The Boxcar Children Mysteries

Box Set

Books One Through Twelve

Gertrude Chandler Warner

Albert Whitman & Company

Chicago, Illinois

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

Box Set

Books One Through Twelve

Gertrude Chandler Warner

Albert Whitman & Company

Chicago, Illinois

CONTENTS

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book One)

Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Two)

The Yellow House Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Three)

Mystery Ranch (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Four)

Mike’s Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Five)

Blue Bay Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Six)

The Woodshed Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Seven)

The Lighthouse Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Eight)

Mountain Top Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Nine)

Schoolhouse Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Ten)

Caboose Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Eleven)

Houseboat Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Twelve)

A Biography of Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Boxcar Children

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by L. Kate Deal

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

I.   THE FOUR HUNGRY CHILDREN

II.   NIGHT IS TURNED INTO DAY

III.   A NEW HOME IN THE WOODS

IV.   HENRY HAS TWO SURPRISES

V.   THE EXPLORERS FIND TREASURE

VI.   A QUEER NOISE IN THE NIGHT

VII.   A BIG MEAL FROM LITTLE ONIONS

VIII.   A SWIMMING POOL AT LAST

IX.   FUN IN THE CHERRY ORCHARD

X.   HENRY AND THE FREE-FOR-ALL

XI.   THE DOCTOR TAKES A HAND

XII.   JAMES HENRY AND HENRY JAMES

XIII.   A NEW HOME FOR THE BOXCAR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I—The Four Hungry Children

ONE WARM NIGHT four children stood in front of a bakery. No one knew them. No one knew where they had come from.

The baker’s wife saw them first, as they stood looking in at the window of her store. The little boy was looking at the cakes, the big boy was looking at the loaves of bread, and the two girls were looking at the cookies.

Now the baker’s wife did not like children. She did not like boys at all. So she came to the front of the bakery and listened, looking very cross.

“The cake is good, Jessie,” the little boy said. He was about five years old.

“Yes, Benny,” said the big girl. “But bread is better for you. Isn’t it, Henry?”

“Oh, yes,” said Henry. “We must have some bread, and cake is not good for Benny and Violet.”

“I like bread best, anyway,” said Violet. She was about ten years old, and she had pretty brown hair and brown eyes.

“That is just like you, Violet,” said Henry, smiling at her. “Let’s go into the bakery. Maybe they will let us stay here for the night.”

The baker’s wife looked at them as they came in.

“I want three loaves of bread, please,” said Jessie.

She smiled politely at the woman, but the woman did not smile. She looked at Henry as he put his hand in his pocket for the money. She looked cross, but she sold him the bread.

Jessie was looking around, too, and she saw a long red bench under each window of the bakery. The benches had flat red pillows on them.

“Will you let us stay here for the night?” Jessie asked. “We could sleep on those benches, and tomorrow we would help you wash the dishes and do things for you.”

Now the woman liked this. She did not like to wash dishes very well. She would like to have a big boy to help her with her work.

“Where are your father and mother?” she asked.

“They are dead,” said Henry.

“We have a grandfather in Greenfield, but we don’t like him,” said Benny.

Jessie put her hand over the little boy’s mouth before he could say more.

“Oh, Benny, keep still!” she said.

“Why don’t you like your grandfather?” asked the woman.

“He is our father’s father, and he didn’t like our mother,” said Henry. “So we don’t think he would like us. We are afraid he would be mean to us.”

“Did you ever see him?” asked the woman.

“No,” answered Henry.

“Then why do you think he would be mean to you?” asked the woman.

“Well, he never came to see us,” said Henry. “He doesn’t like us at all.”

“Where did you live before you came here?” asked the woman.

But not one of the four children would tell her.

“We’ll get along all right,” said Jessie. “We want to stay here for only one night.”

“You may stay here tonight,” said the woman at last. “And tomorrow we’ll see what we can do.”

Henry thanked her politely.

“We are all pretty tired and hungry,” he said.

The children sat down on the floor. Henry cut one of the loaves of bread into four pieces with his knife, and the children began to eat.

“Delicious!” said Henry.

“Well, I never!” said the woman.

She went into the next room and shut the door.

“I’m glad she is gone,” remarked Benny, eating. “She doesn’t like us.”

“Sh, Benny!” said Jessie. “She is good to let us sleep here.”

After supper the children lay down on their red benches, and Violet and Benny soon went to sleep.

But Jessie and Henry could hear the woman talking to the baker.

She said, “I’ll keep the three older children. They can help me. But the little boy must go to the Children’s Home. He is too little. I cannot take care of him.”

The baker answered, “Very well. Tomorrow I’ll take the little boy to the Children’s Home. We’ll keep the others for awhile, but we must make them tell us who their grandfather is.”

Jessie and Henry waited until the baker and his wife had gone to bed. Then they sat up in the dark.

“Oh, Henry!” whispered Jessie. “Let’s run away from here!”

“Yes, indeed,” said Henry. “We’ll never let Benny go to a Children’s Home. Never, never! We must be far away by morning, or they will find us. But we must not leave any of our things here.”

Jessie sat still, thinking.

“Our clothes and a cake of soap and towels are in the big laundry bag,” she said. “Violet has her little workbag. And we have two loaves of bread left. Have you your knife and the money?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “I have almost four dollars.”

“You must carry Benny,” said Jessie. “He will cry if we wake him up. But I’ll wake Violet.

“Sh, Violet! Come! We are going to run away again. If we don’t run away, the baker will take Benny to a Children’s Home in the morning.”

The little girl woke up at once. She sat up and rolled off the bench. She did not make any noise.

“What shall I do?” she whispered softly.

“Carry this,” said Jessie. She gave her the workbag.

Jessie put the two loaves of bread into the laundry bag, and then she looked around the room.

“All right,” she said to Henry. “Take Benny now.”

Henry took Benny in his arms and carried him to the door of the bakery. Jessie took the laundry bag and opened the door very softly. All the children went out quietly. They did not say a word. Jessie shut the door, and then they all listened. Everything was very quiet. So the four children went down the street.

II—Night Is Turned into Day

SOON THE CHILDREN left the town and came to a road. The big yellow moon was out, and they could see the road very well.

“We must walk fast,” said Henry. “I hope the baker and his wife don’t wake up and find us gone.”

They walked down the road as fast as they could.

“How far can you carry Benny?” asked Violet.

“Oh, I can carry him a long way,” replied Henry.

But Jessie said, “I think we could go faster if we woke him up now. We could take his hands and help him along.”

Henry stopped and put Benny down.

“Come, Benny,” he said. “You must wake up and walk now.”

“Go away!” said Benny.

“Let me try,” said Violet. “Now, Benny, you can play that you are a little brown bear and are running away to find a nice warm bed. Henry and Jessie will help you, and we’ll find a bed.”

Benny liked being a little brown bear, and so he woke up and opened his eyes. Henry and Jessie took his hands, and they all went on again.

They passed some farmhouses, but the houses were dark and quiet. The children did not see anyone. They walked and walked for a long time. Then the red sun began to come up.

“We must find a place to sleep,” said Jessie. “I am so tired.”

Little Benny was asleep, and Henry was carrying him again. The other children began to look for a place.

At last Violet said, “Look over there,” She was pointing at a big haystack in a field near a farmhouse.

“A fine place, Violet,” said Henry. “See what a big haystack it is!”

They ran across the field toward the farmhouse. They jumped over a brook, and then they came to the haystack. Henry was still carrying Benny.

Jessie began to make a nest in the haystack for Benny, and when they put him into it, he went to sleep again at once. The other children also made nests.

“Good night!” said Henry, laughing.

“It is ‘Good morning’ I should think,” replied Jessie. “We sleep in the day, and we walk all night. When it is night again, we’ll wake up and walk some more.”

The children were so tired that they went right to sleep. They slept all day, and it was night again when they woke up.

Benny said at once, “Oh, Jessie, I’m hungry. I want something to eat.”

“Good old Benny,” said Henry. “We’ll have supper.”

Jessie took out a loaf of bread and cut it into four pieces. It was soon gone.

“I want some water,” begged Benny.

“Not now,” said Henry. “You may have some water when it gets dark. There is a pump near the farmhouse. But if we leave the haystack now, someone will see us.”

When it was dark, the children came out of the haystack and went quietly toward the farmhouse, which was dark and still. Nearby was a pump, and Henry pumped water as quietly as he could. He did not even wake up the hens and chickens.

“I want a cup,” said Benny.

“No, Benny,” whispered Henry. “You will have to put your mouth right in the water. You can play you are a horse.”

This pleased Benny. Henry pumped and pumped, and at last Benny had all the water he wanted. The water was cold and sweet, and all the children drank. Then they ran across the field toward the road.

“If we hear anyone,” said Jessie, “we must hide behind the bushes.”

Just as she said this, the children heard a horse and cart coming up the road.

“Keep very still, Benny!” whispered Henry. “Don’t say a word.”

The children got behind the bushes as fast as they could, for they did not have much time to hide. The horse came nearer and nearer and began to walk up the hill toward them. Then the children could hear a man talking. It was the baker!

“I wonder where those children went,” he said. “I don’t think they could walk as far as Silver City. If we don’t find them in Greenfield, we’ll go home.”

“Yes,” answered his wife. “I do not want to find them, anyway. I don’t like children, but we must try a little while longer. We will look for them in Greenfield, and that’s all.”

The children watched until the horse and cart had gone down the road. Then they came out from behind the bushes and looked at each other.

“My, I am glad those people did not see us!” said Henry. “You were a good boy, Benny, to keep still.”

“We’ll not go to Greenfield.”

“I wonder how far it is to Silver City,” said Jessie.

The children were very happy as they walked along the road. They knew that the baker would not find them. They walked until two o’clock in the morning, and then they came to some signs by the side of the road.

The moon came out from behind the clouds, and Henry could read the signs.

“One sign says that Greenfield is this way,” he said. “The other sign points to Silver City. We don’t want to go to Greenfield. Let’s take this other road to Silver City.”

They walked for a long time, but they did not see anyone.

“Not many people come this way, I guess,” said Henry. “But that is all the better.”

“Listen!” said Benny suddenly. “I hear something.”

“Listen!” said Violet.

The children stood still and listened, and they could hear water running.

“I want a drink of water, Henry!” said Benny.

“Well, let’s go on,” said Henry, “and see where the water is. I’d like a drink, too.”

Soon the children saw a drinking fountain by the side of the road.

“Oh, what a fine fountain this is!” said Henry, running toward it. “See the place for people to drink up high, and a place in the middle for horses, and one for dogs down below.”

All the children drank some cold water.

“Now I want to go to bed,” said Benny.

Jessie laughed. “You can go to bed very soon.”

Henry was looking down a little side road, which had grass growing in the middle of it.

“Come!” he cried. “This road goes into the woods. We can sleep in the woods.”

“This is a good place,” said Jessie, as they walked along. “It is far away from people. You can tell that by the grass in the road.”

“And it will be near the drinking fountain,” said Violet.

“That’s right!” cried Henry. “You think of everything, Violet.”

“It is almost morning,” remarked Jessie. “And how hot it is!”

“I’m glad it is hot,” said Henry, “for we must sleep on the ground. Let’s find some pine needles for beds.”

The children went into the woods and soon made four beds of pine needles.

“I hope it’s not going to rain,” said Jessie, as she lay down.

Then she looked up at the sky.

“It looks like rain, for the moon has gone behind the clouds.”

She shut her eyes and did not open them again for a long time.

More clouds rolled across the sky, and the wind began to blow. There was lightning, also, and thunder, but the children did not hear it. They were all fast asleep.

III—A New Home in the Woods

AT LAST Jessie opened her eyes. It was morning, but the sun was covered by clouds. She sat up and looked all around her, and then she looked at the sky. It seemed like night, for it was very dark. Suddenly it began to thunder, and she saw that it was really going to rain.

“What shall we do? Where shall we go?” thought Jessie.

The wind was blowing more and more clouds across the sky, and the lightning was very near.

She walked a little way into the woods, looking for a place to go out of the rain.

“Where shall we go?” she thought again.

Then she saw something ahead of her in the woods. It was an old boxcar.

“What a good house that will be in the rain!” she thought.

She ran over to the boxcar. There was no engine, and the track was old and rusty. It was covered with grass and bushes because it had not been used for a long time.

“It is a boxcar,” Jessie said. “We can get into it and stay until it stops raining.”

She ran back as fast as she could to the other children. The sky was black, and the wind was blowing very hard.

“Hurry! Hurry!” cried Jessie. “I have found a good place! Hurry as fast as you can!”

Henry took Benny’s hand, and they all ran through the woods after Jessie.

“It’s beginning to rain!” cried Henry.

“We’ll soon be there,” Jessie shouted back. “It is not far. When we get there, you must help me open the door. It is heavy.”

The stump of a big tree stood under the door of the boxcar and was just right for a step. Jessie and Henry jumped up on the old dead stump and rolled back the heavy door of the car. Henry looked in.

“There is nothing in here,” he said. “Come, Benny. We’ll help you up.”

Violet went in next, and, last of all, Jessie and Henry climbed in.

They were just in time. How the wind did blow! They rolled the door shut, and then it really began to rain. Oh, how it did rain! It just rained and rained. The children could hear it on the top of the boxcar, but no rain came in.

“What a good place this is!” said Violet. “It is just like a warm little house with one room.”

After awhile the rain and lightning and thunder stopped, and the wind did not blow so hard. Then Henry opened the door and looked out. All the children looked out into the woods. The sun was shining, but some water still fell from the trees. In front of the boxcar a pretty little brook ran over the rocks, with a waterfall in it.

“What a beautiful place!” said Violet.

“Henry!” cried Jessie. “Let’s live here!”

“Live here?” asked Henry.

“Yes! Why not?” said Jessie. “This boxcar is a fine little house. It is dry and warm in the rain.”

“We could wash in the brook,” said Violet.

“Please, Henry,” begged Jessie. “We could have the nicest little home here, and we could find some dishes, and make four beds and a table, and maybe chairs!”

“No,” said Benny. “I don’t want to live here, Jessie.”

“Oh, dear, why not, Benny?” asked Jessie.

“I’m afraid the engine will come and take us away,” answered Benny.

Henry and Jessie laughed. “Oh, no, Benny,” said Henry. “The engine will never take this car away. It is an old, old car, and grass and bushes are growing all over the track.”

“Then doesn’t the engine use this track any more?” asked Benny.

“No, indeed,” said Henry. He was beginning to want to live in the boxcar, too.

“We’ll stay here today, anyway,”

“Then can I have my dinner here?” asked Benny.

“Yes, you shall have dinner now,” said Henry.

So Jessie took out the last loaf of bread and cut it into four pieces, but it was very dry. Benny ate the bread, but soon he began to cry.

“I want some milk, too, Jessie,” he begged.

“He ought to have milk,” said Henry. “I’ll go to the next town and get some.”

But Henry did not want to start. He looked to see how much money he had. Then he stood thinking.

At last he said, “I don’t want to leave you girls alone.”

“Oh,” said Jessie, “we’ll be all right, Henry. We’ll have a surprise for you when you come back. You just wait and see!”

“Good-by, Henry,” said Benny.

So Henry walked off through the woods.

When he had gone, Jessie said, “Now, children, what do you think we are going to do? What do you think I saw over in the woods? I saw some blueberries!”

“Oh, oh!” cried Benny. “I know what blueberries are. Can we have blueberries and milk, Jessie?”

“Yes,” Jessie was beginning. But she suddenly stopped, for she heard a noise. Crack, crack, crack! Something was in the woods.

IV—Henry Has Two Surprises

JESSIE WHISPERED, “Keep still!”

The three children did not say a word. They sat quietly in the boxcar, looking at the bushes.

“I wonder if it’s a bear,” thought Benny.

Soon something came out. But it wasn’t a bear. It was a dog, which hopped along on three legs, crying softly and holding up a front paw.

“It’s all right,” said Jessie. “It’s only a dog, but I think he is hurt.”

The dog looked up and saw the children, and then he wagged his tail.

“Poor dog,” said Jessie. “Are you lost? Come over here and let me look at your paw.”

The dog hopped over to the boxcar, and the children got out.

Jessie looked at the paw and said, “Oh, dear! You poor dog! There is a big thorn in your foot.”

The dog stopped crying and looked at Jessie.

“Good dog,” said Jessie. “I can help you, but maybe it will hurt.”

The dog looked up at Jessie and wagged his tail again.

“Violet,” ordered Jessie, “please wet my handkerchief in the brook.”

Jessie sat down on the stump and took the dog in her lap. She patted him and gave him a little piece of bread. Then she began to pull out the thorn. It was a long thorn, but the dog did not make any noise. Jessie pulled and pulled, and at last the thorn came out.

Violet had a wet handkerchief ready. Jessie put it around the dog’s paw, and he looked up at her and wagged his tail a little.

“He wants to say ‘Thank you,’ Jessie!” cried Violet. “He is a good dog not to cry.”

“Yes, he is,” agreed Jessie. “Now I had better hold him for awhile so that he will lie down and rest his leg.”

“We can surprise Henry,” remarked Benny. “Now we have a dog.”

“So we can,” said Jessie. “But that was not my surprise. I was going to get a lot of blueberries for supper.”

“Can’t we look for blueberries, while you hold the dog?” asked Violet.

“Yes, you can,” said Jessie. “Look over there by the big trees.”

Benny and Violet ran over to look.

“Oh, Jessie!” cried Benny. “Did you ever see so many blueberries? I guess five blueberries! No, I guess ten blueberries!”

Jessie laughed. “I guess there are more than five or ten, Benny,” she said. “Get a clean towel and pick them into it.”

For awhile Jessie watched Benny and Violet picking blueberries.

“Most of Benny’s blueberries are going into his mouth,” she thought with a laugh. “But maybe that’s just as well. He won’t get so hungry waiting for Henry to come back with the milk.”

She carried the dog over to the children and sat down beside them, the dog on her lap. With her help the towel was soon full of blueberries.

“I wish we had some dishes,” Jessie said. “Then we could have blueberries and milk.”

“Never mind,” said Violet. “When Henry comes, we can eat some blueberries and then take a drink of milk.”

When Henry came, he had some heavy bundles. He had four bottles of milk in a bag, a loaf of brown bread, and also some fine yellow cheese.

He looked at the dog.

“Where did you get that fine dog?” he cried.

“He came to us,” said Benny. “He is a surprise for you.”

Henry went over to the dog, who wagged his tail. Henry patted him and said, “He ought to be a good watchdog. Why is the handkerchief on his foot?”

“He had a big thorn in his foot,” answered Violet, “and Jessie took it out and put on the handkerchief. It hurt him, but he did not cry or growl.”

“His name is Watch,” remarked Benny.

“Oh, is it?” asked Jessie, laughing. “Watch is a good name for a watchdog.”

“Did you bring some milk?” asked Benny, looking hungrily at the bottles.

“I should say I did!” replied Henry. “Four bottles!”

“Poor old Benny!” said Jessie. “We’ll have dinner now. Or is it supper?”

“It must be supper,” said Henry, “for soon we’ll have to go to bed.”

“Tomorrow we’ll eat three times,” said Jessie.

Now Jessie liked to have things in order, and so she put the laundry bag on some pine needles for a tablecloth. Then she cut the loaf of brown bread into five big pieces. The cheese was cut into four.

“Dogs don’t like cheese,” remarked Benny. The poor little boy was glad, too, for he was very hungry.

Violet put the four bottles of milk on the table, and Jessie put some blueberries and cheese at each place.

“Blueberries!” cried Henry. “Jessie, you had two surprises for me!”

“I’m sorry we haven’t any cups,” Jessie said. “We’ll have to drink out of the bottles. Now all come and sit down.”

So supper began, “Look, Benny,” said Henry. “You take some blueberries, then eat some brown bread, then some cheese, then take a drink of milk.”

“It’s good!” said Benny. He began to put more blueberries into his mouth.

The dog had supper, too. Jessie gave him bread as he lay on the ground beside her, and he drank milk out of her hand.

When supper was over, there was some milk left in each bottle.

“We’ll have the rest of the milk for breakfast,” said Jessie. “Tonight we are going to sleep on beds. Let’s get some pine needles now.”

Soon the children had a big pile. Henry jumped into the boxcar, and Jessie gave him the pine needles. He made four beds in one end of the car.

“This side is the bedroom,” said Jessie.

“What will the other side be?” asked Benny,

“The other side?” asked Jessie. “Let me think. I guess that will be the sitting-room, and maybe some of the time it will be the kitchen.”

Then she said, “Come, now. Come and get washed.” She took the cake of soap and went down to the brook.

“That will be fun, Benny,” said Violet. “We’ll splash our ‘paws’ in the brook just as Little Brown Bear does.” She knew that Benny did not like to be washed.

The children were all very hot, and so they were glad to splash in the cold water. Benny put cold water and soap on his face with the others and dried his hands on a towel.

“We’ll have to have a line to dry the towels on,” said Jessie.

So she took the string out of the laundry bag and tied one end of it to a tree. The other end of the string she tied to the boxcar. This made a good clothesline. When she had washed one towel and Violet had washed the other one, they hung both towels on the clothesline.

“It looks like home,” said Henry. “See the washing!” He laughed.

Jessie was thinking.

“We ought to get some water to drink before we go to bed,” she said. “But what shall we put it in?”

“Let’s put all the milk into two bottles,” said Henry. “Then we can fill the other two with water.”

“Good,” said Jessie. “You go alone to the fountain, Henry. You can hide if anyone comes along.”

Henry went out very quietly, and soon came back with two bottles full of cold water. Benny drank a little, but he was almost asleep.

The other children helped him into the boxcar. Then they all climbed in, Jessie carrying the dog. He lay down at once beside her.

“It is so hot that we’ll leave the door open,” said Henry.

Soon they were fast asleep, dog and all. The moon came up, but they did not see it. This was the first time in four days that they could go to sleep at night, as children should.

V—The Explorers Find Treasure

THE NEXT MORNING Jessie woke up first, and she got up at once, for she was the housekeeper. The dog sat in the door of the car and looked at her as she jumped down to get the milk for breakfast. Then he jumped down after her.

Jessie walked down by the little brook and stopped to look at the waterfall. It was beautiful.

“I must look in the refrigerator,” she said with a laugh.

It was a funny refrigerator. There was a rock behind the waterfall, and the night before Jessie had put the two bottles of milk in a hole in this rock. Now she took out the bottles and found that the milk was very cold.

“Is it good?” called Benny, who sat in the car door.

“It is delicious!” cried Jessie. “It is cold, too.”

She got up into the car with the milk and sat down beside Benny. Then the four children drank the milk for breakfast.

Henry said, “Today I’ll go to town and try to get some work to do. I can cut grass or work in a garden or something. Then we’ll have something besides milk for breakfast,”

He washed his hands and face and started out.

“I’m so glad you have a dog, Jessie,” he said. “Good-by! I ’ll be back at noon.”

The children looked after Henry, and then they looked at Jessie.

“What are we going to do now, Jessie?” Benny asked his sister.

“Well, Benny,” answered Jessie, “we’ll go exploring and look for treasures. We’ll begin here at the car and look and look until we find a dump.”

“What’s a dump?” asked Benny.

“Oh, Benny!” said Violet. “You know what a dump is. Old tin cans and old dishes and bottles.”

“Are old tin cans and dishes treasures?” Benny wanted to know.

“They will be treasures for us,” answered Jessie, laughing.

“And wheels?” asked Benny again. “Will there be any wheels on the dump?”

“Yes, maybe,” replied Violet. “But cups, Benny, and plates, and maybe spoons. You like to drink milk out of a cup.”

“Oh, yes,” agreed Benny politely. But anyone could see that his mind was still on wheels.

The explorers started walking down the old rusty tracks, with Watch hopping along on three legs. The other paw, still tied up with Jessie’s handkerchief, was held off the ground. But the dog looked very happy. He liked these kind children.

They all walked along through the woods, looking this way and that. After awhile the old track came out into the sun, and the explorers found that they were on top of a hill. They could look down and see the town below them.

“Henry is down there,” said Jessie.

Benny was walking along behind his two sisters.

Suddenly he cried happily, “Look, Jessie! There’s a treasure—a wheel!”

The girls looked where he was pointing, and they saw a big dump with many old bottles and tin cans on it. There were also both wheels and cups. Indeed, there were dishes of all kinds.

“Oh, Benny!” cried Jessie. “You saw the treasures first. What should we do without you!”

Violet ran over to the dump. “Here’s a white pitcher, Jessie!” she cried.

Jessie looked at it. It was all right, with only one small crack.

“Here’s a big white cup, too,” she said, happily.

“Can you use a teapot, Jessie?” asked Benny.

“Yes, indeed!” she replied. “We can put water in it. I have found two cups and a bowl. Let’s look for spoons, too!”

Violet held up what she had found—five spoons, covered with rust.

“Good!” said Jessie. “Here’s a big kettle. Let’s pile all the dishes in it. Then we can carry them back to the boxcar.”

Benny had found four wheels just alike and laid them to one side. Now he held up a pink cup. There was a big crack in it, but it had a handle.

“This will be my pink cup,” said Benny.

“I hope it will hold milk,” said Jessie, laughing. “It’s a beautiful cup, Benny.”

The children laid all their treasures, even the wheels, on a board, and the girls carried the board back to the boxcar between them. They put the dishes down by the brook.

“Now we must wash them,” said Jessie.

“All right,” agreed Benny. “We’ll wash my pink cup.”

And never did a little boy hand dishes so carefully to his sisters as Benny did.

The girls washed the dishes with soap, and Jessie used sand to get the rust off the spoons.

“There!” she said, washing the last shining spoon. “How fine they look! But I’m afraid they still aren’t clean enough to eat from. When Henry comes, we’ll get him to build a fire. Then we can have hot water to rinse them, and they will be very clean.”

The children sat back and admired the dishes.

Suddenly Violet cried, “Oh, I know where to put them. Come and see what I found in the car last night.”

Both girls looked in at the door.

“Look on the door on the other side of the car,” said Violet.

All Jessie saw were two pieces of wood nailed to the closed door of the car. But she knew at once what was in Violet’s mind. She ran to get the board they had carried from the dump and laid it carefully across the two pieces of wood. It made a fine shelf for the dishes.

“There!” said Jessie.

The children could hardly wait to put the shining dishes on the shelf.

“Let’s put them on now,” said Violet, “and see how they look, without waiting to rinse them.”

When they were on the shelf, Violet picked some white and yellow flowers and put them in a cup full of water in the middle of the shelf.

“There!” said Jessie, stepping back to look at it.

“You said ‘There’ three times,” remarked Benny happily.

“So I did,” replied Jessie, laughing. “And I’m going to say it again.”

She pointed into the woods and said, “There!”

Henry was coming through the woods, and he carried many funny-looking bundles in his arms. But he would not open his bundles or tell what he had been doing until it was time for dinner.

“Where did you get the dishes?” he cried, when he saw the shelf.

“We went exploring,” said Violet, “and found a big dump.”

The children began telling him about their treasures. Benny told him about the tin cans and his pink cup and his wheels. Jessie took out the big kettle and asked him about building a fire.

“We want to use the dishes to eat from,” she told him, “and it’s hard to get them clean in cold water.”

So Henry made a small fire in an open place where it could not burn anything. He put big stones all around it.

“We ought to have a fireplace,” he remarked.

Jessie cleaned the kettle with sand and filled it with water. Then Henry put it on the fire. Soon the water was boiling, and Jessie rinsed the dishes carefully.

“Now I know they’re clean enough to eat from,” she said happily.

VI—A Queer Noise in the Night

AT LAST IT WAS dinner time, and the children sat down to see what Henry had in his bundles.

“I bought another loaf of brown bread at the store,” said Henry, “and some more milk. Then I bought some dried meat, because we can eat it in our hands. And I bought a bone for Watch.”

Watch looked hungrily at the bone and lay down at once to eat it.

Jessie got out four cups and bowls and put some milk into each one. Then the children put in little pieces of brown bread and began to eat it with their new spoons.

“What fun!” cried Jessie. “Eating with spoons. Now tell us what you did in town, Henry.”

Henry began, “The town below this hill is Silver City. I saw the name on a sign.

“I went into the town and walked along the first street I came to. It was a nice street, with big houses and flowers and trees. I saw a man out cutting his grass. He’s a good man, too, I can tell you—a doctor.”

“Did you work for him?” asked Jessie.

“Yes,” said Henry. “He was very hot, and just as I came to the house, his bell rang. He started to the house, and I called after him and asked him if I could cut the grass. He said, ‘Yes, yes! I wish you would!’ You see, he wasn’t used to cutting it himself.

“So I cut the grass, and he said, ‘Good for you. Do you want to work every day?’ And he said he had never had a boy who cut it as well as I did.”

“Oh, Henry!” cried Violet and Jessie.

“I told him I did want to work, and he told me to come back this afternoon.

“He has a pretty house and a garage and a big vegetable garden. Then he has a lot of cherry trees behind the house—a cherry orchard. You should see the beautiful big red cherries!

“Well, when I was cutting the grass near the kitchen, the cook came to the kitchen door and watched me.

“She asked me if I liked cookies. I said I did, and she gave me one.”

“What did you do with it?” asked Benny hungrily.

“When she went back into the kitchen, I put it in my pocket,” said Henry laughing.

“Did she see you?” cried Jessie.

“Oh, no,” said Henry. “I played I was eating it. For a long time I carefully ate away on nothing at all.”

Benny began to look at Henry’s pocket. It did look very funny.

Henry went on. “When I came home, the doctor gave me a dollar, and the cook gave me this bag.”

Henry laughed at Benny and pulled the bag out of his pocket. In it were ten delicious brown cookies.

“Oh, oh!” cried Benny. “Please, Jessie! Let’s have cookies for dinner.”

“Yes, indeed,” said Jessie.

Then Henry opened his last bundle.

“I thought we ought to have a tablecloth,” he said. “So I got one at the store. But it wasn’t hemmed.”

Violet begged, “Oh, let me hem it.”

She took her scissors out of her workbag and cut the two ends even. But before she began to hem the pretty blue tablecloth, she helped Jessie wash and rinse the dishes and put them away. Benny helped, too. When Henry said good-by and went back to town, all the children were working happily.

Watch was trying to make a hole with one paw to bury his bone in.

“I’ll help you bury your bone, Watch,” said Benny.

“Oh, no, Benny,” said Jessie. “Watch wants to bury his bone himself. You come and help me. I’m going to make a broom for the house.”

For a little while Benny ran around finding sticks for the broom, but he soon went to sleep on the ground with the dog for a pillow.

The two girls sat by the brook. Violet was hemming the blue tablecloth, and Jessie was making the broom with a long stick for a handle.

When Henry came back at supper time, the broom with its long handle stood in the kitchen, and the new tablecloth was hemmed. Henry admired the broom and the tablecloth. Then he gave Jessie a small bundle.

“Oh, butter!” cried Jessie, her eyes shining.

It was butter, yellow and sweet. The four children had not had any butter for many days. At last they sat down to their fine supper.

“Now this spoon is a magic spoon,” said Henry. “Turn it around and use the handle, and it is a knife!”

He showed Benny how to put the butter on the brown bread with his magic knife. With dried meat, bread and butter, milk, and cookies, the children could not ask for a better supper.

“What did you do this afternoon, Henry?” asked Jessie.

“Well, I washed the doctor’s car,” said Henry. “Then I washed the walks and the windows. Tomorrow I’m going to work in the garden.”

Then he looked at the brook. “Oh, how I would love to have a swim in that nice cold water!”

Henry was hot and sticky as he looked at the waterfall.

“Maybe we could make a swimming pool,” he said. “We could build a dam out of logs.”

“Oh, yes, we could,” said Jessie. “Violet and I know where to find some logs and some big flat stones.”

“You do?” said Henry.

“Yes,” said Jessie. “They are not far away. And just a little way below here is a pool now, with sand all around it. But it is not big enough to swim in.”

“Is that so!” cried Henry. “Some day I’ll stay at home, and I’ll try to dam up the brook and make a swimming pool.”

“You can have my wheels,” said Benny.

“Good!” replied Henry. “I’ll make you a little cart with the wheels, Benny, and you can carry stones in it.”

“Yes,” said Benny. “I will.”

“Come now, we must go to bed,” said Jessie.

The children were all glad to go to bed. They stood on the stump and climbed into their new house, and they all went to sleep but Henry. He was thinking about the new swimming pool. All at once he saw that Watch was not asleep.

Henry patted the dog and said, “Lie down, Watch.”

But Watch did not lie down. He began to growl softly

“Sh!” said Henry to the dog. He sat up. Jessie sat up.

“What is it, Henry?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” replied Henry. He was frightened.

“I think Watch hears something in the woods.”

“Let’s close the door,” said Jessie. “I’m afraid.”

The two children closed the heavy door softly. Then they sat still and listened, but they did not hear anything.

“Lie down, Watch,” said Jessie again. “Go to sleep.”

But Watch did not go to sleep. He growled again.

“Maybe someone is in the woods. Maybe someone wants to hide in this car,” whispered Jessie.

“Maybe,” said Henry. “There is something out there that the dog doesn’t like.”

Then they heard a stick crack, and Watch barked.

“Oh, sh!” Jessie put her hand over his mouth.

“If there is someone out in the woods, he knows that there is a dog in this boxcar,” said Henry.

He took the new broom in his hand and waited.

But nothing came. Nothing at all. The two children waited and waited. Violet and Benny slept through it all.

“I’m going to open the door now,” said Henry.

They opened the door softly and then listened. The dog sniffed a little. Then he turned around three times and lay down. He put his head on his paws.

“It must be all right now,” said Henry. “Watch knows. Maybe it was just a rabbit.”

So at last they all went to sleep and slept until morning.

VII—A Big Meal from Little Onions

THE NEXT MORNING Jessie and Henry talked about the queer noise. They did not tell Violet and Benny.

“What do you think it was?” asked Jessie. “Do you think it was a rabbit?”

“I don’t know,” said Henry. “But I think someone was in the woods. I am glad we weren’t hurt. Someone must have stepped on a stick and made it crack.”

“What shall we do?” asked Jessie.

“Nothing,” said Henry. “Watch is a good watchdog. He loves us now, and if anyone tried to hurt us, Watch would take care of us. He would do more than growl. But after this, we must not let Benny go into the woods alone.”

“I’ll keep Benny and Violet with me all the time,” said Jessie.

“Good!” said Henry. “And keep Watch with you all the time, too.

“Good morning, Benny. Time to get up. Today you must build something for me out of stones.”

“What is it?” asked Benny eagerly.

“I’m not going to tell you,” said Henry, laughing.

“You build it just as Jessie tells you, and you will see.”

Henry was so eager to begin work that he ran all the way to town. The doctor came to the door and smilingly looked him over from head to foot.

“My mother will tell you what to do today,” the doctor said. “She wants you to work in her garden.”

Mrs. Moore, the doctor’s mother, had a sweet face and looked very kind.

“Good morning, Henry,” she said. “Do you know how to thin out vegetables?”

“Oh, yes,” said Henry. “I like to work in a vegetable garden.”

“I haven’t had much time to take care of my garden,” Mrs. Moore said. “There! See that?”

She pulled out a carrot. It had to come out, for it was much too near the other carrots.

“Yes, I see,” said Henry.

He began to thin out the carrots. Mrs. Moore watched him as he pulled out some of the little carrots and put them in a pile. He left the other carrots to grow. Then he began on the turnips.

“You are a good worker,” said Mrs. Moore. “I can see that.” She smiled at Henry. “You may thin out all these vegetables,”

Then she went into the house and left Henry alone. He worked all the morning. He thinned out the carrots, turnips, and little onions.

The mill bells rang at noon, but Henry did not hear them. He still worked on in the hot sun. Then he saw Mrs. Moore looking at him.

“You have worked long enough now,” she said. “You may come again this afternoon.”

“What shall I do with the vegetables I pulled up?” Henry asked.

“Oh, I don’t want them,” said Mrs. Moore. “Just leave them in a pile.”

“Do you mind if I take them?” asked Henry.

“No, indeed. Do you have chickens?” Then, without waiting for an answer, she went right on, “You have done good work. Here is a dollar.”

Henry said, “Thank you,” and was glad he did not have to answer about the chickens.

When Mrs. Moore went into the house, he took some of the little carrots and turnips and onions. If he had looked up, he would have seen Mrs. Moore in the window watching him. But he did not look up. He was too eager to get to the store and order some meat.

When he arrived at the boxcar, Benny told him, “The building is done. I helped with it.”

The “building” was a fireplace, made of flat stones.

“Benny did a lot of the work,” said Jessie. “He carried stones and found wood for the fire.”

The fireplace was a very good one. The children and Watch had made a hole at the foot of a big rock between two trees. Flat stones were laid on the floor of this hole and around the sides. More big stones were put up to keep out the wind.

Jessie had found a heavy wire in the dump and had put the big kettle on it and tied the ends of the wire to the two trees. The kettle hung over the fireplace, and the fire was laid. Beside the fireplace was a big wood-pile.

“Fine! Fine!” cried Henry. “You have done well. Now see what I have.”

The girls were delighted with the meat and the little vegetables. With Henry’s knife they cut the meat into little pieces. Then they filled the kettle with water from the fountain and put the meat into it, with a tin plate for a cover. Henry started the fire, and it burned well at once.

Jessie cut the tops off the vegetables and washed them in the brook.

“I’ll put them in after the meat has cooked awhile,” she said.

Soon the water began to boil, and the stew began to smell good. Watch sat down and looked at it. He sniffed hungrily at it and barked and barked.

The children sat around the fireplace, eating bread and milk. Now and then Jessie stirred the stew with a big spoon.

“It will make a good meal,” said Henry. “Keep it boiling and do not leave it. When I come home tonight, I’ll bring you some salt. And whatever you do, don’t get on fire!”

Violet pointed to the pitcher and teapot that she had filled with water.

“That’s to put on Benny or Watch if he should get on fire,” she said.

Henry laughed and went happily on his way. He wished he could stay and smell the stew boiling, but he thought he ought to work. So he went back to Dr. Moore’s house.

He was very happy when Dr. Moore said, “Do you want to clean up this garage?”

The garage was not in very good order. Dr. Moore laughed when he saw Henry look around for a broom.

“I must go out now,” said Dr. Moore. “You just clean this place up.”

Henry began at once. First he opened all the boxes. On the biggest box he painted the word TOOLS with a long-handled brush and a can of paint he had found. On another box he painted NAILS. Then he picked over the things and put the tools in the toolbox and the nails in the nail-box. This was fun for Henry, because he liked to get things in order.

Henry found a lot of nails that were bent and covered with rust. He put them in his pocket.

“I’ll ask the doctor for these bent nails,” he said to himself. “They are no good to him, but they are fine for me. I can use every old nail I get.”

Then he washed the floor and washed his paint brush.

When Dr. Moore came home, he found Henry putting brushes, paint cans, and other things on the shelf.

“My, my, my!” he cried. He looked at the garage and laughed and laughed. He laughed until his mother came out to see what he was laughing at.

“Look, Mother!” he said. “Look at those tools. Look at the shelf. Look at my hammers. One, two, three, four hammers. Your hammer, my hammer, and two other hammers. They were all lost. Can you use a hammer, Henry?”

“Yes, indeed I can!” cried Henry.

“Take one,” said Dr. Moore. “You found them all.”

“Oh, thank you!” said Henry. He showed the doctor the bent nails and was told that he could have those, too. He could hardly wait now to start home, because he was so eager to show Benny and his sisters his new hammer and nails.

“Tomorrow will be Sunday,” said Dr. Moore. “Will you come again the next day?”

“Oh, yes,” replied Henry, who had lost all track of the days.

“The cherries must be picked,” said the doctor. He looked at Henry in a queer way. “We could use any number of cherry pickers if they were all as careful as you.”

“Could you?” asked Henry eagerly. “Well, I’ll come.”

So the three said good-by, and Henry started for home. He had another dollar, a pocket full of old nails, a hammer, and the pile of vegetables that he had left at noon. On the way home he bought some salt.

When he arrived at the boxcar, he began to smell a delicious smell.

“Onions!” he shouted, running up to the kettle. “I do like the smell of onions.”

“I like the turnips best,” said Violet.

Jessie took off the cover carefully and stirred in the salt, and Henry sniffed the brown stew. It was boiling and boiling.

“A ladle, of all things!” cried Henry “Where did you get it?”

“I found a tin cup in the dump,” said Jessie. “We used a long stick for a handle and tied it to the cup with a piece of wire. It makes a fine ladle.”

She ladled out the stew into plates and bowls and put a spoon in each one.

“Oh, oh!” said Benny. “I am so hungry. I must eat my supper!”

The meat was well cooked, and the vegetables were delicious. Violet passed her plate for more turnips.

“I’d like some more onions,” said Henry.

All the children ate until they could eat no more.

“That was the best meal I ever ate,” said Jessie.

“Me, too,” said Violet.

“I have time tonight to make Benny’s cart,” remarked Henry. “We’ll want a cart.”

“Will you make it with my wheels?” asked Benny.

“Yes, with your wheels,” answered Henry. “But you must cart stones in it when I get it done.”

“Yes,” said Benny. “I will cart stones or rocks or anything.”

“Tomorrow will be Sunday, and I can stay at home,” Henry went on. “Do you think it’s all right, Jessie, to build the dam for a swimming pool on Sunday?”

“Yes, I do,” said Jessie. “We are making the swimming pool so that we can keep clean.”

Henry began happily to hammer out the bent nails with his new hammer. Soon he had some good nails.

“You and I will go and find some boards, Benny,” he said. “Come on.”

Soon the boys came back with some boards from the dump. Henry sat down and began to make the cart. He could not see very well, because it was getting dark and there was no moon. But at last the cart was done, and he gave it to Benny.

“Thank you,” said Benny, politely.

After his sisters had admired the cart, Benny pulled it around just for fun. Then Henry put it in the boxcar for the night.

Henry said to Jessie, “I hope we do not hear that queer noise tonight.”

“I hope not, too,” said Jessie. Then she laughed. “Look at Benny,” she said. “He has gone to sleep with his hand on his cart.”

Henry laughed, too, but he laughed at himself, because he was going to sleep with his new hammer under his pillow.

VIII—A Swimming Pool at Last

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN were so tired that they slept until ten o’clock Sunday morning.

When they woke up at last, they hurried through breakfast and went to work on the swimming pool.

“Well make a dam across the brook,” said Henry.

“Here is my cart,” said Benny. ’I’ll cart stones and logs in it.”

“Good for you,” laughed Henry.

First the four children went down the brook to look at the pool Jessie had seen. The water was quiet here, and there was clean sand all around the little pool.

“It’s big enough for a swimming pool,” Henry remarked, “but I don’t think it’s deep enough.”

He put a long stick in it to see how deep it was. When he looked at the wet stick, he found that the water was about a foot deep.

“The swimming pool should be three times as deep,” he said. “Then it will be deep enough to swim in and won’t be too deep for Benny. We’ll build the dam here with logs and stones.”

While the other children started the dam, Jessie washed all their stockings.

“We won’t want our stockings on while we are working in the brook,” she remarked, as she rinsed them and hung them on the clothesline to dry. “So this is a good time to wash them.”

It was hard work building the dam, but the children liked hard work. Henry and Jessie pulled the logs to the brook, and Violet and Benny carried the stones, with the help of the cart. Now and then Henry was called on to help with a heavy stone. But the two younger children carried most of them.

“Splash the stones right into the water,” Henry told them. “But be careful to keep them in a line between these two trees.”

The children watched with delighted eyes as the wall of stones under the water began to grow higher and higher.

“The rock wall will help to hold the logs in place,” said Henry.

At last it was time to lay the logs across the brook.

“Let’s lay the first ones between these two trees,” said Jessie. “Then the trees will hold both ends of the logs.”

“Good work!” cried Henry, much pleased. “That’s just what we’ll do.”

But when the first big log was splashed into place on top of the stone wall, the water began to run over the top of the log and around both ends.

“Oh, dear!” cried Jessie. “The water runs around the ends every time! What shall we do?”

“We’ll have to put lots of logs on, with brush between them,” said Henry. “We’ll put on so many that the water can’t get through.”

They laid three logs across, with three more on top of them, and three more on top of those. Violet filled her arms with brush and held it in place until each log was laid. Benny filled the holes at the ends of the logs with flat stones. Such wet children never were seen before, but the hot sun would dry them off, and no one cared.

When the three top logs were laid in place at last, the four tired children sat down to watch the pool fill. But Henry could not sit still as the water came higher and higher up the dam.

“See how deep the pool is getting!” he cried. “See how still it is!”

At last the pool was full, and the water came over the top of the dam and made another waterfall.

“Just like a mill dam!” said Henry. “Now the pool is deep enough for all of us to swim in.”

“You boys can have the first swim,” said Jessie. “We girls must go and get dinner. We’ll ring the bell when we are ready.”

The boys splashed around in the pool, while the girls made a fire and hung the kettle of brown stew over it, stirring it now and then. Violet cut the bread and then got the butter, hard and cold, out of the refrigerator.

When everything was ready, Jessie rang the dinner bell. This bell was only a tin can from the dump. Jessie had hung it on a tree with a string, and she rang it with a spoon. Then she got the ladle and began ladling out the stew.

“That’s the dinner bell,” said Benny. “I know it is. Come, Watch. Don’t you want some dinner?”

Watch had had a swim, too. He came out of the water and shook himself. The two boys put on their dry clothes and went to Sunday dinner.

“Let me ring the bell again,” said Benny.

“I like stew even better today,” said Henry, eating hungrily.

“That’s because we worked so hard,” remarked Jessie. “Let’s go for a walk in the woods this afternoon.”

“Oh, let’s!” cried Violet. “Let’s go exploring again.”

The children washed the dishes and then started on their walk.

As they went along, Watch began to bark. At first the explorers were frightened.

“Oh, what is it?” cried Violet.

“Maybe it’s a rabbit,” said Henry.

Then they saw a hen running away through the woods. Watch ran after her, but Henry called him back.

“Don’t run after the poor hen,” he said.

“The hen had a nest,” remarked Benny.

“What?” asked Jessie.

“She had some eggs in it,” said Benny. “Come here and see.”

Jessie looked on the ground where Benny was pointing and saw a nest with five eggs in it.

“A runaway hen!” said Jessie. “She wanted to hide her nest so she would have some chickens. We’ll have the eggs for supper. I know how to cook eggs.”

The eggs made a delicious supper. Jessie put them in a bowl, with a little salt, and Violet took a spoon and stirred them as hard as she could.

“Put in some milk, Violet,” said Jessie, “and stir them some more.”

Henry started up the fire. The big kettle was hung over the fire, and Jessie put in some butter. She watched the butter until it was nice and brown, and then she put in the eggs.

“Sit down,” she said. “Be all ready to eat when the eggs are done.”

Violet put the blue tablecloth on the ground. She got the bread and butter and the plates and spoons, and the children all sat ready for supper.

“Here I come!” cried Jessie. “Hold out your plates.”

“Oh, Jessie!” cried Benny. “This is the best meal I ever ate. I found the eggs, and you cooked them.”

“Yes, you did, Benny,” said Henry. “Thank you for a fine meal.”

“Tomorrow we’ll have to eat bread and milk,” said Jessie.

But when tomorrow came, the children had more than bread and milk, as you will soon see.

IX—Fun in the Cherry Orchard

THE NEXT MORNING Henry thought and thought about taking the other children to pick cherries with him. At last he told his sisters about it as they ate bread and milk for breakfast.

“Dr. Moore said he wanted more children to help. Do you think all of us ought to go, Jessie?”

“Well,” said Jessie, “I don’t know. You see, there are four of us. If Grandfather is looking for us, it would be easier to see four than one.”

“Yes, that’s so,” answered Henry. “But we can go down the hill and through the streets two by two. I’ll take Benny and go ahead. Then in a little while you and Violet can come with the dog.”

“Good!” said Jessie. “Watch can tell where you go.”

The children took down the clothesline and shut the door of the car. Everything was in order. Then they started out.

When they arrived at the orchard, they soon saw that they were not the only workers. The doctor was there, and the cook, and two men carrying ladders and baskets.

“Good morning, Henry,” said Mrs. Moore. “Can you work today?”

“Oh, yes,” said Henry. “These are my sisters, Jessie and Violet. They can pick cherries, too. Benny is too young to climb trees, but we had to bring him.”

“Maybe he can carry baskets,” said Dr. Moore, smiling at Benny. “You see, this is a big cherry year, and we have to work fast, once we begin. Maybe he can help fill the little baskets from the big ones.”

“Eat all you want,” said Mrs. Moore. “The cherries are beautiful this year.”

The children didn’t eat all they wanted, but every now and then a big red cherry went into someone’s mouth.

Henry and the girls went up the ladders and began to pick cherries. Watch barked for awhile. He did not like to have Jessie climbing the ladder. Then he sat down and looked at her up in the tree.

Benny hurried here and there, carrying baskets to the pickers and eating all the cherries he wanted. Everyone in the orchard liked Benny. The doctor laughed delightedly at him, and sweet Mrs. Moore fell in love with him at once. By and by he sat down beside her and carefully filled small baskets with cherries from the big baskets.

The men laughed at the funny things Benny said, and Watch barked happily. By and by the doctor left the orchard to make some calls.

At last Mrs. Moore said, “I never had such happy cherry pickers before. You are having such a good time out here that I don’t want to go in the house.” She smiled.

Mary, the cook, seemed to think the same thing, for she came again and again into the orchard.

After awhile the cook went in to get dinner, but the children still picked cherries. At noon Dr. Moore came home.

“You must stay to dinner,” he said to the children. “We can eat here in the orchard under the trees. Will your mother be watching for you?” When he asked this, he looked at Henry in a queer way.

Henry did not know what to say. But at last Jessie said, “No. Our mother and father are dead.”

“Then you must stay,” said Mrs. Moore. “Here comes Mary.”

The cook put a table under the trees, and they all sat around it and ate a delicious dinner. Then Mary went into the house and came out again with big bowls of cherry dumplings.

“I can smell something good!” cried Benny. “Is it cherries?”

“Yes, my little dear,” said Mary. “Cherry dumplings. The cherries are cooked in the dumplings.”

Benny ate his cherry dumpling and then went to sleep with the dog for a pillow. But Henry and Jessie and Violet began to work again. Mrs. Moore looked out of the window at them.

“Just see how those children work,” she said to Dr. Moore. “And they are so polite, too. I wonder who they are.”

Dr. Moore said nothing. After awhile he went out to the orchard. “You have worked long enough,” he said.

He gave them four dollars and all the cherries they could carry.

“That is too much,” said Henry.

“No,” said Dr. Moore, “it is just right. You see, you are better than most workers, because you are so happy. Come again.”

“I’ll come every day,” said Benny.

They all laughed.

Dr. Moore saw that the children did not all leave the orchard at the same time, but started down the street two by two.

“I wish I knew who they are,” he said to himself.

When the cherry pickers got back to their little home, they looked everything over carefully. But things were just as they had left them. The door was still closed, and the milk and butter were in the refrigerator. The children made a happy supper of bread and butter and cherries and then went to bed in the boxcar.

That same night Dr. Moore sat reading the paper. All at once he saw the word LOST and began to read.

“LOST. Four children, two boys and two girls. Somewhere around Greenfield or Silver City. Five thousand dollars to anyone who can find them.

James Henry Alden.”

Dr. Moore sat up. “Five thousand dollars!” he said. “James Henry Alden! Oh, my! Oh, my!”

He sat still for a long time, thinking and laughing to himself.

“The four children are living in a boxcar, but I shall not tell Mr. Alden that they are his grandchildren,” he said.

X—Henry and the Free-for-All

JAMES HENRY ALDEN was a very rich man. His big mills stood just between Greenfield and Silver City.

Now J. H. Alden liked boys. He liked to see them running and jumping and playing. So each year, with three other rich men, he gave a Field Day to the town of Silver City. And even the mills were closed on Field Day.

Every year the boys were in training for the races. And not only boys, but men also, thin and fat, and girls trained for Field Day.

There were prizes for all kinds of races—running and swimming and jumping.

But the best one was a foot race, called a free-for-all, because anyone could run in it. Mr. Alden gave a prize of twenty-five dollars and a silver cup to the winner of the free-for-all. Sometimes a boy won the race, sometimes a girl. Once a fat man had won it.

On Field Day Henry was cutting the grass for Dr. Moore. Suddenly the doctor stopped his car in the street and called to Henry.

“Hop in,” he said. “Today is Field Day, and I want you to see the races.”

Henry hopped in, and the doctor started the car.

“I’m sorry I can’t go,” said Dr. Moore, “and I want to know all about it. I want you to tell me who wins each race.”

Soon Henry found himself sitting on the bleachers. By and by a small boy climbed up the bleachers and sat beside him. Then a man called, “Free-for-all! Come and get ready!”

“What is that?” asked Henry. “A free-for-all?”

“Don’t you know?” asked the small boy. “Didn’t you see the one last year?”

“No,” said Henry.

The boy laughed. “That was a funny one,” he said. “There were two fat men in it, and some girls and boys. That boy over there won it. You should have seen him. He ran so fast you could hardly see his legs at all!”

Henry looked at the winner of last year’s race. He was smaller than Henry, but he was older. Suddenly Henry stood up and quietly left the bleachers. He went to the room where the boys were getting ready for the race.

“Do you want to run in the race?” a man asked him.

“Yes, I do,” replied Henry.

The man gave him some track clothes to put on.

“Where did you train?” he asked.

“I never was trained,” said Henry.

“These boys have been training all year,” remarked the man.

“Oh, I don’t think I’ll win,” answered Henry. “But I like to run. It’s lots of fun, you know.”

“So it is,” said the man. “So it is.”

Henry could hardly wait for the race to begin. He loved to run. But at last the race was called. It was time to start. Henry was Number 4.

Now Henry began to think. “It’s a long race,” he said to himself. “I must go easy at first.”

The bell rang. Off went the runners down the track. In almost no time Henry was far behind most of the other runners. But he did not seem to mind this.

“It’s fun to run, anyway,” he said again to himself. And he tried to see how easily he could run.

All at once he had another thought. “I have tried to see how easily I can run,” he said to himself. “Now I’ll try to see how fast I can run.”

Then all the people began to see how fast Henry could run. He ran faster and faster, and soon he passed the two girls ahead of him. Then he passed a fat man and a little boy.

The people began to shout, “Number 4! Number 4!” Here was the kind of race they loved!

“Faster, faster!” cried Henry to himself. “I can run faster than this.”

He could. He passed Number 25 and Number 6. Then he passed Number 5 and Number 10. Only one runner was ahead of Henry now. It was Number 16. Then Henry began to think of winning the race. He knew how much the twenty-five-dollar prize would mean to Jessie and the rest of the children.

“I am going to win this race!” he said to himself. “I must pass Number 16.”

He ran still faster. He could see the line at the end of the race.

“Number 4! Number 4!” shouted the people. “He is going to win!”

When Henry was near Number 16, he put his head down and ran as fast as he could. He passed Number 16 and went across the line! He had won!

The people shouted and shouted. Some men held Henry up high and carried him to Mr. Alden for the prize.

Then a man asked, “What is your name, boy?”

Henry did not know what to say. He did not want to tell his name. So he answered, “Henry James.” Now this was Henry’s name, but it was not all of his name.

At once the big sign said,

HENRY JAMES, NUMBER 4

WINNER OF FREE-FOR-ALL

“Here is the prize, Henry James,” said Mr. Alden. “You can run well, my boy. I like to see you run.”

He gave Henry a silver cup and the twenty-five dollars. Then he shook hands with him.

Just then Dr. Moore came along and climbed up in the bleachers, but Henry did not see him. The doctor laughed to himself as Henry James shook hands with James Henry.

At last Henry got away from the people and started back to Dr. Moore’s. He had the twenty-five-dollar prize in his pocket. When Dr. Moore came home and found Henry cutting the grass, he laughed quietly to himself.

“I just got home,” said Henry. “I will tell you who won all the races.”

Dr. Moore did not tell Henry that he had been up in the bleachers. He let Henry tell him about the races.

“And who won the free-for-all?” he asked.

“I did,” said Henry.

“You did?” cried Dr. Moore. “Good for you! What are you going to do with the money?”

“I’ll give it to Jessie,” answered Henry.

“Good,” said the doctor again.

When Henry arrived at the boxcar with the twenty-five dollars, he found dinner ready. Jessie had boiled the rest of the vegetables and put butter on top. The children began to eat, but, hungry as they were, they stopped when Henry told them about the race and showed them the silver cup. They were so excited that they couldn’t eat.

“You won the race, Henry?” cried Jessie, delighted. “Oh, I’m so glad!”

“You can run fast, Henry,” said Benny. “I’m glad you won the race, too.” He looked at the silver cup.

“I said my name was Henry James,” said Henry.

“That’s right,” said Jessie. “So it is. You didn’t have to change it.”

“Are we rich now, Henry?” asked Benny.

“No, not very,” said Henry, laughing. “By the way, I bought something for supper.”

Jessie looked in the bag. There were some fat brown potatoes in it.

“Oh, I know how to cook these!” cried Jessie, happily. “They will be good. You just wait.”

“I can’t wait,” said Henry, laughing. Then he went back to work.

After dinner, Benny played around with the dog.

“Benny,” Jessie said suddenly, as she hung her dish towels up to dry. “It’s high time you learned to read.”

“No,” said Benny. “No school now.”

Jessie laughed. “No,” she said, “you can’t go to school, but I can help you. I wish I had a book.”

“We could make a book,” said Violet. “We have all the papers left from bundles.”

“So we could,” replied Jessie. “But what could we use to make the words?”

“We could use a burned stick out of the fire,” said Violet.

So Jessie put the end of a long stick into the fire and burned it black. Then she used the burned end to make words.

“Won’t Henry be glad when he finds Benny can read?” cried Violet.

Now Benny did not want to learn to read. But he liked to watch the girls make the book. Jessie made the words SEE ME in the book. She called Benny. But he could not tell see from me.

“Don’t you see, Benny?” said Jessie. “This one has an s. It says see. This one has m. It says me”

But Benny did not see.

“It is too hard for me,” he said.

“I’ll tell you, Jessie,” said Violet at last. “Let’s make see on one paper and me on the other. That’s the way they do in school. Then have him point to see.”

The girls did this. They called Benny, and Jessie showed him again very carefully the word that said see. Then she put the two words down on the ground.

“Now, Benny, point to see” said Jessie.

Benny looked at the two words. He could not tell.

But Watch barked and put his paw on see.

Now Watch did not know one word from the other, but Benny thought he did. Was he going to let a dog get ahead of him? Not Benny! He looked at the words and learned them almost at once.

“Good old Watch!” said Jessie.

“It isn’t hard at all,” said Benny. “Is it, Watch?”

Before supper Benny could read,

“See me.

See me run.

I can run.

Can you run?”

“Good boy,” said Jessie. “Now I must get supper.”

The children started up the fire and washed the potatoes in the brook. Then Jessie put wet papers around them and put them in the fire under the hot stones.

“Are you going to burn them up, Jessie?” asked Benny.

“Oh, no, Benny,” said Jessie. “You wait and see.”

When Henry came home, he found Jessie rolling the potatoes out of the fire. They were very black.

“Oh, did you burn them up?” asked Henry.

“No, indeed,” said Jessie. “Come and see.” She gave three black potatoes to each one.

“They are very hot,” said Violet. “Look out!”

“Open them,” said Jessie, “and take out the potato with a spoon. Then put butter on top and some salt. I will get Benny’s out. Well, how are they?”

“Oh!” cried Benny. “They are delicious!”

“What did I tell you?” said Jessie. “Have some milk!”

“Milk and potatoes make a very good supper,” said Henry.

“I can read,” remarked Benny.

“What!” said Henry.

“Yes, he can,” said Violet. “He learned this afternoon. Go and get your book, Benny.”

Benny liked to read now. “It is not hard,” he said. “Watch can read, too.”

“Oh, can he?” laughed Henry. “Let’s see him.”

“Watch is too tired now,” said Benny. “I will read to you.”

Benny read out of his new book.

“Good old Benny,” said Henry. “Come to bed now. You must be tired with all that work, and I am tired, too.”

XI—The Doctor Takes a Hand

THE DAYS WENT BY happily for the boxcar children. They found more treasures in the dump, and Henry worked every day for Dr. Moore.

One noon Henry came home with some new stockings for Benny. Benny was very happy about them and made everyone admire them. And when Jessie looked at the new stockings, she had a happy thought.

She carefully washed Benny’s old stockings and hung them up to dry. That afternoon she and Violet sat down, with the workbag between them, to make a bear for Benny.

“You must make a tail, too, Jessie,” begged Benny, watching her put on the arms and legs and head.

“Bears don’t have tails,” said Jessie. “Your old bear didn’t have a tail.”

“But this bear must have a tail,” replied Benny, knowing that Jessie would put on two tails if he asked her to.

“What kind of tail?” asked Jessie at last.

“Long and thin,” said Benny happily, “so I can pull it.”

“Benny!” cried Jessie, laughing.

But she made a tail, long and thin, just as Benny had ordered.

“What’s his name, Jessie?” asked Benny, when at last the bear was handed over to him.

“I haven’t thought about a name,” replied Jessie. “Why don’t you think up a nice name for him?”

“Well, you made him out of my old stockings. Let’s name him Stockings.”

“All right, Stockings it is,” agreed Jessie, trying not to laugh.

And from that day on, the bear’s name was Stockings as long as he lived. And he lived to be a very old bear, indeed.

One afternoon Jessie saw how long Benny’s hair was getting, and she cut it with Violet’s scissors. Benny stood quietly while she did it.

But while his sisters were getting supper, he said to himself, “Jessie cut my hair. I’ll get Violet’s scissors and cut Watch’s hair. He will look better.”

He found Violet’s scissors and made Watch lie down on his side. Then he began to cut the hair off.

Benny said, “Good dog, Watch. You are Jessie’s dog, and so I will cut a J in your hair. Hold still now.”

Watch lay still, and Benny began to cut a J. It was not a very good J, but it looked a little like one.

Soon Benny had cut off all the hair on one side, with a J in the middle. He stood admiring his work, and just then Jessie came to see what he was doing.

“Benny!” she cried. “What are you doing?” Then she began to laugh.

“Oh, Violet, come and see!” she called. “Watch looks so funny.”

Jessie laughed and laughed until she almost cried. Violet laughed until she did cry.

Then she could not stop crying. She cried and cried. At last Jessie made up her mind that Violet was really sick.

“You must go to bed, Violet,” she said. She helped her carefully into the boxcar and put pine needles all around her and under her. Then she wet a handkerchief in the cold water of the brook and laid it on her little sister’s hot head.

“I wish Henry would come home!” said Jessie. “What shall we do?”

When Henry came at last, he looked at Violet and said that maybe she had a cold. “Maybe she sat too long by the brook,” he said.

“If Violet is very sick, she ought to go to the hospital,” said Jessie.

“Yes, I know that,” said Henry. “And we don’t want her to go to a hospital if we can help it. We should have to tell her name.”

“Yes,” said Jessie. “Then Grandfather could find us.”

The two older children sat up with Violet. They put cold water on her head. But after dark Violet shook all over, and Jessie was frightened. She covered Violet all over with pine needles, but still she shook. They could not get her warm.

“I’m going to get Dr. Moore,” said Henry. “I’m afraid Violet is very sick.”

Then Henry started to run. He ran even faster than he had run in the race. Down the hill into the town he ran, until he came to Dr. Moore’s house.

“Please come!” he cried. “Violet is very sick!”

The doctor said, “Come and get into my car.”

He did not ask Henry which way to go, but the car went up the right road. When they came to the woods, he said to Henry, “Stay here in the car.”

He ran alone up the hill to the boxcar. It seemed like magic that he knew where to go.

When Dr. Moore came back, he was carrying Violet in his arms. Jessie and Benny and Watch came, too. They all got into the car.

“Are you going to take her to a hospital?” asked Henry.

“No,” said Dr. Moore. “I’m taking her to my house.”

When they stopped at last, Dr. Moore carried Violet into the house and said to his mother, “Violet is very sick. We must put her to bed.”

Mrs. Moore hurried around, opening beds and bringing pillows, and Mary came from the kitchen with hot-water bottles. After awhile Violet began to get warm.

Then Mrs. Moore came to get the other children. “You must stay here all night,” she said.

She gave Henry and Benny a big bed, and Jessie slept in a little one. But Violet was so sick that the doctor did not go to bed all night. He would not leave her. He sat by her side until ten o’clock in the morning.

Before ten o’clock a man came to see the doctor. Mary told him he could wait. So he sat down in the living-room. Soon Benny came in.

“Where is the doctor?” asked the man, crossly.

“He is up in Violet’s room,” answered Benny.

“This means five thousand dollars to him if he will come down,” said the man.

“Oh, he can’t come now,” said Benny.

“What do you mean, boy?” asked the man. “What is he doing?”

“He’s taking care of my sister Violet,” said Benny. “She is sick.”

“And you mean he wouldn’t leave her even if I gave him five thousand dollars?” asked the man.

“Yes,” answered Benny. “That’s what I mean.”

Then the man said, “You see, I have lost a little boy, and I think the doctor knows where he is. My little boy is just about as old as you are.”

“Well, if you don’t find him, maybe you can have me,” remarked Benny. “I like you.”

“You do?” cried the man. “Come and get up in my lap.”

Benny climbed into the man’s lap. “Have you got a dog?” he asked.

“No,” said the man. “He is dead now. But you can see him in my watch. Here it is.”

Benny looked at the dog. “He looks like a very good dog,” he said. “I have a dog, too. His name is Watch.”

Just then Watch came in with Dr. Moore.

“Good morning,” said Dr. Moore. “Benny, you can go and play with Watch.”

Benny ran out, and the man said, “Dr. Moore, where are my grandchildren?”

“That little boy is one of them,” said Dr. Moore quietly.

“That beautiful little boy!” said the man.

“Yes,” said Dr. Moore. “They are all good children. But they are afraid of you. They are afraid you will find them.”

“How do you know that?” asked the man.

“They have changed their name,” said the doctor. He looked at the man in a queer way. “The big boy changed his name on Field Day. You saw him then.”

“I saw him? What did he change his name to?” asked the man.

“Henry James,” said the doctor.

“The running boy!” cried the man. “The boy who won the free-for-all! I liked that boy. So I am his grandfather.”

XII—James Henry and Henry James

DR. MOORE WENT to get his mother. “Mother,” he said, “this is Mr. James Henry Alden. He wants to take his grandchildren to live with him,”

“I’m afraid they won’t want to go with you,” said Mrs. Moore, “until they learn to like you. And they won’t want to go while Violet is so sick.”

“Can’t I see them?” begged Mr. Alden. “I won’t tell them who I am.”

“That would help,” agreed the doctor. “If they grow to like you before they know who you are, things will be easier.”

“Yes,” said Mrs. Moore. “Stay here with us for awhile. The children will learn to like you, and then we can tell them that you are their grandfather.”

“Thank you,” said Mr. Alden. “I will go home and get some clothes and come back. And I will give you the five thousand dollars.”

But Dr. Moore would not take the money.

“I just want these children to be happy,” he said.

When Mary learned that she was to cook for Mr. Alden, she was frightened. “How can I cook for him?” she cried. “He has everything. He is a very rich man.”

“You can cook for anyone,” said Dr. Moore, kindly. “Just get one of your good chicken dinners and make some cherry dumplings.”

At dinner Mr. Alden saw all his grandchildren but Violet. He smiled with delight when he saw Jessie come into the room in her quiet way.

“Children,” said Mrs. Moore, “this is Mr. Henry.”

Benny laughed. “Henry and Mr. Henry,” he remarked. “That is funny.”

Henry shook hands with Mr. Alden before he sat down at the table.

“Where have I seen that man before?” he thought.

The children liked to hear Mr. Henry talk. He told them about a big cucumber in his garden. The cucumber was growing inside a bottle, and he couldn’t get it out.

“Why not?” asked Benny.

“It is too big,” said Mr. Alden.

“How did it get in?” asked Benny.

“It was a little cucumber when it went in,” said Mr. Alden. “A cucumber will grow just the same in a bottle. It will grow so big you can’t get it out.”

“I’d like to see the cucumber,” said Benny, stopping in the middle of his cherry dumpling.

“Would you really?” asked Mr. Alden, delighted. “Some day you and I will go over and pick it.”

“And we can bring it to Violet,” said Benny.

“Yes, we’ll bring it to Violet,” agreed Mr. Alden.

Henry thought again, “Where have I seen that man before? I wish I could remember.”

He could not remember, but he liked Mr. Alden very much. All the children liked him because he was kind to them.

At last, one day, Mr. Alden could see Violet and went softly into her room with some beautiful flowers from his garden. The children loved him when he patted Violet’s dark head and told her that he was sorry she had been sick.

He told her, too, about his garden, where the flowers came from.

“I’d like to see your garden,” said Violet. “I love flowers.”

“How long are you going to stay, Mr. Henry?” asked Benny.

“Sh, Benny!” said Jessie.

“I want to stay here as long as I can, my boy,” said Mr. Alden quietly.

Henry looked at the man again. He knew that he had heard him say “my boy” before. Now where was it? He could not remember.

After dinner Mr. Alden sat under a tree, reading. Henry was working in the flower garden in front of the house. He looked at Mr. Alden again and again.

Suddenly it came to him, as the man smiled over his book. “It is the same man who gave me the twenty-five-dollar prize and the silver cup!” he said to himself. “I didn’t remember him at first because I was so excited when he shook hands with me.” He took another look and said again, “It’s the very same man!”

Henry sat thinking for a little while. Then he got up and went to find Dr. Moore.

“Do you know who gave me the prize on Field Day?” he asked the doctor. “Do you know what his name was?”

“James Alden, of the mills,” replied the doctor. “J. H. Alden, over at Greenfield.” He did not look at Henry while he was saying it.

Poor Henry was so surprised he almost fell over! That kind man his grandfather! He went out and sat on the steps to think it over.

To begin with, this man was too young. Henry had thought of his grandfather as being an old man with white hair. And Mrs. Moore had called him “Mr. Henry.” Could it be that the man knew he was their grandfather and hadn’t told them?

Then he saw that Mr. Alden was getting out of his chair under the trees.

“It’s now or never,” thought Henry. “I have to know!”

He walked eagerly after the man, who was going toward the garden with his back to Henry. Then the man turned around and saw how excited Henry was.

“Are you James Henry Alden of Greenfield?” Henry asked.

“I am, my boy,” replied Mr. Alden, with a smile. “Does that mean you know that I know you are Henry James Alden?”

“Yes,” said Henry quietly.

Then James Henry Alden shook hands again with Henry James Alden.

Jessie and Benny came across the grass just in time to hear Henry say, “But, Grandfather—”

“Grandfather?” cried Jessie. “What do you mean, Henry?”

“Yes, Jessie,” said Henry eagerly. “He’s the man we have been running away from all this time.”

“I thought you were old,” said Benny. “And cross. Jessie said so.”

“I didn’t know, Benny,” said Jessie. Her face was red. To think of running away from this kind man!

But her grandfather did not seem to mind. He patted her on the head and said, “Let’s go up and see Violet.”

There was no stopping Benny. He hurried into Violet’s room, holding Mr. Alden by the hand and shouting, “It’s Grandfather, Violet! And he isn’t cross after all!”

“What do you mean?” asked Violet. “Isn’t he Mr. Henry?”

“My name is James Henry Alden,” replied her grandfather.

“And my name is Henry James Alden,” cried Henry.

“Well, well!” said Dr. Moore.

Violet held on to her grandfather’s hand and listened to the rest talking excitedly.

“Where have you been living?” asked Mr. Alden at last.

They all looked at each other, even Dr. Moore and his mother. Then they all laughed as if they never would stop.

“You just ought to see!” said Dr. Moore.

“What!” cried all the children at once. “You never saw it in the daytime.”

“Is that so?” laughed the doctor. “I have seen it many times in the daytime.”

“Seen what?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Our house,” said Jessie. “We have been living in a boxcar in the woods.”

Then they all began to tell him about the dump and the dishes and the brook and the swimming pool.

“They have four beds of pine needles in the car,” said Dr. Moore.

“How do you know?” asked Jessie.

“Well,” said Dr. Moore, “the first day Henry worked for me, I walked after him as far as the hill.”

“Why did you do that?” asked Mr. Alden.

“I liked him. I saw he was a fine boy, and I wanted to see where he lived.”

“But you can’t see the boxcar from the hill,” said Jessie.

“No, but I came back that night and looked around,” said Dr. Moore.

“About ten o’clock!” cried Jessie.

“Yes,” said the doctor. “I stepped on a stick, and you heard me.”

“Our rabbit!” cried Jessie and Henry. “Watch barked.”

“Yes, I heard the dog bark. So I knew you were in the boxcar. Then I went home.”

“But you came back?” asked Jessie.

“Oh, yes. When you were picking cherries, I went up to see your house. I wanted to see if you had enough to eat and enough dishes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Mr. Alden. “Didn’t you know they were my grandchildren?”

The doctor laughed. “Yes, I did. But they were having such a fine time that I didn’t want to tell. They got along very well until Violet got sick. Then I told you.”

“I’m glad you did,” said Mr. Alden.

“I have seen your house, too,” said Mrs. Moore. “I went up one day and saw all your dishes. I liked your big pitcher and teapot.”

“All of you have seen it but me!” said Mr. Alden.

“We’ll show it to you!” cried Benny. “I’ll show you my cart made out of wheels, and my pink cup.”

“Good for you, Benny,” said his grandfather, much pleased. “When Violet gets well, we’ll all go up there. If you will show me your house, I’ll show you my house.”

“Do you have a house?” asked Benny in surprise.

“Yes. You can live there with me if you like it. I have been looking for you children for a long time.”

Violet was soon well again, and one afternoon they all started out to see the boxcar. The doctor took them in his car. Many people looked out of their windows to watch Mr. Alden and his grandchildren. They were glad that the children had found such a kind grandfather at last.

When they arrived at their old home, they ran around, all talking excitedly. Watch sniffed and sniffed all around, looking for the bone he had buried. Everything was the same.

“Here is the dam for the pool,” said Henry to his grandfather.

“See our ‘building’!” shouted Benny, for that was what he called the fireplace. “It really burns, too. And this is the refrigerator in the waterfall, and here is my pink cup!”

They all stepped on the stump and climbed into the car. They looked at the four beds and the dishes.

“Here is the same old pitcher and teapot,” said Jessie, laughing.

They found the blue tablecloth, and they all sat down by the brook and ate chicken and bread and butter and cookies. Benny drank milk from his pink cup.

“Come, we ought to go now,” said Dr. Moore at last. “The sun is going down. I don’t want Violet to take any more cold.”

They closed the boxcar door and said good-by. But they were all sorry to go.

“Tomorrow,” said Mr. Alden, “will all of you come to see my house?”

“Oh, yes,” cried the children happily. They did not know what a beautiful house it was and what good times they were going to have in it.

XIII—A New Home for the Boxcar

THE CHILDREN’S grandfather wanted them to like his house. He wanted them to live with him all the time. So he had made over some of the rooms just for them.

The children went with him in his car to see the house. When the car stopped in front of it, Henry cried in surprise, “Do you live here, in this beautiful house?”

It was a beautiful house. It was very big, with many trees and flower gardens around it.

“You may live here, too, if you like my house,” remarked his grandfather, watching Henry’s face.

The house was beautiful inside, too. There were flowers everywhere. There were maids everywhere. The children went up to the bedrooms.

“Oh!” cried Jessie. “This is Violet’s room.”

It really was Violet’s room. There were violets on the wallpaper. The bed was white with a violet cover. On the table were flowers.

“What a beautiful room!” cried Violet, sitting down in a soft, pretty chair.

All the children shouted when they saw Benny’s room. The wallpaper was blue and covered with big rabbits and dogs and bears. There were a rocking horse and a tool box and little tables and chairs. And an engine stood on a track, with cars almost as big as the little boy himself. Benny ran over to the engine.

“Can I run this train all day?” he asked. He sat down on the floor by the engine.

“Oh, no,” said Henry. “You are going to school as soon as it begins.”

His grandfather laughed. “That is right, my boy. You will like school. You will learn to read.”

“Oh, I can read now,” said Benny.

In Jessie’s room they found a bed for Watch. It was on the floor by her bed. Watch got in at once, sniffed at the pillow, turned around three times, and lay down.

“He likes it,” said Jessie. “He will sleep by me.”

Just then the children heard a doorbell ring. A maid came up to find Mr. Alden.

“A man to see you,” she said, “about the dog.”

Now when Jessie heard the word dog, she was frightened. She was afraid it was about Watch.

“They won’t take Watch away?” she whispered to Henry.

“No, indeed!” said Henry. “We’ll never, never give him up.”

Henry and Jessie and the other children went down with their grandfather to see the man, and Jessie was more frightened than ever. Watch did not growl at the man. He jumped up on him delightedly.

“You see, he was my dog,” said the man. “But I sold him to a lady, and he ran away from her that very day. I have to turn him over to the lady I sold him to.”

“How do you know he is the same dog?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Oh, he is my dog,” said the man. “You see he knows me, and he has a small black spot on this foot. But someone has cut his hair on one side.”

Benny looked. He found the black spot on Watch’s foot.

“I never saw that spot before,” said Henry.

“I will give you what you want for the dog,” said Mr. Alden. “The children love him. They want to keep him.”

“But I sold him to a lady,” said the man. “I must take the dog to her.”

Then Henry said, “Maybe she will want to change to another dog when she sees his hair. If she will agree to take another dog, will you let my grandfather have this one?”

“Yes, I will,” said the man.

“Let’s go and ask her, Grandfather,” said Benny. “She will let Jessie have Watch. He is her dog. She took the thorn out of his foot.”

The man told Mr. Alden where the lady lived, and they all started out to find her. She was a very pretty young lady, and she asked them to sit down.

But Benny could not wait. He said, “Please let us keep Watch! I want him, and Jessie wants him, and we didn’t know he was your dog.”

“What do you mean?” asked the lady, laughing. “Who is Watch?”

“This dog is Watch,” answered Henry. “A man came to Grandfather’s house today and told us that he had sold the dog to you. When Watch ran away from you, the day you bought him, he came to us. He had a thorn in his foot, and Jessie took it out.”

Watch looked up at the lady and wagged his tail. When she looked at him, she began to laugh.

“Look at his side!” she said. “Who cut his hair?”

“I’m sorry,” said Henry. “Benny did that one day with Violet’s scissors.”

“I am not sorry,” said the lady, laughing. “He looks so funny. And you want to keep him? Is that it?”

“Oh, yes,” said Jessie eagerly. “The man will let us have him, if you will take another dog.”

“Don’t be afraid,” said the young lady. “You may keep the dog. I can change to another one.”

“Oh, thank you! You are nice!” cried Benny.

He ran to the lady and climbed up in her lap before anyone could stop him.

“I’d like to keep you, Benny, in place of the dog,” laughed the lady, putting her arms around him.

How happy the children were to have Watch to keep! Mr. Alden gave the money to the man at once.

Four happy children sat with their grandfather around the Alden dinner table that night. The maids smiled in the kitchen to hear the children laugh. And the children laughed because Watch had a chair at the table beside Jessie and was really waited on by a maid.

Would you ever think that four children could be homesick in such a beautiful house? Jessie was the first one to wish for the old boxcar.

One day she said, “Oh, Grandfather, I’d like to cook something once more in the dear old kettle in the woods.”

“Go out in the kitchen, my dear,” said her grandfather. “The maids will help you. You can cook all you want to.”

Jessie liked this, but it was not like the old days in the boxcar.

Then one day Benny said, “Grandfather, I wish I could drink my milk out of my dear old pink cup.”

His grandfather began to think. He had some pink cups, but they were not so dear to Benny as his old cracked one.

At last Mr. Alden said, “I am going to give you children a surprise.”

“Is it very nice?” asked Benny.

“No, not very,” laughed his grandfather. “It is not pretty at all.”

“When will it come?” asked Benny.

“It will come today. You children must all go over to Dr. Moore’s and stay, until the surprise comes.”

“What can it be?” wondered Violet.

Her grandfather laughed. “I hope you will like it,” he said. “It is very heavy.”

The children were glad to see sweet Mrs. Moore and the kind doctor again. They stayed until Mr. Alden said the surprise was ready. Then Dr. Moore and his mother went back with them in the big car.

Mr. Alden was as happy as a boy. He took them by the garage and through the big gardens. At last they came to a garden with a fountain in the middle and trees around it. Near the fountain was the surprise. It was the old boxcar!

The children ran over to it with cries of delight, opened the door, and climbed in. All the things were in place. Even the old dead stump was there to step on.

Here was the old knife which had cut butter and bread and vegetables and firewood and string. Here was Benny’s pink cup, and here was his bed. Here were the big kettle and the blue tablecloth. Here were the pitcher and the old teapot. And here was the dinner bell which the children had made from an old tin can.

Benny hung it on a tree with a string and rang it over and over again with a spoon. Watch rolled on the floor of the car and barked and barked. Then he began to sniff at everything.

“He’s looking for the bone he buried,” laughed Benny.

“How they love the old boxcar!” said Mrs. Moore. “I like to see them so happy.”

“Thank you for the surprise, Grandfather,” said Violet. “We’ll never go away from you again.”

“I hope not, my dear,” said Mr. Alden. “We’ll all live happily ever after.”

And so they did.

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1942, 1950, 1969, 1977 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0752-9

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

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New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Surprise Island

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by Mary Gehr

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1   The First Surprise

2   Housekeeping

3   The Garden

4   Clamming

5   Summer Plan

6   The Museum

7   Exploring

8   Indian Point

9   A New Violin

10   Grandfather’s Visit

11   Apple Pie

12   The Picnic

13   Joe Again

14   Everybody’s Birthday

15   Good-by, Summer

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

The First Surprise

Now, tell us, Grandfather,” cried Henry. “We ran all the way home from school.”

“Tell us!” shouted Benny, throwing himself down on the grass beside the dog. “School is out for the whole summer, and Watch wants to know.”

“Violet and I want to know, too,” said Jessie.

Mr. Alden was sitting in the garden reading. He looked at his four grandchildren in surprise.

“Let me see, was this the day I said I’d tell you?” he asked them.

“He’s joking, Benny,” said Jessie.

“Joking?” cried Mr. Alden. “I mean everything I say!”

But he was joking, just the same, and enjoying himself, too. In the spring, he had promised his grandchildren a surprise for the summer, and now he had been waiting more than an hour for the children to come home.

“School is out,” said Violet.

“We ran all the way home,” shouted Benny.

“Yes, so you said,” said Mr. Alden slowly.

“You said the surprise was something you liked to do yourself when you were fifteen,” Henry told him.

“Yes, or even six,” said Mr. Alden, looking at Benny.

“And you said you’d tell us the minute school was out, Grandfather,” said Benny.

Mr. Alden laughed. “I certainly did,” he replied. “And now I’m going to tell you.”

The four children looked at him.

He began, “Once upon a time my father bought an island.”

“He bought one!” cried Henry.

“Yes,” Mr. Alden went on. “The island is small. There is nothing much on it except a small house, a barn, and a fisherman’s hut. My father wanted a quiet place to keep his best horses. Old Captain Daniel, who runs the motorboat, lives in the fisherman’s hut now. Let’s all go down to the island and look it over. If you want to stay there all summer, you may.”

“Oh, Grandfather!” cried Jessie. “We would like it better than anything in the world. It will be just like the boxcar days!”

“Couldn’t Watch go, too?” asked Benny, with his hand on the dog’s head.

“Certainly,” said Mr. Alden. “He would be lonesome without you.”

“Can we have a real stove, and cook?” asked Violet.

“You’ll have to cook,” replied Mr. Alden, “if you want to eat. I will give you some money for dishes and things. You must tell me how much money you need, but don’t make it too much.”

All the children laughed a little, because even Benny knew that their grandfather had enough money to buy anything they wanted.

“Let’s go now,” said Benny suddenly.

The four children jumped up so quickly that Mr. Alden threw back his head and laughed.

“We will go in the car as far as the ocean,” he said. “Then Captain Daniel will take us in the motorboat across to the island. We might stop and get Dr. Moore and his mother to come along and enjoy the fun. It’s the doctor’s day off.”

The children were delighted, for Dr. Moore and his mother were their best friends.

Dr. Moore did not look at all surprised when they came. He helped his mother into the big car, and off they all went toward the ocean. On the way Jessie and Violet began to plan their housekeeping.

“We have to buy bread and bottles of milk,” said Jessie. “Then we could live, even if we didn’t have anything else to eat.”

“Here’s a little book and a pen,” said Mr. Alden, taking a small blue book from his pocket.

“Write down the dishes we need,” said Violet.

Before they reached the ocean, Jessie had put down all the things they could think of. There were spoons, cups, bowls, plates, a sharp knife, a dishpan, and a big kettle.

Then they saw the ocean and the Alden motorboat tied up at the small dock. Captain Daniel, the old fisherman, was waiting for them on the dock.

“How are you, Captain?” said Mr. Alden, as they shook hands. “Just take us across to the island. If the children don’t like it, you can bring us right back again.”

The children shouted at this. “We’ll like it all right,” they said.

They climbed into the boat and were off.

“There’s our island!” cried Henry. “Our very own island!”

Benny began to wave.

“There’s nobody there, Benny. Why are you waving?” asked Grandfather. In spite of this, all the children began to wave at the island.

“And there’s our little house!” shouted Benny. “But is it big enough for all of us?”

“Oh, no,” said Captain Daniel. “That little hut is my house.” He laughed and looked at Mr. Alden.

They landed at the little dock, and walked a short way before they saw a small yellow house.

“Are we going to live in that yellow house?” cried Jessie.

“Oh, no!” answered Mr. Alden. “You children are going to live in the barn!”

“In the barn!” shouted the children, as they ran over to it.

“This is the best idea I have ever heard!” cried Henry. He opened the big door and looked in. A new floor had been laid but the children did not notice it. All of them were looking at the four box stalls along the back of the room.

“Bedrooms!” cried Benny, pointing to the box stalls.

“That’s what they are!” said Henry, opening one of the swinging doors to look in. Each stall had a large window and nothing else at all.

“Let’s bring down some straw for beds,” said Henry, looking up the stairs. “We can cover the straw with blankets.” He pointed to a pile of clean, light brown blankets.

Jessie ran over to look at the little stove. It was new, and there was an oven on top. Then Henry walked over to look at some barrels.

“Here are two empty barrels,” he shouted. “We can use them for table legs, and lay this long board across them for a table.”

“Wonderful!” said Jessie.

The older people stood in the doorway, watching the excited children.

“I’m glad the workmen left these old boxes here,” said Henry. “I can make dozens of things out of that wood—maybe a little cupboard for the dishes.”

“Oh, Henry, do you think you could?” cried Violet. “We wouldn’t need doors.”

“Of course he could,” said Benny. “He could make doors, too. Henry can make anything.”

“There is a little spring over there,” said Mr. Alden, taking the children to the window to look. “That spring never runs dry. It is always as cold as ice, even on very hot days, and it is safe to drink, too.”

“Isn’t this perfect, Henry?” said Jessie. “The most important things are settled already. Oh, I wish we could stay here tonight!”

“How about dishes?” asked Violet.

Jessie said, “We can get spoons and things at the five and ten. Are there any dishes already on the island, Grandfather?”

“Not a dish except what the captain has,” replied Mr. Alden. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry!” cried Jessie. “It’s lots more fun to buy them. Let’s get six of each thing. Then we can have company.”

“There’s still time to go back to the mainland,” said Henry looking at his watch. “We could go to the five and ten for dishes, and we could buy bread and milk for supper.”

“And I want my bear,” said Benny.

“Very well, my children,” said Mr. Alden, smiling. “You shall go back and get your things and stay here this very night.”

But just then Mr. Alden noticed that Captain Daniel had something on his mind.

“Did you want something, Captain?” he asked.

“Well, yes,” replied Captain Daniel. “I heard you say I was the only one on the island.”

“Well, aren’t you?” Mr. Alden looked at him.

“No, I’m not. I’ve got a young friend staying with me in my hut. I thought I had better tell you. He’s a good young man, handy and all, but he hasn’t been well.”

“What’s the matter with him? Who is he?” asked Mr. Alden sharply, just as Captain Daniel knew he would.

“I’ve known him all his life,” said Captain Daniel. Then he looked at Dr. Moore for help.

“Suppose I go down to the hut and talk with this man,” said Dr. Moore.

“Fine!” said Mr. Alden. “You go and see what this is all about.”

“I want to go with you,” said Benny.

“Oh, no,” said the doctor. “You go look in the windows of the yellow house, and see what you can see. I’ll be right back.”

So the children went over to look into every window, while Dr. Moore went off with Captain Daniel to see his friend.

