“Hmm,” said Jessie. “Does that man look nervous to you?”

  “He does,” Violet said.

  “Can we go see what he’s doing?” Benny asked Henry.

  “It’ll be dark soon, Benny,” Henry answered. He whistled for Watch, then clipped the leash onto his collar. “We should get home before Mrs. McGregor worries.”

  Missing Magician

  The next morning the Alden children walked downtown to the Greenfield Magic Shop. As they passed one of the cafes, they could smell the pleasant aroma of pancakes and bacon. A nearby newspaper stand offered an early edition. The headline read, “Greenfield’s Magic Show this Weekend. An Annual Tradition.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Oliver,” Henry said when they entered the store. “I’m a bit early for my lesson. Do you mind if we just look around?”

  “Suit yourself,” she said. “But the Amazing Arthur isn’t here. Not only that, he missed his eight o’clock class. I honestly don’t know what’s going on with him. He’s in charge of the magic show too. Last night I had to remind him to drop off supplies at the community center.”

  “Oh! We may have seen him,” Jessie said, “but he wasn’t wearing a cape or top hat. Does he drive an old truck?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe,” said Mrs. Oliver. “He was upset about taking things over there. When he came back he asked me again to have the magic show here in the shop. He stood right here by the cash register and practically begged me. I said no. I turned away for just a second, but when I looked back he had vanished.”

  “Vanished?” asked Henry.

  “Gone. Just like that.” Mrs. Oliver ran her fingers through her gray curls. She seemed nervous. “Here one moment, gone the next. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the Amazing Arthur pulled a disappearing act.”

  “I’m not surprised,” a voice said from one of the aisles. A man in a pirate costume came up to the counter. It was Captain Cannon. He carried a shopping basket with a large rubber sword inside.

  “The Amazing Arthur is a huge disappointment,” said Captain Cannon. “If he doesn’t show up soon, I’ll take over the magic show. He doesn’t deserve to be in charge.”

  “Why do you say the Amazing Arthur doesn’t deserve to run the magic show?” Henry asked.

  “Oh, that’s easy,” Captain Cannon replied. He added a tube that resembled a spyglass to his shopping basket. “He wouldn’t tell me about his new trick. I don’t think he can pull it off. And I’m the best magician around. The best. Period.”

  Mrs. Oliver rang up his purchase. “Better or best, I don’t care. I never wanted to sponsor the magic show in the first place. The Amazing Arthur was behind the show, and if he doesn’t turn up I’ll cancel it.”

  “Is that so?” Captain Cannon stomped his boot. “It cannot be canceled. Everything’s planned. It’ll be a fabulous show.” In a menacing whisper he repeated, “Don’t forget, I’m the best magician around! The best.”

  The Alden children stepped into another aisle where tall shelves gave them privacy to talk.

  Violet said, “What did he mean by ‘everything’s planned’?”

  “Maybe he just means that flyers have been printed,” Jessie suggested. “And everything’s set for the magic show to be held at the community center.”

  “But what if Captain Cannon had something to do with the Amazing Arthur’s disappearance?” Benny asked.

  “It definitely seems like there’s a rivalry between them,” said Henry. He glanced around the shop. “But we don’t know for sure that the Amazing Arthur is missing. Maybe this is part of his new trick. What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” said Violet. “Why would he miss your lesson on purpose? He’s never done that before. And why would he miss the other lesson this morning?”

  “Good questions,” said Jessie, pulling out her notebook to jot them down.

  “I just hope nothing has happened to him,” Henry said.

  Suddenly Benny rushed to the front of the store.

  “Hey, Benny, what’s up?” Violet called.

  “Look!” Benny shouted. “It’s gone!”

  “What’s gone?” Henry asked him.

  “The mirror,” said Benny. “I just noticed that the big mirror we saw yesterday is gone! It’s the one the Amazing Arthur suddenly appeared out of. Remember?”

  “Remember? Yes! How could we forget?” said Jessie. “But where did it go?”

