Notes for #31 The Mystery at Maypenny's © 1980
| Page # |
Quote |
| 13 |
Trixie is 14. |
| 14 |
All of the Beldens had their share of
chores to do. Getting Bobby ready for school in the morning was Trixie's
Task. In the afternoon, Trixie often had free time to spend with her
best friend Honey, while Brian and Mart were busy with yard work and
repairs around the house. |
| 15 |
Di Lynch had taken a late vacation with
her parents and would not return for almost two weeks. |
| 16 |
Brian and Jim, the two oldest Bob-Whites,
each had a driver's license. It took all of Brian's considerable mechanical
ability to keep it (jalopy) running. |
| 17 |
Dan had lived there (Maypenny) ever
since his uncle, Regan, the Wheeler's groom, had brought Dan to Sleepyside
to get him away from the bad crowd he'd been hanging around with in
New York City. |
| 19 |
Maypenny-tall, gaunt old man. |
| 21 |
Maypenny: "I've
been an independent old cuss all my life, and it rankles me to ask
for help." |
| 22 |
Mr. Maypenny had refused even the highest
offers, and Mr. Wheeler had finally had to admit that his money couldn't
buy everything. |
| 23 |
Maypenny: "Wheeler
had some big shot from International Pine along with him." Brian:
"You mean the same company that drained the swamp to build that
new furniture factory a while back?" Maypenny:
"The same. They started doing pretty well that now they want
to expand. They went to Matt Wheeler and made him an offer on a parcel
of land. Some of the land is his, and some is mine." |
| 25 |
Jim: "Dad has plenty of money,
and plenty of ways to make more without destroying wildlife." |
| 27 |
The old man had lived his entire life
on this small piece of land. Letters from the outside world were a
rarity. He seldom even thought to check his mailbox, which was almost
a quarter of a mile away, on the road to town. |
| 28 |
Trixie: "Who's
the letter from, Mr. Maypenny?" Maypenny: "It's
from my nephew, David Maypenny." |
| 29 |
- Maypenny: "I've never even met the boy.
He must be almost thirty now. I quarreled with the boy's father,
my late brother, several years before David was born. My brother
moved to the city - I never saw him again. I later heard that
he'd married and had a son. Then I heard he'd died. I wrote to
the boy's mother then, asking if I could do anything. I never
got an answer to my letter."
- Maypenny: "He has some vacation time coming,
and he wants to come up here for a visit."
|
| 33 |
The time, according to her alarm clock,
was eight-thirty. The Beldens were an early-rising family. Usually
by this time the house was quiet. |
| 34 |
Mr. Belden worked at the bank in Sleepyside. |
| 35 |
His job gave him access to a lot of
confidential information. Mr. Belden: "I was
not one of the people who opposed International Pine. The fact is
that there's a desperate need for jobs in this area. The days of the
small family farm are gone. So, for the most part, are the doors of
small storekeeper." Trixie: "What about
Mr. Lytell? His little store seems to do all right." |
| 36 |
Mr. Belden: "The
fact is, Mr. Lytell could do twice as well by selling his store and
going to work as the manager of a larger store in town. To Mr. Lytell,
money isn't as important as being his own boss and living in the area
where he grew up. Someone with a growing family … the choice
is a long commute to work or moving the entire family out of Sleepyside.
Most of the jobs in a small town are in what are called service occupations,
like banking or teaching." |
| 37 |
Mr. Belden: "That's
why a factory like International Pine is a twofold blessing in an
area like Sleepyside. They employ people directly in their factory.
And because their workers need groceries and haircuts and savings
accounts, they create jobs indirectly too." Brian:
"Matt Wheeler knows that. That's why he considered selling some
of the preserve for the factory expansion." |
| 38 |
Trixie: "The man
in the green car!" Mrs. Belden: "The young
man's name was John Score. He represents a group called CAUSE - Citizens
Alarmed and United to Save the Ecology. John Score is trying to get
people around here to sign a petition against the expansion." |
| 40 |
Brian: "I love
that preserve, and I'd hate to see it changed. But I'd hate to see
a whole way of life ruined, too. And that's what will happen if the
economy in Sleepyside goes bad. The small-town way of life will disappear." |
| 44 |
Honey: "Daddy
got just furious when Jim said that. He said that Jim needed to be
shown a thing or two." Trixie: Surely Mr. Wheeler isn't planning
to send Jim away just because Jim talked back to him. It had
taken the girls a long time to get him to trust them, and even longer
to convince him that there were some grown-ups he could trust, too. |
| 45 |
- If this disagreement with his adoptive father destroyed that
trust, it could destroy the home and the friendships as well.
