Free The Woodshed Mystery by Gertrude Warner

said to James, “You have let him escape.”
    James said truly, “You sat right here yourself all the time. There is no other door to the outside.”
    The Redcoat was angry. He could not find the poor man. So he rode away. He said he would come back, but he never did.
    When he had gone, we took the poor man upstairs to the kitchen and gave him food. Then we told him to hide in the hole under the woodshed until we came for him. That night we went up and got him. We gave him a horse and the ammunition and he rode away and we never saw him again, either.
    We hid many men in those two places. I am so unhappy that we could not be friendly with our neighbors. But we were afraid someone would tell what we were doing. We never let anyone come to see us and we never went to see anyone, so we lost all the friends we had. In those days we could not tell who was a friend and who was an enemy. I hope we did our share to make this country free, but in doing so, we lost all our friends.
    M ARY C OOPER

    Of course Benny was the first to speak. He said, “Isn’t that too bad? To lose all their friends? But they helped win the war, that’s sure. Did you find this in the woodshed?”
    “I found that long ago, young feller! I have carried it with me all these years.”
    “How did you find the hole under the woodshed, Andrew?” asked Aunt Jane.
    “Easy, I went up there one day and I went in and looked it over. I thought the floor looked queer, so I found the cover and went down into the hole. I found the flintlock and bullets and this bag. I tried to make Jane come and see it, but she wouldn’t go.”
    “I do remember,” said Aunt Jane. “But you were always up to some new trick, so I wouldn’t go. I’m sorry now.”
    “Never mind, Jane. The past is past. One day I went down to get potatoes for your mother and I found that hole, too. I wanted to tell somebody, but I didn’t dare. At last I showed the gun to John Cole, but he wasn’t interested. He said he didn’t know how to shoot it. He wasn’t interested in the story, either. So I didn’t even read it to him.”
    Henry looked thoughtful. “I think I see now,” he said. “Way back, Mary Cooper acted so queerly that at last no one had anything to do with her. I suppose people began to make up stories to explain why they wouldn’t go to the Cooper place. Finally I expect that no one remembered how it all started. People just knew there was something mysterious about the farm. And if anything new went wrong, someone was always ready to say, ‘Well, what can you expect?’“
    Andrew looked at Henry and nodded. “I think you understand the people around here. Sometimes they act just that way.”
    “All those ideas about something wrong with this place lasted a long, long time,” said Jessie. “We’ll have to tell the real story now.”
    “Don’t worry!” cried Andrew. “When people see me, the story will go like wild fire. It may even be in the Sunday papers!”
    Aunt Jane was laughing. “You’ll put it in the Sunday papers yourself! My, my! It will be exciting living with you, Andy!”
    “What?” cried Andy. “Did you say living with me, Jane? You kids just run off and let me talk to your aunt!”
    In one minute the young Aldens were on the other side of the house. They sat down on the back step. Maggie came to the door. “Is Miss Jane all right?” she asked.
    “She’s fine,” said Benny. “I think she’s going to marry Andy Bean. Then she’ll be Mrs. Bean after all.”
    “I hope so,” said Maggie.
    “Do you?” asked Jessie.
    “Yes, I do. I feel homesick for the West. Sam and his wife feel the same way. If Miss Jane was in good hands, we’d all go back to the ranch country.”
    Henry said, “Andy won’t be a very good farmer, but he’s a strong man and Aunt Jane can hire men to run the farm.”
    “I just wonder what Andy will find for excitement up here?” said Jessie.
    “Maybe he’ll take Aunt Jane on trips,” said Benny.
    “Oh, but she