The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald Read online

  “How does your invention work?” asked the Pest in a low voice.

  “No time for questions. Here, give me the bellows and the pepper,” he ordered. He pumped the bellows once or twice, and listened to the air rush out the long snout. Through a hole in the back end of the bellows he carefully poured the entire can of pepper.

  “There. That part’s ready. Now untie the string around that bag of popcorn so we can get at it without any trouble.”

  Shoie untied the string and handed the bag to Alvin.

  “We’ll leave these things right here beside this rock,” said Alvin softly, covering the bellows and the bag of popcorn with weeds. “You’ll have to help me find them later, so remember where they are, Pest.”

  “I’ll remember,” said his sister.

  “The next part’s harder. Come on. We’ve got to find a tree not far from the porch, but still hidden.”

  Alvin crept through the wooded yard, looking up at the trees. Shoie and the Pest did the same thing, even though they didn’t know what they were looking for.

  Finally, Alvin chose a big tree with a strong branch that hung out toward the house. He squinted this way and that. “They can’t see us from the house,” he said. “This tree should be fine. Do you think you can climb it, oh Mighty Athlete?”

  “In my sleep,” said Shoie.

  Alvin handed him the pulley and a short piece of rope. “Climb out on the limb and tie on the pulley. Tie it on good and tight.”

  Shoie did as he was told. When the pulley was in place, Alvin tossed one end of the long rope to him. “Put that through the pulley and drop it back down,” he said in a low voice.

  A moment later the rope ran up, over the pulley, and back down to the ground again. Shoie slid down, and the three of them squatted beneath the branch.

  “Now,” said Alvin, “some way or other we’ve got to get two hundred pounds of weight up on that tree limb and fastened there. I’ll tell you how we’re going to do it. The ground over there by those bushes is mostly sand. We’ll use one of the bags to drag over some sand, a little at a time, until we have two of the other bags filled.”

  It took quite awhile, and a good many trips to fill the bags beneath the trees.

  “There,” said Alvin, the sweat running down his face. “I figure each of those bags must weigh close to a hundred pounds.” He tied one end of the long rope around the top of one of the bags. “Now we’ll all pull the other end together and get the bag up to the branch.”

  They grabbed the other end of the rope and pulled. The heavy bag rose slowly, higher and higher, until it touched the branch. They tied the other end of the rope around a little tree nearby to keep the bag from coming back down.

  Alvin handed Shoie a short piece of rope. “Now shinny back up there and tie that bag to the branch,” he said. “Then untie the long rope and come back down so we can haul up the other bag.”

  “Seems like a lot of trouble to me,” said Shoie as he started up the tree again. Crawling out on the branch, he began working with the ropes.

  “About ready?” called Alvin.

  “I’ve tied the bag to the branch, but I haven’t got the long rope untied yet,” said Shoie.

  “Keep working,” ordered Alvin. He went over and untied the other end of the long rope from the little tree. Now there was no pull against it. He brought it back beneath the branch.

  Suddenly it happened.

  “Look out!” called down Shoie, his voice rising a little. The knot in the short rope was slipping.

  The heavy bag swung free. Alvin was still hanging onto the other end of the rope, and he found himself sailing up toward the tree branch. Just as he bonked his head against the branch, the bag hit the ground with a thud. The bottom of the bag broke, and the sand spilled out. Now, just as suddenly, Alvin found himself sailing back down as the empty bag whistled up toward the pulley. Alvin hit the ground with a crash, and let loose of the rope. Immediately, the empty bag came sailing back down and landed on his head, draping itself across his shoulders.

  For a moment Shoie looked down, speechless. Then he said softly, “Wow! That looked like fun, Alvin! Can I try it?”

  Alvin staggered to his feet. He was mad clear through. “Good gosh, can’t you even tie a knot?” One at a time he shook his arms and legs to make sure nothing was broken. At last he said, “Come on back down. Now we’ve got to do the whole thing over again.”

  It took them two hours to finish the Automatic Man Trap. One at a time, they hauled two heavy bags of sand up into the tree and tied them.