CHAPTER 2

Housekeeping

Thank you for coming, Doctor,” said Captain Daniel, as they walked toward the fisherman’s hut. “You will see that it’s all right.”

Soon they came to the hut. A young man sat in the door, fixing a lobster pot.

“Hello,” he said, looking up.

“Hello,” replied Dr. Moore. “I’m a doctor, and I thought I would come to see you. Mr. Alden is leaving his four grandchildren on the island with Captain Daniel.”

The young man smiled. “Yes, I know,” he said. “I’m glad you came.”

“He’s a very handy man, Joe is,” put in Captain Daniel. “He’s a big help to me.”

“I’d like to tell you about myself,” said the young man. “Please sit down a minute.

“I used to live around here,” he went on. “Last year I went off to explore a place, and dig up old Indian things. One day I fell from a very high rock, and broke my arm. For a long time I didn’t know who I was.”

“Now do you remember who you are?” asked Dr. Moore.

“Yes, I think I’ll tell you.” The young man whispered a name.

“You can’t mean it!” cried Dr. Moore. “How strange! Who found you after you fell?”

“An old Indian found me, and took me to his hut. He took care of me, and got a doctor to fix my arm. I came here to Captain Daniel as soon as I remembered who I was.”

“Why didn’t you go right back to your home?” asked Dr. Moore.

“Because I wanted to be perfectly well before I went home. You see, I used to live with my uncle. It didn’t seem right for me to go back home until I was sure that I was well again.”

“I see,” said Dr. Moore. “Come over some day to see me, and tell me some more. I will look at your arm then.”

“It is almost well,” said the young man.

“Good!” said Dr. Moore. “You are doing the right thing. You should stay here and help Captain Daniel. You will like the four children when you get to know them.”

“I’m sure I shall,” said the young man. “You won’t tell anyone about me, will you?”

“No, I won’t,” promised the doctor. “I will say that you are Captain Daniel’s old friend and a handy man. The children can call you Joe.”

“Right!” said Joe. “My middle name is Joseph, anyway.”

Dr. Moore and Captain Daniel went back to the barn, leaving the strange handy man still fixing the lobster pot.

“Do you feel better now, Captain?” asked the doctor.

“I should say so! Thanks for fixing it up.”

“The stranger is all right, Mr. Alden,” said Dr. Moore. “Joe is a very fine fellow, he’s very handy, and Captain Daniel has known him all his life.”

“You are sure then that everything is all right?” Mr. Alden asked sharply.

“Yes,” said the doctor. “The children will like Joe.”

“I want to go and see Joe,” said Benny.

“Not now,” cried Henry. “We haven’t time. Don’t you remember we are going back to the mainland and buy groceries and dishes?”

“Of course I remember!” said Benny. “I’ve been waiting and waiting.”

Captain Daniel took them back to the mainland. The doctor and his mother left the others at the store.

“We had a wonderful time seeing your new home,” said Mrs. Moore.

“May we come again?” asked Dr. Moore, with a twinkle in his eye.

“You know you may,” said Jessie, smiling back. “Come any time after we get some dishes.”

“Come on, Jessie,” said Benny. “Let’s buy things.”

“Right,” said Jessie. And they all went into the store. They walked straight to the piles of cooking dishes.

“We are going to get a lot of dishes,” said Jessie. “May we have a big box first, so that we can put the things into it as we find them?”

“Certainly,” said the girl. “How is this one? Is it big enough?”

“That’s just fine,” said Henry. “Look, Jessie, see that big pail? We ought to have two, one for drinking water, and one for dishwater.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Jessie. “I hope we won’t forget anything.”

Soon they had everything they wanted.

“It’s four o’clock,” said Henry. “Let’s go up to the house and get our swimming suits and towels.”

“And my bear,” cried Benny.

“We will get your bear if we don’t get anything else,” said Jessie.

“I think we’ll have to pack another box at the house,” said Henry.

“Let’s pack old clothes,” said Jessie. “We certainly don’t want to wear these school clothes.”

“I should say not,” said Henry. “We couldn’t explore an island with good clothes on.”

“Are we going to explore?” asked Benny.

“Yes, Benny,” said Violet. “I’m going to take my paints and make pictures of things we find.”

“Good!” cried Henry, who liked Violet’s little pictures very much.

By this time they had come to the house. “Let’s find what we want to take,” said Henry, “and bring it to Jessie’s room.”

Mrs. McGregor, the housekeeper, met them at the door and said, “Jessie, don’t you want to see what Mr. Alden has bought, before you pack your things?”

“Bought? Yes, indeed,” replied Jessie.

Upstairs on Jessie’s bed was a big pile of new play clothes. There were four pairs of brown shoes, too.

“Just think of Grandfather’s getting all these!” cried Jessie. “Just what we need. Let’s each put on one of these suits and not take any school clothes at all.”

“I like my new shoes,” said Benny. He sat down on the floor and began to take off his old shoes at once.

Mr. Alden smiled as he sat alone downstairs in his big chair and listened to the happy shouting.

“Now for the packing box,” said Henry.

“Wait!” said Jessie. “Don’t bring the box up here. Each one of us can carry some things downstairs.”

“I’ll take the towels and my tools,” said Henry.

“Violet and I will carry the workbag, paints, the swimming suits, and the other clothes,” said Jessie. “Benny can bring the flashlight and the rest of the things.”

They all went downstairs with their arms full.

“Now did we forget anything?” asked Jessie.

“We forgot my bear, I guess,” said Benny, who had come downstairs again with a very funny-looking animal in his hand. He laid the bear beside the box.

“The most important thing of all!” cried Jessie, packing the bear carefully in the box.

“We’re all ready to go, Grandfather,” said Henry, when the bear was added to the box. “Are you sure you won’t be lonesome?”

“Thank you, my boy. No indeed!” said Mr. Alden quickly. He knew the children would not go at all unless he were careful. “I wouldn’t go with you if I could. I need a little rest without any children or dogs around.”

The children did not need to look up to see the twinkle in his eye, for they knew very well that he liked to have them near him.

“You won’t hear Watch bark at the milkman for a long time,” said Benny.

“What shall I do, Benny?” asked his grandfather. “I shall miss the barking and noise in the morning.”

“Good-by!” called everybody, as the car started. Mr. Alden and Mrs. McGregor waved until the car was out of sight.

“They’re wonderful children,” said Mrs. McGregor. “They are very clever. And yet they’re never too busy to be kind to everybody. Even little Benny, now, didn’t forget to say ‘Good-by’ to the cook.”

“Thank you, Mrs. McGregor,” said Mr. Alden. “That means a lot to me because you know them so well.”

He smiled as he went back to his big chair. He wanted to think about the children as they went across the island and into their new home.

The children got out of the car at the dock.

“Don’t you forget that bread and milk, Jessie!” said Benny.

“Oh, my!” cried Jessie. “We almost went over without a thing to eat. How lucky we are to have a store so near this dock. Let’s get lots of bread and milk. If we have bread and milk, we can live without eating anything else.”

“I have to have my vegetables,” said Benny.

“Of course,” said Jessie, laughing. “We’ll have lots of other things.”

“I want some supper now, Jessie,” said Benny. “I don’t want to hear any more talking about it.”

Jessie laughed. “I’m glad you are so hungry, Benny,” she said. “I almost forgot to buy our supper. It’s only six o’clock. We can have supper ready in an hour. Here comes Henry with the bread and milk.”

“I can’t wait an hour,” said Benny. “I have to go to bed in an hour because Mrs. McGregor says so.”

“Not tonight, Mr. Benny,” said Henry, laughing.

Captain Daniel put the boxes into the boat and started the motor. In a very short time they came to the island, and Captain Daniel helped the children carry the boxes to the barn.

“Good luck!” said Captain Daniel, as he set down the last box. “I hope you will like your new home.”

“Oh, we shall!” Jessie called after him. “And thank you. You have been so kind to us.”

“Now!” said Henry. “Let’s get to work.”

“Oh, isn’t this exciting!” cried Jessie. “You open the boxes and Benny and I will set up the table.”

What a noise they made! Henry took off the cover of the box. The others pulled out the barrels and laid the wide board across them. Then the whole family unpacked the blue-and-white dishes.

“We’ll wash four bowls and four spoons,” said Jessie. “We won’t heat water to wash all the dishes tonight. It is lucky that Captain Daniel brought us a little water.”

“No,” said Violet, “we can’t put things away until we have a dish cupboard.”

“Tomorrow,” laughed Henry, “I will make that dish cupboard the very first thing.”

Violet piled the bread on a plate, while Jessie put two bottles of milk on the table. So with packing boxes for chairs, the four children sat down. They put the bread into the bowls and poured the cold milk over it. With their new spoons, they began to eat their first delicious supper in their new home.

“We must get something for Watch to eat,” said Henry, as the dog ate two big slices of their bread.

“How many pieces of bread may I have, Jessie?” asked Benny.

“All you want!” cried both Jessie and Henry.

When supper was over, Jessie got up so suddenly that her chair went over. “Let’s wash these dishes right away,” she said, “and then make our beds.”

So the children started for the spring, each with a bowl and spoon. They soon saw that the water from the spring came up into a barrel and ran over the top. The stream ran into the woods.

“We had better wash dishes in the stream because we may want to drink the water in the barrel,” said Henry.

As he waited for the others, he thought he saw a vegetable garden on the other side of the house. He could not see very well because it was getting dark. “A funny thing to find on an island,” he thought to himself.

“I’m going to bring down my own bed myself,” said Benny, starting back to the barn. “I want the stall right next to Jessie’s for my bedroom.”

“He’s sleepy,” said Jessie, looking at her little watch. “It’s eight o’clock, and I’m sleepy, too.”

After all the children were in bed, Jessie sat up suddenly and listened. She heard a sleepy little voice saying over and over, “Jessie, I want my bear. I want my bear.”

She got up at once. With the flashlight, she soon found the funny-looking animal in the packing box and took it to Benny.

When Jessie woke again, it was morning.

CHAPTER 3

The Garden

Jessie was not the first one to wake up the next day. At six o’clock, Henry went very quietly to her “room” and opened the swinging door to let Watch out. The dog came very quietly and followed Henry as he walked out of the barn to the spring. Henry stood still and looked around. He was right. It was just as he thought last night. There was a garden, with rows and rows of vegetables in it.

“I wonder if this garden belongs to Captain Daniel,” thought Henry.

Then he heard a little noise, and turned around. A young man was coming toward him. His head was down as he walked. Henry looked at him carefully. Henry thought the man looked very sad, but he forgot that when the stranger looked up and smiled.

“I’m Joe,” he said. “I’m the handy man. How do you like your garden?”

“Mine? Is it mine?” asked Henry.

“Yes. There are two gardens on this island. One belongs to Captain Daniel and this one is yours.”

“How did that happen?” asked Henry. “I just got here.”

“Well, your grandfather knew that you would rather plant it yourself. If you did, it would be too late to start planting when you got out of school. So he told Captain Daniel to plant it, and he said you would weed and look after the garden when you came.”

“I will,” said Henry, opening one of the peas. “These are big enough to eat now.”

“Yes,” said Joe. “The peas are just right, but nothing else will be ready until later.”

“Haven’t you ever eaten tiny vegetables? We did once,” said Henry. “We pulled them because there were too many of them in the garden. It makes me hungry when I remember how good they were. The girls make such good things to eat out of almost nothing.”

The other children appeared at just that minute. But it was Benny who spoke first. “Hello, Joe,” he said. “You look just like Joe. Is this your garden?”

“No,” said Joe, laughing. “It’s yours.”

“Oh, no, it isn’t,” said Benny.

“It is ours, Benny,” said Henry. “Joe and Captain Daniel started it for us, and you may help me weed it.”

“Not now,” said Benny. “I want my breakfast.”

“We’ll eat soon,” said Jessie, smiling at Joe. “This is Violet, and I’m Jessie.”

Joe said, “Yes, Captain Daniel told me all your names. I feel as if I knew you all.”

“Oh, look,” cried Benny. “Peas! I’d like peas for dinner!”

“Our dinner is all planned then,” said Jessie. “We’ll have peas, and everyone will help pick and shell them.”

They walked slowly back to the barn, leaving Joe at the woodpile.

“He’s nice, isn’t he?” said Violet, as they walked along. They all agreed that he was.

After the four bowls and the bread and milk were set on the table, the children sat down carefully on the packing boxes. Then Jessie said, “I think that after breakfast we’d better make a plan for the summer. Every day we must go swimming, and every day we must cook something at noon. After dinner we must either make something or go exploring.”

“Make something, such as a dish cupboard, I suppose,” said Henry, looking at Violet.

“That’s not a bad idea, Henry!” cried Violet.

“I will make you a cupboard this very day,” said Henry.

“Let’s wash the dishes and pick the peas now,” said Jessie. “Henry can make the dish cupboard while we shell the peas. We’ll take the dishpan to hold them.”

On the way to the spring with their bowls and the dishpan, they passed Joe at the woodpile.

“Henry,” called Joe, stopping his work, “did you know that Captain Daniel goes over to the mainland every morning for groceries? If you need any groceries, you may leave your order on a piece of paper in the box on the dock. Captain Daniel will bring your order back to the island before dinner.”

“Oh, how nice,” said Jessie. “I was wondering what to do about milk. Ours is almost gone.”

“Just write what you want and I will take it down now,” said Joe. “Here is my pen.”

Jessie and Henry sat down facing each other on rocks to think.

“We must have butter for the peas,” said Jessie, writing it down on a piece of paper from Joe’s pocket.

“We want bread and four bottles of milk every day all summer,” said Henry.

“Sugar,” called Benny. “And some dog bread for Watch.”

“Good!” said Henry. “I almost forgot Watch.”

“I want to go with Joe and see the little box,” said Benny, taking Joe’s hand.

“Let him go,” said Violet. “I’ll wash his bowl for him, and we can pick peas without him.”

Then the older children set to work. They picked enough for dinner, but lots of peas were left

“Enough for two more dinners,” said Henry, very pleased, “and more will grow. Now I will start that cupboard while you girls shell the peas.

“How many places will you need to put things, Jessie?”

“One shelf for spoons and things,” said Jessie.

“And one shelf for dishes,” said Violet.

“And one shelf for pans and kettles,” said Jessie, “and an extra shelf for groceries.”

The two girls sat in the open door of the barn shelling peas. Henry began to build the cupboard.

“What time shall we go swimming?” asked Jessie.

“We could go in right before lunch,” said Henry. “Or if you were too busy cooking, we could swim before breakfast, and maybe again at four o’clock.”

“Fine,” said Jessie. “Before breakfast when we feel like it—four o’clock when we don’t. Maybe both and go to bed at eight o’clock, or as soon as it gets dark.”

“Oh, dear! Do we all have to go to bed so early?” asked Violet.

“You’ll want to, believe me,” said Henry. “You wait and see.”

When the peas were shelled, Benny came running back. “It’s a big box, Violet,” he said, “and it has a little door, and it will hold lots of bottles of milk and everything. I like to open the door and take out the things.”

“What did you take out?” asked Violet.

“Oh, Captain Daniel let me take out some letters and packages,” answered Benny.

“Maybe you’d like to do that every day, Benny,” said Henry. “You may take the order down to the box. Then you may get the groceries and letters when they come.”

“I’d like to do that,” said Benny. “Captain Daniel was there and he said he’s bringing our groceries soon. Then I can open the little door and get them.”

“That’s fine,” said Henry. He was glad to please Benny and get a little work done at the same time. “Come and hold this door for me, will you?”

“Oh, our cupboard has doors!” said Violet. She watched Henry put two pieces of heavy cloth on the doors so that they would open and shut.

The morning passed very quickly. Jessie lighted the little stove, boiled some water in the kettle, and put in the peas. When they were done, she added some salt, and filled four dishes with peas. On the top of each dish she put a piece of butter. There was no need to call anyone, for the whole family and the dog stood watching her.

“Oh, boy!” cried Henry, as he began to eat.

“Oh, boy!” cried Benny.

Violet said nothing, but when her first dish was empty she passed it for more.

“This is what I like,” said Jessie. “Everything seems better when we have to work to get it.”

It was fun to put white paper in the new dish cupboard and find the best places for each cup and bowl. And at one o’clock the barn was once more in order, the cupboard was shut, and the four children and their dog were ready to explore the island.

CHAPTER 4

Clamming

The children walked through the beach grass and sat on the sand.

“Jessie, look at that!” cried Benny, pointing. As he spoke, a stream of water shot out of the sand. But Henry did not stop to say how pretty it was. “Clams!” he shouted. He jumped up and took a stick from the beach. The rest of the children and the dog ran to watch Henry as he began to dig. Sure enough, he took a real clam from the wet hole.

“Oh, I wish I had a shovel!” cried Henry. “There are lots of clams here. See that hole, and that!”

“Let’s run up and get two big spoons and the dishpan,” cried Jessie. They raced for the tools, leaving Benny and Violet with the stick. When they came running back, they found that Benny had dug out another clam.

“I am going to keep mine,” said Benny, very pleased with himself. “It is such a pretty purple color.”

“You can put all yours together into this pan, Benny,” said Jessie, giving him a saucepan. “You won’t want to keep them when you find out how good they are to eat.”

The children took off their shoes and set to work.

“There’s another!” cried Benny. “I can’t dig fast enough.”

Watch seemed to know what was going on. He stood still a minute watching Benny dig with the stick. Then he began to dig too, with his paws.

“Good old Watch!” cried Benny. “You can do all my digging if you want, and I will take the clams out for you.” As if he really did understand, the dog waited for Benny to show him where the clam was. Then he began to dig again. The older children laughed to see the sand fly under his paws, but they were very glad to see the pan fill up.

“I suppose these are for dinner tomorrow,” said Henry, as he threw a clam on the pile.

“Yes,” said Jessie. “These will keep all right here. We can cover them all over with seaweed.”

“I think we have enough,” said Henry, looking at the pan. He went to the water and pulled out a lot of wet seaweed. He spread this carefully over the clams.

“I wish we knew what was around that next point,” he said. “Let’s find out.”

“We’re exploring now, Benny,” said Violet. “You must keep your eyes open.”

Benny’s eyes were certainly open when he went around the point. In the water near the beach was a little raft.

“Oh, I know that Grandfather fixed this place for us to swim in!” said Benny.

“Of course he did,” said Henry. “The water here can’t be over my head, but it is deep enough for swimming.”

The children explored until three o’clock. Then they all agreed to go swimming, and went to their rooms to put on their suits. When they came back to the beach, they all walked together into the water.

“Cold!” said Benny, walking out again. “I like warm water.”

“That’s because you’re not in all over,” said Jessie, laughing. “You just watch Henry, and you’ll soon like it.”

They all watched Henry as he went quickly into the water and began swimming hand over hand to the raft. Watch swam along beside him.

“It’s great!” Henry shouted, as he sat on the raft “Come on out, Jessie.”

“I will, just as soon as I get Benny in,” she called back. “You’ll never be warm unless you go in all over, Benny.” But Benny would not go in. He sat in his swimming suit, throwing stones into the water. Violet was down the beach, looking for seaweed. She said she would stay with Benny while Jessie swam out to the raft. As Jessie and Henry sat with their feet in the water, they saw a man coming.

“It’s Joe!” said Henry. It was Joe, and he was wearing a swimming suit.

Henry watched as Joe came along the beach and sat down beside Benny.

“How is the water today?” asked Joe.

“It’s awfully cold,” replied Benny. “It’s ice melted.”

“I guess that’s because you haven’t been in all over,” said Joe, smiling.

“Yes, that’s what Jessie says,” said Benny.

“That is called rockweed,” said Joe suddenly, as Violet picked up a long piece of brown seaweed. “There are beautiful seaweeds around here. See this dark green one on the sand? And here’s another red one. Look! There is a piece of it in that wave!” Joe went into the water, and Violet followed him.

“Oh, there it goes!” she cried. “We’ve lost it.”

Benny was standing up by this time, looking into the waves. He did not even feel the water washing over his feet. The seaweed came up on a wave and went down again. This time Benny went after it.

“I’ve got it!” he shouted. He was right. He had caught the red seaweed, and he was wet all over.

“Good for you, Benny!” said Joe with a smile. “Let me take it a minute.”

“Here,” said Benny, handing the seaweed to Joe. He did not know that he was standing in melted ice.

“Say, I have an idea,” said Joe. “Float the seaweed like this in water. Then pick it up by putting a piece of writing paper under it and spread out the feathery branches with a pin.”

“Will the seaweed stay on the paper?” asked Violet.

“Yes,” said Joe. “There is something in the seaweed that makes it stick to the paper when it is dry. Then you can use the paper for writing letters.”

“Oh, I’d like that,” cried Violet, “but I’d also like to make a seaweed collection!”

“Fine!” said Henry, for he and Jessie had come back from the raft to see what was going on. “You can write down the names of the seaweed and make a little book.”

“That will be hard to do. There aren’t many everyday names for seaweed,” said Joe.

“You know lots of things, don’t you, Joe?” said Benny.

The three older children agreed, for they had seen how clever Joe had been in getting Benny into the cold water without his knowing it.

After they had dressed and were sitting down to supper, Henry was thinking about Joe. Later, when he was in bed, he thought, “Joe is a very strange handy man, to know the names of the different kinds of seaweed.”

CHAPTER 5

Summer Plan

We must go on exploring the island,” said Henry, the morning after the clam digging. “It may rain any day and the days are just flying by.”

“We can go this morning,” said Jessie, coming to the doorway of the barn. “The clams will not take very long to cook, and that’s all we are going to have for dinner except, of course, bread, butter, and milk. If we get back by eleven o’clock, we shall have plenty of time.”

“It’s settled, then,” said Henry. “Let’s take the big kettle. We might find something we want to bring home. Now where is Benny?”

“There he is,” said Jessie, pointing.

Benny was coming from the dock. He had a basket of groceries with him.

“Hurry up, Benny. We are going to explore,” said Henry, taking the kettle.

“Aren’t we going to cook my clams?” asked Benny.

“Oh, yes. We’ll be back in plenty of time to cook your clams, Benny.”

They started down the beach.

“See this funny shell,” said Jessie. She dug it out with her foot. “It is just like a little boat. Let’s save it.” She dropped it into the kettle.

“And here’s a beautiful one,” said Violet. “Let’s save all the shells we find.”

“Look at this pretty purple flower, Jessie, right in the sand,” said Benny.

“Let’s save all the flowers we find, too,” said Jessie. “Put it in the kettle, Benny.”

Just then Henry began to jump around on the sand. The others watched him in surprise.

“What in the world is the matter with you?” asked Jessie, as Watch began to jump with him.

“I have a great idea! Oh, boy!” cried Henry.

“Tell us,” said Violet, as they all sat down on the sand.

“Well,” began Henry, “you all know what a museum is—”

“I don’t,” said Benny.

“Oh, sure you do, Benny,” cried Henry. “You must have seen pictures of museums; places where they keep all kinds of birds and animals and flowers.”

“And shells,” said Violet.

“That’s it,” cried Henry, looking at his sister. “You know what my idea is already, don’t you?”

“I think so,” said Violet. “And I think it is a perfectly wonderful idea.”

“Oh, do you?” asked Henry. “I wasn’t sure.”

“What is this idea?” asked Jessie.

“Well,” answered Henry, “we are sure to find some interesting things on this island to keep. We found these things without looking at all. Maybe we shall find lots more—butterflies, birds, seaweed—”

“We could clean out the upstairs in the barn,” said Jessie.

“And have a museum,” said Benny.

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do!” said Jessie. “That will give us lots of things to do on rainy days. Violet could make little signs for everything, and you could make a table to go around the room. And I will dry the flowers between newspapers and put the shells in boxes.”

“We wouldn’t have real birds, would we?” asked Violet, looking worried.

“Oh, no!” cried Henry. “We could cut birds out of heavy paper and color them—every bird we see.”

“Then we could cut down some small trees and put the birds on the branches,” said Jessie. “I’ve seen them in the museum.”

“Good!” said Henry. “We might find old birds’ nests to put up in the trees. We will have plenty of fun this whole summer.”

Violet began to write down in the little book:

1. Birds

2. Flowers

3. Seaweed

4. Shells

5. Butterflies

“That’s enough for a beginning,” said Henry, standing up. “We shall have to be on the watch every minute.”

And so the exploring party set out once more, looking at the trees for birds, and dropping flowers and shells into the kettle.

“How can I write the names of these shells when we don’t know their names?” asked Violet. She dropped a long, thin clam shell into the kettle, but nobody knew what it was.

“I suppose we could get a book about shells from the library,” said Henry. “Grandfather said we could go across to the mainland with Captain Daniel if we wanted to, but I don’t want to leave this island for even a minute.”

“Something will turn up,” said Jessie.

Something did turn up. The very minute the explorers came back to their barn, they saw Joe getting into the motorboat.

“Oh, wait!” called Jessie, running down to the dock.

“Don’t hurry,” called Joe. “Plenty of time.”

But all the children kept on running just the same.

“Are you going to the stores now, Joe?” asked Jessie.

“That’s just where I am going,” replied Joe. “I will get anything you want and I shall be back in an hour.”

“Then you will go right by the library!” cried Jessie. “Would you be willing to get us some books?”

“Yes, I can get all the books you want by signing for them,” he said.

Joe took out a pen and a piece of paper and gave them to Jessie. “Write the names of the books you want and I will get them.”

“I can’t,” answered Jessie, giving back the paper. “We don’t know the names of the books. But we want books with pictures in them to tell us the names of flowers, birds, shells, butterflies, and seaweed.”

Joe smiled in a queer way and said, “I could ask the girl in the library to pick them out for you.”

“That’s right,” agreed Henry. “She would know.”

But when Joe went into the library, he did not ask for any help. He gave the girl in the library the names of so many books that she had to write very fast. Then a small boy went off to get them. When the books were tied up, the strange handy man went away, leaving the girl and small boy looking after him in surprise.

Joe was really delighted to go over to the barn and see the children. He knocked at their open door with his foot, as his arms were full of books.

“Oh, come in!” cried Jessie. She put a cover on the kettle and came over to him at once. “Did you have any luck?”

“I don’t know. I hope so,” said Joe.

“Oh, Henry,” cried Jessie, “I don’t know what to do first, but I suppose I must fix the clams.”

“You surely must,” said Henry. “We are so hungry we could eat the chairs, but I will not open the books until after we eat.”

“Won’t you stay to dinner, Joe?” asked Jessie. “I washed the clams six times and they are cooking now. I think they are almost done.”

Oh, how Joe wanted to stay to dinner! “I-I—” he said.

“That’s fine!” said Jessie, as if he had said ‘Yes.’”

“You’re our first guest,” shouted Benny with delight. “But you’ll have to wash your own dishes.”

“Oh no, he won’t, Benny,” cried Jessie. “You shouldn’t say such things.”

“I would like to wash my own dishes,” said Joe, smiling. “And I really would like to see if the books are all right.”

Violet smiled, because the smell of the clams was good enough to make anyone hungry. While Jessie melted some butter, Violet went out and brought back five of Benny’s purple flowers and put one at each place.

The clams were all open when Jessie looked in the kettle. She began to take them out with a saucepan.

“Please let me do that,” said Joe. “That kettle is so heavy.”

“Thank you so much,” said Jessie. “I can put the melted butter into the cups.” She did this quickly, and then poured the clam water into five bowls. Violet set them all on the table.

“Oh, dear, what shall we do for another place to sit?” asked Jessie.

“Let me bring the block from my woodpile,” said Joe.

When Joe came back with the block of wood, Benny asked, “How do you eat clams, anyway?”

“Pull the clam out,” said Joe. “See! Then put him into the clam water, then into the melted butter—”

“Then you put him into your mouth,” said Benny.

They all laughed at Benny, but they did not talk much, for they were too busy eating. Joe picked out Benny’s clams for him.

“I never had so much fun at a dinner in my life,” said Joe when the clams were gone, “but I want to help with the dishes.”

“All right,” said Jessie. “I put the kettle of water on to heat before we sat down. You may wipe dishes if you really want to.”

When the dishwater was hot, the dishes were washed and soon were all put away in the cupboard.

Then Jessie said, “Now show us the books, Joe!”

CHAPTER 6

The Museum

Joe and the children sat around the table to look at the books. Henry took off the paper and found twelve interesting-looking books.

“The Butterfly Book,” said Jessie.

“The Shell Book,” said Violet.

“The Flower Book,” said Henry. “Oh, these three books must belong to a set. Just look at the beautiful pictures.”

The handy man seemed to be just as interested as the children. He soon found a picture of the purple flower on the table. It was the Beach Pea. Then Joe showed the children the names of the shells they had found. He saw that Henry was staring at him. “How did you ever learn all this?” asked Henry.

“Oh, I just picked it up,” said Joe. “I used to live near the beach.”

Joe saw that he would have to be more careful, because it appeared that he knew too much for a handy man. And so he said he would have to get back to his work.

After Joe had gone, Henry said, “Let’s look upstairs.” He ran up the stairs and the others followed with the dog. First Henry opened the big windows. Then he looked around the room. The pile of straw was at one end. In the corner stood an old straight-backed chair. Jessie went over and shook it.

“Wonderful!” said Jessie. “We’ll use that when Grandfather comes to call. To think of having a real guest chair!”

“I wish we had some boards,” said Henry. “I thought we might find some up here.”

“What is this?” asked Benny.

“Boards!” shouted Henry.

Some eight-foot boards were piled on the floor under the straw.

“Well, now,” cried Henry, “how lucky we are! I’ll get right to work. I can carry the boards down under the trees, and saw them to make tables.”

“I ought to dry the flowers,” said Jessie. “Violet can look up their names and Benny can help carry down the boards.”

“We ought to have lots of newspapers for drying the flowers,” said Violet, going downstairs. “And we haven’t a single newspaper.”

“Joe has,” said Benny to everyone’s surprise. “He gets two every day, so he must have a lot.”

“You go ask him, Benny, will you?” said Violet. “Just ask him for old ones, and be sure to thank Joe.”

When Benny arrived at Captain Daniel’s hut, he knocked at the door.

“Hello!” called a voice. Benny walked around to the other side of the hut. Joe and the captain sat there cleaning fish.

“Have you any old newspapers?” asked Benny. “Not to read, but to dry flowers between.”

“We certainly have,” said Joe, smiling. He pointed to some piles of old newspapers.

“Oh, one pile will be enough,” cried Benny, delighted. “Jessie only wanted a dozen. Thank you, Joe. She will be surprised.”

Jessie was surprised and pleased.

“Have you a thin board about a foot long?” she called to Henry.

“How’s this?” asked Henry.

“Perfect. Go get it, Benny,” said Jessie.

But she had used the wrong words for Benny and the right words for Watch. When the dog heard “Go get it,” he ran out of the barn to Henry who put the board carefully in the dog’s mouth. Then Watch ran back and laid the board at Jessie’s feet. Jessie was so pleased that she stopped her work and gave him a piece of bread.

The girls smoothed the flowers out on the newspapers, just as they had done in school. Then they covered the flowers with more papers and a board and put a large stone on top.

“I hear a motorboat,” said Henry.

“I’m going down to see,” said Benny. “There might be something for us.”

Jessie said, “Don’t be too sure.” To her surprise he came back in a few minutes with a big box.

“We did get something!” he cried. “It’s from Grandfather! Captain Daniel said so.”

Henry opened the big box.

“Sweaters!” he said.

Benny took his at once. “I know mine is that red one,” he said. “And I guess that purple one is Violet’s.”

There was a beautiful blue one for Jessie, and a brown one for Henry. They all put them on to see how they looked.

“Grandfather thinks it’s going to get cold,” said Jessie.

“So do I,” answered Henry. “I think we shall be glad of these presents very soon.”

When Jessie woke up late that night she heard rain falling on the roof of the barn. She put on her shoes and shut all the windows. Henry got up to help shut the barn door. “Now I guess we’ll keep dry,” he whispered.

“The rain is coming in somewhere,” said Jessie softly. They listened, and they could hear the sound of water dropping near the stove.

“We mustn’t let the stove get wet,” cried Henry, speaking out loud. “Get the big kettle!”

Henry put it under the stream of water. The water seemed to come faster and faster into the kettle.

“We can’t go to sleep because the kettle might run over,” said Henry after a minute.

“What’s the matter, Jessie?” called Benny in a sleepy voice.

“Rain is coming through the roof,” said Henry. “You go back to sleep.”

“I can’t,” cried Benny. “Rain is coming in my window, too, and all over me.”

“Oh, dear!” cried Jessie. “Where is the flashlight?”

With the flashlight, the two older children soon saw that the wall near Benny’s bed was very wet. A stream of water was running in under his window.

“Get up, Benny!” cried Henry.

Benny came out slowly. “I don’t like this bed,” he said. He began to cry. “I like my bed at Grandfather’s house, and I want to go home! It’s nice and dry there.”

“Now, Benny, don’t be like that!” cried Jessie. “You’re a big boy, and you ought to be up helping us. You wouldn’t like it if we left you at home, would you?”

“No,” said Benny. This idea woke him up, and he started to help move his bed out.

“What’s the matter?” called Violet.

“It’s raining in this barn!” said Benny. “Maybe on you, too.”

“No, it’s not,” said Violet. “But I can hear it coming in somewhere.”

“It’s coming in all over the place,” cried Henry.

“I wish we had more kettles,” said Jessie. “I’ll put one pail under this window and the other pail in the corner.”

“We can’t go to sleep,” said Violet. “The pails and kettle will run over.”

“The rest of you can go to sleep,” said Henry. “I will stay up and empty the pails. Benny, you get into my bed. I think we have found all the places where the rain is coming in.”

Benny was glad to get into bed and he was soon asleep again. Henry sat up for an hour. He emptied the pails once more, and then crawled in beside Benny. The rain had almost stopped.

“I’ll fix the roof tomorrow,” he thought. “And maybe Joe will help me. He’s a very handy man.”

The next morning it was still raining. The children dressed and ate breakfast and then watched the rain.

“One of us must go outside for the groceries,” said Henry, “and I think I’m the one. My clothes are going to get awfully wet, so what shall I do while they dry?”

“Where are all your other clothes?” asked Benny.

Henry pointed to the clothesline over the stove.

“They aren’t dry yet,” said Jessie. “I’m sorry now that I washed them.”

“Henry can go to bed while his clothes dry,” said Benny.

“Say, listen, Benny!” cried Henry. “How would you like to go to bed? You get busy and think of something I could put on.”

“Jessie could make you a suit out of a blanket,” said Benny suddenly.

“I really could!” cried Jessie. “It’s lucky we brought along Violet’s workbag. I’ll make you a pair of pants out of a blanket. And you can put on your new sweater while your things dry.”

“Good for you, Jessie,” said Henry. “Now let’s be sure we have thought of everything we want, so I won’t have to go out again.”

“I have an idea,” said Benny. “Why don’t you put on your swimming suit to go outside and then your clothes won’t get wet?”

“That is a good idea, Benny. What would we do without you?” said Henry.

“Benny, you are wonderful,” agreed Jessie.

Benny laughed and said, “I know you could make pants out of a blanket if you had to.”

“I’ll put on my swimming suit,” said Henry. “You be thinking of what you want.”

Jessie said, “There will be some potatoes in the box because I ordered them. And all that bread and milk. Do you think you can carry it all? I am going to make some clam chowder, and I’ll need onions from the garden. The onions aren’t very big, but big enough.”

“I’ll get the onions first,” said Henry, appearing in his swimming suit, “and give them to you through the door. I think I can carry everything else.”

Henry handed the little onions to Jessie through the partly open door. When he came in with the basket of groceries, he looked as if he had been swimming.

After a rub down with a towel, Henry put on his dry clothes and was ready for work.

“This is a perfect day to work on our museum things,” he said. “I can make some boxes for the shells and butterflies.”

Soon the table was covered with wood, paper, paints, and tools.

At half-past eleven, Jessie stopped her work to make the chowder.

“I’m going to use these little onions for the chowder,” she said.

Jessie melted some butter and put the onions in it. Then she added water and salt and the sliced potatoes. When the potatoes were done, she added the cut-up clams and at the very last minute, the milk.

Soon, when dinner was ready, the four children took their bowls of chowder and sat down, not minding the rain at all.

“Jessie, you can make anything!” cried Henry.

“Yum, yum! Jessie can make good chowder!” said Benny.

After dinner, the children painted birds and fixed the feathery seaweed for their museum. Henry went upstairs to put up the tables.

By the time it was dark, the Alden Museum was very well started.

“I think the birds are the best thing in the museum,” said Benny. But Benny did not know what they were to find the next day.

CHAPTER 7

Exploring

The next morning the rain had stopped, and it was a beautiful day. First, the four children went swimming. Then, after breakfast they started out with the big kettle to explore again.

“Let’s go down to the very end of the island today,” said Henry.

“I’ll make a picture of the island as we go along,” said Violet, taking the blue book.

They walked along slowly until they could see the very end of the island.

“Look, oh, look!” cried Jessie. “What a big pile of shells!”

“It’s taller than Benny,” cried Henry, as he and the others ran to the shell-pile.

“They’re all broke,” said Benny, picking up some shells.

“Broken, Benny,” said Henry.

“Well, broken, then,” said Benny. “Old broken clam shells. No pretty ones for our museum.”

“Yes, but look!” said Jessie. “They are all clam shells, just as if somebody had sat here for years and years getting out clams.”

“Maybe they did,” said Violet.

“Who did?” asked Benny.

“I don’t know, Benny,” replied Henry. “I know I never saw anything like it before, not even in a picture.” He took a stick and dug in the pile.

Violet made a little picture in her book of the shell-pile. Then the children started to explore the other side of the island. They found that this side of the island was very rocky. Jessie, Henry, and Violet were looking up at the high rocks when Benny said suddenly, “Look, a little cave! Let’s go in.”

“He’s right,” said Henry, looking in.

“Come on, like this,” said Benny, going in on his hands and knees.

The other children went after Benny, laughing. “Oh, it’s just like a little room,” cried Jessie. “And I can see another one.”

“Nice in here,” said Henry, looking around him. “Let’s go on.”

They all crawled after Henry and came to another little room. They could still see the ocean, as they looked back.

The children sat down, and Henry began to dig with the stick, just for fun. Suddenly he dug out a small stone.

“Oops!” cried Henry. “What is this?” He picked up the stone and rubbed off the wet sand. Then he jumped up.

“It’s an Indian arrowhead!” he cried. “What do you know!”

“Let me see it,” said Jessie. “It certainly is an arrowhead. See the little place at the end where they tied it to a stick?”

“They put feathers on the other end,” said Henry.

“It’s for our museum,” cried Benny.

“So it is!” cried Henry. “You think of everything, Benny. Let’s dig and see if we can find another. If Indians lived here, they had more than one arrow.”

The children began to dig. When Watch saw what they were doing, he began to dig, too.

“If we find a lot of Indian things,” cried Henry, “maybe some real museum will buy them.”

“That is a good idea. Let’s come here early some morning and dig,” said Jessie. “Besides, it’s lots of fun.”

Suddenly Watch stopped digging and began to bark.

“What’s the matter, old boy? What are you trying to tell us?” asked Henry. He went over and put his hand in the hole Watch had dug and took out a big smooth stone.

“I think this is an old ax-head!” he cried, turning it over and over.

The other children came to look, and Benny took it in his hand. Watch barked again, sharply. Then he threw back his head and gave one long howl.

“Something is wrong,” cried Henry. “Watch never howls.”

“Oh, look, Henry!” cried Jessie in a frightened voice.

They all looked at the door and water was coming in almost at their feet.

“Let’s get out of here!” shouted Henry, starting for the door. “Come just as fast as you can!”

They crawled as fast as they could, but the water was quite deep. Watch began to swim.

“Joe doesn’t know where we are!” cried Benny. “Or he would save us. I’m scared.”

“Don’t talk, Benny. Keep going.”

Soon they were in the first room.

“A wave is coming!” Henry shouted. “When it comes, get out fast!”

The wave came up and broke over them. Jessie caught Benny’s arm and pulled him out. The four frightened children crawled through the water, and scrambled along the rocky edge before another wave came in. They rested there a short time and then crawled to the shell-pile.

“Be careful!” said Henry. “Don’t fall.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” cried Jessie, as they came to the dry sand.

“I’m all tired,” said Benny crossly. “And I’m scared of that old cave.”

“Well,” said Henry, “I am the one who ought to have watched the tide. That cave is perfectly safe when the tide is out. Just think! How lucky we are to be out!”

“W-w-we-did-get-out,” said Violet. “Th-th-thank-good-old-Watch-for-that.” She was still so frightened that she shook all over.

“Right,” said Henry. “Let’s rest a little while. Then we’ll go back the way we came.”

When the family came walking slowly back to their barn, Joe saw that something was wrong. He waved to them from the hut.

“All right?” he called.

“No!” shouted Benny. “We’re scared and almost dead! The water came in the cave almost all over us.

“What do you mean?” asked Joe. He was very excited.

“We crawled into a cave, and the tide came up and almost caught us, Joe,” said Henry. “I should have looked for the tide. If Watch hadn’t barked, we wouldn’t have seen the waves coming in.”

“I can see that you are all worn out,” said Joe. “You are too tired to get dinner. Captain Daniel has just made a big kettle of stew. Why don’t you each bring a bowl down here and eat with us?”

Jessie looked at Joe and smiled. “We will,” she said. “We’ll each get a bowl and a spoon and we’ll be right back.”

When the children sat down on the sand by the little hut, they began to feel better. The hot stew was good. Benny looked sleepy.

“Where was this cave?” asked Joe.

“On the very end of the island,” said Jessie. “We found some Indian things in it.”

“What did you find?” asked Joe quickly.

Henry took the arrowhead out of his pocket and gave it to him.

“We found something else, too, but we forgot to bring it,” he said.

“No, I brought it,” said Benny, almost asleep. “It’s in my pocket, and I can’t get it out.”

Joe put his hand in Benny’s pocket, and pulled out the stone.

“An Indian ax-head!” Joe said at once.

“I thought it was,” said Henry. “But you seem to be sure.”

“Well, I guess I am sure,” said Joe, turning it over. “Maybe there are other things in the cave.”

“I’m scared to go in that old cave again,” said Benny crossly.

“Oh, don’t say that!” cried Joe. “Just watch the tide. There must be some good Indian digging in there. If you ever want company, I could go with you.”

“Oh, would you?” said Henry. “Then we certainly would be all right. There is a big pile of shells near the cave, too.”

“What! A shell-pile?” shouted Joe. “Then I will certainly go with you. I must!”

“Why?” asked Benny. “Why must you?” But it was the last word he spoke. He was fast asleep.

Joe was saved from answering Benny. He just smiled and said, “I’ll carry him home for you. It will be the best thing for all of you to get some sleep.”

Joe picked Benny up and took him to his own bed. Jessie, Violet, and Henry followed them to the barn. In a few minutes the other three children fell asleep right in the middle of the day.

CHAPTER 8

Indian Point

After a long sleep, the children were as good as new.

“I feel just like starting out again,” said Jessie.

“So do I,” agreed Henry. “I wonder why Joe was so excited over the shell-pile. Let’s ask him.

“Why did you say you must see that pile of shells?” began Henry when they had found Joe at the hut.

“Because I’m interested in things like that,” answered Joe. “A shell-pile means that Indians must have been on this island.”

“Come right along, Joe,” said Benny. “I’ll show it to you.” He took hold of Joe’s hand and tried to pull him up. The children laughed as Joe got on his feet. In a little while the explorers arrived at the shell-pile.

“What a wonderful thing to find!” shouted Joe.

“Why?” asked Jessie.

Joe was looking at some of the broken shells. “Well,” he said, “I’m sure the Indians made this pile. Do you remember from school that they made shell money called wampum? Sometimes they used these quahog shells for the purple part. Quahogs are clams!”

“You think they sat here to make wampum?” asked Henry.

“Yes, and I think they dried clams here, too,” replied Joe, looking at some unbroken quahog shells.

“Why?” asked Jessie.

Joe laughed and said, “These are whole clam shells, so the Indians must have sat here to take the clams out of the shells. They used to dry the clams and then eat them later.”

“Jessie knew that,” said Benny. “She said they sat here for years and years.”

“But I didn’t know they were Indians,” said Jessie.

“Do you think we could find any wampum here, Joe?” asked Henry.

“No, I don’t really. They would save it because it was money, but we might find some old tools they used. The Indians used to smooth the shells on stones, and then make the holes with tools they got from white men.”

“Let’s dig,” said Benny. “You can tell us if we find a tool.”

“I’d like to dig,” said Joe. “But we ought to have something good to dig with. Let’s go back and get something from Captain Daniel.”

“I’m too tired,” said Benny. “And so is Watch.”

Henry laughed. “You sit right down with Watch and Violet,” he said, “and don’t go away from here, and don’t get into trouble. The rest of us will get the things and come right back. Remember now!”

“All right,” said Benny, sitting down.

“While you are waiting, you could do some digging with a stick,” called Joe. “Save everything you aren’t sure about.”

Violet began at once to look over the broken shells. “Why don’t you look, Benny?” she said. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you and I found something good while they are gone? Let’s try.”

“You try,” said Benny. “I don’t care. All I can find is this big chicken leg.”

“Chicken leg!” cried Violet. “That is too big for a chicken.”

“Well, maybe a horse then. It’s an old bone, anyway,” said Benny. “I’ll save it for Joe. He will know for sure.”

Violet dug at the shells. “Benny, you know all these shells look as if someone broke them. And a lot of the purple part is gone. That means that Joe is right, and they did make wampum here.”

“Of course Joe is right,” said Benny. “Joe is always right.”

“It seems funny to me,” said Violet, “that Joe is just a handy man. I shouldn’t think he would be working here on this island if he knows so much.”

“Maybe he does something else, too,” said Benny. “And maybe he came here to have a good time and learn things this summer, just like us.”

Then the others came back. They had clam hooks and a shovel, and Joe had a camera.

“A camera!” cried Benny. “You can take a picture of Watch digging up an Indian!”

“I wish I could,” said Joe, laughing. “I want to take a picture of the shell-pile. You and Watch sit right where you are. That will show how big the shell-pile is.”

Violet scrambled out of the way.

“No, no,” said Joe. “Don’t go. I want you in the picture, too. You stand beside Watch.”

So Violet stood where she was, and Joe took the picture. He took four pictures, one from each side.

“Why do you want all these pictures, Joe?” asked Henry.

“Maybe I’d better tell you something,” said Joe. “If the people on the mainland knew about this pile, they would be over here with cameras and shovels before we could stop them. You wouldn’t like that, would you?”

“Oh, no!” cried Benny. “We don’t want a lot of people over here.”

“You children had better not tell anyone about this shell-pile before your grandfather knows,” said Joe.

“All right, we won’t,” said Henry. “We’ll tell

Grandfather when he comes to visit us. Now, let’s dig. I’d like to do this for a living, Joe—go to far-off places and dig up old bones and things.”

“Good for you, Henry!” cried Joe. “It is very interesting work, but let me warn you, it isn’t all fun. You may work for a year and not find anything.”

“Just like fishing,” said Benny.

“Exactly,” agreed Joe. “Maybe you’d like to work with Henry.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Benny. “I’d rather fish, because you can eat the fish.”

“You will help us now, won’t you?” asked Henry. “We need every man we can get.”

“Sure,” said Benny. “Watch, you can help, too.”

Watch obeyed, but he soon barked and held up his paw. There was a white bone sticking in it.

“A fishhook!” cried Joe. “Right in your paw, Watch! Here, let me take it out. It’s a fishhook made from an animal bone.”

“That means Indians used to fish here, doesn’t it?” asked Henry.

“Yes, I think so,” said Joe. “Now, do you want to work just a little more? I’d like to dig under the pile before we go.”

“Sure,” said Benny. “We’re not hungry, because we ate so much stew. What do you think we’ll find, Joe?”

“I haven’t any idea,” said Joe. He took the shovel and soon dug quite a big hole. They all got down on their hands and knees to look in the hole.

“Is that anything?” asked Violet, pointing. “It looks like a piece of a dish.”

“It’s a piece of a dish!” shouted Joe.

“Here is another piece!” said Jessie, handing it to Joe.

“I think that these are all pieces of a bowl,” cried Joe. The children found some more pieces and gave them to Joe. He wiped off the sand and put the pieces together. “Yes, this is a cooking bowl,” said Joe. “I’m sure now that Indians lived here. We know now that they used to get clams here, and that they made wampum here. We may find more things. This island is a wonderful place.”

Violet could see that Joe kept his eyes on the bowl every minute.

“That dish tells us more than anything else we have found,” said Joe.

“I don’t think so,” said Benny, to everyone’s surprise. “I think my horse bone tells the most, because it tells that the Indians had horses. See!” Benny pointed to the bone sticking up out of the sand.

“Benny Alden,” Joe almost shouted. “The Indians didn’t have horses before the white man came. Where did you find this?”

“On the back of the pile,” answered Benny. “We’re digging on the wrong side, I guess.”

“It’s a man’s bone, Benny!” cried Joe. “It’s part of a skeleton. Do you know what a skeleton is?”

“Oh, yes,” said Benny. “All of us have a skeleton inside us. It’s made of bones.”

“That’s right,” said Henry. “Show us exactly where you found the bone.”

“Right here,” said Benny, going to the other side of the pile.

“Let’s dig!” cried Joe. “But be careful! Down, Watch! You’re a good dog, but this is no place for you to dig. Oh, children, look!”

Another bone came in sight.

“If you don’t mind, please let me do the digging, will you? Just sit and watch me.”

The children sat back and watched Joe as he slowly dug the sand away. Even Benny was excited, as he saw twelve small bones side by side in the sand.

“There ought to be another set just like these,” said Joe.

“There they are!” shouted Henry. “And look, Joe! Look at the arrowhead sticking out!”

“He was shot,” cried Joe. “Shot with an arrow. This is the skeleton of an Indian!”

Before long the whole skeleton lay before the excited children.

“Well, well!” said Joe, sitting back to rest. “We can’t move this skeleton because we haven’t the right tools. It will be safe because nobody knows it is here. Let’s cover him up again.”

“Cover him up?” shouted Benny. “But we just found him, Joe! He is for our museum!”

“I know, Benny,” answered Joe. “Will you leave him here, just to please me? We can dig some other day in the cave. Aren’t you getting hungry now?”

“Yes, I am,” said Benny. “Let’s go home and get some bread and milk.”

Jessie smiled at Joe. It was so easy to please Benny sometimes. “Shall we take the bowl, Joe?” she asked.

“Oh, yes! Take all the small things to put in your museum.”

So the explorers took their collection of clam hooks and Indian things and started home for supper.

“Let’s call this end of the island ‘Indian Point,’” said Henry.

And that is what it was always called after that.

CHAPTER 9

A New Violin

After supper, a few days later, the children sat resting in the doorway of the barn.

“Listen!” said Violet suddenly.

Since Violet never said anything suddenly, everyone looked at her in surprise and listened. Then they heard the sound of a violin.

“Who can that be?” asked Violet.

“Let’s find out,” said Henry.

Watch ran right to Captain Daniel’s hut and the four children followed. There sat Joe in the doorway, playing a real violin. He did not stop when he saw the children. They stared at him and watched his fingers fly as he played a very fast piece. When Joe finished, Benny said, “I didn’t know you had a violin.”

“Oh, please play it again! When did you learn to play?” cried Violet. “Could I hold it just a minute?”

Jessie and Henry were too surprised to speak. This was not at all like Violet. When Joe handed the violin to her, Violet took it and put it under her chin.

“Play something,” said Joe.

“Oh, I can’t play it,” said Violet. “I’d just like to hold it a minute under my chin. Do you mind, Joe?”

“No! No!” said Joe, “but don’t you want me to show you how to play it?”

“Not now,” said Violet. “You play some more.” She gave the violin back as if she had played one all her life. Joe did play some more, first a slow little piece, and then a faster one.

But Jessie and Henry were not watching Joe. They were watching Violet. She stood without moving all the time Joe was playing.

Joe was watching Violet, too. He was sure she could learn to play well, because she seemed to like the violin so much.

When the family went back to the barn at last, they were all thinking of Joe’s wonderful playing. That night, when Jessie went to sleep, it seemed to her that Joe played such a sad piece that Violet cried. But when Jessie woke up, she knew that it was real crying that she heard, for Violet was crying softly. Jessie got up at once.

“What is the matter?” she asked, falling on her knees beside Violet’s bed. “Why are you crying?”

“I-I w-want to learn to play the violin!” said Violet, starting to cry again.

“Of course you shall!” said Jessie. “I know Grandfather will buy you a violin, and Joe can teach you how to play it.”

“It’s not that,” said Violet. “You see, I want to practice, and it’s so selfish to go off and practice all by myself when I ought to be helping—”

Henry came in with the flashlight.

“Oh, my goodness!” cried Jessie. “What can I say? You talk to her, Henry!”

“I heard most of it,” said Henry. “She thinks she’s selfish to practice, when we came down here to have a good time together. Is that it?”

“That’s just it,” said Jessie.

“Now Violet, look here,” said Henry. “You couldn’t be selfish if you tried. We all want you to learn to play the violin. Most people don’t even like to practice, you know.”

Henry’s little talk with Violet made her feel better. Soon they were all talking again, and even laughing a little.

“Sh!” said Jessie. “We’d better be quiet, we don’t want to wake Benny. He would certainly howl.”

The children left Violet feeling happy again, and thinking about the little violin her grandfather would surely buy for her.

The next morning, Joe got Captain Daniel to telephone Mr. Alden. He listened to the story, and thought about his own beautiful violin carefully packed away.

But he said to Captain Daniel, “Certainly, Violet must have a violin. The only trouble is that I am too busy this morning to buy one for her.”

“Joe thinks he could pick one out,” said Captain Daniel. “His playing is just wonderful.”

“That Joe is a very interesting man,” replied Mr. Alden. “I’ll have a talk with him when I come over. Give him the money for the violin, Captain, and let him buy one if he thinks he can.”

When Joe came back to the Alden Island with the little violin, Violet was waiting for him on the dock. Joe was sure that Violet could some day be a wonderful player, so he had bought her a fine violin.

The rest of the family came flying down to see if Joe had had any luck. After they all had seen the violin, Violet shut the box.

“I don’t think it likes to be outdoors,” she said.

“I don’t think so, either,” agreed Joe. “Let’s take it to the hut, and I will give you your first lesson.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Benny.

“No, you had better stay on the dock with us and fish,” said Henry quickly.

“Are you going to fish?” asked Benny.

“Yes!” said Henry, who had not thought of fishing until that very minute. “Just think, Benny, we’ve been here by the ocean four weeks and we haven’t had a single fishing trip yet.”

Suddenly Henry found that he wanted to go fishing himself.

“You will find fishlines and bait in an old box under the dock,” called Joe.

Luck was surely with Henry. He baited a hook with a clam. Then he let down a long line and gave the end to Benny. Almost at once Benny began to yell and pull away on his line, hand over hand.

“Good!” cried Henry when Benny finally landed the fish on the dock. “What a wonderful fisherman you are, Benny! Wait, I’ll take it off the hook for you, and put it on a string.”

“What a big one!” said Jessie. “Don’t catch many more of those, Benny, or we’ll be eating fish for a week.”

The children sat on the dock for a long time, but nothing happened.

“I wish I could catch one,” said Jessie. “Another fish like the one Benny caught and we would have enough for dinner. And I know just how to bake them with dressing.”

“I’m getting tired of this,” said Henry. “I’m going to stop.”

“I’m not,” said Benny. “My grandfather told me fishing takes lots of time.”

“He did take you fishing once, didn’t he?” said Henry. “I remember I wanted to go, but I had to do school work.”

“He told me that if I think I won’t catch a fish, then I will catch one for sure. And so when I do catch one, I am surprised,” said Benny.

“I see,” said Henry, sitting down again. He tied his own line to the dock. And because he really did not think he would get any fish, he looked out at the boats. Henry had just sat down when Benny shouted, “Hurry! You’ve got a fish! Don’t you see your line pull?”

Benny jumped for Henry’s line and before anyone could help him, he pulled in another fish just like the first one.

“Oh, Jessie! Isn’t that something? They are two twins, I guess!”

“I guess you are the fisherman of this family, all right,” said Henry. “You and Grandfather. I don’t even know when there is a fish on my own line.”

Henry put a string through the mouth of the other fish, and Benny carried them proudly home.

“Joe can clean them for me,” said Benny.

“Oh, I can do that!” said Henry. “I can clean fish, even if I can’t catch them.”

“Cut them in half, Henry, will you?” called Jessie. “I will go in and start the dressing.”

Benny would not leave his twin fishes even for a minute. After Henry had washed them, Benny brought them to Jessie, and stayed by her side while she put them in a pan. Jessie piled the dressing made of bread, onions, melted butter, and salt on four pieces of fish.

“I guess they will be good,” said Benny, as the oven door shut. He sat by the oven with the dog, until Jessie said that it was dinner time.

Violet came in. She put her violin carefully away, but she did not talk about her lesson.

“What do I smell?” she cried.

“It’s the twins,” said Benny. “They are in the oven baking.”

“Twins!” cried Violet. “What does he mean?”

Jessie opened the oven door and took out the pan to show her.

“They are done. We can each have half a fish,” she said. “And Benny shall have his first, because he caught them.” She put the fish carefully on four plates.

“I wish Grandfather could see us eating your fish, Benny,” said Henry. “You are a very good fisherman.”

“He’s coming to visit us tomorrow,” said Violet. “He telephoned to Captain Daniel and said he would be over tomorrow, if it was all right.”

“It’s all right with me,” cried Henry.

“And me,” said Jessie. “But what shall we have to eat? I suppose we ought to have some meat for dinner.”

“I think Grandfather would like to eat just what we do,” said Violet.

“Maybe Grandfather and I could go fishing,” said Benny, “but we might not catch anything.”

“Grandfather won’t have time to go fishing, Benny,” said Henry. “Let’s have dinner from our own garden. Remember those little vegetables we had in the boxcar days, Benny?”

“Oh, yes, little vegetables with melted butter!” cried Benny. “Let’s have vegetables.”

“That’s a better idea. Then we’ll be sure to have some dinner,” said Jessie, laughing.

CHAPTER 10

Grandfather’s Visit

We must be ready at ten o’clock,” said Jessie the next morning. “Grandfather told Captain Daniel to meet him with the boat at ten o’clock and he is always on time.”

“We must certainly show him the museum,” said Henry. “I know he will be interested in the Indian things, but I’m not so sure about the birds and flowers.”

“I think he will like our museum,” said Violet. “It has his name on the door.” She looked up and read the sign again, “THE JAMES H. ALDEN MUSEUM.”

“Everything is ready,” said Jessie. She took one last look. “Let’s go down on the dock to wait for him.”

Mr. Alden was delighted to see his grandchildren all waving from the dock.

“Fine children,” he said to Captain Daniel.

“Best that ever I saw,” agreed Captain Daniel, waving, too. He tied the boat and watched the old man and his happy grandchildren as they went out of sight into the barn.

“I want to see every single thing you have,” said Mr. Alden. He sat down in the company chair and looked around him. “Say, what’s this I see? A museum?”

Grandfather was on his feet in a minute. “Are you going to let me see it?” he asked excitedly, with his foot on the stairs.

“Of course!” cried Jessie. “If you don’t mind the heat. It’s awfully hot up there.”

“No, I don’t mind,” said Mr. Alden at the top of the stairs. He saw what the museum was like, with one look. “Which one of you thought of this? Tell me about it.”

They told him all about their museum. They showed him the flowers, the seaweed, the boxes of shells and butterflies, and the paper birds in real branches.

Mr. Alden looked for a long time at the bluebird sitting near its nest. There were four blue eggs cut from paper in the nest.

“The birds left that nest,” said Henry, “so we took it.”

“Good!” said Mr. Alden, smiling. “And what did you find, Benny?”

“I found a big bone in the shell-pile.”

“We ought to tell you about that bone, Grandfather,” said Henry, laughing. “Let’s go downstairs and you can sit in the company chair. You see we found the skeleton of a whole Indian, and Benny found his leg bone. Joe says it is very important and not to tell anyone but you.”

“Where is this skeleton?” cried Mr. Alden.

“It’s near a very big pile of shells on the end of the island.”

“Yes, I remember seeing that pile of shells when I was a boy,” said Mr. Alden.

“Joe told us not to pick up the Indian bones,” said Benny. “He said you could get men to do it right after we go home.”

“That Joe seems to know a lot,” said Mr. Alden. “I’ll see him before I go.”

“Look in this box, Grandfather,” said Benny. “That’s an arrowhead, and that’s an ax-head, and that’s a cooking bowl, all Indian. And that’s a tool made out of bone. Watch found the ax-head and the tool.”

“Well, well!” cried Mr. Alden. “Who told you? Did anyone tell you to make a museum to put these things in?”

“No,” said Henry. “Don’t you like it?”

“Yes, Henry, I like it very much indeed. It just seems strange, because it’s the very thing I used to do myself. I used to go out in the woods all alone and sit for hours listening to the birds.”

“Yes,” said Henry, smiling. “We do the very same thing; we must be just like you.”

Then Violet brought her violin for him to see. To their surprise, Mr. Alden put it under his chin and began to play. He played very well.

“You didn’t know I played, did you?” said Mr. Alden to the surprised children. “That’s a fine little violin, Violet.”

“You’re a wonderful grandfather!” cried Henry. “Always doing something new! We didn’t know you could play.”

“I am out of practice,” said Mr. Alden, handing the violin back to Violet. “Haven’t even held a violin for years. Now what else have you to show me?”

“You must come to the little hut to see Joe,” said Benny.

“I think Joe went over to the mainland this morning,” said Violet.

“That’s funny,” said Henry, “because he certainly knew you were coming today.”

“It makes me cross,” shouted Benny. “I want you to see Joe. He’s my best friend in all the world.”

“Then I’m cross, too,” said Mr. Alden. “What time do you have dinner around here?”

“Almost right away!” cried Jessie. “Are you hungry?”

“I am hungry as a bear,” answered Mr. Alden.

At once, Jessie put some water in the big kettle. “You children set the table and get the milk out, so that Grandfather won’t have to wait a minute after dinner is ready.”

“Oh, you needn’t hurry as much as that,” said Mr. Alden. “I can wait half an hour, maybe.”

Before that time, the little vegetables were done. Jessie put them in a big dish and poured melted butter over them. There was plenty of bread and butter to go along with the vegetables. And because they had company, Jessie had put two eggs and some sugar into the milk.

“This is a delicious drink!” said Mr. Alden. “I shall come again.”

“Please do!” cried Violet. “But you’re not going home for a long time yet, I hope?”

“I think I am,” said Mr. Alden, “and I should like to take you all with me. Just on a little trip for an hour or so,” he added quickly.

“All right,” said Jessie. “I thought for a minute that you wanted us to leave the island for good.”

“You like it, don’t you? No, it won’t take very long. I want to show you something.”

It did not take long for Captain Daniel to get the family to the mainland. They got into Mr. Alden’s waiting car and were taken to a big building they had never seen before.

“It’s a museum!” cried Henry. “Look, Jessie look!”

Henry pointed at the name over the door, which said in large letters cut in stone, THE ALDEN MUSEUM.

“My goodness!” cried Jessie. “Is that named for you, Grandfather?”

“I suppose it is,” said Mr. Alden. “It has been here a long time.”

“You gave the money to build it!” cried Henry.

The surprised children followed their grandfather inside, where a young girl came and showed them everything he wanted them to see. At last they came to a small room, and the girl told them to go in. Jessie was the first to see a sign which read, THE FIRST COLLECTION MADE BY JAMES HENRY ALDEN WHEN HE WAS A BOY OF FIFTEEN.

“What do you know!” cried Henry, looking at the birds. “Our birds are just like yours!”

Mr. Alden’s birds were painted ones, too, and they were sitting in real trees.

“The birds left these nests,” said Mr. Alden with a twinkle in his eyes, “so I took them.”

Henry laughed and said, “You didn’t want to kill any birds either, did you?”

Mr. Alden went on, “No, the real birds out in the museum were found dead and brought to us. Not a bird in this museum was killed for me. And now, I’ll let you go back to your island and wash your dishes.”

When they got into the boat, he gave them each a box. And it was not until later that he remembered that he had not seen Joe, the handy man.

CHAPTER 11

Apple Pie

The next morning was very cold. Benny did not want to get up at all.

“No,” he said, “it is so cold that I’m not going to get out of bed.”

Henry looked out at the ocean. “I have an idea,” he said. “It’s too cold outside today. Let’s all stay inside and paint our birds.”

“Fine!” agreed Jessie. “I’ll light the stove and we’ll shut the barn door. It will soon be warm.”

In spite of what he had said earlier about staying in bed, Benny opened the swinging door of his room, and came out wearing his red sweater. He was carrying the little toy boat which was in the package his grandfather had given him.

“I like my new boat,” said Benny, proudly. “Let’s make it go, Henry.”

“Put it in that pail of water, Benny,” said Henry. “You play with your boat while we get ready to work.”

The girls helped Henry put the table in the corner under the window. Then Jessie brought the bird books and some heavy paper.

“I’m going to use my new pen,” said Violet. “Grandfather knew I needed a new one.”

“He knew I wanted a set of things like this, to fix cuts,” said Henry. “It will be handy to have when we go on picnics or exploring.”

Grandfather had given Jessie a set of six cooking spoons.

“Are you going to use your new spoons today, Jessie?” asked Violet.

“I might,” said Jessie. “I have a good idea for dinner this noon. I think you’ll like it, but I won’t tell you what it is until we have finished painting the birds.”

“Let’s get to work, then!” cried Henry. “I’ll cut out paper birds and you girls color them.”

“Cut out a picture of every bird we have seen,” said Jessie. “The bird book tells all the names.”

The children worked all morning. Suddenly Benny said, “Henry, I think Joe ought to have stayed here to see Grandfather.”

“I think so, too,” said Henry.

“It seems very strange,” said Violet, “for him to go off without telling us.”

“We’ll ask him when he comes back,” said Jessie. “And now, I’ll tell you my surprise for dinner. I am going to make an apple pie.”

“But you never made a pie,” said Henry, looking up.

“No,” said Jessie, “but I’m going to now.”

She took a pan of very small green apples out of the cupboard.

“Where did you get them?” asked Benny.

“Near the yellow house,” said Jessie. “There are two apple trees there.”

“I’ll get them ready,” said Violet.

“Good! And Henry, won’t you smooth off one of those boards for a pie-board?”

Jessie washed the new board. Then she picked up a big empty green bottle. “This is my rolling pin,” she said. “I am going to try to make some good pie crust.”

So over and over she rolled the crust. She put some butter on it and rolled it out again. But when Jessie put the bottom crust in the pan, the crust was not big enough.

“Put a patch in it,” said Benny.

Jessie took a little more crust and smoothed it over the edge of the pan with her fingers. “This is going to be a very deep pie,” she said. “And there will be lots of apples in it.”

Benny watched Jessie roll out the top crust. “Make it big enough this time, Jessie,” he said. “There are lots of apples.”

Jessie rolled the top crust a little thinner. It was just right. When the pie was in the oven, she began to boil some sugar and water in a saucepan.

“What’s that for?” asked Henry. He began to take the things off the table.

“Just wait,” said Jessie. “I think it’s going to be the best thing about this pie. You see there isn’t any sugar in the pie yet, so there is no juice to boil over. Why don’t you get out the bread and milk and set the table? Then everything else will be ready when the pie is done.”

When the crust was nice and brown, Jessie took the pie out of the oven. She lifted up the top crust with a knife, and carefully poured the hot juice over the apples. Then she let down the crust again.

Just as Jessie was about to cut the pie into four pieces, there was a knock at the barn door.

“Who in the world can that be?” cried Henry. He was so surprised that he almost dropped his cup.

When Henry opened the door, he was even more surprised to see a tall man standing there.

“I’m sorry,” said the stranger, “but I went to the fisherman’s hut, and nobody was at home.”

“Won’t you come in?” asked Jessie.

“Thank you. It is a cold day,” said the man with a smile. “Oh, I see that you are about to have dinner. I’ll just stay long enough to ask you something.”

“Won’t you sit down?” said Henry.

“Thank you. My name is Browning,” he said as he sat down in the company chair. “A young man who went exploring for me last year has been lost. I heard that he was dead. Then later I heard that he was living on the Alden Island. This is the Alden Island, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “But there is nobody on the island but Captain Daniel and his friend Joe.”

“Who is this Captain Daniel?” asked Mr. Browning.

“Oh, Captain Daniel is old,” said Henry, “and I’m sure he never went exploring. He has been with my grandfather for years.”

“How about his friend Joe?” asked the man.

“He’s nice. He’s my best friend in all the world,” said Benny, proudly “all but Jessie, and maybe Watch and Captain Daniel—and of course Violet and Henry and my grandfather—”

“You have a lot of best friends,” said the man, laughing. “Tell me, what color are Joe’s eyes and hair?”

“He has brown hair and brown eyes,” said Benny, “and he has a violin.”

“I don’t think he is the one I know, then,” said the man. “I never heard that he played the violin. Just the same, I should like to see your Joe.”

“Won’t you wait for him? He is sure to come back soon,” said Jessie. “Why don’t you stay to dinner and help us eat our first apple pie?”

The man looked at the big pie and said, “If you are sure there will be enough, I think I will.”

So the pie was cut into five pieces. Violet quietly got an extra cup of milk and set another place, and the stranger sat down to a strange dinner.

“When I look at that pie,” said Mr. Browning, “my mouth fills up with water.” And certainly everyone was watching Jessie as she took out the big juicy pieces.

“Milk seems to go with apple pie,” said Henry.

“I never knew pie could be so delicious,” said Mr. Browning when dinner was over. “But now, if I may, I think I will see if I can find Joe.”

“We think that Joe is more than a handy man,” said Henry.

“Joe knows everything in the world,” said Benny. “He knows all the flowers and the birds and the clam shells, and Indian things.”

“Indian things!” cried Mr. Browning. “It must be the very one. He was the head of a museum before he went away. I must see him.”

But Mr. Browning did not see Joe. Captain Daniel came back to the island without him. He said that Joe had gone away for a day or two.

“Is he coming back?” asked Benny, getting ready to howl.

“Oh, yes,” said Captain Daniel. “He will come back, all right.”

When Mr. Browning left, he told Jessie that he was glad he came, for now he had met a girl who could make a wonderful apple pie with an old green bottle for a rolling pin.

CHAPTER 12

The Picnic

The children were waiting upon the dock when Joe came back. But it was too late then to find Mr. Browning.

Jessie began, “You know, Joe, Grandfather said we should never build a fire outdoors unless someone older helped us. Now we have such a good place for a picnic, we thought we’d invite our school friends over for a picnic on the beach. They have never seen the island.”

“I’ll be glad to help you build a fire, if that’s what you want,” said Joe.

“Oh, thanks, Joe,” said Jessie.

The four children invited their friends over Captain Daniel’s telephone. All of them said that they would come. Henry’s friend was a tall boy named Morris Wilder, and Jessie’s friend was Morris’ sister, Marjorie. Violet invited her friend, Barbara Black. Benny surprised them by saying that he wanted to invite Mike Wood, a little boy who was always in trouble.

“Mike and Benny will be quite a pair!” cried Henry. “But I suppose he can invite anyone he likes. We all did.”

“We’ll have fish chowder for dinner,” said Jessie. “We can always get some fish from Captain Daniel.”

“And we’ll all pick blueberries after the others get here,” said Henry. “That will be something to do.”

When the guests arrived, Watch was very excited. Mike had brought his big white dog, Spotty, with him. Jessie had a hard time trying to keep the dogs from fighting, but after a lot of barking Watch and Spotty were friends.

“Let’s race the dogs, Ben,” cried Mike, who could never be still very long.

The two boys held the dogs for a minute, and then let them go. Both dogs seemed to understand, for they raced to the beach where they dropped, panting, on the sand beside Joe. Watch knew the way, and got there first.

“Spotty got there first!” shouted Mike.

“He did not!” cried Benny. “He didn’t even know the way!”

“Benny, Benny!” said Henry. “Don’t start the picnic fighting.”

“Watch got there first and you know it,” said Benny.

“Spotty is better than Watch,” said Mike.

“Spotty is not better than Watch!” shouted Benny. “Watch can run faster than Spotty, and he got there first in the race!”

“You started this fight, Ben!” said Mike.

“I did not start it!” shouted Benny.

“Yes, you did, too!” shouted Mike.

“Now, you listen to me, young fellow,” said Morris, catching Mike’s hand. “You stop, or you’ll have to go home.”

Mike began to jump up and down, when suddenly he jumped on a very sharp shell. Then Mike sat down holding his foot and crying at the same time. Henry sat down, too, and tried to look at Mike’s foot. He took out his box of things for fixing cuts.

“Keep still, now, Mike,” he said. “You’ve got a long cut here, but it’s not deep. Let me fix it.”

The cut foot was a big help to everyone. It kept Mike in sight all morning, while the four older children and Joe picked blueberries.

At noon, Jessie and Violet watched while Joe made a fire and boiled some water. Henry and Morris cut the potatoes and onions and the chowder was soon ready.

Everyone enjoyed the chowder, and the boys had made enough extra for supper, too. After blueberries and milk, Jessie and Violet washed the dishes in the ocean, while Benny and Mike walked away slowly.

“Keep an eye on Mike, Henry,” said Jessie.

“I can see them. They are just sitting over there on the rocks,” said Henry.

But the next time he looked, the boys had gone.

“Where could they go?” he cried, getting up quickly. “There’s no place for them to go, because I can see the whole beach!”

But the little boys were not in sight. As Henry climbed upon the rocks, he was very glad to hear Benny’s voice.

“I wonder who left the bottle here?” said Benny.

Henry and Morris looked under the rocks into a tiny cave.

“How in the world did you boys get in there?” asked Henry.

“The stone came off,” said Benny. “It was like a door, and we pulled it away. It was awfully heavy.”

“Say, you fellows climb out of there and let us go in,” said Morris. The little boys obeyed at once and the two older boys crawled in and looked around. They saw a big stone table with an old bottle on it.

“Let’s take out the bottle,” said Henry. “There may be something inside.”

“Look, Joe,” said Morris. “See what Ben and Mike found.”

“There’s a paper inside the bottle,” said Henry. “Shall we take it out?”

“Why not?” said Joe, turning it over. “Maybe there’s a name on the paper.”

“Let me get the paper out with my knife,” said Henry. The mouth of the bottle was just wide enough for the knife. Henry pulled the paper out easily and read, “’If found, give to J. Alden. Six feet from cross to red rock, and three feet down. J. A. and R. W.’”

“Grandfather must have left it here when he was a boy,” said Henry, “but I don’t see any cross.”

“I do,” said Mike. “It’s right over there.” He pointed at a strange rock. It did look like a cross.

“And there’s the red rock!” cried Violet. “See!”

“This will be easy,” said Morris. “You run a string from the cross straight to the red rock. Then what does it say?” He looked at the paper again. “Six feet. Well, six feet from the cross you dig down for three feet. There must be something there.”

The children were excited as they tied the string to the red rock. Joe showed them where six feet would be. Then they took turns digging with a spoon. With Watch and Spotty to help, they dug a hole three feet deep, but there was nothing in it but water. After an hour’s digging they had still not found anything.

“We can dig some other day,” said Henry at last. “It may be down twelve feet since the paper is very old.”

All the children but Mike were tired and were glad to sit down on the grass. The little fellow still sat beside the hole with Spotty, digging away with the spoon. Then suddenly he began to shout.

“It’s mine, all mine, because I found it. You can’t say it isn’t, because you all stopped digging.”

When the children ran to the hole, they saw Mike pulling out a black box covered with wet sand. And Mike went right on shouting.

“I found the cave, too, and made Ben help me take the door off, and I found the cross and I dug out the box, and it’s mine!”

“Don’t talk so much. Of course it’s yours, Mike,” said Henry. “Why don’t you open it?”

It was not hard to do this, because the box was very old. Mike pulled off the cover with his fingers, and the children saw a pile of old money. Mike put the money, one piece at a time, in the cover of the box.

“Just five dollars!” said Morris. “What a lot of money, Mike!”

“Grandfather will give him a five-dollar bill,” said Jessie. “I think he would like to keep this old money he put here when he was a boy. Wouldn’t you like to have a new five-dollar bill, Mike?”

“Y-yes, of course,” said Mike who had never had even a dollar bill before in his whole life.

Just then, the children heard a shout coming over the water. Then they noticed a boy in a rowboat who was standing up, shouting, and pointing at the water.

A dark head showed for a minute and then went out of sight.

“There’s somebody in the water, too!” cried Morris.

Henry heard Joe say to himself, “I’m well, now. I’m not afraid.”

Joe took off his shoes, jumped into the water, and swam very fast. “Bring the boat here!” he shouted to the boy in the boat.

But the boat went right past him.

“Oh, come back, Joe!” cried Benny.

“He’ll come back, all right,” said Morris. “He’s a wonderful swimmer! Look!”

As Morris spoke, Joe swam under water suddenly. When he came up he was pulling the boy to the rowboat. It seemed hours before Joe finally got the boy into the boat and pulled himself in.

“Good for Joe!” shouted Henry. “I hope he got there in time.”

“Everybody ought to know how to swim,” said Morris. “That boy was afraid. He just stood there and yelled. He couldn’t even bring the boat over when Joe asked him to.”

All this time Mike had not said anything. He stood very still as he looked out over the water. The little fellow seemed to have turned to stone.

“Why are you so scared?” asked Henry.

“I think it’s Pat,” said Mike, still staring at the boat.

“Pat? Who is he?” asked Henry.

“He’s my brother,” said Mike. “He’s eleven years old. I think he was the one in the water.”

“You can’t see that far,” said Morris. “What makes you think so, Mike?”

“Well, I told him there would be something to eat at this picnic, and that maybe we’d play ball.”

“I begin to see,” said Henry, looking at Morris. “Do you know who the other boy is?”

“Maybe Johnny,” said Mike. “I told Johnny, too, and he knew about a rowboat he could get.”

“How did they get the boat?” asked Morris.

“They just took it,” said Mike.

“What an awful thing to do!” shouted Henry. “Besides, they can’t swim or row.”

It did seem so, for Joe was rowing. One boy was out of sight in the boat, and the other boy sat at one end. When Jessie saw the boat coming, she called to Marjorie, “Let’s run to the barn and get some blankets and towels.”

“Good for you, Jessie!” called Joe when the girls brought the blankets. “Lay them down on the other side of the fire.”

Jessie and Marjorie spread out the blankets, while Henry and Morris caught the boat as it landed on the beach.

“It is Pat,” said Mike in a frightened voice. “Isn’t it, Johnny?”

“Yes,” said Johnny. “But he’ll be all right. This man said so.”

“He’s lucky,” said Henry. “Lucky that Joe knew how to swim.”

Pat was very still when the boys helped Joe lift him out of the boat and roll him in a blanket by the fire.

“We won’t talk to him now,” said Joe, rubbing the boy’s hair with a towel. “We’ll let him sleep first. He’s all tired out.”

“I guess you won’t have to talk to him,” said Johnny, who was very white. “We won’t ever take a boat again.”

“No, I don’t believe you will, either,” called Joe, as he went back to the hut for dry clothes.

Just then, Mike said, “Pat didn’t get any dinner. Will you heat up the chowder for him, Henry?”

“He can’t eat when he’s sound asleep, can he?” asked Morris.

“No, but he’ll wake up when he smells the chowder,” said Mike. “Maybe I could have some more myself, because I didn’t eat much lunch.”

“Ho, I should say you didn’t!” said Morris. “Only three bowls full!”

“I’ll tell you what we can do,” said Joe, who had come back wearing dry clothes. “We have just enough to play ball, if Mike is eating and doesn’t want to play.”

“Oh, I want to play! I want to play!” shouted Mike, jumping up and forgetting about the cut on his foot.

And so all the children played ball. Later, there was more chowder for everyone, and Pat did wake up when he smelled the food.

“This is the best picnic I’ve ever been to,” said Mike, passing his bowl again.

“Hold on, there!” warned Joe. “Don’t give him any more, Henry. Six bowls of chowder in one day are enough for one small boy.”

Just then Captain Daniel came with the boat to take the children home. And now Benny began to cry because his friend was going.

“Ho! What are you crying about, Ben?” asked Mike. “I wouldn’t cry at nothing.”

So nobody cried when the company started for home in the boat. When Mike could not hear Benny’s answer, he put his two hands up to his mouth and shouted, “Spotty can run—faster—than—Watch!”

“Well, Benny, don’t you care,” said Henry. “Just be glad the day is over with no more trouble.” “You’re right,” said Joe. “What a day!” Then Henry remembered that Joe had said he was well again. And when Henry told Jessie about it later, she thought it was very strange, too.

CHAPTER 13

Joe Again

I wish Mike would come over every day,” said Benny one morning.

“Well, I don’t!” said all the others at once.

Henry looked up. “I think we can get along without any company at all.”

“You don’t call Joe company, do you?” asked Violet.

“Oh, no,” said Henry. “He’s just one of the family. Why? Did you want to invite him to eat with us?”

“No,” said Violet slowly. “But today he said I would be ready to play to you after my lesson.”

“Have him stay to supper,” said Jessie. She looked at Henry.

“Benny, come here,” said Henry. “Did you know that today is your birthday?”

“No,” said Benny, walking over to his brother.

“Well, it is,” Henry went on, “and now what do you want for a present? We will buy it for you.”

“Cream,” said Benny.

“Do you mean ice-cream?” asked Henry.

“No, I don’t. I mean cream in a bottle like milk. A big bottle ... not a little one.”

“That’s a queer kind of a present,” said Violet.

“You want to drink it?” asked Jessie.

“No, I want to put it on some blackberries, like Peter Rabbit.”

“We’ll get a big bottle of cream then, Jessie,” said Henry, laughing.

Benny began to jump around the barn and yell.

“Benny,” said Jessie, “Violet is going to bake you a birthday cake before she takes her lesson.”

“Is she?” asked Benny, giving a last yell. “I want to watch her make my cake.”

Violet got out her cooking things. She laid everything she needed on the pie-board.

“We will put the candles around the cake,” said Violet.

“I want a candle in the middle,” said Benny.

“Yes, but we want to save the middle—” Violet stopped suddenly.

“Never mind,” said Jessie. “Benny doesn’t know what we want to save the middle for.”

The cake looked wonderful. And when Violet took it out of the oven, Benny said, “It smells just like a birthday cake.”

Before she put the frosting on, Violet put the cake on two plates to get cold.

“Let’s sit down,” said Jessie, “and have a quick lunch of bread and milk. Then Henry can get the cream and candles, and Violet can take her lesson while I wash the dishes.”

“I’ll wipe the dishes for you,” said Benny.

“Aren’t you a good boy!” cried Jessie. “And on your birthday, too. You will have a happy birthday, I’m sure.”

They were just finishing when Joe and Violet came in carrying their violins.

“Violet is ready to play for you,” said Joe. “Will everyone please sit down?”

Jessie was excited as she sat down on one of the boxes between Henry and Benny. Violet did not seem to be either excited or afraid. It was the first time she had played for anyone besides Joe. She waited now, holding her violin, for her teacher to tell her where to stand.

Joe told Violet to stand facing the door. He stood with his back to the wall, where he could watch Violet. Then they began to play. Violet’s part was very easy, but Joe’s part was hard. It seemed to be only Violet’s playing that the children heard. Violet did not seem like their sister.

“Beautiful!” cried Jessie at the end.

“She’s good, isn’t she?” asked Joe, turning around.

“Wonderful!” said Henry. “She could be a real violin player, couldn’t she, Joe?”

“She could be, and she will be,” replied Joe.

“I wish Violet would play it again, so I would get used to it,” said Benny.

“Do play it again,” said Jessie. “I could listen all day.”

Violet and Joe began to play the piece again. When they were halfway through it, Mr. Browning appeared at the barn door. Violet looked up and smiled, but she did not stop playing.

When the piece was finished, Mr. Browning cried, “John!”

Joe turned around and said, “Oh, Mr. Browning!” He held out his hand. “I’m really glad to see you. Everything is all right again.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you, my boy!” said Mr. Browning. “I have been looking for you for a long time.”

“Here are my friends,” said Joe. “This is Jessie—”

“Oh, we did meet Mr. Browning,” said Jessie, with a smile. “We know him quite well. Please everybody sit down.”

“I could never forget the girl who makes apple pies with a green bottle,” said Mr. Browning, taking the company chair. “Or this little girl who plays the violin so well. You see, children, this Joe of yours is my best friend.”

“He’s my best friend,” said Benny.

“Yes, I think you told me so, when I was here before,” answered the man, looking at Benny. “But he was my best friend before he was yours.”

Benny thought this over, “He could have two best friends,” he said.

“Good for you! Will you let me ask him where he has been, and what is the matter with him?”

“Nothing is the matter with Joe,” said Benny.

“That’s right,” said Joe. “I wasn’t well for a long time and for a while I didn’t even remember who I was. I’ll tell you all about it later. Now, I’m better, and ready to go back to the museum. And to my uncle, if he’ll have me.”

“Have you!” said Mr. Browning. “Your uncle has almost worn himself out worrying about you.”

“Then the sooner, the better,” said Joe.

“He works in a museum,” thought Henry.

“He is a very clever man,” thought Jessie.

“Did you really think Joe was a handy man working for Captain Daniel?” asked Mr. Browning.

“N—no,” said Henry. “I thought he worked in a museum, but was taking some time off.”

“I began wondering when he got us all those books,” said Violet. “He found the names of the shells and flowers right away.”

“Joe,” said Jessie, “did you write all those books? I remember we said the name on the books is just like ours.”

Joe smiled, but he didn’t say anything.

“I don’t think you know yet who he is!” cried Mr. Browning.

“I do,” said Benny. “He knows more than what is in all those books, and he works in a museum.”

“That’s right,” said Mr. Browning. “He is the head of a museum. Do you think his name is Joseph Alden?”

“Yes,” said Benny. “I think that, too.”

“Well, it is. It is John Joseph Alden,” said Mr. Browning. “But you don’t understand yet. He is your cousin.”

“What!” cried the children together.

“Yes,” said Mr. Browning. “Joe’s father and your grandfather were brothers.”

“Joe, did you ever live with Grandfather?” asked Henry.

Joe looked at his cousins and said, “I used to live there before I went away, and now I think I’ll go back. That is, if Uncle James will have me and my cousins don’t mind?”

“Mind!” cried Henry. “It would be wonderful!”

“Oh, Joe!” shouted Benny. “You can keep on knowing things all the time. I’d rather have you live with us than even Watch!”

And nobody could say more than that.

CHAPTER 14

Everybody’s Birthday

Somebody had better call Grandfather right away,” said Henry.

“Let me,” said Benny. “It’s my birthday.”

Later, when Benny came back from Captain Daniel’s hut, he said, “Grandfather is coming today, and he’s bringing Dr. Moore and his mother.”

“That’s great,” said Henry. “We’ll have a big party.”

Then Benny said to Joe, “Are you going to tell Grandfather that he’s your grandfather, too?”

“He isn’t my grandfather, Benny. He’s my uncle.”

“All right, are you going to tell him that he’s your uncle?” asked Benny.

“He will know me as soon as he sees me,” replied Joe.

Mr. Browning said, “I don’t think he had better see you suddenly, John. He must be very sad because he thinks he has lost you. Sudden news like this is not good for an old man.”

“Let Jessie fix it,” said Joe. “I will stay in the hut until you tell me it’s all right.”

Jessie promised to do her best.

Joe went back to Captain Daniel’s hut to wait. In a few minutes they could see the motorboat coming, and soon Mr. Alden and the Moores were on the dock.

“Hello, Grandfather!” cried Benny. “It’s my birthday!”

“Well, so it is!” replied Mr. Alden. “Happy birthday, my boy!”

Then everyone began to speak at once.

“That’s a big basket you have,” said Jessie to Dr. Moore.

“Sh, sh!” said the doctor, laughing. He took out another big basket just like it and some packages. “Presents,” he whispered to Jessie.

“I got a big bottle of cream for my birthday, Grandfather,” said Benny.

“It was funny, Grandfather,” said Jessie, half laughing. “That’s all he wanted, so we got it.”

“You did right, my dear,” said Mr. Alden. “People should have what they want on birthdays.”

“I got lots of surprises today,” Benny went on.

“He doesn’t know them all himself, yet,” said Jessie quickly. She didn’t know what Benny might say next.

“This island is just full of surprises, and that would be a good name for it—Surprise Island.”

“It would!” cried Henry. “Just think of all the surprises we’ve had. Let’s call it Surprise Island.”

“I think that’s a wonderful name,” said Mrs. Moore. “I hope they were all good surprises.”

“Every one,” said Henry, trying to get Benny to think of something else. “There were clams, and the Indian things, and the violin.”

“And my birthday,” said Benny. “Are your veins all right, Grandfather?”

