hot water.

  “It’s such a hot day,” she began pleasantly. “I think hot water makes you feel cooler, don’t you?”

  “Well, maybe,” said Aunt Jane. She watched the pretty little girl.

  “I’ve been sick a lot myself,” Violet went on. “And one of my nurses told me that.”

  Violet took one of the thin little hands and washed it gently with hot soapy water. Then she dried it on a soft towel.

  “I take care of the family when they are sick,” said Violet. “Someday I am going to be a nurse.”

  She washed the other hand. Then she pushed Aunt Jane’s white hair back and washed her face.

  She was drying her aunt’s face when Watch walked slowly into the room, wagging his tail. Aunt Jane looked at him.