Thirteen Cents

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9138268.post-1107363503247107582005-02-02T08:54:00.000-08:002005-02-02T08:59:54.320-08:00Thirteen Centsby Karl Gunther At the beginning of "While the Clock Ticked," the third volume of the Dixonian canon, Aunt Gertrude scolds the boys for allowing a stranger to enter the Hardy home while Fenton and Laura were away on vacation. “‘I don’t care what his name was,’ said their aunt. ‘You should be careful about letting strangers into the house.’” In response, Frank turned out his pockets and said “‘If he’d been a hold-up man he would have got thirteen cents from me.’” It is the purpose of this brief essay to examine why Frank had thirteen cents in his pocket. It is impossible to determine what sort of purchase resulted in this amount of change. Had Frank had only one penny in his pocket, for example, we could infer that Frank had purchased a $0.99 item, receiving one penny in exchange. In 1932, however, one dollar would be the equivalent of 42 dollars today (adjusted according to the "unskilled wage" index), and it is unlikely that a teenager would be purchasing such an expensive item – especially in the early years of the Great Depression. It is also unlikely that Frank’s $0.13 was the result of a purchase made that day, as this episode seems to occur very early in the morning. Frank and Joe were preparing for an “all-day hike and picnic with some of their chums,” and had just come downstairs to set out. As Aunt Gertrude did not scold them for failing to eat breakfast, and as the hike is clearly described as “all-day,” we can safely place this episode somewhere between 7:30-8:30am, making it unlikely that Frank had already transacted business that day. It is not necessary to suppose, however, that Frank’s $0.13 was left-over from a prior transaction. While $0.13 might not suffice for even the most meager purchase in 2005, if we remember the value of $0.13 in 1932, it is possible that Frank put the $0.13 in his pocket in anticipation of an expenditure that day. Moreover, given that Aunt Gertrude later remarks that she had just cleaned the boys’ clothes, it is unlikely that Frank was re-wearing pre-worn pants in which change remained from a prior purchase. While not conclusive, then, the cumulative force of the evidence before us suggests that Frank intentionally pocketed these $0.13, intending to spend them at some point during the day. Why only $0.13? It is unlikely that Frank had only $0.13 at his disposal. Just recently, Frank and Joe had solved the mystery of The Tower Treasure, and were rewarded by Hurd Applegate with $500 each. When asked what they were going to do with the money, Frank and Joe stated that they were both going to put most of it in the bank. By definition, “most” would suggest a sum slightly larger than 50%, but certainly less than 100%. We can infer, therefore, that Frank probably put between $275 and $450 in the bank. While I would argue that Frank likely placed $425 in the bank, it is ultimately a moot point – there is no reason to believe that Frank could not have subsequently withdrawn the money, as there is no indication in The Tower Treasure that Frank and Joe were saving up for anything, and it is entirely reasonable to suppose that Frank and Joe placed their money in the bank to protect it from the very sorts of Bayport thieves the had just encountered. At any rate, unless Frank had made major expenditures in the very brief period between The Tower Treasure and While the Clock Ticked, it is extremely likely that he had more than $0.13 at his disposal. It is extremely probable, therefore, that Frank intended to spend exactly $0.13 that day. We again encounter the problem we faced at the outset: it is impossible to determine the combination of goods or services which may have added up to $0.13. We are not entirely in the dark, however. Since the boys would presumably not have the opportunity to spend money during their hike in the woods, we can safely assume that Frank intended to spend this money before or after meeting up with Chet and Biff. Considering that the boys had been well-equipped with food and drink for their picnic, and taking their regular satisfaction with the quality of Aunt Gertrude’s cooking into account, we can rule out the purchase of food. Frank and Joe rarely read, making the purchase of reading material unlikely, nor do we regularly hear of them purchasing records or other leisure materials. There is one thing, however, that Frank and Joe both consistently spend money on: their roadster. Indeed, the disrepair of their automobile provides a plot point later in the mystery, when a tire goes flat and the boys have no spare remaining – having used it the previous week and failed to replace it. This, I suggest, is the intended purpose of the $0.13. While $0.13 would not purchase a replacement tire, even given the value of the dollar in 1932, it would be sufficient to purchase the materials necessary to repair a flat tire (such as a patch kit). Caught up in the excitement of the mystery about to unfold before them, Frank forgot to make his purchase, making the $0.13 which had jangled in his pocket all day useless…although not meaningless. HBLSnoreply@blogger.com