The Mystery of the Man in the Tall Black Hat (12 page)

“Is he your dog, Barn?”

“Not really. He belongs to some old guy who lives by himself up in the woods,” Barney explained.

“We have to take him back up there,” Tod reminded him.

“Do we, Tod?” asked Barney wistfully.

“Yeah, Barn. Tomorrow.”

“I don’t suppose you would want to mess around a while before we take MacDuff back?” asked Barney, when Tod rode up to his house after lunch on Sunday.

“No, I don’t suppose I would. I think the sooner we get it over with the better,” said Tod.

“Well, at least do we have to ride our bicycles? Can’t we walk?”

“You’ll do anything to keep MacDuff around a while longer, won’t you, Barney?” Tod laughed. “OK, so I’ll leave my bike here and we’ll walk.”

“Come on, MacDuff,” called Barney. MacDuff got up from the porch where he had been lying with his head between his front paws, looking solemnly at the boys. He wagged his tail and nuzzled Barney’s hand as they started up the road.

The sky was overcast and gray. It looked like it might rain, but it was not cold, and the air was still. The boys passed the few scattered houses as they followed the road through the woods which led up the hill to Mr. Fitzsimmon’s house.

“I brought a pencil and paper so I can write to him.” Tod patted his pocket.

“What’s he like, Tod? Do you think he’s a good owner for MacDuff?”

“If he’s MacDuff’s owner there isn’t much you can do, Barney. Why don’t you just make up your mind that MacDuff is going to have to stay there even if we have to tie him up?”

“Because I want to keep MacDuff, that’s why!” Barney exploded.

“Oh, boy! Oh, boy!” Tod slapped his hand against his forehead. “What about what Mr. Fitzsimmon wants?”

They walked the rest of the way in silence with MacDuff padding along close at Barney’s heels. Tod led the way through the low bushes to the entrance of the house.

“There isn’t much point knocking, but maybe I’d better.”

Tod hammered loudly on the door. He reached for the knob just as the door swung open. He was so surprised that he nearly bumped into the man that stood there towering above him.

“Watch it, laddie!” a friendly voice said in a Scottish accent.

“I’m sorry, sir,” said Tod as he looked up. A sudden chill ran up his spine. The man was wearing a shiny black stovepipe hat. Tod stepped back and bumped into Barney.

“What’s the matter, lads? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” The bushy eyebrows raised slightly, the gray eyes grew wide, and then the strong full mouth broke into a grin. “I’m not really a ghost.”

“MacDuff!” bellowed a voice from inside the house.

The brown dog dashed wildly into the room.

“MacDuff,” called Barney.

The man in the stovepipe hat looked at Barney and then into the room behind him. He looked puzzled as the dog dashed out again and jumped up on Barney and licked his face.

“What is going on here?” he asked.

“MacDuff!” Mr. Fitzsimmon bellowed again.

“Sorry, lads. Don’t go away. I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later the man returned to the door. “Come in. I’m sorry to leave you standing outside. I seem to have forgotten my manners.” Tod hesitated a moment and then entered the room. Barney followed after giving MacDuff instructions to stay outside.

“You again,” muttered J. J. Fitzsimmon when he saw Tod.

The man in the stovepipe hat raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Have you been here before?” he asked.

Tod was no longer afraid and was bursting with questions.

“Yes, sir. I stopped to get some water one day when Barney fell off his bicycle out on the road,” Tod explained. “Just after I got on my bicycle to take Barney home, I saw you coming through the woods. I didn’t think about this being your house.”

“I was probably coming back from my walk.”

“Your walk?” asked Barney.

“Yes. You see, every afternoon J. J. takes a long nap after the midday meal. As soon as I’m sure he’s asleep I slip out and walk in the woods for an hour or two. I know that while he’s sleeping he’ll not miss me.”

The man looked down and smoothed the front of his coat with his big hand. “Here, I’m being neglectful. Won’t you sit down?” He gestured toward the hearth, then lowered himself into a straight back chair. Tod had the impression he was folding up. Mr. Fitzsimmon watched them, then closed his eyes. Tod guessed he had dozed off.

