A Big Surprise for Easter, Part 1

The whole town was talking about it!  The children were crying, their parents were upset and angry.  “It’s a travesty!” exclaimed Mrs. Townsend. “Why, I never heard of such a thing!” said Mrs. Webster.  The ladies garden club had called a special meeting to discuss the problems that had suddenly been thrust upon their community.  “It is our responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and to come up with a plan to resolve this problem.” said the president of the garden club.  Miss Crystal was a thin, elderly lady who was born and raised in the community when it was just a little town.  She was known as the town gossip, and she had a history of knowing everybody’s business.  She would sit in a rocking chair on her front porch and observe everybody that passed down the road in front of her house, either coming or going.  If anybody in the neighborhood saw or heard somebody, she would be the one to call.  She was like the town’s newspaper.  “I bet it’s those Craighead boys,” she said with a disgusted sound in her voice.  “They would steal anything that is not nailed down!” she continued.  “Now, now, let’s not jump to any conclusions,” replied Mrs. Strawn, who was probably the most loved person in the community.  “Let’s give them a chance,” she pleaded to the committee.” “It was true that whenever anything came up missing in the neighborhood, it was often traced back to the Craighead garage.  Of course, Richard and his brother Paul had no earthly idea who put the stolen property in their garage.  “I really don’t believe that the Craigheads would do such a thing,” said Mrs. Grant, who lived next door.  “Why, they haven’t missed a Sunday going to Church in almost a year now!” she replied with a confident sound in her voice.  “Well, facts are facts,” replied Miss Crystal.  “Somebody has stolen from this community on a large scale. It had to be several people to have done this hideous crime! I think we should have someone search the Craighead garage,” she said, looking around the room for approval from the other members.  “We can’t just accuse people without any proof,” continued Mrs. Strawn as she addressed the committee.  “Maybe Mr. Ward can put together something from his store to make everyone happy.” she continued with a smile on her face and encouragement in her voice.  “It would be almost impossible for Mr. Ward to fill such a large order in such a short time.” replied Mrs. Zay.  “We’ve got to come up with a plan,” said Mrs. Strawn in a gentle voice.  “Let’s take it one step at a time. How many baskets were stolen from the neighborhood?” Mrs. Strawn asked.  “In this neighborhood there are at least fifty kids of all ages who didn’t get an Easter basket.” replied Mrs. Humphrey.  The social committee worked late into the evening trying to develop a plan to solve the dilemma.

Meanwhile, the boys were back in their tree Fort for a special meeting concerning the stolen Easter baskets.  The mulberry tree was beginning to bud out as spring was just around the corner.  Allan was the first to speak.  “We have to scout around the neighborhood and see what the little old Lady is up to,” Allan replied.  So the boys walked all over the neighborhood looking for clues.  They ran into Harry, a little five-year-old holding a piece of paper in his hand.  “What you got there, Harry?” asked Robert.  “I don’t know,” said little Harry.  “I can’t read it.”  “Let me take a look at it,” said Butch.  “Butch took the leaflet from Harry’s hand and glanced over it.  “Where did you get this leaflet Harry?” said Butch in an excited voice.  “I found it on the ground,” Harry replied.  “Where was it?” asked Butch.  “They’re all over the neighborhood,” replied Harry.  “They fell from the sky,” he continued, pointing his finger up in the air.”  Sure enough, the ground was littered with leaflets just about everywhere the boys look.  Lester picked up one of the leaflets from the ground and began to read it out loud.  “If you want your Easter baskets back, tell me where to find those little varmints that broke into my house when I was not at home. Once I find out where them little varmints live, I’ll tell you where your Easter baskets are hidden. – Signed, the little old Lady.”  Of course, none of the neighborhood children knew whom the little old Lady was talking about, let alone where all the boys lived in the neighborhood!  “The little old lady must be scouting the neighborhood,” said Allan.  “Yeah,” said Ronald, “and I bet she flew all over the neighborhood on her Hal-lo-Ween, throwing  leaflets in the air, hoping someone would tell on us,” Ronald exclaimed.  “Grab a few more of those leaflets.” shouted Butch.  “Let’s go back to the tree Fort and see if we can come up with a plan.”

