Seeking nip and tuck, p.11
Seeking Nip and Tuck, page 11
The twins looked at one another, and shook their heads.
“Nothing at all?” said Mr. Hargrove.
“No, Mr. Hargrove, sir,” Mickey replied.
“Oh now, wait, wait, wait a minute!” Mr. Hargrove said, and he sounded almost angry. “Mr. Hargrove? That has to stop. I’m your grandfather. That’s what you’re to call me. You two got that?”
“Y-y-yes,” they both stammered.
Then Mr. Hargrove...Grandfather, threw back his head and laughed. “I’m sorry, boys. I didn’t mean to sound so fierce. I didn’t know I even had grandsons until Mr. Raider came calling, but as soon as I knew you might actually exist, I’ve been longing to hear that word. Grandfather! But it must be a big surprise and a shock to know about me if your mama never spoke of her family. That saddens me more than you can know. And now I’m going to tell you why that happened. I owe it to you both. If you want to know the story, that is. Do you?”
“Yes...Grandfather,” Matt said.
“We...we’d like that, Grandfather,” Mickey said.
Tears came to his eyes. He pulled a big handkerchief from his pocket to wipe them away. “I’m sorry, Matt and Mickey. But you two can’t imagine how good it is for an old man who’s been rattling around here alone to hear that. Before I start on my story, though, do either of you have any questions you’d like to ask?”
“I...I have one...Grandfather,” Mickey said.
“Fire away,” he answered.
“Well, when I was explaining to Jonathan about how we were trying to save money to help our friends who had to go picking and snatching for Aunty, I said that first we had to get money to rescue our baby sister Molly from Mrs. Peeby – she runs a baby farm, Grandfather – but nobody said anything about that. Did Hike tell you about baby Molly when he told you about us?”
Grandfather nodded his head. “Yes, and we need to talk about that. But if it’s all right with you, I’d like to get my story out of the way, though I must tell you that it is a very long one, and may even be difficult for you boys to understand. May I do that?”
Much as they wanted to know what Grandfather had to say bout baby Molly, they knew he needed to tell his story first. They exchanged glances, and then both nodded.
“Matt and Mickey,” he said,” I must tell you that I made a terrible mistake once that I shall regret until the day I die. You see when your mama was but fifteen years of age, her mama, your grandmama, died. I was beside myself with grief. Even with two loving daughters, your mama and her younger sister, I was very, very lonely. Within the year, I met and married someone else. I must use the past tense when I speak of her, because she died not long ago, leaving me a widower a second time. She was a very young woman, not too many years older than your mama, who was dead set against the marriage.
“Oh, it was not that she minded my marrying again. Far from it, for she knew how lonely I was. But your mama seemed to sense what I did not, that this young woman was not only beautiful, but was also very spoiled and demanding. She was, sadly, also extremely jealous of your mama, who was, as you know, a very beautiful young woman herself. And my young bride was an accomplished schemer, although I was so taken with her beauty, I managed to blind myself to her scheming ways, which she often used to discredit your mama.
“She even managed to ally herself with your mama’s innocent younger sister, who, though a lovely young woman, as you two will learn when you meet her and her husband, was never the beauty your mama was. But worst of all, and to my never-ending regret, I often upheld my young wife’s side in disputes, even though many times I felt your mama was really in the right. I loved your mama dearly, but she began accusing me of not doing so, and I fear I gave her reason to believe that.”
Grandfather paused in his story, as Porter arrived with his tray. Grandfather told the boys to help ourselves to the sandwiches and cake, take their cups of cocoa, and “dig in,” as he put it. When they had settled themselves down again, he went on with his story.
“You are young boys, Matt and Mickey, not even yet twelve, so you may have difficulty understanding all this. But I hope you can try. Your mama and I had heated quarrels. I am stubborn, and she had inherited that stubbornness from me. Neither of us would admit to needing to change our points of view.
