Snowbound Mystery by Gertrude Warner

nails, a box of tacks, two coils of wire, one heavy and one thin.
    There was a message that read, “People snowed in sometimes need tools. Maybe the cabin needs repairs. Hope to see you soon. Love from Grandfather.”
    Jessie put the box of tools away and said, “You know we have never had time to pick out those nutmeats from the broken shells. Come on, let’s have a nut party.”
    “And invite every nut we know!” said Benny. “Everyone is invited. Bring one of Grandfather’s sharp nails for a nutpick.”
    Jessie put the cracked nuts on the table. The Aldens and the Nelsons sat around, picking out the nutmeats and throwing away the shells.
    As they worked, Henry looked across the table at Jessie. He raised his eyebrows. Jessie understood. She nodded.
    Then Henry began. “Tom,” he said, “I’m going to tell you something. We know you’ve been looking for something in this cabin.”
    “That’s right!” said Puggsy.
    Tom said slowly, “Yes, that is right.”
    “Well,” said Jessie, “we don’t know what it is. And you don’t want to tell us. But we have found something.”
    “Oh, what is it?” cried Barbara in great excitement.
    For answer, Jessie looked at Benny. “Show them the broom closet that you found by the fireplace,” she said.
    “There’s no broom closet,” said Tom, shaking his head.
    “Look here,” said Benny, and he opened the closet door with his pocketknife. The Nelsons stared in surprise.
    “We found some letters carved on the back of this door,” Benny went on. “But they don’t mean anything to us.”
    Tom crossed the room almost in one jump. He took one look at the letters on the door and cried, “Barbara, it’s here!” Then his voice died away, and he added sadly, “No, it isn’t.”
    The Aldens were really puzzled now. What could this mean?
    Barbara saw how troubled they were. “I’ll tell you what it is and then you’ll understand. You know that Tom likes to bake more than anything else. His father and grandfather had a wonderful recipe for buns. No one has ever made buns just like them. The recipe was a family secret.”
    Now Tom Nelson said, “My father used to put one special thing in his buns. It made them different.”
    “Different from any buns in this world!” said Puggsy.
    “Oh!” said Benny. “You know the whole story, Puggsy?”
    “Yes, I do. If Daddy could find that one thing he could make buns and be rich!”
    “Oh, Puggsy!” his mother said. Then she added, “But we think if Tom could make those good buns he might become famous. . . .”
    “I begin to see,” Jessie said. “But I still don’t know what those letters on the door mean—or why you are disappointed.”
    “I’ll explain,” said Tom. “It’s the recipe for the buns written in a code. See that first line? It begins ‘One cup of milk.’ I know all those ingredients. The one thing I don’t know is still missing. Do you see that question mark? That’s what we’re looking for—the whole recipe without any question mark.”
    “I still don’t know what all the letters mean,” said Violet.
    “I’ll explain,” said Barbara. “They mean:

    “How simple!” said Violet. “When you know the secret.”
    “They are easy buns, except for one ingredient,” Tom said. “But my father never told me what that one thing is. It has always been a family secret. He always put it in himself. He died before he told anyone.”
    Benny thought a minute. He said, “Why do you think the secret is in this cabin?”
    “A good question, Benny,” said Tom. “My grandfather built this cabin. And my father used to stay here before the Sportsmen’s Club bought it. When my father was dying he said the one word, cabin .”
    “Was the ingredient something like vanilla or brown sugar?” asked Jessie.
    “I’ve tried different things,” Tom answered. “But the buns don’t taste right. I don’t know any more than you do.” Then his face brightened and he said, “I know we could make