Greta and Oliver: Greta and the Jewel Thieves: Greta and Oliver, #2

By John Haeberle

He entered the dining car of the Southern Pacific " Coast Daylight", an attitude of self-importance dripping from his thin moustache. He acted as if he owned the entire train, though he was only a passenger. He had business to transact. He was in possession of a priceless, ornate necklace, which he had removed from a museum in Mexico City. His name was Spaulding...or at least that's what he told most people.  He had made arrangements with the train's head chef, Williams, for the safekeeping of the jewels, anticipating that the police would search the train while it stopped overnight in Oakland. He rightly assumed that the FBI in San Diego had contacted every major city from there to Seattle. Greta watched the two men from her hiding place below one of the counters in the kitchen. She had learned her way around the great train since Oliver, she, and Levi had moved abord the passenger train some months before. As Spaulding opened the shiny wooden case and lifted the necklace to show Williams, the entire room came to life, filled with glittering lights from the dazzling stones which made up this exquisite and irreplacable piece of Mexican art.  Shafts of white light danced across every surface. Williams stammered nervously as he stared at the necklace.  "I sure will take care of that, sir!" Mr. Spaulding sneered, "Yes...you certainly will, if you know what's good for you. Find the best hiding place and secure it there. I will be back tonight to see that you have followed my instructions. Do not disappoint me." He turned on his heel and walked out of the dining car, Williams staring after him and gulping as he wondered if this man was as dangerous and unforgiving as he appeared to be. He would not chance finding out. Greta knew that she had to get back to the baggage car, where her family lived, and tell Oilver what she had seen and heard. She began the extremely frightening trip toward the coupling between the dining car and the baggage car.  She had almost died only a few minutes earlier when coming from her home in the baggage car to the dining car. The wind caused by the moving train had picked up her tiny body and slammed her against the wall of the dining car.  She was grateful to be alive. Now,she had to once again cross the open space between the two cars.   

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Haeberle
• Release date: May 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9780998377148

John Haeberle

John Haeberle is a recovering middle school and high school band and choir director.  He taught in northern California for many years, then returned to his home of earlier years, Idaho.  He enjoys writing about life and its challenges and rewards.  He and his wife, Annie, make their home in Twin Falls, in Idaho's Magic Valley.

Book preview

Greta and Oliver  

book two

Greta

and the Jewel Thief

By John Haeberle

Illustrated by Seti Long

Introduction

GRETA WAS NOT ACCUSTOMED to creeping precariously along the top edge of a huge barrel lid.  Nonetheless, there she was.  The great Southern Pacific Coast Daylight passenger train was jolting itself into motion as it slowly pulled away from the Oakland Station.  Greta was unprepared for the train’s next big jolt and suddenly she was flying up into the air and then falling into darkness, landing with a soft thud.  She immediately knew that she was lying on top of thousands, perhaps millions of pinto beans, inside the barrel.  After the fall, she lay more than a foot below the top of the barrel.  Angry with herself, and a little embarrassed, she was surprised that she had somehow managed to fall through the only hole in the lid!  This was not the way a grown mouse should behave.

She scolded herself. Greta!  You better hope that none of the children saw that!

She immediately began to instinctively crawl toward the side of the barrel.  When she reached the side, she started to climb the rough wood.  Normally this would have been no big challenge, her tiny, sharp claws digging into the inside of the walls of the wooden barrel.  But the barrel tapered inward toward the top.  Being on the inside of the barrel, this meant the she was clawing her way upward, but was leaning farther and farther backward, leaning away from the wall of the barrel!  This awkward position, combined with the unpredictable motion of the train, made it almost impossible to successfully reach the top of the barrel and escape.  With each attempt she would climb part way up and then a bump or jolt of the train car would cause her to lose her grip and fall back down to the beans.  She was losing strength.

There was still a considerable amount of bumping and jolting amongst the cars.  She felt the vibrations of the train car and noticed that it was causing a shaking movement of the beans on which she was lying.  She began to slowly sink, unable to stop her descent.  She felt as if she was beginning to be sucked down into the beans.  Uncharacteristically, Greta began to panic.  She moved her legs, in an attempt to dig her way back to the top, but quickly found that her movements only worsened her situation. She was now sinking even faster.  She held still and tried to lie flat, in the hope that she would stop sinking.  This tactic did help, a little, but didn’t entirely stop her slow motion fall down deeper and deeper.  By this time, she was almost covered by beans.  With the added weight of the beans falling on top of her, she could feel that she was going down faster. 

