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She pulled gently on a carved wood decoration that ran from the top of the clock to the bottom. “It doesn’t budge, so I don’t — ”
    “What are you doing?” Martha asked when she stepped into the entryway. “It’s lunchtime. I think you should leave for town now so you’ll have plenty of time after lunch to put up my fliers.” She looked at her watch again.
    Jessie’s mouth opened, but her words didn’t come out. She opened the front door and motioned the other children to follow.
    As the children walked down the driveway, they saw a delivery truck on its way out.
    “I bet the deliveryman just dropped off more inventions,” Henry said. “Let’s take a quick look in the garage to see what came.”
    “After we’re done, can we go to the Red Rooster Diner for lunch? I’m getting hungry.”
    Jessie smiled at Benny. “Me, too. That’s a good idea. We’ll check the deliveries, go to lunch, then put up Martha’s fliers.”
    When the children entered the garage, they didn’t see any unopened packages. What they did see was Mr. Percy. He was up to his elbows in packing materials — crumpled newspapers, bubble wrap, straw, and boxes with their lids wide-open. He was so busy unwrapping things, he didn’t see the Aldens standing there.
    “Hi, Mr. Percy,” Violet said in her soft voice.
    Mr. Percy still didn’t look up.
    Benny went over and stood in front of him. “What are you working on?”
    At last, Mr. Percy noticed the Aldens standing there. He quickly put away a notebook he had opened next to him. “What are you kids doing here?” he asked. “I was just checking on these deliveries.”
    Jessie came over and looked around. “Ms. Putter asked us to do all the unpacking with Martha.”
    Mr. Percy closed his notebook and put a cap on his pen. “Martha rushed off into the house before noon — who knows why — and left all these packages just sitting here. Mechanical objects are my specialty. I like to look at ‘em and fix ‘em.”
    Henry went over to get a closer look at the inventions. “So what are these doodads, anyway?”
    Mr. Percy didn’t seem impressed. “A bendable spoon for a baby. Already invented! A combination snow shovel and broom. Nothing new there. A corkscrew-style garden hose that doesn’t tangle. Invented already.”
    “You seem disappointed, Mr. Percy,” Violet said. “Were you looking for something else?”
    Mr. Percy stared at Violet through his magnification glasses. “Of course I was looking for something else! Ever since Alice Putter died, nobody’s come along with anything that could touch her inventions. Why, just look around this place — her clocks, her sculptures that don’t just stand there. They move and do things. Things of beauty.”
    Benny took off his hat. “This moves and does things. Is my flashlight hat a thing of beauty, too?”
    For once, Mr. Percy seemed about to smile, but not quite. “Almost, young fellow. Almost.”

CHAPTER 6
The Red Rooster
    After Mr. Percy left, the children put the new inventions that had arrived on display in the house. They could hear Brad working in the kitchen, but Martha seemed to have disappeared.
    “I wish Mr. Percy had tried on my flashlight hat,” Benny said. “People who fix things could use it, too. Or the deliveryman could use one when he’s looking for packages in his truck. Do you think I’ll win a prize at the invention convention?”
    Henry was still thinking about getting trounced in checkers. “Oh, I don’t know, Benny. Suppose somebody comes along with a hat that has a fan in it or something? Or a hat you could put an ice pack in to stay cool on a hot day?”
    Benny could tell Henry was just kidding. “But no hats came in those invention boxes.”
    “You’re right,” Henry agreed. “When you get rich and famous from your flashlight hat, just remember to send me one.”
    By this time, the Aldens were walking to the diner. Up ahead, they could see the wooden rooster perched on the