A Traitor Among the Boys (12 page)

“Well,
that
was dumb. Who would go driving in West Virginia in a blizzard? What are
we
supposed to do about it?” said Jake.

“Maybe it wasn't snowing when she started out. No one knew there was going to be a storm like this,” said Josh. He turned to Wally. “Why don't you come
with me? I don't want to go over there by myself. Peter, you want to come?”

“You said I couldn't go over there again,” Peter warbled.

“Just forget what we said, okay?”

“Listen, you guys, you're not going to leave me behind,” said Jake. “If you're going, so am I.”

So all four boys bundled up, and—holding on to each other so that they could see in the blinding snow—they crossed the road, eased themselves down the hill to the swinging bridge, and then … step by step … made their way across.

“It's a whiteout!” Jake breathed when they reached the other side. “That's what they call it in the Arctic when you can't see anything but snow.”

“Can we find the way up to their house?” Peter whispered, frightened by the wind's fury.

Josh, who was in the lead, stumbled at last on a step and realized he was at the Malloys’ back door. A moment later the four boys tumbled into the Malloys’ kitchen.

Beth's and Caroline's eyes were red.

“We don't know whether to call the sheriff or not,” Eddie said, stone-faced. “We can't reach Dad. Earlier they said he was at a meeting, and now the department answering machine comes on and says that all classes have been canceled.”

The boys took off their jackets and piled them by the door.

“Are there mountains between here and Elkins?” asked Beth.

“There are some fair-sized hills,” said Jake, “but she still should have been back by now if she'd wanted to beat the storm.”

The phone rang and Caroline grabbed for it. It was Mrs. Hatford. The boys could hear her voice all across the kitchen.

“Caroline, IVe been calling home and no one answers. I'm worried. I just heard that the schools let out early. Have you seen our boys?”

“They're over here,” Caroline told her. “They came because … because—” And Caroline could not stop the tears. “Because our mother's m … missing, Mrs. Hatford. She went to Elkins this morning and we think she's lost in the blizzard.” Caroline's voice ended in a sad little squeal.

“Oh, my goodness!” said Mrs. Hatford. “Have you called your father?”

“He's at a meeting. We can't find him either,” Caroline wept.

“All right, here's what we'll do. I'll page my husband on his beeper, and I want all you kids to stay right where you are,” Mrs. Hatford said. “Don't go out, and stay by the telephone. I'll call as soon as I get some news. Put Jake on, please.”

Caroline handed the phone to Jake.

“Jake, I want all you kids to keep together now,” said his mother. “Stay inside, right where you are. I'm going to find your father and tell him about Mrs. Malloy. Meanwhile, everyone in Buckman is coming to the hardware store for snow shovels and sand and flashlights and batteries, and no telling when we'll close tonight. I'll stay as long as they need me. But I
want you boys to help the Malloys in any way you can.

“We will,” Jake told her.

The seven sat awkwardly around the kitchen table.

“I suppose we could play a game or something while we're waiting,” Wally said at last.

No one answered.

“We could always bake cookies!” Peter said brightly.

No one responded to that either.

Finally Beth got up woodenly and placed the cookie jar on the table. “Have some,” she said.

Eddie put a jug of cider on the table and some plastic cups. But only Peter seemed hungry. He opened the lid. There were lemon squares and chocolate clusters, oatmeal raisin and butterscotch bars. But only Peter took a cookie. Only Peter drank some cider.

“What if she's lost in the snow?” Caroline began. “She doesn't even know the roads here in West Virginia. How long can she sit inside a car without freezing to death?”

“Oh, Caroline, shut up!” said Eddie. “Just shut up.” But her own voice was shaky.

Nineteen
… And Found

T
he phone rang again. Eddie answered, it was Mr. Hatford.

“Eddie, I just talked to my wife. She says your mother went to Elkins today and hasn't come back. Do you know what time she left?”

“All we know is that she had an appointment at a gallery at noon. That's what it said on her calendar.”