“Veins?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Yes,” said Benny. “You know some people have funny veins, so when they hear something awfully good, suddenly, they just drop down dead.”

“I am sure that good news wouldn’t kill me,” said Mr. Alden. “Now, Mrs. Moore, just look at that white sand! Isn’t it beautiful?”

“It certainly is,” said Mrs. Moore.

“It’s very good sand for houses, too,” said Benny, running down to it.

“Let’s build a house, then,” said Dr. Moore, putting down the baskets.

Jessie was trying to think of exactly the right way to tell her grandfather about Joe. She had not wanted to tell the news too suddenly, but Benny seemed to have made it easy.

“I suppose Benny is right about the veins, isn’t he, Grandfather?” she said.

“I suppose so,” said Mr. Alden, laughing. He sat down on a rock. “But I never could understand it. If I had good news, I wouldn’t want to miss the fun.”

“That sounds right to me,” said Henry, laughing.

Jessie could not wait any longer. “We have a wonderful surprise for you, Grandfather!” she said, getting up. “Come! You know what you promised about the veins?”

“You can’t drop dead, because you promised!” shouted Benny.

“What do you mean?” asked Mr. Alden, looking very white. He started to go with the excited children.

“Think of the nicest surprise you can,” said Henry. “What would that thing be?”

“It wouldn’t be a thing; it would be a man,” said Mr. Alden.

“That’s all right!” cried Jessie. “It is a man!”

Violet took her grandfather’s hand. “Are you too worn out to run just a little way, now? Joe is so worried.”

“Joe?” said Mr. Alden. But then he saw two men coming along.

“My dear John!” cried Mr. Alden. Joe ran up and took his uncle’s hands.

“Uncle James, I want you to meet my good friend, Mr. Browning,” said Joe.

“I am glad to meet you, Mr. Browning,” said Mr. Alden as they shook hands.

Then he turned to Joe. “But why didn’t you come home, John? Why didn’t you come right to me?”

“Before I came home, I wanted to be sure I was all right,” said Joe. “But first I went to old Captain Daniel on the island. I met Dr. Moore early this summer when he came with the children.”

“Dr. Moore, do you mean you knew who he was all this time?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Yes,” replied the doctor, “but I promised not to tell. I wanted to be sure myself that Joe was well again. Besides, it was a good way for him to get to know his new cousins.”

“I got two presents for my birthday,” said Benny, “a new cousin and a bottle of cream.”

“I feel as if it were my birthday,” said Joe, looking at him.

“And so do I,” agreed Mr. Alden.

“I think it’s my birthday, too,” said Mr. Browning, looking at his old friend.

“It’s everybody’s birthday,” cried Jessie. “Can’t you all come to the barn for our birthday supper? We can cut the cake into tiny slices.”

“I thought of that, also, Jessie,” said Mrs. Moore, going over to the little housekeeper. “I brought over some sliced ham and other food in those two big baskets. I hope you don’t mind? I hear you have blackberries and cream.”

“And my birthday cake,” said Benny.

“Oh, dear! I haven’t put on the candles, yet! I haven’t even frosted it!” cried Violet.

“Benny, you stay here with the men,” said Jessie. “Mrs. Moore will help Henry and me while Violet frosts the cake.”

Violet put some sugar and egg whites into a bowl. After the frosting was made, she put it on the cake, sides and all.

“Let’s put the candles around the edge of the cake and ‘Watch’ in the middle,” she said. One day Henry had bought a little toy dog that looked like Watch. The cake looked delicious when Violet put it into the little cupboard.

Mrs. Moore began to take things out of the baskets. Besides a large plate piled high with ham there were many other delicious things to eat.

Jessie was delighted that Mrs. Moore had brought some extra plates and a tablecloth. She helped Mrs. Moore put the white cloth carefully on the table. Violet set the birthday cake at Benny’s place. Then she filled a bowl with purple and white flowers to put in the middle of the table.

When Benny saw the cake and the toy dog he laughed and said, “Ho, that looks just like Watch in the middle of my cake!”

Now everybody began to sit down around the table. Some sat on boxes, Grandfather sat on the company chair, and Joe sat on a block of wood.

Mrs. Moore passed the plate of ham to Benny.

“No, thank you,” said Benny. “I don’t want any ham. I just want blackberries and sugar and cream.”

“Since it’s his birthday party, let him have what he wants,” said Jessie.

“I’ll feel bad if you don’t eat some cake,” said Violet.

“All right,” said Benny, “but after I eat my cake, I don’t want anything except blackberries and cream, like Peter Rabbit.”

“Only Peter Rabbit didn’t get any. Don’t you remember?” said Grandfather.

“He will this time,” said Joe. “At last Peter Rabbit has his blackberries and cream, on his birthday.”

“Everybody is happy, then,” said Mr. Alden, looking around at the smiling faces. “And that is just right, because it is everybody’s birthday.”

CHAPTER 15

Good-by Summer

It was late summer and the children were sitting with Joe on the beach.

“We have to go home tonight,” said Jessie sadly.

“Grandfather says he wants to take us on a trip before school begins,” said Henry.

“I don’t mind going home,” said Violet. “I miss Grandfather, and he must have been lonesome, even if he didn’t say so.”

“I hope we can come again next summer,” said Henry. “We have had such a good time.”

“I’m glad we can sit down and talk quietly,” said Joe, “because I want to tell you something. I hope you won’t feel too bad about it.”

“What is it?” asked Henry quickly.

“It’s about the cave and the shell-pile,” said Joe.

“Oh, yes,” said Jessie. “Tell us the whole story, Joe.”

“I know you would like to dig in that cave now. You found it, and you found the Indian things in it. But somebody ought to dig there who understands it.”

“Meaning yourself?” asked Henry.

“No, not alone,” replied Joe. “Your grandfather, my Uncle James, is letting a lot of men come to work at the cave. They are coming over with all their tools to dig very carefully so that they won’t miss anything.”

“That’s all right,” said Benny. “Couldn’t we watch them?”

“Sometimes you could,” said Joe. “Sometimes you couldn’t. You see they are going to blow the top off the cave.”

He watched the children as he said this.

“Oh, boy!” cried Benny. “That’s the day I’d like to come.”

“You would!” said Joe. “That’s just the day you can’t come.”

Benny suddenly began yelling at the top of his voice, “I want to come the day they blow the top off the cave!”

And then he began to howl. Throwing himself down on the sand, he howled and yelled just as loudly as he could.

“My!” cried Joe, who had not heard Benny howl before. “Can’t you stop him? Does he do that often?”

“No, not often,” shouted Jessie over the noise.

“Listen, Benny,” said Violet. “Stop crying and I’ll build you a sand house.”

But Benny still howled.

“Look here, Benny!” said Henry finally. “What will Joe think?”

In spite of anything they could say, Benny yelled on and on.

“I’m sorry,” Henry said to Joe at last. “He will stop some time. Some day he’ll grow up.”

Just then a voice said very softly, “Please—” It was Captain Daniel.

“I came over,” he began, but stopped because of the noise.

Benny opened one eye.

Captain Daniel went on a little louder, “I came over to see if you’d like to go with me when I get my lobsters.”

At this, Benny opened the other eye and stopped howling. “I would,” he said.

“Whew!” said Joe. “What a noise that was!”

“It was for sure,” said Captain Daniel. “I heard it down in my boat.”

“He hasn’t howled all summer until today,” said Henry. “He’s getting over it.”

“I hope so,” said Joe.

“We’d like to go with you very much, Captain Daniel,” said Jessie.

“Any time,” said the captain.

“Let’s go right now,” said Benny, just as if he had never cried at all.

“All right, Captain, we’re ready to go,” said Henry.

Then everyone jumped up and climbed over the rocks with Captain Daniel to the motorboat.

As they scrambled into the boat, Benny asked, “Is it fun to get lobsters, Captain Daniel?”

“I enjoy it,” answered the captain. “Your grandfather enjoys it, too. I promised him to take you out once before you went home.”

There was a pail of fish-heads for bait in the bottom of the boat and a big empty box. Captain Daniel told them all where to sit.

“Sorry,” said Captain Daniel, looking at Watch, “I don’t think we’d better take the dog along. Can’t you leave him?”

“I am not going either,” said Joe. “I have to telephone a lot of people. Don’t you think Watch would stay with me?”

“He will if Jessie tells him,” said Henry.

“Listen, Watch,” said Jessie. “Sit down here. Stay with Joe.”

Watch obeyed and sat down.

“Good dog,” said Jessie. “He understands.”

Soon Captain Daniel started the motor, and the children waved good-by to Joe.

“How nice this is!” cried Jessie. She put her fingers in the water.

“I wish you had asked us to go with you before,” said Henry. “It’s wonderful!”

“Why is that red board floating out there?” asked Benny, pointing.

“Good boy!” cried Captain Daniel, very pleased. “That’s one of my lobster floats. It shows the place where I have a lobster pot in the water. Good sharp eyes you have, Benny, to notice that.”

As they came near the red board, Captain Daniel stopped the motor.

“Can you reach it, Henry?” he asked, as the boat stopped.

Henry caught the red float and began to lift it out of the water. A lot of rope came up, and at last a heavy lobster pot.

“Oh, you caught some lobsters!” shouted Benny. “Aren’t they queer? These are different from real lobsters—they’re green.”

“All lobsters are green, Benny,” said Jessie. “They turn red when they are cooked.”

“Will these turn red, too?” asked Benny, looking at the claws.

“Sure,” said Captain Daniel. He opened the lobster pot and took out three lobsters. He threw one back into the ocean. “Too small,” said Captain Daniel. “We’ll let it grow some more.” The other two he put into the box.

“Don’t pick them up, Benny,” warned Henry. “You’ve got to look out for those big claws.”

Captain Daniel baited the lobster pot with old fish-heads, shut it, and let it down again into the water. Then he started the motor, and away they went.

“The one who sees the next float first gets all the lobsters in it,” said Captain Daniel.

“What color is it?” asked Benny.

“Oh, that would be telling. Each one is a different color,” answered the captain.

All the children stared hard at the water. They could see nothing but waves.

“Ho, isn’t that another float?” said Henry suddenly, as they went past a blue board.

“Yes, that’s one,” said the captain. “I hope there will be lobsters in it.”

Henry caught the blue float. “Pull hard,” said the captain. “It’s deep here and there will be more rope. Want any help?”

“No,” said Henry. It was hard work. The rope seemed to go straight to the bottom of the ocean. At last the lobster pot came in sight.

“Empty!” cried Jessie. “Too bad!”

“Yes,” said Captain Daniel, taking in the lobster pot. “It often happens. This is the best one some days. Do you notice that the bait is gone?”

He baited the pot again and let it down.

“The next one will be yours, also, Henry. Hope for better luck,” said the captain.

Soon Benny said, “This float is white. Or maybe it’s a wave.”

“No, it’s a float,” said Captain Daniel, laughing. “Henry will have to give you a lobster for finding this float.”

Everyone watched as Henry pulled in the lobster pot. At last it came to the top.

“Oh, there are a lot!” cried Henry. “It’s a pile of claws. There must be four lobsters. No, five!”

“Six!” said Jessie, as Captain Daniel dropped them one by one into the box. “Isn’t that enough for our dinner? Six lobsters? You and Joe will have to come to dinner, too, to help us eat them.”

“Yes, thank you, and I’ll boil them for you,” said Captain Daniel. “I have a big wide kettle. When you take the meat out of the shells it is ready to eat.”

“But I don’t know how to take the meat out,” said Jessie.

“Joe will show you,” said the captain.

“Let’s do it outdoors,” said Jessie.

After they had pulled in a few more lobster pots, Captain Daniel headed the boat back to the island.

“You caught fifteen lobsters,” said Benny. “That’s a lot!”

“Not very many,” said the captain when they had reached the island again. “Some days I get two or three dozen. And six of these lobsters are yours.”

When the lobsters had been cooked, Joe sat down on the sand with his young cousins to take out the lobster meat. Jessie and Henry worked, but Violet and Benny just watched.

While they were working, Benny said, “Please let me come when they blow the top off the cave.”

Joe looked a little worried. He remembered what had happened before when he said “No.” And so he said, “Benny, I’m sorry, but only the ones who will do the work can come.”

“Will you be here?” asked Violet.

“Yes, Violet. I have to come. You see this is my work. All the things will go in a museum bigger than Uncle James’ museum. You found some wonderful things.”

“Oh, Joe, I’d like to have this for my work, too!” said Henry. “Would you teach me?”

“Yes, Henry, I’d like to. You never can tell what will happen. We might work together.”

“Will you tell us everything the men find?” asked Jessie.

“Oh, my, yes!” replied Joe. “You can see every single thing after they have dug it out. I’m glad you don’t feel too bad about not doing the digging.”

“We understand,” said Henry. “It will be better this way.”

“Now the lobster meat is all out,” said Jessie. “How shall we fix it, Joe?”

“Some people like it cold,” began Joe.

“Oh, but I want to cook just once more on the stove,” cried Jessie.

Joe smiled. “Then have a stew. Put the lobster meat in milk with butter and salt, and eat it hot.”

“That sounds good,” said Jessie.

The stew was delicious. When they were eating, Henry said, “I have an idea. Let’s come back here weekends until it gets too cold to come.”

“Wonderful,” said Jessie. “Now we won’t have much packing to do. We’ve eaten all the food.”

Violet put the dishes in the cupboard while Jessie put the towels and blankets in boxes to be taken home and washed. Henry stood the rest of the boxes along the wall and shut all the windows. They left the museum just as it was.

Benny carried Violet’s paints, pen, and her work-bag. She carried the violin herself.

“Good-by, barn!” said Benny, when Henry shut the door. “I am not going to cry.”

“Good for you, Benny!” said Henry. “Just keep thinking how lonesome Grandfather has been.”

“I want to go home now,” said Benny. “I want to sleep in my real bed.”

Henry laughed. A real bed seemed very good to him, too.

Captain Daniel took the children over to the mainland. When they saw their grandfather waiting for them in the car, they ran to him and all began to talk at once.

“Get in, get in!” said Mr. Alden. “I want to hear all about it, but I can’t understand four people all talking at the same time.”

But the children could hardly wait to take turns. They told him about the floats and the lobsters and the cave.

“They are going to blow the top off the cave, Grandfather!” cried Benny.

“Really?” said Mr. Alden, who of course knew all about it. “What a noise that will make!”

“Joe won’t be home for good until later,” said Jessie. “He said to tell you that he would stay with Captain Daniel. He won’t move into the little yellow house.”

“I should say he won’t!” cried Mr. Alden.

For a minute, the children were too surprised to say anything.

Then Henry said, “Grandfather, that’s one thing we can’t understand. Why didn’t we ever get to go into that little yellow house? Doesn’t it belong to you?”

Mr. Alden looked at his grandchildren. Then he said quietly, “That’s another story.”

“We won’t ask about it now,” said Jessie quickly. “You have been so wonderful to us. Thank you for our summer on the island.”

“That’s all right,” said Mr. Alden, smiling again. “I’m glad to have you all at home. I believe I shall even be glad to hear Watch bark at the milkman tomorrow morning.”

That night, when Jessie was going to bed in her own room, she thought she heard Benny calling.

“Did you call me, Benny?” she asked, going into her little brother’s room.

“Yes,” said Benny very slowly, for he was almost asleep. “I said Joe is going to live with us, and he’s my best friend in all the world.”

“Yes, I know he is,” said Jessie, pulling up the blanket.

“I mean all but you, Jessie, of course, and Violet, and Grandfather—”

“And Watch?” asked Jessie.

“Yes, of course Watch, and Henry—”

He stopped.

“And Captain Daniel—”

Jessie saw that Benny’s eyes were shut. He had gone to sleep naming his friends. But it did not matter, thought Jessie, smiling. For it would have taken a long time to name all of Benny’s friends.

And downstairs, the children’s real best friend settled back in his big chair to make plans for them.

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1949, 1977 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0756-7

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

The Yellow House Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by Mary Gehr

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1   The Cave

2   A Wedding

3   The Mystery

4   The Tin Box

5   The Next Move

6   Starting for Camp

7   Company in the Woods

8   The Lumber Camp

9   Almost Starving

10   Potato Camp

11   Old Village

12   A Hunt for Benny

13   The Tin Box Again

14   The Hermit

15   Starting for Home

16   A Happy Home

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

The Cave

Four lively children lived with their grandfather Alden in a big house. The children’s father and mother had died years before. Their cousin Joe lived in the big house too. He was grown up and his cousins thought he was great fun.

First there was Henry Alden, who was sixteen and in high school. Jessie Alden came next. She was in high school too. Violet was a pretty dark-haired little girl of twelve, and Benny was seven.

Benny was on his way home from school one day in Spring. The minute he went into the house, he heard the telephone ringing. Then he heard Mrs. McGregor, the housekeeper, answering it.

“It’s for you, Benny,” she said. She was excited. “It’s your cousin Joe.”

Benny went to the telephone. “Hello, Joe,” he said.

“We’re going to blast, Benny!” Joe called over the telephone. “The men are almost ready to blast the top off the cave. They say that you children can come over to the island, if you stay right with me. You get the others and come along over.”

“O.K. Joe!” cried Benny. “We’ll come just as quickly as we can.” He hurried to the hall to tell his brother Henry. For this cave was one the children had found themselves the summer before. They had crawled in to see how far they could go. Without trying, they had found some Indian tools in the sand which Joe said were very wonderful.

Now, their grandfather had sent some men to the island to take the top off the cave, so that it would be easier to dig the things out.

“Was that Joe? What did he want?” asked Henry. He came out into the hall.

“He said the men are going to blast the cave open!” shouted Benny. “Last summer he told us we couldn’t come that day, and now he says we can.”

Benny ran upstairs two steps at a time, calling, “Jess! Jess! Vi! Vi!”

“Well, what’s the matter now, Benny?” asked Jessie, looking up from her school work.

“The men are going to blast the cave on Surprise Island, and we have to hurry and go over.”

“Who said so?” asked Jessie.

“Joe,” answered Benny. “He just telephoned to me.”

“But we can’t go without Grandfather,” said Violet, softly.

“Grandfather is just driving into the yard,” Henry called loudly up the stairs. “Hurry and come down before he puts the car away!”

Mr. Alden could not understand a word at first, because everyone talked at once. But his driver seemed to be turning the car around anyway. Mr. Alden was smiling to himself about something.

“Did Joe call you, too, Grandfather?” cried Henry.

Mr. Alden laughed. “Well—” he said, “we’ll go down to the dock and over to the island in the motorboat.”

“I hope Captain Daniel will have the boat on this side,” said Henry. “Joe seems to be in a hurry, and the men won’t wait for us for very long.”

“Oh, I hope they won’t blast until we get there,” cried Benny.

“I don’t think they will,” said Mr. Alden smiling. “If Joe sent for you, he will wait until you have time to get there.”

“Of course he will, Grandfather,” said Jessie. “There is Captain Daniel on the dock already.”

It was true. Captain Daniel smiled when he saw the four children coming with their grandfather. He liked them all.

“I’m waiting,” he said, “and Joe is waiting on the island and so are the workmen. Joe said they won’t blast until you are all there.”

“Good. I’m glad,” said Benny, getting into the boat and sitting down.

They were soon on their way across the water to the island where they had spent such a happy summer the year before. They were all thinking of that exciting day when they had found the cave.

Benny looked at the captain. “I don’t suppose you remember the Indian things we found in that cave, Captain?” he said.

“Indeed I do,” said the captain with a laugh. “You children didn’t know then that Mr. Joe dug up things for a living. But I did. I knew Mr. Joe when he was a little boy.”

“Remember how excited Joe was?” cried Jessie. “He wouldn’t even let us dig any more inside the cave.”

“That was all right though, Jessie,” said Henry. “He wanted things done right. These workmen know how to dig better than we do.”

“And here we are, going to blast the top off the cave!” said Benny.

“There’s Joe now,” said Jessie. “Who in the world is that with him? It’s a girl!”

“That’s not a girl,” said Benny. “That’s a lady.”

“Well, anyway, she isn’t very old,” said Jessie.

“She’s awfully pretty,” said Benny, as they came nearer.

“Hello, children,” cried Joe, as the boat stopped at the dock. “This is Alice Wells. She came over to look at the Indian things you found. She knows lots about such things.”

“That must be interesting work,” said Jessie to Alice, shaking hands. She liked Alice at once. She had such a beautiful smile.

“Yes, it is,” said Alice. “I feel as if I knew every one of you. This is Benny, I’m sure. And Violet. And Henry. Joe has told me so much about you all.” She smiled at Mr. Alden as if she already knew him well.

Benny took Alice’s hand. “Let’s go right off and see them blast,” he said.

“This is going to be fun for you, Benny,” said Mr. Alden, smiling at the little boy. “The men are going to let you push the handle to set off the blast.”

“Oh boy,” cried Benny. “Where is the handle?”

Joe led the way without a word. Past the little yellow house, past the barn where they had lived the summer before, past the beach. There beside a crowd of workmen, they saw a handle in the ground.

“Here they are,” said one of the workmen. “Are you the little boy who is going to set off this blast? Now, you take hold of that handle and push it down as far as you can.”

Benny did as he was told. From far away down the island came a loud noise like thunder. Then the children saw a great cloud of smoke, and then flying rocks.

“What a noise that was!” cried Benny. They all watched the smoke still coming from the cave.

“Very good,” said Joe. “Let’s go.”

Down the path they went. Soon they came to the cave. The big rocks were broken into small pieces, and the men started to take them away. The whole cave was open. The children watched quietly.

“I suppose nobody can dig in the cave until all those rocks are lifted off,” said Henry at last.

“That’s right,” said Joe. “They will be taking rocks off for days. Really there is nothing more to see now.”

“You mean we’d better go home then?” said Mr. Alden. He winked at Benny.

“Well, I don’t care too much,” said Benny. “Anyway, we blasted and that’s more than I expected.”

“You will come over many times when we get to digging,” said Alice. “We have already taken away the shell pile and all the things in it.”

“The Museum people were delighted with all the things,” said Joe. “You found some things that they had never seen before.”

“That’s right,” said Alice. “Joe and I are going to try to find out what they all are. I shall be working on them for a year maybe, and maybe longer.”

“That’s good,” said Benny. “You come up to our house and see us.” He was surprised when Joe laughed.

At supper that same night, Benny sat thinking.

“What’s the matter, Ben?” asked Henry kindly. “Aren’t you going to eat your supper?”

“Oh, yes,” said Benny looking up. “I was just thinking.”

“What about?” Violet asked gently.

“Well,” replied Benny slowly, “I was thinking about Alice. I think Joe likes her. I think that’s why he wanted us to go home.”

“Well,” laughed Jessie, “what of it? Didn’t you like her yourself?”

“Oh, yes,” cried Benny. “I liked her a lot. But that’s different. I think Joe is going to marry her.”

“What!” shouted Henry. “How can you tell? Joe just met her today.”

“Oh, no, he didn’t, my boy,” said Mr. Alden. “Joe and Alice went to school together when they were children. Alice has been away a long time. She just came back to do this work for Joe.”

“Well, I wish Joe would get married,” said Jessie. “It must be lonesome for him living all alone on the top floor of this house with a lot of children like us.”

“And an old man like me!” said her grandfather. “But I’ll tell you something. I watched Joe and Alice today and I think Benny is right. But don’t say a word. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

“Yes, let’s,” said Benny. “But you’ll see they will get married all right.” Then he started to eat his supper.

CHAPTER 2

A Wedding

What a day it was for the Alden children when the rocks were all taken away. The floor of the cave was smooth sand, just right for digging. More men came to the island that day, and the digging began.

“Isn’t it funny to see grown-up men digging in the sand,” said Benny.

“Watch them, Benny,” said Alice. “You will see them put things in that big box.”

Sure enough, the men often found broken pieces of a dish, or a smooth stone, and carefully put them in a box. The children never grew tired of watching them. Every day after school they went over to the island to see what the men had found.

Henry could not come until late on some days, for he had to row with the high school crew on the river. He had been Captain of the high school crew for a year. But as soon as he came, he always helped Joe carry the boxes to the boat.

One day the box was so heavy that Henry could not get it to the boat. “I’m sorry, Joe,” he said. “Let’s stop here at the yellow house and sit down for a minute. This is harder work than rowing.”

Joe was glad too, to sit down on the wooden steps of the little yellow house.

Soon Benny was looking in all the windows. “Let’s go into this house some time,” he said.

“I wonder why we never did, Joe,” said Jessie. “Do you know why Grandfather doesn’t like to talk about it?”

“No,” said Joe. “I never asked him because he seemed so sad about it. I think it has a mystery. Some day Alice and I are going into the house and solve the mystery.”

“Without us?” cried Benny.

“Yes, sir, without anybody!” said Joe.

“You don’t really mean you’d go without us?” Benny asked. He could hardly believe his ears.

“Don’t tease him, Joe,” said Alice suddenly. She put her hand gently on Joe’s arm. “Let’s tell him! Let’s tell them all!”

“Ho-hum. Maybe you don’t need to tell us. Maybe we can guess,” cried Benny.

“All right. Go ahead and guess,” laughed Joe. He took Alice’s hand and held it.

“You make it too easy,” said Benny. He looked at Henry. “Didn’t I tell you? I told you a long time ago.”

“It wasn’t true a long time ago,” said Joe.

“Let’s guess,” said Violet, taking Alice’s other hand. “Does the secret have anything to do with music?”

“Yes!” said Joe and Benny together.

“Will everyone wear beautiful clothes?” asked Jessie smiling.

“Yes,” answered Joe and Benny.

“Will there be a cake, and maybe a beautiful ring?” asked Henry.

“Right here!” said Joe. He held up Alice’s hand. On it was a beautiful new ring.

“Funny we didn’t see that,” said Jessie.

“Not so funny, dear,” said Alice. “It went on just this minute.”

“For good,” said Joe.

“Where are you going to live, Alice?” Violet asked suddenly.

“Well, you know Joe has the whole top floor of that big house all to himself,” Alice said. “He says he needs company, so we will live there together.”

“Oh, boy! Right in the same house with us, just the same as ever!” Benny shouted.

“Does Grandfather know?” asked Henry.

“Well, yes,” said Joe. “We told him yesterday. He said we could have the top floor. After all, it’s his house.”

“Will the wedding be in our house too?” asked Jessie.

“Yes. We want Violet to play the wedding music on her violin, and we want Watch to wear a big white ribbon and come to the wedding too.”

“He won’t like the ribbon,” said Benny. “But he won’t bark if Jessie tells him not to. When is the wedding going to be?”

“As soon as you get out of school,” answered Joe. “Then, you children won’t be busy. And Alice and I will have done a lot of work in the cave.”

“I can’t wait till school is out,” said Benny.

“I guess you’ll have to,” laughed Joe.

What a wedding the Alden wedding was! Everyone talked about it afterward for days. Alice was very lovely in her beautiful white dress. Violet played for the wedding on her violin, with three other players. She wore a long violet dress. Jessie wore blue.

Watch wore his big white ribbon, and he did not bark until it was all over. When everyone was out on the porch saying good-by to Joe and Alice, he barked and barked. By then it didn’t matter, for everyone was laughing and talking.

The children did not know what to do with themselves right after Joe and Alice had gone. They tried to read. When it was almost time for supper, Jessie said, “I wonder where they are going on their wedding trip.”

“I don’t know myself,” said her grandfather. “People don’t tell where they are going.”

“They will be back in two weeks,” said Violet. “Let’s go upstairs again and look at their lovely home.”

Even Mr. Alden went up with the children. Watch came along too. He was always happy when he was with his four children.

Mr. Alden sat down in a big easy chair while Violet and Jessie looked again at the pretty blue and white kitchen. They went into the sunny bedroom, and back to the pleasant living room.

The new dishes were set in piles in the clean cupboards. “It will be such fun for them to keep house here,” cried Jessie. “Everything is in such good order. Alice will love it.”

“Won’t we have a wonderful time this summer,” said Benny. “When Joe comes back he is sure to have some fine ideas.”

“Maybe they won’t want us around, though,” said Jessie. “We must be careful about that.”

“Well then,” said Benny, “we can think up the ideas, and ask them to do things with us.”

“A very good plan, my boy,” said Mr. Alden with a smile. “If they don’t want to, they can always say no.”

Then they heard a step on the stairs. It was Mrs. McGregor, the housekeeper. She was a kind little lady, and took fine care of the children. Her hair was white and her eyes were blue.

“Supper is ready,” she said with a smile.

“I hope I can have some more wedding cake,” said Benny. “I just love weddings, don’t you, Mrs. McGregor?” He took her hand.

“Yes, my dear,” said Mrs. McGregor, smiling at the little boy. “Your cousin Joe has a fine wife, and he is a fine young man himself. It was a lovely wedding.”

Then Violet thought, as she had often thought before, that there was something sad about Mrs. McGregor. “Yes,” she said to herself, “she is sad even when she smiles.”

CHAPTER 3

The Mystery

The children were lonesome after the wedding. They longed so much for Joe and Alice. But just then the mystery of the little yellow house began.

Supper was over. Warm air was blowing through the open windows, and birds were singing their evening songs.

As Mr. Alden sat down in his easy chair, he said with a pleasant smile, “Isn’t it time to think about summer plans?”

Henry looked at his grandfather.

“Grandfather,” he said, “do you mind if I ask you something?”

“No, of course not,” said Mr. Alden. “Ask anything you like.”

“You may not think it is polite,” said Henry slowly.

“But what is a grandfather for?” asked Mr. Alden, winking at Benny. “I know you are very polite to me always. Go ahead and don’t be afraid.”

“Well,” said Henry, “do you remember last fall I asked you why we never went into the little yellow house on Surprise Island? You looked very cross for a minute, and Jessie and I were sure we had hurt your feelings.”

Jessie went on, “Don’t you remember? You said, ‘That’s another story.’”

“Oh, I remember all right,” said Mr. Alden. “I never could forget that.” He looked from one face to another. “If you four children will come over here and sit down on the floor, I’ll tell you all about it. I guess the time has come when you ought to know.”

Mr. Alden waited until they were ready to listen, and then he began.

“You know I told you my father built the barn on Surprise Island for his best race horses? And that the man who took care of the horses built the little yellow house for himself?

“The man’s name was Bill. He was about thirty years old then and so was I. I loved Bill very much. He took fine care of the race horses, and he lived in the little yellow house with his good wife.”

“Race horses!” cried Benny. “Did they race?”

“Yes, they raced while my father was living. My father was your great-grandfather, you know. Bill loved the horses, and he was a good, kind man. But I must tell you he was weak.”

“Not very strong, you mean?” said Benny.

“No, Benny,” said Mr. Alden sadly. “I don’t mean that at all. He was a very strong man. He could lift the boat. I mean he had a weak will. Anybody could tell him what to do.” Mr. Alden stopped.

“Don’t tell us, if you don’t want to!” begged Jessie.

“Yes, I want to tell you now. I’m afraid Bill was a coward. He would do anything his brother Sam told him. His brother had some bad friends.”

The children were suddenly very quiet. They knew that this was a sad story for their grandfather to tell.

“Let me go and get Watch, please!” cried Benny. “I’ll be right back.”

Everyone had to smile as Benny disappeared into the kitchen. They knew that Benny always wanted the dog when things did not go just right. He came back at once with Watch running after him.

“Lie down, old fellow,” said Henry. Watch lay down beside Benny and put his head on his paws.

“Well, one evening,” Mr. Alden went on, “Bill’s wife, Margaret, noticed that Bill seemed to have something on his mind. He would not talk about it. After she had gone to bed, she heard a queer grating noise in the front room where Bill was. She got up and went to see what he was doing.

“There he sat, reading the paper. The noise had stopped. He asked her what she wanted and she told him about the queer noise. He said it must have been the waves on the rocks.

“But it wasn’t waves, and Margaret knew it. She began to be very much worried. She went back to bed and pretended to be asleep, and the noise began again.”

“Didn’t she ever find out what it was?” asked Benny.

“No, Benny, she never did. To this day, nobody knows what Bill was doing in that front room. This went on for two nights. The next night Margaret smelled something queer. She thought it might be paint. But when she came out, Bill was not painting. He was reading.”

“Then one night he went out to the barn to see the horses, and he never came back.”

“Never came back?” asked Violet.

“No. Margaret waited an hour. Then she took a light and went out to look for him. He had given the horses water, but he had left the barn door open. The rowboat was gone. Then Margaret telephoned to me. I got up and dressed and found a policeman. Captain Daniel took us over to the island in another boat. But of course it was dark and we couldn’t find a thing.”

“No clues?” said Benny.

“That’s right—no clues,” said Mr. Alden. “Next day the island was full of policemen. They looked under the barn, under the dock, all through the woods. But they couldn’t find Bill. They found Bill’s rowboat a few days later. It was tied up at another dock about a mile away on the mainland.”

“Did they radio the news?” asked Benny. “And get the F.B.I. men?”

“Oh, think, Benny!” said Henry. “There weren’t any radios then.”

“Oh, I forgot that,” said Benny. “But at last they found him, didn’t they?”

“No, they never found Bill.” Mr. Alden stopped and then went on again.

“Margaret thought the clues were the queer smell and the grating noise in the front room. So the police went all over the little yellow house. They thought they might find a letter. Margaret thought she had seen Bill reading one.”

“You mean maybe a letter frightened Bill?” said Henry.

“Yes, that’s right. But they never found one. They took up the rugs. They hunted all through the desk. They even went down the chimney with a light.”

“Did they take up the floor boards?” asked Henry.

“No, they didn’t take them up. But they looked at every board in the house. There was dust between every two boards.”

“Why didn’t they put a notice in the newspapers?” asked Violet.

“They did. We had a notice in the paper every day for two years. But nothing ever came of it.”

“I’m so sorry for Margaret,” said Violet. “She must be old now.”

“Yes, my dear,” said her grandfather with a smile. “She seems old to you, I know.”

“Seems old?” said Violet. “Do I know her?”

“Yes, you all know her very well,” said Mr. Alden. “She is Mrs. McGregor.”

“Mrs. McGregor!” shouted all the children. They could not believe it. For Mrs. McGregor had taken care of them, and listened to their troubles ever since they had come to live with their grandfather. They could not think of her as young, or as anyone in a mystery.

At last Henry said, “I suppose she couldn’t live alone on the island, and so Great-grandfather gave her a home here?”

“That’s right. He asked her to come here to live with us as our housekeeper, and the next year he died. She has lived here ever since. We never talk about Bill now, and nobody has ever been inside the yellow house since that time.”

“It’s such a lovely little house!” cried Jessie. “It’s too bad it’s such a sad place and nobody can live there.”

Henry sat up and put his hand on his grandfather’s knee.

“Grandfather!” he said, “couldn’t we go into the little yellow house? I do wish you’d let us. Just let us look around. We might find something.”

Mr. Alden looked at Henry and smiled. “You’re a good boy, Henry. But do you really think you could find anything when the police couldn’t?”

“No, I suppose not,” said Henry.

But just the same, all the children kept looking at their grandfather.

Suddenly he leaned forward. “Do you really want to go?” he asked.

“Oh, yes!” they all answered.

“Well, all right. You may go. You may hunt around all you like, and see what you can find.”

Then Benny said, “I don’t want to go.”

“You don’t want to go!” shouted Henry. “Why not?”

“Well, I think it would be mean to go without Joe and Alice,” said Benny. “They won’t come home from their wedding trip for two weeks.”

“Is that all?” cried Jessie. “You scared me, Benny. I thought you really didn’t want to go.”

“We’d all like to wait,” said Violet. “It will be much more fun if Joe and Alice go with us.”

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we found something? Some clue?” cried Henry.

“Yes, it would,” said Mr. Alden. “But I don’t think you will. Don’t talk about this to Mrs. McGregor yet, will you?”

“We won’t,” promised Henry. “Look, Benny, you won’t tell, will you?”

“I never tell secrets, do I?” asked Benny. “I never told where Joe and Alice went on their wedding trip, did I?”

“Do you know?” asked Henry, in great surprise.

“Of course I do.”

“You do?” said Mr. Alden. “I don’t know myself. Nobody told me.”

“They told me I could tell you two days after the wedding. That’s right now.”

“Well, where did they go?” cried Jessie.

“They went to our barn on Surprise Island,” said Benny. “That was another surprise, because they are so near, and everyone thinks they are far away.”

“Just think of that! Our very own barn where we stayed last summer!” cried Jessie.

“That’s right,” said Benny. He was delighted to surprise even his grandfather.

“Well,” said Henry, “now I can hardly wait for them to come home.”

“I shan’t sleep a wink tonight,” said Jessie. “I shall be thinking of Joe and Alice, and the little yellow house.”

They all expected to stay awake all night, but they were soon all sleeping quietly, even Watch.

CHAPTER 4

The Tin Box

It seemed a long time to the four children before Joe and Alice came home. But at last they drove up to the front door in a new station wagon.

“It’s Joe!” shouted Benny. “He’s got a new station wagon!” He ran down the steps. “Oh, Joe, why did you buy a station wagon when there are only two of you?”

“Guess!” said Joe, laughing. He jumped out and gave his hand to his beautiful young wife.

Then the other children ran out to see Joe and Alice. Everyone was laughing and talking at once. They took bags and boxes and went into the house. Watch barked and jumped around, to show how glad he was to see Joe again.

“I bet you got a station wagon so we could go too,” cried Benny.

“That’s right,” said Alice, smiling at him. “Won’t we have a lot of fun in that station wagon!”

“We know where to go first,” Benny went on. “Want us to tell you?”

“Children, children! Do let Alice sit down one minute,” said Mr. Alden as he came out into the hall. “You have lots of time, you know. Come in, Alice, and let them talk.”

But the children could not wait. Before they knew it, they were telling all about the mystery of the little yellow house.

“What a story!” said Joe. “I’ve wondered about that house myself. I’d like to go inside.”

“We waited for you to go with us,” said Henry.

“Will you both go?” asked Jessie.

“Of course we will,” said Alice.

Joe laughed. “Well,” he said, “it looks as if we would go right back to Surprise Island.”

“Today?” cried Benny.

“Yes, today!” said Joe and Alice together.

Mr. Alden laughed. “Let’s have lunch first,” he said.

“You’re right, Grandfather,” said Violet. “Alice ought to see the presents in her house. Beautiful dishes and things. They came after the wedding, Alice.”

“Lots of food, too,” said Benny. “All in tin cans. A whole ham. And whole chickens and things. But won’t you eat lunch with us just today?”

“Of course we will,” said Joe. “You can show us the tin cans when we come back from the island. How will that be?”

“Fine,” said Benny. “We can go to the dock in the new station wagon. I guess Captain Daniel will be surprised to see us.”

“I guess so, too,” laughed Joe. “We just said good-by to him.”

Soon it was time for lunch. Henry was thinking what to take to the yellow house. “I shall take my tools,” he said to Jessie, as he sat beside her at the table. “Maybe we’ll need them. I don’t think of anything else, do you?”

“A flashlight,” said Joe, who had heard them. “There aren’t any lights there.”

“Oh, thank you, Joe,” cried Jessie. “I’m glad you don’t think we are silly to go.”

“Indeed I don’t. It sounds very interesting. Alice thinks so, too.”

“You did pick out a very nice girl,” said Benny.

“Thank you, Benny,” said Alice laughing.

“Is there room for me?” asked Mr. Alden, to everyone’s surprise.

“Room for you!” said Violet going over to her grandfather. “There’s always room for you!”

Just the same, they were all surprised and delighted that Mr. Alden wanted to go.

“There are chairs for you to sit in,” said Benny. “I saw them through the window. Oh, I wish we were there this minute.”

In about an hour, Benny had his wish. The whole family left the boat at the dock on Surprise Island, and now stood at the front steps of the little yellow house. They went up the four wooden steps. Mr. Alden himself opened the door. They went in the front room and looked around.

There was a table in the middle of the room. Old papers were on it. There was a fireplace with a brick chimney painted white on one side of the room. There was a desk on the other side. Everything was covered with dust.

“This is the very room where Bill sat reading the paper, Joe,” said Henry.

“The queer grating noise came from this room,” said Jessie.

“Now,” began Henry, “let’s look around and see what could make a grating noise.”

“The drawer in the table,” said Alice.

“The drawers in the desk,” said Mr. Alden.

“The boards in the floor,” said Jessie.

“The chimney,” said Benny.

Everyone looked at the strong brick chimney and smiled at the little boy. But Henry said kindly, “That’s right, Benny.”

“We’ll look at every brick,” said Benny.

“Yes, you look at every brick,” said Jessie. “You remember the police looked down the chimney with a light, Benny?”

“Yes, I remember, but they looked at the floor boards too, and all the other things you said.”

“That’s right, too,” said Joe. “Now, what’s first?”

“The table drawer,” said Henry, pulling it out. “Not much here.”

“It grates when you pull it,” said Alice.

There were two pens in the drawer, two fish hooks, and an old paintbrush.

“The paint!” shouted Henry.

“I don’t think this is paint, though,” said Joe. He smelled the paintbrush. “I think this is whitewash.”

Everyone was excited. “Maybe we’ll find something new, after all, Grandfather,” said Jessie. “Did the police know this was whitewash?”

“No, I don’t think so,” replied Mr. Alden. “They would have taken the paintbrush with them if they had thought it was a clue. The police did not work as well in those days as they do now. You can take the drawer to pieces if you want. Something may be hidden in the cracks.”

Henry tapped the drawer with his hammer, and soon took off the sides. But there was nothing there.

“The desk next,” said Mr. Alden. “Two drawers in that.”

“Maybe a secret drawer,” said Joe.

They took out both drawers and put them on the table. “A pen. Some old writing paper. That’s all,” said Henry.

“Now, look at the floor boards,” said Jessie. “We can take up the rugs.”

There were two small rugs. Joe looked at them carefully. Then he rolled them up and put them on a chair. The whole family went to work. Mr. Alden sat and watched. Each one took a stick and looked in every crack. Up and down the room they went on their hands and knees.

At last Joe said, “All done. I don’t think these floor boards have been moved. I don’t think the clue is there.”

“Well, then, my chimney!” shouted Benny. “Every, every brick!”

“That will take many days,” said Henry laughing. “First we’ll tap every brick. You all listen and see if any brick sounds different from the others.”

“Let me tap,” said Benny. “I thought of the chimney.”

“Well,” said Joe, “let him tap, Henry. Let me show you, Ben. Tap like this.” Joe struck a brick lightly once or twice.

Benny got down on the floor. He started with the first brick. “Tap. Tap. Tap-tap,” went his hammer. Then he took the next brick. He tapped just the way Joe had shown him. At last the family sat down, smiling. There were so many bricks.

Suddenly Jessie jumped up. “I think that one sounds different!” she said. She got down beside Benny.

“I don’t,” said Henry. “Tap it again, Benny.”

“Tap. Tap. Tap-tap,” went the hammer.

“Well, maybe not,” said Jessie. “I thought it did the first time.”

In a few minutes Violet said, “Listen again to that one! That one sounds different to me.”

“It’s right over the first one, Violet,” said Benny. “Right over the one Jessie heard.”

But it did not sound different to anyone else.

“Go on, my boy,” said Mr. Alden leaning forward. “Keep on tapping.”

The children all looked up at their grandfather. They were surprised to see that he was excited and very white.

Benny began on another row of bricks. Then it was Mr. Alden himself who said, “Stop there! Tap again!”

“That last one is different,” cried Joe. “Give me the hammer a minute, Ben!”

But Joe did not use the hammer. He just looked at the brick.

Benny was looking at it too. “Whitewash!” he whispered.

“Whitewash,” said Joe. “I do believe that this brick has been taken out and put back again.”

“Can you take it out, Joe?” Alice asked excitedly.

“I’m going to try,” answered Joe. “We don’t want the whole chimney to come down.”

“Here’s the screwdriver,” said Benny.

“Just what I want,” cried Joe. “Yes, this brick has certainly been taken out!” He put the screwdriver at the edge of the brick and tapped it with the hammer. Out came dried whitewash.

“What did I tell you?” cried Benny. “New whitewash. Not like the old.”

More dried whitewash fell out with every tap of the hammer. “This has certainly been painted to look like the other bricks,” said Joe. “But the whitewash is different.”

“Now pull it out, Joe!” shouted Benny.

Joe took hold of the brick and pulled. It made a queer grating noise, as he worked it out. At last it came out and fell on the floor.

“Look in the hole! Look in the hole!” yelled Benny. “There’s a letter in the hole.”

Joe could hardly believe what he saw. But there was the letter. He took it out and read it.

“What in the world does this mean, Uncle James?” he asked, as he handed it to Mr. Alden.

“Read it aloud!” cried the children.

Mr. Alden read:

Dear Bill,

Thanks for the money. I can make it three times as much if you will help me. Some friends of mine know how. Meet me at your little house in Maine. (Bear Trail) Then you can pay Mr. A. and get your part of the rest sure. Look in the tin box. Hide this.

S.M.

“Well, my dears,” said Mr. Alden, “now we have a real mystery.”

Jessie said, “And we don’t know any more than we did.”

“Bear Trail,” said Benny. “I wonder where that is.”

CHAPTER 5

The Next Move

Mr. Alden read the letter again. Then he said, “Jessie, you say we don’t know any more than we did. But I think we do.”

“Right,” said Jessie, laughing. “I think so myself, now. We know there is something up in Maine anyway.”

“Yes, and we know more than that,” said her grandfather. “I had better tell you one other thing. Just before Bill disappeared, he sold two fine race horses for your great-grandfather. But he never paid over the money. He kept saying he would, but he never did. I always thought his brother got it away from him, and Bill went away to get it back. I may be wrong.”

Joe said, “Maybe Bill was afraid to come back without the money.”

“That’s what we thought,” said Mr. Alden. “You see, the week after Bill disappeared, his brother Sam was killed by a car. So he couldn’t help us find Bill.”

“Did Mrs. McGregor know about the race horses and the money?” asked Jessie.

“Yes. Poor Margaret! She never got over it,” answered Mr. Alden. “But she never thought Bill took the money.”

“We know more than that, Uncle James,” said Joe. “We know it has something to do with Bear Trail.”

“Do you know what Bear Trail means?” asked Benny.

“Yes, I went over Bear Trail when I was fifteen years old,” answered Joe.

“So you did, my boy!” cried Mr. Alden. “On that trail you have to go miles in a canoe, and then carry the canoe. You were very strong when you came back from that first trip.”

“I liked it so well that later I was a guide for two years,” said Joe. “But I haven’t seen Bear Trail for a long time.”

“Where is this Bear Trail?” asked Alice.

“Let’s go home,” said Joe for an answer. “I can show you on the map.”

“O.K.” said Benny. “I don’t think we’ll find any more clues in this room.”

When they were driving home, Alice said, “I can’t think what the little house in Maine means. Bill’s yellow house is on Surprise Island.”

“We’ll have to solve the other mysteries first, I guess,” said Henry. “Then maybe we will understand the rest.”

“You all sit on the porch while I get the map,” said Joe, stopping the station wagon at the front steps.

Soon the map was open on the porch table. The children sat around it. Joe began to point with his pen.

“Bear Trail starts from the highway right here,” he said.

“Then you come to a lake. Here it is. There is a camp on this lake. Anyway, there used to be.”

“That’s where the canoe comes in?” Benny asked.

“Right. It’s a beautiful trip. I think I know exactly where to go from here. You paddle the canoe as far as you can. Then you get out and carry the canoe. The woodsmen call that a ‘carry.’ You can go miles and miles this way. You don’t see a house for days.”

Henry looked at his grandfather. Jessie did the same. Everyone on the porch was looking at Mr. Alden as he sat in his easy chair.

“Yes, yes! I know what you want!” he said, smiling and nodding his head. “You all want to go up to Maine and hunt for Bill.”

“Yes, that’s it, Grandfather,” said Benny. “But you always let us do things in summer when there isn’t any school. Joe and Alice want to go too.”

Mr. Alden looked at Joe sharply. “Do you?” he asked.

“Yes, we really do,” said Joe, after looking at Alice. “We both love a mystery. We both love camping and canoeing. Alice is a great paddler in a canoe, and I have two weeks left before I have to go back to work.”

“Well, if you want to spend your two weeks that way, it’s all right with me,” said Mr. Alden at last.

“He means we can all go!” shouted Benny. “Don’t you, Grandfather?”

“I suppose so,” said Mr. Alden. “You’ll have to carry a lot of things with you. Those ‘carries’ are hard work, my boy.”

“Henry’s strong,” said Benny. “He could carry a lot of things. And so could Alice. She’s very strong, too.”

“Well, well! Thank you, Benny,” said Alice, surprised.

“We’ll all be stronger when we get home,” said Henry. “I’ve been wondering what that letter means, Grandfather. Just as Alice said, ‘Your little house in Maine.’ His yellow house is on Surprise Island.”

“I don’t know myself,” said Mr. Alden. “But I know that Bill built the yellow house on Surprise Island. He did all the work himself with the help of his brother.”

“Brother? Does this brother have anything to do with this mystery?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” said Mr. Alden. “I never liked his brother. He was always in trouble.”

“You think Bill’s brother wrote the letter?” asked Jessie.

“I certainly do,” said Mr. Alden. “I think S. M. means Sam McGregor.”

“Ho-hum,” said Benny.

“Now what does that mean—Ho-hum?” asked Joe, laughing.

“It means we’d better stop talking and get started on this trip,” said Benny.

“What a family!” said Joe. “Always doing something exciting.”

Mr. Alden said, “You might as well get some of your things ready right away.”

“Oh, let’s,” said Benny, jumping up.

Joe stood up too, and began to think aloud. “We can get two canoes up there,” he said slowly. “Do you think you could carry one, Henry, with one of the others to help you?”

“I’m sure I could,” said Henry. “We can’t take too many things. We’ll have to carry food, and packs on our backs, won’t we?”

“That’s right,” said Joe. “We can get tents up there too. There is a store on that first lake where we can buy what food we need for the trip. We don’t have to carry the canoes very far.”

“We can go to Maine in the station wagon, Joe,” said Violet softly.

“Right,” said Joe, smiling at his little cousin. “I knew that was a good thing to buy. Now you children get to work and write down the things you want to take. We can get blankets up there, too.”

“No, sir! You take blankets from here, Joe,” said Mr. Alden suddenly. “Get your clothes and blankets made into packs right here where I can see them. I’m not going to have Violet get cold sleeping in the Maine woods.”

Soon there was a great noise around the house. The children ran up and down stairs. Watch went up and down every time. Then Joe showed them how to make sleeping bags. First the blankets were put on the floor and folded once. Then they were sewed on one side to make a bag. Their clothes were put in piles on the blankets.

“Now fold them over and over this way,” said Joe, “and put these straps around them. I have a lot more straps in my camping things.”

“I see,” said Benny. “The strap goes around your back. Mine isn’t heavy at all. I could carry some bacon and eggs too.”

“Bacon,” said Henry, “but no eggs. We can’t take eggs, can we, Joe?”

“Not whole eggs,” said Joe. “Dried eggs. We can have scrambled eggs. Dried milk and canned milk, both.”

“Dried everything,” said Benny. “I don’t care.”

Before night came, the family was ready for the trip.

Then Joe turned to his uncle. “Don’t be worried, Uncle James,” he said. “I promise you we will stop and eat on the way up. We’ll eat well before we go on the canoe trip. Then we will be all right for a few days, if we don’t have so much to eat.”

“Good,” said Mr. Alden. “Everything is ready then.”

“No,” said Jessie. “Nobody has said anything about Watch.”

“Oh, we can’t take the dog!” began Joe. “He might tip the canoe over.”

Then he looked at the faces of the four children. They were thinking fast. He went on, “Really, I don’t think we had better take Watch.”

“You’re right, Joe,” said Henry at last. “We can’t take Watch. But he will have a good time at home.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Alden. “Watch will keep me from being lonesome, and I will keep him from being lonesome.”

Benny made them all feel better by saying, “Let’s have him stay home. But don’t let’s tell him he can’t go until tomorrow.”

CHAPTER 6

Starting for Camp

It was a pleasant ride to Maine. They ate lunch on the way. Soon after lunch, Joe turned into a bumpy side road and drove carefully through the woods. Suddenly he pointed ahead to a pretty blue lake on the side of the road. “There is the end of our station wagon ride.”

The children looked out as he steered the station wagon up to the door of a little store, and stopped. “All out!” he said.

“Now for the fun!” cried Alice. “What a lot of things we’ll buy here!”

The storekeeper came to the door to see who was stopping.

“You don’t remember me, Mr. Long,” said Joe. “But I was a guide up here once.”

“Sure I remember you. You’re Joe Alden. Glad to see you. Going on a canoe trip? These all your children?”

“No,” laughed Joe. “This is my new wife, and these are my four young cousins.”

“How do you do?” said Benny politely. “Oh, Mr. Long, you have canoes over there.”

“I have everything for a canoe trip,” said Mr. Long with a smile. “Going three in a canoe? I can fix you up all right. You’ll need two. You’ll need some tents, too.”

They all went into the store. “Oh, look!” cried Benny, happily. “All kinds of tin dishes and tin cans. And let’s have some pancakes for breakfast!” He took down a box of pancake flour.

“Benny,” said Jessie, kindly, “I think you’d better let Joe tell us what to buy. He knows what we can carry.”

“Well, yes, Jessie,” said Joe. “But Benny is right about the pancakes. Just wait until you smell them cooking in the early morning.”

Mr. Long put the things in a big bag. “Flour, salt, sugar, bacon, dried eggs, canned milk, potatoes, beans, onions, canned fruit,” said Alice. “We won’t go hungry with that.”

“Tin dishes to eat out of and tin dishes to cook in,” said Jessie.

They went outdoors to look at canoes.

“I can take care of your station wagon,” said Mr. Long. “Just leave it here.” He turned over two canoes and helped Joe push them half into the lake.

Joe thanked him. Then he said, “Just a minute, Mr. Long. We want to ask you something before we go. We are really up here to look for an old man who is lost. He would be about seventy years old now, but he has been lost for almost forty years.”

“His name is Bill McGregor,” said Benny.

“Never heard of him. I’m sorry,” said Mr. Long, shaking his head.

“We’re sorry, too,” said Violet sadly.

Mr. Long looked at the gentle little girl. “I’ll keep my ears open,” he said. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything about your man.”

“Please do,” said Joe. “We’re about ready.”

“I want to go in the canoe with Joe!” cried Benny, jumping up and down.

“Well, you can,” said Joe after thinking a minute. “You are light and I am heavy. Henry, I will take Jessie, too. You take Violet and Alice.”

“That’s nice,” said Alice. She smiled at Violet. “I’d like to go with you, and I can help Henry paddle if he needs me.”

“I’ll put the bag of food, the tent bag, and one blanket roll in the middle of our canoe, Benny,” said Joe. “Then you sit down near them and don’t move.

“Henry’s canoe can carry the other blanket roll and the bag of dishes.”

When everything was loaded, Mr. Long gave the canoes a last push into the lake.

“Oh, isn’t this lovely!” cried Jessie, as her canoe began to slide through the smooth blue water. “What a beautiful lake this is.” She looked back to see Henry taking up his paddle. Then both canoes were on their way.

“Keep near me, Henry,” Joe called back. “Then we can shout to each other.”

Benny was looking at a spot in the lake. “Is this water very deep, Joe?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, very deep.”

“Is it deeper than a tree?” asked Benny, still looking at the spot.

“Oh, yes, much deeper than a tree in the middle,” answered Joe laughing. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, there’s a tree growing in the lake over there, almost in the middle,” cried Benny. “But it’s moving!”

“Moving? A tree?” cried Joe. “Why—it’s a moose! He’s swimming across the lake. Those branches are his antlers, Benny. Hoo-hoo, Henry! Look! A moose!” He pointed at the moose as he shouted to Henry.

But the swimming animal had heard the shouts. He had seen the canoes. He turned around and began to swim as fast as he could toward the shore. When he got near the edge, he splashed through the shallow water and ran out of sight into the bushes.

“Well, well!” said Jessie. “Always something interesting on a canoe trip. Wasn’t he a big one, though.”

“Keep your eyes open,” said Joe. “You may even see a bear.”

“Really, Joe?” asked Jessie.

“Well, not right here,” answered Joe. “They don’t come down here very much. But we may see a bear before we go home.”

“And fish!” cried Jessie. “Did you see that fish jump right out of the water?”

“Yes, I did,” said Joe. “He was a big fellow.”

“Let’s go fishing!” cried Benny.

“We can’t stop now,” said Joe. “We’ll have to paddle right along to make camp for the night.”

“Are you going to build a fire, Joe?”

Joe smiled. “Yes, indeed,” he said. “I can build a fire because I was a guide once. Nobody can build a fire in the Maine woods except a guide.”

“I’m glad you’re a guide, then,” said Benny. “What are you going to cook for supper?”

“A secret,” said Joe laughing. “And we may have company. Yes, I think I can promise you company.”

“Who in the world could it be?” Jessie asked. “You don’t mean Bill, do you?”

“No, not Bill,” said Joe quickly.

Then Jessie remembered that Joe had talked quietly with Mr. Long in front of the store. No one else heard a word the two men had said.

“I bet that’s a secret, too,” said Benny.

“Right,” answered Joe.

CHAPTER 7

Company in the Woods

Henry paddled almost as fast as Joe for about two hours. Then Joe could see that Henry was behind him. “Tired, Henry?” Joe shouted, slowing down and waiting for Henry to catch up.

“A little, Joe,” Henry shouted back. “How far is it?”

“Not very far now,” said Joe. “Look over there!” He pointed at a spot down the lake. “Three trees! Camp!”

Henry saw the spot at once. “I can paddle that far,” he called back.

So they started out once more.

“It will take some time to get the camp ready for the night,” Joe told Jessie. “I want to get there long before dark.”

“We have to get supper, too,” said Benny.

“Don’t forget the company,” said Joe, winking at Jessie.

Everyone was now looking at the three trees. As they came nearer they could see a beach where canoes could land. Near the beach there was an open place.

Soon, with a strong push of his paddle, Joe sent his canoe up on the beach. Henry’s canoe came along beside it, and Joe and Henry jumped out.

They helped everyone out. Then they pulled the two canoes up on the beach almost out of the water, and tied them to a tree.

“So they won’t float away,” said Benny, watching.

“Take everything out,” cried Joe. “Put it in this open place. Here’s one of the best camping places in Maine.”

“A long wooden table all made!” cried Henry. “And places to sit. That’s good.”

“What a nice smell here,” said Violet to Alice. “I just love the smell of evergreen trees. It makes me think of the dear old boxcar days.”

“I don’t see any company, though,” said Benny, looking around.

“Well, you will,” said Joe. He seemed to be very sure. “The first thing will be a campfire because we are so hungry. The next thing will be the tents, because we will soon be sleepy.”

He took out an axe. “Here is a path. We’ll follow it and cut down two small trees, not evergreens though. These trees must be just right. Look at this picture. See, the top must have a fork. But the fork must be one-sided, so we can drive the tree into the ground.”

All four children looked at the picture, and started to walk down the path.

“Wait a minute,” said Joe. “There is something else we must find. Do you see the pail hanging over the fire on a long branch? We must have a long branch like that, with a fork at the top, and another to hang our water pail on.”

“But trees don’t grow like that,” said Jessie. “All branches grow one way, don’t they, Joe?”

“You just look around,” said Joe, smiling. “You might find one.”

First the children began to look for a tree that was not an evergreen. It was Violet who saw the first one. Joe said the fork was just right. Henry began to cut it down. Jessie and Benny soon found another just like it.

“Joe! Wait! I hear something,” called Jessie suddenly.

They all stood still and listened. Far in the woods they heard someone whistling. Joe laughed. “Company!” he said.

The whistling came nearer. “Hi!” shouted Joe.

“Hi!” answered a deep voice. Just then, the children saw a white-haired man in a brown coat, carrying a very large pack. His face was brown from the sun, his blue eyes were kind.

“This is Mr. Hill, children,” said Joe, smiling at the stranger. “Mr. Long tells me he is one of the best guides in Maine.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” laughed the man. “I suppose you are Joe Alden. Want me to build your shelter-half and cook you some cornbread?”

“Cornbread!” cried Alice. “I just love cornbread.”

“Me too!” shouted Benny. “But what’s a shelter-half?”

“You would ask that, Benny,” said Henry laughing. “But we don’t know, either.”

“No,” cried Benny, “don’t tell us after all, Mr. Hill. We’ll watch you build it, and then we’ll know what it is.”

“Not a bad idea,” said Henry. “Don’t forget we still have to find that branch with two forks in it.”

Mr. Hill could see two or three branches like that, but he said nothing. He just smiled and let the children find a tree for themselves.

“Well, well!” said Henry at last, looking up at a tree. “There is a branch growing both ways. I never knew they grew like that.”

“Cut it just below that fork, Henry,” said Joe.

Soon the branch was cut. Joe and Henry cut branches of evergreens and carried them back to camp for beds.

Then Mr. Hill and Joe put everyone to work. “We must get everything done before the sun sets,” said Mr. Hill. “It gets very cold up here at night. You’ll be glad of your warm blanket rolls. Benny—is that your name? You come and hold these two trees for me.”

In no time the two little forked trees were standing in the ground with a long pole between them. The branch was soon hooked over the pole. Mr. Hill put the water pail on the hook. “You can push this branch to one side, you see,” he said. “Sometimes I get two or three to cook with.”

“I can see how that works,” said Benny. “The water gets hot while you cook supper.”

“Is the hot water to wash dishes in?” asked Violet.

“That’s right, and for anything else you want to wash.”

“Maybe hands,” said Henry, laughing and looking at his hands.

“It’s good clean dirt, though,” said Benny, looking at his own hands. “Smells good. Just like evergreens.” Then he forgot all about his hands, for Mr. Hill began to make the shelter-half to keep the wind from the fire.

“This would keep rain out, too, if we had any rain,” he said to Benny. “And this is the baker where we cook the cornbread.”

“Oh, that’s a funny dish,” said Benny. “How does it work?”

Mr. Hill laughed. “You set it up with this open side toward the fire, see? The inside gets very hot, and cooks the cornbread a fine even brown on top. Then after supper, we can set it up on this other end, and wash dishes in it.”

“Well, isn’t that clever?” cried Henry. “Benny won’t mind washing dishes in that.”

“Now somebody had better go and find some wood,” said Mr. Hill. “We must get a fire going right away.”

Benny jumped up and worked hard getting wood for the fire. He was getting hungry.

Meanwhile Joe and Henry put up the two small tents. Alice and Jessie laid the evergreen branches in the tents for beds.

“Where will Mr. Hill sleep?” asked Jessie.

“Oh, he has his own tent,” Joe answered. “It will take him about one minute to put his tent up and make his bed and go sound asleep.”

“I hope he won’t go to sleep before he makes that cornbread,” said Alice.

“We’re going to have ham and eggs, too,” said Mr. Hill.

“But we haven’t any eggs,” said Benny.

“No, but I have,” said Mr. Hill with a laugh. “I brought along a few things. Just for your first day. Then tomorrow morning I have to leave you.”

How delicious the ham did smell when Mr. Hill put it in the big pan and it began to get brown. Then he dropped in twelve eggs. Joe said he could eat at least two, while Henry said he could eat three.

“Real butter!” cried Jessie, as Mr. Hill took it out. “Do you remember the first time we had real butter in the boxcar?”

“Cornbread isn’t much good without butter,” said Mr. Hill.

Violet began to set the table with tin plates. Soon they were all eating their first meal in camp.

At last Joe said, “The cornbread is gone and the ham is gone. Can anyone stay awake long enough to wash the dishes?”

“I can, if we can use that funny dish,” said Benny. He watched Mr. Hill put the hot water from the pail into the baker. “But I’m so sleepy I could go to sleep standing up.”

Soon the dishes were washed and put away.

Alice, Violet and Jessie had one tent, and Henry, Joe, and Benny had the other. They spread their blanket rolls on the beds of evergreen boughs. Before long the moon looked down on a sleeping camp.

But softly through the woods walked a large black animal. He smelled people. He smelled food, too. So he walked very quietly.

There was the side of bacon hanging in a tree, up high. That was easy. He could stand up. Maybe he could pull it down. He loved bacon. Up went one front paw and the bacon began to swing back and forth.

The animal was not the only one awake. Mr. Hill had heard the visitor. This was the very minute he had been waiting for. “Joe!” he called from his own tent. “We have a visitor.”

Joe woke up suddenly. “I’ll tell the children,” he answered. “Henry, wake up!” Then Henry was awake. “Jessie!” he whispered. Then everyone was awake.

“Oh, dear!” said Violet sitting up. “What is it?”

CHAPTER 8

The Lumber Camp

The moon was almost as bright as day.

Mr. Hill whispered, “Look out very quietly.” Very slowly the other tent flaps opened.

The children saw the large black bear but he did not hear them or smell them. He did not smell anything but the bacon. Back and forth it swung as he hit it with his big paw.

“Don’t be afraid, Violet,” whispered Alice. “The bear won’t hurt us. He is afraid of us.”

Just then the bacon fell at the bear’s feet. Down he went on all fours again. He lay down and began to chew the bacon.

“Ho-hum!” thought Benny. “There goes our bacon.”

Just then Mr. Hill flashed a light in the bear’s face. The bear jumped up and ran off into the woods as fast as he could run.

“Didn’t he look funny!” laughed Benny. “But he left our bacon.”

“That was a wonderful sight,” said Henry. “I am certainly glad that Mr. Hill happened to wake up.”

They were soon asleep again. They did not know that Joe had asked Mr. Hill to come because he could show them a big black bear. They did not know that Mr. Hill and the bear were good friends. The bear knew that he would find food wherever Mr. Hill was.

The next morning Mr. Hill said as he and Joe made a fire, “I must leave you after breakfast. When you start off, you’ll soon come to a lumber camp.”

“I wish you would leave that baker to wash dishes in,” said Benny.

“Yes, I brought it for you,” said Mr. Hill with a smile. He washed the bacon well, and cut it in thin pieces. Soon it was cooking in the pan over the fire. Hot cereal and canned milk seemed delicious in the cold morning air. Mr. Hill made “quick bread” in the little baker. As soon as the bread was done, the children began to hear many bluejays in the trees.

“They want our breakfast,” said Mr. Hill, looking up. “Wait until we sit down and then see how near they will come. Throw some pieces on the ground.”

The air was full of bluejays. Six or seven beautiful birds flew to the ground. The children could almost touch them.

“Come on, everybody,” said Benny at last. “I want to see that lumber camp.” He began to pick up the dishes, making the birds fly back into the trees.

Jessie laughed. “What a housekeeper you are all of a sudden,” she said. “Let’s all help.”

Soon the camp was all clean again. Everything was packed in the canoes, and Mr. Hill gave them each a push.

“Thanks, Mr. Hill,” said Joe to his old friend.

“Thanks for everything,” Jessie called back as the two canoes went smoothly down the lake.

The children waved until Mr. Hill turned and went into the woods.

“He was nice, wasn’t he?” said Violet.

“All Maine guides are nice, Violet,” laughed Joe.

Fish were jumping here and there in the water beside the canoes.

“Oh, can’t we go fishing today, Joe?” asked Benny.

“We’ll have to go fishing,” said Joe, “unless we want to eat beans for three days. When we get around two or three ‘looks’ we’ll stop and fish.”

“Two or three what?” asked Benny.

“Looks,” replied Joe. “See that turn in the lake? You can’t see around it yet. They call that a look.”

“That’s a good name for it,” said Jessie. “What do we fish with?”

“Didn’t you see the fishing rods Mr. Hill brought us?” asked Benny. “He brought two, one for each canoe. We can take turns fishing.”

“We fish with flies,” Joe told them. “Not real flies. I have a box of Grey Ghosts in my pack. They look like real flies to the fish. So they go after them and get caught.”

The canoes passed the next look and the next. Then Joe called back to Henry, “Want to stop and fish?”

“You bet!” called Henry. “You’ll have to show us how.”

“Alice knows how,” called Joe. He stopped paddling. “She’ll show you and Violet.”

The two canoes floated together as Joe and Alice each put a pretty Grey Ghost fly on their lines. Then Joe whipped his line out over the water.

“That’s nice, Joe,” cried Benny. “Isn’t it easy? When you get a fish, let me try, will you?”

“Sure,” said Joe, smiling. “Sit very still now.”

“Oh, look,” cried Jessie. “You’ve got a fish, Alice! Pull it in!”

“Not so fast,” answered Alice. “You have to play these fellows.” She pulled her line in very slowly and carefully. Everyone watched her land the large fish and take it off the hook.

Then Joe caught one. Benny could hardly wait.

“Now it’s my turn,” he cried.

“Right,” said Joe. “You saw me whip the line over the water. Now you do it.”

Benny took the rod. He lifted it just as Joe had done. “Whip!” went the line. But it did not go out over the water. It went backwards over his head.

“Look out!” cried Joe to Alice. But he was too late. The hook caught fast in her hair and pulled it down over her face.

“Oh, Alice, your pretty smooth hair!” said Violet.

“I’m sorry, Alice!” called Benny. “I don’t see how I did that.”

“Never mind,” said Alice. “I ought to have been watching. Everyone misses the first time. Violet will soon get the hook out.”

Violet leaned over at once and worked the hook out. “Don’t do that again, Benny,” she said.

“It’s not as easy as it looks, Benny, to whip that line out,” said Jessie. “You’d better let Joe do the fishing.”

“No, not at all,” Joe answered. “Let him try again. He ought to learn.”

Benny fished and fished. But he found it worth while when he caught three trout. He looked at every spot on the fish as if he had made it himself.

At last Joe said, “We have enough fish now. The men at the lumber camp will want to feed us. But it’s nice to have our own food, too.”

“See the logs in the water over there,” said Alice. “The men at the camp roll the logs into the water and they float down by themselves.”

When the children started off again, they began to hear the sound of axes. Soon they could hear a great crash when a tree fell. At last they heard a lumber man calling to them, “Hi! Hi!”

They all waved to him. “Paddle in, Henry,” said Joe. “We’ll stay here tonight.”

The man seemed very glad to see them. Right away he asked them to stay to dinner.

“Yes, we’ll be glad to,” said Joe. “We have a lot of fish here, but we’d like to put up our tents in your camp for the night.”

“Fine!” said the man, who was the boss. “Hi, Cookie! We have company.”

The cook looked up with a laugh. “Come in! Stay as long as you want. You like beans?”

Benny went up to the cook. “We just love beans,” he said. “But we got a lot of fish. I’ll show you the ones I caught.”

“You can’t tell them apart,” said Henry.

“Oh, yes, I can,” said Benny. “I caught three, and I know every one. I caught this one, and this one, and this one!”

“They look just alike to me,” said Cookie, with a smile.

“Cook them for the little boy, Cookie,” said the boss. “Fix them all up.”

When dinner was ready, Cookie let Benny ring the bell. The lumber men came crashing through the bushes.

“They always hurry that way to their dinner,” said Cookie.

The men made room for the visitors. There were three tables full of people. Baked beans and quick bread made a fine dinner.

After dinner the boss said, “You show the visitors how we cut the trees, Bill.”

“Bill!” whispered Violet to Joe. They all looked to see which man was Bill. But they knew right off it was not the Bill they were hunting for. He was too young.

The afternoon went by too quickly. After a supper of their cooked fish, they went to bed in their own tents. The lumber men had little log houses.

“Don’t be surprised if you hear porcupines,” said the boss. “They like the grease around here, and they come most every night.”

“What do they sound like?” asked Henry.

“Like pigs,” said the boss. “They squeal and they chew. When they chew it sounds like someone sawing wood.”

When the camp was quiet Henry woke up suddenly. He thought it was morning and the men were sawing. Then he heard many loud squeals, and said to himself, “It’s porcupines!”

But the squeals had wakened all the rest, and both tent doors opened.

“What a noise,” whispered Jessie. “Where are they?”

“See that ball?” asked Alice. “Right by the table? That is a porcupine. He is chewing the table to get the grease.”

There were five porcupines in all, eating and squealing. When the children had watched them for a long time, Joe said, “We must get our sleep. They’d better go.” Then he flashed a light at them. They rolled into balls and kept very still.

But when Joe flashed the light again, they went hurrying away into the woods.

“Well,” said Jessie, lying down again, “we see our most interesting sights in the middle of the night.”

“I hope they won’t come back,” said Alice. “Because Joe says tomorrow will be a hard day.”

But even Joe had no idea how hard the next day was going to be.

CHAPTER 9

Almost Starving

After the day in the lumber camp, the morning seemed to come in no time. Then men were awake and working before the sun. When everyone was dressed, Joe took the children to find the boss.

“I wonder if you ever heard of a man named Bill McGregor,” he said to the boss.

“He’s lost,” said Benny.

“Lost? How old a man?”

“About seventy, now,” answered Joe. “He has been gone for many years. But we just found a letter saying he might have gone on Bear Trail.”

“This is part of Bear Trail,” said the boss.

“Yes, I know,” said Joe. “That’s why we came. This Bill was a very strong man, so I thought maybe he had worked years ago in lumber camps.”

“Well, I’ll ask my men,” said the boss. “I’ll find a way to let you know if I hear anything.”

“We are going to stop at Old Village,” said Joe. “If you do hear anything about this man, send someone down by canoe. I’ll pay for it.”

“I guess not!” laughed the boss. “Too bad if I couldn’t help you out. I’ll be glad to let you know anything I hear. You have two looks and a carry before you get to Old Village Lake.”

“Breakfast!” called Cookie, ringing the bell. Soon the men were eating great plates of quick bread. But Cookie had made beautiful brown pancakes for the visitors. They ate them with butter and brown sugar.

“I’ll help paddle today, Henry,” said Alice.

“Thanks,” said Henry. “We’ll get along faster that way.”

After breakfast everything was packed up again and put in the canoes. The children did not forget to thank Cookie and the kind lumber boss. Very soon they were on their way down the lake. The day was beautiful. They saw two interesting things. They paddled around the first look and saw a moose swimming to shore as fast as he could. Around the next look they saw a beautiful deer standing in the bushes.

“I like to go around these looks,” cried Benny. “I’m glad we came. Now what’s next, Joe?”

“Well,” answered Joe with a funny smile, “soon we’ll get out and carry the canoes.” He winked at Jessie.

“Can I carry one?” asked Benny.

“No, certainly not,” said Joe. “Henry and Alice will carry one with the things still in it. That will be right side up. Then I will carry the other upside down on my head. You and Violet will have to carry some bags. Not as much fun as you think.

“You see this lake stops just ahead. But there is a very big lake not far from here. That’s the last lake for us.”

Henry and Joe soon pulled both canoes up on the shore. Alice took one end of a canoe under her arm, and Henry took the other. Benny laughed and laughed as Joe put the other canoe upside down on his head and walked off down the path. Benny and Violet came after with the bags.

It was not very far, and Alice was glad, because the canoe was heavy. Everyone sat down by the next lake to rest.

“What a beautiful day this is!” cried Jessie. She could not help it. The lake was the biggest one they had seen. The water was very blue and the trees were very dark green.

“Let’s rest a long time,” said Joe. “We have a long canoe trip ahead of us. There are not many good places to land for dinner.”

But at last he got up and they were on their way again. This time they did not paddle out to the middle of the lake. It was too far.

“Stay near land, Henry,” said Joe. “Then we won’t have so far to paddle.” But when he said this, he did not know how lucky they were going to be.

The two canoes were going along smoothly. Nobody thought of rain. Suddenly Joe looked up at the sky.

“Look up, Henry!” he called.

Just at that minute the wind began to blow. All of a sudden the smooth lake was very black. Soon it was all covered with small waves, then big ones.

For one long minute Joe stopped paddling and looked sharply along the shore. “Get to shore, Henry!” he shouted. “Just as fast as you can! Land between those two large trees.” He had to shout, for the wind was making a terrible noise.

They turned both canoes. By now they could hardly sit up. Alice paddled without a word. Henry’s canoe went first. Then it began to rain. The rain fell so fast that in one minute they were all wet through. But they thought of nothing but getting to shore.

“You can make it, Henry!” yelled Joe. “There is room for us both to land. Get over to one side!”

Henry and Alice paddled under the branches of the two trees and drove their canoe up into a very small opening.

“Get out quickly!” cried Alice. “Pull our canoe out of Joe’s way, so he can land, too.” They did so. Even Violet helped. Then they waved to Joe.

“O.K!” he shouted as he began to paddle straight in. Just then a big wave hit his canoe sideways and washed the bags of food and dishes into the lake.

“Never mind!” he yelled. “Let them go, Benny, and sit still!”

Then with one strong push he drove his canoe up beside Henry’s. He looked at his young wife, who was very white.

“Thank goodness!” said Alice. “We are all safe!” She put her arm around Violet who was shaking with fright.

“We’ll have to do something right away,” said Henry, taking one look at his gentle little sister. “We’re really in a fix. All our food is gone.”

“Are we going to starve, Joe?” asked Benny.

“Starve? No. But I guess we are going to be very hungry.”

“Just almost starve,” said Benny.

“Let’s not stand here in the rain talking,” said Jessie. “We still have our tents and our blankets. And we still have our shelter-half. We must think of some way to get Violet dry and warm.”

“I’m all right,” said Violet. But she did not look all right. She was still shaking.

Henry and Joe looked around. They could see nothing but trees and bushes. There was no path. There was no other open place.

“Not a very good place to land, or make a camp,” said Henry, much worried.

“All woods and bushes,” said Benny. “But we could cut down some trees and bushes. We still have our axe.”

“Thank goodness for that,” said Henry. “Let’s have it.”

“Don’t cut here,” said Joe. “The ground is too wet for a camp. Let’s try to find a better place. You go that way, Henry, and I’ll go this. Hunt around, and don’t get lost.”

Before long they both came crashing back. But now Joe was smiling.

“Water!” he shouted. “There’s a spring up there, and quite a good place. We can make it do. We’ll have to. We won’t need to cut down many bushes and there is room for the tents and a fire.”

“How can you build a fire in the rain?” asked Benny.

“Don’t forget we have the shelter-half,” said Joe. “You bring in some big stones and some dry wood, and you’ll see.”

“All the wood is wet,” said Benny.

“Not on the under side it isn’t,” Henry told him. “Look at Jessie, with that axe!”

As fast as Jessie cut down bushes, Alice pulled them away. Joe and Henry put up Mr. Hill’s shelter-half as fast as they could. Soon Joe had a fire going. He made Violet sit down before it, putting a blanket over her knees.

“Thank you, Joe,” said the little girl. “The fire feels so nice and warm.” She did not shake any more.

“Good!” cried Henry. “That shelter-half is wonderful. It keeps the wind off the fire, too.”

“Can I go back to the canoes and see if I can find any food?” asked Benny.

“Good boy!” said Joe. “A fine idea. You may be a Maine guide yet.”

“I’ll go with you, Benny,” said Alice suddenly, after a look at Joe. “We might even get hold of one bag.”

Off they went, while Joe and Henry put up the tents. The big trees kept off a lot of the rain, and the inside of the tents was quite dry.

Jessie took the blanket rolls inside before she took off the straps. “Anyway,” she said, “we have a warm, dry place to sleep, even if we don’t have anything to eat.”

Joe was thinking. He was worried. He knew it would be hard for the children to go a whole day and night without eating.

Meanwhile two people were really having fun—Alice and Benny. They could see the one bag of food as it lay under the water not far from shore. The wind was blowing so hard that every wave brought the bag nearer to them.

“If I could only get hold of it!” said Benny. “It has potatoes and tin cans in it. Let’s have the fishing rod.”

“You’d break it,” said Alice. “Here’s a long stick.”

“Please let me walk into the lake, Alice,” begged Benny. “I’m as wet as I can be already. I don’t have to go in very far.”

“Well, all right,” said Alice slowly. “It isn’t very deep here. Go easy, now.”

What a funny feeling that was. Benny stepped into the lake very slowly. He went in up to his knees. He had the big stick in one hand and he held the branches of the trees with the other. He tried and tried to get hold of the bag. He did not give up until he had hooked the stick into the handle of the bag. Then he pulled carefully. The bag almost floated. Then he caught it with his hand and pulled it to shore.

“Oh, Benny, dear!” cried Alice. She was so glad she almost cried. “How glad Joe will be!”

They both took hold of the bag and pulled it to camp.

“Look here!” shouted Benny. “Potatoes!”

“Wonderful! Potatoes!” they all said. They opened the bag and took out what was left. Their flour was gone, the salt was gone, the sugar was gone. But there were the potatoes and all the cans of milk.

“No dishes,” said Benny. “They were all in the other bag.”

“Never mind dishes!” cried Violet. “Just think of having potatoes, Benny. We can cook potatoes without any dishes.”

It was long past noon, and everyone began to work.

“Roll the potatoes into the fire, right here,” said Joe. “They will burn, but never mind. We have to eat something. We can put spring water in the milk and drink that, too.”

“How can we put spring water into a can of milk?” Benny asked. “It’s full of milk already.”

Henry had an idea. He rushed off to his own canoe. Soon he was back with the water pail and his big knife. “Now we’ve got a dish,” he said. “We can put the milk and water in this pail, and we’ll open the milk cans with this knife.”

“Then the cans will be empty,” broke in Benny.

“And we can use them for cups,” finished Jessie.

“Well,” said Benny, “anyway, we’re not starving. Just almost starving.”

CHAPTER 10

Potato Camp

It’s better to lose the food than the tents, isn’t it, Joe?” asked Jessie.

“It certainly is,” answered Joe, feeding the fire. “We will get along all right for one night. This rain will stop as suddenly as it began. I think by tomorrow morning we can get back on the lake.”

Jessie thought that out. “Does that mean we must have dinner, and supper and breakfast here, Joe?”

Joe winked at her. “Right,” he said. “But I guess we won’t have much breakfast.”

“Let’s eat half the potatoes for dinner and the rest for supper,” said Jessie, thinking. “But we have no butter, and no salt. Just potatoes.”

“Better than nothing, Jess,” said Henry, looking at his sister. “You always make the best of things. Now, let’s get lots of wood. We can’t get much wetter. Then when we do get dry, we won’t have to go out in the rain again.”

By the time the potatoes were done, there was a big pile of wood in Joe’s tent and there were six hungry people sitting by the fire.

With a long stick, Joe and Henry pulled the potatoes out of the fire.

“Two each,” said Jessie. She gave them out. That is, she rolled two potatoes to each one. “Now let’s put the canned milk in the water pail with some spring water.”

“What a dinner!” cried Benny. “I don’t like canned milk when I’m home. But it tastes all right here.”

It was certainly queer not to have any dishes except a water pail and milk cans. But even as the wind kept on blowing and the rain kept on falling, everyone was very happy to have tin cups and a water pail.

“We are pretty lucky to have anything to eat,” said Violet. “If you hadn’t found the bag, Benny, we wouldn’t be eating now.”

The children opened the hot potatoes with sticks. They ate them with small sticks.

“Awfully hot, aren’t they?” said Henry, burning his fingers. “But aren’t they delicious!”

“We have to eat slowly this time,” said Joe. “Make them last as long as you can.”

“No dishes to wash,” said Benny. “Too bad we lost that funny little baker.”

Then Joe said, “Let me tell you just what we have to do, children.”

Everyone looked up and listened.

“This is a very long lake as you see,” began Joe. “But if we start very early tomorrow morning, we ought to get to the end of our trip before noon.”

“Where do we come out, Joe?” asked Jessie.

“We come out in a very small village,” answered Joe. “When I was here, there were only a few houses and a store.”

“What is the name of this place?” asked Henry.

“I don’t think it has any real name,” said Joe, thinking. “They just call it Old Village. Most of it is very old. Only one or two houses were built when the Indians lived there.”

“After we get to Old Village, you don’t know where to go next?” asked Benny.

“No, I don’t,” said Joe. “That is the end of Bear Trail.”

“Well, never mind,” said Henry. “Something is sure to happen. We may find the tin box, or even Bill. I can hardly wait to find clues.”

Joe did not answer. He was thinking.

“I do wish we had saved some of our fish from yesterday,” said Jessie. “We had enough left to go with our potatoes for supper.”

“That’s all right, Jessie,” said Benny, taking his last drink of milk. “I’m not hungry at all.”

They all laughed. “That’s because you have just eaten your dinner,” said Violet. “You’ll be hungry again at supper time, and then again at breakfast.”

“O.K.” said Benny. “Then I suppose we’ll really starve without any breakfast at all.”

“Not quite,” said Alice, smiling at the boy.

The wind was still blowing and the rain still came down. The children put sticks on the fire, and drank the spring water in the pail. Jessie had washed out the tin cans and they drank water because the milk was all gone.

After a supper of potatoes, they were all glad to go to bed. They were still hungry, but they were warm and dry.

From his tent Joe called goodnight to the girls. Then he said, “Notice the wind.”

“What’s the matter with the wind, Joe?” asked Benny sitting up. “Oh, I see what you mean. There isn’t any.”

“That’s right,” said Joe, laughing. “It has just stopped blowing. Tomorrow will be a fine day, I think. Just you wait and see.”

But Benny sat up again. He called out, “Hi, Jessie!”

“What do you want, Benny?” Jessie called back.

“Let’s call this Potato Camp, because we didn’t eat anything here but potatoes.” After that, the children always called it Potato Camp.

CHAPTER 11

Old Village

The next day was fine, just as Joe had said. It was so fine that the children could hardly believe there had been such a storm. But how hungry they were!

“No breakfast today,” Joe called in a loud voice. “Think you can take it?”

“Oh, sure,” said Benny. “But I hope we can have some dinner.”

“Well, I think we can,” said Joe. “We can surely find something to eat when we get to Old Village.”

“That’s where we’ll find Bill,” said Benny happily.

Henry and Alice started with a will to take down the tents. Violet and Benny began to roll up their blankets. But Joe did nothing. He sat down on a log and seemed to be thinking. This was not like Joe at all.

“Let him alone,” said Alice quietly to the children. “Just go on packing. He’ll soon help, too.”

But Joe didn’t begin to pack. Instead he called them all to stop packing and come to him for a minute.

“I want you all to understand why I took you way up here,” he said. “Maybe for nothing. Benny just said, ‘That’s where we’ll find Bill.’ Now I don’t really think we will find Bill. I never thought so. I think Bill must have died long ago. The boss at the lumber camp had never heard of him. Mr. Long and Mr. Hill hadn’t either and they both have been around here many years.”

Joe stopped and smiled at Benny. Then he went on. “I don’t really think we’ll find the tin box either.”

“Why are you telling us all this, Joe?” asked Violet in her gentle voice. “Are you afraid we’ll be disappointed?”

“You’re exactly right!” said Joe quickly. He looked at his little cousin. “I don’t want you to be disappointed because you can’t solve the mystery. When we get to Old Village, I don’t know what to do next. I thought maybe we might get a clue to the tin box, but we may not.”

“I don’t care, Joe,” shouted Benny. “I’ve had enough fun just camping, even if we don’t find Bill.”

“Oh, yes, we’ve all had fun, Joe,” Jessie broke in.

Joe’s face brightened. “Did you really?” he asked. “Even if we don’t find a thing? I hope so. That’s why I brought you so far. I thought we’d have fun anyway.”

“Don’t you worry any more, Joe,” said Henry. “Camping is the thing we like to do best in the world. It makes us think of Boxcar days and last summer on Surprise Island. But you don’t mind if we still look for clues, do you?”

“Mind—no!” said Joe. “I expect to look for clues myself. Just don’t be disappointed, that’s all.”

Then Joe hurried around and began to pack with a will. This time the children were glad to see a smile on his face.

“We’ll paddle faster today,” he told them, “because we are so hungry. We can’t see Old Village from here, because the lake turns. But we ought to get there by noon.”

Into the canoes went the things again, and into the canoes went the six people. Off they went on the last part of their long journey. They paddled for a long time.

All at once Benny asked, “Joe, what would happen if I put a Grey Ghost fly on a line and threw it in the water behind the canoe?”

“Well,” answered Joe smiling, “you might lose your rod, and then again you might catch a fish.” He was delighted to give Benny something to do. Then the boy would not feel so hungry.

“I’m going to try it,” said Benny. This time he put on the fly right. Then he threw the line out behind the canoe.

“What are you trying to do? Break your rod?” shouted Henry from the other canoe.

“No,” called Benny. “I’m fishing.”

On they went. Benny watched his line for a while.

Suddenly Henry shouted, “There goes your rod!”

Benny jumped and caught it just as it was about to slide out of the canoe.

“Boy! You’ve got a big one,” cried Joe, stopping to look back. “Pull him in slowly, Ben! Don’t you lose him! Don’t get excited, whatever you do!”

Violet smiled. Joe was as excited as Benny.

How the big fish did fight to get away! But Benny played him carefully, and slowly brought him to the side of the canoe.

“Want me to help, young fellow?” asked Joe.

“Please,” said Benny. He was afraid he would lose the big fish.