- Although she denied it to the others, and even to herself, Jim
was more than a friend to Trixie. He was someone very, very special.
|
| 46 |
Dan: "Sometimes
being told off hurts a lot less than not being told at all. I am talking
about myself and Mr. Maypenny. We live under the same roof and see
each other every day, but he never told me about his nephew or about
that visit from Mr. Wheeler that got him so upset." |
| 48 |
Jim: "Dad showed
me how he'd come to his decision to consider the offer from International
Pine. Did you know that the population of Sleepyside has been declining
at the rate of two percent per year for the past ten years? At the
same time, the number of jobs has decreased five percent." |
| 50 |
Dan: "Yesterday
you were shocked when you heard he wanted to sell that first ten acres;
today you're behind him all the way. Maybe he'll give you the same
snow job next time." |
| 52 |
They worried not only about the increase
in pollution that the expansion might cause, but also about the change
in their community. If their sons and grandsons left farming and shop-keeping
behind to work in a factory, would they leave the old customs and
traditions behind too? |
| 53 |
On Thursday, Brian announced at the
dinner table that his social studies class was going to have a debate
the following week. Brian: "I'm on the affirmative
team." |
| 55 |
Trixie: "I think
this whole thing has been harder on Dan than anybody else. He's spent
so much of his life trying to find a place where he feels he belongs.
He even got involved with that bad bunch in New York City - when he's
not a bad person at all - just because they seemed to take an interest
in him." |
| 57 |
She (Trixie) pulled out Huckleberry
Finn. It was an old favorite, one she'd read over and over and
had never tired of. |
| 66 |
When they reached the tiny clearing,
they saw the glow of the slow fire Mr. Maypenny used for outdoor cooking,
with the big iron kettle hanging above it. |
| 68 |
Mr. Maypenny was tall and gaunt, with
a ruddy, weather beaten face and white hair. David was short and round
- not overweight exactly, but kind of soft-looking. His skin looked
soft, too, with almost no wrinkles, and his hair was dark. |
| 74 |
John Score - he was tall. But he was
much too thin. His patched and faded blue jeans seemed to hang from
his body, and his chest looked sunken under his blue work shirt. His
hair was dark blond and straight. The hiking boots he wore were scuffed
and mud-caked. He looked tired and underfed and dirty. |
| 79 |
Score: "I'm from
Ohio … That's what CAUSE helps them do. We show them how to
fight - legally, if possible." |
| 80 |
Score: "Outside
the law, if we have to resort to that." |
| 82 |
Brian took a deep breath of the fresh
September air. |
| 84 |
Di: "We went all
through Wisconsin and Minnesota. I'd never seen that part of the Midwest
before." |
| 85 |
Di: "Mr. and Mrs.
Renfer, who are friends of my parents, live in Minneapolis and have
a summer cottage in northern Minnesota. They said we could come to
visit whenever we liked." |
| 87 |
Dan: "David Maypenny
left last night. Mr. Maypenny ordered him to leave." |
| 88 |
Dan: "David started
telling Mr. Maypenny that he was worried about him living along in
the woods. He didn't think it was safe for Mr. Maypenny to be living
'such a primitive existence' at his age. He thought Mr. Maypenny should
sell the land and move to town immediately. Or he should give David
power of attorney." |
| 89 |
Dan: "When Mr.
