The Mystery of the Canebrake Read online

  “Yes, ma’am,” I mumbled, opening my book and staring down like I was paying attention.

  Worthless Homer Ray was yucking it up, and even John Clayton snickered because I was still kinda outta it.

  “Richard, read the first paragraph of your history assignment to the class.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I looked down at my book. “Uh, uh,” It was upside down, and I quickly turned it around as the class laughed and Mrs. Smith whacked my hand again with her ruler. I finally found the right page and I read the paragraph as Mrs. Smith stood over me.

  The bell finally rang and me and John Clayton went downtown to talk about the valentine cards. ’Course the mystery card got all the talk.

  “Richard, that card cost at least 50 cents. Who on god’s green earth would send you something like that and not even sign their name?”

  “Heck, if I know, but let’s see if we can figure it out. I know all the girls in our class and besides Rosalie and Connie none of ’em care nothing ’bout me.”

  “Yeah, but Rosalie and Connie ain’t even talkin’ to you. It doesn’t make sense to send you a fancy valentine and not even be speakin’ to you.”

  “I know, I know, but look at the card. See the girl on the front?”

  “Yeah, what ’bout her?”

  “She’s got blue eyes.”

  “So what?”

  “Who has blue eyes in our class?”

  “Oh, ’bout six or eight, and if you don’t count boys there are at least four girls that I can think of with blue eyes.”

  “Yeah, but Connie doesn’t have blue eyes.”

  “No, she doesn’t. Oh, no, surely you ain’t thinkin’ ’bout Rosalie?”

  “Yep, it’s gotta be her.”

  “You’re outta your mind. Look, stupid, the card says, right on the front, “I Love You.” Rosalie has sure said a couple of those words to you, the ‘I’ and the ‘You’, but she always put hate instead of love in there.”

  “Yeah, but maybe she’s changed her mind.”

  “You dummy, if that girl on the front of that card was a green girl, you’d still believe Rosalie had sent you that card.”

  Well, John Clayton was right. I was convinced that the card came from Rosalie and for the next few days, I tried to catch her eye and smile at her in class. Maybe she was just being coy, but heck, she didn’t seem to notice me, and she sure hadn’t started speaking to me again.

  A couple of weeks passed and with all the other stuff going on with Mr. Bill, I was so busy I’d almost forgotten about the valentine. Then after recess one Friday afternoon, I went back to my desk and as I picked up my geography book a note fell outta it. Someone had left me a note while I was at recess. ’Course, notes came and went almost every day. Some of them would go back and forth between me and sorry Homer Ray usually calling each other names or threatening each other. I looked back at Homer Ray as I picked up the note and started to read.

  Dear Richard:

  I hope you liked the valentine.

  Love

  No name! No name! I mumbled, looking it over from top to bottom. The note was written on a half sheet of a Big Chief tablet, which, of course, everybody in the class had. It was printed in block letters like a kid from the first grade might print.

  Hummm, Rosalie was already back in the classroom when I walked back in from recess. I nodded my head as I thought about her. Yeah, it’s gotta be Rosalie.

  I couldn’t stand it any longer, and after a couple of more days to get up my nerve I walked up to Rosalie before class one morning and said: “Uh, Rosalie, I sure liked the valentine.”

  “What valentine?”

  “You know, the big one; the one that wasn’t signed.”

  “Hah! You must be dreaming. Do you think I’d spend that much money on someone I’m not even speaking to?”

  “Uh, well…” Boy was this going bad, and I could sure tell Rosalie wasn’t the girl that sent me the valentine.

  She stalked away, leaving me there red in the face mumbling to myself. I headed straight for Connie. I had to get to the bottom of this even if it embarrassed the heck outta me.

  “Connie, I really liked the big valentine,” I managed to blurt out.

  “Really? Well, you need to go thank whoever sent it to you, probably Miss Rosalie.”

  “Uh, well, Rosalie said she didn’t send it.”

  “You asked Rosalie first?” Well, I sure didn’t send you any stupid valentine!” she snapped as she walked away.

