LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE AND SANDYBy Harold Gray, 1933CHAPTER 21 – Pete Pincher Investigates
The next morning many people went out to the scene of the accident, where they surveyed the broken fences and pieces of what once had been Elmer’s car. Mr. Pincher was there, too, investigating the accident. He looked at the dog standing so solidly by the side of the road, then at the deep tire tracks, which showed plainly in the snow. Pete Pincher was puzzled. “Why did he drive way off the road, as his tracks prove he did?”
One of the villagers standing at his side answered him. “That’s easy. He thought this iron dog was a real dog. In fact, he thought it was Sandy.” And, as everyone noticed, the bandage was still wrapped around the left hind leg of the iron dog. Pete Pincher was thinking fast, and when he saw Tom Take strolling about near the wreck, he drew him aside and spoke to him.
“Hello there, Tom!” he said. “I’ll bet you a nickel that you know something about all this.”
Tom only smile and answered, “You’ll bet me a nickel, eh? You know, Pete, I never bet.”
Pete was almost ready to leave, but he made a final examination of the wreckage before he left. “Well, I guess Elmer won’t be scaring people half to death with this car any more,” he said.
“No,” chuckled a bystander. “And he won’t be running over any more dogs for a spell, either.”
Then Pete Pincher left. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened, but, as he said, “Maybe it’s my duty to discover the facts and make ‘em public. But when justice takes a hand, why should I get too curious?”
On the streets of the village, people were gathered in groups talking about the accident. “They say Elmer Pinchpenny was thrown a hundred feet and lit in a bramble bush,” said one woman, laughing.
“He’s had it coming for a long time. This certainly showed him up,” said another. To them Elmer’s accident was a joke.
“But how did that iron dog get there?” they wondered. “That’s the mystery. Just then Annie and Sandy walked by.
“I’ll bet she knows about that iron dog,” decided the group. “She never could have moved that iron dog, but I wouldn’t put it past her to have had it done.”
“Well, if she is responsible,” added one of the women. “I admire her for it.”
“Yes, indeed. But nobody will ever find out a thing from her.”
They were right. Annie had less intention than ever of telling her part in the accident. “Remember, Sandy,” she said, “we don’t know a thing about it, see?”
Even to Mr. and Mrs. Futile, Annie said nothing – in fact, they suspected less than the rest of the town. “Wasn’t it astonishing how it all came out?” Mr. Futile asked his wife one day.
“Yes, it was just like fate,” Mrs. Futile answered. “It all proves what I’ve always said. That those who do wrong are always punished, sooner or later.” Annie could have told her, too, that fate often needs a little help.
As for Tom Take and his part in the accident, now that it was over, he liked to tease Annie about it once in a while.
“Hello, Annie,” he would say. “Have you heard about th’ wreck? Sorta funny how that happened, eh?” And Annie would smile and answer that she had heard some talk about it, but that nowadays one could hear anything.
Good Morning Annie fans.@Marvee – You’ll be pleased to know that no, the story is not resolved quite yet. We still have nine chapters to go, including today’s. You’re certainly right about the illegality of Annie’s actions. It shows a real difference between Gray’s interpretation of her character and the way Maeder represented her. I appreciate you showing interest. I was beginning to think that Dkram, Jan and Lonewolf were the only ones reading it.
And I think this latest development in the Patsy Hersch story is pretty interesting, too.
How is placing an iron statue 10 feet away from the edge of a road illegal? My mailbox is just 3 feet off the road, my hedge is 4 feet, and a neighbor has several brightly painted “mushrooms” about 8 feet from the edge.
davidf42 over 13 years ago
LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE AND SANDYBy Harold Gray, 1933CHAPTER 21 – Pete Pincher Investigates
The next morning many people went out to the scene of the accident, where they surveyed the broken fences and pieces of what once had been Elmer’s car. Mr. Pincher was there, too, investigating the accident. He looked at the dog standing so solidly by the side of the road, then at the deep tire tracks, which showed plainly in the snow. Pete Pincher was puzzled. “Why did he drive way off the road, as his tracks prove he did?”
One of the villagers standing at his side answered him. “That’s easy. He thought this iron dog was a real dog. In fact, he thought it was Sandy.” And, as everyone noticed, the bandage was still wrapped around the left hind leg of the iron dog. Pete Pincher was thinking fast, and when he saw Tom Take strolling about near the wreck, he drew him aside and spoke to him.
“Hello there, Tom!” he said. “I’ll bet you a nickel that you know something about all this.”
Tom only smile and answered, “You’ll bet me a nickel, eh? You know, Pete, I never bet.”
Pete was almost ready to leave, but he made a final examination of the wreckage before he left. “Well, I guess Elmer won’t be scaring people half to death with this car any more,” he said.
“No,” chuckled a bystander. “And he won’t be running over any more dogs for a spell, either.”
Then Pete Pincher left. He had a pretty good idea of what had happened, but, as he said, “Maybe it’s my duty to discover the facts and make ‘em public. But when justice takes a hand, why should I get too curious?”
On the streets of the village, people were gathered in groups talking about the accident. “They say Elmer Pinchpenny was thrown a hundred feet and lit in a bramble bush,” said one woman, laughing.
“He’s had it coming for a long time. This certainly showed him up,” said another. To them Elmer’s accident was a joke.
“But how did that iron dog get there?” they wondered. “That’s the mystery. Just then Annie and Sandy walked by.
“I’ll bet she knows about that iron dog,” decided the group. “She never could have moved that iron dog, but I wouldn’t put it past her to have had it done.”
“Well, if she is responsible,” added one of the women. “I admire her for it.”
“Yes, indeed. But nobody will ever find out a thing from her.”
They were right. Annie had less intention than ever of telling her part in the accident. “Remember, Sandy,” she said, “we don’t know a thing about it, see?”
Even to Mr. and Mrs. Futile, Annie said nothing – in fact, they suspected less than the rest of the town. “Wasn’t it astonishing how it all came out?” Mr. Futile asked his wife one day.
“Yes, it was just like fate,” Mrs. Futile answered. “It all proves what I’ve always said. That those who do wrong are always punished, sooner or later.” Annie could have told her, too, that fate often needs a little help.
As for Tom Take and his part in the accident, now that it was over, he liked to tease Annie about it once in a while.
“Hello, Annie,” he would say. “Have you heard about th’ wreck? Sorta funny how that happened, eh?” And Annie would smile and answer that she had heard some talk about it, but that nowadays one could hear anything.
davidf42 over 13 years ago
Good Morning Annie fans.@Marvee – You’ll be pleased to know that no, the story is not resolved quite yet. We still have nine chapters to go, including today’s. You’re certainly right about the illegality of Annie’s actions. It shows a real difference between Gray’s interpretation of her character and the way Maeder represented her. I appreciate you showing interest. I was beginning to think that Dkram, Jan and Lonewolf were the only ones reading it.
And I think this latest development in the Patsy Hersch story is pretty interesting, too.
TruckerRon over 13 years ago
How is placing an iron statue 10 feet away from the edge of a road illegal? My mailbox is just 3 feet off the road, my hedge is 4 feet, and a neighbor has several brightly painted “mushrooms” about 8 feet from the edge.
davidf42 over 13 years ago
Trucker Ron – Good point, I had forgotten about the distance. Elmer did deliberately drive off the road to hit the dog.