John Bellairs - The Figure In the Shadows (Lewis Barnavelt 02)

THE FIGURE IN THE SHADOWS

by John Bellairs

illustrations by Mercer Mayer

digital preservation by Guy Montag

Lewis Barnavelt stood at the edge of the playground, watching the big boys fight.

It was a real battle. Tom Lutz and Dave Shellenberger were two of the big wheels that ran Lewis's school. Usually they beat up on everybody else; now they were slugging it out with each other. In a funny way, it reminded Lewis of the battles of gods and heroes that he had read about in the Classics Comics version of the Iliad.

"Here, see how you like that, huh?" Tom threw a handful of gravel in Dave's face. Dave charged Tom, and now the two of them were rolling over and over on the ground, kicking and clawing and screaming dirty words. Lewis saw that the fight might be coming his way, so he backed into the shadowy alley that ran between the school and the Episcopal church next door.

Normally, Lewis wouldn't have been caught within miles of a fight like this one. Lewis was fat and moonfaced. In his brown sweater and baggy corduroy trousers, he looked like a balloon ascension. At least, that's what his mean Aunt Mattie had said about him once, and the phrase "balloon ascension" had gotten stuck in Lewis's mind. His hands were soft and padded, and wouldn't develop calluses, even when he rubbed them with sandpaper. When he flexed his muscles, nothing happened. He was scared of fights, and he was scared of getting beat up.

Then what was he doing standing there watching two of the toughest kids in school slug it out? Well, the back door of the school opened onto the playground, and Rose Rita had told Lewis to meet her by the back door, and when she said something, she meant it. Rose Rita Pottinger was Lewis's best friend, and she was being kept after school for sassing Miss Haggerty, their sixth-grade teacherRose Rita was a year older than Lewis, but she was in the same grade, which was nice.

Lewis paced up and down in the dark alley. What was taking her so long? He was getting more and more nervous, with the fight going on nearby. What if they got tired of fighting with each other and decided to beat up on him?

"Hi, Lewis!"

Lewis jumped. Then he turned around. There was Rose Rita.

She was a good head taller than he was, and she wore glasses. Her hair was long and dark and stringy. On her head she wore a black plush beanie with an ivory stud. The beanie was covered with cartoon-character buttons, the kind you used to get in Kellogg's cereal boxes. Rose Rita wore the beanie all the time.

"Hi," said Lewis. "Did you have to do a lot of stuff?"

Rose Rita shrugged. "Oh, not much. Come on, let's get going. I want to go home first and get out of these dumb clothes."

This was typical of Rose Rita. She wore a skirt and blouse to school because she had to, but the minute she was out of school, she ran home and put on blue jeans and a sweatshirt. Rose Rita was a tomboy. She liked to do things that usually only boys wanted to do, like fishing and climbing trees and playing baseball. Lewis wasn't very good at any of these things, but he enjoyed being with Rose Rita, and she enjoyed being with him. It was September now, and they had been friends since April.

They were on their way down the alley when Rose Rita noticed the paper bag that Lewis was carrying in his left hand.

"What's in there?" she asked.

"My Sherlock Holmes hat."

"Oh." Rose Rita knew about Lewis's Sherlock Holmes hat. Lewis's uncle had given it to him as a Fourth of July present. But she still was curious. "How come you've got it in a sack?"

"I want to wear it on Main Street, but I want to make sure there won't be any kids around when I put it on."

Rose Rita stared at him. "You mean you're just gonna whip it out and put it on and then stuff it back in your bag again?"

"Yeah," said Lewis. He felt embarrassed.

Rose Rita looked more puzzled than ever. "Well, if you're so scared," she said, "why do you want to wear it on Main Street at all? There's likely to be lots of people there to stare at you."

"I know," said Lewis, stubbornly. "But I don't care if a lot of grownups see my hat. I just don't want some smart-aleck kid to steal it from me."

Rose Rita smiled sympathetically. She knew that Lewis was always being pestered by bullies. "Okay, okay," she said. "It's your hat. Come on."

They walked on down the alley and over a block to Main Street. The town that Rose Rita and Lewis lived in was a small town, and the main street was only three blocks long. On it were drug stores and ten cent stores and clothing stores and restaurants and bars. They had gotten as far as Kresge's Ten Cent Store when Lewis stopped and looked hastily around.

"Do you think it'd be okay now, Rose Rita? I don't see any kids around." He started to fumble with the top of the bag.

Rose Rita got angry. "Oh, come on, Lewis! This is just idiotic! Look, I have to go in here and buy some pencils and paper and stuff. Then I have to go home and change. I'll meet you at your uncle's house. Okay?"

She was gone before he could answer. Lewis felt a little mad at her, and he also felt foolish. He looked around once more. No mean kids coming. Good. He took out the hat and put it on.

It was really a very fine hat. It was green plaid with stiff visors in front and in back, and ear flaps that were tied up over the top of the hat. When Lewis put it on he felt brave and clever, like Sherlock Holmes tracking down an evildoer in the London fog. Lewis looked around again. He decided that he would wear the hat for the full three blocks, right down to the G.A.R. Hall. Nobody could do anything to him in that short a space.

Lewis walked along with his head down, watching the sidewalk as it went by. A couple of grownups turned and stared at him as he passed. He saw them out of the corner of his eye, but he tried not to notice them. It was funny how he felt two different ways about the hat: on the one hand, he was proud to be wearing it. But he felt embarrassed too. He would be glad when he got to the G.A.R. Hall.

Lewis had just passed Heemsoth's Drug Store when he heard a nasty sarcastic voice say, "Gee, I wish I had a hat like that!"

Lewis stopped dead in his tracks. It was Woody Mingo.

Lewis was scared to death of Woody, and he figured that even Dave Shellenberger and Tom Lutz would think twice before they took him on. It wasn't that he was big and strong. He was just a little wiry guy. But he was tough, and he carried a jacknife in his pocket. There were stories that he had actually threatened kids with it.

Lewis backed away. A chilly breath blew through his body. "Come on, Woody," he said. "I never did anything to you. Leave me alone."

Woody snickered. "Lemme see your hat," he said, holding out his hand.

"Promise to give it back?"

"Oh sure. I promise."

Lewis's heart sank. He knew what that tone of voice meant. He would never see his hat again. Lewis looked around to see if there were any grownups nearby who might help him. Nope. Not a one. This end of Main Street was as empty as it was on Sunday morning.

"Come on. Lemme see the hat." Woody sounded impatient. Lewis's eyes filled with tears. Should he run? If he did, he wouldn't get very far. Like most fat kids, Lewis couldn't run very fast. He ran out of breath in a hurry, and he got pains in his side. Woody would catch him and take the hat and pound on his shoulders till he was sore. Sadly, Lewis lifted the hat off his head. He handed it to Woody.

With that same nasty smile, Woody turned the hat over in his hands. He put it on and adjusted the brim.