  I caught John Clayton before he we went in to class, and when I told him about my conversations with Rosalie and Connie, he just laughed.

  “Shoot, Richard, this is great. We got a real mystery now. Heck, maybe it’s one of those seventh-grade girls sneaking in here, or maybe Nancy sent it.”

  “Naw, it can’t be Nancy. She sent me one. This note had to have come from this class.”

  He was just about to go on and on as only John Clayton can do about how we could find out who sent the valentine when the bell rang and we filed into class.

  I was still shaking my head, puzzled about who on earth could have sent me that valentine when I reached my seat. My history book was open on my desk, and before I could even sit down I saw the note lying on the open book.

  “Oh my gosh,” I mumbled as I snatched up the note and opened it.

  It said:

  Dear Richard:

  I wish I could talk to you, but I just can’t right now. My notes will have to do.

  When you walk across the school ground, my eyes follow you every step of the way. Your black hair is so beautiful and you have such a funny way of kidding everybody.

  I hope you don’t think I’m too pushy sending you these notes, but I want to tell you how I feel and this is the only way I can do that right now.

  Love

  “Oh my gosh,” I muttered to John Clayton, who had just plopped down across the aisle from me. “Another mystery note,” I whispered.

  It was just like the first note, printed in block letters on paper from a Big Chief tablet. I looked around the room again, trying to come up with any girl that could have possibly sent me the note. Carolyn? Virginia? Humm, Debora Ann? No, she’s Sunny’s girl. Hilda Fay? Joy? Naomi? Na, no chance, but I don’t know about a couple of those girls. I’m friends with all our class, but maybe one of those girls is acting a little more friendly than the others. “Which one? Which one?” I murmured, scanning the class again.

  After a few minutes, I gave up and when me and John Clayton met after school we went over every possible girl.

  “Heck, Richard, I give up. To find out who’s sending you them notes and that big valentine, we’re gonna have to get some girls to ask around and help us.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, but who?”

  “How ’bout Chinless, uh, I mean Naomi?”

  “Humm, well, yeah, Naomi might help us. Since we stopped calling her Chinless, she’s been okay,” I said.

  The next day I talked with Naomi before school and asked if she’d help us find out who had been sending me all those love notes and the bigvalentine. Naomi thought it was funny that I was so determined to find out who was doing it, but she agreed to help us find the girl.

  “I’ll find out, Richard, but it may take awhile,” said Naomi.

  A few weeks passed and Naomi still hadn’t come up with nothing about the mystery girl, and as spring fever set in I started thinking about school being out in a few weeks and all the fun I’d have during the summer. The mystery girlfriend was pushed way into the back of my mind.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The Scripture and Verse Thing

  Well, early spring always brought about spring revivals at most of our churches in town and, sure enough, that last Sunday in March, Brother Taylor announced that the next Sunday our church would have revival week. Shoot, I knew half the town would be there and nearly every kid in town, no matter whether they were Baptists or not. Heck, most mommas just think there ain’t nothing better
than to have their kids go to every one of the revival services. They don’t care if they’re Methodist, Church of Christ, or Baptist.

  That next Monday me and John Clayton were sitting on the breadbox trying to come up with something to do when John Clayton piped up, “Well, it’s revival week at church, and you know after all that stuff we’ve been into this year, we’d better be there every night.”

  “Uh, huh, I’m sure as heck gonna be there,” I said. “Shoot, if I’m in church I’ll be outta trouble.”

  Well, John Clayton leaned way back on the breadbox to where he was leaning against the store and said, “Well, I’m gonna win that Scripture Reading thing.”

  John Clayton was talking about the Junior Scripture Reading Contest that was part of the revival. The boy or girl that read the most chapters of the Bible during the revival won the contest. John Clayton thinks he’s a really fast reader.

  Well, later that day we were by my house and John Clayton wanted to get a good start on the scripture reading so we took the Bible and spent some time reading it.

  That next Monday was the first night of the contest and John Clayton stood up and announced that he’d already read six chapters. I heard Rosalie and her friend Freckles muttering. They were sitting right behind us.

