Spy in the Bleachers by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

and put them in the car.
    The four of them walked to the front gate of Cogwheel Stadium. “Look at the long line of cars waiting to park,” said Violet.
    “That’s part of the reason Grandfather is here,” Jessie reminded her. “So many people are coming to Cogwheel Stadium that Grandfather is going to help with plans to make the stadium bigger. It needs more parking spaces. And more seats.”
    When they reached the turnstile, Henry spoke to the man taking tickets. “We’re the Aldens. Our grandfather told us that Mr. Jim Tanaka left tickets for us.”
    “Welcome,” said the man as he let them through the turnstiles. “ I’m Jim Tanaka, and here are your four tickets.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the tickets.
    “Thank you,” said Jessie. “Do all baseball team owners stand at the front gate?”
    Jim Tanaka laughed. “Not usually,” he said. “I’m here because the stadium is so crowded we don’t have enough help.”
    “We’ll help,” said Henry. “We’re very good at helping.”
    “Oh, I couldn’t ask you to help,” said Mr. Tanaka. “You’re my guests, and you’re here to enjoy the game.”
    “But we enjoy helping,” said Jessie. “Especially if our help is needed.”
    “I really do need help,” Mr. Tanaka said. “Thank you for asking. You can start—Oh, hello.”
    Benny turned to see who Mr. Tanaka was talking to. It was a man dressed in shorts and a flowered shirt. He wore a Cogs baseball cap and sunglasses. The cap brim was pulled down so low that it hid the man’s face. In his hand was a pencil and small notebook.
    Instead of saying hello, the man raised a finger to his lips and whispered, “Shhhh!”
    “Oh,” said Jim Tanaka. “Right.” He let the man through the turnstiles.
    “Who was that?” asked Benny.
    “Oh, uh, nobody,” answered Jim Tanaka. “Now let me show you what you’ll be doing.” He looked at the children again. “Henry and Violet, I’m going to put you here, at the front gate, just behind the ticket takers.” He walked over to a large cardboard box and reached in. He pulled out something large and orange. “These are today’s giveaways,” Mr. Tanaka explained. “I want you to give one to each person who comes in.”
    “This is great,” said Henry. “It’s a foam glove shaped like a cog!” Henry put a hand into a glove and waved it around.
    “The fans love these free gloves,” Mr. Tanaka said. “When the Cogs are winning, everybody wears a glove and waves it in the air.”
    Benny could see that the word Cogs was written on the orange shape. “What’s a cog?” he asked.
    “A cog is a gear,” Mr. Tanaka answered. “It’s a circle made out of metal. Old cogs used to be made out of wood.”
    Benny looked at the foam shape. “What are all those bumps sticking out around the cog?”
    “Those are called teeth,” Henry explained. “If you put two gears together, the teeth of one slide into the spaces of the other. That way, one gear turns the other gear.”
    “Like on our bikes!” said Benny excitedly.
    “That’s right,” said Mr. Tanaka. “Many, many years ago the town of Clayton was a cog-making center. That’s why my team is called the Clayton Cogwheels. ‘Cogs’ for short.”
    Mr. Tanaka spoke to Jessie and Benny. “We’ll leave Henry and Violet here to hand out foam gloves. The two of you follow me, please. I’ll take you to where you can help.”
    Henry and Violet watched Jessie, Benny, and Mr. Tanaka walk through the crowd. Then they began to give out free foam gloves as the fans came through the turnstile.
    “Oh, thank you!” said one fan. “My son and daughter love the Cogs.” Violet watched the mother, son, and daughter each put on a Cogs glove and wiggle it.
    “This is fantastic!” another fan said to Henry. “The Cogs finished first last year. And it looks like they’ll win the pennant again this year.”
    “That’s for sure,” said the next fan in line. “Only five games left to