Joe leaned out and pulled it quickly into the canoe.

“A big lake trout! And a beauty,” he cried. “He will feed us all. Too bad you didn’t catch him yesterday.”

“Isn’t that always the way!” cried Benny. “We starved yesterday, and now just as we get near a store, we catch a fish.”

“Never mind,” said Joe. “We’ll eat him yet.”

He took up his paddle again. It was almost noon when they went around the last look. Then they could see a road that came right down to the beach from Old Village.

“Here we are at the end of Bear Trail,” Alice said, laughing; “and we have found neither a clue nor Bill. Joe, aren’t you excited now?”

“Excited? Yes, I am,” said Joe. “I’m hungry, too. Look ahead at the beach. See that man waiting to meet us? Someone always meets canoes.”

Joe and Henry paddled faster without knowing it. Soon the canoes slid up on the beach. The man helped pull up the canoes.

“Hello, strangers,” he said. “Taking the Bear Trail trip?”

“Yes,” said Joe. “Right now we are looking for some place to eat. These children are almost starved. Is there any place to eat in Old Village?”

“Yes, sir!” said the man. “I run it myself. I call it Jim’s Place. I’m Jim Carr. I’ll cook you anything you want. Bacon, ham, deer, hamburger—”

“Oh, hamburger!” yelled Benny. “I want hamburger!”

“So do I,” laughed Jessie.

Jim laughed too. “Leave your things,” he said. “Nobody will take them. My place is right up on the road.”

The children saw it at once. There was a board over the door, saying in black letters, JIM’S PLACE. They all walked down the road toward it.

“I suppose most of the campers eat with you?” asked Joe.

“Right,” said Jim. “They stay overnight sometimes. Then they go back to Mr. Long’s store by road.”

“We may do that,” said Joe.

Jim’s Place was the biggest house in Old Village. As they went in, they looked around. Everything was very clean. There were three tables, and a delicious smell of onions in the air.

“I won’t be long,” said Jim. “Sit down and make yourselves at home. Hamburger and onions and potatoes for everybody.”

They sat down and looked at each other. They could hardly wait. Soon Jim came in with big white plates filled with hot food. “Eat all you want,” he said. “More in the kitchen. I just made two big apple pies. Maybe I can find some cheese to go with it.”

Everyone began to eat. Never did food seem so good to the hungry children. “You see, we didn’t have any breakfast,” Benny said to Jim.

Jim laughed.

“That’s really true,” said Joe. “We got caught in the rain, and lost most of our food.”

“Too bad,” said Jim. He went into the kitchen to get a pie. Soon a whole pie had disappeared, and also some fine yellow cheese he had found.

“Oh, I do feel better,” cried Violet. “I’m ready for anything.”

“Glad to hear that,” said Henry, looking at her. “You do look a little better.”

Then Alice said to Joe, “We ought to stay in Old Village for one night, anyway. I think Violet ought to sleep in a bed in a house.”

“You can do that all right,” answered Jim Carr with a laugh. “You see that little old house across the street? I don’t really own it, but I take care of it. It has been empty for many years. When campers want to stay overnight, I let them use it. I bought a lot of folding cots. The campers don’t seem to mind sleeping three in a room.”

Jessie stopped to count. “We wouldn’t either,” she said.

“Right!” said Alice with a smile at Jessie. “You and Violet and I in one room, and Joe and Henry and Benny in another.”

“There are two rooms,” said Jim. “Three with the kitchen.”

Henry said, “My! Everything is working out well, isn’t it, Joe? Is there anything interesting to see in Old Village, Jim?”

“Oh, yes,” said Jim smiling. “Some people go hunting for deer and moose. Then there’s an old hermit over in the woods. Lives all alone. People like to catch sight of him, he looks so queer with his long white beard. Then there are Indians up the road. They make baskets to sell. People always go and watch them make baskets when they stop over.”

“Oh, let’s go up and see the Indians,” said Jessie. “Do they mind? Are they old?”

“No, they don’t mind. They like it. Yes, one of them is very old. He has lived there all his life. Loves to talk.”

“Ho-hum,” said Benny looking at Henry.

“That’s what I say too,” said Henry softly to Benny. “You mean the old Indian might give us a clue?”

“Maybe,” said Benny, smiling to himself.

Henry paid for their dinner, and they all went off up the road.

“Joe,” began Jessie, excitedly, “maybe this old Indian has heard of Bill, long ago. We can ask him.”

Soon they could see an Indian girl sitting on the steps of an old house making a basket.

“My, doesn’t she work fast!” said Alice. “See her fingers fly.”

“I wish I could learn to do that,” said Violet.

“You can. I will teach you,” said the Indian girl who had heard every word. “It is not hard at all. See, I have just started this basket. See—I go in and out, over and under, with this sweet grass.”

The girl worked slowly so that Violet could see what she did. Soon she held out the basket. “You try it now,” she said.

Violet took the basket, and soon her clever fingers were going in and out, over and under, just as the Indian girl had done.

“Wonderful, Violet!” said Alice. “You can do anything with your fingers.”

“Yes, she can,” said Henry smiling. Then he thought surely Benny would say something about his sister Violet as he always did.

He looked around. But Benny was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, where is Benny?” he called.

“Benny! Ben-ny!” shouted Joe as loud as he could.

But there was no answer. Benny had disappeared.

CHAPTER 12

A Hunt for Benny

It was true. Benny was not there.

“Oh, what has happened to Benny?” said Jessie, beginning to cry.

“Now, don’t let’s get upset,” said Joe’s strong voice. “I think I know what has happened. Benny has gone off by himself to find the hermit. He hasn’t been gone long, and we can surely find him. Don’t you cry, Jessie. We’ll go and hunt for him.”

“Wouldn’t we save time by asking Jim?” asked Henry.

“Right,” said Joe. With that, they all ran back to Jim’s Place.

Jim came to the door when he saw them running toward him.

“We’ve lost Benny!” cried Jessie. “You know which way to hunt, don’t you? We think he went to find the hermit and surprise us.”

“Well, now,” said Jim, “the first thing, don’t you get scared. We’ve got Indians here in Old Village that can find anything in these woods. The little boy hasn’t been gone long. Did you ask the little Indian girl to help you?”

“Oh, dear,” said Violet. “I forgot all about the Indian girl. I just dropped the basket and ran. We all did.”

“Better go back, then,” said Jim. “I’ll go with you. Rita is a better guide than I am. She can walk in the woods and never make a sound.”

When Jim told Rita, she stood up at once and looked sharply into the woods. “I saw the little boy at first,” she said. “But I did not notice when he went. I’m very sorry. We’ll start this way.”

Rita leaned over and looked at a bush. “Yes, I think he went down this path. Keep right behind me. It is easy to get lost in these woods if you get off the path.”

It was a strange sight—six people walking behind the Indian girl in a straight line down the path. Sometimes it seemed as if there were no path at all.

Jessie walked just behind Rita. Soon she said, “Rita, Benny would never know this was a path. He may have gone off it long ago.”

“No, he couldn’t, a little boy like that,” said Rita. “He couldn’t get through. This is the only way he could go. He went this way all right. I can see where he stepped, and this is the way to the old hermit’s cabin.”

On they went, over rocks and stones and branches.

“Now, call him,” said Rita, turning around.

Henry put his hands up like a cup and called “Ben-ny!”

Then Joe did the same.

They all listened. There was no answer.

“We’ll find him just the same,” said Rita shaking her head. “If I can’t, my father can.”

They all hurried on. For a long time they walked without talking.

Suddenly the Indian girl stopped. “Be careful now,” she said. “We are near the hermit’s cabin. If we scare him, the hermit will run away, and then he won’t help us.”

Slowly and quietly they all walked along the path. Then all at once they saw the cabin. They stopped. For on the steps sat an old man with a long white beard. Beside him, smiling and talking away happily, sat Benny.

“Oh, Benny!” whispered Jessie.

“Sh!” said Rita.

But the hermit had seen them. “Come,” he said to Benny, taking his hand. “You are lost.”

Jessie could not wait. She cried out, “Oh, Benny, you scared us so!” With that, everyone began to talk to Benny, so nobody could understand a word.

“The hermit is nice,” said Benny when he could make them hear. “He was going to take me back when I got ready to go. His name is Dave Hunter.”

“That’s right,” said Jim. “His name is Dave Hunter.”

But the hermit surprised them all by turning his back. He went straight back to his cabin, went in, and shut the door.

“That’s the way he is,” said Jim. “He won’t talk.”

“He talked to me,” said Benny.

“Most anyone would talk to you, little boy,” said Jim with a smile. “Dave won’t come out again, so we might as well go back.”

Rita led the way back, and Henry put Benny right in front of him where he could watch him all the way.

As they walked along, Jim said, “You people might as well stay overnight. You can cook your own trout.”

“I think we must stay,” said Alice. “Violet needs a good night’s sleep after that scare. We all do.”

At the village again, they stopped to say good-by to Rita. Henry put some money into her hand. “We’ll see you again about the basket, Rita,” he said. “We were all upset about Benny.”

“I understand,” said Rita with a smile. “I wouldn’t like to lose Benny myself.”

When they reached the little house, Jim said, “You can stay here as long as you want. Walk right in. If you want anything, come over and ask me. Maybe I’ll have it.” With that, he left them to go into the house alone.

They went up the front steps. Henry pushed open the door and they all went in. They found a small room with a fireplace. There were a few chairs and some folding cots leaning against the wall. There was one big chest of drawers.

Alice and Jessie soon found the next room which was a bedroom. Then they found the kitchen.

“There isn’t any upstairs,” called Benny. “Just downstairs.”

“Oh, Violet!” cried Jessie. “Do look at this dear little kitchen stove! I wish we could get our own supper.”

“Jim said that campers do keep house here,” said Alice. “And think of Benny’s big trout. It would be fun to cook it ourselves.”

“Doesn’t this make you think of keeping house on Surprise Island?” cried Henry. “We’ll need wood for the stove and some potatoes to go with our fish. I’ll go over and ask Jim to sell us some.”

“I will go with you,” said Benny.

“Right,” said Henry, “so you won’t get out of my sight.”

“I really didn’t mean to,” said Benny. “I was coming right back. I wanted to surprise you and find the hermit first. He said I ought to go right back, and he would take me himself. He likes to live alone.”

Joe began to set up the cots. “How’s this, Violet?” he said. “You three girls take the bedroom. I’ll put three cots up for you. Then we three men will sleep in the living room.”

“That’s wonderful, Joe,” said Violet. “But let’s make our own beds with our blanket rolls. We love to make beds.”

“Well, I don’t,” said Joe. “I’ll certainly let you make mine. I’ll just set up the cots.”

The afternoon was passing quickly away. Benny soon came back with the fish and potatoes. Henry carried a big basket of wood. “Nice, dry wood,” he laughed.

Benny said, “I never thought I would just love dry wood.”

Then they went out again to the canoes and brought up the packs. Soon Jessie and Alice had a fine fire going in the stove, while Violet got the potatoes ready.

“I think we’ll eat in the kitchen,” said Henry looking around. He pulled the table into the middle of the room. “Benny, see if you can find six chairs.”

Violet found some heavy white plates, and set the table. Jessie cut the fish into six pieces before she cooked it. Then she put it in a big pan. For the first time in many days, they all sat down on real chairs to eat a meal at their own table. When they had finished supper there was no food left at all.

Before long the dishes were washed, the beds were made, and everything was ready for the night. But it was not yet dark.

“Let’s go out and sit on the front steps,” said Jessie. “We don’t want to go to bed yet.”

The family went through the little house and sat down on the wooden steps. A soft wind was blowing through the trees. Soon a toad hopped out from under the steps.

“He lives there,” said Benny. “I like to have toads living under our steps.”

“They come out at night,” said Joe. “They catch bugs.”

“You know, I feel as if something will happen soon,” said Violet slowly.

Alice turned to look at her. “That’s funny, Violet,” she said. “I feel as if we had done this before. Almost as if we had a clue and didn’t know it.”

Joe surprised them all by saying, “I feel that way, too.”

CHAPTER 13

The Tin Box Again

The next day the children were up early. They had breakfast. They made their beds.

“We ought to go down to see Rita the first thing we do,” said Violet. “We were not very polite to her yesterday. All we could think of was Benny.”

“Very well,” said Alice laughing. She sat down at the kitchen table. “You four go to Rita’s and Joe and I will write a letter to your grandfather.”

So the four children went down the road. Rita came out when she saw them coming. She began at once to show Violet what to do next on the basket. “This will be just a small basket,” she said. “You can make them as big as you want to.”

When Violet finished her basket, Benny said, “That’s very pretty, Violet. You can give it to Grandfather.”

“So I can,” said Violet, very much pleased. “He likes things we make. Now we must pay for it, Henry.”

“You have paid for it already,” said Rita, smiling. “The big boy paid me for the basket and the lesson and the trip into the woods. He really paid me too much.” She looked at Benny and took hold of his hands. “Don’t you run away, again, little boy. You make too much trouble for the hermit.”

“For the hermit!” cried Jessie. “It was more trouble for us.”

“No,” said Rita, shaking her head. “Dave Hunter was upset. I could see he liked Benny. It is the first time he has said more than one word at a time. My father says he was a very nice young man once. He built that house you are staying in.”

“He did!” cried Henry. “Did he live there himself?”

“Oh, yes. Many years ago. My father told me about it last night, after you found the little boy. He said Dave went away to work, and stayed a long, long time. When he came back he was different. He stayed in his little house for about a week, and one night some mean-looking men came to see him. They had a fight, and then they went away and left Dave alone. In a few days Dave went into the woods and built his cabin and he has stayed there ever since. He wouldn’t ever talk.”

As the excited children started back to Old Village, Benny said, “Jessie, Jessie, maybe Dave Hunter is Bill.”

“Why do you say that, young fellow?” asked Henry.

“Well, Bill could build houses. He built the little yellow house on Surprise Island and he built the little house here in Old Village.”

“Maybe you’re right, Benny,” said Jessie in excitement. “What would we ever do without you? Let’s see what Joe and Alice think.”

Joe and Alice had finished their letter when the children rushed in and began to tell their story.

“So Dave Hunter built this house, did he?” said Joe. “That must have been a long time ago, for it’s an old house.”

“Joe, Joe! I have an idea,” cried Henry. “Look around you at this house. Now—all of you pretend for a minute you’re in the little yellow house on Surprise Island.” He pointed around him as he went on, “There’s the fireplace of the little yellow house, and there’s the door, and there’s the window.”

“Of course,” said Violet, “there’s the bedroom.”

“And there’s the kitchen,” yelled Benny. “I guess Bill could just build one kind of house.”

“Why, this old house is exactly the same as the little yellow house!” cried Jessie; “the same front door with two windows on one side and one on the other.”

“The same chimney!” shouted Benny.

“And the same front steps,” said Alice slowly. “Last night I felt as if I were sitting on the steps of the little yellow house.”

“So that’s what it was!” cried Joe. “I felt that way, too. We sat there so many times after supper on our wedding trip.”

They all looked at each other.

“Now, let’s see how this was,” Henry said, excitedly. “Bill lived here first. Then he went to work for Great-grandfather Alden. Then he married Mrs. McGregor, and they lived on Surprise Island where he took care of the horses.”

“They lived in the little yellow house,” said Benny.

“That’s right,” said Henry. “He built it, Grandfather said, with the help of his brother.”

“Oh, that brother, Sam!” cried Joe. “He was not much good. I think Sam is the clue to this mystery.”

“So do I,” said Henry. “Remember Bill sold two race horses and went away without giving Mr. Alden the money.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” said Joe. “That’s why Bill disappeared.”

“But why didn’t he let his wife know where he was all those years?” asked Violet gently. “He loved Margaret.”

“I don’t know,” said Henry. “That’s the mystery. Maybe his brother wouldn’t give the money back, and Bill wouldn’t go home without it.”

Then Violet said softly, “Joe!”

“What is it?” asked Joe quickly.

“Do you suppose Bill’s brother hid the money in this house?”

“Maybe,” said Joe, thinking. “But it’s not a yellow house.”

“Of course he did!” said Benny. “That’s why Bill took the rowboat that night and came up here. I bet those mean-looking men were the friends, and they were looking for the money, too. Remember Rita said they had a fight?”

“Good, Benny,” said Joe. “I guess they tried to make Bill give them the money, and Bill couldn’t find it himself.”

“And there’s the mystery all solved,” said Alice laughing.

“Well,” said Henry, “I’m sure now that Dave Hunter is Bill. But where’s the money, and where’s the tin box?”

“Let’s hunt,” said Benny. “How about the chimney?”

“Not the chimney,” said Henry. “Bill would have found the money if it were in the chimney.”

“That’s right,” Benny answered.

“Not much to see,” said Jessie. “A chest and a few chairs. And our cots.”

“Do you think we ought to talk with the hermit, Joe?” asked Henry.

“No, not yet,” answered Joe. “I don’t think he would talk.”

“Well, I’m not going to sit here,” said Benny. “Let’s do something.”

“O.K.” said Henry, getting up. “We can hunt for clues in the chest. There might be a secret drawer in it.”

“Let me see,” began Jessie. “The chest has three drawers. Joe and Alice can look in one drawer, Henry and Benny in another, and Violet and I in the third.”

Soon the whole family was busy. First they took the old dusty papers out of the drawers. They tapped each drawer, hunting for a secret drawer. They found nothing but dust.

“Ho-hum,” said Benny. “What shall we do now, Jessie?”

“Oh, I’m sure I don’t know,” cried Jessie. Everyone looked at her.

“You’re not cross, are you, Jessie?” asked Benny.

Jessie laughed a little. “Maybe I am,” she said. “I did hope we would find the money in that chest. But we tapped every drawer. There is no secret drawer there. Let’s go outdoors and sit on the steps.”

The family went outdoors slowly and sat down on the steps. Nobody said a word. Jessie was not often cross.

Pretty soon Benny said, “I wonder where the toad is? I suppose he stays under the steps.”

Alice smiled at Benny, but nobody felt like answering him.

Benny went on. “Does a toad have a house? What kind of a house does he live in, Jessie?”

“Oh, Benny! I don’t know! I’m so tired! You want to know everything! Why do you want to ask about toads now, when we want to find a tin box!” She almost laughed.

“Never mind, Jessie,” said Benny quickly. “I’ll look for myself.”

The little boy got down on his hands and knees. Soon he was lying on the ground looking under the steps with one eye.

“I can see him. He’s just sitting there. He winked at me.”

Benny picked up a long stick.

“Don’t hurt the toad, Benny,” said Joe.

“Oh, no. I’m just going to see how big his room is.” Benny began to move the stick from one side to the other. Then he crawled quietly to the back of the steps where there was a big hole under the house. The toad jumped through the hole, and Benny followed him. Everyone had to smile. They knew that Benny was crawling under the house.

Soon they heard him talking to himself. “Here’s a pretty white stone,” he was saying, “and here’s an old tin can. Here’s a screwdriver. Not a bad screwdriver.”

Then he was silent.

But the others could hear him crawling around under the house.

“Never mind, Jessie,” said Joe with a smile. “He’s having fun. Children forget things very soon, you know.”

Then they heard Benny say, “Well, here’s the toad! Hello, Toad! Where do you live?”

“He seems to be having quite a talk with a toad,” said Henry, laughing.

Benny went on, “Do you live in that old wooden box under the house? That’s funny. It’s open in the back instead of the front. Do you go in the back door? Why do you do that? Well, well. Ho-hum-HENRY! There’s a tin box here!”

“What?” shouted Henry, almost falling down the steps.

“I’ve found it!” yelled Benny. “A tin box sitting right in a wooden box!”

The whole family was down on the grass looking under the steps.

“You come out, Benny!” shouted Joe. “Bring the box. We can see better out here.”

“I was coming, anyway,” said Benny. He came crawling as fast as he could through the hole. He pushed the tin box ahead of him, and came out from under the steps.

“Sure enough!” cried Jessie. “It is a tin box. I can hardly believe it. Now I only hope there is something in it.”

“There is,” said Benny. “I shook it.”

The excited children sat back and looked at the box. “You open it, Henry,” said Benny. “It’s too hard for me.”

Henry’s hands shook as he pulled the box open. There before their eyes were piles of green bills.

“Dollar bills!” Benny whispered.

“No, Benny, they are one-hundred dollar bills!” said Henry. “I never saw one before.”

“Let’s count them,” cried Benny.

“You count, Benny. You found them,” said Jessie in a kind voice.

Benny was so excited he could hardly count straight. At last he said, “That’s forty, and that’s all. How much is forty one-hundred dollar bills, Henry?”

“Four thousand dollars, young fellow,” said Henry. “Isn’t that what two race horses would be worth, Joe?”

“Just about,” said Joe.

“Boy, oh boy!” cried Benny. He was all tired out with excitement.

They all looked at each other. Then they looked at the tin box and the pile of green bills.

“Well, Joe,” said Henry at last, “where do we go from here?”

“I think,” answered Joe, “that when we get rested, we’d better go and see the hermit.”

“The hermit is Dave Hunter. And Dave Hunter is Bill,” said Benny.

“I think so, too,” said Joe with a smile. “But even now, maybe he won’t talk.”

Jessie put her arm around her little brother.

“I’m awfully sorry I was cross, Benny,” she said. “It’s lucky you do want to know everything. If you hadn’t looked in the toad’s house, we would never have found the tin box.”

CHAPTER 14

The Hermit

Right away, the children wanted to go to see Rita again. Leaving the money in the tin box in the kitchen cupboard, the whole family almost ran up the road.

“We want to go into the woods again, Rita,” Jessie called. “We want to talk with Dave Hunter. Do you think we could find our way alone?”

“Of course you can,” said Rita. “But Dave won’t talk.”

“Maybe he will talk to Benny,” said Jessie.

“Well, maybe,” said Rita. “He did before.”

The family started down the path through the woods. When they came to the cabin, they saw the hermit walking towards his house with a pail of water. He stopped when he saw the visitors. Then he went right on again.

“Dave!” called Henry kindly. But the hermit started to go up the steps to his cabin.

Then Benny called out in his loudest voice, “Bill!”

The pail went rolling down the steps as the old man stopped. He sat down and put his head in his hands.

But Benny seemed to know just what to do, and nobody stopped him. He ran over and sat down beside the old man and put his hand on his arm. “Oh, Bill,” he said, “don’t worry. We’ve come to take you home.”

“Home?” said Bill. He lifted his head and looked at Benny. “I can never go home, little boy.” He looked at the others as they waited on the path.

“Oh, yes, you can, Bill,” cried Benny. “Grandfather wants you to come home, and so does Mrs. McGregor.”

“Mrs. McGregor!” said Bill in a whisper.

Then nobody could believe what happened next. Violet went quickly over to the steps and took the old man’s hand. “He means Margaret,” she said.

He looked down at the pretty little girl. “Margaret is dead,” said Bill.

“No, Margaret is alive,” said Violet.

“They told me she was dead,” said Bill. “They said there was a fire, and the barn burned and Margaret died trying to save the horses.”

“Oh, that isn’t true at all, Bill,” cried Benny. “We lived in that barn all last summer, and Mrs. McGregor is the housekeeper at my grandfather’s house.”

“I can’t go home,” said Bill quietly. “I can’t find the money. I took Mr. Alden’s money.”

“We found the money,” said Violet gently.

“Where?” asked the old man.

“In a tin box under the steps of the house,” answered Violet.

“In a tin box—that’s right,” Bill said. “Oh dear, oh dear!”

Then Joe came up to the steps. He said, “Mr. McGregor, everything will be all right again, believe me. Your wife is alive and wants to see you. We just found the money today.” Then he turned to the children.

“I’m afraid Bill is getting very tired,” he said to them. “He is having too much excitement after forty years. Do you think you can walk to Old Village, Mr. McGregor?”

The old man looked at Joe’s kind face. “Yes, I can, if all this story is true.”

“I promise you it is,” said Joe. Then he said to the children, “Don’t ask him anything more until we get him home. But he is Bill all right.”

Benny would not let go of Bill’s hand. He led him carefully along the path, stopping to show him every stone.

“I’ve seen every stone on this path for many years, little boy,” said Bill. But they all knew that he liked to have Benny help him.

They took him to the little house that he had built himself. Alice made him lie down on one of the cots, and Jessie put something soft under his head. Joe rushed over to Jim’s Place and soon came back with a cup of hot tea.

“Drink this,” he said. “It will make you feel better.”

Bill drank the tea, and before anyone knew it, he had fallen asleep.

“He is tired out,” said Violet in a whisper. “And so thin. He looks as if he didn’t have enough to eat. Almost starving.”

“We’ll soon fix that,” whispered Jessie with a smile. “He’ll have enough to eat if he lives with us.”

The family went into the kitchen. They shut the door softly.

“Won’t Grandfather be surprised,” said Henry.

“And Mrs. McGregor,” said Violet.

“I’m surprised myself,” said Joe. “I thought Bill was dead, for sure.”

Jessie said, “Wasn’t it queer how Benny got him to talk all of a sudden? Just because he called him Bill.”

“Bill must have felt funny to be talking after forty years,” said Benny. “I couldn’t stop talking for forty years.”

“I hope you won’t, Benny,” laughed Alice. “We love to hear you talk.”

“When Bill wakes up, we must give him something to eat,” said Jessie. “I think I’ll run over to Jim’s Place and see what he has.”

“Let me go with you,” said Alice. “We can go out the back door.”

The two girls went across the road, and found Jim in his kitchen stirring something on the back of his stove. It was soup, and it smelled delicious.

Jim turned around quickly and asked, “Wasn’t that the hermit I saw with you?”

“Yes, it was,” said Jessie. “His real name is Bill McGregor, and he used to work for our great-grandfather.”

“I thought something was queer about him,” cried Jim. “People used to say that little house was Bill McGregor’s place. Then one day Dave Hunter came to Old Village and said it was his. He said he was a cousin of Bill’s.

“But he wouldn’t live in the house. He told me to use it for campers and he built himself his cabin.”

“Well,” said Alice, “he says he is Bill McGregor now.”

“He talks, does he?” asked Jim. “I can hardly believe it. It must seem strange. He’s a nice, gentle old man. I always was sorry for him. I always tried to feed him up when he came out of the woods.”

“That’s what we came for,” said Jessie. “Something to feed to him. That hot soup would be just the thing.”

“Jes-sie!” Benny called from across the road. “Bill’s awake and he’s hungry.”

“Take some bread and butter, too,” said Jim with a laugh. “That’ll do him good.”

Alice and Jessie hurried back. Bill was sitting up in a chair. He looked rested.

Jessie put a little table in front of him, and set down the hot soup and a plate of bread and butter. Bill ate as if he were half-starved.

“You don’t look as thin as you did, Bill,” said Benny. “A little fatter.”

Everyone laughed, even Bill himself. “I don’t think he grew very fat on one bowl of soup,” said Jessie. “But you do look better, Bill, sure enough.”

“I feel better,” said the old man, looking into the girl’s kind face. Then he looked around at the other friendly faces. They were all smiling at him.

“I suppose Mrs. McGregor won’t know you,” said Benny.

“I will know her,” said Bill, “even if she is old.”

“She might like you better without your long beard,” said Benny.

“Sh-sh, Benny,” said Jessie.

But Bill’s feelings were not hurt. He even laughed a little. “My beard can be cut off,” he said. “Then I will look like Bill McGregor instead of an old hermit.”

“Jessie!” said Benny, all of a sudden. “Where did you get that soup? I’m awfully hungry.”

“What do you know!” cried Henry. “It’s long past noon and we were so excited we forgot our own dinner.”

“Don’t worry,” said Jessie, getting up at once. “We’ll soon fix that.”

CHAPTER 15

Starting for Home

The family sat down on the steps the next morning after breakfast.

“I want to go home,” said Benny suddenly.

“We all want to go home,” said Henry. “But how can we? We can’t take Bill in a canoe. Four people are too many.”

“We’ll have to get to Mr. Long’s store some way,” said Jessie. “If only we had our station wagon.”

“Let’s wait a little while,” said Joe. “Maybe something will happen.” He winked at Alice.

Benny rushed over to Joe and shook his shoulder. “What are you winking at Alice for?” he cried.

“Don’t you wish you knew?” teased Joe. He rolled Benny over in the grass.

“Get up and look what’s coming, boys,” called Alice. She pointed up the road. Coming around the corner was their very own station wagon.

“It’s the station wagon!” shouted Benny. “That’s Mr. Long driving and his boy is with him.” Benny began to jump up and down. He waved with both hands.

Mr. Long soon saw him, stopped at the little house, and got out. He laughed to see the children so surprised.

“You didn’t hear us, did you?” he said. “Joe and I made a lot of plans up at my store that first day.”

“Henry, I was sure you heard us,” said Joe, laughing. “I had just asked Mr. Long to meet us here in six days, when you suddenly came around the corner.”

“No, I didn’t hear a word,” said Henry, smiling. “But Mr. Long came on the right day. We do want to go home.”

“I never thought I would want this trip to end,” said Violet. “But now I want to get home to see Grandfather, and we all want to get Bill home to Mrs. McGregor.”

“Don’t tell me you have found Bill!” said Mr. Long, much surprised.

“Oh, yes,” said Benny. “Remember Dave Hunter, the hermit?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Long, “you mean he is Bill?”

Jessie said, “Yes, and it’s going to be a big surprise for Mrs. McGregor. Joe, shouldn’t we send a telegram to Grandfather?”

“Good for you, Jessie,” said Joe. “We’ll do that, just as soon as we find a place.”

“Come on,” shouted Benny. “Let’s go.”

The little house was soon full of people rushing around, rolling up bed rolls. They put things into the back of the station wagon, while Jim packed a big lunch for them to eat on the way home.

Jessie took the money out of the tin box and put it carefully into her handbag. “I’ll take care of this,” she said.

“We carry that money around as if it were just pieces of old paper,” said Violet laughing.

“It is,” said Benny, as he carried his bed roll to the station wagon.

“Why not let me cut off that long beard, before you go, Mr. McGregor?” asked Jim, when he came over with the lunch. “I can cut it for you.”

“How do you feel about it, Bill?” asked Joe. “Do you want it off?”

“Of course I do,” said Bill. “Don’t you remember I said I would look more like Bill McGregor?”

So the family all watched Jim as he cut off Bill’s long beard, then shaved him.

“What a change!” said Joe. “You certainly look fine, Bill.”

“A fine-looking man,” said Jim. “Look at yourself, Mr. McGregor.”

“Yes, you’ve got a nice smooth face,” said Benny. “Mrs. McGregor will like you better this way.”

“Oh, dear,” said Jessie suddenly, “we forgot all about the two canoes. We can’t leave them here.”

“Yes, you can,” said Mr. Long. “That’s why I brought my boy with me. We can paddle them back. Don’t worry about the canoes or the tents. We’ll take them with us.”

Benny took Bill’s hand, and said, “You’ll be surprised, Bill, when you see where Mrs. McGregor lives. Grandfather’s big house is very nice.”

Bill smiled at the little boy. “I know that house very well,” he said.

“What are you going to do about this house, Dave—Bill, I mean?” asked Jim Carr. “And your cabin in the woods?”

“You can have them both,” said Bill quietly. “You were always very kind to me, and gave me things to eat when I didn’t even say thank you.”

“That’s all right,” said Jim. “And thank you. Nobody ever gave me two houses in one day.”

At last everything was ready. Bill sat in front with Benny and Joe who was going to drive. Alice and Violet sat behind them. Henry and Jessie sat on the back seat.

“Now we’re really going home!” shouted Benny. “We did find Bill and we did find the money, Joe. Won’t Grandfather be glad!”

Joe turned the station wagon around, and the children waved good-by until they were out of sight of Old Village.

“Little boy,” said Bill suddenly, “how much money was in that tin box?”

“It was all hundred-dollar bills,” said Benny. “And it was four thousand dollars in all.”

“Four thousand dollars,” said Bill in great excitement. “That’s exactly right. Who did you say put it there?”

“We aren’t sure,” said Joe, kindly. “You must tell us that.”

“I’m afraid it was my own brother, Sam,” Bill told them sadly. “I understand the whole thing now.”

“Tell us,” begged Jessie. “Tell us everything you know.”

“Well,” began Bill in a weak voice, “did you hear about the horses? I sold two fine race horses for Mr. Alden.”

“He was not our grandfather,” said Jessie. “That Mr. Alden is dead.”

“Oh, dear. I suppose so,” said Bill. “He is Mr. Alden to me, because I worked for him. Your grandfather is James Alden. Well, my brother Sam told me to give him the money, and he could make three times as much. So I gave it to him.”

“That was when you lived on the island,” said Henry.

“Yes, he told me not to say a word, but to come to Maine and soon I could come home with a lot of money to pay Mr. Alden.”

“And what did you do next?” asked Alice.

“I came up here to meet my brother,” said Bill. “And then I heard he was killed by a car. I hunted all over my house for a tin box. But I never could find it. His friends didn’t know where it was. So I shut up my little yellow house, and went to live in the woods.”

“Yellow? You mean your yellow house on Surprise Island?” asked Henry, wondering.

“No, I mean my yellow house right here in Old Village.”

“But the house we were in is brown, Bill,” Jessie told him kindly.

“Well, yes, my dear,” said Bill, almost whispering. “It is brown now. But it used to be yellow. It has been painted since then.”

CHAPTER 16

A Happy Home

The family had not gone very far when suddenly Joe stopped the car by the side of the road.

“What’s the matter?” asked Henry.

“Bill’s getting too tired,” answered Joe quietly. “This is all too much of a change for him. I’m going to fix a bed on the back seat so he can lie down.”

Benny looked up at Bill and saw that it was true. The old man was very white, and his hands were shaking.

“Oh, dear,” said Jessie. “We talked to him too much. He isn’t used to it.”

She and Alice helped Joe make a soft bed of blankets on the back seat. Bill did not say a word. Joe and Henry took his arms and helped him out of the front seat and into the back. Bill lay down at once and shut his eyes, as if he were very glad to lie down.

The three girls took the middle seat and Henry got up in front beside Benny.

“He’ll be all right,” said Joe, looking back at Bill. “You can talk all you want to. I think he’ll sleep.”

“Let’s send that telegram to Grandfather at the next village,” said Jessie. “What shall we say?”

“Ten words,” said Benny.

“No, you can send fifteen,” said Henry. “Let’s make up a telegram as we ride. We should certainly begin, ‘Found Bill and the money.’”

“Five words,” said Violet, counting.

“‘All coming home today,’” said Jessie. “That’s four more. Nine so far.”

“Then we can have six more words,” said Benny. “We ought to say, ‘We may be late for supper.’ “

“We certainly will be late for supper,” said Joe.

Then Alice said, “Benny, don’t you think we should say something about Bill, like ‘Weak and tired’? Then Mrs. McGregor won’t expect the big strong man who used to lift the boat.”

Benny counted on his fingers for a few minutes. Then he cried, “We can say it this way. ‘Found Bill and money. Bill very weak. All coming home today late for supper. Hello.’”

“Wonderful, Benny!” said Joe, laughing. “Your grandfather will know you made up that telegram for sure. I always like to say hello at the end of a telegram!”

Henry said, “Now Benny, don’t forget what you said. Keep saying it over and over until we come to a village.”

This gave Benny something to do. When they did stop at a village he could remember every word.

As the girl wrote down the telegram, Jessie cried, “Henry, let’s say it’s from the Boxcar Children!”

The girl stopped writing, and looked up in surprise. “Are you the four children who lived in a boxcar?” she asked.

“Yes, we did,” said Benny. “We had fun.”

“And you found your grandfather at last,” she cried. She looked from one smiling face to another. “I read about you in the paper. But I never expected to see you.”

“This telegram is to our grandfather,” said Benny. “And you can say it’s from the Boxcar Children, and Alice and Joe. He’ll know.”

“Yes, I guess he will,” laughed the girl. “I’ll send it right off. It will get to him in an hour.”

“Fine,” said Henry, paying for the telegram. “Now let’s get on our way.”

Bill was still asleep when they got into the station wagon again. He was still asleep at lunch time. They did not wake him for lunch.

“He needs sleep more than food now,” said Joe.

“I do hope he isn’t sick,” said Alice in a worried voice.

“I don’t think he is,” said Joe. “I think he’s had just too much excitement. It is such a change from not talking at all.”

“It shows us we’ll have to be very careful of Bill,” said Jessie. “But I can hardly wait to ask him the end of that story.”

Bill slept almost all the afternoon. As they came near home, they had to wake him up. When they drove up to the door of their grandfather’s house, Bill was sitting up very straight.

Mr. Alden was sitting on the porch in a big chair. Beside him was Mrs. McGregor. They were waiting.

Bill leaned forward to look. “It’s my Margaret!” he said, almost crying. “She has the same beautiful blue eyes!”

Joe and Henry helped the old man out of the car and up the steps.

“Bill!” cried Margaret. She put both arms around him and led him to her chair. “It’s all right, Bill! It’s all right!” she said, over and over.

Just then there was a very loud noise from upstairs. It seemed to come from Jessie’s room. It was Watch. He came rushing down the stairs and out of the door, barking and barking. He could not believe that his four children had come back to him again. At last he lay down by Jessie’s feet, tired out.

“Now I guess he will eat his meals,” said Mr. Alden. “As for Mrs. McGregor, she hasn’t eaten a good meal since you all went away.”

Benny said, “I think it’s funny. We have so many people that can’t eat. I don’t have any trouble eating my meals.”

“Now that we’re all together again, Benny,” said Grandfather laughing, “everyone will be all right. I think I shall eat better myself. We have things for supper that you like best. There is hamburger for you. Bill always liked fish best and that’s what he’ll have. There’s ham for Joe and apple pie for Jessie.”

“No pie for me?” asked Benny, taking his grandfather’s hand.

“What do you think?” teased his grandfather. “I don’t believe anyone will go hungry tonight.”

It was wonderful to see Bill eat. With his Margaret beside him again, he seemed like a different man.

“I feel better and better,” he said.

After supper the family sat again on the porch.

“Joe,” whispered Benny, “couldn’t we talk to Bill now? He seems all right to me.”

“You can try,” said Joe. “We’ll soon see how he takes it. We can stop if he gets too upset.”

Benny went over then to Bill and Margaret. He put his hand over Bill’s.

“We want to ask you just a few more things, Bill,” he said. “Are you too tired?”

“No, little boy,” said Bill. “I don’t think I shall ever be tired again. Ask me anything you want.”

Benny looked at Joe. Joe smiled back at him.

Then Benny said, “We want to know something more about your brother. How was he going to make the money three times as much?”

“I didn’t know myself at first,” answered Bill. “But later I found out he was going to give it to some friends of his to bet on the horse races.”

“Oh, but he might have lost it all!” cried Henry.

“Yes, I know that now,” said Bill. “His friends were bad people, I’m afraid. Sam would have been all right if his friends had let him alone. But he always did what they said, and I always did what my brother Sam said.”

He looked around sadly. “One night after Sam was killed, these men came up to Maine. They hunted all over my house, but they couldn’t find the money. I didn’t know where the tin box was myself. But they didn’t believe me. They tried to make me tell, and we had a great fight. But at last they went away, and I never saw them again.”

“Were they the ones who told you the barn was burned?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Yes. They didn’t want me to go home and tell all I knew, so they told me Margaret was dead.”

“I suppose that finished you,” said Benny.

Bill smiled at him. “Yes, that finished me. I didn’t want to live any more without Margaret, and I didn’t want to see people. Besides, I couldn’t come home without the money, so I went into the deep woods to live alone forever.”

“Oh, I’m so glad we found you!” said Jessie suddenly. “Supposing we had never asked to go into the little yellow house on Surprise Island! Now you and Mrs. McGregor can live right here in her rooms, can’t they, Grandfather?”

“If her rooms are big enough,” said Mr. Alden.

“Three rooms ought to be big enough for two people,” said Mrs. McGregor, happily.

“I can help with the horses,” said Bill. “Do you still have horses?”

“Yes, we have two,” answered Mr. Alden. “But you will rest a long time before doing any work.”

Darkness began to fall. The birds began to sing their evening songs. The family sat quietly for a minute and listened.

Then Violet said, “Isn’t this a happy house, Alice? You and Joe so happy on the top floor—”

“And Bill and Mrs. McGregor will be in their own little rooms,” cried Benny.

“Don’t forget us,” said Henry, “with our mystery all solved, and getting back to Grandfather.”

“And we’ll all go and live in the little yellow house on Surprise Island every summer,” said Benny.

“Hold on, my boy. Not so fast!” said Mr. Alden. “That’s Bill’s house.”

“Oh, so it is,” said Benny. “Well then, he and Mrs. McGregor can live in it every summer, and we can go over to see them.”

“Well, we’ll see,” said Mr. Alden with a smile.

Violet suddenly put her hand on her grandfather’s knee, and looked up into his kind face. She could not see very well, for it had grown quite dark. But she knew he was smiling at her.

“Grandfather,” she asked, “couldn’t you use some of that money to fix up the little yellow house on Surprise Island? It is so dusty and the chairs are so old.”

“A fine idea!” said Mr. Alden, taking her small hand in his big one. “We could buy a lot of chairs with that money. And by the way, where is the money?”

“Right here!” said Jessie at once. She took it out of her handbag and gave it to Mr. Alden.

“Maybe Bill and I could paper and paint the rooms before school begins,” said Henry.

“Oh, we could all paint!” shouted Benny, jumping around. “Let’s paint the outside, too.”

“That would be fun,” said Alice. “Joe and I could help you every day after work on the cave.”

“Right now you children have something new to think about,” said Joe. “We will take a lunch over every day, and work until we get the house all fixed up.”

Violet sat down beside her grandfather in his great chair. He moved over quickly to make room for her and put his arm around her.

“I’m glad the little yellow house isn’t a sad place to you any more, Grandfather,” she said, leaning her head back against his arm. “It’s going to be a happy place again.”

“We’ll still paint it yellow,” said Benny. “Ho-hum!”

“What does ‘ho-hum’ mean this time, Ben?” asked Henry, laughing at his little brother.

Mrs. McGregor answered, smiling at Bill, “To me it means, ‘Thank you, children.’”

Mr. Alden said, “To me it means I’m very glad you are all at home again.”

“Well,” said Benny, “what I really mean is that I can hardly wait until tomorrow to paint that little yellow house!”

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car-the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible-something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1953, 1981 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0760-4

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Mystery Ranch

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by Dirk Gringhuis

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1   The Door Bangs

2   The Letter

3   A Cool Welcome

4   Aunt Jane’s First Meal

5   A Day at the Ranch

6   Golden Chimney

7   The Boys Come

8   Aunt Jane’s Nurse

9   The Yellow Stones

10   A Big Present

11   A Strange Offer

12   The Mystery Man

13   Fast Work

14   The Boss

15   The Party

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

The Door Bangs

An exciting summer began for the four Alden children with the bang of a door.

The big house where they lived with their grandfather had been as quiet as a house can be with four children in it. Their cousin, Joe, had gone to Europe with his new wife, Alice. Everything seemed peaceful, until the afternoon when the door banged.

It was Mr. Alden.

Benny said, “Hi, Grandfather!”

“Hello,” Mr. Alden answered.

That was all. He went straight to the front room and shut that door loudly too.

“Well!” thought Benny. “What in the world is the matter with Grandfather?”

He ran upstairs to the room where Jessie and Violet were reading.

“Listen!” Benny cried. “Something terrible must have happened to Grandfather. He banged the door, and all he said was ‘Hello.’ He always says, ‘Well, hello, Benny, and how are you today?’”

Jessie shut her book quickly and sat up straight.

“Did you tell Henry?” she asked.

“No,” answered Benny. “I just told you, and that’s all the time I had.”

“Hen-ry!” called Jessie.

“What’s the matter?” asked Henry, coming down the hall. He knew by Jessie’s voice that something had happened.

“Benny says that Grandfather came in and banged the door, and hardly spoke to him.”

Henry stood still in the door. “Where is our grandfather now, old fellow?” he asked his little brother.

“In the front room with the door shut,” Benny answered. “And a bang on that door, too.”

“Oh dear!” said Henry.

“What can be the matter?” asked Violet. Her pretty little face was white.

“We should go talk to him,” said Henry quietly.

The children looked at each other and started slowly down the stairs together. Henry took a deep breath and rapped on the door.

“Come in,” Mr. Alden called. He sounded very tired. He was sitting with his head in his hands.

“Don’t be afraid to talk to us, Grandfather!” cried Benny.

“That’s right,” said Henry. “We always tell you our troubles. Now you have a trouble, and we’ll help you.”

“I wish you could, my boy,” said Mr. Alden sadly. “But I don’t know what you can do.”

The children sat down on the floor and waited quietly for him to go on.

“I got a letter about my sister. You didn’t know I had a sister, did you?”

“No, Grandfather,” said Jessie. “But we’re a funny family. Once we didn’t know we had a nice grandfather. And we didn’t know that Joe was our cousin.”

“That is true, my dear,” said Mr. Alden.

“Where does she live?” Benny asked.

“Out west on a ranch. The nearest town is Centerville,” Mr. Alden said. He looked very sad. “Jane is old, and she is a very cross woman. The neighbor who stays with her is going to leave. Nobody will stay with Jane because she is so hard to get along with. She won’t leave the ranch, and yet I can’t let her stay there all alone.”

“Why don’t you go to see her, Grandfather?” Benny asked.

Mr. Alden gave a short laugh.

“Jane wouldn’t let me in,” he said. “She doesn’t like me. I have not been very nice to her, either.”

“Tell us about the ranch,” said Jessie.

“Well, it’s the old family ranch,” said Grandfather. “I lived there when I was a little boy. When my parents and I came East, Jane stayed.”

He stopped. He seemed to be thinking to himself, as if the children weren’t there.

“For a while she did very well,” he went on. “But later, she had to sell the cattle and the horses. She has only one old horse and some chickens now. She must be very poor, but she still won’t take any money from me.”

“Proud,” said Benny.

“That’s right, Benny. She’s too proud to let me help her. Let me have time to think about this. You go eat your supper, and ask Mrs. McGregor to bring me a tray. I’ll eat in here. You are kind children, but you can’t help me now.”

“But, Grandfather,” began Benny.

“No,” said Mr. Alden. “Go to supper like good children. I must think about this alone.”

CHAPTER 2

The Letter

Nobody moved for a minute. At last Henry said, “Listen, Grandfather. We can’t eat a thing if you stay here all alone. Do let us help you. At least tell us who wrote the letter.”

Mr. Alden looked at each of his grandchildren. They were all watching him with loving eyes.

“Well,” he said slowly, “have it your way. Maggie wrote the letter. She is the neighbor who stays with Jane. I have sent a nurse three times, but Jane always sends her back. She doesn’t want anyone there, even to help her.”

“Isn’t it terrible to be like that?” asked Benny. “Yes, Benny. It’s a very sad thing,” said Mr. Alden. “Jane was always hard to get along with.” “But what does Maggie say?” asked Henry. Mr. Alden looked at his oldest grandson and pulled a letter out of his pocket. “Well, you may as well know the whole story,” he said. “Here is her letter.” He handed it to Henry.

Benny cried, “Read it out loud! Then we’ll all know what it says!”

Henry looked at his grandfather. Mr. Alden nodded. Henry began to read.

“Dear Mr. Alden,

“I am writing to tell you that I cannot stay any longer with your sister. I do not get enough to eat. Jane is very cross to me, and she has many strange ideas. Now she wants to see some of your grandchildren. She is not sick, but she stays in bed all the time. I won’t leave her until you send someone else, but you must do something.”

For a minute nobody said a word. Violet was leaning on the arm of her grandfather’s chair. She looked at him and said, “I think I know a way to help, Grandfather.”

Jessie began to laugh. “Violet! Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I guess so,” said Violet, smiling at her older sister.

“I guess so, too,” cried Jessie. “Grandfather, Violet and I would like to take care of Aunt Jane.”

Mr. Alden was quiet.

“Please let us go, Grandfather,” Violet begged.

“My dear girl,” said Mr. Alden, “it isn’t that I don’t want you to go. I just wonder if Jane will be polite to you.”

Violet said, “We’re not worried about that. Jessie and I would be company for each other. And I like to take care of sick people.”

“I know that well, my dear,” said Mr. Alden. “Many times you have made me feel better when I was sick.”

“Telephone, Grandfather!” shouted Benny. He could never bear to wait. “Tell Maggie that the girls are coming, and everything will be all right forever and ever.”

“Jane doesn’t have a telephone,” said Mr. Alden. He smiled at Benny’s surprised face. Benny thought that everyone had a telephone.

“However, I could send a telegram,” said Mr. Alden. “They send telegrams from the train station in Centerville.”

“Let me look up trains,” said Henry, getting up from the floor. “I wish I could go, too. I have never seen a ranch.”

“I wish you could, too, Henry,” said Jessie. “But it is better for just girls, isn’t it, Grandfather? Four strange children would frighten Aunt Jane.”

Henry had found a timetable. “There is a train leaving at six o’clock tomorrow that would take you there. You’d have to sleep on the train.”

“We would love that,” said Jessie.

“Well,” said Grandfather slowly, “if you are really going, I should tell you some more. Maggie’s brother, Sam Weeks, lives next door with his wife. They are very kind people, and I am sure you can stay with them, if Jane isn’t nice to you.”

Mr. Alden already had another telegram in his mind, which he would send to Sam as soon as the children had gone to bed.

“There is just one thing you girls must promise me,” said Mr. Alden. “Every day you must send me a telegram.”

“Of course we promise,” said Jessie.

“Come on, let’s eat!” said Benny. “Can’t you smell the ham and eggs, Grandfather? Don’t you feel hungry now?”

“Why, yes, I think I do,” said Mr. Alden, surprised. “I really think you two girls might do Jane more good than anyone else in the world.”

Jessie looked at Violet with a smile, which said, “Won’t we have fun?”

Violet was already thinking of her aunt as her dear Aunt Jane.

But then, Violet had never seen many cross people.

CHAPTER 3

A Cool Welcome

Such excitement! Mrs. McGregor, the housekeeper, packed a big lunch in a box. She handed it to Jessie with a motherly smile.

Benny peeked in the box and said, “If Aunt Jane doesn’t give you enough to eat, that lunch will last you two or three days.”

Mr. Alden took the girls to the train station. He watched them carefully as they took a seat together.

Jessie and Violet smiled and waved until they could not see their grandfather.

The hours passed quickly for the two girls, because everything was new and exciting. They noticed a young man who was reading a book. He was very tall. He had soft brown hair and brown eyes. Once he passed by them to get a drink of water and smiled at them.

The girls smiled back. When he took up his book again, Jessie whispered to Violet,

“He is very good looking, isn’t he?”

They thought no more about the young man until they came to Centerville early the next morning. There the young man surprised them by saying, “I’m getting off here, too. May I take your bags?”

“Why yes, thank you,” said Jessie. “That blue one and the white one up there are ours.”

“I could guess that,” laughed the young man.

He lifted the bags down. He took both of them in one hand and his own heavy one in the other. The girls looked around the station platform for Maggie.

“Thank you for carrying the bags,” said Violet. “It was very kind of you.”

“Not at all,” said the stranger, politely.

A voice behind them asked, “Are you Miss Alden?”

“Miss Alden?” said Jessie, turning around. “Oh, yes, I’m Jessie Alden. And this is Violet. Are you Maggie?”

“Yes, I’m Maggie. I’m very glad to see you.”

“I don’t know,” said Maggie. “Who was he?”

“I had never seen him before,” said Jessie. “He was very polite, anyway.”

“Not many people get off here,” said Maggie. “I wonder why he came to Centerville.”

“Well, as Benny would say, ‘A Mystery Man,’” said Violet, smiling.

Maggie led the way around the station to a very thin black horse which stood in front of an old wagon.

“Get in,” Maggie said. “There is only one seat, but we can all sit on it.”

Maggie took the reins. The old horse raised his head and walked slowly down the road.

“He’ll walk all the way home,” said Maggie. “He’s not like the horses we used to have. We had riding horses and a herd of cattle, and we raised wheat. It was a fine ranch in the old days. But now your aunt can’t run the ranch any more. Did you know she is in bed?”

“Yes, Grandfather told us.”

“Did he tell you that she doesn’t want to eat, and she won’t let me eat, either?”

“Yes. That seems terrible!” said Violet.

The horse stopped at the back door of an old brown house. The girls got out of the wagon. Maggie opened the back door and let them into the kitchen.

“Your Aunt Jane is in there,” Maggie said. “Put your bags down. I’ll go into her room and tell her.”

“The girls are here,” Maggie said to someone out of sight.

The two sisters went quietly into the bedroom. They saw a tiny woman half sitting up in a big, high bed. She was very thin, and she did not smile, even when she saw the two girls.

“So you’re James Alden’s grandchildren!” a sharp voice said.

Jessie went nearer the bed. “He is very worried about you, Aunt Jane,” she said.

“Worried? Pooh!” said the little old lady. But she couldn’t help liking that friendly voice saying “Aunt Jane.” No one had talked so kindly to her in years.

She raised her head and asked, “What’s the matter with the other girl? Can’t she talk?”

“Yes,” said Violet, smiling. “I shall talk so much you’ll be tired of hearing me.”

Miss Alden said nothing. But she found herself thinking, “I’ll never be tired of hearing that soft voice.”

“I’ll put them in the big bedroom,” Maggie said. “Is that all right?”

“Put them anywhere,” said Aunt Jane. She turned her face to the wall.

Maggie went out and nodded at the girls to come, too.

“Ever see anyone as cross as that?” she asked.

“No,” said Jessie. “We feel sorry for her.”

Maggie led the way upstairs.

They went into a big room with many windows and a big high bed.

“What is really the matter with Aunt Jane?” asked Violet. “Is she very sick?”

Maggie looked at the little girl. “Well,” she said, “I don’t think there’s a thing the matter with her.”

“But why does she stay in bed, then?”

“She isn’t strong enough to get up now,” Maggie answered. “There’s nothing for her to live for. So she doesn’t care about living. I suppose that’s why she won’t eat.”

“Well, we are going to eat,” said Jessie.

“I’m hungry now,” said Violet.

“Let’s go down to the kitchen, then,” said Jessie.

As they went downstairs, Maggie said kindly, “You girls make yourselves right at home.”

When they came to the kitchen, Maggie took one look out the window. She saw the horse still standing by the back door.

“Mercy! I forgot the horse!” she cried. And she rushed out of the door, leaving the girls alone.

It was then that Violet turned to look at her aunt’s door. It was shut.

“Look, Jessie,” she whispered. “Aunt Jane must have shut that door. It means that she can get out of bed if she really wants to.”

CHAPTER 4

Aunt Jane’s First Meal

Let’s not wait for Maggie,” Jessie said, in her businesslike way. “Let’s get dinner.”

Soon, Violet was busy beating eggs in a bowl. Jessie put butter in a big pan and set it on the stove. The girls put pieces of dry bread in the eggs and milk, and Jessie began to brown them in the pan.

“My, that smells good!” cried Maggie, coming into the kitchen. “She going to eat this?”

“No,” said Jessie. “I’m just going to give her something to drink. But we’ll eat first.”

Violet had found a pretty blue cloth and some white flowers. She had set three places with fine old blue plates. A knife and fork were at each place, and a glass of milk.

“All ready!” Jessie said, with a smile. “Come on, Maggie, and sit down. I hope you’ll have enough to eat tonight.”

“It’s the most I have had for two weeks, anyway,” said Maggie. “You are a good cook for a young girl.”

They did not hear a sound from the bedroom. At last, even Maggie couldn’t eat any more.

“Now for Aunt Jane,” said Violet, getting up. She opened the lunch box and took out an orange.

“I could drink that myself!” Violet said, watching Jessie mix the orange juice with a beaten egg.

Jessie knocked gently on the bedroom door.

“Well, come in!” said Aunt Jane. “Don’t stand there knocking!”

Her voice was cross, but Jessie thought she had been lying there waiting for something to happen. She put the glass on the table. Then she went over to the bed, and bent over the tiny little lady.

“Aunt Jane, this is delicious,” she said. “Violet and I made it just for you.”

Jessie went on, “Now I’m going to lift you up higher in the bed, so you can drink better.”

To the old lady’s surprise, Jessie lifted her in her strong arms as if she were a child. Then she took the glass and sat down by the bed.

“Drink it slowly,” she said. “As Benny would say, ‘Don’t rush it.’”

“Who is this Benny?”

“Well,” began Jessie. “Benny is—” she stopped. “It’s so hard to tell you about our brother Benny.”

Violet came in, folding up the blue tablecloth. She acted as if she had always lived there.

She said, “Benny is the funniest boy you ever saw, Aunt Jane, and he is good, too. He can always make people laugh. He loves our dog, Watch. Benny and Watch almost talk to each other. Benny always looks for Watch if things go wrong.”

Jessie noticed that her aunt was drinking the egg and orange; and not very slowly, either. She seemed to be very hungry.

“Who else is in your family?” asked Aunt Jane.

“Well, there’s Henry,” said Jessie. “He’s our oldest brother. He is very clever, and very kind and thoughtful. He can make Benny mind, too, without being cross.”

“If your brothers are like you, I’d like to see them, too. Take the glass now, and go. I’m tired.”

Jessie bent down again and lowered the little lady from her high pillows.

“Call Maggie now,” said Aunt Jane.

The girls went out quietly and called Maggie. They finished washing the dishes. Then they waited in the front room for Maggie.

“You see how she is,” said the tired woman. “First she wants me, and then she doesn’t. I think she is finally settled for the night. You might as well go to bed, too.”

“A fine idea,” said Jessie. “Where do you sleep?”

“In this room off the kitchen,” said Maggie. “If you want anything in the night, you can come down.”

“Thanks, Maggie,” said Jessie. “We won’t feel so strange here, knowing that.”

“Well, thank you both,” she answered. “It’s wonderful to have someone nice to talk to.”

The girls went up to their big room. They climbed into bed and talked awhile.

“How beautiful the stars are!” Violet said. “They seem so near.”

“I have never seen stars so bright before,” said Jessie. “It’s because there are no other lights at all.”

Just as they were going to sleep, Jessie laughed and said, “Violet, where do you suppose that young man went? The one on the train.”

“I can’t think,” answered Violet. “He just disappeared in the air!”

“A Mystery Man really,” said Jessie.

And so they fell asleep.

CHAPTER 5

A Day at the Ranch

Sam, the neighbor, woke the girls the next morning, bringing the milk. The girls could hear Maggie in the kitchen, “Shh, Shh! Sam Weeks! You’ll wake those girls.”

“I want to wake them,” said Sam. “I want to see them.” He began to whistle.

The girls laughed while they washed their faces in the big wash bowl in their room. They dressed quickly. They wanted to see Sam, too.

“Well, well!” he said, as they came into the kitchen. “I hear you came to see your Aunt Jane. Are you planning to stay here all summer?”

“Sam!” cried Maggie. “How do they know?”

“We really don’t know how long we’ll stay,” said Jessie. “We don’t know how long Aunt Jane will want us.”

“I’m worried about you,” Sam said. “I’m afraid you won’t get enough food. Maggie had to eat at our house when she got real hungry.”

“Well,” answered Jessie, dropping some eggs into hot water, “We can buy food. Grandfather gave me some money.”

“I hope your aunt will let you eat it after you get it,” said Sam. He turned to go.

He stopped at the door and turned to Maggie.

“A stranger got off the train last night,” he said.

“Yes, we know!” cried both girls.

“That’s right, you would know,” said Sam.

“We call him our Mystery Man,” said Jessie.

“He’s a mystery, all right,” said Sam. “I noticed him because not very many people get off that fast train.”

Sam watched the three people sit down at the pretty table. He turned and walked quickly out the kitchen door.

Jessie smiled as she poured hot milk on a piece of toast.

“A little salt,” she laughed, “and Aunt Jane’s breakfast is ready.”

She carried the plate into Aunt Jane’s bedroom.

“More food, I suppose,” said Aunt Jane.

“That’s right,” said Jessie. “It’s milk toast. Delicious! Now, while you eat, I’ll tell you our plan. Maggie is taking us to the store this morning to buy food. And while we are near the station, we’ll send a telegram to Grandfather. We’ll tell him we are having a fine time.”

“A fine time? Pooh!” said Aunt Jane.

“But it’s true, Aunt Jane,” said Jessie quietly. “We love the ranch already. It’s a beautiful place!”

“I’m the only person who has ever really liked this ranch,” her aunt said. She began to eat her breakfast. Jessie watched her.

“She seems almost starved. If she is hungry, why doesn’t she want to eat?” Jessie said to herself.

Jessie picked up the empty plate and left the room quietly.

When Jessie came into the kitchen, she saw Maggie at the back door with the horse and wagon. To her surprise, Violet was already on the seat.

“Don’t we lock the door?” she asked.

“No, we never do. Nobody ever comes here,” said Maggie. “Go on, old boy!”

As the horse walked slowly along, the girls made up a telegram to send to their grandfather. Tom Young, the station agent, sent the telegram.

“A telegram every day. Quite an exciting town!” he said.

Just then they heard a train whistle. “The train goes the other way every morning,” said Maggie. “Do you want to watch it come in?”

They saw the train come into the station. Nobody got on and nobody got off.

“That’s the way it always is,” said Maggie. “Soon the train won’t stop at Centerville any more. It doesn’t pay.”

Maggie and the girls went to the store. They bought enough groceries to last a week and loaded them into the wagon. The old horse walked even slower than usual going home, because of the load.

When they came back to the ranch, they found Aunt Jane very cross.

“Humph!” she said to Maggie. “You go off riding all over the country and leave me here alone so that anything can happen!”

“But, Miss Jane,” Maggie said, “what could possibly happen to you out here?”

“I was nearly fooled into selling this ranch! That’s what could happen,” the little old lady answered.

“Now, Miss Jane, this must be another one of your strange ideas,” Maggie said.

“Strange, is it? Well, look at this.” She pulled a paper from beneath her pillow. Maggie and the girls came closer to the bed to see what it said. It was an offer to buy the ranch for ten thousand dollars.

“Think of it!” Aunt Jane said. “Ten thousand dollars for my ranch! But I told those three men that my ranch isn’t for sale at any price. I have other plans for it.”

“Dear Aunt Jane,” said Violet softly, “do you mean three men came into your room?”

“Yes,” replied Aunt Jane. “But don’t you worry, my dear. I could manage them.”

Aunt Jane leaned her head back on her pillows again.

“Go away, now. All this excitement has made me tired.”

Maggie and the girls went into the kitchen.

“I’d think she would be glad to get rid of the place at any price,” said Maggie.

“I’m glad she didn’t sell it, though,” said Violet. “It’s such a beautiful ranch. I wonder what plans she has for it.”

CHAPTER 6

Golden Chimney

We’ll have a real dinner today,” laughed Jessie. “Maybe Aunt Jane will eat some of this good food if I don’t give her too much.”

“I doubt it,” said Maggie. “She hasn’t eaten a real meal in two years.”

Jessie was right. Maggie was amazed when she saw Aunt Jane’s empty dishes.

“You girls certainly have a way with you,” she said. “I have never seen her eat so much.”

After the dishes were washed, Jessie softly opened her aunt’s door.

Again, Aunt Jane looked as if she had been lying there waiting for something to happen.

“Well,” she said, “what do you want now?”

Jessie spoke softly, “Violet and I wonder if we could explore this house.”

“Go ahead,” said her aunt. “There are no secrets here that I know of.”

“No mysteries?” laughed Jessie.

“No,” said Aunt Jane. “There are no mysteries, but it is a strange house. You’ll find that it was built a little at a time. There are really four parts to the house.”

As Jessie started to go out, her aunt called, “Be sure to look at the big chimney on the other side of the house. It is the prettiest thing here. It was made of stone from our own mountains.”

“We will,” said Jessie.

The two girls smiled at each other and went into the front room.

“Let’s explore the whole house,” said Jessie.

Violet laughed.

“I wonder why we love to fix up old houses?”

The girls stepped into the front hall. They went across it to the other side and found themselves in a front room like the one they had just left.

“This side of the house is exactly like the other one!” said Jessie. “See, here is the kitchen, the little bedroom, two front rooms and a side door.”

“Here is the chimney and the fireplace,” said Violet. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“The stone is smooth and shiny!” cried Jessie. “See the tiny spots of yellow! Could they be gold?”

“They look brighter yellow than gold,” said Violet. “The black spots are pretty, too.”

Upstairs they found eight bedrooms.

“What fun it would be to put on new paper and paint!” cried Jessie.

Violet had opened the door of the little room right over Aunt Jane’s.

“Oh, what a beautiful room!” she whispered. “Do come and look!”

It was the loveliest room in the house. The old wall paper was soft rose color. The window had fine white curtains. The small bed was high, like the big one in their bedroom. But this one had a top, covered with white curtains like those in the window.

“I wonder who fixed this room,” said Violet. “Wouldn’t it be pretty with violets on the wallpaper? I would love to live in this room.” “It looks just like you, Violet,” said Jessie.

The girls finished their exploring and went back downstairs.

When they walked back to the kitchen, they heard Aunt Jane calling Maggie. Violet went in to see what she wanted.

“Did you see the chimney?” asked her aunt.

“Yes,” said Violet. “It is beautiful.”

“The stones came from our mountains,” said Aunt Jane. “We thought once that those mountains were full of gold, but the gold was not real.”

“The yellow and black spots make the chimney look very pretty, though,” Violet said.

“Yes. That was one reason why my father used the stones for the chimney,” her aunt answered. “And he also said that the chimney would always be a lesson to him. Every time he looked at it he could remember how he had to work hard for anything worth having. That way, he wasn’t too disappointed that he had not found a lot of gold.”

“This is really a beautiful house,” Violet said. “There are so many pretty things here. Tell me, Aunt Jane, who fixed the little bedroom right over this one?”

Aunt Jane was very quiet for a minute. Violet thought she was not going to answer. Then she said,

“That was my room once,” she said. She had tears in her eyes.

CHAPTER 7

The Boys Come

Two days passed before Maggie finally spoke her mind. She was feeling much better now with three delicious meals a day. And she enjoyed having someone to talk to.

Maggie and the two girls were sitting on the back steps, enjoying the cool evening breeze. The dinner dishes were done, and the first stars had come out over the ranch.

“Maybe I haven’t any right to ask,” Maggie began. “But I wonder what your grandfather is going to do about your aunt. She needs some care all the time. You girls can’t stay here all summer.”

“Maybe we can,” said Violet softly. “We love it here, and I think Aunt Jane is used to having us now.”

“There is one thing that’s missing, though,” said Jessie.

“Yes, I know,” said Violet. “We both miss the boys.”

Violet looked very sad.

“Maybe Aunt Jane would let the boys come, too,” said Jessie. “Then it would be perfect.” She looked at her sister.

“Let’s ask her tomorrow,” Violet said.

The two girls went upstairs to bed.

Next morning Jessie took a fine breakfast into her aunt’s room. The little lady began to eat, and Jessie sat down beside the bed.

“We miss Henry and Benny, Aunt Jane,” she began. “Couldn’t we ask them to come for a few days? I’m sure Grandfather would let them come if you were willing.”

“Well,” said her aunt, “I’d agree to that.”

The little lady looked up from her breakfast.

“But I don’t want to see James, remember that!” she said.

“Grandfather is really very nice when you get to know him,” said Jessie.

Aunt Jane gave a short laugh. “Don’t forget that I knew your grandfather long before you did. If these two boys turn out like him, back they go!”

Jessie was sorry to hear her aunt talk like that. She did not answer. It was the best thing she could have done. Miss Jane was beginning to love the smiles on these two young faces.

What could she say to make Jessie happy again? she wondered.

“Tell Benny to bring his dog,” she said.

What a smile came over Jessie’s face! She did not say that Watch was not Benny’s dog, but hers.

She said, “Oh, that’s wonderful! Watch will love this ranch! And we’ll keep him out of your room, I promise.”

“Well, don’t promise that,” said Aunt Jane. “I like dogs in my room if they are good dogs.”

“Watch is a wonderful dog,” said Jessie. “He saved our lives once.” said Jessie, holding Watch by a strap. “I’ll keep Watch with me.”

The boys followed Violet into the bedroom. Aunt Jane was almost sitting up against her pillows. Her blue eyes were very bright.

“Hello, Aunt Jane,” said Benny, going over to the bed. “I’m Benny. And aren’t you a cute little lady!”

Aunt Jane was taken by surprise. She almost smiled.

“And I suppose you are Henry,” she said.

“Yes. We are sorry you are sick,” Henry answered. He hardly knew what to say to this strange woman.

“Who said I was sick?” asked Aunt Jane. “Well, you certainly don’t look like your grandfather.”

“No, I’m afraid not,” said Henry.

“No need to be afraid about that,” answered Aunt Jane. “I’m glad you don’t look like him. And where’s that big dog I’ve heard about?”

“Jessie, bring in Watch,” called Henry.

Everyone watched to see what the dog would do. He walked over to the bed and looked at the little old woman. Then he sat down and put out his paw.

“He wants to shake hands!” cried Benny, delighted. “Shake hands with him, Aunt Jane! You don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

For a minute, the children thought their aunt was angry. But to their surprise, she sat up and shook hands with the dog.

“Good dog,” she said, lying back again.

Watch threw back his head and looked at Jessie. His mouth was open.

“Oh, Aunt Jane, he’s laughing!” cried Benny. “He likes you!”

“Well, well,” said Aunt Jane. “I’m glad the dog likes me, at least. You can go now and eat. And shut the door when you leave. I’m very tired from all the excitement.”

The children went back into the kitchen and sat around the table, talking.

“Isn’t Aunt Jane a surprise?” asked Jessie.

“She certainly is,” said Henry, “but I like her.”

Jessie said, “Just guess what I think. Which one of us will do the most to make Aunt Jane well again?”

And three voices answered together, “Watch!”

CHAPTER 8

Aunt Jane’s Nurse

The next day was one of Aunt Jane’s bad days. The boys went off gladly to look at the ranch, when they saw how cross she was.

“Now, Jane,” the girls heard Maggie say, “You let me wash your hands and face.”

“No!” was the sharp answer. Watch looked at the door and raised one ear.

“I don’t know what to do with you,” cried Maggie. “No breakfast. No washing. No clean bed. What do you want me to do?

“Do you want the window open?”

“No. This room is too cold already,” the little lady said.

“You said a minute ago that it was too hot.”

“Well, it was, a minute ago.”

“Oh, dear me,” said Maggie.

The girls looked at each other. The dog stood up and looked at the door. Violet put the last pile of dishes in the cupboard. Suddenly Maggie came from the bedroom. She shut the door behind her. She was almost crying.

“Girls, I can’t do a thing with your aunt today. She was like this all the time before you came, but I did think she was getting over it.”

“I wonder what she would say to me if I went in,” said Violet. “I’d like to try.”

“Are you sure?” asked Jessie. “Maybe she would be cross to anyone today.”

“Never mind if she is, Jessie,” answered her sister. “It won’t hurt me.”

“Of course it will hurt you, if she says mean things!” cried Jessie. “And it will hurt me, too.”

“I’d still like to try,” said Violet. “Just let me have the soap.”

Violet knocked softly on the door to her aunt’s bedroom.

“It’s Violet, Aunt Jane. May I come in?”

“All right. Come in,” said her aunt.

Violet went in quietly and put some newspapers in the chair by her aunt’s bed. On the papers she put the big washbowl. Into the bowl, Violet poured hot water.

“It’s such a hot day,” she began pleasantly. “I think hot water makes you feel cooler, don’t you?”

“Well, maybe,” said Aunt Jane. She watched the pretty little girl.

“I’ve been sick a lot myself,” Violet went on. “And one of my nurses told me that.”

Violet took one of the thin little hands and washed it gently with hot soapy water. Then she dried it on a soft towel.

“I take care of the family when they are sick,” said Violet. “Someday I am going to be a nurse.”

She washed the other hand. Then she pushed Aunt Jane’s white hair back and washed her face.

She was drying her aunt’s face when Watch walked slowly into the room, wagging his tail. Aunt Jane looked at him.

“I don’t feel like playing with you today,” she said. “Go right back to the kitchen!”

Without a sound, Watch started for the kitchen. Then he turned and looked at Violet.

Violet said, “You’re a nice dog, Watch, and I love you. But Aunt Jane said for you to go back to the kitchen.”

Watch gave them both a look and turned sadly to go. His tail did not wag.

“Never mind!” cried Aunt Jane. “Come back! You can stay! I never saw a dog that minds as well as you do. Come here if you want.”

Watch almost jumped across the room. He put his paws up on the white bed.

“No!” said Violet.

“Yes!” said Aunt Jane.

“We never let Watch get up on the beds,” said Violet softly.

“I always let my dog lie on my bed,” said Aunt Jane.

Watch looked first at one and then at the other.

“Up!” said Aunt Jane.

Watch gave a great jump and landed on the other side of the little lady. He lay down and put his head on his paws. He was not sure that he had done the right thing. He kept looking at Violet.

Violet was watching her aunt smile at Watch. She was sure that Watch had done the right thing.

CHAPTER 9

The Yellow Stones

Now that the children were together, they were very happy. Aunt Jane seemed to be getting more cheerful every day.

One morning Jessie heard her aunt call her.

“I want to see all four of you children,” Aunt Jane told Jessie. “Get the others in here before I am tired again.”

In a few minutes, the children were sitting in their aunt’s room. Watch lay down at Jessie’s feet and put his head on his paws. Only his eyes moved. He was very still.

“Now I want you to listen carefully,” said Aunt Jane, looking at each of them in turn. “What I have to say is very important.”

Since the children couldn’t be more quiet than they already were, they sat and waited for her to go on.

“I’m going to give you children this ranch. No, don’t say a word! You are the only relatives I have. You seem to be good children, and you have been kind to me.”

The children were too surprised to say anything.

“I know you are not old enough to manage the ranch alone,” she said, “so I’m going to bring Sam Weeks into it. He will manage the ranch for you. Mr. Pond, who handles my business, says that will be all right. Now, what have you to say to that?”

Henry was the first to speak. “We’re too surprised to say much, Aunt Jane! It’s wonderful!”

Watch got up and went over to the bed. He sat down and held out his paw. Aunt Jane took his paw and said, “I see you think this is a good idea. If Watch thinks that, I am sure it must be true.”

She patted the dog and went on, “The ranch is yours from this minute. All I have to do is write my name when Mr. Pond brings the papers. I want my ranch to belong to people who love it. That’s why I wouldn’t sell it to those three men.”

The four children said “thank you” very softly, as they left.

“The only thing about this that I don’t like is Grandfather,” Benny said. He threw himself down on the grass.

“You said that wrong, old fellow,” said Henry. “But we know what you mean. It leaves Grandfather out.”

“I believe some day Aunt Jane will like him,” said Violet, “and he will like her.”

“I hope so,” said Jessie.

They sat on the grass and looked at their ranch. The driveway came to the back door. It went past the windmill, past the barn, and then out again to the road. They could see woods and mountains. They could see the long chicken houses from where they were sitting.

“Who were the men Aunt Jane was talking about?” asked Henry.

“Three men came while we were buying groceries,” Violet answered. “They tried to make Aunt Jane sell the ranch to them.”

“She probably needed the money,” said Henry. “But I’m glad she gave the ranch to us instead of selling it. I hope she won’t be sorry.”

Benny said thoughtfully, “I think we ought to explore right away. If this is our ranch, we should know everything that’s on it.”

Jessie said, “Well, we could explore today. Let’s ask Aunt Jane where to go.”

The cross little lady was very pleased when the children asked her about their walk. No one had asked her advice for years.

“The first thing is, don’t get lost. Go down past the chicken houses and you will come to some woods. Go through the woods and you come to an open field. There is a stream. Follow that stream and you’ll come right back home.”

Benny said, “I think we should take a lunch, don’t you, Aunt Jane?”

“By all means,” said Aunt Jane, trying to hide a smile.

It was very hot in the sun. The children went down past the chicken houses. They came to the cool, green woods.

“It’s a beautiful place,” said Henry.

“A very nice place to eat lunch, too,” said Benny.

The others laughed. But they were always hungry. They found a place where they could sit down. It was quiet and cool. Jessie was eating the last of her sandwich when she stopped, suddenly.

“Look, Henry!” she whispered. She pointed to some bushes not far away. “There’s a little hut.”

Henry got to his feet quickly. “The door is open,” he said. “It seems to be empty.”

The children went slowly toward the hut. There was nothing in it. But in front of it, there was a fireplace made of stones, almost hidden by the bushes. Henry put his hand down and felt the stones. Watch sniffed and wagged his tail.

“Well, let’s be going,” said Henry. “It looks to me as if someone built a fire here, and not too long ago, either.”

The children walked faster now. Soon they came out in a big field filled with rocks and stones.

“There’s no grass here,” said Benny. “This field isn’t very good, I would say.”

“But it’s very pretty,” said Violet. “See the yellow and black lines in those rocks.”

“These stones are yellow, too,” said Jessie. She picked up a handful of the stones. As she dropped one, it broke into a fine yellow powder.

“They seem to be made of yellow sand,” said Henry. “How queer!”

CHAPTER 10

A Big Present

When Sam came with the milk next day, he was surprised to see all four children on the back steps. They were waiting for him.

“Well, well! Early birds!” he said. “Why did you get up so early?”

“We wanted to see you, Sam,” said Henry.

“Here I am, but I’m not much to look at,” laughed Sam.

“Yes you are, Sam,” said Benny. “I think you are a very fine looking man. And besides, we want to talk to you.”

“Wait until I feed the chickens, and I’ll be glad to sit down and talk.”

The children went with Sam to the chicken houses and watched him.

“We want to know just how you do things,” said Jessie. “So please show us.”

Sam was glad to show them how to feed the chickens, give them water, and get the eggs.

In a little while, they were all sitting on boxes in the big open door of the barn.

Henry spoke up, “Aunt Jane says she is going to give us this ranch.”

“Give you her ranch?” cried Sam. He could not believe his ears. “You are too young to own a ranch.”

“Mr. Pond says we aren’t, if you would be our boss,” said Benny.

“Mr. Pond?” asked Sam. “Did he come here?”

“No, but he wrote letters to Aunt Jane,” said Henry. “He knows about things like that, Aunt Jane says.”

“He would know. But I still can’t believe it.”

Sam shook his head. “Just the same,” he went on, “I’d like to have a chance to fix up this old place! Now, if we had some money, I could start a good egg business for you.”

Sam stopped and shook his head again. “But I still can’t believe it,” he said.

“You’ll just have to believe it, Sam,” said Henry. “Aunt Jane said the ranch is ours right now. All she has to do is sign some papers.”

Sam picked a blade of grass and chewed on it. He was upset at this strange news.

“What would we do after we got the egg business started?” asked Jessie.

“Well, I’d raise wheat. There are about five hundred acres on this ranch that would grow wheat.”

“How big is this ranch?” asked Henry.

“The fields go way over to the mountains. Your aunt owns all that land.”

“We never thought anything like this would happen when we came to see Aunt Jane,” said Jessie.

The children and Sam sat looking at the big ranch that would soon be theirs.

“There’s another surprise!” Sam said. “I’ve seen your Mystery Man!”

“Oh, where is he?” asked Jessie.

“He is still in town, but no one knows why. We never have strangers in Centerville, and everyone wonders why he is there.”

“Haven’t you any police in Centerville?” asked Henry. “I think this man ought to be watched.”

“Oh, no, Henry,” said Jessie quickly. “If you ever saw him, you wouldn’t think that!”

“Well, we never had a policeman here, anyway,” said Sam. “No need of one. But there is a sheriff in Stony Creek. That’s the next town. His name is Bates.”

“Look what’s coming!” cried Benny. “A car!”

“It’s Mr. Pond, sure as I live!” said Sam. “I guess this story of yours must be true.”

“Mr. Pond is certainly early,” said Jessie, laughing. “We haven’t had breakfast.”

Watch got to his feet and stood still, looking at the stranger. Then he began to wag his tail a very little.

“Good morning, Sam!” called Mr. Pond. He came slowly toward the barn.

Watch did not bark. He walked slowly toward the strange man, wagging his tail more and more.

“Well, hello. What’s your name?” Mr. Pond asked the dog. “Are you a good dog?”

Benny said, “His name is Watch, and he is a very good dog. But he almost always barks at strangers.”

“Well, see that you don’t bark at me, old boy,” said Mr. Pond. He patted Watch. Then he looked at the children with a nice smile.

“Your aunt sent for me,” he said. “Suppose we go in and get this business done. You come too, Sam. Miss Jane doesn’t like to wait, when she has made up her mind.”

Henry said, “Will you wait just a minute, Mr. Pond? We want to talk to you before we see Aunt Jane.”

Mr. Pond said, “I suppose you are Henry.”

“Yes, sir. I am. We’d love to have this ranch. But it’s all Aunt Jane has, and we don’t want to take it away from her. Do you understand?”

“That’s very fine,” said Mr. Pond, nodding. “I can fix that easily. I can add a line saying that the money you get from the ranch will be used to take care of your aunt as long as she lives. Is that what you mean?”

“We’ll feel better that way,” said Jessie. “Of course, we would do it anyway. But it’s nice to have it in writing.”

They walked to the house where Maggie met them at the door.

“I am glad to see you, Mr. Pond,” she said. “Jane can’t wait a minute when she wants anything. She keeps asking why you haven’t come.”

“It won’t take very long,” said Mr. Pond, with a nice smile for Maggie. “I have all the papers right here with me. I’ll just put in another line that Henry wants.”

As Mr. Pond promised, it did not take long. Aunt Jane wrote her name. The four children wrote their names. Sam wrote his. And Mr. Pond was last.

In ten minutes, the ranch was owned by the four Alden children. Sam Weeks was the manager.

“Isn’t it funny,” said Benny, “what you can do by just writing your name?”

Mr. Pond laughed. “It gave you children twelve hundred and eighty acres of land, and a big ranch house.”

“And a hut, too,” said Benny, “where someone has been staying.”

“What? What’s that?” asked Aunt Jane. “I didn’t know there was a hut on my land.”

“We didn’t want to worry you,” said Henry. “But we did find a hut in the woods. And it looks as if somebody built a fire there.”

“We didn’t see anyone, though,” said Jessie.

Mr. Pond looked very serious. Then he smiled and said, “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Now, you eat your breakfast and let me talk to Sam.”

The two men went out. They stood by the car for a long time talking, while Jessie got breakfast. She would have been surprised if she had known what they were saying. She would have been excited, too. For they were not talking about the ranch, but about the man on the train and the hut in the woods.

Jessie fixed a breakfast tray and took it into her aunt’s room. This morning Jessie did not ask her aunt to eat. She just put the tray down in front of the little woman. Miss Alden ate bacon and toast and an egg without saying a cross word.

“Aunt Jane,” said Jessie, “You’ll never be sorry that you gave us your ranch. We love it. We will take care of it. We love you, too, and we will always take care of you, even after we go home.”

Aunt Jane sighed. No one had ever wanted to take care of her before. She looked very happy.

“I feel safe, now,” she said. “I know that my ranch will be taken care of by people who love it.”

CHAPTER 11

A Strange Offer

That night Henry did not sleep very well. He kept thinking of the men who had tried to buy Aunt Jane’s ranch. He decided to talk with Jessie alone.

But it was not easy for the older children to get away from Benny. He wanted to do first one thing and then another. Finally he wanted to go to the barn to see the horse.

“It’s our horse, after all,” said Benny. “We ought to get acquainted with our own horse.”

Watch began to bark when Violet let him out the back door.

“Bark all you want to, Watchie!” shouted Benny. “Nobody can hear you, and I’ll yell, too!”

After a few good yells, Benny started toward the barn. All the children followed. Watch ran around the old barn looking for mice. The black horse stood looking at them all.

“What’s our horse’s name?” asked Benny.

“Maggie says he hasn’t any name,” said Jessie. “She just says, ‘Go on, old boy.’”

“Old Boy isn’t a good name,” said Benny. “Let’s call him Snowball.”

Everyone laughed. The thin old horse was black all over! But from then on, Old Boy was called Snowball.

“Come on, Watch,” said Benny at last. “Let’s go upstairs where the hay is. Maybe you’ll find a rat!”

Violet followed Benny and this gave Henry his chance. He winked at Jessie who followed him outside at once.

“Look, Jessie,” whispered Henry. “I don’t like the idea of strange men bothering Aunt Jane.”

“Neither do I,” said Jessie softly. “The men told her the ranch was no good. Just a few chickens and an old horse.”

“That’s it,” cried Henry. “If the ranch is no good, why do they want to buy it? I think I ought to do something about this.”

“Tell Sam,” advised Jessie.

“I’ll do better than that,” said Henry at last. “I’ll tell Sam to tell Mr. Pond. Mr. Pond seems to know everything.”

After they had told their troubles to Sam, the older children felt better. They were pleased when they saw Sam start for Mr. Pond’s house.

In a very short time, Mr. Pond’s car came up the driveway. Sam was with him. They were both very serious.

“Sam and I want to see that hut in the woods,” Mr. Pond said. “Will you take us there?”

“Sure,” said Henry. “We know exactly where it is.”

“Let’s all go,” cried Benny.

Jessie went to the front hall and told Maggie where they were going.

“Don’t tell Aunt Jane that we are going back to that hut. It would worry her. Just say we went for a walk. We will be back in time for dinner.”

Jessie saw the others half way to the chicken house. She hurried to catch up with them. They walked faster this time, because they knew just where they were going. They soon came to the hut.

“Be quiet, now,” whispered Sam, “We want to see if anyone is here.”

The children sat down in the woods.

“Is there anything different about the hut?” whispered Mr. Pond.

“Yes,” whispered Henry. “There is some wood in the fireplace. It wasn’t there the other time.”

They sat very still for a long time. They heard nothing. They saw nothing new.

“Well,” said Mr. Pond at last, “we might sit here all day for nothing. Let’s take a close look at the hut.”

They walked over to the hut. Sam put his hand on the stones of the fireplace.

“Warm!” he said.

They all felt the stones. They were very warm. The fire had not been out very long.

“Well, someone surely stays here,” said Mr. Pond. He seemed worried.

“Do you suppose it’s your Mystery Man?” asked Benny.

“Goodness no!” Jessie answered. “He’s much too nice to live in a hut on somebody else’s land.”

They walked out of the woods and into the field full of rocks.

“Aren’t these rocks funny?” said Violet. “I never saw such yellow rocks. And look at the black lines across them!”

“Like a tiger,” said Benny.

Henry looked again at the rocks. He seemed to be deep in thought.

“Now what is it they make me think of?” he said to himself. “Umm, yellow with black lines. … I have seen something about that somewhere. …”

“Do you know the name of these yellow stones, Mr. Pond?” asked Violet. She picked one up and gave it to him.

“No, I don’t know much about stones,” he said. “This yellowish rock makes a fine powder. I know that Indians long ago used it for their sand paintings.”

“Sand paintings?” asked Benny. “I never heard of sand paintings.”

“They are very interesting,” said Mr. Pond. “They are beautiful, too. The Indians took sand of all colors: blue, green, red, yellow, black, brown. They looked for a nice, flat place, and painted it with colored sand. They put the different colors in the right places. They would make a round sun like this.”

Mr. Pond quickly made a big yellow sun on the ground, to show Benny how it was done.

“Do you think there are any sand paintings in our field now?” Benny asked hopefully.

“No,” answered Mr. Pond, smiling. “There haven’t been any Indians here for many years.”

“I’d rather have Indians here than whoever is living in that hut,” said Jessie.

“I think you’re right,” said Mr. Pond. “But don’t worry about that. we’ll go to Stony Creek tomorrow and tell the sheriff, Mr. Bates, about this.”

He glanced at Henry, and the boy understood that Mr. Pond would tell the sheriff about some other things, too.

CHAPTER 12

The Mystery Man

Early the next morning, the four Alden children climbed into Mr. Pond’s car. He had come to take them to Stony Creek. They were going to see the sheriff, Mr. Bates.

Mr. Pond was very quiet. He was worried about these nice children. He liked them, even though he had only known them a short time. And he was worried about Jane Alden, too. He had known her for many years. He knew well enough that she had always been cross and hard to get along with. But he was very sorry for her. He didn’t want any of them to be upset by these three strange men.

They drove up in front of the courthouse in Stony Creek and Mr. Pond stopped the car.

“Come right in,” called Mr. Bates. “I’m glad you came. I don’t often have so much company.”

“Hello, Bates,” said Mr. Pond. “These are the Alden children.”

“I had already guessed that,” said Mr. Bates. He took his guests to a small back room and shut the door.

They all sat down.

“Well, what brings you here?” asked Mr. Bates.

Mr. Pond said, “We came to see you about police business. There is something going on in the Alden woods. It looks as if someone has been living in an old hut there.”

Mr. Bates didn’t look surprised. He just waited for Mr. Pond to go on.