“Then I'd guess she left by eleven—maybe even before it started to snow. The only gallery I know in Elkins is the Fisher's Gallery. Is that where she went?”

“Yes.”

“I just called there, but they're closed. I'm heading out that way now in my Jeep, with a plow on the front. I'll take the road she would have traveled and see what I can find out. It's bound to be slow going, but I've got my cell phone. As soon as I know anything, I'll call. In the meantime, you kids sit tight.”

“Okay. And thank you,” Eddie said. She hung up
and turned to the Hatfords. “Your dad's going to look for her in his Jeep.”

“What if
he
gets stuck in the snow?” asked Peter. Now it looked as though
he
might cry. He'd started to eat another cookie but put it back down on the table.

“Let's play Monopoly,” Beth suggested, trying to hide her worry.

“I'll make popcorn,” said Eddie without enthusiasm.

“I could make hot chocolate,” said Caroline.

Everyone seemed grateful for the distraction. Beth set up the board at the kitchen table, Eddie made the popcorn, and Caroline got down the mugs for cocoa. Soon they were choosing pieces, drawing cards, passing Go, and buying properties. But their eyes traveled frequently to the window, their ears listening for the phone. When it rang at last around four, they all jumped. Once again Caroline answered.

“Caroline, I've just come from a meeting and heard that everything is closing early today. Things okay there?” asked her father.

“No!” Caroline said. “Mom's missing!” And suddenly she began to sob.

“What?”

Beth got on the phone next and explained what had happened, how the Hatford boys had come over to keep them company, and that their dad was heading for Elkins in his Jeep.

“I'll be home as soon as I can get a ride with someone in a four-wheel drive,” her father said. “My car's completely snowed under.”

The seven began playing Monopoly again, but
when an hour had gone by and still there was no call, no Mr. Malloy, the Monopoly game stopped. No one felt like playing anymore. Half the popcorn went uneaten. Half the cocoa was left in the cups.

Then the lights went out. The refrigerator stopped humming. There would be no TV. No radio.

“We will all die,” said Caroline softly.

“Caroline, shut
upl”
Beth scolded.

“Is the phone still working?” Eddie asked.

Beth checked. It was. She called the weather bureau. There was a travelers’ advisory. The storm was letting up, it said, but people were advised to stay inside, not to drive unless they had to. Road conditions were treacherous. There had been accidents….

The house grew colder. Eddie and Beth went upstairs and returned with armfuis of blankets. Each of the seven wrapped up in a blanket, and they all hunkered down on the floor beside the living room window, waiting for the blizzard to pass. Another hour went by. Six o'clock. Six-thirty….

“Now
Dad's
missing,” Caroline gulped.

“Oh, he'll be all right,” Eddie said. “It's Mom I'm—” She didn't finish.

“Well, our dad's been out in lots of storms,” said Wally finally. “He's a pretty good driver. He'll find her.” But he didn't sound at all sure.

“Yeah,” said Jake. “If anyone can find your mom, it's Dad. He's got all sorts of stuff in his Jeep—two-way radio, cell phone, beeper, first-aid kit, ax …”

“Ax?” squeaked Caroline.

“In case he has to chop someone out of a wrecked car,” said Peter.

“Be quiet, Peter,” murmured Jake. And then to the girls, “If Dad didn't think he could find her, he wouldn't have gone out.”

And Josh added, “We won't leave here until he does, okay?”

Beth looked over at him. “I'm glad you guys are here,” she said in a small voice.

“So are we,” Josh told her.

But Caroline sat leaning against the wall in her blanket, nothing showing except her eyes. “This is the way they will find us,” she said in a pitiful voice. “Seven icicles wrapped in blankets. Seven frozen bodies, too cold and weak to move. Seven people who might have become famous when they were grown, but—”

And then the lights came on. Everyone cheered, even Caroline, who had had her sad story cut short. The furnace clicked on, and so did the refrigerator.

“Ya-hoo!” yelled Peter, throwing off his blanket and hopping around.