“In the end, after one violent quarrel, your mama ran off. She left me a note saying that she had eloped with her sister’s and her drawing master, Jacques Barrere. He was a handsome devil, and I believe your mama and he had been flirting. It was one of the reasons, besides ones to do with her new mama-in-law, she and I quarreled. She had argued that there was nothing in it, and I believe there really was not. Running off with him, I am certain, was a rash and sudden decision. In her note, she told me I was not to come looking for her, and that when she was ready she would write to me.
“In my fury, I tore up her note. I finally attempted to find her, but could not. She had simply disappeared, and I never knew more of her until Mr. Hike Raider arrived on my doorstep. From him I learned that Jacques Barrere was really John Deacon who was scraping to make a living, and lived in the tenements. That’s where he had taken you mama to live. I think she was too proud and stubborn ever to have let me know that. Mr. Raider told me of her death and the death of John Deacon, after which he had married your mama. I found it difficult to believe that she would ever marry a man like Hike Raider, and Mr. Kirk has since proved me right.
“Mr. Raider also told me that your mama and John Deacon had had two sons, and baby daughter born after his death. He told me how the boys had stolen money from him, and a valuable pin given him by your mama, and had run off with both. They had pretended to drown themselves, he said, but he claimed to know better. He refused to tell me where the baby was. I immediately paid a visit to Mr. Kirk after that. And I believe, Matt and Mickey, you know the rest of the story.
“Oh, one more thing. About the pin. That has been in our family for over two centuries. I gave it to your mama on her sixteenth birthday. The pin has quite a history, and is very valuable. Very valuable, indeed. Mr. Raider was quite right about that! But your mama never cared about the value. She simply loved the pin because of its beauty, but especially because I had given it to her. I couldn’t for a moment believe she had given it to Hike Raider!”
“She didn’t, Grandfather!” Matt blurted out. “She wore it all the time, except when she went to bed at night. But Mickey and I never thought it was worth a lot because she always called it her ‘little trinket.’ When Mickey and I were trying to run away, the money we had got stolen by Aunty. That was money mama was saving for us for an emergency, she said. It wasn’t Hike’s at all. But after it got stolen, we decided Mama would like us to use the pin to help ourselves out. So we took it to a pawnshop because we knew we could buy it back later. We asked a lot for it, though. We asked five dollars, Grandfather. But Mr. Rose only offered one. So we didn’t sell it to him, and he started seeking us to get it.”
Grandfather shook his head when he heard this. “Five dollars? Matt and Mickey, I hate to tell you what that pin is really worth. A thousand times that, at the very least. And Mr. Rose must be a crook and a shyster of a very high order. One dollar, indeed!”
After this, Grandfather sat and just stared into space for a few minutes without saying anything. Then he said so softly they could hardly hear him, “It means a lot to me that your mama always wore that pin. She never thought about its value. I think she treasured it because I’d given it to her. Thank you, boys, for telling me that.”
“Grandfather,” Mickey said, “before Mama died, she said she should have told us something, and she always meant to. She wanted us to do something, but she never finished what she was saying. Isn’t that right, Matt.”
“Yes,” Matt said. “I think maybe she hoped we would come looking for you. But we never knew we had a grandfather.”
“Well, you know now!” he said. “And we’ll make up for all the lost time. But I hope Mr. Kirk is right, Matt and Mickey, that you still have the pin in your possession?” Grandfather said.
“Not...not exactly,” Mickey said. “But we have it hidden in a pretty good place.”
“And where might that be?” Grandfather asked.
“It’s...it’s...” Matt stopped to look at Mickey. “It’s right across the street from Aunty, Grandfather. We hid it behind a brick in the wall in the stairwell where we hid when we first ran away. Aunty sent Lovey, that’s her daughter, to look for it there. But we guess she never thought to pull bricks from the wall and look behind them.”
