The Mystery Girl Read Free

store once. And I was just looking at the hammers and bolts and nails. What kind of nails do you need?”
    The two of them walked over to where the nails were, and soon, Henry had helped the man find the ones he needed. Henry took the man’s money and gave him his change and a receipt from the cash register.
    When the man left, Nancy was ready to weigh the new bananas the woman had picked out. “Let me see,” she said, “bananas are thirty-nine cents a pound.” She put a small bunch of bananas on the big brass scale and stared at it. “These weigh—”
    â€œA pound, exactly,” the customer interrupted.
    â€œYou’re right!” Nancy sounded relieved. “That will be thirty-nine cents.”
    The woman counted out the change. Henry was still at the cash register, so he opened it and Nancy put in the thirty-nine cents. Then the woman decided to look at gardening tools, so Nancy went with her. “Thanks for helping that man with the nails,” she said to Henry as she left the counter. “Tell your aunt I’ll be with her just as soon as I can.”
    â€œThe store is pretty busy,” Henry said as he joined Aunt Jane and the others. “That’s good. But if Mr. Taylor doesn’t find another person to work here, I’m afraid people won’t want to wait until Nancy can help them.”
    Jessie nodded. “Then he will lose business, just like he said.”
    â€œHe’s not going to lose your business is he, Aunt Jane?” Benny asked.
    â€œOf course not, Benny,” Aunt Jane said. “I’ve been coming to his store for years and I’ve always been satisfied.” She held the material she and Violet had been looking at. It was blue with light brown stripes running through it. “What does everyone think of this?” she asked.
    Benny and Jessie said it was just right for the den, and Henry said, “I think Andy will like it a lot.”
    â€œI do, too,” Aunt Jane agreed. “And Violet gave me a good idea. I’ll buy some extra material and use it to cover the throw pillows on the couch.”
    â€œThat’s a great idea, Violet,” Jessie said. “I’ll help you measure the material.”
    â€œI’ll pick out a dog collar,” Henry said.
    â€œAnd I’ll get the candy,” Benny volunteered eagerly.
    â€œGood,” Jessie said. “Since Nancy and Mr. Taylor are so busy, we can save them time by doing the work ourselves.”

CHAPTER 3
    The Aldens Get a Job
    I t didn’t take long for Violet and Jessie to measure and cut the material. By the time they finished, Benny had filled two small bags with peppermint drops, and Henry had chosen a blue dog collar for Watch.
    The children and Aunt Jane walked over to the counter and put their things on it. Nancy and her customer came over at the same time. Nancy looked very happy when she saw the curtain material all measured and cut. “Oh, thank you,” she said. “That was a big help. I’ll be with you in just a minute.”
    Nancy wrapped up the customer’s gardening gloves and tools. Then she stared at the cash register and bit her lip.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, Nancy?” Jessie asked.
    â€œIt’s silly,” Nancy said, “but I keep forgetting how to work this cash register. The others stores I’ve worked in had more modern ones.”
    â€œThe hardware store where I worked had this kind,” Henry said. “I’ll be glad to show you again.”
    Henry rang up the sale, took the money from the customer, and made change. Nancy watched him closely. While they were doing that, Violet helped Benny weigh the candy on the scale, and Jessie and Aunt Jane figured out how much money the curtain material would cost. Henry took the money for everything, and made change again.
    â€œThank you,” Nancy said. “I’m sure I won’t forget next time.”
    â€œWhat other