The phone rang, and this time Eddie answered.

“I found your mom,” came Mr. Hatford's voice. “Her car went off the road into a ditch, but she's fine. We're on our way. Don't know what time we'll get there, but I've got a Thermos of coffee with us, and we'll be all right.”

“Hooray!” everyone yelled when they heard the news. Caroline didn't think she had ever felt more relieved or happy. She reached for the closest person
to hug, discovered it was Wally, then dived down in her blanket again.

There was the sound of a truck pulling into the Malloys’ driveway. The girls ran to the door and turned on the porch light, then swarmed around their father as he came inside, waving a thank-you to the driver of a pickup.

“Mom's okay! Mr. Hatford found her, and they're on their way home!” Caroline told him, hugging him hard.

Mr. Malloy's face sagged with relief. “Well, that's the best news I've had all day. You must have thought I was lost too. I waited an hour but couldn't find a ride home, so I set out on foot, and it was one adventure after another. People were stuck all over the place. Finally a pickup truck of Fered me a ride, and darned if
we
didn't get stuck.”

He stomped his feet and took off his coat.

“Hi, guys,” he said to the Hatfords. “I hear your dad's a hero.”

Wally grinned. “He's used to stuff like this. Mail carriers have to go out in all kinds of weather.”

“Well, I'm mighty grateful to him. It's going to take some time for the weather bureau to live
this
storm down. What was supposed to be light snow turned out to be a full-fledged blizzard and no one was prepared.” He looked around the kitchen. “Why don't you fellas stay till your folks get home? We'll husde up something for dinner.”

“No, we'll be fine,” said Jake. “Maybe we'll go home and make dinner for Mom.”

“Be sure to make her some brownies!” Caroline said mischievously.

The girls chattered on about what had happened that day, but when they stopped for breath, they realized that the boys had put on their coats and were getting ready to leave. Somehow everything seemed different now, Caroline thought. The light was so bright, the kitchen so cheery, the boys so …
so fan
Strangely fat and cheerful! They looked like overstuffed furniture, in fact.

“Thanks for coming over,” Beth said as she opened the door for them. “I mean it.”

And from behind her, Caroline squeaked, “With you by my side, Elmer, we can do anything!”

Everyone grinned, and Wally added, “Annabelle, I never thought I'd amount to much, but when I met you, everything changed!”

“Cut it out,” said Josh, turning red, but he was smiling too.

“I'm outta here,” said Jake, and his brothers followed him out the door.

The girls went back inside, laughing. For the first time since they'd gotten home that day they actually
felt
like laughing. For the first time that afternoon they were actually hungry.

“Let's heat up the cocoa again,” said Caroline.

“Cocoa and cookies,” said Beth. She lifted the lid on the cookie jar.

It was empty—totally empty. No lemon squares, no chocolate clusters, no oatmeal raisin, no butterscotch bars. Not one cookie. Not even a crumb.

“Nothing!” said Eddie.

“But hardly anyone was eating!” said Caroline. “No one was hungry!”

“Three dozen cookies! Gone!” cried Beth.

“As soon as those guys found out everyone was safe, they started stuffing themselves!” said Eddie. “All the time we were talking to Dad, they were squirreling away cookies in every pocket they own! They were stuffing cookies up their sleeves, I'll bet!”

“That's boys for you,” said Mr. Malloy from the next room.

“This means war!” said Caroline.

“Ha! It never stopped!” said Eddie, her eyes full of excitement. “Just wait till they see what's coming next!

Read all about the Hatford boys and the Malloy girls.

The Boys
Start the War

Just when the Hatford brothers are expecting three boys to move into the house across the river where their best friends used to live, the Malloy girls arrive instead. Wally and his brothers decide to make Caroline and her sisters so miserable that they'll want to go back to Ohio, but they haven't counted on the ingenuity of the girls. From dead fish to dead bodies, floating cakes to floating heads, the pranks continue—first by the boys, then by the girls— until someone is taken prisoner!