Their grandfather threw back his head and laughed. “Behind a brick, and right across the street from Aunty! That’s irony of a high order. Mr. Kirk is certainly right about the two of you. Resourceful, and I must say, ingenious. Well, we’ll see about getting it as soon as possible.”
“Grandfather?” Mickey said.
“Yes?”
“What about the boys? Jonathan said what we told him would be taken into consideration. Consideration for what? Just so they won’t get such a big punishment? We don’t think they should be punished, do we Matt?”
Matt shook his head. “We think they should be given a chance like we had. It’s what they all want. Mickey and I were saving money to help them. They’re our friends, Grandfather. They all know what we were up to, but they never ratted on us to Aunty. Can you do anything to help them?”
“Absolutely!” Grandfather said. “I’ll see to it that they all get decent work, or go to school, or whatever suits them best. How’s that? Well, I see by the grins on your faces that you approve of that.”
Both boys nodded so hard it seemed their heads would fall off!
“Then let me jot down their names,” their grandfather said. He went to get a pencil and pad from his desk, and returned to his chair. “All right then, let’s have them.”
“There’s Wolf and Dink and Pounce and Badger,” Matt said.
“And there’s Moose and Click Click and Dink,” said Mickey.
“No last names?” Grandfather asked.
The boys shrugged. Nobody knew anybody’s last name at Aunty’s
“Never mind. I’ll find them and we’ll see what we can do,” Grandfather said.
Then Matt suddenly thought of something. “There’s someone else I’d like you to help, Grandfather. Mickey, don’t you think Grandfather should help Junko and Bobo and Tweet?”
Mickey nearly nodded his head right off his neck again!
“Now where did those names come from?” Grandfather asked.
Matt and Mickey fell all over themselves explaining about how those boys had let them share the stairwell, giving back the nickel, and helping Tuck when he was kidnapped by Mr. Rose.
“I certainly agree that...er...Junko, Bobo, and Tweet are worthy of attention as well,” Grandfather said, smiling, when they had finished. “Do you have any ideas about how we can reward them?”
“Could...could we give them each a bank account like Ragged Dick had?” Matt asked.
“Well, I don’t know this Ragged Dick,” their grandfather said. “But I think we could start a bank account for each of these boys. How much did you have in mind?”
“Could I consult with Mickey, Grandfather?” Matt asked.
“Please do,” he replied.
So then the twins had a discussion about it. “Would five dollars each be too much, Grandfather?” Matt asked.
“And we’d like them each to have new shoe-boxes,” Tuck added.
“I think that could be arranged. Of course, I may have to sell a building to manage it. But I’ll see what I can do,” their grandfather said. He looked very serious, but his eyes were twinkling. “Now I’m going to tell you what I know about Molly,” he said. “As I told you, Hike refused to tell me where she was. What he wanted was a great sum of money from me, and I didn’t care to give in to his demands. But he is not a very smart man, as you boys probably know. He believed he was being very clever, but somehow was not clever enough not to talk too much. Without even realizing it, he mentioned the name Peeby, which is where he had left Molly.”
“But she’s not there anymore, Grandfather!” Mickey cried. “I went to see her, and she’s gone! Matt and I wanted to take her away from there before she died. Mrs. Peeby said some men came and paid her a great sum of money to take Molly away.”
“I went, too, Grandfather,” Matt said. “And it’s just like Mickey said, she isn’t there anymore. Can’t we go find her?”
“We’ll certainly try,” Grandfather said. “But first, there’s something I want to show you boys. It won’t take a minute. Please, if you will, come with me upstairs.”
The boys exchanged telling glances. It was clear that neither one thought there was anything more important than finding their baby sister. But they had to do as Grandfather asked, so they silently followed him up the great winding staircase.
They went down a long hall on a blue carpet so thick they could not even hear footsteps. Then their grandfather stopped before a closed door and knocked softly. The door opened a crack. A rosy-cheeked young woman in a white cap peeked out, and then opened the door further.
“May we come in, Anna,” Grandfather said. “I believe there’s something in this room the boys are anxious to see.”
