Jane and the Fire – Part XXVI

In 1958, young Jane has just moved to the city of Chicago, Illinois with her parents and cousins Billy. As Jane reaches her home again, she encounters Mr.  Peele in the hallway. Though he is preoccupied with his suitcase and papers, she observes him closely and notices a map/blueprint in his hand with a sharp red X on it.

She took a few steps forward, and Mr. Peele whirled his head around. He smiled vaguely and waved a hand, and then continued searching through his papers.

“Good afternoon,” said Jane.

She walked quickly past him and hurried on down the hallway. She looked back at Mr. Peele one more time as the rustling stopped. He was holding a what looked like a map or a blueprint up in front of him and squinting at it. It had a vivid crimson “X” marked on the lower left-hand side. He pulled an apple, just as red, from his briefcase next. With a crunch, Mr. Peele munched on his apple, folded up his case, and disappeared from the landing.

Jane reached the door of the Joyces’ apartment. She had made her decision. She would be safe, but she was far too curious not to continue finding things out. The cat was out of the bag, and it was too far gone to bring back!

Mrs. Joyce and Billy the Elder were washing cups and wiping them. The littler Cousin Billy was playing with a puppy on the carpet.

Jane started. “Where’d you get that?”

“I found it!” said Billy cheerily. “His name is Tommy and I found him in an empty crate under the porch of that abandoned old house. He’s ours now!”

Tommy was a small, energetic poodle mix, busily engaged in chewing an old sock. He had a wise, old face, and attentive ears.

“At the abandoned old house?” Jane asked, surprised. “On the way to Lincoln Park?”

Billy nodded eagerly. “As we passed by, we saw him chewing some rope on the deck of the house. He barked and barked when he saw me and William…”

“Billy Jr. would like to be addressed as William, henceforth,” Mrs. Joyce added sotto voce.

“When he saw me and William,” continued Billy, “and then he ran back and forth on the porch, back and forth and forth and back….” For a time, he lapsed into silence, watching Tommy ravage the old sock.

“Yes’s…?” prompted Jane, smilingly.

“He ran off the porch finally and wouldn’t leave us be. He didn’t have a collar, and no one came looking for him, and he was very friendly but terribly raggedy, and we asked and asked and they said we could keep him!!!” Here Billy lost his breath in excitement and huffed in rapturous silence for a time. Tommy barked sweetly and trundled over to Jane. Including Tommy in the family left everyone so pleased that the evening flew by, and Jane hardly thought of the Abandoned House Mystery. He was a remarkably intelligent puppy and picked up a number of skills and tricks on the very first night.

The next day, Jane and the cousins took Tommy for a walk. As the Billy and William ran ahead, with Tommy trotting behind, Jane brought up the rear. It was a bright, sunny day, with the faintest chill in the air. As they approached the main road adjacent to Lincoln Park, Tommy began suddenly to bark and snap at the air. Billy and William hardly noticed, but Jane realized at once that they had reached the abandoned old house.

Read on next month to find out what happens next!