  Benny turned his palms up in question. He went over to the counter. “Excuse me, Mrs. Oliver. Did you happen to move the mirror that was here yesterday?”

  Mrs. Oliver also seemed baffled. She shook her head. “I think it was here last night when I closed the shop and locked up. I can’t believe I didn’t notice earlier that it had been moved. Gosh, I’ve been distracted.”

  “Maybe it’s a clue to where the Amazing Arthur is this morning,” said Henry.

  “Oh honestly,” said Mrs. Oliver. “If there’s any more trouble around here, I’ll just cancel the show. As I told you kids, I never wanted to sponsor it in the first place.”

  “I hope you don’t cancel it,” said Benny. “Magic shows are lots of fun. Kids will want to come into the shop to buy things.” He picked up a magician’s wallet with secret pouches. “We like stuff like this.”

  “I agree with Benny,” Violet said. She went to the rack of books and magazines about magic. “Magic is fun, Mrs. Oliver. Pretending is fun. Even if kids just buy one magazine, they might come back again and again. Wouldn’t the show help business?”

  Mrs. Oliver waved her hand as if shooing flies. “It’s my decision. Run along now. I have work to do. You can wait on the stage if you want. I trust you not to run around up there and make a mess.”

  The Alden children went over to the small stage. Folding chairs were stacked against the wall.

  “Everything looks the same as yesterday,” Henry said.

  “What are we looking for?” Benny asked.

  “I’m not sure,” replied Henry. “Some kind of clue. I just wonder if this is part of the Amazing Arthur’s new trick. The big one he won’t tell anyone about. As we know, he’s famous for being secretive.”

  “That’s for sure,” Violet agreed.

  “Or,” said Jessie with emphasis, “what if Captain Cannon has something to do with this? He just told all of us that he wants to take over the magic show. He’s super unfriendly.”

  Henry thought a moment. “It’s possible.”

  “I’ve been wondering something,” said Violet. She pointed to the counter where Mrs. Oliver and Captain Cannon were still talking. “What if Mrs. Oliver is involved? She doesn’t want to have the magic show here. I can’t figure out why, but she’s grumpy about it and is willing to cancel the whole thing.”

  Benny crossed his arms and nodded. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Yep. Something’s definitely going on.”

  Henry stepped off the stage and went to a side door. He jiggled the latch. The door creaked open. “Hey, look at this,” he said.

  “Where does it lead?” Jessie asked him.

  “To the alley behind the shop,” said Henry. He looked left then right, squinting in the bright sunshine. Then he looked at the doorknob. “There’s a keyhole on both sides. Since Mrs. Oliver locks up when she closes the shop, it means the Amazing Arthur couldn’t have gone out this way last night without a key.”

  “You’re right!” Violet said.

  The children continued to look around. They searched in corners full of costumes and hats and among the stacked chairs for anything out of the ordinary. Finally Henry checked his watch. He said, “Well, it looks like the Amazing Arthur isn’t coming for my lesson. We should get going.”

  “Let’s ask Mrs. Oliver one last question,” said Jessie.

  The store owner was at the counter, arranging a rack of glow-in-the-dark wands. “I see you kids are leaving,” she said. “If the Amazing Arthur ever shows up, I’ll tell him you were here. And that you waited longer than most patient adults would.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Oliver,” Henry said. “We’re curious about a couple more things though. Is it possible the Amazing Arthur let himself out the front door last night when your back was turned?”

  “Nope,” she replied. “I didn’t see him. At night I would have heard that little bell jingling if he opened the door even a few inches. During the day so many people are coming and going that I barely notice it.”

  Jessie looked toward the front of the shop where they’d last seen the mirror. “Then do you have any idea how the mirror disappeared?” she asked. “Or when?”

  “No idea,” replied Mrs. Oliver. “When I took over this store, I changed the locks. I didn’t give out any new keys, so I can’t imagine how anyone got in here last night to take the mirror.”

  The Alden children exchanged looks of bewilderment.