  Now Shoie was perched on the branch.

  “Tie the rope that goes through the pulley to both of the bags,” ordered Alvin.

  This time Shoie did a good tight job with the knots.

  Alvin tossed up a ball of heavy cord. “You’ve got to bind that rope to the branch with this cord,” he said. “It’s got to be strong enough to hold the bags up there, but we’ve got to be abe to cut the cord real quick with a knife.”

  Shoie did as he was told.

  “Okay,” said Alvin. “Now untie the short ropes and come on down here.”

  Shoie jumped lightly to the ground, and the three stood looking up at the Automatic Man Trap. The long rope ran up and over the pulley and was tied to the two heavy bags. A string bound the rope to the branch so the bags couldn’t fall.

  The loose end of the rope was on the ground. Alvin picked it up.

  “Now,” he said, “we’ll practice what we’re going to do tonight.”

  Chapter 10

  THE BIGGEST ADVENTURE OF ALL

  For the fourth time, the three figures crept toward the house.

  The Pest hoped it would be the last time. It was different, now, because they weren’t just spying. They were trying to capture the two men inside.

  Shoie had the feeling he was on a big train roaring off into the night. He couldn’t stop the train and he couldn’t get off. He was scared, but somehow he knew that he couldn’t stop now.

  Alvin was more excited than he had ever been in his life. His heart was beating so loudly that he was sure it could be heard even inside the house. For the first time since they had started prowling around the old Huntley place, he wasn’t a bit scared — just excited. He had developed a great invention to trap two men he believed to be criminals. Nothing could stop him from trying his master plan now.

  In the dim moonlight Daphne suddenly moved her hand toward her nose.

  “Alvin,” she said in a strangled voice. “Alvin, I’m going to sneeze!”

  “Don’t you dare!” he growled, suddenly aware that a simple little sneeze could ruin his plan.

  “Ugggl — ugggle —” The Pest was making strange noises. Then, “Ugggle — SHISSSSSSSSH!”

  He grabbed her nose too late. The sneeze sounded like an explosion in the still night air. They crouched there in the weeds near the porch, motionless. It seemed that hours passed. No one dared move.

  At last Alvin raised his head and peered toward the dimly lighted room. There, silhouetted against the glass, was the figure of a man staring out at them.

  Alvin could feel the tingle crawl up his spine. Though he couldn’t see the man’s eyes, he was sure they were staring directly at him.

  He kept his head up, not daring to drop back down into the weeds.

  “Ugggl — ugggle!”

  The Pest was going to sneeze again.

  At that moment the figure walked away from the window. Alvin reached down and clamped his hand across the Pest’s face.

  “Shisssssh!” This time the sneeze was more of a whisper than an explosion.

  For a long time they crouched there in the grass. At last Alvin saw shadows move across the window again. He had the feeling that the two men inside were resuming their search.

  “Let’s go,” he whispered. He felt the Pest shaking beside him. “You scared?”

  “S-s-scared?” she repeated. “You b-b-b-bet!”

  “Well, don’t ruin everything now. We’ll do
it, just as we practiced it this afternoon.” He turned to Shoie. “Are you ready, old man?”

  “I dunno,” whispered Shoie. “I guess so.”

  “Okay. Here’s the knife. To your post. And good luck!”

  Shoie took the knife and sneaked away through the long grass.

  Alvin and the Pest crawled through the weeds toward the place where they had hidden the bellows and the popcorn. Now, in the darkness, nothing looked the same. He couldn’t seem to find the right rock. As time passed he grew frantic. And as he searched, he had the horrifying thought that the men inside had found the bellows and knew exactly what he was doing at this moment.

  He went back over the same ground, then crawled on a little farther. Now he felt a rock that seemed to be about the right size. As he searched, he leaned against the rock, and suddenly it toppled over. He reached out an arm to recover his balance, and his hand went right on down into a hole in the ground, a hole that had been covered by the rock. His fingers touched something that wasn’t dirt. It was some sort of a box, with a loose lid. He lifted the lid, reached inside, and immediately felt something crinkly.