Levi, Greta’s friend and protector, who, surprisingly, was a huge, gentle hound dog, who had saved her and her family many times since meeting them in Fortuna, California, was at the opposite end of the great Southern Pacific Coast Daylight passenger train.  He was carrying out his assigned part of the plan to find a priceless, ancient Mexican necklace...a piece of great art, which had been stolen and was being transported by a thief traveling on the train.  Levi’s job was to keep an eye on the necklace’s thief, Mr. Spaulding, whose room was located in the last car of the train, the observation car.  Levi had not let Spaulding out of his sight.

As the train’s Baggage Car dog, it was Levi’s duty to keep the train clear of pests.  He did an excellent job, with the one exception of Oliver and Greta and their six children.  He had found a nice, well-concealed place to be their home, in the baggage car’s broom closet.  They had lived there, quite happily, for several months.  Levi was like family to the mice.

Levi had free run of the train.  That was why he had been selected to follow the thief, Spaulding, and make sure he didn’t have the necklace with him.  Levi, Greta, and Oliver knew that Spaulding was the thief.  Greta had seen the necklace in his hands and had heard him speak to Williams, the train’s cook.  Spaulding had told Williams to hide the necklace so that the police would not find it anywhere near Spaulding, if they searched the train.

But now, at this very moment, Levi began to have the clear feeling that something was wrong elsewhere on the train.  As the self-appointed guardian of the family of mice, Levi was constantly attuned to their needs and safety.  He could not deny the feeling of alarm, which he was now having. 

He made the decision to leave his assigned post of watching Spaulding and go to the dining and baggage cars to check on his friends, Greta and Oliver’s family.  So many regular passengers knew him that he was greeted many times as he passed from car to car.

Hello, Levi!

Hey, boy!  How ya doin’?

Howdy, Levi.  Want a treat?

He normally would have stopped for several pats on the head and several more scratches under the chin.  He especially loved to be scratched behind the ears.  So strong were his feelings of concern for the mice that he wasn’t even tempted by the offer of a treat.  He couldn’t shake the feeling of urgency. 

He had been trained not to run through the passenger cars, but he was walking as quickly as he could.  He had to swerve to avoid a couple of collisions.  At the coupling of the coach car connecting it to the dining car, he had to wait as an elderly man and woman carefully made their way across.  The couplings had a flimsy covering which was supposed to make passengers feel safer when moving from one car to another.  Still, they were well aware that they were stepping from one very large, rapidly moving object to another very large, rapidly mmoving object, and that the two didn’t always move together.  He thought the elderly couple would never make it.  Finally they were across allowing Levi to leap over the coupling and run into the dining car.

Inside the dining car there were several guests seated at tables.  Williams, the train’s cook, was working behind the counter, preparing desserts, pastries, coffee, and drinks for some of the passengers.  The sight of Williams at his assigned task gave Levi a bit of relief.  At least Williams wasn’t swinging a broom at Oliver or cornering Greta, ready to stomp on her.

William’s young assistant, Jersey, was hurrying around the dining car’s seating area, taking orders from passengers.  No one knew Jersey’s real name.  All that was known was that he said he was eighteen years old and came from New Jersey. 

Levi went to the kitchen, saw no one, and turned to leave, when he heard a small voice call his name. 

Levi!  Levi!

He froze in his tracks.  He cocked his head to one side and listened.  Then a different voice came from what seemed like the same location...somewhere in the kitchen.

Levi!  It’s us.  Come get us! 

He turned in the direction from which he thought the voices had come.  His attention was brought to the base of the cupboards, under the overhanging cabinets.  He bent low to the ground and from the shadows, two sets of eyes peered out at him.

What ‘n tarnation?  What ‘r’ you two doin’ here? 

Chapter One

Who Goes Tonight?

Two Weeks Earlier

Greta, almost completely recovered from the ordeal which had brought her, along with her husband, Oliver, and their six children, to live aboard the baggage car of the Southern Pacific Coast Daylight  passenger train, was adjusting well to her family’s new surroundings.  She had been weak and sore for many days, but she was once again feeling strong. Greta and   Oliver, and their six children, were happy to be alive and together, after what they had endured in the small towns of Ferndale and Fortuna, on the north coast of California. 

Greta and her daughter, Hanna, were talking quietly as the sun was setting, but the rest of the family members were not yet awake.