  “That little liar. There’s no way he could have read six chapters!” said Rosalie as she gritted her teeth.

  It was my turn next, and I stood up and said, “Four chapters, sir.”

  “What?” I could hear the girls muttering again, and I turned around to give them a little “how about that” smile. Rosalie gave me just about the worst look that a person has ever given someone, and I kinda drew back, but Freckles just snickered and gave me ’bout half a wink.

  Whoa, I’ll tell you one thing, girls are so different I’ll never understand ’em.

  Then it was Rosalie’s and Freckles’s turn. “Three chapters, sir,” said Rosalie.

  And Freckles added, “Two chapters, sir.”

  I poked John Clayton in the ribs, and we looked back at the girls and laughed. John Clayton mouthed “Losers.”

  Through gritted teeth, I heard Rosalie say, “Cheaters… just wait till tomorrow.”

  Freckles reached up and put a wet finger in my ear, and I nearly jumped outta the seat. I stifled a yell, but, dang, when I turned around Freckles was acting like she didn’t know what I was upset about, and then the preacher cleared his throat. Listen, I’ve been in church long enough to know preachers never clear their throats except to get on kids. I wheeled back around in time to see him staring a hole in me.

  When the service was over and most of the kids had scattered, me and John Clayton were standing out in front of the church when Rosalie and Freckles walked up.

  “Hi, girls,” I said. I was surprised when Rosalie stopped.

  She’s actually gonna speak to me.

  “Richard, you and John Clayton are cheating!”

  “What?”

  “You couldn’t possible have read all those chapters in the Bible. That’s cheating!”

  “No, we read every word,” I said. “I swear on a stack of Bibles.”

  John Clayton piped up, “You’re just mad ’cause you’re behind.”

  “Hah, you two morons can’t read worth a flip. You might be ahead right now, but I’ll win easily.”

  “We’ll see,” said John Clayton.

  Rosalie stomped off and we stood there giggling as Freckles kinda grinned. She was getting a kick outta how Rosalie was acting.

  “Better watch out, John Clayton. You know Rosalie don’t like to lose,” said Freckles. She gave me a smile, poked John Clayton in the ribs, and started to walk away.

  “She ain’t got a prayer,” said John Clayton.

  ’Course, I was glad Rosalie was speaking to me, but considering that she had called me a cheater, I sure could tell she was still mad.

  Well, the next night me and John Clayton sat down right on the front row, and when the preacher asked everybody in the contest to stand up and give out the number of chapters read, John Clayton stepped out first and said, “Brother Taylor, I’ve read 10 chapters, and I just want to say I’m sorry I didn’t have more time to read the Bible.”

  Well, John Clayton was putting it on a little heavy because nobody else had even read anywhere near that many. Boy, I could hear them girls just mumbling about cheating and stuff. Heck, I stepped out next and when I said, “Eight chapters, sir,” they got even louder. Heck, they know I’m a slow reader. The girls had read only six and four. Another night passed, and we increased our lead again.

  The week passed quickly, and before I knew it, Sunday night had arrived—the last night of the Scripture Reading Contest. And even though me and John Clayton were ahead, Rosalie had stayed up all Saturday night reading the Bible and had closed the gap. Well, this last night would tell the story. John Clayton stood up first. He hesitated a few seconds, looked back at Rosalie, and then said in a loud voice.

  “Nineteen chapters, sir, and I’m sorry I had to stop this afternoon to get ready for church!” A murmur went through the crowd. Well, I was nearly coming unglued because of the big hamming it up John Clayton was pulling, but it was my turn and I stood up and said in a loud voice, “Fourteen chapters, sir, and some of them were very long.”

  Rosalie was muttering like nothing you’ve ever heard, and Freckles was trying to hold back a giggle because she thought Rosalie was gonna bust a gut if she didn’t win that thing. Freckles smiled at me and held her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

  Then Rosalie stood up, “Sixteen chapters, sir, and I read every word, not like some people I know.” She said that last part kinda low where us kids were the onlyest ones to hear it.