  As they walked out Henry said, “So the mirror has disappeared. And so has the Amazing Arthur.”

  Retracing Steps

  Before dawn the next morning, Henry and Watch went outside to the boxcar. It was dark and Henry’s siblings were still sleeping. He wanted to practice his tricks without them seeing how he did them.

  He turned on a light, and then he set his magician’s box on the worktable. Henry removed the lid Violet had decorated and took out a short strand of rope.

  “Okay, here we go,” he said to Watch. But the terrier was staring at the door. Watch cocked his head with curiosity. He didn’t bark or growl when someone knocked.

  Henry slid open the door. In the light shining from the boxcar, he could see Mrs. McGregor on the little porch.

  “Good morning, Henry,” she said. She held a tray with hot chocolate and a chunk of warm bread with butter melting in its center.

  “Mrs. McGregor, hello! Come in.”

  “You’re up quite early,” she said. “I wanted to give you a little something to start your day.”

  “Wow, this is great,” he said. “Thank you”

  “You’re most welcome, Henry.”

  “Mrs. McGregor, I’m sorry if I disturbed you when Watch and I dashed through the kitchen.”

  The older woman smiled. She said, “Not at all, dear. I was busy taking bread from the oven.”

  “Mmm. It’s so good,” he said. “I wanted to practice before the others wake up.”

  “Good for you, Henry.”

  “It’s hard but fun. I think I get a little better every day. You probably already know what the Amazing Arthur says: ‘Practice, practice, practice.’”

  “I do indeed,” she replied. “That’s how I’ve learned to cook. I’ve been practicing all these years. Well, I’ll leave you to it, Henry.”

  “Thank you again, Mrs. McGregor.”

  “By the way,” she said, stepping down from the boxcar’s porch. “While I was mixing up your hot chocolate, I heard some odd news on the radio. The Amazing Arthur is missing.”

  Henry’s face turned serious. “Really? It was on the radio?”

  “Yes, in between my favorite music. The report also mentioned the strange timing with the magic show just two days away.”

  “The Amazing Arthur didn’t show up to my lesson yesterday,” Henry told her.

  “My goodness,” she said. “What do you think happened?”

  “We don’t know, Mrs. McGregor. I’m supposed to have another lesson today.”

  “Try not to worry, Henry.”

  “I’ll try.” He took a sip of hot chocolate. “This is really good. I mean it.”

  During their conversation Watch had been sitting on a little rug. He kept his eyes on the housekeeper, his right front paw up in the “please?” position. His tail wagged ever so slowly.

  The housekeeper smiled at the polite terrier. “Oh, all right,” she said. She reached into her apron pocket and took out a dog biscuit. Watch gently accepted it then took it to a corner where he could enjoy it at his leisure.

  Mrs. McGregor laughed. “Watch knows I always have something for him. See you later, Henry. We’re having scrambled eggs and oatmeal this morning in an hour or so.”

  Henry watched her go into the kitchen. A light by the stove flicked on as Mrs. McGregor began making breakfast.

  ***

  After breakfast the children took Watch for a walk. The morning was already warm, promising a hot summer day. In the park there was a large fountain with water shooting up from the ground. Young boys and girls and a few dogs were running through the spray to cool off.

  A woman pushing a baby carriage was talking to her friend. “Missing,” the young mother said. “How can a magician go missing?”

  Two men in jogging shorts ran by. One said, “He’s been performing for years.” The other man said, “A very important part of our community,” before they jogged out of earshot.

  The Alden children looked at one another with concern.

  Benny asked, “Is everyone talking about the Amazing Arthur?”

  “It seems like it,” said Henry.

  They continued into town. They passed the donut shop, the bookstore, and a coffee kiosk.

  The barista’s little radio was playing music. Soon a newscast interrupted. “With Greenfield’s annual magic show just two days away,” the radio voice said, “what will we do without our magician?” The newscast continued to describe the mysterious disappearance of the Amazing Arthur.

  Henry looked at his brother and sisters. “This is really serious.”