Maypenny got angry, I think David finally saw that this was no feeble
old man. David actually looked a little frightened." |
| 90 |
Halfway to the cabin, Trixie spotted
something lying alongside the road. Pulling Susie to a halt alongside
it, she saw that it was a dead duck. Honey: "Don't
touch it, Trixie! It could be diseased." |
| 91 |
Maypenny: "If
I were a lonely old coot, with nobody to talk to, with nobody who
cared about me, I suppose I might be willing to sign my life away
to my nephew just to keep him around." |
| 92 |
Mr. Maypenny saddled Brownie, his ancient
but sturdy mare. Brownie never went faster than a dignified walk. |
| 99 |
Trixie: "Daddy
asked him last night after we'd listened to his speech, if he realized
how many enemies he might have before this afternoon is over. Brian
said it was a chance he had to take." |
| 100 |
Mr. McLane, Brian's social studies teacher,
walked out onto the stage. Mr. McLane: "As you
know, I am also the coach of the debate team. The debate season will
be starting in a couple of weeks. I sincerely hope that many of you
watching the debate today will try out for the team." |
| 101 |
McLane: "Two students,
Brian Belden and Mark Nelson will take the affirmative. Two other
students, Todd Maurer and Jim VerDoorn, will take the negative." |
| 103 |
His (Brian) low, quiet voice made him
sound older than seventeen. |
| 104 |
Todd was a member of the regular debate
team at Sleepyside Junior-Senior High, and he and his partner had
gone all the way to the state tournament the previous year. |
| 111 |
Score: "This is
what International Pine calls a minimum of damage. Is this what you
want to happen?" Trixie realized that what he was holding was
a dead duck. |
| 116 |
Sleepyside Sun: After
Score was wrestled off stage by two faculty members, he was taken
into custody by Sleepyside police. He appeared in night court, where
he was charged with disturbing the peace and fined seventy-five dollars. |
| 117 |
Sleepyside Sun: The
judge also warned Score to leave the Sleepyside area immediately. |
| 120 |
Mr. Belden: "The
town council has discovered that the parcel of land International
Pine wants isn't zoned for industrial use. The council has the right
to rezone the land. They're meeting Saturday to listen to public opinion.
Then they'll vote on whether or not to rezone the land." |
| 121 |
Dan: "Over the
past three days, I've found five more dead ducks in the preserve." |
| 123 |
Jim: "I understand
your problem, Dan. Mr. Maypenny is your boss, as well as your friend.
If he tells you to ignore what's happening, you can't very well go
over his head to report it to Dad. Still, it's my father's land, and
he has a right to know what's going on." |
| 129 |
Honey: "Jim told
Daddy about the ducks last night. Daddy called a friend of his at
the state wildlife department, and the friend sent someone over to
pick up the ducks. They put them through tests at the state lab to
find out what killed them." |
| 130 |
Honey: "Those
ducks had botulism!" |
| 132 |
Trixie: "Can this
botulism hurt people?" Honey: "This botulism
can't. The one they found in these ducks is harmless to humans. He's
(man from wildlife department) going to advise everyone to stay out
of the area and to avoid contact with any of the wildlife in the preserve
until they've found the source and taken care of it." |
| 135 |
She (Trixie) remembered the look of
cold fury in Jim's eyes the few times she'd ever seen him get really
angry. |
| 136 |
Council Chairman: "George
Gemlo, who is the head of the local office of the state wildlife department,
has asked if he could make an important announcement." |
| 138 |
Mr. Wheeler: "I
want you all to know that my decision to agree to sell this parcel
of land was not reached lightly. I had several long discussions with
Peter Belden, who works for the Sleepyside bank. I also want you to
know that my concern for nature and for wildlife is as strong as it
has ever been. The sale of this parcel of land to International Pine
is not the first step in turning my game preserve into an industrial
development. It is a single step that will, I hope, improve the quality
of life in this community." |
| 140 |
Community Speaker:
"I grew up on a farm just outside of Sleepyside. My family and
friends all live here. I farmed for my dad until I got married and
had a family of my own. Then we discovered that one small farm didn't
make enough money to support two families. For the past two years,
I've been working in Tarrytown. I started out commuting. Then that
got too expensive. Now I live in a rooming house there during the
week and come home to my family only on weekends. I don't want my
kids to miss the small-town life I had growing up in Sleepyside. But
I don't want them to grow up without a father, either. Aren't my kids
and I as important as ducks?" |
| 147 |
She (Trixie) tried to figure out how
- and why - the young environmentalist's car had been hidden in this
out-of-the-way spot. |
| 148 |
The car was empty except for a mess
of candy wrappers, used tissues, and an unfolded road map. |
| 151 |
With his gaunt features and long, beaklike
nose, he (Maypenny) looked like a startled bird. |
| 154 |
Trixie: "Now,
suddenly, he (Maypenny) seems confused and forgetful all the time.
Maybe Mr. Maypenny is getting too old to live in these woods alone." |
| 158 |
First she (Trixie) dialed long-distance
directory assistance and asked for the number of David Maypenny in
New York City. To Trixie's relief, the operator found only one David
Maypenny. |
| 164 |
Trixie: "It's
a magnetic box. It's used to hide a spare key, in case the owner loses
one." |
| 165 |
Trixie: "Brian
bought one for the jalopy right after he first got it. He was going
to hide the box under the dashboard, where I just found this one.
