Free Snowbound Mystery by Gertrude Warner

Barbara. She helps in our store in the country. And so does Puggsy. He’s quite a salesman.”
    “I should imagine so,” said Roger Franklin, laughing.
    “Let me show you the empty store,” Mr. Alden said.
    He unlocked the door between the stores and they all went in. It was a bright, sunny place with many windows.
    “What a perfect place for a bakery,” said Violet. “We girls will stop here on the way home from school to buy buns.”
    Mr. Alden said, “That’s fine, my dear. But this place must be cleaned and painted. And this wall must be taken down to make one big store. It will be a while before you can buy buns.”
    Benny said, “But not too long, Grandfather, if you have anything to do with it.”
    “That’s the stuff, Ben,” said Puggsy.

CHAPTER 11
    One More Question
    B enny was right. It did not take too long to fix the store. First, some carpenters took down the wall between the two stores to make one big room.
    Benny noticed one special carpenter. He was an old man. He was slow, but he did fine work. He kept looking at Benny and Puggsy with a twinkle in his blue eyes. The Aldens noticed that he listened to every word they said. The old man always stopped pounding for a minute when they talked about the cabin or Tom Nelson’s baking.
    Jessie said, “I wonder why that old carpenter is so interested? He’s a good workman. He fixed all the windows so that they don’t rattle.”
    But when the painters came everyone forgot the old man. They painted the walls bright yellow. Franklin’s Store was painted the same color. Now it was one big store.
    A gray tiled floor was put in, and the windows were washed until they shone. Big stoves and refrigerators were moved into the bakery side. A new sign was put up outside:
    F RANKLIN’S S TORE
B ENNY’S B UNS
    That was not all. The radio carried news about the store and the newspapers had pictures of Tom, Barbara, Puggsy, and Benny.
    The Nelsons bought white uniforms. Barrels of flour came rolling in, barrels of sugar, boxes of eggs.
    At last the store opened. It was a Saturday. Benny and Puggsy were there, but Henry was at his college.
    People were interested in the new store. There was no doubt about that. When the Nelsons and Roger Franklin came to unlock the door early Saturday morning, there were six people waiting on the steps.
    Benny and Puggsy put on their white uniforms at once and stood behind the counter. They sold buns with Mrs. Nelson. Puggsy was too young to take the money and make change, but he could sell buns and put them in bags. Everybody smiled when they saw him and the women said, “How cute!”
    People who came to Franklin’s Store went into the bakery. People who came into the bakery went into the grocery department. Roger Franklin began to sell twice as much because he now had a bakery.
    A woman came in and said, “Tm interested in these buns. There must be a story about the secret recipe.”
    “Yes, there is,” said Puggsy.

    A crowd gathered around Benny and Puggsy. When they told about Watch chasing the squirrels, everyone laughed.
    “That’s a wonderful story,” the woman said. “I like those letters on the closet door. Do you know what the question mark stands for?”
    “No,” answered Puggsy. He shook his head. “Nobody knows except my dad and my mother.”
    Just as Benny was getting hungry the door opened and in came Mr. Alden, Jessie, and Violet.
    “How are you doing?” asked Mr. Alden.
    “Very hungry,” said Benny.
    Tom laughed. “That’s right. But we are selling so much we can’t stop to eat.”
    “That’s why we came,” said Mr. Alden. “You need a change. We’ll sell while you go out to eat lunch.”
    “We planned to eat buns and coffee right here,” said Tom.
    “Never mind,” said Mr. Alden. “You’ll work harder when you come back. Just give me your white uniform. Violet can wear Benny’s.”
    Barbara gave her uniform to Jessie, and soon everyone was ready. His friends thought it was a joke