Chapter 10

To Maggie’s relief, the only place they found the bad weeds was in Leonard’s hay. She had checked all the hay, including the bales in the loft, when Nora called her in for lunch. Bob had already eaten and was about to go out again just as Maggie walked in.

‘Has anyone seen my hat?’ asked Bob. ‘I know I put it on the hook by the door.’

‘If you’re talking about that awful hat with the nose flap, I hope you lost it for good,’ said Nora. ‘I’ve never liked that thing and I’ve been tempted to throw it out more than once.’

‘I like it because it’s warm,’ said Bob. ‘I’m going to look in the bedroom. Maybe I took it in there.’

‘I’ll be right back,’ Maggie told Nora. ‘I got some hay under my tunic and it itches like crazy!’

Maggie hurried to her room to get cleaned up. Bob and Nora had given her some of their daughter’s old clothes, which meant that she had two other tunics she could wear. Looking through her clothes, she found Bob’s funny hat on the bottom of the pile.

‘I found this buried under my clothes,’ Maggie said as she carried it to the kitchen. ‘I don’t know why it would be there.’

‘That’s odd,’ Bob said, frowning. ‘I know I didn’t take it to your room.’

‘That is odd,’ said Nora. ‘And it reminds me about something odd that happened to me today, too. I went to collect eggs from the chickens this morning, like I do every day. When I came back in, the cottage door was open. I know I closed it because I remember jiggling the latch to get it to stay shut. It could have blown open if it was windy out, but there hasn’t even been a breeze today.’

‘I asked the blacksmith to make a new latch,’ said Bob. ‘I need to visit him again to see if it’s ready. You know, the three of us are the only ones who know about the problems we’re having with the latch. Anyone else might think they’d shut the door and it would stay shut. It’s possible that someone came inside while we were all out.’

‘And put your hat in Maggie’s room?’ said Nora. ‘Why would anyone do that?’

‘Bob was telling me how much he loves that hat just this morning,’ said Maggie. ‘He said that his mother made it for him and it’s very special.’

‘That old thing!’ said Nora.

Bob frowned. ‘If someone heard me talking to Maggie, they might think I really did treasure it.’

‘And putting the hat in my room might make you think I had taken it,’ said Maggie.

‘I suppose that’s possible,’ Bob said, ‘but it would be an awful thing to do. It sounds like something Peter might try.’

Nora looked worried. ‘Maybe we should get a dog that will bark when someone comes to the door.’

‘Or a big dog that will bite intruders. I want to keep everyone safe,’ Bob said, looking from Nora to Maggie.

‘And maybe a good lock?’ asked Nora.

‘Sure,’ said Bob. ‘And a really big dog. I’ll look around. I’m sure I can find something that would keep intruders out.’