Bertie tells one secret and learns another

Bertie Hogge got up as soon as he heard his Ma working in the kitchen. He got dressed all by himself, except for asking his Da to tie his belt, and let himself out. He wanted to go see Egelric before he left. And hopefully he could even get there before Egelric opened the door and found that package. Bertie wanted to see what it was. He doubted it would be very nice, since it was the mean man who left it.

Bertie was disappointed to find the bundle already gone when he arrived at Egelric’s door. Maybe Egelric would tell him what it was if he told him who had left it.

Bertie began to worry when Egelric opened the door to his knock. Egelric sure looked mean today. Even when Egelric was mad at something he had done, like when he plastered Baby’s hair with mud that one time, he never looked mean like that.

“What is it?” mean Egelric growled.

“I—I—I—” Bertie stuttered. He looked around for Elfleda. She was awful nice, maybe he could tell her.

“I think you should play at home today, Bertie.”

“Wait! I just… I just came to ask you… I mean, to tell you…” Why was Egelric looking at him so mean? “I didn’t do it!” he blurted out.

“Didn’t do what?” Egelric barked.

Ohhh, Egelric looked real mad now. Bertie wished he hadn’t come. “I just wanted to tell you—I mean, did you find a package today?”

Egelric’s face turned white and then red. Bertie had never seen anything like it. “Out with it! What did you do?”

“I never did nothing! Honest!” Bertie whimpered. “I seen who did do it, that’s all.”

Egelric looked surprised. “Who?” he asked eagerly.

“I don’t know his name, but I seen him at the stable lots of times. He’s real mean with my Da. I seen him go through my woods and put that package on your stairs, that’s all. What was it?”

“Never mind that, Bertie. Would you be able to show the mean man to me if I took you to the stables?”

“Sure I could. Can I ride your horse?”

“You certainly shall. Come with me, Bertie.”

Bertie loved it when Egelric took him up on his horse with him. His Da didn’t have any horses, and Bertie didn’t think riding an ox was very much fun. But all too soon they were at the stables.

Egelric handed his mare off to a groom and then he walked Bertie over the yard. Bertie couldn’t see the man anywhere, so Egelric proposed that they look in the new barn.

“You hold my hand, Bertie,” he said, “And don’t you say anything out loud if you see the man. You just squeeze my hand tight.”

“But that’s him over there!” Bertie said, pointing to the mean man as he walked out of the new barn.

“Are you sure, Bertie?”

“Sure as sure!”

“You just go hide behind the barn, Bertie,” Egelric said, tapping him on the shoulder. “You don’t want the mean man to see you with me.”

Bertie ran behind the barn, but he sure didn’t want to miss what Egelric was going to say to the man.

Silently as he knew how, he walked all the way around the barn and then slipped around the corner and in through the door.

They would never see him here. Bertie peeked around the door and watched them.

Egelric was talking in that quiet-​mad voice that his Ma used when she wanted to yell at his Da without waking Wynnie. That mean man was talking loud and being real ‘pertinent, as his Ma would say. He hoped Egelric would hit him. That would be real funny!

Egelric looked like he was screaming at the man, but he could hardly hear anything! That was the best quiet-​mad Bertie had ever seen. The mean man was looking scared now. He wasn’t being ‘pertinent any more.

Then the mean man walked away, but Egelric didn’t go after him, so he knew Egelric was done with him. Oh well, he wasn’t going to punch him after all.

When the mean man was gone, Bertie came out of the barn. “You sure was mad at him!” he announced. “You should have punched him.”

Egelric said, “I shall do more than punch him if I ever have affairs with him again. Now, you listen, Bertie. If you ever see that man around my house, or around your house or your woods, or anywhere near me or Elfleda or my baby, you’ll tell me right away, won’t you?”

“Sure I will! I don’t like him.”

“That’s a good boy. Now, one more thing: I don’t want you to talk about what you saw on my porch, or what you saw today, ever. Is that clear?”

“Yes, I won’t tell, honest.”

“And listen: I’m going to tell your Ma about this, but she is the only one who will know. And if you see that man around my farm, and you can’t find me, you tell your Ma. Is that clear?”

Bertie nodded.

“And don’t you pester your Ma about this, either!”

“I won’t, honest. It will be our secret!” he said proudly. He had lots of secrets with his Da, but they were silly secrets, like where the white kittens were hid, or who really broke the red bowl. But this was a big person secret, and he was in it! He sure wished he could tell someone… It sure was rough to be proud of something when nobody else knew about it, he thought.