“Didn’t I meet you boys once before?”

Barney looked at Tod. “We saw you three or four times. I guess the time you saw us was up by the gravel pit.”

“I must have frightened you showing up like that, the way you ran. You reminded me of a couple of scared rabbits.”

“I guess it was pretty silly of us to run,” Tod admitted.

“Now tell me,” the man leaned forward expectantly, “to what do I account this visit?”

“You mean, why did we come?” asked Barney.

“Yes, you must have a reason.”

Tod poked Barney and answered. “The other day we walked past, out on the road, and your dog followed us home. We decided we’d better bring him back.”

“
My
dog? But I don’t have a dog.” The man raised his eyebrows. “You mean the dog that is with you?”

“Yes. MacDuff,” answered Barney solemnly.

“MacDuff? Your dog is named MacDuff?” The man started to laugh. “But that is
my
name. I’m Oliver MacDuff!”

“Barney! That’s who Mr. Fitzsimmon was calling the day I was here. He kept calling MacDuff, and when we found the dog we just figured he was MacDuff!”

Oliver MacDuff threw back his head, and the tall black hat fell to the floor revealing a shiny bald head with a white fringe of hair at the base of the skull. He laughed so heartily that Tod and Barney couldn’t help but join in. Soon tears were running down their cheeks.

Mr. Fitzsimmon opened his eyes and glared. “MacDuff!” he bellowed. Oliver MacDuff nearly bent double as he began to laugh louder than ever. When he could control himself he went over and gently patted the old man on the shoulder.

“So MacDuff isn’t your dog?” beamed Barney at last. “That means God answered my prayer. He’s mine, Tod. He’s mine!” He was so excited that he dashed out of the house and hugged the dog.

“May I ask you a question, Mr. MacDuff?” inquired Tod.

“Of course, laddie.” MacDuff’s eyes were twinkling.

“Is there any special reason why you wear that suit and that stovepipe hat?”

“Let me explain it this way, laddie. Mr. Fitzsimmon and I are both from New York. J. J. was a very wealthy man up until a short time ago.” Mr. MacDuff clasped his hands between his knees and stared at the floor. “He was very good to me. You see, I was what you might call his man Friday. Officially I was his butler, I suppose, but I was more than that. I was also his friend. When he lost his money I couldn’t leave him.”

He looked toward the dozing old man seated in the chair before him. “He had already lost his hearing, and I had a difficult time explaining about the finances, but I finally convinced him that we would have to leave New York. He asked me to bring him a map of the United States. Then he closed his eyes, ran his finger over the map, and pointed to your state.”

He smiled. “He told me to find a city or town close to that spot on the map, and that’s where he wanted to live out his life. I could have chosen your city, but when we arrived and I began to look around I found Wildwood. Call it going back to my boyhood, if you like. At any rate I made arrangements, and we moved in just about two weeks ago.”

“But the clothes?” reminded Barney. “Why do you wear them?”

“Oh, yes. Mr. Fitzsimmon always had me dress in this fashion when he had his apartment in New York. I still wear them to please him. He sometimes forgets where he is and that he’s not still a wealthy man. I have several suits like this one, and there’s really no object in disposing of them.”

He smiled broadly. “I just didn’t think about it frightening anyone that might see me strolling in the woods.”

“Maybe we wouldn’t have been scared if we hadn’t heard the siren the same day we saw you,” pointed out Tod.

“I was wondering about the siren.”

“There’s a mental hospital about two miles from here, over at Hillsdale,” Tod explained. “They sound the siren when one of the patients wanders away.”

“And you concluded that
I
was a mental patient?”

“Sort of.” Barney looked embarrassed.

“I don’t blame you. Maybe I should buy new clothes after all.”

“Don’t do that. It’s all right now that we understand. In fact,” said Tod, “we wouldn’t recognize you if you wore something different.”

“Mr. MacDuff,” continued Tod. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Of course. We’d best get everything cleared away and then I’ll fix tea.”

“Why is it that you walk in the woods?”