When the boys arrived safely in the tree Fort, Butch handed out leaflets for them to read.  “Somewhere on this leaflet there is a hidden clue, a secret message or a secret code! We’ve got to find out what the little old Lady is up to.” said Butch.  “The first thing we have to find out,” said Lester, “is where the little old Lady hid the Easter baskets!”  After a moment, Ronald spoke up. “I don’t think she hid them anywhere,” he said.  “What do you mean?” asked Robert.  “I think she made them disappear, or she shrunk them the same way she did to Robert and Butch in the Cypress Swamp,” replied Allan.  “Good thinking!” said Butch.  “Then all we’d have to do is find out where in the swamp she hid them.”  “I’ve got an idea,” said Allan.  “Let’s go talk to Freddie – he knows all about radios, crystal sets, and radio frequencies.” “Yeah, and he’s a good friend of Gary,” replied Allan.”  “What does Gary have to do with solving our problem?” asked Lester.  “Well,” said Allan,” Gary’s father has one of the tallest radio towers ever made. I believe it’s over 150 feet tall!” he emphasized.”  “We all know that Mr. Chapin is a radio ham who talks to people all over the world when he broadcasts.  “How do we know that?” asked Butch.  “Because I’ve been to his house next to the garage where he operates his ham radio,” said Robert.  “Mr. Chapin has postcards pinned up all over his garage from people he’s contacted all over the world! And I’ve heard him broadcast when he’s looking for other people to respond to.”  “How do you know he’s broadcasting?” asked Butch.  “Because he always starts off with, ‘Seek you, seek you,’ and when he makes contact with someone, say in Japan, Mr. Chapin asks them to send him a postcard with their call letters so that he can pin it up and talk with them again someday.”  “Fantastic!” said Lester.  “Let’s go have a talk with Gary.”  

So, off the boys went to Gary’s house.  When Gary came to the door, Robert was spokesman for the group.  “Hey, Gary, I was telling my buddies about your father’s ham broadcasting abilities, and they would like to take a look at it, if it’s okay with you.”  “I don’t know,” said Gary.  “Dad’s at work, and he doesn’t like anybody in his garage if he’s not home to supervise.”  “We can understand that,” said Robert.  “My father is the same way. Do you think we could come back when he’s home, and watch him work at broadcasting?” asked Robert.  “What time does your dad get home?”  “He usually gets home around five o’clock and starts broadcasting after supper,” replied Gary.  “Why don’t you give him a call around six and talk to him yourself?”  “Great idea,” agreed Robert.  So the boys said goodbye to Gary and started walking down the street.  “Why don’t we go by and pay Freddie a friendly visit?” said Allan.  “Freddie!” exclaimed Lester.  “You mean the guy in our class at Norwood … who’s a little weird, doesn’t participate in sports, and stays by himself all the time?”  “Yeah, I know Freddie acts a little weird sometimes, but he’s really a nice guy and is super smart when it comes to making crystal sets and repairing radios,” said Robert.  Freddie’s parents lived by the lake, which was only two blocks away from Gary’s house.

The boys found Freddie working on a radio in the garage.  “Hello, Freddie, could we talk to you for a few minutes?” asked Allan.  “Sure,” said Freddie as he put down the burned-out tube he was replacing in a radio he was working on.  “What can I do for you?”  Lester had an idea.  “Freddie, could you build a shortwave radio set for us – one that can pick up conversations in our tree Fort?”  “Well, it depends on the distance,” replied Freddie.  “We want to monitor a weird transmission that’s coming from the Cypress Swamp,” said Lester.  “Sure, I could build you a small shortwave radio, but it would have to run on dry- cell batteries if you don’t have electricity to power the set.”  “That would be great!” exclaimed Butch.  “How much do you think it would cost to build for us?” Butch inquired.  Freddie took out a pencil and paper and began to write down some numbers on the pad.  “About $15,” Freddie replied. “Could you help set it up in our tree Fort?” asked Butch.  “I would have to look over the location first and see if you need an antenna to pick up a signal.” Freddie explained.  The boys still had a few dollars left over from the winnings of their Christmas tree contests, and if they all chipped in a few dollars, they would have enough to pay Freddie to make their shortwave set. The boys agreed on the price and asked Freddie how long it would take to make the set.  Freddie said he would call Allan when the set was finished, and they could pay him then.

     After the boys left, Freddie began to cannibalize parts from broken radios he had in his garage.  He found a tube from one radio, a transformer from another, and a few radio dials from an old shortwave set he had made a couple years ago.  It only took him a day to complete the shortwave set.  He called Allan and told him the set was ready, and he would go with him to the tree Fort to hook it up.

(Part One of the novella by George F. Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)

To read the rest of the story, order your copy of A Big Surprise for Easter, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback.  Amazon search: Holiday Favorites by George F. Kohn.