Why is it we mice only go out at night?

There are several reasons.  Do you want to hear them all or just the most important ones? 

Greta, who knew Hanna well, and could have predicted her choice as to the length and detail of the response she would prefer, decided to let Hanna make that decision.  She knew that Hanna would like being asked her opinion.

I think just the most important ones will be enough, for now.  I can ask you later on, if I need more information, right?

Yes, sweet girl.  You are right.  You can always ask me later.

Hanna seemed pleased by her mother’s agreement with her view.  She patiently waited for her mother to continue.  It was 1933, and life was not hurried or hectic.

The most important reason is for our safety.  We are very small animals, compared to most.  That includes humans.  They seem to think of us as only a small pest to be eliminated.  The less they see of us, the better.  They sleep at night, which is great, since that’s when we are awake.

Greta waited a moment while her words sank in to her daughter’s mind.

"The second reason is closely related to the first.  We are called nocturnal animals.  That means that we are active at night and sleep during the day.  We are made that way. 

It appears that humans need more light in order to do what they need to do.  Their eyes must not be as good as ours in the dark.  You have probably noticed that they carry fire on the end of sticks.  Some of them carry it inside a glass container with a handle attached.  They also have cleverly-devised ways to carry light on the end of a long tube, which they carry in their hand.  It’s really quite amazing.  Still, they are much more active during the daytime."

Hanna was quiet for a few seconds as she reviewed the information her mother had just shared with her.  It was evident in her eyes that the explanation she had received was satisfying to her young mind...for now.

The sun was now just below the horizon, slowly becoming hidden behind the Coastal Mountain Range, as the great Coast Daylight passenger train rumbled northward.  The light coming through the single window on the western side of the baggage car was growing weaker and weaker.  The gentle swaying of the train car made it hard to wake up, but Oliver and Greta knew that it was close to the time to rouse their children and begin a new night of searching for food. 

Oliver, are you awake?

Yes.  I was just enjoying listening to you and Hanna visiting.    Good morning, Hanna.

Good morning, Papa.  Did you sleep well?

On this train?  Of course I did.  The train, when it is rolling along the tracks, always gives me a good day’s sleep.  I only wake up when it comes to a stop or when the humans come banging through the door to get luggage or to get the supplies they need for the next meal.

Speaking of meals, Greta added, right after the cook comes in to get his ingredients for the humans’ dinner we should get going on our food search.

Yeah, food!  Jimmy was now awake.  His enthusiastic voice woke up his remaining sleeping siblings.  Jimmy and Hanna were the oldest, by only seconds.  Then came Jocie, Jake, Jane, and Jenni.  As if she knew she was the youngest, if only by about a minute, Jenni was, by far, the smallest of Greta and Oliver’s six children.

Everybody up! Oliver said.  Time to eat breakfast and then go out looking for more food.  Williams will be in soon for the ingredients he needs for dinner.  We’ll stay hidden and eat while he’s here, then we can go searching after he leaves.  Maybe he’ll spill something yummy tonight!

Yes! Jake agreed.

Jocie added, Something really, really yummy!

What do you think it might be? Hanna asked.

Okay, children, Greta urged them.  Let’s stay quiet or Williams might hear us.  I’m sure your father is right.  The cook will very likely spill something that we will all like.  When the train is moving he almost always has a spill or two.

The children all nodded agreement and smiled as they thought of the possibilities.

The confines of the baggage car meant that only two of the children at a time could accompany their father on the search for food.  More bodies moving around the car made it more likely that someone would notice them.  Oliver had divided them into three teams of two children each.  They went with him on a rotating schedule.   Greta remained with the other children. 

Who goes tonight? Papa asked, already knowing the answer.

We do!  We do!  It was Jake and Jane. 

Oliver looked at them with a special warmth and kindness.  It was not that they were his favorite children.  It was due to the ordeal the three of them had endured not long ago, which had formed an especially strong bond.  These same two children had gone with their father, searching for food in a huge garbage dump, right next to the tracks, in the small town of Fortuna, California. 

They had become separated when they saw an enormous dog, which was patrolling the dump.  He had chased them...at least they thought he was after them.  In their fright, they had run in three different directions.  The children had escaped, but Oliver had been trapped.  Amazingly, he had come to understand that the dog, Levi, was just lonely and had been eager to play games with the mice.  He and Oliver had joined