“That isn’t all,” Mr. Pond said. “Three strange men tried to make Miss Jane Alden sell her ranch. They told her it was no good. Say, Bates, you act as if you knew something that I don’t. What do you really think about all this?” Mr. Bates just sat and smiled.

“Maybe you won’t have to worry about those men any longer,” he said. “And I don’t think anyone will be staying in that hut, either. But I’ll wait and let Mr. Carter tell you all about it.”

“Mr. Carter? Who would that be?” asked Benny.

“He is a very important man,” Mr. Bates said, still smiling. “Here he comes now.”

A car stopped just behind Mr. Pond’s. A good-looking young man got out. He was very tall. He had soft brown hair. When he stood in the door, Jessie and Violet looked at him with their mouths open. Then they looked at one another.

Jessie could hardly talk. “Oh, Violet,” she whispered, “Our Mystery Man!”

“Are you surprised?” asked Mr. Carter, laughing.

“We certainly are,” said Benny. “We thought you might be a bad man. That is, Henry thought so, anyway.”

“Benny!” Henry said, blushing. “I didn’t really think that, Mr. Carter. I just thought the police should—I mean—well, you were a stranger, and—”

“That’s all right, Henry,” said the Mystery Man, smiling again. “That was a smart thing to think.”

“But if you’re not a bad man, who are you?” asked Benny.

“Well, I’ve been working for you, but you didn’t know it.”

“Working for us?” asked Benny. “You don’t look like a ranch hand.”

“There are many ways to work,” Mr. Carter said. “And one of them is looking for uranium.”

“Uranium!” Jessie cried. She had finally found her voice again.

“Yes,” said Mr. Carter. “My job is to look for uranium. I found a field of it right on your ranch.”

“Do you mean that all of that Indian dust is really uranium?” asked Violet.

“It certainly is,” Mr. Carter answered, looking at all the surprised faces around him.

“But why were you looking there?” asked Violet. “And who are those three tough men?”

Mr. Carter answered slowly, “I work for a man you may have heard of. Mr. Alden of Greenfield.”

“Grandfather!” the children cried.

“Yes. Mr. Alden hired me to look for uranium for him. There is a lot of it in this part of the country. But when I found it on your ranch, I also found that someone had been there first.”

“That must be those three men!” Henry said.

“Yes. They were looking for uranium, too. But they are not honest. When they found a place that had uranium, they tried to buy the land cheap. They didn’t tell people what they had found.”

“That’s just what they tried to do to us,” Violet said.

“Yes,” Mr. Carter went on, “but Mr. Bates and I caught up with them. You won’t be bothered by them again.”

“Are they the ones who stayed in that hut on our ranch?” asked Jessie.

“Yes. But I had an eye on them. They couldn’t have hurt you,” Mr. Carter said.

Henry spoke slowly, “This means that the ranch is worth a lot of money, doesn’t it?”

“It certainly does,” said Mr. Carter.

“Wait till I tell Aunt Jane!” shouted Benny.

“Can we tell people?” asked Henry.

“I suppose so,” said Mr. Carter. “It is no longer a secret. I’m afraid your ranch will not be quiet much longer. Your place will soon be full of strangers. Maybe some of them will try to take rocks away from your uranium fields.” He looked worried for the first time since he had come in the door.

“What can we do?” asked Jessie. “It would be terrible to upset Aunt Jane just when she is getting better.”

“Can you help them, Mr. Pond?” asked Mr. Carter.

“No, I’m afraid not,” said Mr. Pond. “It is too big a job for me. I think the children need a smarter man than I am. And they need someone with enough money to dig a mine.”

Henry said, “I think I know the very man.”

The four children shouted together, “Grandfather!”

CHAPTER 13

Fast Work

Mr. Carter spoke, “I think your grandfather will be glad to help. I can go to Greenfield and tell him the whole story.”

He looked at his watch and got up quickly. “Good-by, children, and the best of luck.”

In one minute he was gone.

Benny said, “Mystery men work fast, don’t they?”

“There’s just one thing wrong,” Henry said. “Aunt Jane didn’t want Grandfather to come to her ranch. Maybe she will be angry if he comes to help us.”

“Well, maybe she will be good and glad!” said Mr. Pond, laughing. “She ought to be thankful if he will come. She won’t like it when people begin to go across her land.”

The children were quiet all the way home. They were wondering how to tell Aunt Jane.

“Let’s not worry,” said Violet at last. “Things always work out all right for us.”

But even Violet was in for a surprise.

Watch met them at the door, barking and wagging his tail. Maggie was smiling in the kitchen. Aunt Jane was laughing at them from the front room! She was sitting in her long chair, all dressed. The children had never seen her in a dress before.

“Dear Aunt Jane!” cried Violet. “You are up and dressed! I was never so glad in my life.” She bent over and kissed the little old lady.

Aunt Jane was surprised at the kiss. But she was very pleased.

“I will bring the kitchen table in here,” said Henry.

“Why not eat on the table that is in here?”

“But that is your very best table,” said Jessie.

“It is your table, remember,” said Aunt Jane. “I’d like to eat on it, if you want to use it.”

A happy family sat down to supper that night.

“Now, tell me everything that happened in Stony Creek,” said Aunt Jane.

The children took turns. They told her everything. They told her what a fine man the Mystery Man was. They passed quickly over the three tough men, because they did not want to frighten her.

“They caught them anyway,” said Benny, “So no more trouble from them.”

At last, everything had been told except one thing—Grandfather.

“About these strangers,” said Benny. “Mr. Carter says this place won’t be quiet any more. Everyone will come to see the uranium. And maybe some will take away rocks.”

Aunt Jane nodded. “What does he think we ought to do?”

“He says we can’t take care of it ourselves,” began Henry. “We must have help from some man who can do things in a big way and who has money to have a mine dug.”

Aunt Jane said slowly, “I know one man who can do it. My brother, James.”

For a minute the children could not speak. Then Jessie cried, “Oh, he could, Aunt Jane!”

“And now I wonder if he would,” said Aunt Jane, “after the way I’ve treated him.”

“I’m sure he would,” said Jessie excitedly.

“Well, I hope so,” said her aunt. “I could never stand hundreds of people running all over my ranch—your ranch. I’ll send your grandfather a night letter.”

“If you will write a night letter,” said Henry, “I’ll take it to Tom Young’s house and have him send it tonight.”

“You care a lot for your grandfather, don’t you?” asked the old lady, with a sharp look.

“And we care a lot for you, too,” said Henry.

“Get me some paper at once, Henry,” said Aunt Jane, “before I change my mind.”

The children were very quiet while their aunt wrote the night letter. They were afraid every minute that she would change her mind.

“Listen to this,” she said at last. “‘Will you take over all business of the uranium fields, now owned by your grandchildren? For once I am glad to have you for a boss. The children and Watch send love. Jane.’”

“Perfect!” said Henry.

Next morning, right after breakfast, a telegram came for Aunt Jane.

She read it aloud, “‘I shall be glad to take over this business. You do not have to see me. Decide how much land you want to keep for yourself and we will build a fence around it. I will send a guard for the house. James Alden.’”

“A guard for this house!” cried Benny. “Isn’t this exciting!”

Jessie called, “Look! Here’s a car already!”

The car was full of telephone men. One of them asked Aunt Jane very politely where she wanted the telephones.

“Telephones?” asked Benny. “Are you going to put in two?”

“We have to put in four,” he said. “I guess you folks don’t know what you are in for.”

“No, I guess we don’t,” said Henry. “I think I had better go to town and telephone Grandfather now. I may not have a chance later.”

Henry left with Watch.

How wonderful it was to talk with Grandfather!

“Now, listen carefully,” Mr. Alden said, “Your aunt’s ranch must always be kept a pleasant place for her to live. So, when you have time, let her decide where the fence should go. Then she could always do anything she wanted with the ranch itself. Do you understand?”

“I think so. You mean we still might want to run the ranch?”

“Exactly.”

Henry noticed that his grandfather still called the ranch “hers.” He also knew that he must get right at the fence. When his grandfather said, “When you have time,” he meant right away.

Henry went back to the ranch and told his aunt what Mr. Alden had said.

“Grandfather wants us to decide where that fence shall go.”

“I know already,” said the little lady. “Here is a plan of the ranch. I have marked where I want the fence to go.”

Aunt Jane listened. “Here comes another car,” she said.

“Poor Aunt Jane!” said Jessie. “You’ll never get any rest.”

“That’s Grandfather for you,” said Benny.

The men were sent by Mr. Alden to put up the fence. Henry was glad that his aunt had the plan ready in time.

Jessie asked, “Do you want Henry to carry you to bed, Aunt Jane?”

“No. I want him to help me to the kitchen window, so I can see the cars drive up. I want to see everything.”

Henry took her to a big easy chair by the kitchen window.

“Doesn’t Grandfather work fast?” asked Jessie.

“He always did,” said her aunt. “Once he worked too fast for me. But not now. Here comes another car!”

“I just can’t believe it,” said Violet, “we’ll never get any work done.”

Benny came in to tell the news. His face was red with excitement.

“The guards are here!” he shouted. “They will stop people from knocking on our door all the time and asking us about the uranium. They say we will get tired of it. But I wouldn’t, would you, Aunt Jane?”

“I’m not tired of it yet,” said Aunt Jane.

CHAPTER 14

The Boss

Boy, look at that car!” said Benny, looking out the window. It was long and low. It was painted yellow and black. A man got out of the car. A guard spoke to him and nodded, and the man came to the back door.

Henry opened the door, and the man said, “James Alden asked me to come and see his sister.” “Come in,” said Henry. “This is my aunt.” The man smiled at the little old lady. “James Alden is one of my best friends,” he said.

“Sit down,” said Aunt Jane, in a kind voice. “We seem to have all our callers in the kitchen. Some day we may use the front door.”

“The kitchen is all right with me,” said the stranger, with a quick smile. “My name is Gardner. I am a mining man. Your brother sent me to take care of your uranium field.”

Benny asked, “Are you the boss of everything?”

“That’s a good way to put it,” agreed Mr. Gardner.

“Will you let us watch you dig?” asked Benny.

“Yes. There are some men digging in your field now. Do you want to see them?”

“We certainly do!” said Henry at once.

They started across the field.

“Keep your eyes on that white place on the mountain. The hole is there,” Mr. Gardner said.

When they came to the hole, they saw two guards beside it. Two other men were standing in the hole with long sticks in their hands.

“Those are geiger counters!” shouted Benny.

“That’s right,” said Mr. Gardner.

The men heard his voice and looked up. When they saw who it was, one of them came out of the hole.

“It’s good, sir,” he said. “Want to hear it?”

The boss listened. “Good!” he said. “Noisy, isn’t it? Let the children listen. After all, they own the whole works.”

Benny was so excited that he almost fell into the hole.

“How it snaps!” he said.

“There must be a lot of uranium here,” said Henry, as he listened to the geiger counter pop.

When the children walked into the house again, Aunt Jane was sitting by the window in the front room.

“Did you have a good time?” she asked.

“Wonderful!” said Benny. “We listened to the geiger counter, and it made a terrible noise. That means uranium, Aunt Jane.”

“Does it? I am glad to hear it.” She seemed to be very pleased.

After dinner that evening the children left Violet alone with their aunt. Violet was sewing.

“Aunt Jane,” she said gently, “I really don’t understand why you didn’t let your own brother help you when you needed money.”

“I might as well tell you the whole story,” said Aunt Jane. “Father and mother went East. Your grandfather was a very young man. He wanted to sell the ranch and go into the mill business.”

“I begin to understand,” said Violet softly.

“I’m glad somebody understands,” said Aunt Jane. “I loved the ranch. So I said I’d stay here. But I couldn’t run the ranch. I didn’t know how. I had twenty men working for me. Then I had to let the men go, one by one. At last, only Sam was left. I sold the horses and cattle.”

Aunt Jane paused. “How could I ask your grandfather for money? He never wanted me to stay here and I wouldn’t give in and say that I was wrong.”

“I’m glad you told me this, Aunt Jane. I’ll help you get to bed, now.”

Things happened fast on the Alden ranch in the next few weeks. A mine was dug. Big machines worked night and day. Houses for workmen were built. New stores opened in town. The train was not taken off. Instead, there were four trains every day. Two telephone girls stayed upstairs all day to answer the telephones. And Aunt Jane made a surprising announcement.

“I want to give a party!” she said.

“A party?” asked Henry. “When?”

“My birthday is next week, and I want a birthday party.”

“People don’t give their own birthday parties,” said Henry. “Let us give the party for you.”

“No,” said Aunt Jane. “This is my party. And I am going to ask your grandfather if he will come!”

Violet said, “Oh, I’m so glad, Aunt Jane! I’m sure he will.”

The children’s wish had come true.

“Telephone to him!” shouted Benny.

Aunt Jane, her face very pink, called her brother.

“Hello, James,” she said brightly. “I want you to come to my birthday party.”

“Ahem!” said Grandfather. The children could hear his deep voice.

“Of course I will, if you want me. I’ll bring you a present, too.”

“No, just come, and forgive me for everything.”

The children knew that Grandfather did not know what to say to this.

“Well, well!” he said, “Nothing to forgive!”

“Thank you, James,” said Aunt Jane.

Mr. Gardner took the children to meet their grandfather’s train, the day before Aunt Jane’s birthday.

When the children saw Mr. Alden, what a noise they made! They all shouted at once. They rushed up and took his bags. Tom Young stood in the door of the station and laughed.

“They think a lot of him,” he said.

They all piled into Mr. Gardner’s car and drove to the ranch.

Aunt Jane was sitting up very straight in the front room. She shook hands with her brother.

“It was good of you to come, James,” she said.

“I’m glad to see you,” said Grandfather. “I had forgotten you were so pretty.”

It was true. When the children looked at their aunt, they saw that she was really pretty. Her blue eyes were very bright.

Mr. Alden said, “I want to see Henry alone.”

Henry and his grandfather went to the back room to talk. Grandfather came back alone. The children heard Henry drive out of the yard in Mr. Gardner’s car. They were very surprised.

“Where is Henry going?” asked Aunt Jane.

“A secret,” said Mr. Alden, laughing.

Henry came back in a little while. He nodded at his grandfather and said, “All right.”

“What can it be?” wondered Jessie. “How can we wait until tomorrow?”

After supper, Grandfather said, “Jane, I have a plan. Do you want to hear it?”

“I do,” said Aunt Jane. “It seems funny, doesn’t it? I never would listen to you before.”

“I was too bossy,” said Mr. Alden. “I know that now.” He smiled.

“My grandchildren love your ranch, Jane,” he said, “but they can’t stay here all winter.”

“Yes, I know that, James,” she said sadly.

“They want to fix up the other end of this house for Sam and his wife. We can cut a door between your room and the next one. Maggie can have that room. Then you will be safe all winter.”

“You are kind to plan this for me,” said Aunt Jane. She smiled kindly at her brother.

“The children planned it,” said Mr. Alden. “They want to fix the rooms upstairs for themselves.”

“Well, they certainly can,” said Aunt Jane.

“Now, one last idea,” said Mr. Alden. He looked at Jessie, with a twinkle in his eye.

“I heard all about your Mystery Man,” he said.

“He’s not my Mystery Man,” said Jessie, laughing. “But he was nice, wasn’t he?”

“He doesn’t seem like a Mystery Man any more,” said Violet. “I’d like to see him again sometime.”

Mr. Alden said, “He could come to the party tomorrow, if anyone asked him.”

“Very well,” said Aunt Jane. “I don’t mind having a Mystery Man at my birthday party.”

“Will he fly?” asked Jessie.

“No. He is already here,” said Grandfather. “He got off the train when I did!”

“And we didn’t even see him,” said Benny.

“Well, he is still a Mystery Man in some ways, isn’t he?” said Violet.

CHAPTER 15

The Party

It’s the Mystery Man!” shouted Benny, looking out the window the next day. “I hope the guard will let him in.”

It was John Carter, the tall young man with the brown hair and brown eyes. He went first to Aunt Jane and thanked her for asking him to come. Then he spoke to all the children as if he were delighted to see them.

“I want to show you something, Carter,” said Mr. Alden. “You children come, too. We’re going to look at the fireplace in the other kitchen.”

“I won’t go,” said Aunt Jane, smiling. “I know all about that chimney.”

When they stood before the fireplace, Mr. Alden said, “See that yellow and black in the stone, Carter?”

“Why, this is funny!” Mr. Carter said, “That fireplace is made of uranium ore! There is gold and silver in it, too.”

“The gold and silver are not good,” said Mr. Alden. “Of course, we had never heard of uranium when we built the chimney. I think that is the only chimney in the world that is made of uranium ore.”

“Is the chimney the same all the way up?” asked Benny.

Grandfather laughed. “Yes, all the way up. We left it rough outside, and smoothed it inside. My father and mother and I went East, and we had a chimney right here with uranium in it!”

They went back to the living room.

Jessie said, “Aunt Jane, you remember you said there were no mysteries in this house? And in a way, that chimney was a fine mystery.”

“I didn’t know it then,” said her aunt.

“We didn’t know about the fields either,” said Benny, “or who the Mystery Man was. Let’s call this Mystery Ranch!”

“That’s a fine name!” said Mr. Carter. “You could paint the name on a sign and hang it over the driveway.”

At six o’clock, the birthday party began. Everyone was excited. Watch barked and barked, and nobody stopped him.

They set the big table with a white linen cloth. They set eight places with Aunt Jane’s best dishes. The birthday cake had seventy tiny candles on it.

When supper was over, Aunt Jane said, “Take the dishes into the kitchen and leave them there. You can wash them later. I want to open my presents!”

The children had made their presents for Aunt Jane with loving hands. They sat, watching the pretty little lady.

Jessie thought, “How very different she is from the little old lady in bed! I’m glad we came here.”

“I love every one of my presents!” cried Aunt Jane.

“Now let me get yours, Grandfather!” cried Henry.

“Very well, my boy,” said Mr. Alden, smiling.

Henry rushed out to the barn. Soon he came back with a tiny black and white puppy in his arms. He put it on the floor. It was very soft. Watch stood up quickly and looked at it.

“Come here, Watch,” said Jessie. “Be a good dog.”

“Her name is Lady, Aunt Jane,” said Henry.

“Oh, what a beautiful little dog!” said Aunt Jane. “Is she for me?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Alden. “To take the place of Watch when the children go home.”

Watch wagged his tail a little. He sat down.

“She’s just a baby dog, Watch,” said Jessie. “You be good, now.”

“Do you want to hold the puppy, Aunt Jane?” asked Henry.

He put the little dog in her arms. Watch didn’t like this. He sat and looked at the stranger.

Aunt Jane loved it. Anyone could see that. The puppy loved her, too. It lay down against her arm and shut its eyes.

“Lady is tired,” said Henry. “She goes to sleep whenever she can.”

Aunt Jane sat very still. She held the baby dog quietly. She was very pleased when it went to sleep.

Watch lay down again, beside Jessie, as if to say, “Well, I don’t care. After all, I’m Jessie’s dog.”

Grandfather looked at his family and his friends. He loved every one of his grandchildren. He was very happy now that he had a sister again.

Grandfather said to Mr. Carter, “This is a very happy day for me. You can see what fine grandchildren I have.”

“You certainly do, Mr. Alden.”

“Now we will all be happy next year,” he went on. “The children will go back to school. Sam and Annie can move into this house. Maggie can stay happily with Jane. And best of all, I have a sister again.”

But Aunt Jane shook her head and said, with tears in her eyes, “No, James. Best of all, I have a brother.”

The Alden children just looked at one another. They were too happy to say a word.

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1958, 1986 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0765-9

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Mike’s Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by Dirk Gringhuis

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1   Yellow Sands

2   An Old Friend

3   Fire!

4   At the Big Table

5   The Empty Room

6   Mike’s Mother’s Place

7   The Blue Hat

8   Secrets

9   Quick Work

10   Mike’s Idea

11   Pie Day

12   An Empty Can

13   The Party

14   Ben or Mike?

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Yellow Sands

The four Alden children could hardly wait to get back to Mystery Ranch. Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny had planned for weeks what they would do.

“We’ll go on that dear old train!” said Violet. “Remember Mr. Carter who helped us carry our bags, Jessie?”

“I’ll carry the bags!” shouted Benny. “Mr. Carter won’t be on the train this time.”

“Maybe I’ll carry some of the bags, old boy,” said Henry. “But you know we won’t get off at Centerville.”

Jessie nodded at her older brother. “Yes, we will get off at Yellow Sands now. I think that is a beautiful name. Our uranium fields looked just like yellow sand.”

Grandfather said, “Sam will meet you. Maybe Sam will carry the bags.”

The children laughed. “Fighting over old bags,” said Benny.

“Too bad Watch has to ride in the baggage car,” said Henry. “But they don’t allow dogs anywhere else on the train.”

“I’ll ride in the baggage car, too,” said Benny. “Then he won’t mind.”

Mr. Alden laughed. He said, “I’m afraid you can’t do that. But you can go and see him once in a while. Then he will know you are near by.”

At last the day came when they were off to Mystery Ranch where Aunt Jane lived.

Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny loved Aunt Jane and they were to visit her for the summer vacation.

Once she had been a very cross old woman. But now she was a very pleasant lady.

When they got off the train at Yellow Sands, they all looked for the old black horse. But instead they saw Sam and Maggie with a station wagon. Sam took care of the ranch, and Maggie took care of Aunt Jane.

“Hello, Sam!” cried Benny. “Where’s Snowball?”

“Snowball’s all right,” said Sam smiling. “I always thought that was a funny name for a black horse.”

“I named him,” said Benny. “I thought it was a funny name, too. Where is he?”

“He is taking it easy these days,” said Maggie. “He stays out in the field all the time eating grass. This car goes faster.”

“You mean you can drive it, Maggie?” asked Jessie.

“Yes,” said Maggie smiling. “Sam says I drive all right.”

“Let’s go,” said Sam. “Now that Watch is out of the baggage car, we are ready.”

Everyone carried a bag. In no time they were going through the new gate to Aunt Jane’s house. At the top of the gate were big letters saying, Mystery Ranch.

How glad Aunt Jane was to see them! Watch did not care much for Aunt Jane’s new dog, Lady. But when lunch was ready, Watch lay down at Jessie’s foot, and Lady lay down at Aunt Jane’s foot. So all was well.

“Oh, this place has changed in just this one year,” Aunt Jane said. “You would never know it. There is one long street down the middle of my old hay field.”

“Is it a real street?” asked Benny.

“Oh, my, yes! There are lots of stores and a church, and a school and a High School.”

“I can’t imagine it,” said Henry. “We shall have to go and see it soon.”

“Go any time you like,” said Aunt Jane. “I know you are just dying to see that street.”

“We want to see you, too, Aunt Jane,” said Violet.

“Well, you’ve seen me now,” said Aunt Jane. “Lunch is over. So you go along and enjoy yourselves.”

“Be back for supper,” said Maggie. “We are going to have a fine supper.”

“Oh, we will get back long before supper,” said Jessie. “We just want to see what the old ranch looks like.”

CHAPTER 2

An Old Friend

The ranch belonged to the four Alden children. So, of course, they wanted to see how it had changed since last summer when uranium had been found.

Benny said, “I suppose Grandfather had to get hundreds of miners to work in the uranium mine. And the miners have lots of children, and they must have clothes and something to eat, and a school and a church. So that’s how the town grew.”

“Right!” said Henry with a smile. “You have it all worked out.” The four children went out the back door.

“Yes, Watch, you can come,” said Henry to the dog. “Can Lady come too, Aunt Jane?”

“No,” said Aunt Jane. “Lady always stays with me.”

Watch was delighted to go with the four children, so he barked and barked. He ran along barking. On they went, past the hen houses. These were all mended and painted. They went through a field to the street. It was very strange to see a city street in the middle of the old field.

“There’s a five and ten,” said Benny, “and a big super-market! We won’t need to hoe any vegetables if we don’t want to.”

“What a beautiful dress shop!” said Jessie. Then she almost bumped into a boy about Benny’s age. He was walking with his hands in his pockets and he was whistling.

When he saw the children he stopped and stared at them. Then he said, “Hi, Ben! Don’t you know me?”

Benny took one look. “Mike! Mike Wood!” he yelled. “It’s Mike, Henry! Remember he came to the picnic on Surprise Island?”

“Well, I’d never forget that,” said Henry. “It is Mike, sure enough! You came over to our picnic and your dog had a race with Watch.”

“Yep,” said Mike. “That was my dog Spotty. He’s out with my brother Pat now. I remember how he beat your dog in the race.”

“Oh, no!” cried Benny. “He never did! Watch was the one that beat Spotty! Don’t you remember?”

“No, I don’t,” said Mike. “I know Spot beat Watch.”

“He didn’t either!” shouted Benny. “Spot was a stranger. He didn’t even know which way to run!”

“Stop, you boys,” cried Henry. “Don’t fight the minute you meet.”

“Well, Mike started it,” shouted Benny.

“I did not! You started it,” shouted Mike.

“Boys!” said Henry. “Stop this minute. Aren’t you friends?”

“We’re friends,” said Benny, “unless Mike tells lies about Watch. Watch won that race and I won’t give in for anybody.”

“Well,” said Mike, “maybe he did. But it wasn’t a fair race, because Spotty didn’t even know the way.”

“O.K.,” said Benny. “That’s all I care. If you say Spotty didn’t beat.”

“Well, maybe he didn’t beat,” said Mike, “but how could he beat when he didn’t know where to run?”

“Well, he couldn’t,” said Benny. “That’s what I said. He couldn’t and he didn’t. I never said it was a fair race.”

“Mike,” said Jessie pleasantly, “how did you happen to come out here? You’re so far from where we saw you last.”

“I know,” said Mike. “But we like it here. My Uncle Bob invited us to live here when my father died. Uncle Bob said he could give Pat a job. Remember Pat? My big brother?”

“Oh, yes,” said Henry. “He was the one who almost got drowned at the picnic.”

“Well, Pat works at the mine for my Uncle Bob. Not in the mine, but outside. I do all sorts of work for the mine, too. We all work. Mother washes the miners’ clothes.”

“Where’s your house?” asked Henry.

“Over there,” said Mike, pointing. “That pink one. The houses are all alike, only different colors. Each house has a yard around it, but the grass is dry and brown. My house has an electric stove and a washing machine. It’s different from our old house back home. Come and see my mother.”

“All right,” said Henry. “We’d like to.”

“Pat isn’t home, but my mother is,” said Mike. “She is making a pie, maybe, and we could have some to eat.”

They reached the door of the pink house. “Ma, look who’s here!” said Mike.

Mrs. Wood was indeed making pies. She was taking the third pie out of the oven. When she looked up and saw Benny, she laughed out loud.

“Hello, Benny Alden!” she cried.

“You have never seen the rest of us,” said Jessie, laughing. “But you have seen plenty of Benny, when he went to school with Mike back in the East.”

“I’ve heard lots about you,” said Mrs. Wood. “Benny is a great talker. He’s a fine boy. It does Mike good to play with him.”

“It does Ben good to play with me,” said Mike loudly.

“Yes, I think it does,” agreed Henry.

Mike looked up in surprise. He did not know what to say. He thought Henry would not agree with him. “Ma makes pies for the neighbors,” he said.

“And you are surely neighbors,” said Mrs. Wood at once. “So take your choice. I have cherry, apple, and blueberry pie. All hot.” She began cutting the three pies. The smell was delicious and the pie crusts were brown and flaky.

“I didn’t really have much lunch,” said Benny.

“Pull up your chairs around that table,” said Mrs. Wood. “And Mike, you get a bit of cheese out of the refrigerator.”

“Where’s Pat?” asked Mike, getting the cheese.

“Gone to the bank. It’s pay day. He puts Uncle Bob’s money in the bank every week. You go get him, Mike, and tell him to come home and see the company.”

Mike ran off down the street. Mrs. Wood watched him with a smile.

“He’s not a bad boy, is Mike,” she said. “He’s just a big talker.”

“We know that,” said Jessie, smiling too.

“He’d do anything for his friends,” said his mother. “He helps the men at the mine a lot, even if he fights, too. They joke with him and argue with him, but they like him.”

Henry said, “This is the best apple pie I ever ate.”

“I agree,” said Jessie. “The cherry must be even better than the apple.”

Violet laughed softly. “I was going to say the same thing about this blueberry.”

“I’m glad,” said Mrs. Wood very quietly. “I love to bake pies the best of anything. I wish I had time.”

“Haven’t you time?” asked Jessie, puzzled.

“No, dear,” said Mrs. Wood. Her voice sounded sad. “I wash all day to earn money to help keep us. I’m lucky to have a washing machine. Here’s Pat now.”

When Pat came in, he said at once, “Hello, Ben! You used to come down to our house and play with Mike.”

“This is Jessie,” said his mother. “This is Violet, and this is Henry.”

“Oh, I know them all,” said Pat. “They saved my life on that picnic.”

“Our cousin Joe did that,” said Henry. “He is a fine swimmer.”

Then Mike said, “When I met Pat, he was just coming out of the bank.”

“It seems too funny to have a bank here,” said Jessie. “This whole place used to be great fields of long grass.”

“We have almost everything,” said Pat. “We have a newspaper every day. The newspaper office is right by the bank.”

“Oh, yes,” cried Benny. “I saw the paper up at Aunt Jane’s. The Daily News. It had a big picture of the uranium mine buildings on the front page.”

“Yes, the mine is almost always on the front page,” said Mike. “Here it is. We saved this one, because Pat is in the picture. See, right there? That’s Pat. Standing by the short man. Gosh, that’s funny. I’ve seen that man before some place. He don’t live here.”

“Doesn’t,” said Pat.

“Well, doesn’t, then,” said Mike. “You say Don’t to me often enough.”

“That’s very different, Mike,” said Pat.

“Well, it don’t sound any different to me,” said Mike.

Jessie laughed. “Mike makes me think of Benny, sometimes,” she said. “They both love to argue.”

“I’m not arguing,” said Mike. “I’m thinking. That short man in the picture don’t—doesn’t—live around here. He’s a stranger. But I know I’ve seen him before.”

Pat looked at the picture. “I don’t remember him at all,” he said to his younger brother. “I didn’t even know when they took the picture.”

Mike was very quiet for a while. He kept looking at the picture.

“We must go,” said Jessie. “We want to go into every store on the street and see all the sights.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Mike. “I can show you everything. I’ve been here two months.”

It was true. Mike did know everything. He showed them the door of the super-market which opened all by itself. He showed them a garage where new cars were for sale. Jessie bought five big straw hats in one store. The sun was very hot, so they all put on the hats. Everyone in the stores seemed to know who the children were. Aunt Jane had put their pictures in the paper many times since they owned the ranch where uranium had been found.

At last Jessie said, “Come on, let’s go home. Maggie said she had a fine supper.”

“Thank you, Mike, for showing us,” said Violet.

“See you tomorrow, Mike,” said Benny.

“Yep,” said Mike. He went off whistling. He didn’t know then that tomorrow would be so exciting.

CHAPTER 3

Fire!

The children slept soundly. They all woke up once to hear a loud, strange bell ringing. But they thought it was midnight, so they all went to sleep again. When they came down in the morning, Sam and Maggie were talking about a fire.

“What fire?” asked Henry.

“Didn’t you hear the firebells ringing and ringing in the night?” asked Sam. “Here comes the paper boy. The news will be in the paper.”

Sam took the paper. It was full of pictures. Benny looked over his shoulder. “It’s Mike’s house!” yelled Benny at the top of his voice.

“The paper says that it was the Wood’s house that had burned to the ground.”

“Let me see the paper, Benny,” Jessie cried. “I can read faster.”

“I can read fast enough,” said Benny excitedly. “See that picture? It’s Mike all right.”

“I’m afraid it is,” said Jessie, trying to read. “That lovely new, pink house, and the washing machine and electric stove!”

“No lives were lost,” read Benny. “Not even the dog. Their big dog, Spotty, who slept in the cellar barked and gave the alarm. The fire had started in the cellar, and by the time the fire engine came, the whole house was burning. The fire seemed to start on all four sides of the house.

“Nothing was saved except clothing and bedding. When Mrs. Wood saw that the house could not be saved, she put some sheets on the floor, threw all the clothes from bureau drawers and closets on the sheets, tied them up, and threw them out of the window.”

“Well, wasn’t that smart?” said Jessie. “That costs the most of anything, doesn’t it, Aunt Jane? The family clothes and bedding?”

“Yes, my dear,” replied her aunt. “I wonder what the Wood family will do now.”

“I have to go right down there,” said Benny. “I have to see Mike.”

“Wait a minute, Benny,” said Aunt Jane. “You must eat your breakfast, first. When you get down there, you won’t come back for a long time. I know you!”

Benny knew that this was true, so he sat down and tried to eat. They all tried to eat, but everyone was thinking about the fire.

“Mike could come here for a few days,” said Aunt Jane, “if he has no other place to go.”

“Oh, Aunt Jane, thank you!” said Jessie. “You are very kind. But I don’t think you want Mike. He would upset everything.”

“I don’t mind being upset,” said Aunt Jane. “Benny and Mike would be something amusing to watch.”

“You can say that again!” said Henry, laughing.

“I ate an egg,” said Benny. “Can I go now?”

“Yes, go along. I know you can hardly wait to get down to the fire,” said Aunt Jane.

The children ran all the way. They soon saw a big crowd of people who had come to see the fire. The little pink house was gone. Smoke was still rising from the burned wood, and it was still very hot.

“Hi, Ben!” called a voice. It was Mike. He came running over to Benny. He cried, “That was our house that burned, Ben. We all got out, and it was Spotty saved us.”

“What are you going to do, Mike?” asked Henry. “Where is your mother?”

“She’s right over there,” said Mike pointing. “She and my brother Pat can sleep next door in the blue house, but I am going to stay with Mr. Carter.”

“Mr. Carter!” cried Jessie. “What Mr. Carter? Do you mean Mr. John Carter?”

“I guess so,” said Mike. “That’s his name anyway. Do you know him? He’s nice and very friendly.”

“He works for Grandfather,” said Jessie. “We met him last summer, but we didn’t know he was still here. Where does he live?”

“In the green house right near the mine. He has lots of rooms he don’t use.”

“Doesn’t,” said Benny.

“Now don’t you go teaching me, Ben!” said Mike.

“Where is Mr. Carter, now?” asked Violet just in time to stop a fight.

“Right over beside my mother,” said Mike. “Come on, they are looking at us.”

“Well, well, Mr. Carter!” cried Henry. “We are so glad to see you again. You always seem to pop up when there is trouble.”

“I try to,” said John Carter with a twinkle in his eye. “Hello, Jessie! And Violet. Benny is still his same old self.”

“What will happen to Mike’s family?” asked Henry.

“All these houses belong to the Uranium Company. So when the place cools off, the pink house will be built again,” replied the man.

“How about the things inside? The washing machine?” asked Jessie.

“I don’t know, but insurance will take care of some things later.”

“Aunt Jane said Mike could come up to our house,” said Violet.

“Oh, did she indeed!” said Mr. Carter, laughing. “You’ll have a lively time! Don’t you want me, too?”

“You would be a big help,” said Jessie, smiling.

“You can have a whole room, Mike, if you come to Aunt Jane’s,” said Benny. “You’d better ask your mother if you can come.”

“Yes, I’m willing, and thankful, too,” said Mrs. Wood. “But tell Miss Alden to send Mike back if he gets too much for her.”

Then Benny asked suddenly, “Mike! Have you had anything to eat?”

“No!” shouted Mike. “It all burned up. I didn’t have any milk, or any oatmeal, or any eggs—”

“Come on, Mike!” shouted Benny. “I could eat another egg myself. Let’s all go to the restaurant!”

Mr. Carter looked at Jessie and laughed. He said, “I wonder what’s the matter with me? I never even thought of breakfast! And Mrs. Wood, you must be starved. We’ll all go to the restaurant and have breakfast.”

“We follow Benny as usual,” said Mrs. Wood smiling. “He has the ideas.”

CHAPTER 4

At the Big Table

Let’s all sit at the big table,” said Henry. “Then we can talk.”

“I don’t want to talk. I want to eat!” shouted Mike.

“Then you can keep still all you want,” said Benny. “We’ll do the talking.”

“But I’ll say something if I want to,” argued Mike.

“Well, make up your mind,” returned Benny. “You’re the one that said you didn’t want to talk.”

“I only said I was hungry,” said Mike.

“Oh, stop it, Mike,” said his mother. “All this talk about nothing. Don’t you know you have no home?”

“That sounds awful,” said Jessie. “Tell me, how did you know the house was on fire?”

“The dog,” said Mrs. Wood. “Spotty was down in the cellar. He sleeps down there. He barked and barked. I knew something was wrong, so I went down to see. There was fire on all four sides. I let the dog out and woke up Mike and Pat.”

“You didn’t wake me,” said Mike. “I was awake.”

“Yes, you were, son,” agreed his mother. “I will say you were going down to get the dog yourself.”

“Spotty was the most important one,” said Mike, “because he can’t open doors.”

“By the way, where is the dog?” asked Mr. Carter.

“He’s tied up at the blue house,” said Pat. “He was in the way, barking at everyone.”

“Yes, we had to leave Watch and Lady at the ranch, too,” said Jessie. “A fire is no place for dogs.”

“It is very queer that the fire started in four places at once,” said Mr. Carter.

“I wonder if anyone set the fire,” said Henry.

“Oh, no!” cried Mrs. Wood. “Why would anybody set fire to our house?”

“What do you plan to do now, Mrs. Wood?” asked Mr. Carter.

“I really don’t know,” she answered. “I’m staying in the blue house with my good neighbor, Mrs. Smith, for tonight.”

Breakfast came then. The eight hungry people went to work on the bacon and eggs, toast, and cereal and milk. For a minute the restaurant was very still. Then the children heard a man say, “I heard that the boy who lived there set the house on fire just for fun.”

In an instant Mike was out of his chair. He ran over and faced the man who had spoken. “I did not!” he shouted. “Who says I did?”

In another minute all four children were behind Mike.

“Mike never did!” shouted Benny. “He wouldn’t! Who says he did?”

The man laughed a little. He was very much surprised. “Well, don’t get so excited, sonny,” he said.

“Don’t get excited?” yelled Mike. “You told a lie about me!”

“I didn’t say it,” said the man. “I said I heard it.”

Then Henry spoke. “Can you tell us who told you? You must know this story is very bad for Mike.”

“Well, well,” said the man. “You’re not afraid to stand up for a friend, are you?”

“No, sir,” said Henry.

Jessie said, “Mike likes fun, yes. He gets into trouble. But he would never set his own house on fire.”

Then Benny went right up to the man. He said, “Mike wouldn’t set a fire in the cellar anyway. His dog was there.”

“So his dog was there,” repeated the man. “That settles it. I believe you.”

“Who told you?” asked Mike. He was not yelling now.

“I don’t know him,” said the man. “He was a stranger to me. He stood beside me in the crowd, watching the fire. I think that he wore a blue hat.”

“I’ll ask him,” said Benny, “if I ever see a man with a blue hat.”

The man looked at the four of them. “I wish I had as many good friends as you have, Mike,” he said. He looked at Benny. “This one here is a wonderful friend.”

“He don’t always stand up for me,” said Mike.

“Doesn’t,” said Benny.

“Now look here, Ben!” said Mike. “Don’t start that again!”

“You see how Mike is,” said Jessie. “He will fight over nothing. But he would never set a fire. Come on back, boys, and eat your breakfast.”

The children moved away. All this time Mr. Carter had sat still watching. “Well, Jessie!” he said. “That was just like a play! I am very proud of all of you.”

“Why didn’t you come over, too?” asked Benny.

“You didn’t need me,” said Mr. Carter laughing. “You children did it much better than I would. But the man could see I was with you if you needed help.”

Mike began to eat again.

“That gave me a good appetite,” he said.

“Your appetite was all right before,” said Henry, laughing.

“I like to have you with us, Mike,” said Violet, laughing. “Now if you weren’t here, I couldn’t eat my breakfast at all.”

“That’s right,” said Henry. “She couldn’t.”

“Now everyone watch out for a man with a blue hat,” said Benny drinking the last of his milk.

“That man would change his hat, Ben,” said Mike.

“Maybe he will have a black hat next time. Maybe no hat at all.”

“I’ll watch, too,” said Mr. Carter. “You can be sure of that.”

CHAPTER 5

The Empty Room

I have to go up to the uranium mine,” said Mr. Carter. “You can all come with me if you want.”

“I think I’ll go to my neighbor’s,” said Mrs. Wood. “I’m all tired out with Mike’s doings.”

“Yes, I’ll go with you, Ma,” said Pat. “Maybe I can help around the place, to pay for taking us in.”

“The rest of us will go with you, Mr. Carter,” said Benny. “It’s our own mine after all, and we haven’t seen it yet. You come too, Mike.”

“Well, Benny, you are asking for trouble,” said Henry laughing.

“I’m no trouble,” cried Mike. “I might help you. I know a lot of things.”

Soon they were on their way to the mine in Mr. Carter’s car. When they arrived, they could see great machines at work. Workmen were everywhere. Mr. Carter stopped his car at a large building. It had a small office in one corner.

“I’m going into the office for a few minutes,” said Mr. Carter. “You may stay in the car and watch the men. But you must not go any closer than you are now.”

“Can’t we go into the big building?” asked Benny.

Mr. Carter said, “Oh, yes, you can do that. But it is empty. Just one big room. Nothing to see. I’ll be back soon.”

When Mr. Carter had shut the office door, Mike said, “I bet he’s going to find out about insurance on our things and tell someone in there about the blue hat.”

“Yes,” said Benny. “Let’s see what is in that empty room.”

Benny got out of the car and quietly walked into the big, empty room. Jessie followed him. They stood looking around.

“A big room going to waste, Jessie!” said Benny.

“Yes, Benny,” said his sister. For a minute they said nothing more. Jessie was thinking about what Benny had said—a big room going to waste.

“Look, Benny!” she said excitedly. “Do you remember what Mrs. Wood said about baking?”

“Yes, I do. She said she loved to bake pies and she didn’t like to wash.”

“That’s just right, Benny! Now listen! If we could get a good stove—”

“Mrs. Wood could bake in it,” finished Benny.

“And right here in this very room,” said Henry. One by one the others had come inside, too.

Then another gentle voice said, “I’m sure Grandfather would let us buy a stove.” It was Violet. She was smiling.

“My mother likes to make pies the best,” said Mike. “On pies she is a wizard.”

Henry laughed. “Well, now that we are all here, let’s get together on this.”

“My mother could sell pies to the miners,” said Mike. “There’s about a million men, I should say. We could make money. And I could eat pies whenever I wanted to,” Mike finished.

“If we had a stove,” said Benny.

“Not quite a million men,” said Henry. “Maybe a hundred or more.”

“Maybe we could all live up here,” said Mike.

“You wouldn’t want to live here, Mike,” said Benny. “Wait till you see your room at Aunt Jane’s. Right next to me.”

“We’ll ask Mr. Carter what he thinks,” said Jessie. He knows everything and he will settle it.”

But it was really Mrs. Wood who settled it.

CHAPTER 6

Mike’s Mother’s Place

Benny began to talk the minute he got into the car. Mike began to talk too.

“Wait, boys,” said Mr. Carter. “One at a time! I can’t hear a word you say.”

“I’ll talk first,” said Mike.

“Well, you can this time,” agreed Benny. “It’s about your own mother, after all.”

“That’s right, Ben,” said Mike. “Thank you. Mr. Carter, my mother works hard at her washing, but she don’t—doesn’t like it.”

“Yes, Mike,” said Mr. Carter. “But what do you want me to do about it?”

“We’ve thought of a good job for her,” said Mike. “She loves to make pies. So why not make pies and sell them? She gives away millions of pies.”

“Now, Mike,” said Benny. “Mr. Carter won’t believe you, if you say millions.”

“Well, dozens, then,” said Mike.

“Good for you, Mike,” said Mr. Carter laughing. “I do believe you, for I have eaten many of those pies myself.”

“Well, there you are,” said Mike. “Everyone likes Ma’s pies and everyone will buy them.”

Then Mr. Carter said, “I think you are wasting time telling me about this plan. Why don’t we go ask your mother? She is the one to decide.”

Mrs. Wood was surprised when they all came back to Mrs. Smith’s blue house.

Henry said, “Hello, Mrs. Wood. We want you to come up to the office at the uranium mine for a few minutes.”

“All right,” said Mrs. Wood. “I’d like to go. I know the night watchman up there, and I’d like to take him a cherry pie.”

“You mean you’ve made another pie already?” asked Violet.

“I made four more,” said Mrs. Wood. “They are for the kind people who helped me get out of my burning house. One is for your Aunt Jane, Benny. My neighbor gave me the shortening and filling for the pies, and I will pay her back in washing.”

Mike winked at Benny. “Maybe, yes,” he said. “And maybe, no.”

The children talked and laughed all the way to the mine. They could hardly wait to show the room to Mike’s mother. At last they all stood in the big empty room.

“See this room going to waste!” cried Benny. “Now if you had a nice stove—”

Mrs. Wood put her arm around Benny. “What a kind little boy you are, Benny!” she said in a low voice. “I begin to see now what you are all planning for me.”

“You mean you like the idea of making pies for a living?” asked Jessie. “Wouldn’t you get tired of making pies?”

“I’d never be tired of making pies, my dear!” cried Mrs. Wood. “I love to mix them up, and roll them out, and fill them with cherries, apples, peaches, or blueberries. And best of all I like to see people eat them.”

A man behind them said, “I’d rather eat them than watch other people eat them.” Everyone turned around.

“The night watchman!” cried Mike. “Hello, Mr. McCarthy!”

“Hello yourself, Mike,” said the man.

“Oh, Mr. McCarthy,” said Mrs. Wood. “Here’s a cherry pie I made for you. I hope you will like it.” She gave him the cherry pie.

“Is there anyone in the whole world that doesn’t like your pies?” asked Mr. McCarthy. He looked at the children. “What’s this I hear about selling pies?”

Mike began to jump around. “See this room!” he shouted. “Ma can have a stove in that corner. She can bake her pies in it. She can sell them at that big window and we will all help her.”

“Well, well,” cried Mr. McCarthy. “And which of you thought of this?”

“My sister Jessie was the first to think of it,” said Benny. “But I was next to the first, wasn’t I, Henry?”

“Yes, you were,” said Henry. “We have to buy a sink and a refrigerator, Mr. McCarthy. And we have to ask Mr. Gardner, the boss, for the use of the room.”

“We can ask Grandfather to let us buy the sink and things,” said Violet.

“Suppose this grandfather of yours won’t let you buy all that?” said Mr. McCarthy. “After all, it will cost a lot of money. Not many men would trust children with this plan.”

“My grandfather will,” said Benny. “We were all alone in the Boxcar. We didn’t know Grandfather then. And we did all right.”

Mr. Carter nodded at the night watchman. He said, “Mr. Alden trusts these children. He always tries to help them with their ideas.”

The night watchman looked at Jessie with a funny little smile. “I can’t understand why you children want to work at all. Don’t you own the mine? Your grandfather ought not to let you work.”

Jessie shook her head. She said, “That’s not the way Grandfather thinks. He has lots of money already. But he says everyone ought to work. Nobody can be happy unless he has some work to do. We know he is right, for we were very, very happy when we didn’t have any money at all. Only $4! When we get through school, Grandfather wants us all to go to work for a living.”

“There are not many grandfathers like that,” said Mr. McCarthy, shaking his head. “And I know well that Mr. Alden works very hard himself.”

“What do you think of this pie business, Mr. McCarthy?” asked Jessie.

“I? Hm-m, I think the men will want so many pies, that one woman can’t make enough.”

“Maybe you’ll tell the men about the pies?” said Henry.

“Tell them? I won’t need to. The minute they see a sign here saying PIES they will all come over.”

“Sign?” cried Benny. “Did you say a sign? I’ll tell you a good sign. Mike’s Mother’s Place!”

“Oh, I’ll paint the sign!” cried Violet.

“Wonderful!” said Jessie. “And what a wonderful name for this place!”

Mrs. Wood smiled and smiled, but she had tears in her eyes. “Yes,” she said, “the men all know Mike, and they will soon know his mother.”

“We can take pictures of this place when it is all set to go,” said Henry. “They will put them in the paper, maybe.”

Mr. McCarthy went over to the big window. “Yes,” he said, “this big window will be good for selling pies.”

Mike went over to Mr. McCarthy. He said softly, “Did you see my fire?”

“No,” said the watchman, “I missed it.”

“It was a terrible fire,” said Mike. “Everybody went to see it. Why didn’t you go? Aren’t you interested in fires?”

Mr. McCarthy looked at Mike. He said, “Well, son, I was certainly interested. In fact I started to go. But you see my duty was here. I’m a watchman.”

“Too bad,” said Mike. “It was a sight.”

“I know,” said Mr. McCarthy. “But I thought I saw somebody near the mine. So I stayed right here. I looked all around but I couldn’t find anybody.”

“Come on, Mike!” called Benny. “What are you talking about?”

Then Mike surprised everyone. He began to jump up and down and yell, “The blue hat! The blue hat!”

“What in the world is the matter with you, Mike?” asked Henry.

Mike answered, “I think I know how to find out who wore the blue hat,” he yelled.

Mr. Carter stared at the little boy. “Do you indeed!” he said. “You ought to join the FBI.”

CHAPTER 7

The Blue Hat

All the children begged Mike to tell what he knew about the man in the blue hat.

“No,” said Mike. “I can’t tell you now. I want to talk to Ben about this. I want to see Ben alone.”

“This is very important, Mike,” said Mr. Carter. “If you know something it is your duty to tell me.”

“Oh, I’ll tell you all right,” said Mike. “Only you’ll have to wait about one hour.”

“Why all the mystery?” asked Mr. Carter.

“Because I’m not sure,” said Mike. “I’m not really sure of anything. I want to see Pat, too.”

“Well, let’s go back to the ranch,” said Henry. He did not think Mike really knew anything about the stranger.

“We have hardly seen Aunt Jane,” said Violet. “We have been away almost all the time we have been here.”

“That was because there was a fire,” said Benny. “We had to see about Mike’s fire.”

Mr. Carter took the five children to Aunt Jane’s house. Then he drove away. He said he had other business. Watch and Lady ran out to meet the children. The dogs were very glad to see them.

“Well,” said Maggie, “you are not late. But I thought you were going to be. And we have a very funny lunch.”

“What is it?” asked Benny.

“Hot dogs,” said Maggie. “Your Aunt Jane says all young people like hot dogs.”

“We do!” cried Benny. “And we don’t get them very often. Hurrah for Aunt Jane!”

“Tell me all the news about the fire,” said Aunt Jane. She sat at the head of the table. She gave the hot dogs to the children, but she did not eat them herself.

“I don’t like hot dogs,” she said smiling. “I like eggs better.”

The children took turns with the news. They told Aunt Jane all about the fire and meeting Mr. Carter again. They told her the plans for Mrs. Wood. Mike was very quiet. He did not talk very much.

“Mike is scared of you, Aunt Jane!” said Benny.

“I am not scared!” said Mike. “Miss Alden wouldn’t hurt a fly. My brother Pat said so.”

“I certainly wouldn’t hurt a nice boy like you, Mike,” said Aunt Jane laughing. “You must go up and see your new room. It is right next to Benny’s.”

Maggie said, “We have been working on it all morning. A nice clean bed, and a big empty closet for your things.”

“I haven’t many things,” said Mike.

“Haven’t you any old birds’ nests and stones and model airplanes?” asked Maggie.

“Oh, can I keep that kind of things?” cried Mike.

“Certainly,” said Aunt Jane. “There’s no good living here, if you can’t have your own things.”

“Oh, oh!” cried Mike. “Can I have Spotty, too?”

“Yes,” said Aunt Jane. “Lady always stays in my room.” She stopped. “But what will Watch say?”

“I don’t think he will say much,” said Mike. “They didn’t fight on Surprise Island.”

“That’s right,” said Henry to Aunt Jane. “They got along all right.”

“I’ll be fine if I have Spotty,” said Mike.

“He mustn’t get up on your nice clean bed,” said Maggie.

“Oh, no, he sleeps down the cellar when he’s home,” said Mike.

Aunt Jane said, “He won’t sleep down the cellar here. You can have him in your room, but Maggie says not on your bed.”

Then Mike was quiet again. He seemed to be thinking.

After lunch, Henry telephoned to his grandfather miles away in Greenfield. He told Mr. Alden all about the fire. He didn’t know that his grandfather knew it already. Mr. Carter had already called Mr. Alden.

“You say you know this boy Mike?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Yes, he used to go to school with Benny. We invited him to the picnic on Surprise Island.”

“Oh, I remember,” said Mr. Alden. “He had a brother who was almost drowned.”

“Good for you, Grandfather!” cried Henry. “You never forget anything. Mike’s mother hasn’t any home now, and we want to give her that big empty room at the mine to make pies in.”

Mr. Alden said, “Is that all you want, Henry?”

“Almost,” said Henry. “We’d like to buy a stove, and a sink, and a refrigerator for the room. We can buy them all here.”

“Go ahead, Henry,” said Mr. Alden. “It’s your money and your mine. It’s a fine idea and a kind one. I had a plan for that room, but it can wait. This is more important. If you need anything more, ask Mr. Carter. And how is Watch?”

“Watch is right here, looking at me,” said Henry. “You speak to him, Grandfather.”

“Hello, Watch!” called Mr. Alden.

“Bow-wow!” answered the dog. He put his feet up on the telephone table and wagged his tail.

“I heard him bark,” said Mr. Alden, laughing. “And now I’ll talk to the others.” Mr. Alden always did this. He talked with Violet, and Jessie and Aunt Jane and Benny.

“I’m the last one, Grandfather,” said Benny. “But I was the next to the first to think of the stove.”

“I’m sure you were, Benny,” said his grandfather. “You be a good boy, and take good care of the girls.”

“Yes, I will,” said Benny. “You know what? They want a blue refrigerator! I want a white one, but I’ll give in.”

“Good boy,” said Mr. Alden. “Good-by for now.”

After the telephone call, Mike said he wanted to see Benny alone.

“Come up and see your room,” said Benny. “Then we can talk.”

Mike had no idea what a lovely room he would have. He looked around in surprise.

“This is neat, Ben,” he said. “And right next to you.”

“My wall paper has jet planes on it,” said Benny. “Aunt Jane picked it out for me. She’s neat, too.”

“Listen, Ben,” said Mike. “When we were up at the mine, I remembered something.”

“What was it?” asked Benny. The two boys sat down on the floor. They put their heads together.

“Well, you know I said we had to tie Spotty up because he barked?”

“I remember,” said Benny.

“Well, he did bark. He barked at everyone, and he barked at the fire. He was so excited. But once he growled, Ben.”

“Oh, ho! I see!” cried Benny. “That’s different. What did he growl at?”

“The man in the blue hat!” cried Mike. “I really don’t remember what hat he had on. But I think I saw him at the fire. He was the one Spotty growled at.”

“I suppose Spotty never growls,” said Benny.

“Never!” said Mike. “Unless he has some good reason. Now another thing, Ben. You remember the newspaper picture of Pat? Now, I ought to have been in that picture.”

“Why?” asked Benny.

“Well, I was right beside Pat. The picture cut me off. I was always up at the mine before you came. I knew everybody. And I saw that stranger myself. He was a short man.”

Benny nodded. “Did you talk to him?”

“No, I didn’t. But I saw him talking to Mr. McCarthy. And I think he was the man Spotty growled at!”

“Oh, you do!” cried Benny. “Then he must be the man that said you set the fire!”

“That’s right,” said Mike. “Isn’t that a mystery?”

“Yes, it is,” agreed Benny. “The next thing to do is see Mr. McCarthy.”

“Right!” said Mike. “But we won’t rush it! Mr. Carter said I ought to become an FBI agent.”

“Yes, he did,” said Benny. “And I’d like to see that newspaper picture again.”

So the two boys ran downstairs to find the old newspaper.

CHAPTER 8

Secrets

Everyone looked for the newspaper, but no one could find it.

“All the newspapers are in that box,” said Maggie. “I saved them all.”

“They are all here but the right one,” said Benny.

“I had one, but it burned up with my house,” said Mike.

“Well, never mind,” said Aunt Jane. “You can always buy another at the newspaper office.”

Henry said, “Mike, you know this is the time we buy a stove. You can look at the newspaper any time.”

“This is a very important paper,” said Benny. “But I guess we can wait.”

“Well, come on then,” said Jessie. “What fun it will be to get all those things! I never bought a stove before.”

“Don’t you think Mrs. Wood ought to go with us?” asked Violet. “She ought to pick out the stove she wants.”

“Right, as usual,” said Henry. “Come on, let’s go. Yes, Watch, you can come this time.” Lady stayed with Aunt Jane, as she always did.

The children stopped at the blue house. Mrs. Wood was glad to go with them.

“Let’s take Spotty, too,” said Mike.

“He doesn’t like to be tied up. He’d love to go.”

“Will he like to go with Watch?” asked Jessie.

“Let’s try,” said Mike. Everyone was glad when at last the two dogs trotted along together.

The store was a big one. There were all sorts of things in it. There were tables and chairs and stoves and dishes of all kinds. Mrs. Wood looked around. She was delighted to pick out a huge stove. It had large ovens. The refrigerator was big too.

“It will have to be big for all those pies,” said Benny. “What color do you want, Mrs. Wood?”

“Well, I don’t care at all,” said Mike’s mother.

“The girls like blue,” said Benny.

“Let’s get all blue things, then,” said Mrs. Wood. “Just look at that beautiful blue sink!”

The man said, “We will put them all in for you. Where do they go?”

“In that big empty building at the mine office,” said Henry. “My grandfather said to pay you when they were all in.”

“That’s O.K.,” said the man with a smile.

“Mr. Carter says insurance will pay for our loss from the fire,” said Mrs. Wood. “I hope so, because we lost almost everything.”

“Oh, Mrs. Wood, let’s buy dishes!” cried Violet.

Everyone looked at Violet in surprise. Violet was usually so quiet.

Jessie put her arm around her sister. “You dear,” she said. “We will certainly buy dishes. Is that all right with you, Mrs. Wood?”

“Yes, I love to have you help me,” said Mrs. Wood. “You have such good ideas.”

“Where will you put the dishes?” asked the storekeeper. “You’re not going to live up at the mine, are you?”

“Live there? Oh, no,” said Mrs. Wood. “But we can put the dishes up there for now.”

“Why couldn’t you live there?” asked Benny, suddenly. “You’ve got to live somewhere.”

“And it will take a long time to build the pink house again,” added Henry.

“Yes, I don’t like to stay too long with Mrs. Smith,” said Mrs. Wood. “I shall have to live somewhere. I wonder if there is anyone at the mine all night?”

“There are four watchmen,” said Henry. “I found that out. Then Mr. Carter lives in the green house. That’s the nearest house.”

“I shall talk with Mr. Carter,” said Mrs. Wood. “But we must pick out the bowls and dishes, first.”

“What lovely colors!” said Jessie.

There were plates and cups of all colors, pink, blue, yellow, green, violet and light orange.

“Why don’t you have one plate of each color?” asked Benny. “That would make six.”

“I must have seven,” said Mrs. Wood with a laugh. “Because you must all come to supper sometime.”

Jessie said firmly, “I think you need a dozen, Mrs. Wood. That would be two of each color.”

“Yes,” said Benny. “And then I could use the pink cup—I mean if I ever came to supper.”

Jessie laughed. “Benny has a pink cup at home,” she told Mrs. Wood. “He loves it because he had it in the Boxcar. I certainly would not like to break that pink cup.”

“We must have knives and forks, spoons, and pans, too,” said Mrs. Wood.

The storekeeper seemed to be thinking. At last he said, “Mrs. Wood, may I say something? I wouldn’t buy too many things if I were you.”

“Why on earth not?” cried Mike.

“Well, I can’t say too much,” said the man. “But I know your friends are going to give you some things.”

“Oh, how kind they are!” cried Mrs. Wood. “I never thought of such a thing!”

“Don’t tell I told you,” said the man.

“We won’t tell, any of us,” said Benny. “It would be awful if you bought things, and then people gave you the same things.”

“Really, I think you have bought enough, now,” said the storekeeper. “Let’s leave it. You can ride in the truck if you want to. You children ride in the back with the stove, and Mrs. Wood can sit with the driver.”

“I want to sit with the driver, too,” said Mike.

“All right,” said the storekeeper. “Get in.”

The two dogs were waiting outside the store. At last, all the things, children and dogs were in the truck. Everyone laughed as the truck went by.

They waved to the children. The children waved back. The dogs barked and barked.

Mike said, “How are you going to get that heavy stove into the room at the mine, Mister?”

The driver smiled. “I’ll have plenty of help,” he said. “You wait and see.”

“I suppose you telephoned,” said Mike.

“No, but the storekeeper did,” said the driver. “We all have some secrets, don’t we? Just look over there, right by the mine office!”

The truck slowly came to a stop. The children stared at the crowd, and then they all laughed and laughed.

CHAPTER 9

Quick Work

When the truck stopped at the mine office, a crowd of workmen stood waiting. The men were all smiling. Henry, Benny and Mike jumped out of the truck and helped Jessie and Violet out.

The driver helped Mrs. Wood down from the high seat. “We’ll help you move these things into the building,” said one man. “You tell us where you want them to go.”

Mrs. Wood and the children and the driver went in. They looked around. The dogs ran around barking. Just then Mr. Carter came out of the office.

“Oh, Mr. Carter, hello!” said Henry. “You are just the man we want.”

“I want to see him too,” said Mrs. Wood. “I want to ask him something.”

“Ask away, my lady,” said Mr. Carter with a smile.

“Well,” said Mrs. Wood slowly, “I can hardly wait to make a pie. And I’d love to live right here in this room with my two boys.”

“That’s just what I said!” shouted Benny. “I said you’ve got to live somewhere, and why not here?”

“Yes, you did, Benny,” agreed Mrs. Wood. “That is what gave me the idea. You see, Mr. Carter, the boys say there are watchmen up here all night. They would help me if I needed anything. And it wouldn’t take long to put up some rough boards and make two rooms, would it? It would be so handy for me to start my pies early in the morning.”

“Oh, what a wonderful idea!” cried Jessie. “We can help Mrs. Wood, too, Mr. Carter.”

“Yes, I think it could be done,” said Mr. Carter. “I have talked with Mr. Gardner, the big boss, Mrs. Wood. He says if I say O.K., he says O.K.”

“Oh, isn’t this fun!” shouted Benny. “Who would put up the rough boards?”

Mr. Carter laughed. He pointed at the workmen who were bringing in the stove.

“Would they?” asked Violet softly.

“Yes, they would,” said a workman who heard what Violet had said. “We have time off today.”

“Then you could make the rooms today!” shouted Mike. He never liked to wait for anything.

A workman laughed at Mike. “You’ll have to help us, son,” he said.

“Oh, yes, I will,” said Mike. “I’ll be the one to tell you where the things go.”

“That is called a boss,” said the man. “Boss Mike.”

Benny said, “Mike would be a good boss. He really would. And so would I. You see, that window will make Mike’s room, and the next window will be Mrs. Wood’s room. Every room will have one window so that it will have plenty of light.”

“Not so bad!” said the man. “There is water in the office already. So we will just get longer pipes to go to your sink.”

What a noise there was! Men were cutting holes in the floor for the pipes. Others were pounding away at the pipes. The dogs barked and barked. Mr. Carter telephoned three times and soon some long boards arrived at the door. More men came.

“My room can be small,” said Mrs. Wood. “Just big enough for a bed.”

“Mine ought to be bigger,” said Mike. “Because Pat and I will have two beds, and I want another bed for Ben. I want him to sleep up here sometimes.”

“That will be easy,” said a man. “One small room, and one big one. Are you going to sleep here tonight?”

“No,” said Mike. “No beds.”

“What did you say?” shouted Benny. “Look out of the window!”

Another truck had just come. A bed was sticking out of the back. It was an Army cot.

Mr. Carter ran down the steps and said a few words to the driver.

Violet thought the driver said, “I’ll be back soon,” but she was not sure. The driver saw the children. He called, “Come on, kids! Help me take out these things.”

The boys were delighted to help. They found some folding chairs under the cot.

“Where did these things come from?” asked Henry.

“From the neighbors,” said the driver. “Everyone wants to help Mrs. Wood. These came from the store, but—.” He stopped and said, “Don’t ask me any more questions.”

But Benny went right on. “What are those barrels for?”

“Two barrels of flour,” said the driver.

“For pies,” said Violet.

“Oh, barrels are very useful,” said Benny. “Just put a board across two barrels and it makes a seat.”

“It makes a table, too,” said Jessie. “Remember our table in the barn on Surprise Island?”

Soon the children sat in a row on the long board. They were all watching the rooms go up.

“This is like a ball-game,” said Henry.

“It’s like a race,” said Benny.

Henry said, “Some day we ought to have a race. We ought to have a fair race for Watch and Spot.”

“Do you think so?” asked Mike. “Watch is a very fast runner.”

“Oh, ho!” cried Benny. “You’re afraid Watch will beat again!”

“No, I am not!” cried Mike. “Spotty is a fast runner, too.”

“Now, boys, no fights!” said Henry. “Just enjoy yourselves. Who’s coming now? It’s a woman in a car.”

“My neighbor from the blue house!” cried Mrs. Wood. She went to the door.

“Mike, come help Mrs. Smith with that box.”

Mrs. Smith came in smiling. She shook hands with everyone. Then she said, “Mrs. Wood, all your friends want to help. They have looked over the things they can spare and everyone is giving you something. It’s a Surprise Party.”

“How kind you are!” said Mrs. Wood with tears in her eyes.

“We planned to have it next week, but Mr. Carter telephoned that now is the time. So everyone is coming today.”

“Well, Mr. Carter is right,” said Mrs. Wood. “This is the time I need it most.”

“There are two sheets and two blankets in that box,” said Mrs. Smith. “And more are on the way.”

Another car came while she was talking. Then another and another. Soon the room was full of women with baskets and boxes. They brought everything that Mrs. Wood needed.

“Oh, oh!” said Jessie. “Isn’t this fun, Violet? Look how fast the men are making shelves!”

“I’ll put my pink cup on the shelf,” shouted Benny.

“Look out of the window!” shouted Mike. A man was helping someone out of a car. It was Aunt Jane with her bright blue eyes and pink cheeks. She had a newspaper in her hand. Lady walked beside her.

All the children rushed over to Aunt Jane. All but Mike. He just stood and looked at the paper in her hand.

CHAPTER 10

Mike’s Idea

Oh, Aunt Jane,” cried Jessie. “I’m so glad you came! Mrs. Wood is going to live here and make pies and sell them.”

“Yes, I know,” said Aunt Jane, laughing. “I know all about it. A little bird told me.”

“Who told you?” asked Benny.

“Well, it was a big bird, after all,” said Aunt Jane. “It was Mr. Gardner, the big boss. He sent a car for me.”

Aunt Jane went into the big room.

Mike went up to her and held out his hand. She gave him the newspaper with a smile.

She said, “Maggie found it. I haven’t had time to look at it, but I am sure it is the right one, Mike.”

Then everyone tried to tell Aunt Jane about the two new rooms.

“They have doors!” said Benny. “Two doors, one in each room.” The man who was putting up the doors laughed at Benny.

Jessie showed Aunt Jane the barrels of flour. Violet showed her the shelves. There were many dishes already on the shelves.

Aunt Jane had brought some things with her. A man came in with them. He had some big kettles and long spoons, and some small pans and small spoons.

“You have to get your own meals, Mrs. Wood,” said Aunt Jane. “I thought the other cooking dishes would be too big for you.”

“You are right, Miss Alden,” said Mrs. Wood. “I must cook for my family, too. Where is Mike?”

Mike was not there.

“But where is he?” cried Jessie. “He was here just a minute ago.”

“He’s all right,” said Mrs. Wood, laughing. “Mike can take care of himself pretty well. He must have some new idea.”

Mike did have a new idea. He was in the office, talking to Mr. Carter. The newspaper was open on the desk, and they both were looking at the picture.

“See that man?” asked Mike. “He is the one Spotty growled at. He is wearing a hat, but you can’t see if it is blue or not. Spotty must have seen him before.”

“I have seen him before, too,” said Mr. Carter, frowning.

“Where?” asked Mike.

“I don’t know where,” answered Mr. Carter.

“Well, he was at the fire,” said Mike. “I saw him myself.”

“And he has been at the mine,” said Mr. Carter, “for here is his picture.”

“I don’t think he is a very good man,” said Mike. “He looks rough to me.”

“He looks rough to me, too,” said Mr. Carter. “We must keep our eyes open, Mike.”

There was a rap at the door.

“Come in,” called Mr. Carter. It was Benny.

Benny said, “Oh, here you are, Mike! We lost you. I have another idea.”

“Sit down,” said Mr. Carter smiling. “We’ll all sit down, and you tell us your idea.”

“Well,” began Benny, “you know Mike was making a new dog house for Spotty.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” said Mr. Carter.

“Well, he was,” said Benny. “And you know how Mike is. He isn’t very neat.”

“I am too, neat!” cried Mike.

“No, Mike. Listen! You had boards in the cellar. You had some boards by the heater, and some boards by the stairs, and some boards on both sides of the room.”

“Well, yes, I did,” said Mike. “But they were neat. They were standing up, neatly.”

“But I mean they were on all sides of the cellar,” cried Benny. “Don’t you see? That’s why the fire started on all sides of the house!”

“Good for you, Benny,” said Mr. Carter. “The firemen think the fire was set by somebody.”

“I didn’t. I never did!” shouted Mike.

“Be quiet, Mike!” said Mr. Carter sharply. “I never said you did. I said somebody.”

“Well, who?” asked Mike. “Who would set our house on fire with Spotty in the cellar?”

“I don’t know yet,” said Mr. Carter.

Then Benny said, “Think hard, Mike. What did you ever say to make anyone mad at you?”

“I never said anything.”

“Yes, you must have,” said Benny. “You know you talk a lot, Mike.”

Mike began to think. “Maybe I did say something one day. But it was last summer,” he said. “Maybe I said I was glad Miss Alden didn’t sell her ranch to those three men. Remember that, Ben? Maybe I said I would know them in a minute if I saw them.”

“Oh, my,” said Mr. Carter.

Benny said, “But Mike, you wouldn’t know them, because you never saw them!”

“I know it,” said Mike. “I’m sorry now I said it. I suppose that man in the picture heard me, and he thought I knew him.”

“Well, Mike,” said Mr. Carter slowly, “you see that’s why the story started that you set your own fire. The man in the picture may have heard you, and he was afraid of you. That would make him want to do something to hurt you the first chance he got.”

“We can’t prove it,” said Benny.

“We will, though,” said Mike. “You just wait.”

“Yes, Mike, I think we will. Now, boys, I am going to tell you something. I know you both talk too much. But you must not talk too much about this.”

“I won’t,” said Benny.

“I won’t,” said Mike.

“The three men who wanted to buy Miss Alden’s ranch last summer are known to be bad men. When they found the uranium by accident, they did not tell anyone. They tried to buy the land for almost nothing. They were wanted in another state by the FBI. When they came to this state, the FBI caught them and put them in jail. But one of them is out now, I hear.”

“Are you in the FBI?” asked Benny.

“I work for your grandfather, but I help the FBI too. I think this man may be one of those three, but you can’t see his face clearly in the picture.”

“They were mad because Aunt Jane wouldn’t sell the ranch,” said Benny.

“Right,” said Mr. Carter. “He may do something to the mine if we don’t stop him. So we are having two more night watchmen. Your mother will be perfectly safe up here.”

“Let’s go and help them settle things for the night,” said Benny.

Things were going very well without them. Everyone was rushing around fixing the rooms. A real table was set up for the pies. One barrel of flour was opened. Pat came in with some more men. They were bringing big cans of cherries and peaches and blueberries and apples. They had great bags of sugar. There were piles of pie tins.

“Oh, how kind everyone is!” cried Mrs. Wood.

At last the oven worked, the refrigerator worked, and the sink worked. The cans of beautiful fruit were ready for pies. The rolling pins and boards were ready on the table.

Benny and Mike were in time to help set up the beds. Jessie and Violet began to put on the white sheets.

Then Mike surprised them all. He said, “Ma, I’d rather stay down at the house with Ben. You see, Miss Alden fixed up a nice room for me. She said I could bring all my things, and have Spotty in my room. I don’t think it would be very nice for me to refuse it.”

“Well, Mike!” cried Mr. Carter. “You certainly are getting to be a very nice, kind boy!”

“I’m very glad you are going to stay with us,” said Aunt Jane with a smile.

“Yes, Mike,” said his mother, “that was very thoughtful of you.”

“I want to go with Ben,” said Mike. “We can talk.”

“Right! Right!” said Henry. “You can certainly talk!”

“I will take care of you, Ma,” said Pat.

“Yes,” said his mother smiling. “Pat will take care of me, and Mr. Carter says there are six night watchmen now instead of four. I wonder why?”

Mike and Benny looked at each other. They did not wonder at all.

CHAPTER 11

Pie Day

Everyone was tired that night. Even Mike and Benny did not talk very long. They put down a soft rug for Spotty, but he would not sleep on it. He lay down on the hard floor just under Mike’s bed.

“That’s just like a dog,” said Mike. “They never stay where you put them.”

“Lady always sleeps in Aunt Jane’s room and Watch always sleeps in Jessie’s room,” said Benny. “He is really her dog, you know.”

“No,” said Mike, “I thought he was your dog.”

“Well, he is all our dog,” said Benny.

“I know what you mean, Ben,” said Mike, yawning. He was too sleepy to argue.

“Good night,” said Ben and went to his own room.

Both boys were soon asleep.

Up at the mine, Mrs. Wood and Pat went to sleep in their new beds. Mrs. Wood wanted to get up very early next morning.

It was about six o’clock when Mrs. Wood called Pat to a breakfast of eggs and bacon, toast and cereal and two glasses of milk. “I can hardly wait to begin a pie,” she said to Pat. “You get washed at the sink and then come and eat. After that you can help me.”

Pat said, “I bet Mike and Ben will be up here early, too. They don’t want to miss anything, do they, Ma?”

“No. They don’t miss very much,” said Mrs. Wood with a smile.

Just as she finished washing the dishes, the other children came to the door.

“One of the men gave us a ride,” said Benny. “See what Violet has!” Violet had a piece of wood in her hands. There were big black letters on it. It was the new sign to go over the door.

Mrs. Wood read it. “MIKE’S MOTHER’S PLACE. Isn’t that grand?”

Henry climbed up and nailed it over the door.

“Now tell us what to do, Mrs. Wood!” cried Jessie. She was excited. Her cheeks were very pink.

“Well, I have a good rule for pies,” said Mrs. Wood. “You do not touch the crust with your hands. You put it between two pieces of wax paper before you roll it out. First you girls mix some flour with shortening in those big bowls. I’ll show you.”

“Jessie knows how,” said Benny. “She is a fine pie maker.”

“Yes, I am sure she is,” said Mrs. Wood with a smile. “You boys turn on the ovens to 400. It’s a wonderful stove you bought! Then set thirty of those tins in a row on the long table.”

Soon everyone was hard at work. Mrs. Wood said, “I shall make only two kinds of pie the first day. We’ll make cherry and apple. So you boys open the big cans, and leave them on the table. Just keep the dogs out of the way.”

“I’ll tie them up,” said Mike.

“Oh, no,” said Jessie. “Don’t tie Watch. Listen, Watch, lie down!” Watch lay down at once and looked up at Jessie. He wagged his tail, but he did not get up.

“I wish Spotty could do that,” said Mike. “I’ll have to tie him.”

“Some day we could teach him,” said Benny. “But it will take a whole box of fig bars. When he starts to lie down, you give him a piece of a fig bar. When he gets up you say No! loud, like that.”

“I’ll make some fig cookies some day,” said Mrs. Wood laughing.

They made thirty pies. The girls helped roll out the crust between two papers. They lifted the crust onto the tins without touching it.

“Oh, isn’t this fun!” said Violet.

“You children seem to have fun just being kind to somebody,” said Mrs. Wood with a loving look at her.

“Somebody’s coming!” shouted Mike from the open door. “It’s a lady from town.”

The lady laughed. She said, “I hear you sell pies.”

“Yes,” said Mike. “But they aren’t done yet.”

“When will they be done, little boy?” asked the lady.

“I’m not a little boy,” answered Mike, “but I’ll ask my mother.”

“About ten o’clock,” Mrs. Wood called out.

“About ten o’clock,” repeated Mike.

“I’ll be back then,” said the lady. “I want an apple pie.”

“We’ll save one for you,” said Mike. “I’ll know you by your face. It’s pretty.”

“Well, thank you,” said the lady, laughing. “Are you Mike?”

“Yes, I’m Mike, and it’s my mother making pies.”

When the pies were baked, they smelled delicious. They were nice and brown. The lady came back for her pie.

She said, “I told some people down on the street, and they are coming to buy pies.”

“I hope there will be enough for the miners,” said Mrs. Wood. “We really made the pies for the men.”

“Let’s make some more!” cried Jessie. “It will be too bad if the men don’t get any.”

The girls soon rolled out more pies. The boys opened another can of cherries. It was lucky they did so. When the whistle blew at noon, the men came pouring out of the mine. They saw the new sign, and they all wanted hot pies. Soon all the pies were sold.

“We haven’t any left for us,” said Mike sadly.

“Yes, Mike, I saved one pie,” said his mother. “It was burned a little. I can cut it into seven pieces.”

“I like pie burned a little,” said Benny.

The family all sat around the long table to eat lunch. Maggie had sent up a large basket of sandwiches and salad and pink lemonade with ice in it. Everyone was very hungry.

“What do we do now?” asked Violet.

“We don’t make any more pies, that’s sure,” said Mrs. Wood. “We have done enough work for today.”

“Let’s have that race!” said Benny. “Let’s race the dogs!”

“O.K.,” said Mike. “Let’s race them down behind my old pink house. There is a big empty lot there. Plenty of room.”

Jessie wanted to wash the dishes first. She filled the dish pan with hot soap suds. Then one by one, she slid the plates in, and washed them with a sponge. “I just love to do this,” she said.

She rinsed them in hot water and set them in the drainer.

“We don’t have to wipe them,” she said. “They will dry themselves, because they are so hot.”

In a very short time, the children were all in the back lot with the dogs. They had two enormous bones from the store.

Henry said, “Now Mike, you hold Spotty, and Jessie will hold Watch.”

“Right on this line,” said Benny.

“Yes,” agreed Henry. “Then I will take one bone and go way down there by the fence. Ben, you take the other bone and come with me. Let the dogs smell the bones first.”

The dogs wanted the bones very much. They tried to get away and follow Henry, but Jessie and Mike held them tight.

“You count, Violet,” shouted Henry from the fence. “Say one, two, three, go, and then you let go of the dogs!”

When Henry and Benny reached the fence, they sat down on the ground with the bones. They held up the bones for the dogs to see.

“One, two, three, go!” shouted Violet. Away went the dogs. Watch went for Henry. Spotty went for Benny. They ran very fast. They were very even. Once Spotty got ahead. Then Watch got ahead. Then they were even again.

Suddenly Spotty seemed to turn. He slowed down. He skidded, like a car. Then he ran back, smelled around and began to dig.

“What’s the matter?” cried Henry, puzzled.

“What’s the matter with Spotty?” yelled Mike.

Spot went on digging. Then Watch stopped running. He trotted back to Spotty and began to dig, too.

Spotty began to growl. But he was not growling at Watch.

“Oh, isn’t that strange?” said Jessie. The children came up and watched the dogs. The dirt flew everywhere. Spotty went on growling.

“Something must be buried here,” said Henry. “Maybe a bone.”

“It can’t be a bone,” said Mike. “Spotty wouldn’t growl at a bone.”

“Well, whatever it is, it is buried very deep,” said Henry. “Just look at that hole.”

Then Spotty began to growl and bark at the same time. He made a great noise. He put his white teeth into something, and sat back with it growling. It was a man’s blue hat.

CHAPTER 12

An Empty Can

When Spot came up with the hat in his mouth, Benny cried, “The blue hat at last!”

“The man was afraid to wear it,” shouted Mike.

“This proves that the man was up to no good,” said Henry slowly.

“And he is the man in the picture!” shouted Mike again. “And this time I would know him for sure.”

“I think he knows that,” said Jessie. “We must tell Mr. Carter all about this.”

“Well, Jessie, I’m sure Mr. Carter knows it already,” said Benny.

Mike looked at Benny with a frown. The frown said, “Benny, don’t talk too much.”

Henry said, “Well, let’s give the dogs the bones and go up and see Mr. Carter.”

But they did not go. Watch suddenly began to dig again. Then the children noticed that the ground was soft. It did not take long. Watch did not growl, but soon he hit something hard. Henry leaned down and pulled out a big empty gasoline can.

“What do you know!” said Henry. “Lucky we found this. The man must have poured gasoline on the fire.”

“Spotty must have seen him come into the cellar,” said Mike. “That’s why he didn’t like him.”

They all walked slowly to the mine office. They went in and told Mr. Carter all about the race.

“Which dog won the race?” asked Mr. Carter, laughing.

“Neither one,” answered Mike. Then he told them about the dogs turning around to dig. He showed him the hat and the can.

“This is very, very important,” cried Mr. Carter. “You have done very well. It won’t be long now.”

Then Benny suddenly opened his mouth. He looked at Mike and shut it again. Mike nodded, smiling.

When the two boys went out of the office, Benny whispered to Mike, “You remember Mr. McCarthy? The night watchman? He said he started to go to the fire that night.”

“Yes,” said Mike. “And he came right back, because he saw a man running, and his duty was right by the mine.”

“That’s right,” said Benny. “You see what that means?”

“Oh, Ben,” cried Mike. “I bet that man was going to blow up the mine! And he set the fire to get everybody to go to the fire!”

“Right!” said Benny. “I think we ought to tell Mr. Carter right away. It’s neat!”

The boys went back alone. When they told this new story to Mr. Carter, he said, “Good for you, boys! It’s a fine idea. I shall go right to work. I’ll put two good men to work on it.”

The boys were very pleased with themselves.

“We are working with the FBI, really, Ben,” said Mike proudly.

“And I suppose the most important thing is not to talk,” added Benny.

“I suppose so,” said Mike sadly. “It’s too bad we like to talk, Ben.”

When the children came home to supper, Aunt Jane was delighted. She loved to hear them all talk. Maggie laughed and laughed at Mike and Benny, but they were careful what they said.

The children ate everything on the table. They ate hamburgers and rolls and tomatoes and beans and corn, and they drank many glasses of milk.

When everything was gone, Benny said, “Aunt Jane, did you know Mike could stand on his head?”

“No, I did not,” said Aunt Jane.

“He can stand on his head forever,” said Benny.

“Now, Benny, not forever,” said Henry.

“But you never saw him,” said Benny.

“I’ll show you!” cried Mike. He put his head on the rug, and slowly lifted himself in the air.

“Good!” cried Aunt Jane. “That’s wonderful, Mike.”

Spotty went over to his young master, lay down and put his head on his paws. He shut his eyes.

“Spotty thinks you are going to stay there forever, Mike,” said Jessie.

“I am,” said Mike. His voice sounded funny, upside down.

“That’s enough, old boy,” said Henry. “Come on down!”

“Oh, no,” cried Benny. “He can stand there forever, I tell you!”

“But I don’t want him to stand there forever,” said Aunt Jane. She could not help laughing. “It isn’t good for you, Mike!”

“Why not?” asked Mike. “I don’t mind.”

“Yes,” said Benny, nodding his head. “Mike can stay there all night, unless he goes to sleep.”

“I could go to sleep standing on my head,” said Mike, upside down.

“Oh, come on, Mike,” said Henry. “Get up! You’ve been there long enough!”

But Mike did not move. “I’m very comfortable,” he said. “You can all read a book. And I’ll just stand on my head and rest.”

At last Aunt Jane begged him to stop. “Please, Mike!” she said. “I believe you can stand there a long time.”

“All night?” asked Mike. “Do you believe I could stand there all night?”

“Yes! Yes!” cried Aunt Jane. “Only do come down! It’s a wonderful trick.”

So Mike stood on his feet at last, and fixed his hair. “I could have stayed there a lot longer,” he said.

Then Henry made Watch do his tricks. Watch sat up and begged. He “spoke.” He was a “dead” dog. He shook hands with everybody. Then Maggie gave him a big bone.

The boys did tricks all the evening. They had only two fights. Then Mike said suddenly, “Aunt Jane—” Then he stopped.

“Go on,” said Aunt Jane.

“Well, I ought to say, Miss Alden,” said Mike.

“No, you call me Aunt Jane. I wish you would.”

So Mike went on. “Aunt Jane, you gave me that newspaper, you know.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Well, you said you didn’t look at it. Will you look at it now?”

“Certainly I will, if you want me to,” said the lady.

“It’s just the picture,” said Mike, taking it out of his pocket. “Just look at my brother, Pat, and remember I was right here, standing beside him. But the picture cut me off.” Mike pointed. He gave the picture to Aunt Jane.

But Aunt Jane suddenly saw the picture of the short man. She frowned. Then she cried, “I know that man! He is one of the men who tried to buy my ranch. I’d know him anywhere!”

Henry was excited. “That was last summer. It was the time you were alone in the house. We all went to the store, and the men came while we were away. Are you sure, Aunt Jane?”

“Of course I’m sure!” cried Aunt Jane. “I never liked those three men. I’d know them anywhere.”

“Well, Mike, what do you think about that!” shouted Benny.

Just then the telephone rang. It was for Benny.

“Hello,” said Benny.

“This is Mr. Carter,” said the voice. “You can tell the rest about this. We found a lot of wires behind the mine. Someone was going to blow it up. Thanks to you and Mike, we got the wires out.”

“Good!” said Benny. “And listen to this! Aunt Jane knows the man in the picture. He is the man that just got out of jail, I bet.”

“What? What? I’ll be right down,” said Mr. Carter.

When he came down, he asked Aunt Jane many questions. At last he said, “We know the man, and we can prove it. I don’t think it will be very long now. We just have to find him.”

CHAPTER 13

The Party

Mr. Carter had said, “It won’t be long now.” But it was longer than he thought. Nobody saw the man. Benny and Mike were always watching, but they never saw him. There seemed to be no stranger in town.

The pie business was doing well. Every day Mrs. Wood and the girls made sixty pies. The boys sold them all.

“We are making money,” said Jessie. “People are very good to us. And the insurance helped.”

“Yes, my dear,” said Mrs. Wood. “I think I can earn a good living this way.”

“Yes,” said Violet. “We have so much practice, we can make them faster and faster!”

“It was a very good idea,” said Henry, “having Mike’s Mother’s Place. I never get tired of selling pies. The men are so glad to get them.”

Mrs. Wood said, “When you go back to school, I can hire two girls to help me. I know two nice girls.”

“Some day we ought to have a party,” said Jessie. “The people have been so kind.”

“A Pie Party!” cried Benny. “Give everybody a pie.”

Mrs. Wood laughed. “Not a whole pie, Benny,” she said. “We could give everybody a piece of pie, and some coffee.”

“And milk,” said Benny.

“Well, all right, milk,” agreed Mrs. Wood.

“Have it Saturday night, when all the men could come,” said Violet.

“Have it this Saturday night!” shouted Benny.

“We can ask Mr. Carter and Mr. Gardner,” said Henry.

“And we can make pies all day,” said Jessie, “and have the party in the evening.”

Everyone thought this was a fine idea. When they told Mr. Gardner he laughed. He said, “Go ahead. I’ll help you. It will surely be very lonesome here when you four Aldens go back to school in the Fall.”

Mrs. Wood and Jessie and Violet wore white. They made white caps.

They made white caps for the boys, too. They made big white aprons. The boys got a printing set and printed MIKE’S MOTHER’S PLACE on the front of their big aprons. They had many cans of milk and hot coffee.

Then the people began to come to the party. The two dogs ran around having a wonderful time. They loved everybody, and they were good dogs.

There were plenty of chairs, because Mr. Carter had sent them. He sent movies too.

He said, “I have some beautiful pictures of the South Seas. The people will like to see the banana trees and the monkeys.”

When it was dark, the movies began. The people sat in rows and watched the show. They clapped and laughed at the monkeys. Watch had a chair between Jessie and Benny. He watched the picture with the rest. Next came Mike and then Spot. Mr. Carter sat on the end near the door. All the windows were open and the door was open. Benny whispered to Mike, “This would be a good time for somebody to blow up the mine.”

“No, the watchmen are there,” Mike whispered.

Mike put his arm around Spotty’s neck. Everyone looked at the picture except Mike. He never knew why he looked out the door, but he did and Spotty looked too. He saw a man walking slowly by. Then suddenly he felt the hair on Spotty’s neck move. Spotty looked at the door and growled.

