I didn’t argue. Despite having a police officer always around, I considered Mrs. Penn the main boss. I headed for the basement, determined to get a couple of rags, not only for cleaning my boots, but also for making a fly mask, using a strip to lengthen Frey’s tail, and making some kind of rag doll he could entertain himself with. When I reached the wooden box I’d seen before, I decided just to take the whole thing upstairs to my room. I wouldn’t use all of rags, but I could return what I didn’t need later.
The boys crowded around as I climbed up the stairs. “What’s in there?” they wanted to know, but when I told them, they quickly lost interest. Boot cleaning didn’t sound nearly as exciting as getting ready for a shopping trip. They didn’t follow me to my room, but, instead, obediently went to clean their teeth and wash up from the stickiness of pancake syrup. I heard them running down the stairs a minute later.
I took my boots into the bathroom and began my labors. I didn’t do a very good job. I was too worried about getting my new dress dirty, but I managed to make the boots look cleaner than before. Mrs. Penn had taken the socks I’d been wearing, and I had no replacements. I used a rag in each shoe to make up for it. That seemed to work well, but it wasn’t very comfortable.
But as I was taking a quick look at the rags, I discovered that Mrs. Smith had hidden a package at the bottom. Curious, even though I knew everyone was waiting for me, I unwrapped the heavy object and found a box full of coins. The secret stash made me so nervous, I almost dropped it, because inside that box was more money than I’d ever seen.
My hands were shaking when I covered the box back up inside its oil cloth wrapping. I didn’t bother to put the twine back on. Mrs. Penn and the others would probably want to see inside. I paused a moment to use the restroom, then made my way down the stairs, carrying the extraordinary find.
All eyes turned toward me. The boys ran to my side. “What do you have there?” they wanted to know, tugging at my dress to make me pause to show them.
“It’s something for Mrs. Penn,” I told them.
That was enough to make the boys less curious. But then, Mrs. Penn and the officer suddenly looked as intrigued as the boys had been a minute before.