The Mystery of the Man in the Tall Black Hat Read Free

doing OK.”
    Tod frowned as he turned to go. “If I don’t see you before, come over Monday and we’ll start the frog pond.”
    “I’ll be there,” Barney assured him.
    “And keep quiet about the other,” Tod cautioned.
    “Don’t worry. I don’t want anybody thinking I’m some kind of nut!”
    Tod grinned and pedaled into the driveway.

2
The Frog Pond
    Tod was scraping the last of the cereal from the bottom of his bowl when Barney appeared at the kitchen door on Monday morning. As the screen slammed behind him, Tod looked up and brushed the hair from his eyes.
    “How come you’re just eating breakfast?” asked Barney.
    Tod reached for a piece of hot toast his mother handed him and spread it thickly with strawberry jam. “I didn’t wake up, that’s why.” He bit into the toast. “And anyway, it’s vacation.”
    “Would you like something to eat, Barney?” Mrs. Mitchell asked.
    “Never ask Barney that, Mom. He never knows when to
quit
eating!”
    Barney looked at Tod and then at Mrs. Mitchell who was smiling. “Thanks, Mrs. Mitchell. I’d like that.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. While the toast was cooking, Mrs. Mitchell poured him a glass of cold milk.
    Barney took a long drink and set his glass down. “How are you going to make the frog pond, Tod?”
    “First we have to find an old metal drum or something we can use for a reservoir. We need a regular water supply, or we’ll be spending all of our time carrying water.” Tod licked strawberry jam from his fingers. “If we forget to fill it, the pond will dry up and the frog eggs won’t hatch. Worse yet, the polliwogs will die, and we’ll never see them turn into frogs.”
    “What about frogs?” Tod’s sister, Tricia, stood in the kitchen doorway, her straight blond hair in disarray. She yawned loudly and plopped down on an empty chair. Without waiting for an answer to her first question, she put her next question to nobody in particular. “What’s for breakfast?”
    “Dad and I had poached eggs,” answered her mother. “Tod had corn flakes.”
    “Tod used all the milk!” Tricia complained.
    “That was Barney,” Tod retorted.
    “There’s plenty in the refrigerator. Just help yourself.” Mrs. Mitchell frowned at her daughter.
    Tricia muttered under her breath as she headed for the refrigerator.
    “What are we going to make the pond out of, then?” asked Barney as though there had been no interruption.
    “I haven’t decided yet. Maybe we could make a framework if we can find some lumber.” He turned toward his mother.
    “Is there a piece of plastic we can line it with?”
    “Where do you plan to build your pond, Tod?” Mrs. Mitchell wrinkled her forehead slightly as she turned from the kitchen sink.
    “Out back some place. It won’t be in anybody’s way,” Tod assured her, as he gathered up his dishes and put them on the counter. “What about the plastic?”
    “I’ll see about it. Meanwhile, before you begin your big building project, Dad left some chores for you to do.”
    “But, Mom, I’ve got company!”
    “Barney isn’t company. He practically lives here, and he can help you.” She turned and smiled at Barney. “Can’t you, Barney?”
    Tod split kindling from the cedar that was piled in the woodshed for that purpose, and then both boys carried fir logs to the woodbox. A fire in the fireplace was still pleasant during the cool June evenings. After the woodbox was filled, Tod led the way to the vegetable garden where Mr. Mitchell had planted enough seed to supply the family with fresh vegetables, and some for Mrs. Mitchell to can for winter use. Lettuce, radishes, and onions were already up, and Tod and Barney hoed between the long straight rows. When they had finished they turned their full attention to the project they had planned.
    In back of the woodshed they located a metal barrel. It was partly filled with scraps of iron which Tod emptied into a wooden box. They dragged the barrel out into the