said. âSolid as a rock. They donât build âem like this anymore.â
âAre there things about it people donât know?â Violet asked.
âAhhh, this grand old place keeps its secrets.â Willardâs eyes twinkled.
âWhat secrets?â Benny asked.
âIf I told you, they wouldnât be secrets, would they, now?â
âYou could tell us,â Benny said. âWe wonât tell anyone.â
Willard threw his head back and laughed. âIâve been sworn to secrecy. Iâm sorry,â he said.
Just then several people came in. Willard went to greet them.
The Aldens looked around the lobby. Was there anything here that might help in their search? Henry noticed two doors. Painted the same color as the walls, they were barely visible.
âWait here,â he whispered. Hoping Willard wouldnât notice, he slipped across the lobby. He tried one door and then the other. Both were locked.
CHAPTER 11
Buried Treasure
D isappointed, the Aldens went back upstairs.
Just inside the apartment door, Violet picked up something. âWhatâs this?â She held it in her open hand. It was fuzzy and black.
âIt looks like some strange caterpillar,â Jessie said.
Benny took it between two fingers. He held it under his nose. âDo I look like the man with the mustache?â
Jessie laughed, then grew serious. âLet me see that.â She turned it over. âThe back is covered with something â dried paste or glue.â
All at once, the four Aldens came to the same conclusion: âItâs part of a disguise!â
âThe man in the overalls wore it!â Jessie said.
âThat would explain why the mustache was crooked. The glue was dry, so it no longer stuck as well,â Henry said.
Violet took the object from Henry. âBut it isnât big enough to be a mustache. Itâs more likeâ â she put it above her eye â âan eyebrow!â
Jessie sank to a chair. âDo you suppose â¦â
âYes! Thatâs it!â Henry said. âThe man with the mustache and the one with the bushy eyebrows â theyâre one person!â
âThe same person!â Violet said.
â What person?â Benny asked.
âWhoever was up here while we were talking to Willard,â Henry said. âWhoever dropped the eyebrow â that person!â
âChad has a key,â Jessie reminded them.
âWe would have seen him come into the building,â Violet said.
âUnless thereâs another way in,â Henry added.
âMaybe he hid somewhere in the hall until we went out,â Benny suggested.
Jessieâs mind took her in another direction. âChad was never with us when we saw that strange man,â she said. âBut he was always nearby.â
Slowly, the others understood her meaning. Chad could be the man in the disguise!
âBut he never wore overalls,â Henry said.
âMaybe he carried them in his knapsack,â Benny said.
âWhere would he have changed into them?â Henry persisted.
They were getting nowhere. Every question about the man led to several new questions. Finally they sat down with the clues and began listing everything they knew.
Violet puzzled over the lines âBuried deep/Beneath the rest.â
âThe X is marked on this building. Do you think there could be something underneath it?â she asked at last.
Henry thought about that. Then he remembered: âChad told us Chicago has a lower level.â
âWith train tracks and everything,â Benny added.
âMaybe it runs under this building,â Jessie said.
Benny sprang out of his chair and headed for the door. âLetâs go find out!â
Downstairs, Grandfather Alden huddled with someone wearing bib overalls â a man with a mustache and one bushy eyebrow! Talking intently, the two stepped out of sight. By the time the Alden children
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