The Hayloft. A 1950s Mystery

you’re going to get burned.”
    I kept quiet. Although I had never been loathe to argue with my father, my aunt was a different story. Especially since she was giving me a place to stay.
    Uncle Jeff said, “I take it you like Sylvia.”
    “She showed me around the school and made me feel at home.”
    He smiled. “That’s probably more of an answer than I would have gotten from Ralph. I understand she’s president of the student council.”
    “Yes.”
    “How are the students treating her?”
    “Many of them won’t talk to her.”
    “But you do. I think that’s admirable.”
    “Your father isn’t going to like it,” Aunt Dorothy said.
    “Does he have to know?”
    “He’s your father.”
    That seemed to end that discussion, and I didn’t dare say anything more. To talk about something more comfortable, I told them about the natural gas Ed had discovered.
    “Yes, we know about that,” Uncle Jeff said. “It’s sort of a tourist attraction. We take visitors down the lane and show them the bubbles.”
    “I understand that natural gas is being used to heat homes,” I said. “Is there any money in it?”
    “You mean, is it the next oil? Possibly so. It’s too soon to tell.”
    “I don’t want people coming and drilling holes all over the farm,” Aunt Dorothy said.
    “Even if it would make you a millionaire?” Uncle Jeff asked, teasingly.
    “Well…we could travel more.”
    I liked the idea of having money, especially since my father owned half the farm. I would have to talk to him about it.

    CHAPTER 19
    I figured the best time to talk to Willie was at cross-country practice. The team usually had a meet on Friday afternoons, but there had been a meet against several other teams yesterday, so they just had a light workout scheduled.
    Sylvia had agreed to ride the bus home. She no longer cared what the other students thought. Or so she said. I took my sneakers to the practice, thinking that I might run alongside Willie and talk to him then. I was a basketball player, and he was a smoker, so I shouldn’t have any trouble keeping up with him. The coach was a volunteer from the community, and I doubted that he would mind if I participated in the practice.
    I joined a dozen or so boys behind the school. I wore long pants, because I thought it was too cold to run in shorts, but there they were with their legs hanging out, although most of them were wearing sweatshirts. I went up to Willie and said hi.
    He looked surprised and said, “It’s too late to join the team.”
    “I know, but I’d like to get in shape for basketball.”
    “I’m too short to play basketball.”
    “Can I run along with you?”
    “Be my guest.”
    The coach was also wearing running clothes. He often ran with the boys. I introduced myself to him and asked if I could run with them. He said sure and joked that if I was good enough, I could join the team next year. I told him I was a senior.
    We started out at an easy lope, taking a path around the Carter playing fields. First we went around the football field where the team was practicing for a big game on Saturday. I also saw the cheerleaders doing their thing, led by Natalie. I’d lost my desire for cheerleaders recently.
    We headed toward the baseball diamond and the tennis courts. My plan was to go out for the tennis team in the spring. I ran alongside Willie, but the group was too closely packed for me to talk to him about Dr. Graves. However, the boys gradually strung out enough so that we were separated from the others, although we were in the middle of the pack. I was surprised that Willie was running easily and didn’t seem to be breathing hard, although I was starting to pant.
    It was hard to talk normally while panting, but I attempted to, explaining that another boy had been found who had gone up on the catwalk with Dr. Graves.
    Willie shrugged and said, “Not surprising. He gets around.”
    I explained that the other boy would testify about what had happened if Willie would.
    “What’s the point?” Willie asked.
    “Of testifying? To bring it to the attention of the authorities. Possibly to get him fired.”
    “What would that accomplish?”
    “Well…it would put him out of business. Keep other boys from getting hurt.”
    “One, what makes you think he wouldn’t go and get a job at another school? Two, do you think the boys are hurt all that much?”
    “What about you?”
    “It didn’t exactly stunt my growth.” He laughed. “Or maybe it