Mr. Carter heard Spotty growl. He jumped up, and dashed out of the door. Mike and Spotty dashed after him.

They all saw a man running in the darkness. But Spotty could run faster than the man. Soon he caught the man’s leg. He held him, growling, until Mr. Carter came. Mike never knew how strong Mr. Carter’s hands were.

The watchmen ran up and soon the man was taken away.

“The man in the blue hat!” cried Mike.

“Yes, Mike, I think it is,” said Mr. Carter. “Spotty knew him.”

“Spotty ran faster than he did in the race,” said Mike.

“I guess he did,” said Mr. Carter. “Now, Mike, don’t say a word. Just go back quietly.”

“Can’t I tell Ben?” asked Mike.

“Yes, if you whisper. Don’t let anyone else know about this. It will spoil the party.”

CHAPTER 14

Ben or Mike?

When Mike and Spotty went back, Mike whispered, “Ben, we just caught the man in the blue hat.”

“You did?” said Benny. “Did he have on a blue hat?”

“He didn’t have on any hat at all,” said Mike. “I told you he wouldn’t.”

“I wish you had told me before,” said Benny. “Watch and I would have come, too.”

“I had no time,” said Mike. “Sh-h-h, don’t say a word!”

Then the show was over. The lights went on. Everyone sat around eating pie and drinking coffee. Mr. Carter came back very quietly.

The boys looked at him but they did not say a word.

“It’s all over,” Mr. Carter whispered to Mike and Benny.

“Where is that man?” asked Mike.

“Well, he is in jail again. This time he will stay there,” said Mr. Carter. “That man was wanted in four states! You boys helped me a great deal. And best of all, you did not talk.”

“Wait till I tell Henry!” cried Benny. “He thinks I can’t stop talking.”

“I’ll tell him myself,” smiled Mr. Carter. “And Jessie will like to know, too. She’s a mother to you, Benny.”

“Yes, I know,” said Benny.

“She always keeps care of you, Ben,” said Mike.

“Takes care of me,” said Benny.

“Well, takes care, then,” agreed Mike. He didn’t even start to argue. Benny was quite surprised.

With everyone gone, the Woods, the Aldens and Mr. Carter were left alone in the big room.

Mr. Carter said, “Please sit down, all of you. I want to tell you something.”

When they were quiet, he said, “The hunt for the man in the blue hat is over. The man has been caught, and the mystery is solved.”

“Oh, how?” asked Aunt Jane in excitement.

Then Mr. Carter told her about the man. He told her about Spotty growling.

“You don’t need to growl any more, Spotty,” said Mr. Carter. He patted the dog’s smooth head. “The man has gone away.”

“Well, I am glad,” said Violet softly. “I know it was exciting for the boys, but I didn’t like it at all.”

“No,” said Mr. Carter, looking at Violet with a smile, “neither did I.”

“Well,” said Mike, “now it’s all over, it was my mystery, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t!” cried Benny. “It was mine!”

“My dog found the blue hat!” shouted Mike.

“But my dog helped him. And Watch found the tin can!” said Benny.

Then Mike suddenly stopped. He said, “Yes, Ben, I think it was your mystery after all. Because it was your mine.”

“Well,” said Benny slowly, “maybe it was yours, because it was your house that burned up.”

“Well, well!” said Henry, smiling at Mike. “How you have changed, Mike!”

“That’s what I say,” said Mrs. Wood. “Mike is getting to be a very nice, thoughtful boy. He doesn’t argue so much. I said it did him good to play with Benny.”

Henry laughed. “And you remember I said it was good for Benny to play with Mike! They are quite a pair.”

“Yes, boys, you are quite a pair,” said Mr. Carter. His eyes began to twinkle. “Let me give you something to think about. Maybe you two boys will be together next summer, too. But not here.”

“Where,” cried Jessie, “will we all be together?”

“Well, you children will all be together, but the rest is a secret.”

“Oh, a secret? Grandfather’s secret, I suppose,” said Henry. “He is always a little ahead of us.”

“Yes, I can tell you that much. You children and Mike, and your grandfather are included in the secret.”

“And Spotty and Watch?” asked Mike.

“Yes, Watch, but not Spotty.”

The children were thinking hard. They had no idea what it was all about.

Jessie asked the last question. “Will you be there, too, Mr. Carter?”

“No,” said Mr. Carter. He looked at Jessie with a funny little smile. “And I shall certainly be very sorry for myself.”

After that, Mr. Carter shook his head at every question. He would not tell another thing.

Then Mike said, “I’m not going to ask Mr. Carter any more. He don’t want to tell us, I mean doesn’t.”

“Well, well, you’re learning, Mike,” said Henry. “Maybe you’ll be a schoolteacher yet.”

“Oh, no, I won’t. I’m going to be an FBI man,” said Mike.

“Yes, and he may,” said Mr. Carter. “He and Benny talk all the time. But I want you all to know that they know when to keep still.”

Benny was thinking. Then he went over to Mr. Carter and put his hand on Mr. Carter’s shoulder. “I think this really was Mike’s mystery,” he said. “It was his dog that found the hat. And he would have found it if I had stayed home with Grandfather, and never come out here at all.”

“Good for you, Benny,” said everyone.

“What a kind boy you are, Benny,” said Mrs. Wood.

“That was good of you, Ben,” said Mike. “Thank you.”

Mike was so polite that everyone laughed. But it was Mike’s mystery forever and ever.

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1960, 1988 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0771-0

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Blue Bay Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by Dirk Gringhuis

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1.   Plans

2.   Getting Ready

3.   Ship’s School

4.   The Lifeboat

5.   Food

6.   Surprises

7.   Clues

8.   Cooking and Swimming

9.   Bread

10.   Trapped

11.   Peter

12.   Eight in the Family

13.   Sea Star

14.   Home

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Plans

One winter day Jessie Alden met her brother Henry in the hall.

She said, “Henry, I think Grandfather is up to something. Violet thinks so, too.”

“What do you mean, Jessie?” said Henry. “Do you mean business trouble?”

“Oh, no! Not at all!” said Jessie. “I think he is planning something. He jokes with Benny all the time. And he smiles to himself when he thinks no one is looking.”

Henry said, “I hope he is happy. What else have you noticed?”

“Last night Grandfather was at the telephone in the hall. When I came down the stairs, he stopped talking suddenly.

“Then the other day a strange man came to see him. He was a very big, strong man. I could hear his deep voice. He laughed all the time. Jolly, you know. Grandfather laughed a lot, too,” said Jessie.

“Maybe you are right,” said Henry. “I’ll keep my eyes open, too. He will tell us if there is anything he wants us to know.”

Henry did watch his grandfather after that. It was true. Mr. Alden seemed very happy. Once he started to say something. Then he stopped.

Then at last, one day in January, the same man came to call. Mr. Alden took him into the front room and shut the door. He took the stranger’s hat and coat and hung them up. He gave him an easy chair.

The four Aldens would have been surprised to hear what their grandfather then had to say to the stranger.

He said, “My grandchildren love to see new places. They love adventure. They love boats. Henry is the oldest, and he and Jessie go to high school. Violet comes next and Benny is the youngest.”

The man smiled. “So they all like adventure!” he said.

“Yes, but best of all, they like to make something of nothing. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, sir! I understand very well, Mr. Alden. I understand because I am just like that, too! I like to make a fine fish pole out of a stick, a string, and a bent pin. I like to make a plate out of a flat stone.”

“That’s exactly right, Lars!” cried Mr. Alden. “You do understand.”

Lars thought for a minute. Then he went on. “I think you want your grandchildren to have an exciting time, but you don’t want them in any real danger.”

“Right again!” said Mr. Alden. “Shake hands, Lars! And now I’ll call them. You can watch them when I tell them!”

Mr. Alden opened the door and shouted, “Benny! Get Henry and Jessie and Violet. All of you come down. I want to tell you something.”

The four Aldens were soon in the front room.

“Jessie, Violet, Henry, and Benny, this is Lars Larson,” said Mr. Alden smiling. “He is your friend from now on.”

Lars shook hands with them all. He said, patting the dog, as everyone else sat down, “And this is Watch. I know him, too.”

Grandfather said, “Now I am going to tell you about a plan.”

“I told you Grandfather was up to something,” said Jessie.

“Did you, my dear?” said Mr. Alden. “Well, we are all going on a trip. Lars is going with us. He has already been where we want to go so he can tell us all about it.”

“How are we going on the trip?” asked Benny. “On a plane? On a ship?”

“Both,” said Mr. Alden smiling.

“And where?” asked Benny.

“We are going to an island in the South Seas,” said his grandfather.

“Oh, boy!” cried Benny.

“I’ll tell you all about it,” said Mr. Alden. “I have to go to San Francisco on business and I thought it would be fun for you to go with me. Then suddenly one of my business friends said his company’s ship was going to Tahiti about that time, and did we want to go along? We would be the only passengers. So I said yes.”

“So we are going to Tahiti!” said Henry.

“No,” said Grandfather. “My friend told me about his first mate, Lars Larson.

“Three years ago, Lars was shipwrecked on a beautiful island in the South Seas. The ship hit a reef and two men were lost. One of them was Lars.”

“He doesn’t look lost,” said Benny.

“No, the two men landed on this beautiful island in a lifeboat. The others were picked up by other ships. Lars and the other man lived on the island until a ship came and picked them up, too.

“Lars has told me all about the beautiful island. It is very safe, for nobody lives there. There are no dangerous animals. There is water, enough food to live on, and Lars would like to go there again for a vacation.”

“And we’re going to this island?” asked Violet softly.

“Right!” said Mr. Alden. “The Tahiti ship will take us there, and come and get us on the way back.”

“Oh, what a wonderful idea!” cried Jessie. “We do love to see new places!”

“And we love ships!” said Henry. “You knew that, Grandfather.”

“Yes, and who else do you think is going?” asked Mr. Alden with a laugh.

“I don’t know,” said Jessie, laughing too. “We never could guess.”

“Mike!” said Grandfather.

“Mike!” yelled Benny. “Oh, boy! My old friend, Mike Wood. I would like that best of anything in the world. Mike and I could have a neat time. We’re just the same age!”

Henry said, “This is such a grand surprise. You say we are going to fly?”

“Yes, we will fly from here in New England to Chicago. We will pick up Mike there, and go on to San Francisco. Then we will take the ship.”

“But what about school?” asked Henry.

Benny shouted, “Oh, we stay out of school! That will be cool! You can tell our teachers that we are going to the South Seas, Grandfather.”

Henry said, “Everyone in your school will know about the South Seas in just one day, Ben.”

Mr. Alden laughed too. He said, “Let me tell you about school. I began this plan a long time ago. I talked with your teachers. They gave me all your lessons until you come back.”

“Do we have new schoolbooks?” asked Jessie.

Mr. Alden smiled and said, “Yes, the books are right on the table.”

He gave each one a paper book. Henry’s was dark green, with HENRY on the cover in gold. There was a violet book with VIOLET on the cover, a blue one for Jessie, and a bright red one for Benny.

“Better not look at them now,” said Mr. Alden. “They are very interesting. Every day on the boat you will study these books.”

“A Boat School, Benny,” said Jessie. She was afraid Benny would not like this.

“A Boat School!” cried Benny. “That will be fun, but we won’t have school on the island, will we, Lars?”

“There will be no time, my lad,” said Lars. “You’ll be busy finding something to eat. That will be school enough. How about a lesson right now? A boat is not a ship. A boat can be carried on a ship. Our ship is too big to be carried by another.”

“Oh, I get it,” said Benny. “Then we’ll call the school a Ship School.”

“Almost, Benny,” said Lars. “A sailor would say, Ship’s School.”

“That’s neat,” said Benny, “Ship’s School!”

“Is the island beautiful, Lars?” asked Jessie. “Palm trees and everything?”

“Oh, yes,” said Lars. “That’s why I want to see it again. I’m glad to spend my vacation there with you. We can go fishing, too.”

“Fishing!” said Henry. “Ben and I love to fish.”

“And Mike. Mike loves to fish, too,” said Benny. “Good old Mike! I can’t wait to see him. Grandfather, you know it’s awfully hard for me to wait for anything. When are we going?”

“Next week,” said Mr. Alden laughing. “I know you can’t ever wait. So that’s why I didn’t tell you before.”

“We’ll have to pack soon,” said Jessie.

“No, that’s another thing,” said Mr. Alden. He looked at Jessie, the perfect housekeeper. “You see you will need other clothes for the ship, and still others for the island. It is very hot there. So your Cousin Alice packed your summer clothes and they have gone already. You will find them on the ship.”

“What a grandfather!” said Henry.

“Can Watch go?” asked Benny.

“Sorry, my boy. Let me tell you about Watch,” began Mr. Alden.

“And now I know he can’t,” said Benny.

“No, he can’t,” said Mr. Alden. “Watch wouldn’t like the plane, or the boat, or the island, really. Mr. and Mrs. McGregor need a watchdog and we don’t. Mike can’t take Spot either.”

“That’s good,” said Benny. “No dogs at all. You can’t go, Watch.”

“Watch has gone to sleep on my foot,” said Lars.

“That means he likes you,” said Jessie.

“I’m glad of that,” said Lars. Watch lifted his head. Lars patted him and said, “Goodby. I have to go now, Watch.”

“Yes, Lars has work to do,” said Grandfather. “We will meet again in San Francisco.”

They were all sorry to see Lars go. He was already a good friend.

When Lars had gone, Henry looked at Jessie and Violet and said, “Aren’t we lucky to have a grandfather who takes us on a trip, and helps us go to school just the same?”

Jessie smiled at her brother. She said, “I was thinking the same thing. What a lot of surprises Grandfather thinks of!”

But nobody knew then what the biggest surprise was going to be.

Not even Grandfather. Not even Lars.

CHAPTER 2

Getting Ready

The next week soon came and the Alden family sat eating breakfast. Mr. Alden said, “You will not go to school today, for we leave tomorrow. You have many things to do.”

“What?” asked Benny.

Grandfather laughed. He said, “For one thing, Benny, look under your chair.”

Benny turned upside down and looked. “Oh, boy!” he cried. He pulled out a little bright red suitcase.

Henry looked under his chair. He pulled out a green suitcase just like Benny’s.

Jessie laughed. She knew what she would find. She did find a pretty blue suitcase, and Violet found a violet one.

“From you, Grandfather?” asked Violet.

“No, they are not,” said Mr. Alden. “Your cousins Alice and Joe sent them to you. You will each need a small bag for the trip.”

“What about old Mike?” said Benny.

“Well, old Mike has one too,” said Mr. Alden smiling. “His is dark red and yours is bright red. I hope you boys won’t fight over them.”

“Oh, no,” said Benny. “We never really fight. We just have fun. I can always tell mine because I like bright red. It is like the fire house.”

“You can tell yours because it says B. A. on it,” said Henry. “Probably Mike’s has M. W. on it.”

“Yes, that is so,” said Mr. Alden. “Today you can pack the bags. Put in only what you really need.”

“Our books for one thing,” said Jessie. “I can hardly wait to see what is in that new schoolbook.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Alden. He looked at Jessie and Henry. “Those books are really wonderful. I think your first lesson should be a letter to your teachers. You can say thank-you for all their hard work. Then later you can thank them again, when you see the books.”

“What about Mike’s writing, too?” asked Benny.

“Look here, old fellow!” cried Henry. “You worry too much about Mike!”

“I think he ought to do what we do,” said Benny.

Grandfather patted Benny’s shoulder. “You may be sure he will, Benny,” he said. “Mike and I have been writing letters to each other for a long time.”

“I thought I saw Mike’s writing!” said Benny. “I saw it just yesterday when I gave you the mail!”

“That’s right,” said Mr. Alden. “Mike is packing his red suitcase this very day. When we land at Chicago, Mike will be there waiting.”

It was very exciting to take the plane. It was a jet. Stairs were put in place against the airplane door.

The Aldens went up the stairs with their bags.

“The first time we ever went on a plane!” cried Benny to the stewardess.

She laughed. “You’ll like it,” she said.

Mr. Alden had been on a plane many times. He could answer all Benny’s questions. At last the plane rose in the air. They were off!

“I’ll bet old Mike will be scared!” said Benny.

“We’ll soon see,” said Mr. Alden. “We will see Mike in just a short while.”

When the plane started to go down, they all looked out of the windows. Suddenly Violet said, “There’s Mike with his dark red bag!”

“He doesn’t look scared at all,” said Jessie. “And do try to be nice to him, Benny.”

“Oh, of course I will,” said Benny. “He’ll love this jet! I’ll tell him it will say woosh! and we’ll be there.”

Mike was delighted to see Benny again. The two boys sat together and talked all the time. Mr. Alden had a seat to himself and slept.

“Did you get a schoolbook, Mike?” asked Benny.

“Yes, I have it right in my new bag. Your grandfather asked my teacher to write it for me. It has lots of pictures in it, too.”

“There! You looked, Mike! Grandfather said not to look until we were on the boat!”

“Careful, Ben!” said Henry.

“I didn’t look very much,” said Mike. “I just saw one picture of a big fish.”

“A fish!” said Benny. “What a schoolbook! I suppose mine is different.”

Soon they had lunch. Then the plane began to go down again.

“So many exciting things,” said Jessie. “We don’t have time to think.”

“You will have plenty of time when you get on the ship,” said Mr. Alden.

Jessie was right and Mr. Alden was right. They landed. They said good-by to the stewardess. Mr. Alden got a car to take them to the ship. The ship’s name was the Sea Star, and they were soon on it.

“Here we are!” said Mr. Alden. “And here is your friend, Lars!”

Lars was in uniform.

“You look different, Lars,” said Benny.

“Yes, my lad. I’m a sailor now. I’m still First Mate on this ship until we get to the island. This is Captain Brown.”

The Captain shook hands with them all. He seemed to know all their names.

“This ship is very big, isn’t it, Grandfather?” said Benny.

Grandfather laughed. “Yes,” he said. “It is not a passenger ship. It is a big freighter, but it’s very clean and very safe. And it will take us where we want to go. Not many ships can do that, for very few ships go to that island.”

“We want to go to a beautiful desert island, Captain,” said Mike.

“And that’s where we will take you,” said Captain Brown. “You are the only people on the ship, except the crew. Lars will show you where you eat and sleep.”

The boat rocked gently at the dock. Jessie and Violet had one very small room. Benny and Mike had another very small one. Henry and Mr. Alden each had a room to himself.

“We can take only eight people,” said Lars. “The cargo takes up a lot of room on the ship.” There was still room on deck for seven long chairs.

Soon there were six people in the chairs. The men shouted and threw the ropes over on the deck. The freighter began to move.

“Here we go!” sang Benny and Mike together.

They were chugging under the beautiful Golden Gate bridge into the great Pacific Ocean!

CHAPTER 3

Ship’s School

Sea gulls flew after the boat, screaming. The cook threw out food for them. They screamed louder and louder. More and more came, until there were hundreds.

“Aren’t they beautiful!” cried Jessie. She went over to look. A big gull landed on the rail near her. “They are such a lovely gray color.”

“How long will this trip be, Captain?” asked Henry.

“About two weeks,” said Captain Brown. “Then we’ll put the family off at the island, and the Sea Star will go on to Tahiti.”

“Who is the family?” asked Mike. “Am I in the family?”

“Of course,” said Benny. “I wouldn’t go without you, would I?”

“Then the Sea Star will come back for us,” Henry went on.

“Right. You will be alone on the island with Lars for two or three weeks. I understand that’s what you want?”

“Yes,” said Jessie. “We love to live like that. We like to find our own food and dishes, and we love to explore.”

The sunset came then. It was beautiful. The whole sky was red and pink and violet. “We never saw anything like that at home,” Violet said.

It was beautiful after the sun went down. The sky was black, but the stars were wonderful.

Benny said, “I never really saw the stars before. I didn’t know they were so bright.”

The Captain said, “You can see the same stars here that you see at home. Later you will see stars you never saw before. I will show you the Southern Cross.”

Everyone was tired. They slept well all night. The next morning after breakfast a bell rang.

“What’s that?” asked Mike. “It sounds like a school bell!”

“I think it is a school bell,” said Henry laughing. “Look at Grandfather. He is ringing it.”

Mr. Alden said, “School will begin at nine o’clock every day. You can sit in your chairs and get your lessons. You will find things you need in this box.”

In the box were pens, pencils, paints and all kinds of paper.

Jessie opened her blue book. “Well, well!” she said. “Here is Lesson One about gulls and stars and fish!”

“That’s the picture I saw!” cried Mike. “It’s a flying fish.”

Soon everyone was busy reading. After a while Violet got up. She took a box of paints out of the box. She began painting a picture of a sea gull. Henry soon began making a picture of the Big Dipper in a black sky. The boys drew pictures of flying fish.

“A whale!” called Lars. Everyone rushed to the rail.

“It is very near!” shouted Mike. “Look at that tail!”

“There he goes, spouting water!” said Henry. A lot of water rose in the air. Then came the porpoises.

“There are about two hundred of them,” said Lars. “They swim in a long line, like that, every day. They go over to one beach to eat fish and come back every night.”

“Just see them roll around!” said Mike. “Are they round?”

“No. You’ll find a picture of them in your book,” said Mr. Alden. “I think that is in Lesson Two.”

So it was every minute. The children saw something new and then they always found a picture of it in their books.

“I told you they were wonderful books,” said Grandfather. “There is a lesson about the radio room. You will like that. Bill in the radio room will show you the radar tomorrow.”

The next day the children saw every part of the ship. They knew every sailor on the Sea Star. They had school every day.

One morning the family could not see land any more. The bell rang for Ship’s School and soon the five children were studying.

Henry went to the rail and looked down.

“Now this is interesting!” he cried. “Come and look!”

They all saw a long white bag. The ship was pulling it through the water.

“What is that thing?” asked Mike.

“It is a piece of cloth made into a net,” said Henry. “It catches plankton.”

“What is plankton?” asked Mike.

“It is made up of tiny, tiny animals and fish eggs and seaweed,” said Henry. “Some of it is too small to see. But whales live on it.”

Jessie said, “I’ve heard about it. I heard that we could feed the whole world on plankton if we wanted to.”

“Why don’t we?” asked Benny.

“People don’t like it,” said Jessie.

Mike said, “Maybe somebody will find how to make it taste good. Maybe I will when I grow up.”

“Good old Mike!” said Benny. “Maybe you will. I’d like to see what is in that net.”

The children looked up. Lars was coming. He said, “If you come below, we will pull in the net.”

“Can we see the things inside?” asked Mike.

“Some of them,” said Lars, “but some are too small to see. We have a microscope, which is fun to look into.”

“Isn’t this exciting!” cried Mike. He ran down the stairs.

A sailor had pulled in the net. He let the plankton run out into a big tub. The plankton was very bright colored. In the dark ship, it shone like red fire.

“Beautiful!” said Violet.

“How awful it smells!” said Mike.

“Just a good old fish smell,” said Benny. “You’ll have to learn to like fish, Mike.”

“Oh, there’s a tiny crab!” cried Mike. “I can see right through him!”

“And that’s a tiny little fish!” cried Violet. “And pink seaweed. And green seaweed.”

Mr. Alden had the microscope. He put it on the table. Then he gave Henry a piece of glass. “Get some of the plankton on that glass,” he said.

It was exciting when the glass went under the microscope. Henry had the first look. “After all, it’s Henry’s lesson,” said Benny.

They took turns. There were many tiny eggs and weeds and fish that they could not see without the microscope.

Mike said, “So tiny! Tiny animals. Tiny everything. And to think this is what whales eat! They grow big enough!”

Benny said, “And now we all know Henry’s lesson. That’s Grandfather for you. He thought up this Ship’s School.”

The next day they all learned Violet’s lesson. At first the school was very quiet. All were studying.

Violet surprised them. She was excited about something. She said, “Everyone listen to this! You’ve all heard of Captain Cook?”

“Oh, yes,” said Mike. “He was the man who found hundreds of islands on his sea trips.”

“Yes, Mike,” said Violet. “That’s what I thought. I mean I thought it was all he did. I can hardly tell you!”

“Take it easy, Violet!” called Henry. “You’ve got lots of time. What else did your Captain Cook do?”

“Thanks, Henry! It was really more important than finding islands. He found Vitamin C long before anyone knew what it was. Listen to this! ‘On every long sea trip, more than half of every crew died of scurvy. Captain Cook thought they had scurvy because they had nothing to eat but salted meat and crackers. So he made every sailor eat sauerkraut and onions every day! They also had to eat a kind of syrup made of lemons and oranges.’ “

“That wouldn’t be too bad,” said Benny.

“No, but some sailors didn’t like sauerkraut or onions or lemons. And still they had to eat them. You see they got Vitamin C without knowing it. Even Captain Cook didn’t know what Vitamin C was. He just knew people didn’t have scurvy if they ate sauerkraut and oranges.”

“I suppose that’s why we drink orange juice every day,” said Mike.

“Exactly right, Mike!” cried Violet. “Then when Captain Cook got home after three years at sea, he had lost only one man!”

“I bet that man wouldn’t eat his sauerkraut!” said Benny.

“I bet so, too,” said Mike.

Henry and Jessie looked at Violet. They both were thinking, “I never heard Violet talk so much.”

But Violet went right on. “Then another thing!” she said. “Once he was sailing through cakes of ice, very far south. And he found that when he melted a cake of ice, it was fresh water!”

“That’s funny!” said Henry. “I always thought salt water would freeze into salt ice. Then it would melt back into salt water!”

“It doesn’t, though!” said Violet laughing. “Everyone else thought so, too. They didn’t even try. Oh, Captain Cook was such a very smart man, and so brave! You all ought to read my book!”

“I think so too, my dear,” said Mr. Alden. “I’d like to read it myself.”

Day after day the Sea Star went along through the purple sea. It had been going for almost two weeks.

Mike said, “My, I’m hot, but I like it hot.”

Lars said, “We are almost there, Mr. Mike. I think we had better get ready for our island.”

CHAPTER 4

The Lifeboat

How do we get ready, Lars?” asked Benny, as they stood on the deck.

“First, we start to pack the biggest lifeboat,” said Lars.

“We love to do things like that!” said Jessie. Her eyes were very bright. “What do we pack?”

“We must take a lot of food,” said Lars. “Then we’ll not have to live on bananas.”

“Bananas!” cried Benny. “I’d like to live on bananas!”

“Believe me, you could,” said Lars smiling. “They grow wild. Just put up your hand and pick a banana whenever you want one.”

“Oh, boy!” said Mike. “Come on, let’s go!”

Mr. Alden looked at the children. Then he said, “Lars, you tell us all exactly what to do. You be the boss.”

“Very good,” said Lars. “I’ll do that. Be sure to take shoes, and not little thin ones. You’ll be walking over sharp stones and shells. Don’t take any best clothes, but sport clothes. I’ll pack the food we need.”

“Oh, Lars, let me pack the food with you!” begged Mike.

“And me too,” shouted Benny. “It won’t take a minute to pack my clothes.”

“All right, all of you can help. Come to the galley when you are ready.”

Captain Brown laughed. “Don’t forget seven blankets,” he said.

“Is it very cold on the island?” asked Violet.

“No, it is very hot,” said the Captain. “You sleep on top of the blankets.”

Each one went to pack his small bag. Then they ran to the galley.

“Isn’t it exciting?” said Mike. “I think this is nice!”

“I hope it will be,” said Lars. “Now here is some dry milk.”

He gave Mike a lot of little boxes to put in the big box.

“Let’s have some beans, Lars,” said Benny. “We all like beans.”

“Just what I was going to say,” said Lars. He was down on the floor beside the box. “Beans will do instead of bread. We can’t take any bread.”

“I don’t like bread very well anyway,” said Mike.

“Ho-ho!” said Benny. “I’ve seen you eat ten slices of bread at a time.”

“And you, too!” cried Mike.

“Careful, boys!” said Henry. “Have a good time, but don’t fight.”

Jessie looked over the cans and boxes. “Let’s take some cereal,” she said. “That will last a few days.”

“Here is some sea biscuit,” said Lars. He gave Mike two tin boxes.

“Sea biscuit?” said Mike looking at the picture on the box. “I don’t call those sea biscuit. I call them crackers.”

“Even so, Mr. Mike, those are called sea biscuit,” said Lars.

“O.K.,” said Mike. “You call them sea biscuit, and I’ll call them crackers. Then I will know what I mean.”

“Matches,” said Henry quietly. He put some in the big box.

“Good!” said Lars. “We will need a fire, because we will catch fish and cook them.”

“We will need dishes,” said Jessie.

“Not too many,” said Lars. “We can use leaves for plates. But take a big spoon and some knives. A hatchet, too, to cut trees.”

At last the big box was ready. The children went back to their deck chairs.

“Watch, now,” said Lars. We will soon see the island. Look out there, over the rail. It will look like nothing at first.”

The children watched. For a long time they saw nothing but blue sea.

Lars saw the island first, but he said nothing. He looked at all the children to see who saw it first. Suddenly Henry went to the rail. “Is that land, Lars, or is it nothing?” he asked.

“It is land,” said Lars smiling. “Soon we will see the green palm trees and the big round bay. I told you it looked like nothing at first.”

Everyone went to the rail and watched the green spot. An hour or so later, they could see white sand around the edge. They could see the waves on the beach.

The Sea Star came nearer and nearer. They could see big palm trees bending over the water. The ship stopped. The crew began to let the lifeboat down into the water. They put in the seven blankets and the big box. The family and four sailors went down a ladder into the lifeboat. They all sat down.

Another lifeboat was fastened to their boat for the sailors’ return to the ship.

Lars said to Henry, “You sit on this seat and watch how I use the rudder.”

“All right, sir,” said Henry.

Captain Brown called, “You can expect us in two or three weeks. But don’t worry if we are late.”

“I hope you will be late,” said Mike. “It will be so much fun on the island that we won’t want to leave.”

“I hope so,” said the Captain, laughing. “And you all mind Lars. He knows best.”

The men untied the rope, and the lifeboats started out on the big ocean. The boat tipped and rocked.

“Should we be afraid, Lars?” asked Violet.

“No, Miss Violet, not afraid, but we are all going to get very wet. Wet from head to foot.”

“All right,” said Benny. “But why will we get wet? Do you think we’ll fall out of the boat?”

“No,” said Lars. “You won’t if you sit still. But when we land, you will all have to help. You will have to step out into the water.”

Jessie said, “That will be all right, Lars. All our clothes will dry in a short time in this heat.”

The family looked back at the Sea Star. It was getting farther and farther away. They all waved at Captain Brown. Then Henry saw that Violet had a large cloth bag in her hand.

“What’s in that big bag, Violet?” he asked.

“A secret,” said Violet.

“Oh, tell us!” said Benny.

“Oh, no, Benny,” said Violet. “That is what a secret is. You don’t tell anybody.”

“Don’t bother her, Ben,” said Mike. “Violet can have a secret if she wants to. I don’t even want to know, myself.”

Then they all looked at the island. It came nearer and nearer. There were great rocks on one side. Palm trees were hanging over the edge. All around the water was blue, blue.

“I never saw such a lovely blue!” cried Jessie.

“You never will,” said Lars. “They say this is the bluest bay in the world. We call it Blue Bay. Now take off your shoes and throw them in the middle of the boat. Be ready to jump out and pull the boat up on the sand!”

The waves were high now. Every wave took the boat nearer shore. Lars gave a last pull on the oars. “Now!” he shouted.

Everyone jumped over the side into the water. Mr. Alden surprised them all. He helped on the heavy end of the boat. Lars said, “Now!” The sailors gave a great pull as everyone helped. The boat slid up on the sand.

“Wonderful!” said Lars. “That was a fine landing!”

They were all soaking wet.

“Not for long,” said Benny. “We’ll be dry in no time. The sun is so hot.”

“I don’t want to get dry,” said Mike. “I like to go in and out of the water.”

The sailors climbed into the other boat and rowed back to the ship.

“Come here a minute,” said Lars. “Benny, Mike and everyone come here!” He did not smile. When everyone was there, he said, “You must not go into this water any time you like.”

“I know why,” said Henry. “Sharks!”

“Right!” said Lars. “I suppose you have read about them.” He was surprised. “I will show you a fine place later, but we must get right to work. Now first thing! We must make a place to sleep tonight. We haven’t much time.”

The family stood on the beautiful white sand. They looked all around.

“What a beautiful place!” said Violet softly.

There were palm trees as far as they could see. Lovely flowers grew all over the trees. The flowers were bright red and yellow and white. The children saw trees and flowers and butterflies. But Lars and Mr. Alden saw banana trees, breadfruit trees and coconuts. As they looked, a great flock of blue birds rose in the air. Their big bills were bright orange. They did not make a sound.

“They can’t sing,” said Lars. “They are just pretty.”

Then suddenly Mike shouted as loud as he could, “Two houses! Look! Two houses!”

CHAPTER 5

Food

At Mike’s loud voice, everyone looked ahead. There were two old huts. The family started to walk toward them.

Mike got there first. “All broken down,” he said. “No good after all.”

Lars said, “Yes, they are broken down, Mike. But I wouldn’t say they were no good.”

“They are certainly better than nothing,” said Mr. Alden. “Remember, we must have something to sleep in this very night. We have no time to rebuild the huts.”

The old huts were side by side and made of bamboo and sugar cane. There were holes in the roof and sides. Lars went up to the first one and shook it. It did not fall down.

“I hoped these were still here,” said Lars. “We can fix them before any rain comes, Mr. Alden. And we may not be here when it rains.”

“How can you be sure about rain?” asked Henry. “It may rain any minute.”

“Right. It may. I must work on the roofs tomorrow. We’ll just fix the floors for tonight.”

“How?” asked Mike.

“Do you see those tall ferns?” Lars pointed. “Get all you can, and bring them here.”

The whole family began to pick the huge ferns.

Mike said, “They smell good, don’t they, Ben?”

“Yes, delicious!” said Benny. “We can smell them all night.”

Mike could hardly walk with his load. He threw them down in front of the first hut. “Now what?” he asked.

“Lay them all over the floor,” said Lars. “They must be two deep. Then get some more.”

They all worked very hard, but it was fun. They finished one hut and started the other. Soon that was done, too. Five blankets were put in the first hut. Two blankets were put in the other.

“That hut is for the girls,” said Mr. Alden. “They have a whole hut all to themselves.”

At last Mike stood still. He said, “Lars, I really thought the first thing would be finding something for us to eat, not picking so many ferns.”

“Hungry, Mike?” asked Henry laughing. “Now you’ve got something there, brother! I am hungry as a bear. Where are those bananas, Lars?”

“Look over your head,” said Lars.

“I see nothing but leaves,” said Henry. “But what enormous leaves! They are as big as I am.”

Lars smiled. “The bananas are behind those leaves,” he said. “Just give me the hatchet.” Lars was soon out of sight. When he came back he had a huge bunch of yellow bananas.

“Eat only one now,” he said to the boys. “Then we’ll start supper.”

“Oh, what are we going to have?” asked Jessie. “I didn’t know I was so hungry.”

“Let’s open the canned meat,” said Mike.

“Oh, no,” said Benny. “Let’s save the meat.”

“Why?” asked Mike. “Save it for what?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Benny. “Let’s have beans.” He looked at Lars.

“Yes, Mr. Mike,” said Lars, “I think we had better have the beans.” He winked and smiled at Benny.

“Why?” asked Mike.

“Because I like beans better,” said Lars, smiling.

Benny and Lars were the only ones who saw the joke. They knew that there were three cans of meat and twenty cans of beans.

“All right, Lars,” said Mike. “Certainly we will have beans if you like them better.”

“Good,” said Lars. “We must have a fire for beans.” He looked at Benny and laughed.

“Do you want a lot of dry sticks, Lars?” asked Henry.

“Exactly right,” said Lars, much pleased. “Bring them down to the beach.”

Lars and Violet found some flat stones on the beach. First, Lars dug a hole in the sand. Then they built a little fireplace with the stones. Lars put on the dry sticks and lit a match. Soon the fire blazed high.

“Aren’t you glad Henry remembered the matches?” asked Benny. He was kneeling on the sand, watching.

“Yes, we are very lucky,” said Lars. “Now that’s going to be a fine fire soon.”

The fire burned well. Everyone put on sticks.

“Open the beans, Henry!” cried Lars. “Two big cans.”

“Three cans!” shouted Mike. “I can eat one can all by myself.”

“Think of tomorrow, Mike,” said Jessie.

“No, Jessie! We can think of something else tomorrow,” said Mike.

So Henry opened three cans of baked beans. Lars took the biggest pan with a handle. He put the beans in it and put it over the fire.

“Stir that,” he said to Mike. “It will keep you busy. You sit and smell the beans.” He gave Mike a long spoon.

“Now we need plates,” said Jessie.

“Maybe you could find something,” said Lars.

“I know,” said Jessie suddenly. “Come on, Violet!” The two girls ran down the beach. Soon they came back with seven large shells.

“We washed them in salt water,” said Violet. “And here are some spoons.” She showed Lars seven long razor clam shells.

“Good,” said Lars. “We can eat beans with them anyway.”

“Not soup, though,” said Mike.

“No, not soup,” said Lars. “I’ll tell you what would be fun. Everyone can make a spoon for himself. You can take my knife.”

“I have a knife,” said Henry.

“I have a knife!” said Benny.

“And me too!” shouted Mike.

“Now, don’t forget me,” said Mr. Alden. “So have I.”

Violet laughed. She said, “Jessie and I will take your knife, Lars. But I am not a very good spoon maker.”

“I’ll make you one, Violet,” said Benny kindly. “You might cut yourself.”

“These beans are hot!” called Mike. “I’m going to take them off the fire.”

Lars took the big spoon. He filled the seven shells. The family began to eat as if they were starved.

“Good,” said Benny. “What else can we eat?”

“Milk and more bananas,” said Lars. “Not a very good meal, but we can’t have everything on a far-off island.”

“I think it is a very good meal, Lars,” said Benny.

Jessie said, “Violet and I found a fine dish-washing place.” She ate the rest of her beans and began to eat a banana. “If you all wash your own shells, it won’t be much work.”

After supper the whole family went down the beach to the little sea pool.

Benny said, “No sharks can get in here, Lars. There are too many rocks. Right?”

“Right,” said Lars.

Jessie said, “Now look down into the water. The water here is just like air. It’s so clear, you can see the sand and all those funny things.”

“Shells and crabs and colored fish,” said Benny.

“That water is four feet deep in these pools,” said Lars. “And see how clear it is. Jessie is right. It is just like air.”

“Oh, look at that big fish swimming in!” cried Benny.

“That’s a grouper,” said Lars. “They get caught in these pools at low tide.”

“Can’t they ever get out?” asked Mike.

“Not till high tide,” said Lars. “Low tide is the time to catch them.”

“Here’s where we go fishing then,” said Henry.

“That’s right,” said Lars. “We can make a good fish stew with grouper and dry milk.”

Jessie shook the water out of her shell. She looked at Mike. He was very quiet. “Time we went to bed,” she said. “Mike can hardly keep his eyes open.”

“Yes, I can, too, Jessie,” said Mike in a loud voice, but he walked very slowly. When he reached the first house, he went in and curled up on his blanket like a little dog. Benny did the same.

Mr. Alden laughed and said, “Good night, girls!”

“Yell if you want anything,” said Lars. “Remember now!”

Jessie and Violet curled up on their blankets in their own little house.

The whole family slept till morning.

CHAPTER 6

Surprises

Mr. Alden woke first. He lay very still. He thought to himself, “Breakfast will be strange for me. No coffee. I must learn to get along without my morning coffee.” Then he went to sleep again.

Soon he was awake. He sat up and looked around. He was alone. Lars was gone, and the boys were gone. Then Mr. Alden smelled something. He got up at once and went to the door.

Down on the beach Lars had a fire. Henry and Jessie and the two boys were kneeling down putting on sticks. Violet sat on a rock with a smile on her face. And what was on the fire? A coffeepot!

Mr. Alden walked down to the beach as fast as he could. Everyone began to laugh.

Benny shouted, “Surprise! Surprise! Aren’t you surprised, Grandfather?”

“I never was so surprised in my whole life!” cried Mr. Alden. “And am I delighted to have my coffee!”

“So am I,” said Lars. He winked at Mr. Alden. “I was going to give it up too.”

Mr. Alden sat down on a rock. “Now which of you thought of my breakfast coffee? I’m going to guess.”

Mike put his hand on Mr. Alden’s knee. “You will guess right the first time,” he said.

“Violet,” guessed Mr. Alden. “That was her secret. The coffee and the coffeepot were in the big bag.”

“Right!” said everyone except Violet, but she looked very happy.

Suddenly Benny said, “I see you opened the box of sea biscuit, Mike.”

“I did not!” cried Mike. “I never touched the sea biscuit!”

“You didn’t? Well, somebody did,” said Benny.

“I noticed that, too,” said Lars. He looked at all the children. “The box was open this morning.”

They all said they had not opened it.

“Some of the crackers were gone,” said Lars. He looked hard at Mike.

“I didn’t touch the box, Lars,” cried Mike. “Honest! Really. I don’t like crackers too much. And I’d tell you if I wanted something to eat.”

“Yes, you would, Mike,” said Violet kindly.

But Lars still looked at Mike.

Henry looked at Benny. “Tell me, Benny, how did you know the box was open?”

“I couldn’t have toast for breakfast,” said Benny, “and I thought maybe crackers would be good. So then I saw the box was open.”

“I never opened it!” shouted Mike.

“I know you didn’t, Mike,” Benny went on. “But Lars, you don’t know Mike as well as I do. He would never take anything like that—never, never, never, never—”

“That’s enough nevers, Ben,” said Henry looking up. “We believe you.”

“Lars doesn’t,” said Benny.

“No,” said Henry. “But he will very soon. He doesn’t know any of us too well, remember!”

Lars said to Mike, “I know you better now. They all stand up for you, so I know you didn’t take the crackers.”

“Good!” said Mike. “Thank you, Lars. I really, really didn’t.”

“Let’s not talk about it any more,” said Henry. “What are we going to do today, Lars?”

“We ought to explore the island,” said Lars. “I want you to see the spring where the water comes from. Be careful of the coconuts. They may fall on your head. If you hear one coming from the trees, you must get out from under fast.”

Soon the shells and cups and coffeepot were washed in the ocean. There were no beds to make. So they all followed Lars into the dark, green woods where the ferns grew. It was a hard walk, and after a while Mr. Alden sat down on a rock to rest. He said, “You go along. I’ll stay here till you come back.”

“Won’t you be lonesome, Grandfather?” asked Violet. “I’ll stay with you.”

“No, my dear,” said Mr. Alden. He smiled at Violet. “You go along with the others. I’ll be all right.”

So they all climbed over the rocks and through the bushes until Henry said, “Listen! Water!”

Then they came to the spring. It was like a big round bowl in a rock. It was full of clear, cold water. The water came from a white waterfall which filled the bowl. Then it flowed over in another waterfall. Benny climbed above it to sit down. He found himself sitting on a beautiful curved rock covered with moss.

“Oh,” said Violet, “what a beautiful big rock. Isn’t it funny? How could it come here all by itself? I don’t see another rock anywhere around that’s like it.”

“Well,” said Benny, “it looks like a great big enormous nose!”

Lars looked at it and said, “Benny, I think it is a nose. I never noticed it when I was here before. But I think it is part of an old statue. The people on Easter Island made hundreds of enormous statues. Nobody knows why they made so many. This looks like the noses on their statues.”

“It fell down,” said Benny. It must be very big. This nose is twice as long as I am. Let’s look for a mouth and some eyes.”

Henry called, “I think the eyes are over here!”

“My, what a big statue!” said Mike. “Maybe a hundred feet long.”

“Maybe,” said Jessie. “I wonder who made it.”

“I don’t know,” said Lars. “But this was a temple. You may be sure of that.”

“Long, long ago,” said Benny. “Let’s have a drink out of the waterfall.”

Benny drank first and then he climbed down from the big nose. As he did so, he saw a shell. He did not say a word. But he thought to himself, “What a funny place for a big shell. And it is clean, too. It looks like a water cup.”

Benny left the shell right where it was. He said, “It’s beside the white stone. I’ll remember.”

Just then he saw Jessie looking up into the tall trees. He looked up, too. The wind was not blowing at all, but one tree was moving. There was a crash, and down came a coconut.

“That’s funny! Here’s a coconut!” said Lars. “It isn’t even ripe.”

He looked up but he saw nothing.

He began, “Jessie, you know—” Then he stopped.

“What were you going to say, Lars?” asked Violet softly.

Lars looked at the gentle little girl. He did not want to frighten her. So he said, “Nothing, I guess. I was so surprised to see a coconut fall here. It is so dark in here that the coconuts are not ripe yet.”

Mike looked at Benny. Benny looked at Mike. They both thought Lars was going to say something else. But they did not say a word. They did not want to frighten Violet, either.

“We’ll go back,” said Lars. “It is shorter walking on the sand than through the woods. Then we’ll soon see your grandfather.”

They did find it easier to walk on the hard sand. Sometimes there were piles of rocks, but it was fun to climb over them, too.

“There is another sea pool,” said Henry. He bent over and looked in.

“Oh, look!” cried Benny. “Do look at this!” He was sitting on a rock looking down into the clear water.

Everyone jumped over the rocks and looked.

“What do you know!” said Henry.

The pool was filled with white sand under the clear water. But on the sand was a pattern of stones. In the middle was a beautiful white stone, perfectly round. There was a border of red stones around this. Four big pink stones were laid on the four sides. Between the pink stones were black ones. And around the edge was a beautiful border of three colors. These stones were red, white and blue, red, white and blue!

For a minute nobody spoke. And then it all came out. Benny said it. “There’s a mystery here! That didn’t just happen for nothing! Somebody made it!”

So at last everyone was thinking the same thing, “Somebody is on this island.”

CHAPTER 7

Clues

The next day at breakfast Jessie said, “Lars, how about that fish stew today?”

“For Grandfather,” said Henry. “He loves fish stew.”

“So do I,” said Mike. “All but the fish.”

“You are funny, Mike!” said Benny. “What do you like, if you don’t like the fish?”

“Well, I like the milk, and I like the crackers,” said Mike.

Lars smiled at Mike. He said, “This will be the day to eat the sea biscuit. Today we’ll call them crackers.”

Soon they all walked down the beach to wash their cups and shells. Benny and Mike ran around picking up colored stones and shells. Lars carried the tin box with the fish lines.

“Look at that great big shell sticking up,” said Mike. “Come on, Ben, help me get it out.” The boys dug the sand away with their hands.

“Oh, it’s enormous, Henry!” cried Benny. “It’s as big as a washtub.”

Henry came back to look. “Lars!” he called. “It is as big as a washtub! What is it?”

But Mr. Alden was there first. “It’s a turtle shell,” he said.

“A turtle!” cried Mike. “I never saw a turtle as big as this.”

“I have,” said Lars. “That turtle must have weighed 300 pounds when it was alive. He was a big fellow. They grow big around here.”

“Let’s use it for a stew kettle!” said Mike.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” said Violet. “We find a kettle the very day we make fish stew.”

The boys went on digging. At last they took hold of the shell and pulled it out. It was full of wet sand.

“Let’s wash my shell,” said Mike.

“Oho! So it’s your shell, Mike!” said Henry. “Well, I guess it is yours. You found it.”

“We can all use it,” said Mike. “I just mean I saw it first.”

They all helped carry the shell down to the water. It was very heavy.

“Let’s put it down here,” said Jessie. “Let the waves wash over it.”

They did so. And suddenly Benny shouted, “Look at it! Look at it!”

Violet called in excitement, “Come here, Grandfather! Look at Mike’s shell!”

Lars said, “Look at that turtle’s back, Mr. Alden, if you please!”

And there on the turtle’s shell was a pattern. It was cut in the shell. It was exactly like the pattern of stones in the sea pool!

“Just exactly the same!” cried Benny, sitting down suddenly. “A big round circle in the middle and everything.”

Jessie said slowly, “And now we know somebody lives here. This shell may be old, but the pattern in the sea pool is very new, because the tide would have washed it out to sea.”

“Too bad we have to use this for a kettle,” said Lars. “It is too pretty.”

“Oh, no!” cried Mike. “I want my shell to be a kettle. I’ll always remember that I found our fish stew kettle.”

“I think your turtle must have died, Mike,” said Henry. “And then someone found the shell and made that pattern with a knife.”

“Could be,” said Lars.

“It could be the same one who made the pattern with the stones,” said Jessie.

“You are right. Someone is here,” said Mr. Alden. “But we must get on with our fishing, Lars. Let’s pull this shell up on the beach. We can get it on our way back.”

“Suppose we don’t catch any fish,” said Henry.

“Oh, we will! I know many places,” said Lars. “Don’t worry about that.”

Soon they reached the pool. Lars said, “Take off your shoes and walk right in. Benny is right that no sharks can get in here. Sit on the big rocks. I’ll give you each a fish line in a minute.”

But it turned out that Lars had only four fish lines.

“It’s just as well,” said Mr. Alden. “You girls sit on the rocks and watch.”

“Don’t bother with these small fish,” said Lars. “Wait for a grouper.”

“There’s a grouper in the pool now,” said Violet. “He’s a big one. He should be easy to catch.”

Henry and Mike moved over near Violet. They let their lines down beside the fish. He lay still. Henry moved his line. Mike moved his, but the big fish did not bite.

“Well, let me try, too,” said Lars. “Come on, Benny, we’ll all try to catch him.”

So there were four people trying to catch one fish. He began to swim slowly away, but he did not take the hook in his mouth.

“What do you know!” said Henry.

“Humph!” said Lars.

They waited ten minutes. They pulled the lines up and let them down again. Suddenly the fish turned and took hold of Henry’s hook. Then he began to throw himself around. Henry pulled him in.

“Don’t lose him now!” yelled Benny. “We waited long enough.”

“He will do,” said Lars. “He will make a big stew. We can catch more later.”

They walked home. Henry carried the big fish on a stick. The children pulled the turtle shell as far as the fireplace and sat down. They waited to see what Lars would do next.

“First I’ll clean the fish,” said Lars. “He’s dead now. I’ll take off his head and his tail. And then I will cut him down the backbone.”

“You take out his insides, don’t you?” said Benny. “And throw them away.”

“Right,” said Lars. “There they go. Hello! Wait a minute! What’s this?”

Lars took back the fish’s stomach and pulled out a white button!

“Now will you tell me where that fish got a button!” he said.

“Somebody lost a button,” said Jessie. “That’s sure. Let me see it.”

“It looks quite new,” she said. “It’s an American button, and it has four holes in it.”

“It looks like a shirt button,” said Mike. “Let’s save it.”

“Oh, yes, indeed,” said Grandfather. “It’s a clue.”

Lars cut the fish into four pieces. He turned the turtle shell upside down. He put the fish into it.

“I like my kettle,” said Mike happily.

“It’s a good old kettle,” said Benny. “Shall I put the water on the fish now, Lars?”

“Yes, it must cook for a while. Then the fish will be soft and we can cut it in smaller pieces, and take off the skin and take out the bones.”

“I like onions in my fish stew, Lars,” said Benny. “But of course we couldn’t bring any onions.”

“No?” said Lars laughing. He took some dried onions out of the box, and put them in the turtle shell. “I like onions, too,” he said.

Suddenly a strange voice said, “Hello, Peter!”

“Who in the world is that?” whispered Benny.

Lars shouted, “Come out of the trees!”

The palm tree moved a little in the wind. They saw nobody. But all at once a little purple bird hopped out on a branch. It put its head on one side and said again, “Hello, Peter!”

“Well, well! A bird!” said Mike. “A talking bird!”

“What is it, Lars?” asked Jessie.

“I don’t know,” said Lars.

“I know,” said Mr. Alden. “It’s a myna bird.”

“Oh, yes, it is, Grandfather!” said Henry. “Don’t you remember, Jessie, we saw them on T.V.?”

“So we did,” said Jessie. “There was a lady from a pet shop. She had two or three myna birds. She had taught them to say lots of things.”

They all looked at each other. The bird said again, “Hello, Peter!”

Mike said, “Somebody had to teach this bird, Ben. Did you think of that?”

“Yes, I did,” said Benny. “I think it must have been Peter.”

“Yes,” said Grandfather. “It must have been Peter, whoever he is.”

CHAPTER 8

Cooking and Swimming

Lars was making the stew now. In the new kettle were the four pieces of fish, spring water, onions and salt. They all lifted the kettle over the fire. The children watched as it began to boil. Violet shook up some dry milk with spring water. After a while Jessie took out the skin and bones. She put in the milk.

“How are we going to eat this?” asked Mike. “It is boiling hot.”

“I’ll tell you,” said Jessie. “We’ll set our shells in the sand. You fill them with stew, Lars. Then we won’t have to hold them.”

“Very good,” said Lars. “I have made a fine ladle.” The ladle was the tin cup tied on a long stick. Lars ladled out the stew.

“Don’t give Mike any fish,” said Benny. “He doesn’t like fish.”

“Well, I’ll give him some just the same,” said Lars. “He may get to like it.”

“Now about Peter,” said Benny. “Do you think Peter has been here, or is he here now?”

“Peter could be a name someone taught the bird to say,” said Mr. Alden. “Then somehow the bird came to the island.”

“It would be exciting if Peter were really here,” said Henry. “And is he a boy or a man?”

“Oh, he couldn’t be a boy,” said Benny. “He couldn’t live here all alone.”

“Why not, Ben?” asked Mike.

“Well, he would be too lonesome. And how would a boy get here all alone?”

“Oh, I hope it isn’t a cannibal, like those in Robinson Crusoe” said Violet. She looked up quickly.

“Oh, no, Miss Violet!” said Lars. “Don’t you be afraid. It couldn’t be a cannibal, because there aren’t any cannibals on these islands.”

Lars gave Mr. Alden a quick look. So Mr. Alden said quickly, “That’s right, my dear. Lars knows. And just taste this stew!”

There were no spoons yet, but they used the razor clam shells.

Benny said, “My, you have to work hard to get this stew into your mouth.”

“Makes it better,” said Henry. “I am going to drink mine when it is cooler. And now what shall we do about this Peter?”

“Just keep your eyes open,” said Lars.

“I kept mine open anyway,” said Benny. “Let’s catch the myna bird.”

“We can’t catch a bird,” said Henry. “But maybe he can say other things.” He whistled. The bird whistled.

“Now just hear that!” said Mike. He whistled. The bird whistled.

Mike got up and started for the tree. But the bird flew away at once. He was lost in the trees.

“Just one thing,” said Jessie, looking at her gentle sister. “If Peter is here now, he must speak English.”

“That’s right, Jessie,” said Mr. Alden. “A cannibal would not teach the myna bird to say things in English. And now let’s think about something else.”

“Well, I think I shall cook a breadfruit today,” said Lars. “We will open some canned meat and have a real dinner.”

“The stew is gone anyway,” said Mr. Alden. “I had five shellfuls. Thank you very much, Lars. I enjoyed it.”

Mike said, “I liked mine, too. The fish wasn’t too bad. But the stew and crackers were the best. Lars, do you remember you said you’d show us a place to swim?”

“I remember it well, Mr. Mike,” said Lars. “I will show you the place when we take a Walk.”

“Can you swim, Mike?” asked Benny in surprise.

“Well, I can swim a little,” said Mike. He was laughing at something. “I like to swim, and it’s so hot here.”

“It is always hot in the middle of the day,” said Lars. “We ought to rest, or else go into the woods. It is cool there.”

“I don’t want to rest,” said Jessie. “Do you, Violet? Let’s all go into the woods.”

Nobody wanted to rest. They wanted to see the island.

“Just wait a minute,” said Lars. “I will pick the breadfruit before we go.”

“Where is the breadfruit?” asked Benny.

“Right over your head,” said Lars. “I’ll try to climb the tree.”

Soon Lars came down with two large breadfruit. He climbed up again and came down with two more. He put the green fruit on the sand for them to look at.

“They look exactly like brains!” said Benny.

“Do they really, now?” said Lars laughing.

“How do you know what brains look like, Ben?” asked Mike.

“From pictures,” said Benny. “Brains go in and out in a curly pattern, but brains are not green.”

“I’ll bake them,” said Lars. “The fire is just right.”

“I wondered why you didn’t let the fire go out,” said Jessie. “You kept making it bigger and bigger.”

“Yes, we have to have a bed of hot coals for the breadfruit,” said Lars. “Now I’ll put banana leaves around them. Then we’ll cover them up in the fire and leave them until we get back. Then I’ll show you how to eat them.”

“Will they taste like bread?” asked Benny.

“Some people think so,” said Lars. “You have to get used to it.”

“Let’s go,” said Henry. “We all want to swim.”

“I want to see the place where there are no sharks,” said Mike.

“So do I,” said Mr. Alden. Everyone was surprised. Benny said, “Can you swim, Grandfather?”

“I think so,” said Mr. Alden with a laugh. “I may have forgotten how, but I’d like to try.”

“This is the way,” said Lars. “It is quite a long walk, but it is very pretty.”

They climbed over rocks this time. Once they came to a beautiful, white sandy beach. “Not here,” said Lars. “There are sharks here.”

“I haven’t seen one shark yet,” said Benny. “I’ve looked and looked for them in Blue Bay.”

“Blue Bay is full of them, just the same,” said Lars.

Violet said, “Isn’t it lucky that Lars knows where they are!”

The family walked along the beach.

“More rocks,” said Henry. “These are very big. Are you all right, Grandfather?”

“Yes, my boy,” said Mr. Alden. “But I hope we will get there soon.”

“We will,” said Lars. “Take my arm.”

Up they all went, jumping from one rock to another. Then Jessie said suddenly, “Oh, isn’t this beautiful!”

Everyone stopped to look. Here was a green bay. It was smaller than Blue Bay, and perfectly round. All around the edge were palm trees.

“Trees growing right in the water out there!” cried Benny. “Just in a perfect ring. How can they, Grandfather? What makes them?”

“Those trees are not growing in the water, Benny,” said Grandfather. “That is a reef. You will find a lot of land out there, but it is a beautiful sight.”

Lars said, “This is the place to swim. The water is not very deep here. See how green it is? Sharks cannot get in here. They can’t get across the reef because there is no opening.”

They all took off their shoes and walked into the clear water.

“Clothes and all!” shouted Mike. “Isn’t this fun! I wish my mother could see me now.”

“It’s lovely,” said Jessie. “It is cool, but not too cool.” She looked up just in time to see Mike. He put his hands in front of him and swam off like a fish!

“Mike Wood!” shouted Benny. “I didn’t know you could swim like that! I didn’t know you could swim at all.” Benny watched his friend. Sometimes Mike swam under water, and sometimes on top.

“Good work, Mike!” called Mr. Alden. And off he went, hand over hand, with his face in the water.

“Look at Grandfather!” cried Henry. “He and Mike are the best swimmers here.”

But then Lars went after them, and there were three fine swimmers. Henry was just swimming on his back when he happened to look on the other side of the reef. He looked again. He stopped swimming and stood up. There was an old boat. It was pulled high up on the sand.

“Come back!” shouted Henry.

It was funny to see everyone coming back so fast Mike said, “Everybody minds everybody!”

“Look at that boat, Lars,” said Henry pointing.

They all walked through the water to the reef. They looked across at the old boat.

“It is a lifeboat,” said Lars. “But it was not there when I came here three years ago. I’m sure of that.”

The boat was full of sand. One end was very deep in the sand, way out of sight. They all stood looking at the boat, when they heard a little noise in the tree above.

“It’s a whine!” cried Benny, looking up. “Someone is in trouble.”

The whine came again. But it was further away this time.

“It is just a little moan, now,” said Violet. Then it stopped.

“Maybe someone doesn’t want us to look at this old boat,” said Mike.

Henry said, “Maybe someone thinks we are going to take it away. I wonder what it was or who it was?”

“That I cannot tell you,” said Lars. “But this is a good boat. It must have a name. You all stay here, and I will walk across the reef and see.” He looked at both sides of the boat, and there was its name, Explorer II.

“Oh, I know!” cried Lars. “This is a lifeboat. It came from the ship Explorer II. The ship hit a reef and went down.”

“I remember that!” said Mr. Alden. “I read about it in the newspapers months ago. Some of the people were picked up by another ship and taken to San Francisco.”

“I suppose some people got into this lifeboat just as we got in ours,” said Benny.

After a while they all went back to the green bay. They swam around in the cool water. Then they came up on the beach and sat in the sun until they were dry. The sun made them feel very sleepy.

“Dry in no time,” said Mike. “That’s this hot sun for you!”

“Now we’d better sit up here under the trees,” said Lars. “The sun is too hot.”

They sat down under the palm trees. Soon Mike lay down with his head on his arm. Benny did the same. The rest laughed a little, but soon they were all stretched out on the beach, too. Soon the whole family was asleep on the sand—all but one. Lars was lying down. But he watched the water and the trees and the beach. He saw nothing.

Even Lars did not know that anyone was looking at them from the tree right over their heads.

CHAPTER 9

Bread

One by one the family woke up. They laughed at one another for going to sleep on the sand.

“We needed a nap in the middle of the day,” said Mr. Alden. “The sun is very hot.”

“I’d like to see how that breadfruit is getting along,” said Jessie.

“So would I,” said Mike. “It doesn’t look like bread at all.”

“No, only like big green brains,” said Benny.

Over the rocks they went. They walked along the sandy beach. “We ought to call this Shark Bay,” said Mike.

“Good,” said Lars. “That is just what it is. It is very dangerous.”

Everyone was looking at the water. All but Benny. He happened to look the other way. He looked at the woods. Something was moving in the woods. He looked again. A long vine was swinging. One end of the vine was up in a tall tree. The other end went up, too. It went out of sight in another tree.

“A swing!” shouted Benny. “Look at it.”

“Now what do you know!” said Henry. “A real swing.”

Lars walked through the bushes. He pulled on the swing. It did not come down.

“Here, let me sit in it,” cried Mike. He sat down on the big vine and pushed. The swing seemed to be very strong.

“I can go way up high, Ben!” cried Mike excitedly.

“Be careful, Mike,” said Grandfather. “Take it easy. That swing might break suddenly. We don’t want any broken legs here.”

Henry said, “Grandfather, a vine wouldn’t grow like that all by itself, would it?”

“It could grow like that,” said Mr. Alden, “but I don’t think it did. See, all the leaves are off. Someone took off all the leaves.”

“Oh, dear,” said Jessie. “We have a mystery, and it gets worse all the time.”

“I think it gets better all the time,” said Mike, swinging gently. “Someday we will find out who made this swing and who lives here.”

“We have plenty of time, and plenty of clues,” said Benny. “Let me have a swing, too, Mike.”

“No, you come another day and swing,” said Lars suddenly. “We must get back to that breadfruit.”

When Lars took the breadfruit out of the fire, they saw some soft, baked fruit, the shape of enormous eggs. He took them out one by one and put them on big leaves.

“Those leaves are as big as umbrellas,” said Jessie.

“Yes, people use them for umbrellas when it rains,” said Lars. “Now see there are seeds inside the breadfruit.” He took out about thirty seeds. Each was as big as a nut.

“Eat them,” said Lars. “The seeds are nutty and rich. Then you eat the soft part of the fruit with the razor clam shells.”

“We must make those spoons very soon,” said Henry. “We need spoons for everything.”

“I like this,” said Benny. He bit into a seed. “It does taste nutty.”

“I’ll open the canned meat,” said Henry. “Then we’ll have meat and bread together.”

He did so. With cold meat and hot breadfruit, the family enjoyed a full meal. They had bananas for dessert. They did not know that someone was watching them all the time.

The days went by very fast now. Every day brought more surprises. They made the two huts ready for rain, but it did not rain. Every day was beautiful. The Blue Bay was bluer than ever, and the green bay was greener.

One day they all went to the spring for water. Benny looked first at the white shell. It had been moved.

Benny said to himself, “That shell has been moved. It was right next to this white stone. Now it is over on the other side. I bet someone drinks here every day.”

But they never saw anyone. The myna bird did not come back. They dug the sand out of the Explorer II boat and washed it. They pulled it higher on the sand. It looked fine. But this time they did not hear any whine from the treetops.

Everyone had a fine spoon now. They had bowls too. They made a bowl from half a coconut shell. Jessie said, “I like coconut milk better than dry milk now. It is sweeter.”

“I like sugar cane the best,” said Mike. “That is the sweetest of all.”

“Sugar cane is our candy,” said Benny. “We can pick it any time we want to.”

And so the days went by. Nobody ever thought of the Sea Star, because they didn’t want it to come. They were having too good a time.

CHAPTER 10

Trapped

One day Henry said suddenly, “I don’t want a nap today.”

“I don’t either!” shouted Benny and Mike at the same time. “Let’s walk over into the woods. It is cool enough there.”

Mr. Alden laughed. He said, “I want a nap just the same.”

Lars was fixing a hole in the roof of the girls’ hut. “I think I’ll stay home and work on the roof,” he said. “You can explore if you want to. It is safe enough.”

Henry said, “I’d like to see the other side of the island.”

Lars nodded. He looked at Henry. “The best way to go is right behind the spring. When you get to the spring, you climb the rocks behind it. Then you go down the other side to the beach. There is nothing there but a beach.”

“Good,” said Henry. “Let’s go!”

All the children jumped up. Off they started. Lars stopped his work to watch them. He said, “Fine children, Mr. Alden.”

“Yes, they are,” said Mr. Alden. “Every one of them.”

Then Lars went back to his work. Mr. Alden went inside his hut to take a nap.

Very soon he came back to the door and looked up. He said, “I don’t like to have the children go off alone, Lars. You know there is someone on this island. Just keep an eye on them, will you? Don’t let them know.”

Lars said quietly, “Yes, sir. I was going to follow them in a minute. I don’t want to spoil their fun. They will never know that I am watching.”

“Good!” said Mr. Alden. “Thank you, Lars. I see that you understand what I mean. They always did like to be on their own.”

The children walked happily through the ferns. Jessie said, “Isn’t this fun, Henry? It’s the first time we’ve been alone. It makes me think of the old days in the boxcar.”

Henry smiled at his sister. “We had to plan everything for ourselves. Nobody helped us. It was fun.”

“Did Jessie keep care of you, Ben?” asked Mike.

“Take care of me,” said Benny.

“Now don’t start that again!” cried Mike. “You know what I mean!”

“Yes,” said Benny. “Everyone took care of me. I was young then. They taught me to read.”

“Didn’t you have to go to school?” asked Mike.

“Well, I did later,” said Benny. “You and I had fun in school, Mike. We had a nice teacher. Now what was her name?”

“I don’t remember,” said Mike. “I just know she was nice. She was always telling us about bananas growing on trees. Think of that, Ben! And here we have really seen them growing.”

“Her name made me think of cows,” said Benny.

“Cows?” said Mike. “It didn’t me. It was nothing like cows. I’m sure of that!”

The children soon came to the spring. They looked at the two beautiful little waterfalls for a minute. Henry looked at the rocks.

“That’s a good climb,” he said. “But I think we can all do it.”

“We can start from the statue’s nose,” said Benny. He climbed up and sat down. Mike climbed up and sat on the statue’s chin. They were very good seats.

“Some day I’d like to find the end of this statue,” said Mike. “See if it has any feet.”

“It is all covered with leaves and bushes,” said Jessie. “But I’m sure we could find it.”

“Not today, though,” said Benny. “Today we are climbing this mountain.”

Henry began to climb. “You all wait and see how I get along,” he said.

Henry went up the rocks very well. Soon he called back, “Here is a nice big place half way up. We can stand here, or sit down and rest. Come along.”

Mike said, “Now, Violet, I’ll help you. Take my hand.”

“Thank you, Mike,” said Violet. “You are a better climber than I am.”

Up they went. “Put your foot here, Violet,” said Mike. “That’s the last step. Then I’ll pull you up.”

Mike was very strong. He was very gentle with Violet. And at last they were all sitting on the wide rocks to rest.

But Benny could not sit still long. He turned and looked on every side. He turned around and looked behind him.

“Look,” he said. “A stump!”

It was a stump. But it was not growing there.

Henry was excited. “Look, everyone!” he cried.

“That stump never grew up here. Someone put it here!”

“That’s right,” said Jessie. “See the stones on every side of it. The stones hold it.”

“The stones keep it straight, so it won’t fall off,” said Benny.

Jessie said slowly, “I wonder what that stump is for.”

“It must be to step on,” said Benny.

“Benny, I think you are right!” cried Henry. “And I am going to step on it and see what I can see.”

Henry put one foot on the stump very carefully. Then he lifted himself by a small tree.

“Well, what do you know!” he shouted.

“What is it?” cried Jessie.

“I can’t believe my eyes,” cried Henry. “It’s a big cave. It is just like our old boxcar!”

“No!” said Jessie. “It can’t be, Henry!”

“Well, it is,” said Henry. “Way off here in the South Seas! Come up and see for yourself. You’ll have to take turns. Jessie, you come first. I’ll come down.”

Henry stepped off the stump. He gave Jessie his hand and up she went.

“Oh, Violet,” she called. “It’s a tall wide cave in the rocks. It’s very long, and the floor is a bed. It is all covered with leaves and ferns. And Henry, did you see the shelf?”

“Yes, I certainly did,” said Henry. “That is how I was sure it was like the boxcar. It has dishes on it.”

“What kind of dishes, Jessie?” called Benny. He could hardly wait for his turn.

“Well, there is a pile of shells for plates. I’ll come down, now. Benny ought to see these dishes.”

Violet said, “Let Benny have my turn.”

Benny was glad. He got up on the stump. Henry helped him. Then Benny saw something that made him more excited than ever.

“My pink cup!” he shouted. “It is like my pink cup!”

“I think so too,” said Jessie. “I think someone made this place to sleep in.”

“I think someone made it to live in when it rains,” said Henry. “And this has a wide roof where the rocks come out over the cave.”

“Let me try it!” said Mike. “I’ll climb in and lie down.”

Benny came down. Mike went up. He lay down on the bed.

“Oh, it’s as hard as a rock. I could never sleep here!” he cried.

“You might if you had to,” said Henry. “Suppose it was pouring rain outside.”

Benny climbed down as far as the statue’s nose. He sat down and watched Mike. Suddenly Benny saw the trees move above him. First one tree moved. Then another. Benny thought, “Some animal is jumping from one tree to another.”

Without a word, he followed the trees. He crashed through the bushes and ferns. He kept looking up. All the time he watched the tree tops moving.

“Yes,” he thought, “somebody jumps from one tree to the next. Maybe it’s a monkey. But this time I’m going to find out!”

On went Benny. He was so excited that he fell down twice. He picked himself up and crashed on. On and on went the thing in the trees. On and on went Benny. He never thought of the cave now. All he thought of was the mystery.

“Is it ever going to stop?” he thought. He was out of breath. The bushes and ferns were much bigger than he was. “I won’t stop! I won’t stop till it does!”

But he did. He put his foot down and everything gave way under him. Down he fell. As he fell, he thought, “Hope there is no water in this!”

But no, the hole was deep, and dry. “I’m glad!” thought Benny. “But now how do I get out? I’d better yell. I hope Henry can hear me!”

Benny did not have time to make a sound. Over the edge of the hole he saw a boy, very thin and brown, with long hair.

“Who are you?” asked Benny looking up.

“I’m Peter,” said the boy.

“Oh, you look like a girl!” said Benny. “Long hair!”

“No, I’m a boy,” said Peter. “I can’t cut my hair with my knife. Come on, now, Benny. Give me your hand.”

Benny took hold of the brown hand. He thought it would be soft like a girl’s, but it was very hard like a dog’s paw.

Peter pulled Benny out of the hole. “That hole is my store house,” said Peter. “It is a trap, too.”

“So I see,” said Benny. “How do you know I’m Benny?”

“Oh, I’ve watched you for a long time. I know you all,” said Peter.

The two boys sat down and looked at each other. They never thought of the family back at the cave.

CHAPTER 11

Peter

Back at the cave, Mike was saying, “You can have another turn, Ben. I’m coming down.”

But of course Benny did not answer. He was not there.

“Goodness!” cried Jessie. “Where is Benny?”

They began to call, “Benny! Benny!” They all listened.

“I hear a funny noise over that way,” said Violet, pointing. “It sounds like Benny! He is in trouble!”

The children crashed through the bushes and over rocks. They were calling “Benny!” all the time. And suddenly right before their eyes they saw a strange sight. Benny and a stranger were sitting on the edge of a deep hole.

“Oh, Benny, are you hurt?” cried Jessie.

“Not at all,” said Benny. “This is Peter! I fell into his trap and he pulled me out.”

Henry came and sat down by the boys. He said to Peter, “Have you been all alone on this island?”

“Yes,” said Peter. “I’ve been alone for about three weeks.”

“Three weeks!” cried Henry. “How do you know?”

“I cut some marks in a tree. Mr. Anderson was with me at first. He cut the marks for six months. So after he went, I cut them myself. One every day.”

“Who was Mr. Anderson?” asked Jessie.

“He was a sailor,” said the boy. “Our ship hit a reef and went down. I was in a lifeboat with Mr. Anderson and we came to this island. We were together for six months, and Mr. Anderson went swimming and I never saw him again.”

“So you have been here almost seven months,” said Jessie.

“That’s right,” said Peter.

“How in the world do you get along alone?” asked Jessie.

“Oh, I get along fine,” said Peter. “I do just what Mr. Anderson did.”

“Tell me something, Peter,” said Mike. “How did you happen to make your bed in the cave?”

“I thought it would be fun,” said Peter. “Once I read about some children who were all alone. Then it rained so hard, I had to get somewhere out of the rain. Those rocks make a fine roof. I used to sit and watch the rain before you came to the island.”

Henry whispered to Benny. “Don’t tell him about us now. Later you can.”

Mike looked at Peter and said, “Did you take our crackers that day?”

Peter looked upset. “I am sorry about that,” he said. “I have been here so long, and everything was free. I could take anything I wanted. Bananas, fish, coconuts, oysters, crabs and sugar cane. When I saw the crackers I took those, too.”

“It’s all right,” said Mike. “Nobody thinks I took them now.”

Henry said, “Peter, why didn’t you call out to us before? Were you afraid of us?”

“Yes, I was,” said Peter. “Mr. Anderson said I must keep very still if I saw anyone on this island. I mustn’t let anyone know I was here.”

“I suppose he meant dangerous men like cannibals,” said Henry. “But there aren’t any more cannibals around here.”

“I didn’t know,” said Peter. “You might be dangerous! I have watched you for a long time, and now I know you are all right.”

“A good thing we found you!” said Henry.

“We know you can take care of yourself,” said Jessie. “But you can live with us and have some of our food. And we are going away soon. Don’t you want to go along?”

“Yes, I do,” said Peter. “I miss my father and mother. I used to live near Boston.”

“We’ll take you to Boston,” said Benny. “Just as soon as our ship comes. And we’ll find your mother and father for you.”

“Here, old fellow!” said Henry. “Don’t promise! We’ll try. And if anyone can find your parents, Grandfather can.”

Mike said, “Look how brown you are, Peter.”

“Oh, I’m just sunburned. I have been living in the sun for so long.”

“Come on, Peter,” said Henry. “We’ll take you to see Lars and my grandfather.”

Peter did not ask who they were, because he knew very well. He said, “I watched you the day you came to the island. My, I was scared when I saw the ship! I watched you when you found the turtle shell. I heard every word you said. I watched you find my boat, and I was afraid you would take my boat away.”

“Yes, we heard you whine and moan,” said Benny. “I thought someone was in trouble and it was you.”

The family began to walk back to the houses. Jessie said, “Didn’t you almost forget how to talk, Peter?”

“Oh, I always talked to myself,” said Peter. “I talked all day, until you came. And then I had my bird to talk to.”

“What can he say?” asked Mike.

“She,” said Peter. “Old Myna is a girl. She says ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good night’ and ‘Hello, Peter,’ and ‘Thank you’ and ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ and ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Look out, it’s hot!’”

“I can see she is quite a talker,” said Henry. “She must be a lot of company for you.”

“Yes, I love old Myna. That’s her name, because Mr. Anderson said it was a myna bird.”

“Isn’t it better to have people for company, Peter?” asked Violet.

“Oh, yes,” said Peter. “That is why I came to help Benny out of my trap. I thought the time had come. And you were all alone without the others.”

“It’s wonderful,” said Jessie. “Won’t Grandfather and Lars be surprised!”

But just then Lars was going very fast and very quietly back to the house. When the children came home, Lars was sitting there on the top of the hut still fixing the roof.

“Lars!” shouted Benny. “See what we found! Our Mystery!”

Lars looked up and saw Peter. “Oh, a boy!” Lars said. “Where did you find him? Mr. Alden! Come and see this boy!”

Mr. Alden came to the door and looked out.

“It’s Peter, Grandfather!” said Henry. “He has lived here for six months!”

Mr. Alden tried to wake up. He thought he was dreaming. He said, “Six months! How could he?”

“He lived just the way we do,” said Benny. “Only he never had any crackers or milk or meat.”

Lars said, “Now, Peter, come and sit down and tell us about this. Did you come in that lifeboat that is all filled with sand?”

“Yes, sir,” said Peter. “Mr. Anderson and I came in it six months ago.”

Lars and Mr. Alden looked at each other.

Then Mr. Alden came and sat down too. He said, “Peter, I’d like to know more about the shipwreck. I suppose it was a shipwreck. Can you bear to tell me?”

“Oh, yes,” said Peter. “I’d like to. Maybe it won’t seem so bad if I tell somebody. There was a terrible storm in the middle of the night. We were all seasick. Then the ship hit a reef and began to go down. The sailors got three lifeboats over the side. I was in one with my mother and father and Mr. Anderson. Then some others got in and the boat tipped over. Everybody went into the water. I couldn’t see a thing.”

“Do you think your parents were saved?” asked Mr. Alden gently.

“I don’t know,” said Peter. “Maybe. But it was very dark, you know. I was going down. Suddenly I felt Mr. Anderson lifting me into a boat again. When I woke up, I was here. We never saw any other boat after that.”

“Your parents think you were lost, then,” said Grandfather.

“Yes, I’m sure they do, if they were saved.”

Lars said, “Some people got picked up, because the paper said they were taken to San Francisco.”

“Is that so?” said Peter. He looked at Lars quickly. “Maybe my father and mother were saved. But they would never know about me. Mr. Anderson and I never saw any ship.”

“The wreck must have been quite far away,” said Grandfather.

“Yes, it was, because Mr. Anderson told me he rowed a whole day and a night. I didn’t think anyone would ever come. I wish you would cut my hair!”

“Henry can cut hair very well,” said Mike.

Violet took her scissors out of her workbag and gave them to Henry.

Henry began to cut. He said, “You’d better save this long hair, Peter. Someday you’ll like to see it.” Then he cut Peter’s hair like Mike’s.

“You look fine now,” said Henry.

“You did well to live alone, Peter,” said Lars. “I think you are very brave.”

“I had to be,” said Peter. “I’m sorry about my clothes. Don’t they look terrible?”

Everyone had noticed what Peter was wearing. He looked very strange. He was wearing lots of big leaves that were tied with brown strings. And many more brown strings hung down.

“I got some strings off coconuts,” said Peter, “and I tied leaves together. One time I lost a button when I washed my clothes. Then they just wore out.”

Mike got up. He ran down to the box. He came back at once and held out his hand to Peter.

Peter took one look. Then he cried, “My button! I lost it in a pool right down there!” He pointed. “I never could find it.”

“You couldn’t find it, because our fish ate it,” said Mike. “Then we ate the fish.”

“May I have my button?” asked Peter. “I’d love to keep it.”

Grandfather got up. “Yes, Peter, keep it,” he said. “Henry, go and fix up some of your clothes for Peter. He will feel better, if he looks better.”

The two boys went into the house at once. Soon they came back. Peter looked like a different boy.

Henry said to Lars, “When do you think the Sea Star will come back?”

“Well, well!” said Lars. “This is the first time anyone has said one word about the Sea Star! She may come any time now.”

Jessie said, “You see we didn’t want to leave Blue Bay. And now we do. We want to find Peter’s father and mother.”

“I’ve almost forgotten what they look like,” said Peter. “But I will know them!”

Grandfather said quietly, “What is your last name, Peter? Peter what?”

“Horn,” said Peter.

“Horn!” shouted Mike and Benny at once.

“Our teacher!” said Benny. “That was our teacher’s name, too. I knew it made me think of cows.”

“Cows?” asked Jessie. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, cows have horns,” said Benny.

“Oh, dear!” laughed Jessie. “You are the funniest boy!”

“Peter Horn,” said Mr. Alden slowly. He was thinking.

“My father’s name is Peter Horn, too,” said Peter.

“That will help, my boy,” said Mr. Alden. “We’ll try to find them. But you understand they may not be alive, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” said Peter. “I was just thinking what would I do, if we went home, and we didn’t find them.”

“Don’t worry about that, Peter,” said Henry. “You can live with us and be part of our family.”

Peter could not believe his eyes when everyone smiled and nodded—even Mr. Alden himself.

CHAPTER 12

Eight in the Family

Grandfather was thinking. He said, “Benny, you must not think that Peter’s mother is your teacher, just because she had the same name. There are many people named Horn.”

Lars said, “What happened to Mr. Anderson?”

“I don’t know,” said Peter. “He said he was going swimming near a sandy beach, but he never came back.”

“Do you mean a very green bay?” asked Mike.

“No, I mean the one on the other side of it, where the boat is.”

Nobody said a word. But everyone thought, “Shark Bay! How lucky we were to have Lars with us!”

Jessie said suddenly, “Are you hungry, Peter?”

“Not very,” said Peter. “But you do have some more crackers, don’t you? You see they make me think of bread. I haven’t had any bread for six months.”

“Six months!” cried Violet.

“That’s why I took the crackers, Mr. Lars,” said Peter.

“That’s all right,” said Lars. “Don’t worry.”

“I did worry,” said Peter, “when I saw you were blaming that other boy.”

“Me,” said Mike.

“Yes, Mike, I am awfully sorry.”

“Think nothing of it!” said Mike. “Come on, Ben!”

The two boys raced for the sea biscuit. It was such fun to see Peter eat crackers. He seemed half starved.

“Wait till you see what we have for supper,” said Benny. We’re going to have stew and a pudding!”

“A pudding? Oh, yes, I remember what a pudding is,” said Peter. He stopped eating for a minute. “A pudding is sweet.”

“Yes,” said Mike. “Ours is made of coconut milk, sugar cane, and bananas.”

“Sounds good,” said Peter. “My mother used to cook good things. I hope we can find her.”

“Well, if Grandfather can’t find her, nobody can,” said Benny. “He has ways.”

Mike said suddenly, “You can have my blanket, Peter.”

Peter said, “You are a very kind boy, Mike. But I wouldn’t know what to do with a blanket. I can sleep on a rock. I am hard all over.”

“You must show us how to climb trees,” said Henry.

“It’s easy,” said Peter, “if there is something you want at the top of the tree.”

Mr. Alden was listening to all this. He was wide awake now. He watched Peter carefully. “A good boy,” he thought. “Just think of one of our children living here for six months!” He shook himself. He had a plan which he did not tell to anyone. But he told them all, “Now we have eight in the family.”

It was a happy family at supper. Lars gave his spoon to Peter. He took the big cooking spoon himself. They all began to eat meat stew.

All at once a voice said, “Look out, it’s hot!”

“Who said that?” cried Mike.

“It’s old Myna,” said Peter. He made a funny noise with his mouth and down flew a dark purple bird. It had white on its wings and orange on its head.

“Hello, Myna,” said Peter.

“Hello, Peter,” said Myna.

“Oh, make him say something about me!” begged Mike.

“Her,” said Peter. He took the bird on his finger and said, “Myna, say ‘What’s the matter, Mike?’”

The bird said nothing.

“She won’t talk for us,” said Benny. “She is afraid.”

“Oh, no, she’s not afraid,” said Peter. “She has to study every new word.”

Peter said it again two or three times. He fed the bird a piece of meat.

“Look out, it’s hot!” said Myna. Then she went right along without stopping, “What’s the matter, Mike?”

Mike was delighted. “What a talker!” he said “Maybe we could teach her to sing.”

“Oh, she can sing already,” said Peter. “Myna, sing ‘My country, ’tis of thee.’” He hummed it.

Sure enough, Myna sang it right after him.

“She’s wonderful,” said Henry.

“She’s got a funny voice when she sings,” said Mike.

“So have some people,” said Benny. “Her singing voice is different.”

Henry said, “Soon we’ll have to think about the ship’s coming. I mean get our things ready. My shoes are almost worn out.”

“I never had any shoes here,” said Peter. “I didn’t have time to put them on the night the ship was wrecked. Feel my feet, Benny.”

Benny did so. “Oh, your feet are as hard as rocks! Really, Henry, feel them.”

Henry said, “Yes, they are just like a dog’s foot. You have been climbing trees and rocks for so long, Peter. It will be terrible for you to wear shoes.”

“Yes, but I’d like some new shoes,” said Peter. “I used to dream of having new shoes.”

Then they tried the pudding. It was delicious.

When supper was over, Peter began to teach them to climb trees. “Oh, you have to take off your shoes,” he said.

Henry tried it a few times, and did very well. “It is much easier without shoes. Soon my feet will be as hard as yours, Peter.”

“That will take a long time!” said Peter. “And I hope we won’t stay here that long.”

When they went to bed that night, old Myna went to sleep first. For the first time in three weeks, nobody was watching from the trees.

Out on the great ocean the Sea Star was coming nearer and nearer. Captain Brown smiled to himself. He laughed when he thought of Benny and Mike. He didn’t know that there was another boy now, named Peter Horn.

CHAPTER 13

Sea Star

Old Myna woke up first. She hopped out of the house and flew into the trees. She ate her breakfast and waited for the sun to come up. Then she began to call, “Wake up, sleepyhead!”

It woke everyone. Benny laughed. “That’s old Myna. She sounds like a real person.”

Lars and Henry went down to start the fire. “How Grandfather does enjoy his coffee!” said Henry as they walked along.

“Not more than I do!” said Lars, laughing. “That little girl Violet thinks of everybody.”

“Yes, she does,” said Henry. “Now, what do you think about Peter’s parents? Do you think they are alive?”

“Who knows?” said Lars. “Some people were saved. They could be Peter’s parents. Your grandfather will find them if they are alive.”

“Yes, Grandfather is quite wonderful,” said Henry.

They were talking so hard that they never looked at the sea. They knelt down to build the fire. Along came the Sea Star just the same, nearer and nearer, but nobody saw it as it steamed along.

Just as the coffee began to boil over, Mr. Alden shouted, “Hey, Lars!”

They looked up. Mr. Alden was laughing and pointing out to sea.

“The ship!” cried Henry. “The Sea Star!”

Benny and Mike came racing down to the beach. They danced around on the sand and waved their arms.

“They can’t see you,” said Henry.

“Very soon they can,” said Lars. “I wish we had a bigger coffeepot. For company.”

Jessie said, “Never mind, Lars. They have coffee on the ship. Go ahead and drink this.”

“Who will come in the lifeboat, Lars? Will it be Captain Brown?”

“No, I don’t think Captain Brown will leave his ship. I think it will be the Second Mate.”

Lars was wrong that time. The Sea Star stopped outside Blue Bay and let down a boat. In the boat were the Second Mate and Captain Brown himself. As the boat came up with the waves, all the men pulled it up on the sand.

“Well, Captain, this is good of you to come yourself!” said Mr. Alden.

Then the Captain saw Peter. “Where did this boy come from?” he cried.

“He was on the Explorer II, sir!” said Lars. “Been here ever since the wreck.”

“We’re going to find his parents,” said Benny. “Grandfather is.”

“Now, Benny,” said Henry.

“Maybe he is,” said Benny. “If he can, and he always can.”

The Captain looked at Mr. Alden. He started to say something.

Mr. Alden said quickly, “Let’s all sit down. Then we can talk. Have some breakfast?”

“Thanks. We just ate aboard ship,” said the Captain. “We’ll watch you.”

“Oh, we’ve had a neat time,” said Benny. “But we want to go home, now.”

“Yes, we do,” said Mr. Alden. “Start back to San Francisco right away. I want to help this boy find his parents. Do you all want to go home?”

“Oh, yes!” said Jessie. “Oh, yes!” said Violet.

Peter said nothing. But his eyes were very bright.

“Peter’s going to cry,” thought Benny.

But Peter did not cry. He went over to Mr. Alden and held out his hand. Mr. Alden took it.

“And now Grandfather’s going to cry,” thought Benny.

But Mr. Alden did not cry, either. He just said, “Hard as a rock! What a hard hand! But maybe hard work kept you happy. Work is good. Remember that, my boy.”

“How long will it take you to get ready, sir?” asked the Captain.

“Not long,” said Benny. “We haven’t anything to pack.”