Daddy advised him against it. He said there was no point in giving
car thieves a helping hand." |
| 167 |
Suddenly Trixie stopped, pointing to
a small clearing. Honey: "It's a tent!" |
| 168 |
Score: "What I'm
doing here is hiding out. I have been, ever since Mr. Maypenny paid
my fine and got me out of jail Mr. Maypenny said it was a 'spunky
thing to do,' and gave Dan the money to get me out and told him to
bring me back here." |
| 169 |
Score: "He told
me I was the only hope he had of being able to save his land. He said
he wanted me to stay on, to try to find some more evidence of the
damage International Pine was doing so that he could use it to stand
up to them if the rezoning went through." |
| 171 |
Score: "When I
said I do what I have to do to protect myself, I didn't mean that
I hold young women captive. I'm against violence to any living thing." |
| 174 |
Honey: "He (Jim)
thinks we should all meet at the boathouse this afternoon for a picnic." |
| 176 |
Trixie: "International
Pine is lot like a puzzle, Bobby." Bobby: "You
said it was like an ice-cream cone. You said International Pine only
had one ice-cream cone, and it was chocolate or vanilla, but not both." |
| 179 |
Because of their special friendship,
she and Jim were sensitive to one another's moods. |
| 180 |
Jim: "How about
it guys? Who wants to be an honorary girl?" Brian:
"I've always wanted to see how the other half lives." |
| 181 |
Brian: "I don't
think I like being a girl. It's too tiring." |
| 182 |
Honey: "Jim you
can tell us. We have to trust one another, or there's no point in
even having a club like the Bob-Whites." |
| 183 |
Jim: "I've been
holding back partly because I didn't want to worry you. Now that you
know I'm holding back, you'll probably worry even more if I don't
tell." |
| 185 |
Jim: "The ducks
are being planted. Somebody, somehow, has got hold of a small quantity
of botulism toxin." Brian: "That toxin
can't be easy to get." |
| 187 |
Her (Di) violet eyes reflected her hurt
of being left out. |
| 191 |
What they saw instead was a shiny new
car with New York State license plates. Trixie: "It's
David Maypenny!" |
| 192 |
She (Trixie) peered through the darkness
into the backseat. There was a burlap bag tied with rope and filled
with something lumpy. |
| 197 |
Sgt. Molinson: "You
(Trixie) be at the station at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll
listen to your story then. From past experience, I'd say it will be
a very entertaining one. But if you say one more word tonight, I'll
arrest you, too!" |
| 198 |
Honey's blond hair was a tangled mess,
with twigs and leaves still stuck in it from her race through the
woods. |
| 203 |
Sgt. Molinson: "He's
(David Maypenny) an imposter. His real name is Lawrence Howard, and
he's wanted for fraud in five states." Honey:
"What did he do in all those states?" Sgt. Molinson:
"He's never been charged with a violent crime. He preyed on lonely
old people with no families. He'd convince them that they should turn
over their property and money to him." |
| 204 |
Sgt. Molinson: "Then
he'd vanish, leaving them broke." Trixie: "How
did David - Lawrence Howard - know about Mr. Maypenny? And where did
he get the botulism toxin?" |
| 205 |
David Maypenny: "I'm
a medical technician at a laboratory in New York City. Lawrence Howard
worked there until about two months ago. We used to go out to dinner.
He asked me a lot of questions about myself and my family. I've been
on vacation. When I got back, I got a call from a friend of mine telling
me someone had broken in last week and stolen some of our botulism
toxin." |
| 206 |
David Maypenny: "I've
been wanting to get in touch with my uncle for a long, long time,
but I never dared. Hearing that he'd been willing to meet me - that
is, to meet Lawrence Howard posing as me - gave me the courage I needed." |
| 207 |
Jim: "He (Dad)
woke me up early this morning and told me he'd been up all night,
thinking about what had happened. He said that the whole thing had
gone too far. He called the president of International Pine and the
chairman of the town council. He wanted to work out a compromise.
At the meeting he asked the president of International Pine if there
was another piece of land he could use for the expansion - something
closer to town away from the preserve." |
| 208 |
Jim: "When Dad
heard the president say 'new building,' … he reminded him of
that big warehouse on the edge of town. Within ten minutes, the president
of International Pine had made an offer for it, and the chairman of
the council had accepted." |
| 209 |
Honey: "Would
you write an excuse to our principal so we can go to school?"
Sgt. Molinson: "If it will get you kids back
into school and out of mischief, I'll write you the best excuse you
ever had." |