“The little dear is just waking up,” Anna said. “Are these her brothers you went to fetch?”
“They are indeed,” Grandfather said. “Matt and Mickey, come in and see your baby sister.”
They entered a room that was all pink and white, with lace on the windows and a white chest with roses painted on it, and a white crib where Molly had been asleep. Hearts thumping, they ran over to the crib, and found themselves looking down at their baby sister! She looked up, and smiled.
“She remembers us!” Mickey whispered. He leaned over the crib, taking one little hand in his.
Matt took the other hand in his own.
It was a scene never to be forgotten.
When they finally left the room, Matt said, “Grandfather, were you one of the two men who went to see Mrs. Peeby?”
“That I was!” he replied. “I had a friend with me in case I ran into any difficulties. I told Mrs. Peeby that Mr. Raider had sent us for Molly. It was really all very simple.”
“But she said someone paid a great sum for Molly,” Mickey said.
“Oh, I did that, all right,” Grandfather said. “Mrs. Peeby said that Mr. Raider hadn’t been paying her, and she wouldn’t release the baby unless she got her pay. We paid what was owed her, but then when I saw those other babies, my heart was so broken I pulled a lot more out of my wallet, and my friend added to it. I’m sorry to say little of that will probably do the babies any good. I fear most of it, if not all, will go to fill Mrs. Peeby’s cup.”
“Thank you, Grandfather!” Matt said.
“Thank you!” Tuck said. Then he threw his arms around his grandfather. Matt was right after him, doing exactly the same.
Out came Grandfather’s handkerchief again!
“Now,” he said, “if you think you boys will be all right left here for a while, I think I’m going to run off and see a wall about a pin!”
“By yourself?” Matt asked.
Grandfather laughed “Oh no! I’m going to have at least two policemen with me in case Aunty happens to be looking out her window. But just so we don’t have to spend a day pulling every brick out of that cellar wall, could you give me any idea what part of it we should be looking?”
“The back wall,” Matt said.
“Can you do any better than that?” Grandfather asked.
“Oh yes!” said Mickey. “It’s ten bricks right from the stairs, and six bricks up from the floor.”
Matt’s head snapped around. “I didn’t know you knew that. You never told me.”
“I thought you knew,” said Mickey. “We’re twins, aren’t we?”
Grandfather just shook his head. The look on his face said everything. He knew he was in for quite a time with his new-found twin grandsons.
But he had no sooner left than Matt saw a kind of thinking look come into Mickey’s eyes that he had seen many times before. Now what? he thought.
“Matt,” Mickey began, “what if...”
Matt gave him a big fat punch in the ribs. “Cripes, Mickey! I don’t want to hear it,” he said.
But Mickey never punched him back. All he did was turn to his twin, and give him a big fat grin.
Barbara Brooks Wallace is an award-winning American children's writer, who was born and spent her childhood in China. She is the winner of two Edgar Allan Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America for The Twin in the Tavern (1994) and Sparrows in the Scullery (1998). Cousins in the Castle (1997) and Ghosts in the Gallery (2001) were also nominated for the Edgar Award. She received and the William Allen White Children's Book Award for Peppermints in the Parlor (1983). The trilogy series, Miss Switch, enjoyed a popular run on the successful TV program, The ABC Weekend Specials, garnering the highest Nielsen ratings of all the episodes. Wallace's Hawkins books (which were notable offerings from the elite Scholastic Book Club) were also featured as live action films on The ABC Weekend Specials.
Other Books by
Barbara Brooks Wallace
The Trouble with Miss Switch
Miss Switch to the Rescue
Miss Switch Online
Miss Switch and the Vile Villains
Miss Switch’s Bathsheba and the Cat Caper
Dragon for Hire
All About Max
Diary of a Little Devil
Small Footsteps in the Land of the Dragon
Barbara Brooks Wallace, Seeking Nip and Tuck