“Not so fast, my boy,” said Mr. Alden. “You surely want to take Mike’s turtle-kettle. And we must take our plates and spoons.”

“Let’s take Peter’s dishes, too,” said Jessie.

“And old Myna,” said Peter.

“Oh, yes, old Myna,” said Henry. “Can you catch her, Peter?”

“I can catch her, but she won’t like the ship. She will fly away.”

“How about that, Captain?” asked Mr. Alden. “Have you a bird cage?”

“No. But I have a crab trap.”

Mr. Alden went on. “Another thing, Captain, have you your secret camera?”

“Oh, yes, I always have that.”

“Well, Henry will go with you, and you take some pictures of the waterfalls and the spring, and the statue—”

“And Peter’s cave,” said Benny.

“Yes, surely. Get a picture of that, close up. Then take the Explorer II lifeboat, and be sure to get the name on it.”

“Then come back and take a picture of our huts and one of all of us!” said Jessie.

“I’ll take that now,” said the Captain, laughing. “Stand close together.”

Just before he took the picture, down flew old Myna. So Peter had the bird on his finger in the picture, and everyone was laughing.

Off went Henry and the Captain. Lars began to pack the boxes. “You boys can help me,” he said.

“I’m too homesick!” cried Mike. “I don’t want to leave Blue Bay! Oh, I don’t want to go home!”

“Yes, you do!” cried Benny. He jumped up and said, “More coffee, Grandfather?”

“Thank you, Benny. The last drop is the best. Come here, Mike.”

Mike went over. He put his hand on Mr. Alden’s knee. He said, “I’ve had a beautiful time, Mr. Alden. I don’t want it to end.”

“Let me talk to you, Mike. It isn’t going to end. Think of taking Peter home. You will always have a good time, my boy. Just take things as they come. Remember I will always help you. Try to like everything, even ends.”

“I’ll try,” said Mike. “I do like most things.”

“I know you do. Good boy!”

Mike went to work then, filling boxes. “I hope those pictures come out right, Ben,” he said. “Won’t it be fun to look at them when we are at home!”

Soon everything was packed. Henry and the Captain came back and took a picture of the two huts.

“All packed except old Myna,” said Jessie.

The Second Mate put the crab trap on the sand. Peter put a berry inside and Myna walked in. Peter shut the door.

“Neat!” said Benny.

Lars put out the fire with sea water. Then the men pulled both boats down to the water.

“I’ll take Mr. Alden with me,” said the Captain. He winked at Mike. “We want to talk.”

“Well,” said Benny, “that’s all right. We want to talk, too!”

CHAPTER 14

Home

As the two boats went through Blue Bay, Captain Brown took a picture of the beach. He said, “That will show the fireplace and the two houses. And now I am ready to make any plans you want to, Mr. Alden.”

“Well, first, maybe Peter’s parents were not saved. But I will do everything to find out. So this is my plan.”

By the time the boats reached the Sea Star, the plan was made. The crew was waiting at the rail. They were all laughing. They helped the family out of the lifeboat and carried the turtle-kettle up on the deck. The Captain went at once to the radio room.

Mr. Alden sat down and looked all around. “Oh, another cup of coffee!” he said. He took it from the sailor. “Thanks very much.”

“Just think of having a saucer!” said Benny. “Oh, Grandfather, he’s bringing some toast!”

The children looked hard at the toast. “Buttered toast!” yelled Mike. He could hardly get the words out.

Mr. Alden looked at Peter. Then he began to count, “—one, two, three, four, five,—six with Lars. Will you bring a whole loaf of buttered toast, please?” he said. “These children would like lots of bread and butter. Think of that!”

When it came, Peter looked at it. “I can’t believe it,” he said. But when the Captain came back, all the children ate as if they were starved.

“That’s all we want,” said Henry. “Bread.”

Peter said, “I’ll never eat bread again without being thankful.”

Then Mr. Alden said, “After this, don’t go into the radio room. You used to go and talk with Bill. But now, don’t.”

The Captain noticed that nobody said “Why?” He thought, “And that’s all there is to it! I wish all people behaved as well as that.”

The Sea Star was going at full speed. Bill went in and out of the radio room very often. He always took a yellow paper to Mr. Alden. Grandfather would say a few words and Bill would go back.

“Now we’ll show you the ship, Peter,” said Benny.

When they all came back on deck Grandfather said, “Your lessons begin again this afternoon. Even Peter! And this time, you will each write a book. About this trip.”

“Write a book!” cried Jessie. “What fun!”

“Write a book?” said Mike. “I can’t write a book!”

“You’ll have to, if Grandfather says so, Mikey old boy!” said Benny. “I’ll bet your book will be the best and funniest of all.”

It was. Mike kept them all laughing as he read each page.

The children kept busy, but they longed to get home. After many days, a loud bell rang. All the children jumped up and ran up on deck.

“I thought that loud bell would get you!” said Grandfather. “Good news, Peter!”

“You mean Peter’s father?” whispered Mike.

“Yes! His father and mother are alive. They will be waiting for us at the dock in San Francisco.”

“Oh, my!” said Peter.

“Now you can all read the radiograms. The last one just came. It says, ‘Son Peter Horn last seen in lifeboat from Explorer II.’”

“My own father sent that?” asked Peter.

“Yes, he signs his name, Peter Horn.”

Henry put his arm around Peter and said, “Come on, old boy, and sit down on the bench.” Benny and Mike sat down on the other side.

“And we land tomorrow!” said Mr. Alden.

“I hope I can live till tomorrow,” said Benny.

They all lived till “tomorrow.” They were very much excited when they began to see land. San Francisco came nearer and nearer. They went under the Golden Gate bridge. Soon they saw the dock. There were crowds of people waiting for ships.

“Oh, dear,” said Jessie. “I suppose we must say goodby to the crew.”

They all shook hands with Captain Brown and the sailors. But then they came to Lars.

Violet looked up at Lars and said, “How can we say goodby to you, Lars?”

Mike said, “Maybe we’ll never see you again.”

But Lars smiled at Violet and said, “You’ll see me again, all right. I often come your way.”

“Come to dinner!” said Benny. “Come any time! We’ll have beans for you!”

Just then Peter began to shout, “Oh, I see my mother! And my father! There they are, waving!”

“Is that your mother?” yelled Benny. “It’s not our teacher! It doesn’t look a bit like her.”

“I was sure you boys would be disappointed about that,” said Grandfather.

“I don’t care,” said Benny. “The neat thing is that she’s Peter’s mother!”

At last they were all on the dock.

“Hi! Mother!” cried Peter.

“I thought I would never see you again!” said Mrs. Horn.

Mr. Horn took Peter’s hand to help him up the steps to the street.

“Don’t help Peter, Mr. Horn,” said Mike. He laughed. “Peter can climb right up the side of a house!”

Peter was not too happy wearing shoes. But he did very well.

Mr. Alden looked at Mr. Horn. He said, “Let’s go to some quiet place! We’ll have lunch, and then we’ll all take the plane east.”

“I never can thank you enough for bringing Peter home!” said Mr. Horn.

“Don’t try,” said Mr. Alden. “Here are some taxis. Everyone get in.”

Very soon they were all sitting at a big table for lunch. “Oh, peanut butter!” cried Benny. “I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Is that what you want?” asked Mr. Alden. He laughed. All of them wanted peanut butter. “Think of that, Mr. Horn,” he said. “They want peanut butter, when they can have almost anything in the world.”

Peter’s father and mother were told all about Blue Bay. Peter’s mother said, “At last we have found Peter. I never really gave up hope of finding him.”

“Grandfather finds lots of things,” said Benny. “Now where will Peter live?”

“Peter will live near Boston. This is a picture of our house,” said Mr. Horn. He took out a picture.

“A nice little place!” said Mike. “Nice trees to climb, but no banana trees.”

“No,” said Mr. Horn laughing. “We have no banana trees.”

After lunch they all took the plane. Everyone on the plane smiled to see the happy group. They talked all the time. Mike and Benny walked up and down. They told the passengers about the island, and all about Peter.

Mike did not want to get off at Chicago. But when he saw his mother and his brother Pat, he changed his mind.

“And my teacher!” he yelled. “My teacher came to meet me! I bet she doesn’t know that bananas grow up and not down!”

“That’s our Mike for you!” said Henry. He patted Mike’s shoulder. “Next year you will be teaching your teachers, Mike.”

At last the plane landed in Boston. They all got off the plane. Then they had to say goodby to Peter.

“We’ll come to see you often,” said Henry.

Mr. Horn carried old Myna’s cage. Old Myna said, “What’s the matter, Mike?”

Benny laughed and laughed. He said, “That shows that old Myna doesn’t know what she says. She just talks.”

“Mike’s gone,” said Myna. She looked right at Benny.

“What do you know!” said Henry.

“What do you know!” said Myna.

“Let’s go, Mother,” said Peter. “Next thing old Myna will say, ‘Look out, it’s hot!’”

“Well, it is hot, sure enough,” said Benny.

They all watched Peter go out of the door of the airport.

Henry took a long breath. He said, “Grandfather, we can never thank you enough for this wonderful trip.”

“Don’t try, my boy,” said Mr. Alden. “I had a pretty good time myself.” The Alden family reached home. Watch began to bark. He was so glad to see his family again. Mr. Alden began to sing, “East, west, home is best.”

Benny hugged Watch. He said, “Well, that’s right, Grandfather. Home is best. But Blue Bay was pretty neat, too. Let’s go somewhere else next year.”

Mr. Alden smiled at Benny. But all he said was, “Maybe.”

The children were very happy. They all knew that with Grandfather, maybe almost always meant yes.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Albert Whitman & Company, 6340 Oakton Street, Morton Grove, IL 60053-2723.

ISBN 978-1-4532-0775-8

Copyright © 1961, 1989 by Albert Whitman & Company. All rights reserved. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN is a registered trademark of Albert Whitman & Company.

70 69 68 67 66

Printed in the U.S.A.                 40

The Woodshed Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by David Cunningham

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

To all readers everywhere,

including Guam, who have written to me

about the Boxcar Children,

this new mystery is dedicated.

Contents

CHAPTER

1   A Farm for Sale

2   Making Plans

3   Grandfather Takes Over

4   The Potato Pit

5   An Old Flintlock Gun

6   Exploring the Woodshed

7   Clues from an Old Book

8   A Light in the Dark

9   What Was in the Box

10   Back to the Woodshed

11   A New Discovery

12   Too Much Excitement

13   Just in Time!

14   A Treasure Bag

15   Letter from Long Ago

16   Aunt Jane’s Surprise

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

A Farm for Sale

The telephone gave a long, loud ring. Supper was over. Benny Alden was going through the hall. He answered it.

“Telephone, Grandfather!” shouted Benny. “It’s for you. Long distance.”

Mr. Alden came to the telephone and said, “Hello. Oh, yes.”

Then he said nothing for a long, long time. Benny and his sister Violet couldn’t help listening.

At last Grandfather said, “That’s just fine, Jane!”

“It’s Aunt Jane!” Violet whispered to Benny.

Benny nodded, and a smile spread over his face.

“Just wonderful, Jane,” said Grandfather again. “Yes, I do. Yes, I think it is a fine idea. Yes, Jane. I’ll think it over and call you very soon. No, Jane, I won’t be long, maybe a day or two. Yes, I know you like to do things fast. You are like Benny.” Grandfather winked at Benny.

At last Grandfather said, “Good-by, Jane. See you soon.”

“See you soon?” said Benny. “Are we going out West to see Aunt Jane again?”

“No, she is coming here,” said Mr. Alden.

“Oh, my, my!” said Benny.

“Yes, that’s what I say too,” said Grandfather. “Oh, my, my, my! Now you four children get together and we’ll talk this over. Benny, you find Henry.”

“And I’ll get Jessie,” said Violet. “She is up in her room.”

The four Aldens—two girls and two boys—lived with their grandfather in a big house. Henry was in college. Jessie was a senior in high school, and Violet was just ready for high school, too. Benny still went to grade school. In a few minutes the four young Aldens were sitting with Mr. Alden in his den.

Grandfather looked around and smiled. “This is the big news,” he said, laughing. “Aunt Jane wants to come East to live in New England again. She wants me to buy a farm for her, right away quick.”

“Quick like a fox,” said Benny.

“Right,” said Grandfather. He laughed again.

“Why does she want to move?” asked Jessie. “She has such an exciting place to live on Mystery Ranch.”

“Well, you see Jane and I were born in New England on a farm,” said Mr. Alden. “We all moved to the West. I should say Jane was about eighteen when we went. I was younger than Jane. After awhile I wanted to come back and go into business. But Jane wouldn’t. She said she would stay and run the ranch alone.”

“Stubborn,” said Benny.

“I remember,” said Jessie. “That is what made the trouble between you and Aunt Jane.”

“Yes, she was too proud to give in. She found she couldn’t run the ranch alone. So she almost starved to death.”

“Wasn’t it lucky we went out there when she was sick?” said Violet. “We found such a lovely aunt.”

“Well, yes—she is lovely now,” said her grandfather, smiling. “Now I am going to surprise Jane. Maybe I can buy the very farm where we used to live! She would like that.”

“Oh, wouldn’t that be wonderful!” cried Jessie. “We could go up to the farm and get everything ready. Do you suppose we’ll have to get chairs and tables and beds? We could get in food and make the beds. We’d love to do that.”

“What fun that would be!” said Violet. Her eyes were very bright.

“When are you going to try, Grandfather?” asked Benny.

“Well, my boy, I am going to surprise you, too. I’m going to start this very minute. It’s only just after supper.”

Benny hugged Watch, the dog, and jumped up and down with him. Watch did not like this very well. But he loved Benny, so he did not make any fuss.

“Now just hand me that telephone, Henry,” said Mr. Alden.

“Whose number are you going to call?” asked Benny. “How do you know what to call?”

“I don’t,” said Mr. Alden. But he made a call just the same. He called the village store.

“Nobody will be in the store as late as this,” said Henry.

“Don’t be too sure,” said Mr. Alden. “In the old days the storekeeper lived in the store. Maybe he still does.”

Sure enough, a loud voice answered. The children could hear every word.

“Hello,” said Grandfather. “Are you the manager of the store?”

“Well, I guess so,” came the answer. “It’s my store.”

“Do you know anything about the old Alden farm up on the hill?”

“Do I? Of course I know the Alden farm up on the hill! I live right here in this town.”

“Yes, I know. Do you know if the farm is for sale?”

“Yes, ’tis. I must say ’tis. That farm is running down. Get it cheap. Furniture, too.”

“Who is selling it?” asked Grandfather.

“Well, I guess I am. It hasn’t brought me any luck. Who wants to buy it?”

“I do. I used to live there with my sister Jane when I was a boy. I am James Alden.”

“Don’t tell me!” said the man. “I remember Jane Alden well. And you too, I guess. Long time ago. And you want to buy that farm back?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, I’ll make you a fair price. All the land and the house and the barn and the hen-coops and the woodshed. Some furniture, too. Glad to get rid of it.”

“I’ll buy it,” said Grandfather.

“What?” cried the man.

“We can settle on the price when I see you,” said Grandfather again. “By the way, tell me your full name.”

“Well, my name is Elisha Morse. But I’m so surprised I don’t know my own name for sure. You coming here to live?”

“No, but my sister Jane is.”

“Well, well, well! This telephone call is costing you a lot of money. Better hang up.”

“All right,” said Grandfather. “We’ll be driving up soon to see my new farm.”

“It ain’t new. It’s old,” said the man.

“It’s new to me. I just bought it,” said Grandfather. “Good-by and thank you.”

Grandfather leaned back and laughed. He hung up the telephone. “Quick like a fox, Benny?” he said. “Is that what you wanted?”

“Grandfather, you are simply wonderful,” said Benny.

“Well, I had a bit of luck, I should say,” said Mr. Alden.

Everyone agreed. But it was Jessie, not Grandfather, who began to make plans right away.

CHAPTER 2

Making Plans

What day is this?” said Jessie. “Friday. Couldn’t we go tomorrow and see the place, Grandfather?”

“That is just what I was thinking,” said Mr. Alden. “We could stay all day Sunday and get back for the last week of school. Of course Henry is home for the summer already.”

Violet said, “I think you are the very kindest man in the world!” She took his hand in both of hers. “You spend all your time trying to make us happy.”

“Well, well. Thank you, my dear. But you children spend all your time making me happy, too.”

“Oh, let’s talk about the farm, Grandfather,” said Benny. “Do they have animals?”

“What do you think, Benny?” asked Jessie. “Nobody lives there. I don’t think Aunt Jane wants any animals. She just wants to come East.”

Henry nodded at his sister. “I think Aunt Jane wants to be near you, Grandfather. I think she feels safer.”

“Maybe you are right, Henry,” said Mr. Alden. He laughed again. “Maggie is coming with Jane. Remember Maggie who has stayed with her for so long? Then Sam and his wife will come and stay this summer anyway. And I am sure Jane will bring her dog Lady.”

“That’s good,” said Jessie. “Maggie knows what Aunt Jane needs. They will all take care of Aunt Jane. She ought to have a man in the house.”

“Yes, and Sam is a very good man,” said Mr. Alden. “I don’t think Jane will run the farm. But she wants to live there. I’d like to start early tomorrow morning. Do you think you could be ready, Benny?”

“Me?” cried Benny. He went over to his grandfather and put his hand on his knee. “I’ll get up any time you say. Three o’clock in the morning. Or two, or four, or even midnight! Any old time.”

“How about five?” said Mr. Alden looking at Benny.

“Fine,” said Benny. “Don’t we have to take a bag if we stay overnight?”

“Yes, each of you must take a bag. We won’t stay at the farmhouse. But we can find a motel, maybe.”

“A motel!” said Benny. “That’s neat.”

“Let’s go and pack, Jessie,” said Violet. “I can hardly wait to see Aunt Jane.”

“Aunt Jane won’t be there,” said Mr. Alden.

“No, I know that,” said Violet. “But I’d like to hurry and get ready for her.”

“We all seem to be in a great hurry,” said Benny. “Will Aunt Jane fly?”

“Yes, I think John Carter can go out for her. Then she will not worry about a thing.”

“Oh, you mean our nice Mr. Carter!” cried Jessie. “He can do anything. Aunt Jane will be safe with him.”

Jessie was right. John Carter was trusted with many things by Grandfather. He even flew Mr. Alden’s private plane.

“Now I think I’ll go and pack my own bag,” said Grandfather, getting out of his chair. “Good-night, everybody.”

“Good-night?” shouted Benny. “It’s only half past seven. Are we going to bed?”

Everybody laughed at Benny’s surprised look.

“I am,” said Grandfather, “and you’d better. Just pack your things first. Remember we start at five. And that means breakfast before five.”

“Can we take Watch?” asked Benny.

“Yes, take Watch. It won’t be a long trip.”

The Aldens had the same suitcases they had taken to Blue Bay. They all knew how to pack very well. It did not take long to decide to take plain clothes. They knew they would need them on a farm.

“We won’t dress up at all,” said Jessie. “Just take shorts and slacks and flat shoes.”

“We always take flat shoes,” said Henry. “Everywhere we go we take flat shoes.”

“Oh, Henry, don’t tease,” laughed Jessie. “I know boys do.”

When four o’clock in the morning came, Benny was fast asleep. He did not hear the alarm clock. Violet went into his room and shook him gently.

“No,” said Benny. “No! It isn’t morning yet. It’s too dark.”

“You said you’d get up at midnight or four o’clock. Any old time,” said Violet.

“It’s different now,” said Benny.

Violet laughed. She put on all the lights and Benny got out of bed.

The family ate a big breakfast of bacon and eggs, cereal and toast and orange juice. Then they all piled into the big station wagon. Henry drove. It was a beautiful spring day. The woods were just beginning to look green. The fields were covered with dandelions. Birds sang in the trees as the sun came up. The family went along the smooth turnpike on the way north.

“We should get there by nine o’clock,” said Grandfather. “I’ll tell you where to turn, Henry.”

A little later he shouted, “Here we are, Henry! Turn here! See the white church over there? And that other building is the town hall. And there is the old store! How small it looks! It used to look big.”

They were delighted to find the store so easily. Everyone got out of the car and went into the store.

“My gracious me!” said the man behind the counter. “I bet you’re James Alden. I’m Elisha Morse.”

“I remember your name, Elisha,” said Grandfather. He shook hands.

For several minutes the two men talked about the sale of the farm. Then Mr. Alden wrote out a check and gave it to Mr. Morse.

“I don’t think you’re going to like your farm,” Mr. Morse said as he put the check away. “The roof leaks.”

“Can’t it be fixed?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Sure. Only it will cost money. I’d do it for you if I had the money.”

“Would you fix it yourself?”

“No. My son is the handy one. He could put on new shingles.”

“You get him if you can,” said Grandfather. “We’ll go right up to the house. Ask your son to come up and see me. We must certainly have the roof fixed.”

“Good,” said Mr. Morse. “Here’s the key to the back door. My son will come in soon to see who was in the store.”

Mr. Morse came out and watched the Aldens get back into the station wagon. He said nothing. The car began to move. Still Mr. Morse said nothing. But when the car had rolled down the drive, he called, “There’s a lot of other things the matter with that farm! You won’t like it!”

But the Aldens were on their way to the farm on the hill and Henry did not turn back.

CHAPTER 3

Grandfather Takes Over

Now why in the world did Mr. Morse call to us after I got started?” asked Henry.

“Well, that’s the way people are up here,” said Grandfather. “I remember now. You have to get used to it. They have all the time there is. Never in a hurry.”

“I suppose I should have gone back,” said Henry.

“No,” said Grandfather. “We’ll wait now and see the house. Then we will find out what’s wrong. These people are the best people in the world. They will do anything for you. You just wait and see. They can even hurry if you tell them why.”

Violet looked at Jessie and smiled. They loved to see their grandfather so happy. He was looking all around him at the little village.

“See!” he said. “There’s the old Bean farm!”

“Bean farm?” said Benny. “Do they raise beans?”

“Oh, no. Mr. and Mrs. Bean used to live there. They had two sons,” said Mr. Alden. “I remember the Bean boy who was just about my age. In mischief all the time. Good looking boy, but always in trouble.” Mr. Alden threw his head back and laughed. “I remember Jane liked him pretty well. Very well, I mean. She always stood up for him.”

“What became of him?” asked Benny. “Did he grow up bad?”

“I don’t know, Benny. That’s a long story. You see he got into trouble with an old gun up here. The next day he was gone. Nobody ever found him. Jane felt pretty bad. I think Jane might have married him.”

“He ran away?” asked Henry.

“Yes, I suppose he did. Later on, we heard he ran away to sea. He got a job on a ship and went around the world. Anyway, nobody knows where he is now. He may be dead. Probably is dead.”

“Aunt Jane would be sorry,” said Violet.

Mr. Alden looked at his gentle granddaughter. “Yes, Jane would be sorry. Nobody ever knew where he got that gun.”

“Did he shoot anybody with it?” asked Benny.

“No. He shot at the big trees to scare people. Queer thing happened. He started a forest fire. Oh, what a fire that was! The house almost caught on fire. But the neighbors put it out. In the morning he was gone.”

“What was his first name?” asked Jessie.

“Now what was his name?” said Grandfather. “I have forgotten. It was a long time ago. I was a boy myself.”

“It’s a nice house,” said Henry.

“Yes, but not as nice as our farmhouse. Ours was built in 1750. There are four big chimneys. You can see the date on the front chimney, I think. It used to be there. There! Look over there! That’s the old house!”

Mr. Alden was so excited that the children were excited too. They looked toward the top of the hill. There stood an enormous white farmhouse. Two large elm trees stood beside the house. Behind the house was a great red barn, and behind the barn was a field and then woods.

“I don’t see anything bad about the house,” said Jessie. “It needs paint, maybe. But it looks all right to me.”

“The roof leaks,” said Benny.

“Wait and see,” said Henry. “I think that if Mr. Morse said we wouldn’t like it, something must be wrong with it.”

“There’s the 1750 on the chimney,” cried Benny. “Painted white.”

Henry turned the station wagon again and there they were, right by the back door of the house. They all got out of the car. They stood and looked at the house. Then Henry put the big key in the back door and turned it.

“The door key works anyway,” he said. He pushed the door open.

“I’ll go in first,” said Mr. Alden. “Then you children follow. Nobody has been here for a long time.” The house looked cool and dim inside.

First they found themselves in a back pantry. Next came the old kitchen.

“Oh, look!” cried Jessie. “What an enormous fireplace!”

“I could lie down in that fireplace!” shouted Benny.

“Don’t,” said Jessie. “And look at the old brick ovens on both sides.” She opened the doors.

“Say!” exclaimed Benny. “That must be where they baked bread.”

The kitchen was a big room. Next everyone went into the sitting room. The carpet was dusty, but not too worn. The chairs and tables were covered with dust.

The Aldens turned to the left and came to the long hall. The front door was at one end of the hall. On the other side of the hall was a parlor and a bedroom. The Aldens walked quickly through these rooms. There would be time to explore them later.

“I suppose there are four bedrooms upstairs,” said Jessie.

“Oh, let’s go upstairs,” said Benny. “Maybe there is something wrong up there.”

“I can’t see anything wrong downstairs,” said Henry. “It’s only dirty and dusty. A fireplace in every room. Think of that!”

“Upstairs, too,” said Grandfather. “That’s how we kept warm. There were no heaters in those days.”

Upstairs they went. There were the four bedrooms. No bathroom.

“We simply can’t stay here, Grandfather,” said Jessie, the good housekeeper. “It is too dirty.”

“Oh, no! We will stay at a motel as I said. Maybe we can get somebody to clean this place up.”

“We could do it,” said Benny.

“No, it will take a strong woman to do this. And maybe a man would be still better,” said Mr. Alden. He looked around thoughtfully.

“There’s a man at the back door,” said Benny. “I can see his car.”

They all went down to find a tall young man getting out of a car.

“Are you Mr. Morse’s son who can fix the roof?” asked Benny.

“That’s right, son,” said the man. “Call me Sim. I’m Simeon Morse.”

“Oh, that’ll be neat!” shouted Benny. “When Sam comes we’ll have Sim and Sam!”

“And who is Sam?” asked Sim.

“He is coming with my sister,” said Mr. Alden. “You’ll get along fine with Sam. He and his wife are going to handle the farm work for my sister. Now I want you to tell me the truth, young man. What is the matter with this house?”

Sim stood on one foot and then the other. He was very nervous.

“Well, I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Then what makes you think there is any trouble here?”

“I don’t know that, either,” said Sim.

Grandfather sat down in a kitchen chair and leaned forward. “Now, Simeon,” he said. “You sit right down here. I want to know just what’s going on. Your father says there is something strange about this place. And you think so, too. What makes you think so? After all, I used to live here and nothing seemed so mysterious then.”

Sim looked at Grandfather for a moment. Then he said, “But your family left, just the way all the others have. Nobody stays.”

“But what is it that makes you think this?” Grandfather asked.

“Kind of silly,” said Sim.

“Never mind that. I want to know what it is, silly or not.”

“Well,” said Sim, “maybe you know the Bean family? Used to live over in that next house?”

“I certainly do.”

Sim went on. “There used to be an older boy there who found a gun some place.”

“I know,” said Grandfather. “I have forgotten his first name.”

“Andrew,” said Sim.

“That’s right! Andrew it was! We called him Andy and his father didn’t like it. Andy Bean! How could I forget that? Now what’s the story?”

“Well, that Andrew was wild. He made a lot of trouble. And that gun set this whole place on fire. They put the fire out, but Andrew never showed up again. Never. His brother got the farm.”

“Well, what’s the matter with this house? That was long ago.”

Sim looked at Mr. Alden. “You want the truth of it? Seems as if nobody ever got along very well here after that. Bad to worse. People tell all kinds of stories. They say that Andrew found the gun here, and somebody was hiding here and gave it to him. Somebody up to no good.”

“Now who could that be?”

“I don’t know. It was a terrible long time ago.”

“What kind of a gun was it?” asked Henry.

“Yes! That’s a good question. We’ve got that gun over to my father’s house right now. It’s an awful old gun. The kind they used in the Revolutionary War. Long time ago.”

“I should like to see that gun very much,” said Mr. Alden.

“See it any time,” said Sim. “Ask my father.”

Mr. Alden looked at Henry and Jessie. “I think there is some story about this gun. And we need to find out what it is!”

“Oh, boy!” cried Benny. “And now we’ll have some fun. When my grandfather really gets going, Sim, things happen.”

“I bet,” said Sim. He smiled at Benny.

“Now, Sim,” Mr. Alden went on, “is this house dangerous? Can’t it be fixed and cleaned up?”

“Sure,” said Sim. “Nothing wrong with the house itself, I guess.” He scowled.

“I thought you said there was something wrong with the house!” cried Mr. Alden.

“It’s just what people say and how they feel about this place. Bad luck. The house is all right. I guess we ought to put a heavy post in the cellar to make the floor safe. Fix the roof. Fix the windows. Paint a little. You could live here OK.”

“Well, you’re a fine friend,” said Mr. Alden. “I’m glad we found you. Can you get some help and start right to work on this place? Today?”

“Today? Well, I don’t know about today.”

“Why not?” asked Grandfather. “Are you busy somewhere else?”

“Well, I guess I could leave. I’m just fixing my tractor. Do that any time.”

“What about help?”

“I guess the neighbors would help. They are glad Miss Alden is coming back here. May change the old place’s luck.”

“You mean the neighbors know already?” asked Grandfather.

“Oh, sure. Knew that last night. Everybody knew it last night.”

“Well, news goes around fast,” said Grandfather. He laughed. “I remember it did when I lived here. You get your help because I don’t know the people yet. Start right away. I will give you some money to buy paint, wood, and that beam for the cellar.” He counted out some money for Sim to use.

“You folks can’t live here now,” said Sim, looking at the four children.

“Oh, no. We thought we could find a motel.”

“Yes, you can. Right down the road, about four miles. It’s a nice motel. Got a carpet on the floor and a TV and everything.”

“Oh, Sim,” said Jessie, “how about a bathroom in this house? Can you put in a bathroom?”

“Where did you want a bathroom?” asked Sim.

“I thought two,” said Jessie. “You could easily take a piece of the big hall. One upstairs and one downstairs.”

“Right, Jessie,” said her grandfather. “Anybody around here put in a bathroom?”

Sim scratched his head. “I always wanted to put in a bathroom,” he said. “Costs too much, though.”

“Well, you go ahead,” said Mr. Alden. “Get all the men you need. The thing is, I want this done as soon as possible. Jane wants to move right away this minute.”

“She’s changed some, I guess,” said Sim. “My father says she used to move slow. And you were the fast one.”

“Right,” said Mr. Alden. “Jane has changed a lot. We both move fast now, Sim. Tell your father.”

“No fear,” said Sim. “I tell him everything.”

While Mr. Alden and Sim talked, Violet and Benny went exploring.

Violet found a path through the uncut grass of the yard. It led to the front door. There she found some big, flat flagstones, warm in the sun.

Benny ran toward the barn. He poked his head through the crack left by a sagging door. The barn was dark and empty. An old lantern hung on a peg beside a broken harness. Nothing moved. “Spooky,” Benny thought to himself.

Suddenly it seemed a long time since their early breakfast. Benny ran back to Grandfather. “I’m hungry,” he said.

“Again?” asked Grandfather. “Have you forgotten that breakfast?”

“I have myself, Grandfather,” said Violet. “I wish we could have a picnic and not go to the motel for lunch. This is such a nice yard.”

“You call this a nice yard?” asked Sim. “You ought to see it when the grass is cut. Looks good.”

“Look at those enormous flat stones by the front door,” said Violet. “We could take a chair out there for Grandfather and have a fine picnic.”

Mr. Alden always listened to Violet. “Well,” he said, “let’s go down to the motel and get some sandwiches, and ask them to fill our Thermos bottles. Could we get sandwiches at the motel, Sim?”

“Well, you could,” said Sim. “But my wife would love to make you some chicken sandwiches. She makes ’em fine.”

“Neat!” cried Benny.

“Could make some egg sandwiches, too,” said Sim.

“We’ll be right down,” cried Benny.

“I’ll go down and tell her,” said Sim. “And I’ll call up some of the neighbors and tell them about this job.”

“Ah!” said Grandfather. His eyes were shining.

“Ah!” said Benny. For a minute he looked just like his grandfather. Sim looked at them both. He saw how much they wanted the house fixed. He said to himself, “They want that house fixed quick, and it will be fixed quick.”

CHAPTER 4

The Potato Pit

You go on ahead, Sim,” said Mr. Alden. “We’ll follow if you are sure your wife wants to make sandwiches for us.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” said Sim. “We got lots of milk, too. We can fill up your Thermos bottles.”

“We’ll drink more milk than that, Sim,” said Henry. “There are four of us, you know. I could drink a quart myself right now.”

“Let’s have one Thermos of coffee for Grandfather,” said Violet, who always thought of Grandfather.

“You can have all the milk you want,” said Sim. “We have forty cows.”

They all went out the back door.

“Don’t lock the door,” said Sim. “Just leave it.”

He got into his car. The family got into the station wagon and off they went. This time they went to the red house nearest the store. Sim took them into the kitchen. His wife smiled when she saw them coming.

“Ma, can you make some chicken sandwiches? This is Mr. Alden and his grandchildren. They want a picnic lunch.”

“How do you do, Mrs. Morse,” said Grandfather, shaking hands. “You are very kind to do this for us.”

“Glad to,” said Mrs. Morse. “I made bread yesterday so I have six loaves.”

“Oh, homemade bread!” said Benny. “What a picnic!”

“Make some egg sandwiches too, Ma,” said Sim. “These children seem to be half starved. I’ll get the cans of milk.”

“Why do you call her ma?” asked Benny. “Isn’t she your wife?”

“Yes, she’s my wife. But I call her ma because we have six kids.”

Mrs. Morse began to chop up chicken in a wooden tray. “You have courage,” she said, “to move into that old house.”

“Why?” asked Benny. “It isn’t haunted, is it?”

“No, it isn’t haunted,” said Mrs. Morse. “But nobody in this town would live in it.”

“Why not?” asked Grandfather. “I’d really like to know.”

“Well, I can’t tell you why. But there is something mysterious about it. I never did know what it was.”

“That’s the funniest thing!” said Jessie. “Nobody seems to know.”

“Did something happen a long time ago?” asked Henry.

Mrs. Morse looked up. “Yes, that’s exactly right! It happened so long ago, nobody remembers. But they remember there was something.”

“Who is the oldest person in this town?” Henry asked.

“Oldest person? Let me think. That would be Grandpa Cole. He’s almost a hundred years old. But he can still see to read and he can walk with a cane.”

“Maybe he would remember something he heard when he was a boy,” said Jessie.

“Maybe he would. That’s right. I never asked Grandpa Cole,” said Mrs. Morse. She began to crack eggs and take off the shells.

Benny’s eyes grew wide with surprise.

“Oh, those eggs were hard-boiled already!” cried Benny. “I thought they would run out when I saw you crack them.”

“Yes, I always have cold eggs for my family. They like cold hard-boiled eggs for breakfast.”

“Well, I don’t,” said Benny. “I like cold eggs for a picnic. And for breakfast I like them hot and soft-boiled.”

Mrs. Morse laughed. “Most people do,” she said. “I’ve got a funny family.”

She was an excellent cook, though. Soon she took out a big basket with a handle. She began to wrap the sandwiches in waxed paper. She put them in the basket. “You like pickles?” she asked.

“Oh, we love pickles!” said Benny. He looked up. He expected to see a bottle of pickles. But these pickles were as long as his hand.

“My, those are superman pickles,” he said. “One will be enough. It looks just like a cucumber.”

“Pickles are cucumbers, Benny,” said Jessie.

“Well, I never knew that,” said Benny.

“I have some cookies, too,” said Mrs. Morse. “You’d better have some cookies for dessert.”

They were big round white cookies with a hole in the middle. They were brown around the edges. How good they smelled!

“There you are,” she said at last. She shut the cover of the basket. “Good luck!” She gave a Thermos of coffee to Jessie.

Henry took the basket and thanked her. Grandfather paid her. That is, he tried to pay her. But she gave the money right back. “No,” she said, “I love to do something like that. It was a pleasure.”

Mr. Alden knew she meant it. So he said he would always remember it, and each one of the four children thanked her again.

Off they went in the station wagon, back to the farm. They took the basket to the big flat stones by the front door. Henry found a chair for Grandfather. The rest sat on the warm stones. Out came the sandwiches, the eggs, the pickles.

Mrs. Morse had put in some paper cups for milk, and one beautiful cup and saucer and a spoon for Mr. Alden. “That’s good!” said Grandfather. “I like my coffee in a cup.”

“Not a paper cup,” said Benny.

“Right. No paper cup for me.”

On top of the basket was an enormous bone for Watch. He took it and went off with it. Everyone was eating cookies when they heard a car coming. Watch began to bark. He ran right over to the children, but he wagged his tail.

“Now who is that?” asked Jessie.

“I bet it’s the man to fix the roof,” said Benny.

He was right. A thin man with white hair stopped his car and got out. He looked at the children and Mr. Alden. He had a load of shingles in the back of his car.

“Are you the man to fix the roof?” Benny asked.

“Yep,” said the man.

“Have you got a long ladder?” asked Henry.

“Nope.”

“I suppose you have to wait for Sim to bring a ladder,” said Grandfather.

“Yep,” said the man. He began to take the shingles out of his car.

Grandfather smiled. “Will you tell me your name?”

“Yep. It’s Delbert King. But call me Del.”

Benny said, “You heard my Aunt Jane wants to come here to live? Quick like a fox. How long do you think it will take to shingle this roof?”

“I don’t know,” said Del. He took out a big box of nails. Another car came slowly up the drive.

“Now who is that?” said Jessie.

“I bet it’s another man to work on the house,” said Henry.

“Look,” said Violet. “There are three men in that car. Grandfather, you can turn a whole town upside down in no time!”

Then Sim came back too. He had another man with him. Now there were six men.

Grandfather said to Sim, “Let’s go into the house and see what to do first.” Everyone followed. Watch went along, wagging his tail.

The boards in the floor were very wide.

“Some of this just needs cleaning,” said Sim. “The last people left it in pretty good shape.”

“I thought nobody had lived here for a long time,” said Benny.

“No, a family moved in and stayed about six months a while ago. Then they went back to New York. They didn’t like the country,” said Sim.

One of the men looked at Benny and said, “Why do you want to live here anyway?”

“We don’t,” said Benny. “It’s my Aunt Jane. She used to live here. And Grandfather, too. This is Grandfather. He used to live here when he was a boy.”

Grandfather looked at the workman. “What’s the matter with the house?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” said the man. He stood on one foot and then the other. He looked at Sim. “Always something queer about this place. Lots of stories.”

“Tell me one,” said Grandfather. “Just one story.”

“Well, there was an old gun.”

“Yes, we’ve heard about that gun!” said Grandfather. “Sim has it at his house.”

“No, it’s at my father’s house,” said Sim.

“Well, I shall see it soon,” said Grandfather. “What about the gun?”

“They say it came from this house,” said the workman. “I guess it was a musket. It was a long time ago.”

“Same story,” said Grandfather. “I am going to fix up the house just the same. Fix the windows. Fix the roof. Put in bathrooms. Put in hot water. A furnace. How long will that take?”

“Well, three weeks,” said Sim. “We’ve got a lot of men.”

Violet said, “School will be out, and we can come up and stay awhile.”

“We’ll find out what the matter is,” said Benny. “I bet it’s nothing. Just stories people tell.”

The men looked at Benny and laughed. “Maybe it’s nothing, son, but I bet it’s something.”

“Well, if it is, my grandfather will find out,” said Benny.

“That’s the truth,” said Sim. “He will.”

The men went out and put ladders up to the roof. Some of the men stayed inside and began to build a fire in the stove.

“Are you cold?” asked Henry. It was a very warm day.

“No, we have to heat water from the well,” said a man.

The workers had big kettles and soon there was plenty of hot water. The men began to wash the floors and walls.

After awhile the Aldens tired of watching the work. They went down to the cellar.

“Oh, what a place!” cried Benny as his eyes grew used to the darkness. “I can believe this cellar was here during the Revolution.”

“A dirt floor with rocks coming through,” Henry said as he looked about. “I suppose people kept vegetables down here in the winter.”

“Right, Henry,” said Grandfather. “We kept potatoes in that pit. We called it the potato pit. I remember it very well. I used to come down here and get two dozen potatoes for dinner. We had so many men working on the farm then.”

The four young Aldens went over the rocks to look into the hole. It was quite deep. It was lined with stones and plastered.

“No potatoes,” said Benny.

They all laughed, and Violet said, “Imagine finding a potato from Revolutionary days!”

“Well,” said Grandfather with a smile, “I can’t say that I remember the Revolution. But we kept potatoes there. And probably that was always the place for potatoes.”

“Maybe the mystery is in the potato pit,” said Jessie. She looked over the edge again.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Mr. Alden. He started to go upstairs. “I lived here a long time. There was nothing in that pit but potatoes.”

“I wonder if the mystery is in the big fireplace in the kitchen,” said Violet. “Let’s look in those ovens.” They went upstairs to the kitchen.

“Let’s get in,” said Benny. It was a fine idea. Benny could get into the ovens and stand up. There was an oven on each side of the fireplace.

But not a clue was to be found.

“Well, I think we had better find that motel,” said Mr. Alden. He looked at his watch. “We will have to have three rooms.”

“Oh, I hope they will take dogs,” said Benny. “Some motels won’t take animals.”

The men had finished washing the floor in the sitting room.

“Oh, how lovely this looks!” cried Jessie. “Wait till we get up some white curtains!”

The men looked at her.

“A fine job, men,” said Grandfather. “When you get through, just walk out. No need to lock the door, so Sim tells me.” He smiled at every man.

“That’s it,” said Henry to himself. “I can see why people enjoy working for Grandfather. He always looks right at them and smiles.”

CHAPTER 5

An Old Flintlock Gun

The Aldens found a fine motel. The man said he would take Watch if they tied him up. Watch did not like this at all, but he lay down by the beds.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, Henry said, “The men won’t be working Sunday of course. So this is just the time to go and see that old gun.”

They drove back to the store. The store was shut, but Mr. Morse saw them coming. He went down to let them in.

“I bet you came to see the old gun,” he said. “Come right upstairs. I live alone because my wife died many years ago.”

When they were all sitting down, Mr. Morse went to a shelf and took down a queer gun.

“Well,” said Benny, “that is the funniest looking gun I ever saw. Does it work? Will it shoot?”

“Oh, yes, it will shoot. But I don’t know how to shoot it myself. It is called a flintlock. They used guns like this in the Revolution.”

“I think I know how it works,” said Henry. “Just let me take it a minute. See, here is a pan. You put the gunpowder in that pan. Then here is a flint. The flint makes a spark when you pull this trigger. That sets fire to the powder.”

“I bet it makes a terrible bang,” said Benny.

“Yes, it does. I have read about them. I think the one who shoots it might get hurt himself,” answered Mr. Morse.

Grandfather said, “Elisha, where did you get this gun?”

“I got it from the Bean family. After Andy skipped out, they didn’t want to see this gun. They were going to throw it away. So I said to give it to me. It’s been on that shelf ever since. Going on fifty years! I never clean it any more.”

Then Henry gave the gun to Jessie. She said, “This ought to be in a museum.”

Henry said, “Now who did you say was the oldest person here? Grandpa Cole?”

“I didn’t tell you about Grandpa Cole. Must have been my son.”

“It was Sim’s wife,” said Violet. “She said he was almost a hundred years old. Where does he live?”

“Could we go and call on him?” asked Mr. Alden. He never wanted to waste words.

“Well, you could. He’d sure be surprised. Nobody ever calls on him now. He’s too old. He just talks about the past,” said Mr. Morse.

“Well,” said Grandfather, “we want him to talk about the past.”

“He will,” said Mr. Morse laughing. “Go back on this road, past your own farm, and Grandpa Cole lives in the next house. A little white house with a white fence around it.”

The station wagon was soon on the road again. They went past their own house with the ladders still up on the roof. Then they saw the small white house with the white fence. They all got out.

“I hope we won’t scare him,” said Benny. “So many strangers.”

Mr. Cole was not scared. He was very much pleased. He came out in the yard and told them to sit down on the benches. A nice motherly lady came out and helped him into an easy chair.

“We won’t stay very long, Mr. Cole,” began Grandfather.

“Call me Grandpa,” said the old man.

“Very well.” Grandfather Alden smiled. “We want to ask you some questions, but we don’t want to tire you.”

“You won’t tire me. Stay as long as you can,” said Grandpa Cole. “I don’t get many visitors, and I like visitors.”

“That’s good,” said Benny. “This is very important.”

“What’s that?” asked Grandpa Cole. “Important? What can I tell you?”

Grandfather began again. “I know you have heard the story of the old gun that Andy Bean had.”

“Yep. An old flintlock. He set a big fire with that flintlock, and then he skipped out.”

“Well, this is what we want to know,” said Mr. Alden leaning forward. “Where did that gun come from?”

“Where did that gun come from? Well, that’s easy. It came from the farmhouse you just bought for yourself! Somebody gave it to Andy. Now that’s another story. I don’t know exactly who it was, but it was somebody hiding in your house!”

“Hiding? Why?” asked Benny.

“I don’t know that, and I’m sure Andy’s brother who has the farm doesn’t know either. He wouldn’t talk about it anyway. But I can tell you who does know.”

“Who?” cried everybody at once.

“My brother. He is only 92 years old and I am 99. He was younger than I was, and he would remember better.”

“What is his name?” asked Henry.

“Well, Cole. Only he is John Cole and nobody calls him grandpa.”

“Where is he now?” asked Jessie eagerly.

“In New York. He lives in the city in the winter. He comes up here in the summer. He’ll be here in a few weeks. Maybe in a few days. I lose track of the time.”

Violet said to Jessie, “Maybe he’ll be here when we come up to stay. Then we can ask him. That will be after Aunt Jane comes, too.”

Grandpa Cole didn’t know anything more. But as Henry said, every little bit helps.

The Aldens thought Grandpa Cole was beginning to look tired. It was time to go.

“Well, thank you,” said Mr. Alden. He got up and shook hands with the old man. “The children will come up soon to get the house ready for my sister Jane.”

“Yes, I heard all about it,” said Grandpa. “I hope she gets along all right in that house.” He shook his head.

“We’re going to live there too this summer,” said Benny. “We’re going to visit Aunt Jane.”

“Come and see me,” said Grandpa Cole.

As they rode back to their own farm, Mr. Alden said, “I think we might as well go home now. We can’t do anything more.”

“Don’t you have to talk to Sim and tell the men what to do?” asked Benny.

“No, I told them already,” said Grandfather.

So the family said good-by to their new friends and went back home.

In a few weeks Grandfather had a telephone call that the house was done. Jessie and Violet were ready with curtains for the windows. They had sheets and blankets and towels and lots of other things.

It took many trips to load the station wagon. And when everything was packed in, there was hardly room for Watch to ride along.

John Carter flew out to get Aunt Jane. Sam and his wife, who worked for her, had already started to drive East in their car. Maggie, however, came along with Aunt Jane.

How excited Aunt Jane was when she saw the farm where she had been born. Of course Aunt Jane was really the Alden children’s great-aunt. She and Grandfather were sister and brother.

Tiny and lively, Aunt Jane moved quickly, just as her brother did. Now her cheeks were pink and her eyes danced as she looked around her new home.

“James,” she cried, “you always surprise me. How did you ever get this farm back?”

“Very easily,” said Grandfather. “Nobody wanted it, Jane.”

“Well, I want it,” said Aunt Jane. “I will be very happy here. Maggie will like it, too. And what a fine summer we will have with all the children!”

“And Watch,” said Benny.

The girls and Maggie made the beds, put food in the refrigerator and new dishes in the kitchen. They brought a toaster and a coffee percolator for Mr. Alden.

Sam and his wife arrived. Sam got busy right away. He bought chickens from a neighbor. He fixed up the hen house. The farm became a busy place.

After a week Mr. Alden went back to work. But Aunt Jane, Maggie, and the four children stayed. They felt as if they had always lived on the old farm.

CHAPTER 6

Exploring the Woodshed

Soon everyone in town knew the four young Aldens. They went everywhere.

One morning Benny went over to the Bean farm. He met Mr. Bean, Andy’s brother, and Mrs. Bean. They were glad to see Benny and told him to come often. But they never said a word about Andy, the older brother who had run away.

At lunch Benny said, “Here’s something funny. You know the Beans raise eggs.”

“They raise hens, Benny,” said Jessie smiling.

“Well, anyway, they sell eggs. And every day about three eggs are gone.”

“How do you know, old fellow? How do the Beans know?” asked Henry.

“Well, Mrs. Bean told me,” said Benny.

Violet laughed and said, “Henny Penny told me.”

“No, really,” said Benny. “No fooling. You ought to see the list of eggs. They have a paper in the kitchen. It’s on the wall. Every time they put down how many eggs they get.” Everyone waited, smiling at Benny.

Benny went on. “Well, this is how the numbers go: 35 the first day, then 36, 34, 35, 35. You see—always about 35 eggs? Then one day suddenly it’s like this: 32, 31, 33, 31, 30. See? Somebody’s stealing eggs.”

“Imagine that!” said Aunt Jane. “This is a very honest town.”

“A mystery!” said Henry. “The Case of the Stolen Eggs!”

Jessie laughed at Henry’s joke, but Benny was serious.

“We’ve been everywhere in this town except the woods,” said Benny. “Let’s go up to the woods today.”

“Well, you can go if you wish,” said Aunt Jane. “But these woods are not as interesting as the ranch. In the fall you can find nuts. But there is nothing there now except the brook and the old woodshed.”

The boys looked interested just the same.

“Woodshed?” asked Henry. “Why did they put a woodshed so far away from the house?”

“A good question, Henry,” said Aunt Jane, much pleased. “They used to cut down the enormous trees. Then they cut them up right where they fell. They used to fill that woodshed with new wood. Sometimes they left it for a year to season. The woodshed kept the snow off.”

“It burns better when it’s old,” said Benny.

“Oh, much better. Green wood will hardly burn at all.”

The day was hot. The children walked slowly up the hill to the woods.

Violet stopped to pick a few flowers. She said, “Aunt Jane loves flowers.”

The Aldens knew the names of many wild flowers. Violet picked a few pink lady’s-slippers, a jack-in-the-pulpit, and some white foamflowers.

“I see the old woodshed,” said Benny. “It isn’t much.”

“No,” said Jessie. “It’s just a woodshed. Aunt Jane told you that.”

At last they stood in front of the woodshed. They looked at it.

“No windows,” said Benny. “If it had windows it would be a fine playhouse.”

Henry pushed the door open. He looked in. It was dark inside. He looked again.

“This is strange,” he said. “You look, Jessie.”

Jessie put her head in the door.

“Somebody lives here!” she cried.

“Let me see!” shouted Benny. Then they all went inside.

“I don’t see a thing,” said Violet.

“Wait a minute, Violet,” said Henry. “Your eyes will get used to the dark.”

“A table!” cried Benny. “And a bench under it!”

It was true. A small table stood in the corner with a bench under it. On the table were two old plates, a cup, and a fork and spoon.

“No knife,” said Benny. “I bet somebody has a knife right in his pocket.”

“There is no food, either,” said Jessie.

“Yes, there is, Jessie! Look up!” Violet was excited.

Sure enough, there was a shelf over the table. On it was a wide shingle and four cans of food. There were beef and ham and canned string beans and peas.

“What do you know!” said Henry. “We must tell Sam about this. I don’t think we’d better tell Aunt Jane.”

“Do you think it would scare her?” Benny asked.

“I’m afraid so,” said Henry. “What do you think, Jessie?”

“I don’t know. Let’s tell Sam first anyway.”

While they talked, Violet looked carefully around the one room.

“There must be a bed,” said Violet. “I don’t see one.”

But Watch did. He had found the bed easily and was lying on it.

“Sometimes I think that Watch can see in the dark,” said Violet. “It’s just a blanket on some hay. I wonder where the hay came from?”

“Maybe from some barn,” said Henry. “Plenty of hay around here.”

Then they saw the egg. It was behind the cans.

“An egg!” shouted Benny. “I told you somebody was stealing eggs. This is where the eggs go! Three every day! A mystery!”

“Two mysteries,” said Henry. “Who takes the eggs and who lives here?” Then he turned around suddenly. “Let’s go,” he said.

They all knew why Henry wanted to go. He thought the man who lived in the woodshed might come along. And he did not want Violet to feel frightened.

Violet left in such a hurry that she forgot her wild flowers on the little table.

When they reached home, they found Sam very busy indeed with his new chickens.

They lost no time in telling Sam about the woodshed and what they had found inside it. They tried to get Sam to help them guess who might be making the woodshed a home. It seemed like such an odd thing for anyone to do.

Sam looked at the Aldens and shook his head. They were always getting mixed up in something.

“I can’t come now,” he said. “That woodshed won’t run away.”

“Don’t you believe us?” asked Benny. “We all saw it.”

“Sure I believe you,” Sam said. But he laughed. “It could be a playhouse,” he said.

“Whose playhouse?” asked Benny.

“Well, any of the neighbors,” said Sam. “There must be lots of children in the town.”

They decided not to tell Aunt Jane. They could tell her later. They had to wait because Sam would not go until after lunch.

“Where are you all going?” Aunt Jane asked.

“We want Sam to see that woodshed!” Benny said. “It looks like Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin.”

Aunt Jane said nothing. But she knew something was going on. Maggie knew, too.

“It beats all, Miss Jane,” said Maggie. “Those four always find such interesting things.”

“So they do, Maggie. They’ll tell us when they get ready.”

Sam walked slowly up the hill. Benny danced on ahead with Watch.

“You’ll soon see for yourself, Sam,” he said.

They reached the woodshed. Benny pushed the door wide open. “Go right in, Sam, and look around.”

Sam went in and stood still.

“I don’t see a thing,” he said.

“Wait,” called Violet. “Your eyes have to get used to the dark.”

But still Sam could not see anything. The four went inside and looked around.

“What! What!” cried Benny.

The woodshed was empty. There was no bed, no table, no bench, no food. Nothing at all.

“No egg,” said Benny softly.

Henry looked at Sam. “But they really were here, Sam. We all saw them. You’ll have to believe me.”

“I do believe you,” said Sam. “Now what next? What’ll you do?”

Violet said, “We’ll certainly have to tell Aunt Jane now.”

“Yes,” Henry agreed. “That’s what we will do.”

CHAPTER 7

Clues from an Old Book

Back at the farmhouse Henry told Aunt Jane the whole story.

“What a story that is!” she said. “But I’m not afraid with Sim and Sam here. Who do you suppose is living in my woodshed?”

“It’s a good housekeeper,” said Jessie. “Everything was as neat as a pin.”

“Why don’t you find out when Mr. Cole is coming?” said Aunt Jane. “He might know something about that woodshed. That is the next thing I’d do.”

Henry went with Jessie to see Grandpa Cole. It was not a long walk.

Grandpa was sitting outdoors, reading.

“Do you know when your brother is coming?” Henry asked.

“Not till July first,” said Grandpa Cole. “When New York gets hot, he comes up here. He hates to travel.”

Jessie said, “We want to see him when he comes. Where will he live?”

“Right here with me,” said the old man. “He’s good company for me. He can remember everything.”

“I hope he can,” said Henry, laughing. “We want to ask him a lot of questions.”

“I am afraid we will bother him,” said Jessie.

“No bother. He’ll like it. I like it too. It’s good to see nice young folks like you. I hope you will come often.”

“I’m sure we will,” said Henry. Then Henry and Jessie walked home.

They found Violet on the back steps reading a big book. She looked up at her brother and sister. They saw at once that she was very much excited.

“Henry!” said Violet. “This is a wonderful book for us! It’s all about the Revolutionary War. And it tells how John Hancock and Sam Adams had to hide!”

The two older Aldens sat down beside Violet. “Tell us about it,” said Jessie.

“Yes,” said Henry. “Go on.”

“I found this book in the parlor,” said Violet. “See, it has lots of pictures. Here is a picture of that old gun!”

“Just exactly like it!” said Henry, looking at it.

“Now you see,” said Violet, “if John Hancock had to hide—”

“There were lots of his men who had to hide, too!” finished Jessie.

“Right!” said Henry. “I know many men were with him, all over the place. You’ve got something, Violet!”

Benny came around the corner. “What’s Violet got?” he asked.

“News,” said Henry. “Sit down, Benny. She’s found news about our mystery from an old, old book.”

He told Benny about it and showed him the pictures.

“This is neat!” cried Benny. “Do you think any of those men hid in our woodshed?”

“Well, no,” said Henry slowly. “Not the same woodshed anyway. But a very old one fell down about a hundred years ago. This one is not old enough.”

“Goodness!” said Benny. “How old was the old one?”

“It must have been built in Colonial days,” said Henry. “What else did you read, Violet?”

“Oh, John Hancock’s men got all the guns they could. They got bullets and gunpowder. They hid them in lots of places. One time they hid guns in a load of hay. The Redcoats stood and watched the load of hay go by. They never thought of looking in the hay!”

“Violet!” said Henry. “What a girl you are! This is the best news we have heard.”

Benny said, “I wonder what the Redcoats would have done to the man with the hay cart if they had found the guns?”

“They would have shot him dead!” said Violet.

“Violet!” said Henry again.

“Yes, that’s right,” said Violet. “There were many brave men in those days. They were always in danger. But they went on getting guns and ammunition and hiding it. The Redcoats were always trying to find it.”

“Anything else?” asked Jessie.

“One more thing I read,” said Violet. “We lost the battle of Bunker Hill just because we ran out of ammunition.”

“Wait a minute,” said Henry. “Here comes Sim. Let’s ask him something.”

They all went to meet Sim. He had a big can of milk for them, and one of cream. Maggie took the cans and Sim looked at the children.

Henry said, “Sim, do you know where the old, old woodshed used to be? Not this one, but the one that fell down?”

“Yes, I know that. Right in the very same place.”

“Good!” cried Henry. “How do you know?”

Sim scratched his head. “Of course, I wasn’t there.” He—looked at Henry and laughed. “I’m not quite a hundred years old, but my father told me. This woodshed stands right where the old one was. That’s all I know.”

“That’s enough!” cried Jessie. “Do you think anyone hid there from the Redcoats during the war?”

“Maybe. I can’t tell you that,” said Sim, shaking his head. “Why do you want to know?”

“We just want to find out where all the stories about why nobody will live in this house came from,” said Violet softly.

“I see,” said Sim. He smiled at Violet. “I’d help you if I could.”

“You have,” said Benny suddenly. Then as Sim went away he said, “I have an idea!”

“What’s your idea?” asked Henry.

“Let’s go back to the woodshed and take a flashlight. We might find a clue.”

“Not after two hundred years, Benny!” said Jessie.

“I bet nobody ever looked,” said Benny. “Of course they didn’t find anything if they didn’t even look.”

After lunch Henry found his big flashlight. Benny found his, too.

“Do come with us, Sam!” begged Violet.

“Go ahead, Sam,” said Aunt Jane. “You leave your work whatever it is. This is more important. I don’t want to be afraid all my life.”

So Sam nodded his head and agreed to go along. He knew that Violet and Benny were safe with Henry and Jessie, but Miss Jane had asked him to go.

Sam had been quietly watching to see if anything unusual were going on around the farm. But not a thing seemed out of place and he had seen no one.

As they came up the hill, Watch walked along with Jessie. But as they came near the woodshed, he put his nose to the ground and ran on ahead. When he reached the door, he ran around the woodshed barking.

Henry kicked the door open. He went in with his flashlight.

“What in the world!” he cried. They all went in. There was the little table back in the corner. There was the bench, the bed, the dishes, the cans, the egg.

The children just stood still and looked at each other.

CHAPTER 8

A Light in the Dark

Benny was the first to speak. He said, “Well, this shows two things. Somebody’s living here. And his hiding place can’t be very far away.”

“That’s right, Benny,” said Henry. “Nobody could move all these things very far and then move them right back again.”

“I say we’d better look for a hole in this cabin,” said Benny. “Maybe there’s a cellar.” He began to flash his light on the floor. Henry did the same. They found nothing.

“This is a funny floor, anyway,” said Violet. “Just dirt.”

Sam said, “I’d take up that bed and look under it.”

“Yes,” said Henry. “Sorry, Watch. You’ll have to get off the bed.”

Benny pushed him off gently. Watch shook himself and sat down.

The children moved the blanket carefully. They moved the thick bed of hay under it.

“Now, look!” said Jessie. “Do you see what I see? That dirt has been moved!”

“That’s right, Miss Jessie,” said Sam. “And not very long ago either. I wish we had a shovel.”

“We don’t need a shovel,” said Henry. “We need a shingle. And I know exactly where I can find a shingle!”

Henry went over to the shelf and came back with a shingle. “I saw it under the cans the first day,” he said. He knelt down and pushed the shingle into the soft dirt. He worked and worked to find a hole or a crack.

“Let me try,” said Benny. “I love to dig.” He knelt down and began to dig away the dirt.

“Certainly that dirt has been moved,” said Violet. “See how soft it is.”

Then Benny found the crack.

“I’ve got it!” he shouted. “It’s heavy! I hope I don’t break the shingle!”

“Oh, I hope not!” cried Jessie. “Let Henry help you, Benny.”

Henry took the shingle and lifted. And up came a cover.

“A wood cover!” shouted Benny. “I bet there’s a cellar under this woodshed!”

Perhaps it was not a cellar, but there was surely a big hole under the cover. Some of the dirt fell in. Benny flashed his light down the hole.

“Stairs!” he cried. “I’m going right down!”

His foot was on the top step.

“Oh, no, you’re not,” said Sam. He shook his head. “I couldn’t let you. What would your Aunt Jane say if you got into trouble?”

“What trouble could I get into, Sam? There are only a few stairs.”

“Who knows?” said Sam. “Might be somebody down there.”

“Oh, no, Sam!” said Benny. “Watch would be right down there by now. And he would bark. And look at him!”

Watch was lying down chewing some hay. He was not interested in the hole.

“I’ll go down myself,” said Sam. “I’d like to see what’s down there.”

“You’re too tall,” said Benny.

“Well, I can bend over,” said Sam. “I am going first, that’s sure.”

“Take the biggest light, Sam,” said Henry.

Sam took the big light and put his foot on the first stair. The stair did not break. Sam moved slowly. He sat down on a stair and flashed the light ahead.

The Aldens held their breath.

“Well, what do you know!” he called. “It looks like a tunnel!”

“A tunnel?” called Henry. “Can you crawl through it?”

“Yes, but I’m not going to,” said Sam. “Hello, what’s this?”

“Well, what is it?” called Henry.

“I don’t know. It’s something made of tin. I’ll bring it up.”

He passed up a very queer looking thing. Jessie took it and turned it over in her hands. “This is an old candlestick,” she said. “It looks very, very old.”

“Maybe somebody had to have a candle,” called Sam. “It’s as dark as a pocket down here. It’s not a bit wet, though.”

“That’s because it’s on a hill,” said Henry.

“Can’t I come down now, Sam?” asked Benny. “You see how quiet Watch is.”

“Well, come on,” said Sam. “There’s plenty of room.”

“Let’s all go down,” cried Benny. But Watch did not like this. He saw Benny go down out of sight. Then when Henry started, he got up and began to bark.

“All right. All right!” said Jessie. “You go down yourself, Mr. Watch.” She pushed him gently down the stairs. “You’re a bother, though.”

“No,” said Sam. “Watch is no bother. He’s a help.”

“Why do you think Watch is a help, Sam?” asked Benny.

“A dog knows,” said Sam. “He would bark his head off if there was any danger. A dog can smell danger.”

At last everyone had come down the stairs. They had two flashlights.

“It’s spooky down here,” Jessie said, looking around her and shivering a bit.

“There’s your tunnel,” said Sam.

Watch ran in, but he soon turned around and came back.

“Maybe it isn’t a tunnel, Sam. Maybe it’s just a cave,” said Henry.

“Maybe,” said Sam.

“Here’s a lot of junk,” said Benny. He kicked a box with his foot. “Ow!” he said. “That box is made of iron!”

“Take it,” said Henry. “We can open it later.”

“You know what I think?” said Benny. “I think we’d better get out of here. Suppose somebody put that cover on, we’d be in a fix!”

“Right!” said Henry. “We ought to leave somebody up in the cabin to watch out.”

Without another word, they all went up the stairs. They put the cover on and stamped on the soft dirt. They put the bed back.

And then they went home to Aunt Jane with a very old candlestick and a very heavy iron box.

CHAPTER 9

What Was in the Box

Aunt Jane was not in the house. No dog came to meet them. Aunt Jane’s dog, Lady, always stayed with her. Benny called out, “Aunt Jane!” When nobody answered, Henry called, “Lady! Lady!”

A bark came from the yard behind the house. There sat Aunt Jane reading Violet’s big book. She looked up.

“Well, how did you get along?” she asked.

Benny could hardly wait to tell her about the hole under the woodshed. Then Jessie gave her the old candlestick.

“What an old candlestick!” cried Aunt Jane. “This is the kind they used at the time of the Revolutionary War!”

“That’s what Jessie thought, Aunt Jane,” said Violet. “And we found an old iron box, too.”

“Open it right away!” said Aunt Jane. “It looks like a candle box. The kind they used to pack candles in.”

“Somebody sat there in the dark with a candle,” said Henry. “Why would they do that, Aunt Jane?”

“I have an idea, Henry! I got it from this old book. You just open that box and we’ll see.”

“I’ll have to break the top off, I’m afraid,” said Henry. “See how rusty it is.”

“All right. Break it!” cried Aunt Jane.

“I’ll get a hammer and chisel,” shouted Benny. “I’ll be right back.”

Off he went to the house. He soon came back and Henry started to work. Little by little the cover opened. At last it fell off.

“Well, what is it?” cried Benny. “Just a lot of old black powder.”

“Gunpowder!” said Aunt Jane with shining eyes. “I read about gunpowder in Violet’s book. Somebody dug that hole to keep ammunition in!”

“You’re right,” said Henry quietly. “I think we have found one of the places where they hid ammunition!”

“Then they took it to Concord,” said Jessie.

“In a load of hay!” said Violet.

They all looked at each other.

Henry said, “Aunt Jane, we decided not to go into the tunnel. We may find a lot more things later.”

“We thought somebody might shut the cover down,” said Benny. “And there we’d all be. Next time we’ll leave somebody outside to keep watch. Where’s Sam?”

But Sam had gone back to work.

Aunt Jane said, “Sam must go with you every time. Remember that.”

“I think so, too,” said Jessie. “That dirt looked as if it had been moved only yesterday. Some stranger is around here.”

“He’s stealing eggs from the Beans,” said Benny. Everyone laughed.

Benny went on slowly. Talking about the Beans had made him think of something. He said, “Aunt Jane, why didn’t you marry this Andy Bean?”

“All right, I’ll tell you, Benny. Nobody ever asked me before.”

“I wasn’t very polite to ask you, was I?” said Benny.

“No,” said Aunt Jane. “But I don’t mind. I was quite silly. Andy Bean did ask me to marry him and I said no. My reasons were very silly. I know that now. The first reason was that he was two years younger than I was, but he was big and he looked older. What do you guess the second reason was?”

“What?” asked four voices.

“I didn’t want to be called Mrs. Bean!”

Violet patted Aunt Jane’s hand. “I don’t think that was too silly.”

“Well, I do,” said Aunt Jane. “I have been sorry a thousand times. Andy was a fine looking, clever boy. He had a nice crooked smile. His younger brother owns the Bean farm now. His wife is the Mrs. Bean who told you about the eggs, Benny.”

“Don’t we have the most exciting adventures!” cried Benny. “Something new is always happening.”

“Yes, Benny,” said Aunt Jane laughing. “Ever since I met you something nice has happened every day. Before that nothing happened.”

“Well, tomorrow we’ll explore that cellar again,” said Henry. “I’ll read that old book myself. I’d like to know what to look for.”

“We might find an old gun,” said Benny. “Maybe an old flintlock.”

“Benny Alden!” cried Violet. Her eyes were like stars. “Do you know what you just said? Maybe that cellar is where Andy Bean found his old flintlock!”

Everyone was excited until Jessie said, “No, I don’t think so. Don’t you remember that somebody gave it to Andy?”

“That’s right, Jessie,” said Benny. “They said it was somebody hiding in this house! And that’s why the stories have been told and nobody will live here.”

“Well!” said Henry. “We’ll find out if it takes all summer.”

“Don’t forget,” said Aunt Jane softly, “it may.”

Henry smiled at his aunt. Maybe it would take all summer, but the mystery would be solved. And it would be solved quickly if some of his and Benny’s ideas proved to be right.

CHAPTER 10

Back to the Woodshed

The next day Maggie saw an old man in overalls coming to the back door. He had a basket of eggs.

“Are you selling eggs?” Maggie asked.

“Yep,” said the old man.

“Where did you come from?” she asked again.

“Beans’,” said the man.

Benny heard him from the next room. He laughed. He said to Violet, “He doesn’t talk much, does he?”

“I wonder who he is?” said Violet.

“I know who he is,” said Benny. “He is the Beans’ hired man. I saw him working there when I went over.”

Maggie told the man, “We will have plenty of eggs later. Sam is going to raise chickens.”

“Yep,” said the man.

“We do want two dozen eggs now,” Maggie went on. “Put them in this pan.”

Benny and Violet listened.

“Have you lost any more eggs?” asked Maggie.

“Yep,” said the man.

“Can’t you say anything but ‘yep’?” Maggie laughed.

“No,” said the man. He did not laugh.

“Well, come every week,” said Maggie. “What’s your name?”

“Willie,” said the man.

“My, my! A grown man called Willie! You ought to be William.”

The man did not answer. Then he left.

Benny went into the kitchen at once. “What’s the matter with him?” he asked. “Can’t he talk?”

“Well,” said Maggie, “he doesn’t act very smart to me. Maybe he doesn’t know very much. Not very bright. He can’t help that. Maybe he’s a good worker. He sells very nice eggs.”

“Hi! Come on!” called Henry from outside. “I’ve got a bigger flashlight this time. It will last longer.”

Very soon Henry, Benny, and the two girls were on their way to the woodshed. Sam had to stop his work and go with them.

“I’ll never get anything done,” said Sam. But he smiled.

“I don’t think it will be much longer now,” said Henry mysteriously. “Do any of you know why all those things were taken out of the woodshed?”

“I think I do,” said Violet. “Somebody found my flowers on the table.”

“Right!” said Henry. “And then why were the things put back?”

“I bet someone saw us,” said Benny, “and said, ‘Oh, it’s only children!’”

“Good, Benny. That’s what I think too,” replied Henry. “We’ll be careful this time to leave everything just as it is now.”

“Do you want me to stay outside and watch?” asked Sam.

“Yes, I think that would be best, wouldn’t it?” said Jessie. “We’ll take Watch down in the hole with us. If you see anyone, just call.”

Soon the four children and the dog were down in the hole. The flashlight was very bright.

“Almost as bright as day,” said Benny, looking around. Watch was already in the tunnel, smelling around, wagging his tail. Henry followed him. He had to bend over.

Soon Henry called back, “This isn’t a tunnel! It’s just a big room. I can almost stand up.”

Jessie followed him. She said, “This was certainly a storehouse. All kinds of things are on the floor. Don’t fall over them.”

Benny came in. He said, “Let’s put the light in the middle, Henry. Then we can look at every single thing. What are the little red balls all over the floor?”

“I think they are bullets,” said Henry. “They are all rusty. That makes them look red. Pick them all up.”

“Oh, Violet, I wish we had a bag!” cried Jessie.

“We have,” said Violet. She held up what looked like a small, folded piece of cloth. But when she shook it out, it was a large bag folded up many times. When it was open, it was enormous.

“How do you think of everything, Violet?” said Jessie. “That will hold all we find.”

“All but this,” shouted Benny. He dug out a flintlock. It was almost buried in the dirt.

“Just exactly like the other!” cried Violet.

“That settles it,” said Henry. “This was a hiding place for ammunition.”

Jessie added, “Only somebody has been here lately. It must be the one who lives in this woodshed.”

“I just wonder who it could be!” said Violet. “Who would want to hide here these days?”

“Look here!” cried Jessie. “I almost fell over this!” She held up an old milking stool with three legs.

Henry looked at it. “I can just see one of those soldiers sitting on that stool with a candle!”

“What do you see him doing, Henry?” asked Benny.

“Well, packing bullets and cartridges and gunpowder in candle boxes.”

At last they could not find anything more. They went up the steps and put the cover over the hole. Then they went home with their treasures. Sam had not seen anyone.

When Aunt Jane had seen everything, she looked at the four children. She said, “I think we are soon going to find a very exciting story. Mr. Cole has come to spend the summer with his brother, and he wants to see you right away!”

CHAPTER 11

A New Discovery

Henry said, “We certainly want to see Mr. Cole right away. I hope he has something to tell us.”

“I hope he will talk more than Willie,” said Benny.

They all laughed as they started out for Grandpa Cole’s.

The two old men were sitting side by side in two chairs in the yard.

“They look a lot alike, don’t they?” said Jessie. “But we know they are not twins. How exciting this is! We may get news and we may not.”

“Be prepared,” said Benny. “Just like the Boy Scouts.”

The two Mr. Coles were delighted to see the visitors. “Go and get four chairs,” said Grandpa.

“Oh, no, we can sit on the grass,” said Jessie. “We like it.” They all sat down, so it was too late to get chairs.

“We are very glad you came at last, sir,” said Henry to Mr. Cole. “We have been waiting for you. Maybe you can tell us something new.”

“Well, my boy, I think I can,” said Mr. Cole. “I knew Andy Bean very well. I was a young man and Andy was just a big boy. Always up to something. He was good looking with a one-sided kind of smile. He always wanted to do exciting things. And we were quiet people.”

“We always come right back to Andy Bean, don’t we?” said Benny.

“Yes, your mystery is about Andy Bean, that’s why. I’m sure of that. You see I knew he had that flintlock.”

“You did!” they all said.

“Yes. He came and showed it to me as a secret. But I didn’t think much about it because I didn’t know how to shoot it.”

“Didn’t Andy know?” asked Violet.

“No. That’s why he took it up into the woods to fool with it. He had gunpowder and matches. But I suppose the gun was too rusty. So before he knew it, he had started a big fire. The leaves and grass were very dry and caught fire easily. The farmhouse was saved, but many trees were burned. I suppose Andy was afraid somebody would put him in jail. He never could stand being shut in, so he ran away.”

“He left the gun,” said Henry.

“Yes, he left the gun. But this isn’t what I wanted to tell you. You knew this already, didn’t you?”

“Most of it,” said Henry. “But we hope you know things we don’t. People keep saying someone at our house hid there and gave Andy the flintlock.”

“Not a bit of truth to it,” Mr. Cole said loudly. “People like to tell tales just to scare themselves. Andy told me he found the gun somewhere in your house. He didn’t say where. But he did say, ‘I found the whole story, too, all written out.’ Those were his own words. Then he said, ‘The other end is in the woodshed.’”

“I wonder what he meant? The other end of what?” cried Violet.

“I never knew,” said Mr. Cole sadly. “Now I’m sorry I didn’t ask him, but then I didn’t think it was important.”

“Is there anyone else we could ask?” said Jessie. “Who else was around here at that time?”

“Oh, Willie,” said Mr. Cole laughing. “But you won’t get much out of Willie!”

“No, he doesn’t talk,” said Benny.

“No, he doesn’t talk, and he doesn’t know much either. He was born that way. He can’t help it. But he was around here then, sure enough.”

Violet said, “Do you think there could be a tunnel between the woodshed and our house?”

“No, it’s too far. But if I were you, I’d hunt around in your own cellar. For Andy said the woodshed is the other end of something.”

“We’ll do that right off,” said Henry getting up. “Do you think we might find this mystery written down?”

“It looks that way to me,” said Mr. Cole. “Something happened in your house. That’s what makes the mystery. People had always felt there was something unusual about the old place. After Andy Bean’s disappearance, there were more stories whispered around.”

“That’s what makes it so exciting,” said Benny.

“You are new,” said Grandpa Cole. “You never lived here long ago with all these goings-on.”

“Thanks a million,” said Henry. “You helped us a lot, Mr. Cole. We’ll tell you what we find.”

The Aldens could hardly wait to get to their own cellar. Violet stopped to tell Aunt Jane all about it. Then she went down the cellar with the rest.

Henry was standing still, looking all around. He laughed and said, “Benny, where would you begin? You have good luck finding things.”

Benny was very much pleased. He said at once, “The potato pit. You can see everything else. But you can’t see the inside of the potato pit.”

“OK,” said Henry. “You and I will be the ones to get dirty. In you go!” He helped his little brother over the edge of the empty pit. He handed down a flashlight and a small shovel. Then he took an axe and jumped in.

Jessie and Violet could see the top of his head.

“How are you going to get out?” asked Jessie as she looked down.

“You can give us a box to step on,” said Henry. “But we haven’t begun yet.”

First the boys looked at the floor very carefully. They found nothing but dirt. Then they began to look at the walls.

“These walls are made of stones, aren’t they, Henry?” asked Benny. “And then plaster over them?”

“Right,” said Henry. “But maybe some of them are loose.”

He hit the wall with his axehead and said, “Listen! This isn’t stone. It’s wood!”

“Don’t tell me!” shouted Benny. “Maybe it’s a little wooden door! And all covered with plaster!”

The boys pounded away at the door. The plaster fell off in big pieces. At last they could open the door. What a noise it made as it opened!

The boys flashed the light in the door. “A big hole!” cried Benny. “Just exactly like the hole under the woodshed! This is the other end of something, whatever it is!”

CHAPTER 12

Too Much Excitement

Oh, tell us what you see!” begged Jessie. “Can’t we come down, too?”

“I wouldn’t, Jessie,” said Henry looking up. “It’s so dirty. We’ll look very carefully and tell you everything.”

Benny had crawled through the little door with the light. “The very same things!” he shouted. “A milking stool and an old candlestick and some more iron boxes! We’ll bring them all up.”

“How big is the hole?” called Violet.

“Just big enough for two people to sit down. You can’t stand up,” Benny called back. “Oh, boy! Here is an old plate! And here’s an old cup! All broken!”

His voice sounded strange and far away, but they could tell how excited Benny was.

“Hand them to me, old fellow,” said Henry. “And you let me have a turn in there.”

Benny crawled out and Henry crawled in.

“Find anything, Henry?” called Jessie.

“Well, yes! This seems to be a spoon. An awfully old spoon. Somebody ate in here all right.”

But that was all. Henry handed the things up to the girls. Jessie gave him a box to step on and the boys jumped out of the hole.

Henry took some things and started for the kitchen. There was Sam, sitting on the cellar stairs.

“Well, Sam,” said Henry. “How long have you been here?”

“Ever since you came down,” said Sam. “Your aunt told me to.”

“But we weren’t in any danger in our own cellar,” said Henry. “Sometimes Aunt Jane treats us like little children.”

Sam grinned a bit and said, “To tell the truth, I guess I want to know what’s going on. I’ll help you carry that stuff outdoors.”

Soon everything was spread out on the grass in front of Aunt Jane.

The boxes held gunpowder and bullets. There were no guns this time. Aunt Jane looked at everything. She said, “Now, we know a little bit more. This plate is over two hundred years old. And we know there were two hiding places.”

“Why should people want to hide?” asked Benny. “They just wanted to hide their ammunition.”

“Yes, Benny,” Violet said. “But you see the Redcoats wanted to catch the men, too. I’m sure someone hid in both these caves. Someone sat on that milking stool and ate from that plate.”

“Good for you, Violet,” said Henry, smiling. “I’m sure you are right.”

Then he said to Aunt Jane, “Let me tell you about that door in the potato pit. I would never have dreamed there was a door if I hadn’t been looking for one. A very clever man made that door. First it was made of wood, but the edges were not straight. They were curved to look like stones. Then the plaster was put on to look like stones, too. It took a long time to make that door.”

“Yes, Henry,” said Aunt Jane. “Think of all those years when your grandfather and I lived here as children. Nobody ever found that door. And we used to play hide and seek in that hole. We poured potatoes into it and hid in the potatoes.”

“I wonder if Grandfather would have any ideas,” said Jessie slowly. “I know he had to go back to work. But he might remember something.”

Everyone looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Oh, I’m all tired out thinking!” cried Aunt Jane suddenly. “It must be suppertime.” She looked tired and almost as if she were going to cry.

“Dear Aunt Jane!” cried Violet. “This is too exciting for you. I’ll tell Maggie to get supper right away. I’ll help her.”

“So will I,” said Jessie quietly. “We’ll get supper in two shakes.”

The three worked as fast as they could to get supper on the table. In no time, Maggie went to get Aunt Jane.

“We have your favorite things, Miss Jane,” she said. “Chicken salad and hot rolls and early asparagus.”

“And a cup of good strong tea, I hope,” said Aunt Jane.

“Yes, sure enough, a cup of good strong tea,” said Maggie. She helped Aunt Jane into her chair at the table. Maggie was a bit worried. She said so to Jessie when they were getting supper. “Your Aunt Jane must be getting too tired. She doesn’t ever speak quickly like that any more.”

“We’ll be more careful of her,” said Jessie. “We mustn’t upset Aunt Jane.”

“Maybe all this talk is too much for her,” said Violet. “You must remember that once upon a time she really loved Andy Bean.”

“I suppose she did,” said Maggie. “But that was a long time ago.”

“But this brings it back,” said Violet quietly.

Aunt Jane ate her supper well and drank her tea. As the family finished eating, they heard a voice talking to Maggie in the kitchen.

“It’s only Willie,” Henry said. “He must be selling Maggie some more asparagus.”

“Good,” said Benny. “I hope she will buy it.”

Benny had not heard the talk about Aunt Jane. He went on now with his own ideas. “But to go back to Andy Bean. Mr. Cole said there was a written story somewhere. Where do you suppose that story ever went? And what did it say? And where did Andy get it?”

Suddenly Aunt Jane’s cheeks looked bright pink. She spoke quickly and, for her, quite loudly. It was hard for the children to tell whether she was angry or just tired.

“Andy Bean!” she exclaimed. “All the trouble he’s made! Running away and all. I’d like to shoot Andy Bean!”

Everyone turned in surprise toward Aunt Jane. She had not sounded like this for a long, long time.

Henry was by her side in a second. “Don’t you worry any more, Aunt Jane!” he said in a loving voice. “Come on, I’ll carry you to bed!”

“No, Henry! Really, I’m all right.”

But Jessie and Violet and Maggie rushed over to her. Henry lifted his tiny aunt very easily and carried her to bed. By that time she was laughing.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I just got to thinking how nice it would have been if Andy hadn’t run away!”

“It’s all right, Miss Jane,” said Maggie. “Put on your very best lacy nightdress and you’ll go to sleep early.”

Maggie sat by Aunt Jane until she fell asleep.

Benny and Henry bought the asparagus and paid Willie.

“Did you work for Andy Bean’s father?” asked Benny.

“Yep.”

“Don’t bother Willie. He couldn’t have been more than a boy then,” Henry said to his brother. “Just put the asparagus in the refrigerator. Then we’ll go outdoors and talk all we want. I hope tomorrow Aunt Jane will be herself again.”

CHAPTER 13

Just in Time!

Aunt Jane was all right the next day. But she was surprised when Henry said he wanted to go up to the woodshed again.

“Why?” she asked.

“Well,” said Henry, “if someone lives there, we might find something new any day.”

“Take Sam with you,” said Aunt Jane as usual.

“Poor Sam!” said Benny. “He doesn’t want to go.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said Sam. “I’m getting interested in this woodshed.”

They could not find Watch so they went along without him.

Soon the five of them reached the woodshed. Everything was in order. There was one egg on the shelf. As they stood there, they heard somebody coming through the woods.

“Quick!” whispered Henry. “Someone’s coming. Climb that tree!”

A tall tree stood right by the door. Even Violet was good at climbing trees. She went first. Benny was after her in a flash. “Hurry!” he whispered to Jessie. He went out of sight in the heavy leaves. He gave Jessie his hand and helped her up. Henry was last.

“Not me,” said Sam. “I’ll wait and see who it is.”

Henry looked down and then whispered to Jessie, “It’s Willie! I wonder what he wants.”

Sam stood still. When Willie came out of the bushes Sam said, “Hello, Willie.”

“Hello,” said Willie. He just stood there.

“What are you going to do, Willie?” asked Sam.

“Take the things,” said Willie.

“What things?”

Willie pointed at the dishes and the table. He did not speak.

“Are the dishes yours?” asked Sam.

“No.” Willie shook his head.

Sam said kindly, “Who do they belong to, Willie?”

“Andy Bean,” said Willie. He said it as if Andy had always lived at home.

“Andy Bean? Is Andy around here now?”

“No, not now. Went on the bus.”

“Has Andy Bean been living here in this woodshed?”

“Yep,” said Willie.

“Why in the world did he go away on a bus?” Sam asked.

“Going away to sea,” said Willie.

“But why?” asked Sam again.

“She hates him. She’d shoot him,” said Willie, nodding his head.

“Shoot him? Miss Jane wouldn’t shoot him!”

They all stared in surprise at Willie.

“Yep,” said Willie. “She said so. I heard her. ‘I’d like to shoot Andy Bean,’ she said.”

Henry looked up at Jessie and without a word he slid down the tree. All the rest came after him.

“What? What?” cried Willie when he saw the children come out of the tree.

“Come on, Sam!” shouted Henry. “We must catch Andy!”

“No,” said Willie. His mouth was open. “He took the bus.”

But the Aldens and Sam were running down the hill. Benny shouted back, “Aunt Jane doesn’t hate him, Willie! She was just fooling!”

“Don’t stop to talk,” cried Jessie. “We must catch that bus!”

“We can’t,” Sam called back. “It’s been gone fifteen minutes.”

“Well, we’ve got to catch it,” cried Benny. “It has to stop to let people off!”

They ran to Sam’s old car which stood in the yard. They all threw themselves into the car and off they went. Benny and Henry sat beside Sam. For a minute they could not speak. When Henry got his breath, he said, “I bet Andy came home and found out Aunt Jane was back. He must have wondered if she would see him.”

Benny said, “I bet so, too. And I remember what Aunt Jane said. She said, ‘I’d like to shoot Andy Bean!’”

Jessie added, “And Willie was right in the kitchen selling asparagus. He heard every word!”

“Oh, dear, how wrong can you be?” said Violet. “Willie didn’t know Aunt Jane didn’t mean it. So he told Andy, and Andy went away again.”

“Drive faster if you can, Sam,” said Henry. “If Andy gets out at the bus station he will get on the train. Then we’ll be too late to stop him.”

Jessie said, “We don’t even know that he took this bus.”

“Yes,” said Sam. “This is the only bus in the morning. He’d have to take it. But what shall we do when we catch up with the bus?”

“Well, we know he has a crooked smile,” said Henry. “We can tell him he is wrong about Aunt Jane. Let Violet tell him. He’ll believe her.” He smiled at Violet.

“But how do we stop the bus driver? That’s the question,” said Jessie.

Benny said, “That’s easy. If we see the bus, you honk your horn, Sam, and we can shout to the driver.”

“This old car is surprised it can go so fast,” said Sam. “And I am, too.”

The old car rattled and squeaked. But it flew along.

At last Benny cried, “There’s the blue bus! Oh, Sam, honk your horn!”

Sam kept the horn going. The bus driver honked back. He looked in his mirror at the children. Then he pointed at the railroad station ahead. There stood the train, ready to go.

When the bus stopped, the driver put his head out of the window and said, “What’s the matter with you? Want to get on?”

“No,” said Henry. “We’ll tell you in a minute.” They all piled out of the car and ran around to the door of the bus.

Benny cried, “Have you got a big man on board? He has a crooked smile!”

“Well, I don’t know about the smile,” said the driver laughing. “But I have a man on board on the back seat. Just coming out.”

They looked back in the bus and saw a tall man coming out. His hair was brown, not white.

“Oh, excuse me!” cried Benny. “Are you Andy Bean?”

“Yes, that’s my name,” said the stranger. “Why?” He stared at Violet. Then he smiled. His smile was crooked. He came a few steps toward the Aldens.

“Oh, please,” said Violet. “Aunt Jane sent us to find you! Don’t run away again until we tell you all about it.”

“Aunt Jane,” exclaimed the man. He shook his head and turned toward the train. “No, Jane doesn’t want to see me,” he said. “And that’s that.”

“Please come and sit in our car,” begged Violet. “Aunt Jane wants very much to see you.”

“She said she hated me and maybe she has a reason to. She talked about shooting,” Andy Bean said in a low voice.

“Oh, you don’t understand,” said Henry. “That was what Willie said, wasn’t it? Aunt Jane didn’t mean it. She just got too tired and spoke that way. She must have been like that even when she was a girl.”