  Well, that wasn’t near enough. John Clayton was in first place, I was in second, Rosalie in third, Ears in fourth, and Freckles in fifth.

  “John Clayton Reed, please come to the front of the church,” said Brother Taylor.

  “Folks, this young man has done a remarkable job this week. He has read 68 chapters of the Bible. John Clayton Reed is the Junior Scripture Reading Champion of Norphlet!” Everybody clapped and cheered, but Rosalie and Freckles were mad as all get out. They just knew we’d cheated.

  John Clayton walked up and took the plaque, and when he smiled, I thought, Oh, no, don’t say nothing. But Brother Taylor, who talks about everything, had to say a few words, and then he asked John Clayton a question.

  “John Clayton did you come to understand the Bible better after all the scripture reading you did this week?”

  Well, John Clayton stepped forward, took a deep breath and said, “Brother Taylor I sure did enjoy reading the Bible, and I learned so much that I’m going to continue to read at least five chapters a day. And I want to challenge all the kids in the contest to join me and as the weeks go by we can all tell our Sunday School teachers just how many chapters of the Bible we’ve read.”

  Well, we don’t clap that much in church, but wow, did everybody give John Clayton a big hand, but John Clayton wasn’t through and I was holding my breath because there was no telling what he was gonna say now.

  John Clayton smiled, and looked at the front two rows of kids that had entered the scripture reading contest, and then said, “I would just like to have all my friends that are down here on the first and second rows join me in reading the five chapters of scripture a day for the next three months.”

  Wow, I could see mouths drop open like nothing you’ve ever seen and Freckles just giggled out loud until Rosalie elbowed her.

  Then John Clayton did this little palms up kinda ”come to Jesus” stance and said, “If you love Jesus and pledge to read at least five chapters a day, just stand up here with me.”

  Well, I could sure see some really hard looks coming from that bunch of kids, especially from Rosalie and Freckles, but me, Ears, and Tiny just jumped up and joined John Clayton. Heck, I figured five chapters would be easy. ’Course, then Brother Taylor kinda leaned over the pulpit and gave
the rest of them kids a “you better get moving” look, and heck them front two rows just emptied.

  But Rosalie and Freckles just sat there until Brother Taylor cleared his throat, and Freckles bolted outta that pew and came over and stood by me leaving Rosalie sitting there. Heck, I knew durn well Rosalie couldn’t stay there with all the other kids gathered down front with John Clayton. Sure enough, she got up and walked up by John Clayton, and I heard her whisper, “I’m gonna kill you, you worthless little rat.”

  When the service was over you’d have thought John Clayton was a saint the way everyone carried on—well, except for all the kids who were just outta their minds because John Clayton had gotten them to pledge they were going to read five chapters of the Bible a day. Boy, were they were mad!

  Heck, Rosalie was sure we’d cheated, but let me tell you something right now: We read every one of them chapters. Heck, Freckles didn’t seem to mind that we won; in fact, she kidded around with me and John Clayton calling John Clayton, “John, the Scripture-reading, Baptist.”

  We were back on the breadbox the next morning, bright and early.

  “Hey, not a bad revival. First and second place in the Scripture Reading Contest,” I said. John Clayton was leaning back against the store wall, enjoying his big win over Rosalie, when around the corner walked Rosalie and Freckles.

  “John Clayton, don’t say a word. They’re already mad ’cause they lost,” I whispered.

  “Oh, Richard, I’m not gonna say nothin’.” The girls walked by, ignoring us.

  John Clayton couldn’t stand it, and just as they were about to open the door to go in the store, John Clayton leaned over and said, “Hi, losers.”

  Rosalie wheeled around and glared at him. “You and Richard cheated! I know you did. You couldn’t possibly have read all those chapters!”

  “Oh, no? Well we sure did! Do you think we’d stand up in church and say we read them if we hadn’t? Ask Richard.”

  “Yep, we sure did read ’em, every word. In fact, some of them I read twice just to be sure I didn’t miss anything.”