“After living in New York for most of my life I had almost forgotten that it could be so pleasant in the country. Everything is unspoiled.” He had an almost dreamy look. “It’s so very peaceful here.” He slapped his knee and stood up. “Now, let me make tea.”

Tod and Barney exchanged glances. Tod would much rather have a glass of milk, but he figured Oliver MacDuff wouldn’t have any, so when tea was served he said thank you, and ate the cookie that MacDuff passed on a plate.

Mr. Fitzsimmon woke up long enough to drink a cup of tea. He made loud smacking noises with his lips and Tod felt embarrassed for him, but it didn’t seem to bother Mr. MacDuff at all.

As the boys stood to leave, Barney turned to Oliver MacDuff. “Would you mind if I kept calling my dog MacDuff? It sort of fits him.”

“Sure, laddie. I’d be happy to have a namesake even if it was a case of mistaken identity.” He smiled. “Come again, lads, and next time you see me in the woods, call out and we’ll walk together!”

“We sure will!” called Tod over his shoulder.

“Can you beat that? Can you just beat that?” said Barney contentedly as they walked down the road.

“Wait until we tell Tricia and Donna!”

“Tod.” Barney was suddenly sober. “What about my folks? Do you think they’ll let me keep MacDuff?”

“I don’t know, Barn, but the best way to find out is to ask.”

“You don’t think he belongs to anybody, do you, Tod?” Barney looked worried.

“I guess someone just didn’t want him. They must have dumped him out of their car.”

The boys walked in silence for a few minutes. MacDuff padded quietly behind Barney. The sky had grown darker and a gust of wind blew threateningly through the trees causing the branches to sway wildly about. As they neared Barney’s place a few drops of rain began to fall.

“Let’s go over to your place and tell the girls about the man in the stovepipe hat.” Barney grinned. “I mean about Oliver MacDuff.”

“That’s a good idea, but let’s hurry or we’re going to get wet!” shouted Tod as he took off at a trot.

Tod dashed up the porch steps and held the screen door open for Barney and MacDuff.

“Is it OK to bring him in?” asked Barney, hesitating.

“Just on the porch. Mom doesn’t want him in the house. He won’t get wet out here.”

The screen door slammed behind them as they went inside leaving the sad-eyed dog on the porch. They found Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell in the living room where Mr. Mitchell had kindled a fire in the fireplace. A minute later Tricia and Donna came out of the bedroom.

“What about MacDuff?” asked Tricia. “Did you leave him with Mr. Fitzsimmon?”

Barney grinned as Tod answered. “Sort of. We left MacDuff there, but the dog is out on the back porch. He doesn’t belong to Mr. Fitzsimmon.”

“You mean Barney gets to keep him?” exclaimed Donna.

“It all depends on whether his mom and dad will let him,” answered Tod.

“I hope they say yes,” said Tricia.

“Something else,” said Tod mischievously. “We saw the man in the stovepipe hat again.”

Both girls were wide-eyed waiting for Tod to explain. “He lives with Mr. Fitzsimmon and takes care of him. That’s why I said we left MacDuff with Mr. Fitzsimmon but brought the dog home.” Tod went on to explain what Mr. MacDuff had told them.

“I think the funniest part of the whole thing is that his name is MacDuff,” laughed Barney.

“But, that’s your dog’s name!” exclaimed Tricia.

“I know. We thought the dog’s name was MacDuff so we called him that, but really we don’t know what his name is. When I asked the other MacDuff if he minded if I called my dog MacDuff, he said it was all right,” explained Barney.

“I’m glad you found out who your mysterious man is, Tod,” said Mr. Mitchell, who had been listening. “I should know better than to doubt you when you say you saw something.”

“That’s OK, Dad, but it was sort of frustrating when nobody would believe Barney and I had seen him.”

“At least you know now that he isn’t a mental patient,” added Mrs. Mitchell.

“I guess it was sort of silly, but everything seemed to point that way.”

“Well, I’m just glad everything has all worked out,” commented Donna.

“Not quite,” said Tod. “We still have to find out about MacDuff—dog MacDuff, not Oliver,” he grinned.

“Let’s go with Barney when he asks,” suggested Tricia.