  A paper bag!

  Instantly Alvin knew what it was. He jerked back his hand as though he’d touched a piece of red-hot metal. Then his hand went back into the hole, and he felt the bag once more.

  “What’s the matter, Alvin?” asked the Pest.

  “Ssssh!”

  Alvin withdrew his hand. He didn’t want to say anything about the paper bag to his sister just yet. He crawled on a little farther, searching, and at last found the bellows and the bag of popcorn.

  “Got it.” He handed her the popcorn.

  The Pest hung back as they crawled up the rickety porch steps. He had to reach back and pull her onto the porch floor beside him. He knew she was more scared than she had ever been in her life as she lay there looking up at him. Alvin reached out and put his arm around her. He squeezed her tight.

  “Too scared?” he whispered into her ear. “Want to go home, Daphne? I’ll take you home.”

  She looked up at him. Her eyes were almost as big as her face. “Oh, Alvin,” she whispered. “That’s the first time you ever called me Daphne instead of the Pest.”

  “Do what you’re supposed to do, then run just as fast as you can.”

  Bravely, she crawled over and stood up beside the door. In her hands was the open bag of popcorn.

  Alvin sneaked across the porch. He leaned against the railing. He was holding the handles of the bellows.

  He stood there for a moment, his feet spread wide apart. This was the moment he had planned for. Now, for the first time that night, he was scared. He wondered if they shouldn’t leave as quietly as they had come, sneak home and get Dad.

  No! He had promised Mrs. Huntley he’d help her. And he’d bragged that all his inventions worked.

  Alvin lifted his head. He shouted, “Hey in there!” His voice faded off into the stillness of the night.

  There was a scuffling noise inside the house. The door burst open so suddenly that it swung on around and almost hit the Pest in the face. One of the men, the one with the thin face, leaped through the doorway. He looked around the porch until he could see Alvin.

  “I’ll get you this time!” he said in a low voice.

  Alvin watched the man jump across the porch toward him. He waited until the very last moment, then swung up the bellows and pumped it as hard as he could into the man’s face. Air hissed through the snout.

  The man stopped as though he’d been hit by a brick. His face half-covered with pepper, he gasped for breath. His eyes were closed and he staggered blindly backward.

  “The popcorn!” shouted Alvin.

  The Pest gave a mighty heave of the bag, and the popcorn spilled out across the porch floor. As the man staggered backward, his shoes hit the hard, round little kernels. His feet flew out from under him. As he fell, his head hit the porch railing. He was unconscious even before he hit the floor.

  At that instant the second man burst through the door. Within two steps he, too, hit the popcorn and his feet flew toward the sky. For a moment he lay there moaning. Then he spotted the Pest crouching nearby. She had been too horrified to move.

  “Run!” shouted Alvin. “Run, Pest, run!”

  The man reached a long arm toward her. His fingers brushed her sleeve. Then she was dashing down the steps and diving into the bushes.

  Alvin vaulted over the porch railing and ran around in front of the steps. He stood there, heart pounding. The man was glaring down at him.

  “I’ll get you meddling kids,” growled the man. “I’ll get you if it’s the last thing I do!” Then he was on his feet, ready to leap off the steps.

  For a fraction of a second the magnificent brain stopped functioning. Then Alvin ran — ran for his life. His legs felt as though they were made of lead, and just behind him he could hear the whistle of the man’s breath.

  When Alvin reached the tree he was two steps ahead of the man. He stopped suddenly and turned, the bellows in front of his chest. For just a fraction of a second the man hesitated, peering down to see what Alvin held in his hands.

  “Now, Shoie!”

  There was just one movement, a very slight one, on the branch above.

  It was an amazing sight. One moment Alvin was standing there staring at the man. An instant later there was a whistling sound from above as the two hundred pounds of sand came plummeting down. At the same instant the man’s feet were jerked out from under him and he vanished, shoes first.

