Mystery of the Stolen Sword Read Free Page B

Elvira a playful pat.
    “How often do you feed the animals?” Jessie wanted to know.
    “Twice a day, now that winter’s coming on,” the farmer answered. “Early in the morning, and then again in the late afternoon. And sometimes they also get snacks during the day.” Seymour reached into his pocket for two cubes of sugar, which he handed to Benny.
    “Here, son, you can give these to the horses. They’re outside,” Seymour said, leading the way out to the pasture.
    Once outside, Benny walked over to look at the two horses who were grazing near the fence. “They don’t bite, do they?” Benny wanted to know.
    “Nah, they’re tame as can be,” the farmer assured him. The horses moved closer to Benny, and Benny promptly took a few steps backward, away from the fence.
    “No need to be afraid,” Seymour said. He reached through the fence to pat the white horse on the nose. “This one is called Hazel,” he told the Aldens.
    “Hazel?” Violet asked, a little puzzled.
    “Her eyes are hazel,” the farmer answered.
    “And this one here” — Seymour pointed to her gray companion — “is Mister Mist.”
    Violet put her hand through the fence to stroke Mister Mist’s mane.
    “Now, Benny, if you want to feed Hazel, put the sugar on the palm of your hand and hold your hand flat.”
    Benny followed the farmer’s instructions. “Oooh, she tickles,” said Benny, yanking his hand away after the horse had taken the sugar cube. Then he quickly gave Mister Mist his sugar, while Seymour gently nudged Hazel out of the way.
    Benny did not want to leave the horses, but the others were eager to continue exploring the farm.
    Seymour led the way to a long, low building. “This is a shed and junk room,” the farmer explained as he pulled open the wooden door and held it for the Aldens.
    “Wow!” Henry exclaimed when his eyes had adjusted to the dim light.
    Inside was a large wagon. It was old and rusted now, but Seymour told them it had been used as a horse-drawn buggy. The wagon was piled high with old trunks, bundles of yellowed newspapers, and wooden crates filled with glass jars and old rusty tools.
    Half the shed held modern farm equipment: tractors, ladders, buckets, hoses, pitchforks, fertilizers, and pesticides. But it was the buggy that interested the Aldens the most.
    “How old is it?” Henry wanted to know.
    “What’s in all those trunks?” asked Benny.
    “One question at a time,” Seymour advised, laughing. “That buggy dates back to Gideon’s time, I dare say. As for what’s in those trunks, I suggest that some rainy day you all have a look.”

    “Oh, we’d love to do that,” Jessie answered for all of them.
    “I’ve rummaged around in one or two of them,” Seymour continued. “As far as I can recall, I found some old clothes, some hats, and even some books. Just about all the Curtises are collectors. We never seem to throw anything away.”
    “Is the secret passageway in this shed?” Benny wanted to know.
    “Ah, young man, I was saving the best part for last,” Seymour said. “We need to go back up to the house to find the secret passageway.”
    “Okay,” said Benny, racing outside.
    Once in the house, Seymour led the Aldens downstairs to the basement — a long, low room with stone walls and a dirt floor.
    The children looked all around the basement. The only door in any of the walls was one at the top of a short wooden staircase that obviously led to the outside.
    “How can there be a secret door?” Henry asked. “It would have to be made out of this stone that’s in the walls, and that would be awfully heavy.”
    Violet spotted a tall wooden cabinet that stood against one wall near a corner. “Is the door behind this cabinet?” she asked.
    Seymour chuckled. “You’re pretty darn close!” he answered as he walked over to the cabinet and opened it. There was little inside it besides two flashlights and an old kerosene lamp on the top shelf.
    Seymour moved the lamp aside,