  “Henry,” said Benny, “are you worried?”

  “I’m starting to be.”

  “What if it has something to do with Captain Cannon?” Violet wondered. “He threatened the Amazing Arthur about his new trick. Remember?”

  “I think Mrs. Oliver is involved,” said Benny. “She doesn’t like the Amazing Arthur.”

  Jessie said, “I agree. Something’s not right with Mrs. Oliver.”

  “I have an idea,” said Henry. “Let’s try to retrace the Amazing Arthur’s steps from when I last saw him during my class the other day.”

  The children kept walking toward the magic shop. Sidewalks were busy with the usual shoppers and neighbors greeting one another. Watch trotted on his leash, perfectly behaved. The terrier seemed to understand he was part of an important mission.

  “Okay, Henry,” Violet said. “So going back to the other day, you came home from your lesson. We ate sandwiches at the kitchen table.”

  “Then you showed us that trick with the bottle cap,” Benny said. “I liked it.”

  Henry ruffled his brother’s hair and smiled. “Thanks, Benny. All right, let’s keep thinking.”

  Violet counted on her fingers. “After dinner we took Watch to the park. We saw someone unloading boxes at the community center. It looked like a man, and it looked like he was nervous. Remember how he kept looking over his shoulder?”

  “That’s right,” said Jessie. “And Mrs. Oliver told us she made the Amazing Arthur take stuff over there. Was he that person?”

  “I think it’s possible,” Henry said. “And if it was the Amazing Arthur, what did he do next?”

  “Well, hmm,” said Violet. “Remember what Mrs. Oliver told us? She said he came back from the community center to the shop. He was upset. He wanted her to change her mind.”

  “These might be important clues,” Jessie said as she opened her notebook. “Let’s try to figure out where he went after he talked to her.”

  The sidewalk in front of the Greenfield Magic Shop was cool with shade. The cardboard cutout of the Amazing Arthur was still there. Violet helped Watch get settled under a tree. When she noticed the newspaper stand she said, “Benny, can you read that headline? The one in big print?”

  Benny took a serious look. Sounding out the letters to himself, he finally said, “Missing! The Amazing Arthur is missing!”

  “Perfect, Benny. Good job,” said Henry.

  When they went inside they saw more customers than usual. Some unruly children were running up and down the aisles shrieking. One tossed juggling balls in the air but dropped them. Another threw a rubber tarantula to a girl who threw it back. “Kids, kids, stop it right now!” yelled a man struggling with a toddler in his arms.

  The Aldens found Mrs. Oliver pacing behind the counter. She held a copy of the newspaper. “This is getting out of hand,” she said to a customer. “How dare the Amazing Arthur pull this stunt. If he ever shows up, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

  Mrs. Oliver quickly softened. “I mean as long as he’s okay and nothing tragic has happened to him. Are you here for another lesson?” she asked when she saw Henry.

  “I hope so,” he answered. “But we heard on the radio that the Amazing Arthur has disappeared. People are talking and worrying. It’s become a big deal.” He stepped closer so he could talk to her without the whole store listening in.

  “Mrs. Oliver, you said you don’t want the magic show here at the shop, but could you help us understand why?”

  “I’m new at running this business. I want it to be the best magic store in the state of Connecticut. But it is a business and not a theater. And now with the Amazing Arthur’s disappearance, I don’t have any help around the shop. I’ve been so busy I forgot an important order, and customers were very upset.” Mrs. Oliver’s cheeks went red with frustration. “I don’t want to run a theater. That’s why I want the event at the community center. There’s better seating in the auditorium. The stage has an automatic curtain that opens and closes when you push a button. There are public restrooms and water fountains.

  “Another thing,” Mrs. Oliver said. Her voice shook with anger as she patted the counter. “Remember my flyers? The stack I had here, right by the register?”

  “Oh, yes. We remember,” said Violet. “They were on blue paper. Did they get passed around already?”

  “Hardly,” answered Mrs. Oliver. “Someone took them. The whole bunch.”