  Shoie dropped beside Alvin with a thud. For long seconds they stared up in awe at what they had done. The man was hanging by his feet, which were tightly bound in the noose Alvin had concealed in the grass. His arms were waving wildly and he was shouting at the top of his voice.

  “Gosh,” Alvin said in a low voice. “It worked.”

  Shoie was speechless. All he could do was stand there and stare.

  Alvin knew they still had work to do. “Come on, Shoie. We’ve got to make sure the other one doesn’t wake up and get away.”

  Back at the house, they peered cautiously across the porch. The man was still lying on his back, motionless.

  “Quick, get the rest of the Automatic Man Trap,” ordered Alvin as he ran over beside the man.

  The rest of the trap consisted of the hammer and nails. Quickly, Alvin went to work. He put one nail through the sleeve of the man’s jacket and hammered it into the floorboard. He did the same with the other sleeve, then nailed down each trouser leg.

  Alvin was afraid the man would wake up before he was finished, so he worked as fast as he could. Five minutes later, when the man opened his eyes, his clothing was securely nailed to the floor. In fact, he was framed with nails. When he raised his head and tried to get up, he couldn’t move a muscle. He gazed down at his arms and legs, eyes bulging.

  But Alvin didn’t trust the nails in the rotten floorboards. Just as the man opened his mouth to speak, Alvin pumped the bellows to give him another snort of pepper. The man gasped once, and his head hit the floor with a thud.

  Out in the tree, the other man was still thrashing and shouting.

  “Pest,” called Alvin. “Pest, are you still there?”

  She came slowly up the steps. Her eyes were shining. “Oh, Alvin,” she said. “Oh, Alvin, you’re so brave. And your invention worked just like you said it would.”

  “Of course it did,” said Alvin. “All my inventions work.” Suddenly he remembered. “But we don’t have time to stand around here talking about my inventions. We have to find old Mrs. Huntley.”

  “Gee!” said Shoie. “I almost forgot all about her.”

  “Follow me.”

  Alvin opened the front door and walked into the house. In the front room a candle was burning in an old-fashioned candlestick. He picked it up and led the way over to a doorway that opened into a hall. They were standing at the bottom of a long flight of stairs.

  Up the stairs went the three figures, h
uddled together in the flickering light, until they reached a long balcony overlooking the hall. Four doors opened off the balcony. One by one they swung open three of the doors, then closed them again on bedrooms filled with dusty old-fashioned furniture. The fourth door opened on narrow, steep stairs that wound up into the darkness above. They crept up the steps. Even though they knew the danger was now past, they couldn’t help feeling scared in the eerie house. It was almost as though the ghost of the old Huntley place were waiting for them at the top of the stairway.

  Instead of a ghost, they found a closed door blocking the steps. Alvin tried the doorknob. The door was locked, but there was a key beneath the knob. He turned the key, then pushed open the door. It creaked on rusty old hinges.

  The room was tiny, with a single window on one wall. Seated by the window was Mrs. Huntley, her wrinkled face lighted by a candle on a table in front of her. When they entered she had a frightened look on her face, but as soon as she saw Alvin in the doorway the fear melted into a gentle smile.

  Her first words came as a surprise. Alvin expected her to say something about the two men below.

  “Did you feed my birds?” she asked quietly.

  “N-n-not yet,” stammered Alvin. “But we will, as soon as it’s daylight.”

  “You are a good boy,” she said. “I knew you would come for me. But please take care of my birds. I — I’m not very strong any more, and I may have trouble getting down those stairs to put out the feed. I’ve been locked up here for five days.” She seemed to want to talk about herself, as though she’d been lonesome for a very long time. “I’m getting old, you know, and forgetful. Oh, I never forget to feed my birds. But I forget lots of other things. I can’t even remember important things anymore, can’t remember where I put things at all. I can’t remember where I put my money, so how could I tell them what they wanted to know?” She shook her heard slowly. “My goodness, Mr. Huntley will be so very hungry.”

  “You don’t have to be afraid of the men downstairs any more, Mrs. Huntley,” said Alvin. “We captured them with my inventions.”