The Mystery of the Man in the Tall Black Hat Read Online Free PDF Page A

started to run. They skirted the end of the pit and had reached the far side before they stopped to look back. There was nobody there.
    They hurried along the far side of the pit until they again reached the road on which they had entered the pit earlier.
    “I’ll bet he
is
from the mental hospital,” stated Tod. “Let’s call them up and ask.”
    Barney looked questioningly at his friend. “I don’t think that’s too good an idea. Wouldn’t we feel sort of stupid asking if a man in a stovepipe hat was missing?”
    Tod grinned. “I’ll think up some way to find out.”
    They walked rapidly through a short wooded area and out onto the highway which bordered the woods at right angles. As they neared the cemetery on the right of the road, a dull scraping sound reached their ears. Tod’s heart skipped a beat. Then he began to laugh.
    “We really are spooked,” he admitted sheepishly. “Look. It’s the caretaker raking the gravel walks.”
    Tod began to trot, with Barney panting and puffing behind him. They slowed to a walk as they passed Wildwood Church and a short time later entered the Mitchell house. The screen door banged shut behind them.
    “Hey, Mom! Is there anything cold to drink?” When there was no response Tod opened the refrigerator door and took out a carton of milk. He reached for a glass from the shelf above the sink and poured it full. “Want some, Barn?”
    Barney had already reached for a glass and as Tod set the carton on the counter he helped himself. “Got any cookies?”
    “Look in the cookie jar.”
    As they drank their milk and ate cookies, Tod was thinking. “I’m going to call up the hospital and ask if anyone is missing,” he said finally. He located the phone book and hunted for the number. “I don’t have to tell them everything.” He dialed, and a moment later a woman’s voice answered.
    Tod wished he had thought out what to say. “Uh—I was wondering,” he began. “Is anyone missing from your hospital?”
    “Why do you ask?”
    “We—that is, my friend and I—saw this strange man—real tall—and he was wearing a black stovepipe hat.”
    “Young man, is this some kind of joke? As far as I know none of our patients is missing.”
    Tod hung up the receiver.
    “I told you you would feel stupid.”
    “OK, so I feel stupid.” Tod thought for a minute. “Maybe she’s not allowed to give out that kind of information.”
    “Yeah. Other hospitals don’t always tell you what you want to know. Like this one time when my aunt was real sick—” He stopped talking abruptly as Tricia came into the room.
    “Who’s sick?” she asked.
    “Nobody’s sick,” answered Tod.
    “Barney said something about somebody being sick,” insisted Tricia. “Are you trying to hide something, Tod? You look funny.”
    “I do? Must be because I’ve been running. Barney and I ran partway home from the gravel pit.” He paused. “That reminds me. Did you and Donna see anything when you were up in the woods?”
    “Tod Mitchell. What are you getting at? Why all the mystery?”
    “Come on, Barney,” suggested Tod. “Let’s go outside where we won’t be bothered.” He cast a disgusted look at his sister.
    The boys wandered out toward the woodshed. They stood looking into their polliwog pond. “What did they say?” asked Barney.
    “Nobody’s missing.”
    “If nobody’s missing at the mental hospital, then that means—”
    “That means either they aren’t telling us the truth, or else that man isn’t a patient. We’ve got to find out who he is!”
    Tod looked at Barney. There was something strange about him.
    “How are we going to find out?” asked Barney.
    Tod kept looking at Barney. The more he looked at him the less he was thinking about the man in the stovepipe hat.
    “What’s the matter?” asked Barney.
    Tod’s eyes lighted up. “Barney, I know what it is. Your squirrel cage! Where’s your squirrel cage?”
    Barney’s face showed dismay. “We left it at