“I wish I could believe you,” said Andy.

Now Sam spoke. “You can. You can believe anything these kids say. They know what they’re doing every time.”

Andy looked at Sam. Then he looked at the children. “All right,” he said. “I’ll give it one more try. I’ll go back with you if that’s what you want.”

“Yes, indeed!” said Jessie. “That’s exactly what we want.”

Andy had a small bag, and Henry said, “I’ll put your bag in the trunk.”

“No, thank you,” said Andy Bean with his crooked smile, “I always keep this bag with me wherever I go.”

It was not a large bag. Benny at once began to guess what might be in it. A change of clothes? A treasure map? Pistols? His guessing turned into a game, but he had to wait for the answer.

CHAPTER 14

A Treasure Bag

Sam drove home slowly. Violet and Benny sat on the front seat. This made room for Andy on the back seat with Henry and Jessie.

“Now the next thing is to tell Aunt Jane,” said Jessie. “I am worried about that.”

“Oh, that will be easy,” said Andy Bean. “I’ll tell her myself.”

“What will you tell her?” Violet asked softly.

“Well, I came home to Boston on a ship. I saw in the paper that the Aldens had bought the old house. So I thought I’d come up and see if I was welcome. I knew Willie would keep my secret. He knew me right away.”

“You were the one stealing all those eggs!” said Benny.

Andy laughed. “Well, they were really my own eggs, you see. Half that Bean farm belongs to me.”

“What will your brother say?” asked Henry. “You have been away so long.”

“I don’t want the farm,” Andy said. “Don’t you worry about me. The only thing is Jane. If she wants me to stay, that’s all I care about.”

They soon drove up to their own back door. “Oh, dear!” said Violet, “This is going to be so hard for Aunt Jane. She thinks you may be dead. She isn’t very strong.”

“That’s one reason I came home,” said Andy. “I’m strong enough for two.”

And he looked it.

Aunt Jane was sitting in her long chair in the back yard. She was shelling peas. She looked up at the children. Then she saw the stranger smiling at her. Her face changed. She cried, “Andy! Andy! You did come back! Henry, get a chair!”

“I don’t need a chair, Jane,” said Andy. He went over to the little lady and took her hand. “Glad to see me, Jane?”

“Oh, yes! I’d know you anywhere. Will you stay?”

“You bet I’ll stay!” said the tall man. “I have a long story to tell. But first I have something for you. Everywhere I went, I bought one of these for you.”

He took the pan of shelled peas out of her lap and gave her a small bag. “Open it.”

The children sat down on the grass. Andy sat down beside Aunt Jane. He did not seem old at all. Aunt Jane opened the bag and took out a box. She opened the box and looked in.

“They look like old, old stones,” said Benny.

“Very good, young feller,” said Andy. “That’s just what they are. Old, old stones.” He laughed.

Aunt Jane picked one up and looked at it carefully. It was not round. It was not square. It was very different looking. But Jessie saw a flash as the stone turned. “It’s blue!” she said.

“Yes, that one is blue,” said Andy. “It’s a sapphire. These stones are not cut. Just as they came from the ground. I got that one in India. Everywhere I went, I bought you a jewel, Jane. Look at this one!” He picked up a stone that flashed green.

“An emerald!” said Aunt Jane. “It is enormous! These must have cost you a fortune, Andrew.”

“Well, I didn’t want a fortune,” said Andy. “I wanted adventure. But now I’m through with adventure.”

“I don’t believe a word of it!” cried Aunt Jane, but she looked at Andy proudly.

Benny said, “Why didn’t you come home long ago?”

Andy said with a crooked smile, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Yes, I would,” said Benny nodding his head.

“I was afraid of Jane,” said Andy, speaking quietly. “She’s a tiny little thing, but I was afraid of her. And she left, too, to go out West. What was there to come back for?”

Jessie said, “I can understand. If Aunt Jane turned you down, you’d have nothing to live for.”

“That is exactly right, young lady,” cried Andy. “You have a lot of good sense.”

Aunt Jane looked at the jewels one by one. “For me?” she said. “I don’t need them all. Andy, let’s have the children each choose one to keep. I want them each to have a jewel.”

“Oh, boy!” said Benny. “I can tell you what everyone will choose.”

“All right. Go ahead, boy,” said Andy.

“Jessie will take a blue sapphire, Violet will take a purple amethyst, Henry will take a green emerald, and I will take a red ruby.”

“Right!” shouted everyone.

“There is a fortune in that box, sure enough,” said Andy. “But I found something under the woodshed that I think is more exciting.”

“Always looking for excitement, Andy,” said Aunt Jane smiling.

“Yes, I suppose I always will be,” said Andy. “But I am glad to stay at home now. I shall find plenty of excitement right here.”

“When are you going to show us what you found in the woodshed?” asked Benny.

“Oh, let’s wait!” Jessie said, looking at Aunt Jane and Andy Bean. “I’m sure that everyone is hungry.”

“Thank you,” said Andy. “I am hungry. What I found can wait a little longer.”

“Mercy!” cried Aunt Jane. “Andy’s hungry! Benny, run and tell Maggie to have lunch just as soon as she can.”

“No eggs!” Andrew called after him. “I’m sick of eggs.”

“I’ll tell Maggie,” shouted Benny. “But I’m sure lunch isn’t all eggs anyway!”

CHAPTER 15

Letter from Long Ago

Maggie did not have eggs for lunch. She had a good meal for a strong man. She had cold meat and a hot dish of macaroni and cheese. Andy ate as if he were half starved.

“I’ve had cold food for a long time,” he said. “Even raw eggs.”

“We’ll soon fix that,” said Aunt Jane. She loved to see him eat.

Benny said, “Right after lunch are you going to show us that thing you found?”

“Right! Just as soon as lunch is over. I have it right here in my pocket. Maybe you won’t think much of it. But I do.”

“I’m sure we will,” said Jessie, “if you found it in the woodshed. That’s an exciting place.”

“Yes, and so is your own cellar,” said Andrew.

At last he could not eat any more. He said, “All right. Come out in the yard again and see my treasure. This is in a bag too.”

When Aunt Jane was in her chair, Andy gave her a leather bag.

“What a funny looking bag!” said Benny. “It must be very old.”

Aunt Jane opened the bag. It was stained and ready to fall apart. Inside was another piece of leather. Inside that was an old paper covered with writing.

“The ink is brown,” said Violet.

Aunt Jane carefully unfolded the paper. “It is dated June, 1775,” she said. “Shall I read it?”

“Yes,” said Benny. “Just as quick as you can.”

Now at last the whole story would be told.

So Aunt Jane began to read. She read slowly because sometimes the writing was hard to read.

My name is Mary Cooper and my husband is called James. I am telling my true story just as it happened. When the war is over, I hope someone will find it. Then they will know why we did what we did. My husband and I love this country and we want it to be free. But we are in great danger. We are storing ammunition on our farm. A man who loves liberty came and asked my husband if we would do this, and he said yes.

Where could we hide it? We thought of two places. One was in a woodshed on the hill. The other was in our cellar in the potato pit.

One night James said to me, “Mary, the men who come here with ammunition are in danger. Perhaps we could hide them somewhere.”

“In the same place with the guns and bullets,” I said.

So we began to dig under the woodshed to make a place to hide the men. We had to work at night. I went with James and helped him dig. It was very hard, but at last we had a big hole. We put in a stool and a candle. Then we dug another hole in the potato pit. This was harder. James made a door to look like the stones. But it was very good. I could hardly see it myself.

One night there was a great knocking on our door. We got up and went to the door. There stood a Redcoat holding a poor man by the arms.

The Redcoat said, “I caught this man hiding ammunition. We want to know if there were others with him.”

James said, “I have not seen anyone.”

I said, “Bring the poor man into the kitchen. He looks half dead.”

The man laughed. “Soon he will be dead. I am taking him to Boston. He will be hanged as he deserves.”

“I have a plan,” said my husband. “Let us talk it over. You will want a horse and food. Put this man down in my cellar. There is no door to the outside, so he cannot run away.”

“How can I believe you?” asked the soldier.

“Here,” said James, “take these two chairs. You and I will sit at the head of the cellar stairs by this door. We will know if he comes up.”

When the poor man was thrown down the cellar stairs, James whispered to him “Potato pit.” How I hoped he would understand! We had planned to dig a tunnel from the cellar to the woodshed, but it was too hard.

James had to give a horse to the Redcoat. He would have been shot if he had not. I went out to the barn and got the horse out. We owned four horses. Then the Redcoat went to the cellar stairs and called, “Come up, you!” But nobody came. We all went down the cellar. The Redcoat hunted and hunted. He said to James, “You have let him escape.”

James said truly, “You sat right here yourself all the time. There is no other door to the outside.”

The Redcoat was angry. He could not find the poor man. So he rode away. He said he would come back, but he never did.

When he had gone, we took the poor man upstairs to the kitchen and gave him food. Then we told him to hide in the hole under the woodshed until we came for him. That night we went up and got him. We gave him a horse and the ammunition and he rode away and we never saw him again, either.

We hid many men in those two places. I am so unhappy that we could not be friendly with our neighbors. But we were afraid someone would tell what we were doing. We never let anyone come to see us and we never went to see anyone, so we lost all the friends we had. In those days we could not tell who was a friend and who was an enemy. I hope we did our share to make this country free, but in doing so, we lost all our friends.

MARY COOPER

Of course Benny was the first to speak. He said, “Isn’t that too bad? To lose all their friends? But they helped win the war, that’s sure. Did you find this in the woodshed?”

“I found that long ago, young feller! I have carried it with me all these years.”

“How did you find the hole under the woodshed, Andrew?” asked Aunt Jane.

“Easy, I went up there one day and I went in and looked it over. I thought the floor looked queer, so I found the cover and went down into the hole. I found the flintlock and bullets and this bag. I tried to make Jane come and see it, but she wouldn’t go.”

“I do remember,” said Aunt Jane. “But you were always up to some new trick, so I wouldn’t go. I’m sorry now.”

“Never mind, Jane. The past is past. One day I went down to get potatoes for your mother and I found that hole, too. I wanted to tell somebody, but I didn’t dare. At last I showed the gun to John Cole, but he wasn’t interested. He said he didn’t know how to shoot it. He wasn’t interested in the story, either. So I didn’t even read it to him.”

Henry looked thoughtful. “I think I see now,” he said. “Way back, Mary Cooper acted so queerly that at last no one had anything to do with her. I suppose people began to make up stories to explain why they wouldn’t go to the Cooper place. Finally I expect that no one remembered how it all started. People just knew there was something mysterious about the farm. And if anything new went wrong, someone was always ready to say, ‘Well, what can you expect?’”

Andrew looked at Henry and nodded. “I think you understand the people around here. Sometimes they act just that way.”

“All those ideas about something wrong with this place lasted a long, long time,” said Jessie. “We’ll have to tell the real story now.”

“Don’t worry!” cried Andrew. “When people see me, the story will go like wild fire. It may even be in the Sunday papers!”

Aunt Jane was laughing. “You’ll put it in the Sunday papers yourself! My, my! It will be exciting living with you, Andy!”

“What?” cried Andy. “Did you say living with me, Jane? You kids just run off and let me talk to your aunt!”

In one minute the young Aldens were on the other side of the house. They sat down on the back step. Maggie came to the door. “Is Miss Jane all right?” she asked.

“She’s fine,” said Benny. “I think she’s going to marry Andy Bean. Then she’ll be Mrs. Bean after all.”

“I hope so,” said Maggie.

“Do you?” asked Jessie.

“Yes, I do. I feel homesick for the West. Sam and his wife feel the same way. If Miss Jane was in good hands, we’d all go back to the ranch country.”

Henry said, “Andy won’t be a very good farmer, but he’s a strong man and Aunt Jane can hire men to run the farm.”

“I just wonder what Andy will find for excitement up here?” said Jessie.

“Maybe he’ll take Aunt Jane on trips,” said Benny.

“Oh, but she isn’t strong enough to go on trips!” cried Violet.

Maggie said, “My dear girl, your Aunt Jane is strong enough to do anything she wants to do. And if she doesn’t want to, she’s as weak as a rag.”

“That’s right,” said Benny. “I’m even like that myself.”

CHAPTER 16

Aunt Jane’s Surprise

At supper, Aunt Jane said to everyone, “I have something special to tell all of you.”

She stopped and smiled at Andrew Bean, then went on, “Andy and I are no longer young, but we are going to be married. We are not going to wait any longer!”

Jessie and Violet jumped up and kissed their aunt. Henry took her hand, but Benny just smiled from ear to ear.

Then everyone turned toward Andy and soon it seemed as if the most wonderful kind of party had begun.

“From now on,” Andy said, “Jane and I will share our adventures. I promise you that.”

Benny said, “Do you want to run the farm, Uncle Andy?”

“Don’t call me uncle! You started with Andy. Keep on with Andy. No, I’m not a very good farmer. But I can get plenty of help to run the farm.”

“How about Willie?” asked Benny. “He’s a good farmer.”

“Right,” said Andy. “He can handle growing things.”

“He doesn’t talk much, does he?” said Benny.

“No, he’s not a talker,” agreed Andy.

“We didn’t guess for a long time he knew part of the mystery,” said Henry.

By now the whole meal was over, and the whole family moved outdoors to sit together in the yard. How good it seemed to have Andy as a part of the family! Already he seemed to belong to them all. Who would have guessed the mystery would end this way?

Aunt Jane said, “I’m glad we know the whole story of the woodshed and the potato pit.”

“We have had a lot of mysteries,” Jessie added. “But this is the first time we ever solved one without Grandfather’s help.”

Violet nodded. She said, “He will help us with that old letter. I think he might want to put it in a museum.”

Benny said, “I think the things ought to be loaned to a school museum. Kids will be interested.”

“Yes, that’s an idea, Benny,” said Henry. “We found the things and you could tell about them. Just like a mystery story.”

Andy broke in and said, “No, I’ll come if you want me, young feller! I like to talk to kids.”

“Oh, that will be neat, Andy!” cried Benny. “You know the whole story better than I do.”

Henry looked at Jessie. He said, “We could take pictures of the woodshed and the potato pit. We’d have to take flash pictures. Your John Carter has a wonderful camera, Jessie. Let’s ask him to come up here.”

Jessie said, “He isn’t my John Carter, Henry.” But Violet looked at her sister’s face and saw it turning pink.

“Ask him anyway,” said Henry laughing. “He will be here in a minute, I know.”

“How do you know?” asked Benny.

“Well, he wanted to stay when he brought Aunt Jane here in the plane. He told me he didn’t want to leave. He didn’t say why.” Henry smiled.

“Well, we still have most of our summer left,” said Benny. “I wonder if we will have any more adventures this vacation?”

Aunt Jane laughed. She said, “You will. If Andy is around, there will always be some excitement.”

Andy said, “Right, Jane! I’ll see to it that you will always have something interesting going on.”

“My wedding will be enough excitement for me,” said Aunt Jane. “We’ll have to get your grandfather to come up here soon. Maybe Mr. Carter will drive him up.”

Everyone heard what she said. But nobody knew what would happen before the summer was over. Not even Aunt Jane herself, nor Andy, nor Henry, nor Grandfather, nor Benny. Not even the man who used to work for the F.B.I.,—John Carter.

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1962, 1990 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0779-6

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

The Lighthouse Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by David Cunningham

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1   Lighthouse for Sale

2   Unfriendly Characters

3   Cement for a Project

4   A Midnight Visitor

5   Little House with a Secret

6   Well Done for Benny

7   Baked Beans and Chowder

8   From the South Seas

9   Who Needs a Friend?

10   Hints and Plans

11   A Wild Storm

12   The Secret Is Out

13   A Final Surprise

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Lighthouse for Sale

The visit to Aunt Jane came to an end. Now, after so many years, Aunt Jane was married to Andy Bean. Nobody called her Mrs. Bean. This pleased her very much. Everyone called her Mrs. Andy, and that pleased Andy.

Grandfather Alden called his four grandchildren to him and said, “I think we should go home now. Aunt Jane and Andy want to go away on a wedding trip.”

“I wonder where?” said Benny. “I bet they are going around the world. Andy told Aunt Jane that she would never have a dull moment.”

Henry laughed. “I can believe that,” he said. “Andy is never still.”

Violet said, “Aunt Jane looks so young and well, doesn’t she, Jessie?”

“Yes,” agreed Jessie. “Ever since Uncle Andy came home she has been very happy. I agree with you, Grandfather. I think we ought to go. We don’t want to stay on the farm without Aunt Jane.”

So they packed their bags to go home. Aunt Jane helped Jessie make a picnic lunch.

All the good-bys were said and Henry started the car. “Here we go!” Benny cried.

And so they started for home—at least that was what they planned.

Henry said, “Let’s have a change and go home by the beach road.”

Henry drove the station wagon down the beach road. They could see the ocean most of the way. After about an hour Benny said, “I’m hungry.”

“You are always hungry,” said his grandfather. “Wait till we come to the lighthouse in Conley. There is a little store there. We could buy some milk. We have enough sandwiches to last two meals—ham and chicken. Aunt Jane makes delicious sandwiches.”

“Let’s go out and see the lighthouse,” said Benny. “Maybe the lighthouse keeper would show us the little porch on the top floor.”

“Maybe he would, old fellow,” said Henry, laughing. “That is called a lookout, not a porch. But it is a long climb to the top of a lighthouse.”

Soon they saw the lighthouse in the distance. It was white. There was a little white house near the foot of the lighthouse with a little path between. The two buildings stood on a rocky point of land, almost in the water.

“Look!” cried Violet. “There’s a sign on it. What does it say?”

“I can’t see yet,” said Mr. Alden.

“I can,” said Henry. “It says for sale.”

“A lighthouse for sale!” said Jessie. “I didn’t know anyone ever sold lighthouses. I thought they belonged to the government.”

“To the Coast Guard,” said Mr. Alden. “But I have heard that many lighthouses are being sold. Radar is used to keep ships safe now.”

“Oh, what a wonderful house that would be to live in, Grandfather!” said Benny. “See, there is a window on each floor. You could sleep on the first floor, and then you wouldn’t have to do any climb-ing. The girls could have the next floor, and Henry the next, and I could have the top floor with that little porch—I mean lookout. That would be neat!”

Mr. Alden laughed. He said, “Are you saying you want to buy the lighthouse?”

“Oh, absolutely!” said Benny.

“Really,” said Jessie, “we could have a lovely time in a lighthouse, Grandfather. We could go swimming any time right in our own yard.”

“And we could pick up shells and study the water birds,” said Violet quietly.

“We could certainly go fishing,” added Henry.

They had come to the lighthouse by this time. Henry stopped the car, and they all looked at the place. Nobody said a word. They were all waiting for Grandfather to make up his mind.

At last he said, “Come on, children, we’ll go into the little store and ask some questions. Maybe we could use a lighthouse.”

“Hurray!” shouted Benny.

Everyone else was as pleased as Benny. They smiled and looked at each other.

“Drive right up to the door,” said Mr. Alden. “A store man always knows everything.”

It was true. When Mr. Alden said, “What do you know about that lighthouse?” the man laughed and said, “I know everything about that lighthouse. It’s not used any more.”

“I see it’s for sale,” said Mr. Alden.

“Well, it isn’t for sale now,” said the man, “because I bought it myself. I haven’t had time to take down the sign. I’d like to rent it, though.”

“Would you?” asked Mr. Alden. “My grandchildren think they would like to spend a few weeks there.”

“Well, I’d be glad to rent it to you. It’s all fixed up for light housekeeping.”

Benny laughed. “Light housekeeping in a light- house,” he said. “That’s a good joke.”

“Does the little white house go with it?” asked Henry.

“Well, no,” said the storekeeper. “It ought to. But I wasn’t quick enough to buy the house. A man named Cook bought that. He buys houses and sells them. He is going to fix it up to rent someday. But now the windows are broken, as maybe vou saw, and they are all boarded up. He never thought anyone would rent the lighthouse.”

“Won’t we need the little house?” asked Jessie.

“No. That was the summer kitchen. The winter kitchen in the lighthouse is all right. It really has a better gas stove and refrigerator. There’s a good cot bed on every floor. You could get all your food right here in my store. My name is Hall.”

“I thought so, Mr. Hall, when I saw the sign HALL’S GROCERY,” said Mr. Alden.

Henry asked, “Could we ever build a fire on the beach for a cook-out?”

“Yes, you could. There’s nothing on that point but sand and water and rocks. No bushes. You will be careful, I know.”

Benny said, “Yes, we bury our fires with sand.”

“Good! Make yourselves at home. Do anything you want. Here’s the key if you want to go in and look around.”

“Well, I do,” said Benny. “I want to see the top floor with the porch railing.”

“Fine,” said Grandfather. “You get in the car. I’ll settle the rent with Mr. Hall.”

Henry took the key and drove down to the lighthouse. They could not drive to the door because the road was too sandy.

When Henry unlocked the door, the girls went into the kitchen at once.

“Good!” said Jessie, “this is a fine little gas stove.”

Violet said, “The dishes are all different, but we like them different.”

Benny climbed the winding stairs. Round and round he went.

He called, “These rooms are very small. Nothing but a cot bed in each one.” He stopped to look out of each window. He called out, “First floor. This is Grandfather’s room.”

He climbed higher. “Second floor, Jessie and Violet. Third floor, Henry. And here’s mine!” They could hardly hear him.

Then they heard no more at all from Benny. He was out on his top floor looking out to sea.

Grandfather said, “It’s lucky there’s a window on every floor. It will be hot in here.”

“Maybe not too hot,” said Violet. “We are right by the sea breezes.”

By the time the beds were made, everyone was tired.

“Let’s go to bed,” said Mr. Alden.

“Go to bed at eight o’clock?” cried Benny. “But I guess my bed will feel rather nice after all.”

Everyone was soon asleep. No one heard the town clock strike. But it did strike—nine, ten, eleven. As it struck twelve, Watch sat up and began to bark.

CHAPTER 2

Unfriendly Characters

Watch always slept at the foot of Jessie’s bed.

“Keep still, Watch!” said Jessie. “You’ll wake everybody up!”

But Watch didn’t stop. He barked all the more. His hair stood up straight around his neck.

Benny came down the stairs. Henry came. Mr. Alden called, “What’s the matter with Watch, Jessie?”

“I don’t know, Grandfather,” called Jessie. “He must hear something he doesn’t like.”

Benny began to pat the dog. “What’s the matter with you, Watch? Why do you have to bark at twelve o’clock midnight? Why couldn’t you bark at four o’clock in the afternoon? Then we could do something about it.”

Watch barked on and on. He stopped just long enough to growl.

Suddenly Benny said, “I smell steak and mashed potatoes.”

“Benny, mashed potatoes don’t smell,” said Violet.

“I can smell them,” said Benny.

“Are you sure it is not baked potatoes you smell?” asked Henry. “I don’t smell anything.”

“No. Baked potatoes smell even better. Maybe it’s the milk and butter and pepper and salt that I smell.”

“Well, maybe pepper, Benny. Certainly not salt,” said Jessie.

Henry was frowning. “Maybe someone is hiding and eating in that little house at the foot of our lighthouse. But I thought it was empty,” he said.

Just then Watch stopped barking. He lay down and put his head on his paws and shut his eyes. Everyone was surprised.

“Just look at Watch now,” said Jessie. “He doesn’t care any more. I guess the danger is over, whatever it was.”

“That’s a funny thing,” said Benny. He started upstairs.

“It’s more than funny, Ben,” said Henry. “The dog must have heard something.”

“We’ll find out tomorrow,” said Mr. Alden. “I’ll ask the police.”

Then everyone went back to bed. Violet thought she could not go back to sleep, but she did.

They slept till morning. After a rather poor breakfast, Jessie said, “Well, the first thing is to go to the store and buy food.”

“Right,” said her grandfather. He missed his morning coffee and toast.

No one spoke of the midnight noise. With the sun shining, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

As they walked up the street to the grocery store they saw a middle-aged man coming. He had sharp, black eyes. He did not even look at the Aldens. He passed Jessie, almost bumping her.

“Well!” said Benny, when the man had gone by. “He’s a queer character.”

“He did look at us sideways,” said Violet. “I saw him when he was far down the street.”

“But why should he almost bump into Jessie?” Henry asked. “He might have knocked her down if she hadn’t moved quickly. A queer character is right, Ben.”

“I think we notice everybody now,” said Violet. “We think they are a part of our mystery.”

Suddenly everyone was thinking about the noise in the night. It had been real!

“Right!” said Henry. He took Violet’s arm as they went into the store. “You are always right.”

There was only one person in the store. It was a boy of about Henry’s age. Under his arm he had a college book. Henry knew it at once.

The girls started to buy groceries, but Henry gave the boy a friendly smile and said, “I noticed your book. Do you go to college?”

“I certainly don’t,” said the boy loudly. Then he went out of the store and banged the door.

“Hey, what’s the matter with him?” asked Henry. He stared after the boy.

“He’s looking for trouble, that feller!” said Benny. His voice sounded just like his grandfather’s.

Mr. Hall said, “He doesn’t have to look for trouble. He’s got trouble.”

“What trouble?” asked Henry. “He looks so cross at everybody.”

“Well, his father won’t let him go to school,” said Mr. Hall.

“School?” cried Benny. “He wants to go to school, and his father won’t let him?”

“That’s right,” said Mr. Hall.

Benny said, “Didn’t that boy go to high school?”

“Oh, yes, he had to go to high school. It’s the law. He’s very smart, especially in science. He got through high school at sixteen.”

“Well,” said Henry, “he is smart, then. But he’s looking for trouble. It wouldn’t hurt him to be polite to a stranger.”

“He isn’t polite to anybody,” said Mr. Hall. “I try to be nice to him, but you see how he acts. He doesn’t want friends.”

“Now that is too bad,” said Benny. “Everyone ought to have friends.”

“I guess it isn’t hard for you to make friends,” said Mr. Hall. He laughed.

“No, it isn’t,” said Benny. “I’m lucky. We’re all lucky.”

Henry was quiet. At last he said, “I wish we could do something with that father. A boy like that ought to go to college if he wants to.”

“He wants to all right. That’s all he thinks about—college—college—and I guess whatever lives in the sea. He’s always picking up shells or bits of seaweed. Now I say if any boy wants to learn, let him learn.”

“Right,” said Benny. “There are lots of boys I know that don’t want to learn.”

“I don’t think you can do anything with his father,” Mr. Hall said. “You’re not the first people who have tried.”

Then the four Aldens thought of the same name—Grandfather. But they did not say it. Grandfather knew how to get things done.

“That boy is another queer character,” said Benny. “Two cross people in ten minutes.” Benny did not see many cross people.

Then Mr. Alden said, “By the way, Mr. Hall, our dog barked in the night. We feel that someone was prowling about. I thought I’d see the police today.”

Mr. Hall shook his head. “No police in this town,” he said. “Never had any trouble here.”

“No police!” said Mr. Alden. “I never heard of such a thing. Who looks up a mystery?”

“Nobody, I guess. Never had a mystery either.”

As the Aldens drove home, they were all thinking.

Grandfather said, “I suppose I could send for John Carter.”

“Oh, please don’t,” cried Benny. “We want to find out for ourselves. No police, no Mr. Carter, no help at all!”

“Very well,” said Grandfather with a smile.

“We’ll have to solve the mystery, Ben,” said Henry.

“Maybe we can do it better than Mr. Carter can,” said Benny.

“Oh,” said Jessie. “Somebody thinks he’s pretty smart, Mr. Benny! But we all know that Mr. Carter is right there. He would come to help us in a minute.”

When they reached the lighthouse with the groceries, Jessie said, “I wonder just the same about that black-eyed man and the cross boy. Could one of them have anything to do with our mystery?”

“I don’t see how,” said Benny. “But you never know. Maybe they are cooking up something or other.”

Benny didn’t know then how near he was to the truth.

CHAPTER 3

Cement for a Project

Jessie boiled a dozen eggs and a dozen potatoes. She put them in the refrigerator. By noon she had made an enormous potato salad. She had bought rolls and butter and a cherry pie.

“Let’s eat lunch out on the rocks,” she said. “It’s too hot in the lighthouse. You carry the salad, Henry. And, Benny, you carry the cherry pie and the knife.”

They found a fine seat for Grandfather that just fitted him. “Really, this is an easy chair,” he said, “made out of rocks.”

The other seats were not so easy. The rocks were sharp. The table was not very flat either.

“I have an idea,” shouted Benny suddenly. “Let’s find stones and make five easy chairs. Then build up the table with a flat stone. And then get some cement and fill in the cracks.”

“A wonderful idea, Ben,” said Henry. “A small bag of cement would be enough. We’ve got plenty of sand.”

“I saw a place where they had cement,” said Violet. “Some men were building a driveway.”

“Where?” asked Benny.

“Well, don’t you remember when we came from Aunt Jane’s there was a big new gas station where some men were building a driveway?”

“I remember it,” said Mr. Alden. “It was right beside a little fish market.”

“Let’s go the minute lunch is over,” said Benny.

“Lunch is over for me right now,” said Mr. Alden. He ate the last of his cherry pie. “The ocean will wash away the crumbs.”

Jessie and Henry picked up all the dishes and washed them in the sea. Then Henry backed the car out and they all went down to the little fish market. Sure enough, the men were at work on the driveway. Bags of cement were lying around.

“Where can we buy some cement?” asked Henry, stopping the car. He put his head out of the window.

“How much do you want?” asked the man who was the foreman.

“Well, we want to make some seats and a table down on the rocks by the lighthouse. How much would you think we’d need?”

“Take this small bag,” said the foreman. “Bring back what you don’t want.”

Henry said, “Is it three parts of sand to one part of cement?”

“Right,” said the foreman. “You can borrow this hoe if you want.”

“That’s neat!” cried Benny. “I’ll hoe!”

“Wish I could come and help you,” said the man, smiling. He looked at the laughing family. They all laughed again. Henry lifted the bag into the car, and Benny took the hoe.

“I’ll put the cement on Violet’s feet,” said Henry. But he was joking.

Then the Aldens noticed that one of the men was staring at them with big, black eyes. It was the same man who had almost bumped into Jessie.

When he saw that they knew him, the man turned his back and began to work again.

After they had driven away, Jessie could not help saying, “That was odd seeing that man again.” Everyone agreed.

“Stop at the store, Henry, and buy a trowel,” said Grandfather. “You’ll have to smooth the cement and carry it to the rocks.”

When the Aldens got back to the lighthouse they went to the rocks at once. The only seat which was comfortable already was Mr. Alden’s. They walked around trying to find big rocks of the right shape. Benny sat down on every seat he could find to try it. Then the boys began to carry big stones and the girls took the little stones to fill the cracks. At last they had five seats around a fine table.

Henry began to mix the cement. “Not with salt water,” he said. “We must have fresh water.”

He found a big rock that was shaped like a tub. He mixed the cement in that.

“Now let me hoe it, Henry,” begged Benny. “I know just how to do it. I watched the men.”

“Don’t mix up too much at first,” said Jessie. “It will get hard before we finish all the seats.”

“Isn’t this fun?” cried Benny, hoeing away. “Just like making mud pies. Let’s do Violet’s seat first. She has such a comfortable looking chair already.” So they carried the cement in a newspaper and Benny plastered the seat and smoothed it with the trowel.

“Isn’t that wonderful!” said Violet. “I’d love to try it.

“Better not,” said Henry. “Let it dry overnight.”

Then Jessie and Henry took turns with the trowel, and at last they all helped Benny with his own seat and the table.

“Let’s make places for cups on the table,” said Violet. So when the cement on the table was soft and smooth she pressed a cup into it in five places. The mark made a wonderful saucer. The cup could not fall off.

“Plates, too!” said Benny.

With a stick he drew B for Benny, J for Jessie, V for Violet, H for Henry, and G for grandfather beside the plates.

The cement was almost gone, but they took the bag back to the workmen and Henry paid the foreman for it. He gave back the hoe. They noticed that the black-eyed man was not there.

“I’m glad,” said Benny as they drove back, “I don’t like him anyway.”

“I wonder who he is,” said Mr. Alden.

It was not too long before he found out.

CHAPTER 4

A Midnight Visitor

It was delightful to sit on the beach that evening even though they could not use their new seats. The family sat there long after supper watching the sunset.

Gulls flew overhead and landed on the rocks near by.

Suddenly Henry said, “It’s queer how sleepy we get.”

“It’s the sea air,” said Mr. Alden. “Go to bed anytime you want.”

In fact, the whole family went to bed at nine o’clock and were asleep very soon after.

The Conley town clock struck as it always did. Ten, eleven, twelve. And then Watch began to whine. His hair stood up along his back and around his neck. He began to howl.

“No, Watch,” said Benny. “If you’re going to howl every night at midnight, you might as well go home. You’re no help to us.”

But Watch went right on howling.

“I wonder if someone is cooking in that little house,” said Henry.

“No one’s there,” said Benny. “We would have heard him go crunch, crunch, crunch on those little stones.”

“That house is all boarded up anyway,” said Jessie. “The door must be locked and the windows don’t open. Nobody could be in there.”

“Someone might take off a board and get in a window,” said Henry. “Then he could put the board back every night. Tomorrow we’ll take a look.” Benny wanted to go right down. But just then Watch began to quiet down. He gave a last growl and went to sleep.

“You’re a funny dog,” said Benny. “See that you keep still the rest of the night.”

But it was not Watch who kept Jessie and Violet awake a little longer. When Jessie turned out her light she looked out of her window. In the moonlight she saw a woman walking quietly away. Her feet did not go crunch, crunch. She walked softly in the tall beach grass.

Jessie called quietly to Violet. She came and looked out, too.

“A woman!” she whispered. “What do you suppose she is doing here?”

“She’s going away at least,” answered Jessie. “We certainly don’t need to get Benny down again. And Watch is quiet. Look, Violet. She is hiding behind those bushes before she goes up the street.”

The street was empty. The stores were dark. Very soon the woman went quietly up the road and out of sight. The two girls went back to bed and fell asleep.

About dawn Watch growled softly. But everyone was sleeping deeply. No one awoke.

In the morning Jessie called everyone to breakfast out on the rocks.

“I know my place,” said Benny, “on account of the B.”

When everything was eaten, the girls told their strange story about the woman.

Mr. Alden said, “I think we had better look that little house over. Everyone can help. Try each board to see if it is loose.”

The Aldens began with the front windows and found everything tight. The door was locked. There was no loose window board. Watch trotted along quietly and did not bark.

“It’s funny,” said Jessie, “that Watch doesn’t bark.”

“Maybe there’s nothing for him to bark at now,” said Mr. Alden. “Certainly this house is shut tight.”

“Hey! Look at this!” said Henry suddenly. He caught a sheet of paper that was blowing down to the sand. The paper was marked into little squares. There were numbers and strange letters in each. Sometimes there were question marks.

“That doesn’t mean a thing to me,” said Jessie.

“Me either,” agreed Henry. “But I think somebody is pretty clever. It looks like college science work, but I don’t understand it. It’s not in my studies so far.”

“Just as if someone were testing something,” said Violet slowly. “Like an experiment.”

“Exactly!” cried Henry. He smiled at his little sister. “But how does it fit in with cooking smells and your seeing a woman at night?”

“Keep that paper, Henry,” said Mr. Alden as they went back to the rocks.

Just then Violet spoke of the shells.

“The beach is covered with them,” cried Benny

He jumped off the rocks to the sand. “I know this one. It’s a clam shell, and this one is a scallop shell.”

“Here’s a queer one,” said Jessie. “It has five toes.”

“That’s a cat’s paw,” said Mr. Alden. “See how many kinds we can find.”

Mr. Alden knew all about shells, as well as about birds and flowers.

They found a snail shell, a slipper shell, and gold and silver colored shells. In all they found fourteen different kinds.

“There’s plenty of seaweed here, too,” Benny said. “But who would want to collect that? Maybe that cross boy would find it interesting.”

“This makes me think of Blue Bay,” said Violet, smiling. “We ate out of shells there.”

“But this is safer for swimming than Blue Bay,” said Henry. “No sharks here.”

Jessie said slowly, “It’s too bad we don’t have swim suits. I suppose four new suits would cost too much.”

“No,” said her grandfather, “you need new ones anyway. And you mustn’t be on the beach and not go swimming.”

“Maybe Mr. Hall has some suits,” Jessie went on. “He has almost everything.”

She smiled to think of suits and groceries and everything else mixed together in the little store.

They put their shells on the rock table and walked over to the store.

“No,” said Mr. Hall, “I haven’t any swim suits. But there is a lady down the street who sells hats. She has suits, too. You’ll see the sign as you go out.”

Benny said, “I saw the sign when I came in. It said ‘HATS’—and that’s where we go to buy bathing suits? That’s funny.”

“Well,” said Mr. Hall with a laugh, “my sign says ‘GROCERIES’ and people come here to buy paint and wallpaper.”

They went out of the store and down the street.

The dock was near by and Benny pulled Henry over to see the boats. “Look at that one,” he said. “She’s a beauty. Her name’s Sea Cook II.”

Henry said, “I guess a boat like that isn’t too big for one man to run. You’re right, Benny, she is a beauty.”

Just then Jessie and Violet called to the boys. The girls were more interested in suits than boats. The boys saw Grandfather waiting with, the girls. Together the Aldens looked in the window of the hat shop. There were beautiful summer hats in the window—and one suit. It was blue.

“There’s your suit, Jessie, if it fits,” said Henry. “Of course, Ben wants red.”

“Right,” said Benny. “Red is my color.”

The lady in the hat shop smiled to see the whole family coming in. She said her name was Mrs. Ross.

Suddenly Henry looked out of the window. The black-eyed man was going by.

“Do you know who that man is?” Henry asked.

“Oh, yes, indeed. His name is Tom Cook.”

“What does he do for a living?” asked Mr. Alden.

“He’s really a fisherman. But sometimes the fishing is poor, so he works on odd jobs. They say he has made a fortune selling lobsters and renting houses to the summer people.”

“He doesn’t look it, does he?” said Henry. “He looks poor.”

“He saves his money,” said Mrs. Ross. “He won’t spend a cent. He has a fine boat and he won’t let his son use it, and his son is no little boy. He’s seventeen years old already.”

An idea hit Benny, but he didn’t say anything aloud. The man was a Mr. Cook. That beautiful boat was the Sea Cook II. It must be the blackeyed man’s boat.

Henry was thinking, too. That first day they had met Mr. Hall and rented the lighthouse—hadn’t he said a man named Cook had bought the summer kitchen? Maybe here was another clue.

“Too bad,” said Jessie.

“Yes, it’s too bad. The boy does use it, though. People say that he is always taking that boat out after dark. They say he has some fancy idea in his head. Nobody knows what it is. He always comes back carrying something. Sometimes it is a small thing like a jar, and sometimes a great big thing like a barrel. At least that’s what I’m told.”

“I wonder what it is?” said Benny.

“I haven’t the least idea,” said Mrs. Ross. “He goes way out. Out of sight. His father doesn’t know he takes the boat, though how the boy has kept him from finding out, I don’t know.”

“I bet some day he’s going to find out,” said Benny. “Then there will be trouble.”

“Trouble?” cried Mrs. Ross. “There’s enough trouble already in that house between Mr. Cook and his son. The mother stands up for the boy. The father will hardly speak to his own son.”

“Why?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Well, you see this boy is very smart. He finished high school at sixteen. He’s been just hanging around ever since. His father won’t let him work. Too proud. And the boy wants to go away to college. His father won’t let him.”

“Oh, my!” said Benny. “That’s the cross boy we saw in the store, and the cross man with the black eyes is his father. That explains a lot, doesn’t it, Grandfather?”

“Yes, Benny. Those two will always be in trouble unless we do something about it.”

“Did you say ‘we’?” asked Henry in surprise.

“Yes, we,” answered Mr. Alden with a smile.

CHAPTER 5

Little House with a Secret

The Aldens went right back to their lighthouse with the new suits. They put them on at once and went out to their own little white beach.

“Be careful now,” said Mr. Alden. “You don’t know this beach, and you must find out how deep the water is.”

“Mr. Hall says it is very deep on the other side of the lighthouse,” said Henry. “But it is not over your head on this side. I asked him.”

“I like it deep,” said Benny, swimming away.

Every one of the Aldens could swim very well. Henry and Jessie could dive. But this was no place to dive. It was too rocky.

The water was cool, but the day was hot. Mr. Alden sat in his own rock chair and watched the swimmers. They threw water and swam under water. Even Watch swam around, barking for fun.

“You bark all you want to now, Watch,” said Violet, laughing. “Just keep still at midnight tonight.” She really had no idea that Watch would bark every single night.

That night the family sat up late. It was dark when Benny went climbing up to his top floor. He put on light blue pajamas and went out on his little lookout. He sat down in a beach chair.

Benny did not know that he showed up plainly in the moonlight in his light pajamas.

He was looking at the stars. They looked very bright here because there were no street lights. Then one star moved. Soon Benny knew that it was not a star but a light on a boat. The boat was coming in. Suddenly the boat stopped and turned around and went out to sea again.

“Well, well,” thought Benny. “Whoever he is, he changed his mind.”

Ideas began to spin around in Benny’s head. He remembered what Mrs. Ross in the hat shop had said. He thought about seeing the Sea Cook at the dock.

Then next he thought, “I wonder if he saw me from his boat. I bet he did. I bet it’s our Cook boy with his father’s boat. That boat is certainly a beauty.”

Benny jumped up to turn out his light. He put on a dark coat and watched at the window. Very soon the boat turned around again and came in to the dock not far from the lighthouse. It looked like a man who jumped out. But Benny knew that the Cook boy was as big as a man. Benny watched him as he bent over his boat. He took out a pail.

“A pail this time,” thought Benny. “I do wonder what is in it.”

But he didn’t find out. The boy looked all around. The whole town had gone to bed. The boy took the pail and disappeared up the street. Benny went to bed. If he had watched a little longer he would have seen more. But he was soon asleep.

At midnight Watch began to bark.

“Oh, my, Watch!” cried Jessie. “I guess you are going to bark every night. But you’ll stop in about ten minutes. So bark away.”

That is just what the dog did. He barked and howled for ten minutes and then he went back to sleep.

Violet said, “You’re just like a baby, Watch! You wake us up every night crying.”

Several hours later Watch growled softly but nobody heard.

For the next few days no one was surprised to hear Watch bark during the night. No one got up. They knew Watch would bark for about ten minutes and then he would stop.

But one morning Henry said, “I don’t like it, just the same.” He frowned. “The dog must hear something.”

The girls said they had seen the woman again going away very quietly. She had a bag in her hand.

Henry said, “I am going to find out why that woman comes here. I’m going to hunt all over this point of land.”

“We’ll help you,” said Jessie.

On the other side of the lighthouse, behind the little summer kitchen, there were enormous rocks. The land went downhill to the water. The young Aldens hunted over every inch of land to find some way to get into the house. They found nothing.

Then Henry said, “Let’s look at those boards nailed over the windows. There must be a crack somewhere. Maybe we can see in.”

They all looked up at the windows. “Do you see that board high up?” asked Jessie, pointing. “There’s a big crack there, but it’s too high to see through.”

“Good for you, Jess,” said Henry. “I see what you mean. I am not tall enough, but Benny will be.”

“What do you mean?” asked Violet, laughing a little. “You are much taller than Benny.”

“Well, Ben,” said Henry, laughing, too, “I’ll bend over and you stand on my back and look through the crack.”

“Oh, boy!” said Benny. He climbed up on Henry’s back like a monkey and stood up. He put his hands around his eyes and peeked in the crack.

“I can see quite well,” Benny said, “because there is another big crack in the front door we didn’t find. Oh, somebody does cook here!” he shouted. “There is a stove and a frying pan on it. There are pails of water on the floor with something brown in the water. There’s a little microscope on the table. It’s no good. It’s too small. I bet it cost about three dollars. Then there are a lot of papers with little squares like the one we found. Books and other stuff, too.”

“Good!” said Jessie in excitement. “See if you can tell what is in the pails.”

“It’s seaweed,” cried Benny. “It’s all over the floor, and some is hanging over the edge of the kettle near the stove.”

“What a queer thing,” said Violet. “I wonder what it all means.”

“Certainly it means that somebody comes here at night and makes the dog bark,” said Henry.

“That woman?” asked Jessie.

“You sound funny, Henry, upside down,” said Benny. “There are plates and cups on the shelf and it looks like a bag of flour.”

“Better get down now, Ben,” said Henry. “You are getting heavy.”

Benny jumped down lightly.

“There was one pail under the window I couldn’t see very well,” said Benny. “But it looked as if there’s something glowing in it.”

“Glowing?” asked Henry. “What can that be? Wait a minute. Do you remember how we saw something glowing in the water near Blue Bay? It was plankton, I think.”

“I bet it is,” said Benny. “We saw that under the microscope going to Blue Bay. All tiny fishes and eggs and things you can’t see.”

“That’s what the microscope here is for,” said Henry slowly. “To study the plankton and seaweed.”

“We don’t know much more than we did,” said Jessie. “We just know someone—a woman—comes to work here every night. I suppose it could be some kind of hobby.”

“But the woman comes at midnight and goes away in ten minutes,” put in Benny. “How does that fit in? Nobody can do much in ten minutes.”

Henry said, “It seems to me there is no danger from someone who studies seaweed. Maybe the person’s afraid of something.”

“Isn’t it strange, Henry?” asked Violet. “You said there’s a stove there, and we’ve smelled something cooking at night.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said Henry, thinking. “I have heard that seaweed could be food for cows and horses and pigs. But they won’t eat it. It tastes awful.”

“Wait!” said Benny. “I saw something else. I saw some bags on the shelf. They looked like bags of flour and sugar. There were others with no labels.”

“Now what do you think those are for?” asked Violet.

“Maybe someone is trying to make seaweed taste good,” said Jessie, half joking about the thought. “Well, let’s go. Grandfather may have some ideas.”

Mr. Alden heard the strange story. And he did have a small idea. “I was talking to Mr. Hall about the Cook boy, and he says he often sleeps all the morning.”

“Well,” said Jessie, “you remember Mrs. Ross told us the Cook boy takes his father’s boat out at night. That’s why he sleeps days.”

Suddenly Benny said, “Am I dumb! I had a clue and I didn’t fit it with the others. I was thinking about a woman in the summer kitchen because that’s all we have seen.”

He stopped, but Henry said, “Go on.”

Benny asked, “You remember when I thought I saw the Cook boy get out of his father’s boat and carry a pail away? I thought he went off up the street. I bet if I had watched I would have seen him come back into the summer kitchen. That Cook boy and the woman have something to do with our mystery.”

Henry said, “That paper with the squares that looked like a college experiment could belong to the Cook boy. If he is coming around here at night, that explains how we found it here.”

“Maybe we ought to put that paper back through the window, Henry,” said Benny. “The Cook boy may need it.”

“No, Ben,” said Henry. “If we put it back, he will know that someone has been there. And it isn’t time yet to tell him that. We have to make friends with him first. Then we can tell him we’d like to know more about what he is doing.”

“And how in the world are we going to make friends with that cross boy? I should like to know,” said Benny. “He doesn’t want friends. He said so.”

“Maybe he did say so,” agreed Henry. “But I think he does want friends, even if he doesn’t know it himself.”

CHAPTER 6

Well Done for Benny

Let’s have a picnic,” said Violet after the Aldens had made as many guesses as they could about what went on in the summer kitchen.

“We have a picnic every meal, I should say,” said Benny. “We always eat outdoors on our own rocks.”

“Well, I mean a real picnic,” said Violet, “with a fire and hamburgers.”

“Good for you, Violet,” said Henry, smiling. “I’m all for it. You mean a real cook-out.”

“I don’t want hamburgers this time. I want frankfurters,” said Benny.

“You can have two if you want. Or three,” said Jessie. “And this time let’s get a real fire going and not be in a hurry. It cooks better when it has burned down.”

They went to the store and bought long rolls, big sweet pickles, and brownies as well as the meat. They left Watch outside.

Suddenly they heard him bark.

“Oh, boy,” said Benny. “He’s barking just the way he does in the night.”

They all rushed out and Jessie called, “Stop it, Watch! Come here!”

Then they saw that he was barking at the Cook boy.

“He won’t bite,” said Jessie. She smiled at the boy. “He just barks.”

Watch came to Jessie when she called, but he still growled in his throat. Violet could see that the boy did not like this.

“You don’t need to be afraid of Watch,” she said. “He’s a very gentle dog. He would never bite anybody.”

“I bet he would, though,” said the boy, “if anyone tried to hurt you kids.”

He went quickly down the street and Watch still growled. No one had time to say anything more to the boy.

“Now that is very funny,” said Benny. “Watch did bark just exactly as he does at night. I bet that Cook boy is the one who is cooking seaweed.”

Jessie laughed. “You said once that somebody was cooking up something. And it turned out to be true. It’s the Cook boy!”

“Now I’m sure of it,” said Henry quietly. “There aren’t very many people in Conley who would be smart enough or interested enough to make those figures on that squared paper. The question is, what is he trying to do? And how does a woman fit into the puzzle?”

“Well, we can’t do anything about it now,” said Benny. “Let’s go on with our picnic.”

“Is this picnic going to be lunch or supper, Violet?”

“Oh, lunch! We couldn’t wait for supper, now we are all set.”

The Aldens went down on the beach and picked up dry sticks of all sizes. Henry and Benny made a fireplace of stones. They put the sticks in the hole with papers and dry seaweed.

“No danger of fire here on the sand,” said Henry. “We. have the whole ocean to put it out.”

At last the fire burned down to hot coals. It was hard to wait, but they did.

Jessie gave Benny a long straight fork to cook his frankfurter on. He stuck the frankfurter on the end and put it over the fire. He had no sooner done this than the frankfurter slipped off.

“Look at your frankfurter, Ben!” cried Henry. “It’s in the fire!”

“Oh, so it is,” cried Benny. He stuck his fork in again and lifted it out. The frankfurter was burning on one side.

“I like it burned,” he said. He blew out the fire.

“But not burned up,” said Mr. Alden, laughing. As he spoke, plop! went the frankfurter again.

“Do you want me to help you, Benny?” asked Jessie laughing, too.

“No, indeed! Thank you! If I can’t cook a frankfurter, I’m a monkey.”

“Well, I guess you’re a monkey then,” teased Henry, “for there goes your frankfurter.”

Benny picked it up again. “You stay on!” he said to the frankfurter.

“Watch out, Ben! Ooops! There she goes!” cried Henry. He couldn’t help laughing. The poor frankfurter was black all over.

This time just as Benny was putting it on the fork it slipped off again—swoosh!

“This time I’ll hold my fork the other way,” said Benny. His face was red with the hot fire. “I guess I can eat my own cooking.”

He put the frankfurter into a roll and began to eat it. “Delicious!” he said, chewing happily.

“Please don’t eat it, Ben,” Henry begged. “You can have another and maybe it won’t slip off. You can put it on our grill this time.”

“No,” said Benny. “No grill for me. I have to put it on a long fork. That’s the way to cook a frankfurter.”

“What does it taste like, Ben?” asked Henry, laughing.

“Coal,” said Benny. “Delicious coal.”

“Maybe charcoal,” said Violet. “That’s what it really is. I hope you’ll try another one and have a decent lunch.”

Benny was standing up on a rock eating brownies. He looked toward the street. There was the Cook boy going past.

“Hi!” shouted Benny. “Hello!”

The boy did answer. It was a very gruff hello. Then he went along.

Henry said thoughtfully, “It might be that he’s more afraid than cross—afraid someone will stop his secret work.”

Benny jumped down. “You know I think that Cook boy would like to come and eat with us. But he would never do it. I saw his face before he saw me. He looked as if he wished he could eat at our picnic.”

“Very likely you are right,” said Mr. Alden. “Maybe you can get to be friends little by little.”

But as it turned out, something happened suddenly—not little by little.

CHAPTER 7

Baked Beans and Chowder

Henry went to the store to get the paper. He nearly bumped into the Cook boy coming out. The angry look on his face kept Henry from even trying to say hello.

“What’s up now?” Henry wondered. Then he forgot about the boy because a sign on the store door said:

VILLAGE SUPPER. JULY 25TH.

Henry said to Mr. Hall, “What’s this supper on the twenty-fifth?”

Mr. Hall sat down and said, “Oh, every July this village has a chowder supper outdoors. Everybody in town comes. We have chowder and baked beans, hot rolls and coffee, pies and cakes. It costs one dollar.”

“It sounds good,” said Hendry. “Can anybody come?”

“Oh, yes. We want all the money we can get. We are trying to put in street lights. This year I think we will do it. All the tickets will be sold in one day. Everybody wants to come.”

“I had better buy five tickets now,” said Henry. “My family will all love to come.”

“Here you are,” said Mr. Hall. He gave Henry five tickets. “I’ll tell you something else, too. You’ll be surprised. Guess who makes the chowder and coffee and baked beans? Larry Cook! You see he isn’t all bad. He does this every year. He loves to cook.”

“Imagine that,” said Henry. “I wouldn’t think it.”

“No, that Larry Cook is a surprise in many ways.”

“Well, so he is,” said Henry, thinking. “I met him as I came into the store. He seemed crosser than ever.”

“Want to know why?” asked Mr. Hall. “Every year two summer people come up and help him. This year they sent word they can’t come. That’s why Larry is crosser than ever. He can’t do this alone with such a big crowd. Everybody else is busy making pies.”

“I wonder if we could help him?” said Henry. “We would do just as he said. Maybe that would cheer him up.”

“I’m sure it would. Your family would be a big help.”

Henry went home with the tickets and the paper and the news. Everyone wanted to help Larry.

“I think Mr. Hall will tell him what I said,” said Henry. “But if we meet him, we’ll tell him, too.”

“I heard something new about Larry’s father,” said Benny. “He is night watchman sometimes at the shipyard. So off and on he is busy all night. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t know his boat is gone.”

Later that day the Aldens walked over to the dock. They met Larry. He went by them with a gruff hello.

Benny said, “Wait a minute, Larry. Would you like some help with your supper? We can peel onions and potatoes, and we all know how to get clams out of the shells.”

“Do you?” asked Larry. He almost smiled. “There will sure be a lot of clams. I can’t do it alone.”

“Then we can help?” asked Benny.

“Yes, I’d be glad of your help,” said Larry.

“Grandfather will help, too,” said Jessie. “He is fine at getting out clams.”

“Well, well!” said Larry. “I never thought Mr. Alden would be working for me, that’s sure. You come around at nine Saturday morning, and we’ll all get to work.”

When Saturday came, the five Aldens went to meet Larry behind the store. There was a big field there, with a place for cooking and a tent for shelter. Other men had set up the long tables and chairs.

Larry had five chairs ready. The Aldens sat down and started to peel potatoes.

Larry said, “We’ll get through quicker this year with six workers. I always had three.”

When the onions came around, Larry had big pails of water. “Peel the onions under water,” he said. “If you don’t, you will cry and not be able to see.”

It was a fine idea, for there were many onions.

Next Larry and the Aldens got the clams out of their shells. They had piles and piles of clams.

“You should see this crowd eat,” said Larry. “We have to have baked beans, too. Chowder isn’t enough.”

The beans were all baked ahead of time.

Henry said, “Too bad we can’t get more food from the ocean.” But if Larry heard him, he kept quiet.

At five o’clock the people began to come. It certainly looked as if everyone in town was there. Jessie had made paper caps for the family, to show that they were waiters. Other people helped, too.

Larry was a different boy. He smiled at everyone. He could hardly believe it when he saw Grandfather waiting on table in a paper hat.

One tall man was a summer visitor, just going through the town. He called Benny and said, “Sonny, ask the cook how he makes baked beans.”

“He won’t tell,” said Benny. “A lot of people want to know. He always says, ‘That is my secret.’ The chowder is secret, too.”

After the stranger had finished supper he went out to the kitchen tent to talk to Larry. But he did not learn how to bake the beans.

Larry was very polite and was willing to talk. But he said just what Benny had said—“That is my secret, sir.”

“They say you like to cook,” said the stranger.

“Oh, yes. Ever since I was fourteen I have cooked this supper. I love to cook. I like to put things together to see what will happen.”

“Oh, do you? Do you go to college?”

“No.” said Larry. He scowled.

The man saw the scowl, so he said goodbye to Larry and went down to his car. Nobody else noticed him very much. And nobody knew his name until some time later. Then they were really surprised.

CHAPTER 8

From the South Seas

I have an idea for today,” said Mr. Alden at breakfast on Monday. “See this paper, Henry? In Ashland, the next town, ships come in from all over the world.”

“From Blue Bay?” shouted Benny.

“Well, you are right,” said Grandfather nodding at Benny. “They do come in from the South Seas. See, there is one coming in today. We might go over to Ashland and see her come in. She sailed from Tahiti and her name is Tahiti.”

“Oh, boy!” cried Benny. “Maybe the captain will let us go over the ship.”

“Maybe,” agreed his grandfather. “It will be a beautiful passenger ship, not like the freighter you went to Blue Bay on.”

“Very posh,” said Benny.

“Yes, I guess that is the word,” said Grandfather, smiling. “I know the company that owns that ship.”

“Then I guess the captain will let us go on,” said Jessie, looking at Violet. “Grandfather does know a lot of people.”

“I don’t know this captain, but I hear he is a very good man with a boat. He is young.”

They washed the dishes and then got into the station wagon. Henry backed it out and they were soon on their way to Ashland.

“Boats are always late,” said Jessie. “We may have to wait all day.”

“Right,” said Mr. Alden. “But there are seats on the wharf and a roof to keep the sun off. You will enjoy watching the small boats. They keep coming and going.”

“How do you know so much about Ashland?” asked Henry. “I never heard of that town.”

“Well, remember I grew up on Aunt Jane’s farm. And I have been up here with Mr. Carter a few times. I am interested in that Tahiti boat.”

“Ah, I thought so,” said Jessie. “That’s why we are going to see it come in.”

Mr. Alden laughed. “I like to see ships come in anyway—any ship.”

The Tahiti was late.

“I told you boats are always late,” said Jessie.

They all sat down and watched the small boats. There was one big empty place for the Tahiti. Small boats came in to get gas and water.

“See that man having his breakfast on that boat?” said Jessie. “He has bacon and eggs.”

“Now his wife is bringing the toast,” said Violet. “It must be fun to cook and eat on a boat like that.”

One boat had children climbing all over the deck. “Oh, they’ll fall in!” cried Violet.

“I don’t think so,” replied Grandfather. “Those children are used to a boat.”

The mother heard this. She looked up at Grandfather and laughed. She said, “Don’t you worry. All these children have been living on a boat since they were born. They can all swim and dive.”

Everything was interesting, but still the ship did not come in. At last it was time for lunch.

“We had better get lunch at some place over here,” said Mr. Alden. “We’ll hear the boat whistle if it comes in.”

It seemed good to eat at a real table again. The Aldens had a good lunch and finished with apple pie. Then they went back to the wharf.

“She’s coming, sir,” said a man in uniform. “She has passed the Point.”

“Good!” said Mr. Alden. “Thanks for telling me.”

Many men began to come down on the wharf to help tie up the big ship. Soon they saw it coming in the distance. It was pure white.

“It has three big whistles,” said Violet.

“No, Vi, those are not whistles,” said Benny. “They are smokestacks. See the smoke?”

Violet laughed at her mistake.

The big ship came nearer and nearer. It was very beautiful. A small boat went out to meet it. Then it slowly came into the empty place at the wharf. People were standing and waving at the rail of the ship. Then Jessie noticed that many people had come down to meet them. It was exciting to watch them. And Larry Cook was in the crowd. But it seemed as if he did not want to be seen. He never looked toward the Aldens.

“Is that the captain?” asked Benny.

“Yes. You can tell by his uniform.”

After the crowd had gone, Grandfather went up to the captain and said, “Good day, sir. I am James Alden.”

“Are you indeed?” said the captain. “I’m glad to meet you at last.”

“These are my grandchildren. I wonder if they could go aboard,” said Mr. Alden.

“Certainly,” said the young man, smiling. “My name is Snow. I’ll have an officer show them around.”

“I don’t want to take up your time,” said Mr. Alden.

“Oh, no,” said Captain Snow. “I have three days’ leave. I live just over in Conley.”

“Conley!” said Benny. “That’s where we are staying. In the lighthouse.”

“What an adventure that must be,” said Captain Snow, “living in a lighthouse. Here is an officer. He will show you over the Tahiti.”

The officer showed them everything. They looked in the boiler room, the swimming pool, the dining room, the cabins. Everything was much nicer than the Sea Star that had taken them to Blue Bay.

“Have you a big kitchen?” asked Violet.

“Kitchen? Oh, yes! We call it a galley. We feed hundreds of people. It takes a lot of pans and dishes, ranges, and an enormous refrigerator to do that. Come this way, and you will see.”

The refrigerator was interesting because it was as big as a small room. There were two men in it, putting things on the many shelves.

“Could we go in, too?” asked Benny.

“Sure,” said the officer, smiling. “Plenty of room, but rather cold. You won’t want to stay there long.”

“Brrr! No, I don’t,” said Benny. He went out as quickly as he had come in. “You’ve got enough meat for a meat market, I should think.”

“We have enough for many meat markets,” said the officer.

When they had seen the whole ship, the young Aldens were ready to go home to supper. They thanked the officer four times over.

Jessie said, “If Captain Snow lives in Conley, I wonder which house he lives in.”

“If he is there for three days, we’ll find out,” said Henry. “We’ll ask Mr. Hall. He will know.”

When Benny started to climb up to bed that night, he shouted, “Henry, I am the dumbest thing in the world!”

“Why are you dumb?” Henry shouted back.

“Because I saw two or three long white bags in that refrigerator, just the kind you get plankton in, and I never said a word about it.”

“Yes, old boy, I’m dumb, too, because I saw those bags and just didn’t pay any attention. I was thinking about that refrigerator that we could walk into.”

“I saw them, too,” said Jessie. “Aren’t we all dumb? We could have asked the officer what they had them for.”

Grandfather said, “Now just what are you talking about?”

Benny called down the stairs, “Don’t you remember, Grandfather, that’s the way to get plankton? To drag a long bag through the South Seas?”

“Of course I remember. Captain Snow was getting plankton for Larry. I should say the whole family was quite stupid.”

“Dumb,” said Benny.

“All right. If you like it better—dumb,” said Grandfather.

CHAPTER 9

Who Needs a Friend?

The Alden family did not stay dumb for long.

Tuesday Benny said, “Let’s see if we can find out where Captain Snow lives.”

“Just step down to the store,” said Henry, laughing.

Everyone laughed.

“Wait just a minute until we finish the breakfast dishes,” said Jessie, “and we can all go.”

It was Grandfather who asked Mr. Hall, “Do you know Captain Snow of the Tahiti?”

“I’ll say I know him,” said Mr. Hall. “I’ve known him ever since he was a boy. He’s brother to the Cook boy’s mother.”

“Aha!” said Jessie.

“Aha!” said Benny. “That explains a lot of things.”

Mr. Hall leaned on the counter. “Larry always goes over to see his uncle when the Tahiti comes in. His uncle gives him something every time, but nobody has ever found out what it is.”

“Maybe he gets it in a covered pail,” said Benny, looking at Mr. Hall.

“How did you know that?” asked Mr. Hall.

“I saw him come home late one night and he had a pail,” said Benny.

“Sometimes his uncle gives him a box,” said Mr. Hall, “and sometimes a glass can. What do you suppose is in all those things?”

“We think we know,” said Henry. “It’s seaweed or plankton.”

“And what’s plankton, young feller?”

“It doesn’t grow here close to shore,” said Violet.

“It grows in the deep sea,” said Henry. “In some places the deep sea is full of it.”

“And what is it?” asked Mr. Hall.

“It’s what a whale eats,” said Benny. “It’s plants and tiny fish and eggs and stuff you can’t see with- out a microscope, but whales live on it. The whale takes a big mouthful and swallows the plankton and strains the water out of his mouth.”

“Fishes eat it, too,” Henry added. “It’s something like the way land animals feed on growing plants and smaller animals.”

“Plankton tastes awful,” said Benny. “They say there’s enough plankton in the deep sea to feed the world.”

“You don’t say!” said Mr. Hall. “Too bad it doesn’t taste good. But what I want to know is what the Cook boy wants it for.”

“We think he studies it and experiments with it,” said Henry.

“He’s a smart boy all right,” said Mr. Hall. “Maybe Captain Snow would know.”

“Where does he live?” asked Henry.

“Way up the street,” said Mr. Hall. “Do you know where they’re fixing the driveway?”

“Yes, that’s where we got our cement,” said Jessie.

Mr. Hall said, ‘There’s a white house near that corner and that’s Captain Snow’s. He lives with his mother.”

Benny said, “But most of the time he’s out at sea.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Hall. “Most of the time.”

Then Watch began to wag his tail. He went to the door.

A tall man came in and said, “Well, hello, dog. You are a good watchdog. Your name ought to be Watch.”

“It is!” cried everybody.

“You’re Captain Snow of the Tahiti,” said Benny. “We were just coming down to see you.”

“Good,” said Captain Snow. “You are the Aldens who went over my ship. Just give me some crackers and five pounds of sugar, Mr. Hall. Then I’ll go right home.”

“Do you have to go home?” asked Benny.

“No, I’m not in a hurry. I’m on leave from ship just now.”

“Can you come and sit on our rocks for a while?” asked Henry. “Right over there,” he pointed.

“Certainly,” said Captain Snow. “I’ll leave the crackers and get them on the way home.” All this time he had his hand on Watch’s head.

“Watch likes you,” said Violet.

“I like dogs,” said Captain Snow.

“Let’s go,” said Benny. “We have five chairs and a table made of rocks.”

“I’ll sit on the table,” said the captain.

“No, Henry will sit on the table,” said Jessie. “His chair will fit you.”

Soon they were sitting on the rocks, talking.

“You see that little house?” said Jessie, pointing to the little white house. “It was a summer kitchen for the lighthouse.”

Henry added, “Mr. Cook, Larry’s father, owns it now. That’s what Mr. Hall told us.”

“I see that it’s empty,” said the Captain.

“But it isn’t empty,” said Benny. “That’s where Larry does his experiments—at least we think so. He stays up most of the night. We don’t know how he gets in—he can’t have a key.”

“I always wondered where he worked,” said Captain Snow. “He doesn’t tell me much, but I know he’s trying to study by himself.”

“He wants to go to college this fall,” said Jessie.

“Everyone in town knows that,” said the captain, laughing. “His father didn’t catch on that Larry was so smart and let him write letters to two colleges.”

“Did they want him?” asked Benny.

“Yes, they both wanted him,” said the captain. “They wanted a young man who has tried to carry on experiments in science by himself.”

Then Grandfather said, “I think he can get the work he wants at Henry’s college. I might talk to the teachers there about him.”

“Both colleges he wrote to wanted him. He chose Adams,” said the captain.

“That’s Henry’s very college,” shouted Benny.

“What do you know about that!” said Henry.

“If he went there, you could take care of him, Henry,” said Benny.

Henry laughed. “He won’t need anybody to take care of him,” he said.

“But you could be his friend,” said Violet.

“He’ll need a friend,” said Captain Snow. “So far his father has said no.”

“But why?” said Benny. “And why does Larry have to hide his work?”

Captain Snow said, “I will tell you that. Tom Cook is a selfish man with a quick temper, but I think he really does love Larry.”

“He doesn’t show it much,” said Benny.

“No, that’s the trouble with them both,” agreed the captain. “I think Larry is afraid his father would spoil his experiments if he knew about them.”

“Larry cooked a wonderful supper,” said Violet. “We heard his father was proud of him. He made five hundred dollars for the street lights.”

Captain Snow got up. He said, “Well, I’ll try to help him all I can. I know how interested he is in science. And he seems to have found some good friends.”

After a minute Henry said, “Now the next thing is to make Larry really friendly.”

“How?” asked Jessie.

Violet said, “He is a little friendly now, but that’s because we helped him with the supper.”

“What could we do, Grandfather?” asked Jessie. “Something that would give him a good time?”

“Wait till morning,” said Mr. Alden. “Something may come up.”

Something did come up. And it was very different from anything they had thought of.

CHAPTER 10

Hints and Plans

The next morning Jessie looked at Violet. “What in the world is the matter with you?” she asked.

“Mosquitoes,” said Violet. Her face was red and puffed.

“Does your face hurt?” asked Jessie. “I would hardly know you. We’ll have to do something.”

“I can hardly open my mouth,” said Violet.

“I heard the mosquitoes,” said Jessie. “Look at my arm.”

The boys came down to breakfast.

“Hello! Hello!” said Benny. “What happened to you, Violet? You look fat in the face.”

“Mosquito bites,” said Jessie.

“I had some, too,” said Mr. Alden. “The wind has changed. Now it comes off the land. That always means mosquitoes.”

Henry said slowly, “We have five windows.”

“We have a screen door but no screens on the windows,” said Benny. “I have an idea. Let’s put screen cloth on the windows and get Larry to help us.”

“And what about poor Violet?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Mr. Hall will have something for her bites,” said Jessie. “I hope he has screen cloth, too.”

Violet could hardly eat.

Henry said, “I’ve finished breakfast. I’ll run over to the store.”

Soon he came back with a great many things. He had something for Violet’s face, a roll of screen cloth, a big box of tacks, and two small hammers.

Jessie covered Violet’s face with white stuff from Mr. Hall’s.

“You don’t need to help, Violet,” said Benny. “You can’t see the tacks.”

“The next thing is to find Larry,” said Jessie. “Now, Benny, don’t say anything about seeing him out in his father’s boat. And don’t ask him about what he does in the summer kitchen. He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”

Benny said, “Oh, Jessie, I’m not that dumb.”

The Aldens walked up and down the street and looked at Larry’s house. Mrs. Cook was out in the yard.

“Where’s Larry?” asked Henry.

“I don’t know. He’s out.”

They could see that the Sea Cook was in.

At last they went down to the wharf. There was Larry, reading a book.

“Hi, Larry,” shouted Benny. “Will you come and help us?”

“What doing?” asked Larry, shutting his book. “And where is the other sister?”

“You wouldn’t know her,” said Benny. “She is all mosquito bites. One eye is all shut.”

Jessie said, “We want to put screens on five windows.”

“You don’t need me,” said Larry.

“Count us,” said Benny. “We have five windows and four people.”

Larry laughed. He got up, put his book under his arm, and they all walked down the street.

Larry looked at the high windows. Then he looked at the screen cloth. “You can’t put this on from the outside,” he said.

“No,” said Benny. “We are going to put it on from the inside. We’ll show you. We have done it before.”

“I’d like to see how you do it,” said Larry.

Then Violet came out.

“I’m very sorry about your face,” said Larry. Then he began to cut screen cloth.

Grandfather sat out on the rocks. He laughed to himself. Everyone was tapping or cutting. Grandfather could hear them talking. Once he heard Larry laugh. Then he got up quietly and went to the store.

Grandfather said to Mr. Hall, “Do you think Larry Cook would like steak?”

“Steak?” said Mr. Hall, “I don’t think he ever had much.”

“We’ll try it then,” said Grandfather. “Five pounds of steak should be enough.”

“Potato chips,” said Mr. Hall.

“Pickles,” said Grandfather.

“How about a pie?” said Mr. Hall.

“I’ll need rolls and two pies,” said Grandfather. “Make them cherry.”

Mr. Hall put all the food in a big bag. Grandfather went quietly back to the rocks. He could hear that the pounding had stopped. He found two pieces of old iron. He hit them together. It sounded like a bell. Grandfather looked up and saw Benny at his window.

“Is that a dinner bell, Grandfather?” shouted Benny.

“Come down and see,” said Grandfather.

Laughing, they all ran to the rocks. Grandfather showed them what he had bought.

“We’ll need a fire for that steak,” said Larry.

“Right,” said Henry. “Here’s our fireplace. We can use our grill.”

Everyone began to gather dry wood, but it was Larry who built the fire.

The Aldens noticed that Larry never looked toward the summer kitchen. He did not know that they already knew a great deal about something that interested him very much.

“I forgot you were a cook,” said Benny.

“How do you like your steak?” asked Larry. “Well done?”

“No, he likes it burned up,” said Henry.

“He won’t get any burned up steak from me,” said Larry.

“I want mine very rare, my boy,” said Mr. Alden.

“I know,” said Larry. “Rare but not raw.”

“Good!” said Mr. Alden. “I shall enjoy this meal.”

They could hardly wait for the fire to burn down, but Larry would not put the steaks on. At last the fire was just right. Larry counted, “Two rare, three medium, and Benny’s well done.”

“That means I’ll have to wait till last,” said Benny.

Jessie put butter on the rolls. Mr. Alden’s steak was done first. Larry took his own off and moved the rest to the hot part of the fire. Soon everyone was eating a steak sandwich.

“Poor Grandfather,” said Benny. “No coffee.”

“I don’t need coffee today,” said Grandfather. “Just give me a pickle.”

When they had picked up after lunch, Larry began to think he should go home. He said, “I had a fine time.” He looked at Violet and smiled. “I hope you’ll have no mosquitoes.”

“Thank you for helping us,” said Violet. “Come again soon.”

“Maybe I will,” said Larry.

After he had gone, Jessie said, “I think we are really friends with Larry now. Don’t you, Grandfather?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Alden. “You did exactly right.

You gave him something interesting to do. Then you all worked together. That’s the best way to make friends.”

“Well,” said Benny, “I wish that we’d get to be such good friends that Larry would tell us about his work. Maybe he thinks he can sell that stuff and get rich.”

“I think he’s more interested in it as science work,” said Henry. “But that’s just a guess.”

Then they all sat looking at the beautiful blue sea. Violet said, “It never seems to rain here. Every single day has been sunny. I wonder why?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Alden. “So far it has been sunny for three weeks. But you will find it isn’t always that way. In fact I think I feel a storm coming up now.”

“I don’t,” said Benny. “There isn’t a cloud in the sky.”

“Maybe not today,” said Grandfather, “but soon. It is lucky we have a nice tight lighthouse to stay in. We’ll see some big waves.”

“Oh, I love big waves,” said Violet. “They are so beautiful dashing on the rocks. And we are right by the water—almost in the water.”

The storm did not come that night. The family had supper on the rocks. They had a fine night with no mosquitoes.

“Pretty good screens,” said Benny.

All the next day they swam or sat on the beach in the sun. Then the family had supper on the rocks. Just as they finished, Grandfather said, “Look! The storm! The wind has changed!”

Sure enough, clouds were speeding across the sky.

Jessie and Henry gathered the supper things together.

They hurried into the lighthouse just as the first drops began to fall.

“Just a little rain,” said Benny, laughing. “It feels good on my head. I like to get my hair wet.”

CHAPTER 11

A Wild Storm

When the Aldens had shut all the windows and looked out at the sea, they changed their minds about the rain. This was no little rain. This was a storm.

The sky became very dark. There was thunder. The rain fell in sheets. The wind made a terrible noise around the lighthouse.

“You do know about the weather, Grandfather,” said Benny. “You said a storm was coming, and boy! here is a storm.”

“There goes a telephone pole,” shouted Henry. “Nobody can telephone out of this town tonight.”

“I hope no one is out in a boat,” said Violet. “The waves would tip it over.”

The waves dashed up against the lighthouse. They even ran down the road and covered it with water.

The storm grew worse. Lightning made the whole beach light. The thunder sounded very loud over the water.

“I don’t care for this at all,” said Violet. “It seems dangerous.”

“It is dangerous,” said Grandfather quietly. “I surely hope nobody is out in a boat.”

The storm did not stop. It grew even worse. The waves covered the whole wide beach. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door.

“Who in the world is that?” shouted Benny. “I hate to open the door. The rain will pour in.”

But Henry opened the door. It was Mr. Cook.

“Have you seen my son?” he cried. “Where is my son?”

“Come in, quick!” said Henry. “We don’t know where your son is. We haven’t seen him today.”

“Oh, oh!” cried the man. “My wife told me to look in the little house first, but he isn’t there. He must have taken my boat! He’s out in my boat! What shall I do? He will tip over. Nobody could handle a boat in this storm!”

Henry said, “Is there any Coast Guard around here?”

“In Ashland,” Tom Cook cried. “They haven’t time to get here.”

“We’ll see about that,” said Henry. He dragged on his raincoat and went to open the door.

“Where are you going, Henry?” asked Grandfather sharply.

“I’m going for the Coast Guard. The telephone’s out. We can’t do a thing alone.”

Mr. Alden opened his mouth. Then he shut it again. He knew Henry had to go.

Henry was backing the car around. “Get in,” said Henry to Mr. Cook. “Quick!” And off he drove through the water that covered the road, splashing it high as he went.

After Henry and Mr. Cook had gone, Mr. Alden was very quiet.

At last Violet said, “Henry will make it. He always does.”

“I hope you’re right, child,” said Mr. Alden. “I am worried. If Larry is out in the open sea in this, I don’t see how he can ever get to land.”

“Maybe he knows the weather, too,” said Jessie. “Maybe he started out for home before the storm came.”

“How awful that the light in this lighthouse is gone!” said Benny. “If we could only light that, he could find his way better.”

“The reflector is left,” said Jessie. “Maybe a small light would show a little.”

Everyone had a flashlight that would stand up. Benny carried them all to his room at the top and set them around. The reflector did show a little light through the storm.

By this time they heard voices outside. The neighbors had come to the lighthouse to find out about the Cook boy. They all knew his father’s boat was gone.

“Come in, everybody,” said Jessie. Everyone was dripping with water. “My brother has gone for the

Coast Guard. They will go out from Ashland and look for Larry.”

Then Jessie and Violet saw Mrs. Cook. She looked pale, but she smiled at the girls.

The neighbors were wonderful. They had seen storms before. A woman told Jessie to heat a lot of water and make coffee for the Coast Guard men. She herself helped.

The men who had come went out on the beach to see if they could see anything. They stood in the waves up to their knees. But soon the water was up to their waists. They went back to the rock seats. They all had flashlights and some had enormous field glasses.

“The Coast Guard is quick,” said Mrs. Cook. “They will be out to sea before your brother can get home.”

Jessie and Violet put their arms around her.

The light in the top of the lighthouse showed a little through the heavy rain. It seemed like ten years before a man shouted, “I see the Coast Guard boat! And I see the Cook boat!”

Henry and Tom Cook drove up as the man spoke.

“Oh, where?” begged Mr. Cook, getting out. “Show it to me.”

The man gave him his glasses and told him which way to look. The boats were still right side up, but they often disappeared in the waves. Then Henry went down to the beach, too.

“What will they do?” Henry asked.

“They’ll take the boy off and tie his boat to the Coast Guard boat. I hope they will see our light and come here to our beach. The little boat can get through the waves here.”

Men looked through their glasses. “They’re tying the boat on now. They must have the boy.”

“If I ever get my son back, he can have anything he wants,” cried Tom Cook. “Anything at all. Anything in the world!”

“He’s a smart boy, your Larry,” said Henry. “Maybe you know that.”

“Yes, I know that. If he only comes back safe!”

“He will,” said a fisherman. “The Coast Guard is coming fast this way. They wouldn’t come now if they didn’t have the boy aboard.”

“Oh, thank you!” cried Mr. Cook. “Can you really see their boat?”

“See for yourself.” The fisherman gave him his glasses. The rain was still pouring down. It was still thundering. Everyone was soaking wet. But they could see the Coast Guard coming through the great waves. The Sea Cook II was tied on behind it.

Mrs. Cook helped Jessie heat towels and blankets in front of the gas oven and make a bed with the blankets.

“You’ll have to use my bed for him,” said Mr. Alden.

Henry said, “You may have my bed, Grandfather, and I’ll go up with Benny.”

“I don’t think I’m going to bed,” said Mr. Alden.

“We’ll be all ready for him when he comes,” said Jessie.

“Is there a doctor in this town?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Oh, yes indeed. Someone has gone for him. He is on his way.”

“Well, since there is no policeman,” said Mr. Alden, “I thought there wouldn’t be any doctor either.”

“He is a very good doctor. His name is Dr. Phillips.”

“That big Coast Guard boat can’t land here,” said Henry to a man.

“No, they will come to the beach in the smaller boat. The Coast Guard can run it through the waves. You’ll see.”

Nearer and nearer came the big boat. The storm was still raging. When the boat was quite near it stopped. Three of the men got into the Sea Cook II and rowed for the beach. Larry was lying in the boat.

At last the boat reached the shore. Strong men took hold of it, and pulled it up on the sand. Henry helped. He looked at Larry. He was lying still with his eyes shut.

“He’s alive,” the man said. “But he doesn’t know anything yet. Put him to bed and get a doctor. We saw your dim light.”

“We’re all ready,” said Henry. “Right in the lighthouse.”

“The lighthouse!” said the man.

“Yes, we are living there this summer. We have a bed all made up for him with hot blankets.”

Henry helped the men lift Larry out of the boat. He was soaked and his hair was dripping wet. The men took him into the lighthouse.

“We’ll get him dry first,” they said. Mrs. Cook rubbed Larry’s hair with a hot towel. He was shivering, but he did not open his eyes.

When Jessie went to the door to meet the doctor, the men got Larry’s dripping clothes off and wrapped him in the hot blankets. They laid him in Grandfather’s bed.

Everyone came in with the doctor to see how Larry was. Suddenly Larry shouted, “Feed the world! Feed the whole world!”

Henry looked at Jessie.

The doctor said, “He has a high fever. He doesn’t know what he is saying.”

Violet did not say a word. She was thinking.

Tom Cook was at Larry’s side, begging him to open his eyes.

“Larry, Larry,” he kept saying.

The doctor said, “I don’t think you ought to talk to him. He will wake up himself when he is able. Remember he has been out in that terrible storm. It is better for him to keep quiet now.”

Mr. Cook did not say another word. But he never moved from Larry’s side.

Jessie began to think. “Isn’t it funny?” she thought. “We were sure Mr. Cook didn’t like his own son. And we find he does. Maybe we’ll find out that Larry likes his father, too.”

When Larry could swallow, the doctor gave him some medicine. A little color came back in his face.

“Have you any hot soup?” the doctor asked Jessie. “Soon he will be able to take it. It will do him good.”

“Yes, I have canned soup,” said Jessie.

“That’s all right. Don’t put much water in it. Give it to him strong.”

Larry’s mother was the one to feed him the soup. His eyes opened and then shut. Then he opened them again. He seemed to be hungry.

All this time, Benny had not said a single word. He just watched. Now he sat down quietly in a chair. Watch went over and sat close beside him.

The old dog did not bark once at all the strangers. He seemed to know that they were Jessie’s friends. So they would be his friends, too. Benny put his arm around the dog’s neck and together they sat there.

Violet went and put her arm around Benny’s shoulders. “It’s been too exciting, Benny,” she said. “You’ll feel better soon. Suppose you have some hot soup, too.”

Benny was thankful to eat the hot soup. He almost went to sleep eating it.

“Better lie down,” said Violet. “After all, it’s almost midnight.”

Benny was soon fast asleep.

All the rest stayed up and watched Larry. All at once he said, “Mother, I tried to feed the whole world.”

“What is he talking about?’ asked Dr. Phillips. “Keep him quiet if you can. He will soon be asleep. Don’t try to take him home yet.”

The kind neighbors began to say goodnight.

“I’ll come again early in the morning,” said Dr. Phillips, going out last of all.

Jessie and Violet went up to their room. Henry carried Benny upstairs to his bed without waking him. Mr. Alden and Watch sat quietly with Larry’s father and mother. And for the first time, when the clock struck twelve at midnight, Watch did not bark.

CHAPTER 12

The Secret Is Out

The next day was beautiful. The storm had gone. Everyone got up early and went downstairs to see how Larry was. Dr. Phillips came early, too. Mr. and Mrs. Cook were still there, sitting by the bed.

“How is the boy?” asked Mr. Alden.

“He is very much better,” said Dr. Phillips. “But he still doesn’t know what he is talking about.”

“Oh.” said Benny, “I think he does.”

“And I do, too,” said Henry. “What is he saying?”

“Oh, the same old thing, about feeding the world. Will you tell me how that makes sense?”

“We’ll show you,” said Henry, “if it’s all right with Larry. That is better than telling. Mr. Cook and Grandfather, you can come with the doctor, too.”

“I don’t need to come,” said Mrs. Cook smiling, “I know all about it. I used to take Larry his supper every night. Here is a key. Your dog always barked and I was sure you’d come out and question me. I’ll stay with Larry now.”

“Eat anything you see,” said Larry, almost smiling.

Then the Aldens led the men down the path to the little white house. Mr. Cook said, “I never guessed a thing.”

Benny said, “Larry comes to work here every night. We thought we smelled fish cooking.” They all went in.

“What is this?” said Dr. Phillips, picking up a little cake.

“Well,” said Henry. “I rather think it is a cake made of seaweed. It was baked in that pan.”

“Try it,” said Benny. “Larry said we could.” The doctor broke off a piece of the cake and tried it.

“How is it?” asked Benny.

“Not too bad, not too good,” said the doctor.

“But why is Larry using seaweed?” asked Mr. Cook.

“There’s a great deal of it,” said Henry. “Anyone can get it free. It could be made into food people could eat. It would help feed the world.”

The doctor said slowly, “I know the Japanese use it, but they like it. They make cakes and candy and puddings.”

“That is exactly right,” said Henry. “If we liked it, we could have all we wanted just for sending boats out after it.”

Mr. Cook looked at Henry and said, “So that is what my boy was doing—trying to make seaweed taste good. He did know what he was talking about all the time.”

“Then Larry is well if he is talking sense,” said Dr. Phillips. “Only he is still weak. He can get up when he feels able.”

Dr. Phillips went on his way, and the rest went back to Larry. He was sitting up eating his breakfast.

“Tell us, Larry, what you were trying to do,” said Grandfather, sitting down beside the bed.

“Oh, it is so interesting!” cried Larry. “I had to do my experiments with seaweed because plankton wouldn’t keep. Uncle Rich Snow always brought me some plankton from the South Seas. He had a refrigerator.”

“We’ve been in that refrigerator,” said Benny, laughing. “We saw your white bags of plankton, but we didn’t know then what it was.”

“I like to look at the plankton under my microscope. But I do wish I had a large microscope. The plankton would be so beautiful. It’s all colors and so many different kinds, and so small you can’t see it at all without the microscope.”

“We saw some plankton when we went to Blue Bay,” said Henry.

“Then you know. If we could only make it good to eat, it would feed the world.”

“Tell us about your experiments,” said Mr. Alden.

“Well, I have tried a good many things. Of course I don’t have much to work with. I mixed the jelly of the seaweed with flour and sugar and made cakes and fried them. They were not very good. Next time I was going to put in flavoring.”

“Good work!” said Mr. Alden. “You have done well all alone. Now you need help.”

Then Grandfather went on talking to Mr. Cook. “If you will let Larry go to Adams College, I will help you pay for it.”

“Oh, no,” said Mr. Cook. “That isn’t it! I have enough money. Captain Snow would have given us money, too. I just made up my mind that he couldn’t go, and I hated to give in. You see I never had a chance for much schooling. I’ve done all right. I couldn’t see why Larry needed to go to college. A waste of money, I thought.” Mr. Cook stopped and then he added, “I guess I’m quick to lose my temper and slow to change my mind.”

“I was like that, too,” said Benny. “I used to howl my head off.”

Mr. Cook laughed. He said, “And you think I am howling now? All right. He can go.”

Jessie looked at Larry. His eyes were shining. He had forgotten his breakfast.

Mr. Alden said, “Let’s all sit down and talk about this. This is wonderful of you, Mr. Cook. You see, I know Adams College. Henry goes there. They have a teacher who could help Larry on this very work. He will work with Larry, I am sure.”

Larry sat up straight. Watch went over and put his paws on the bed and wagged his tail.

“That settles it,” shouted Benny. “Now Larry is one of the family!”

CHAPTER 13

A Final Surprise

Grandfather sat forward in his chair.

“Another thing,” he said. “We ought to go home soon.”

“Oh, why?” asked Benny.

Mr. Alden laughed. “I have to work, for one thing.”

Jessie said, “Oh, I suppose you do.”

Henry said, “I must get ready for college, too.”

“I shall miss you all,” said Larry.

“You won’t miss Henry,” said Benny. “You’ll see him every day at college.”

“I can go back to my house this morning,” said Larry. “I feel all right—only weak.”

“I’ll take you in the station wagon,” said Henry, “and Mr. and Mrs. Cook, too.”

Suddenly Mrs. Cook said, “Wait! I have an idea. You must all come to our house for supper.”

Mr. Alden shook his head. “Better not, Mrs. Cook,” he said. “You’ll have enough to do taking care of Larry without cooking a supper for eight. But we’d enjoy it all right.”

“I won’t need a thing,” said Larry. “I’ll just lie down once in a while.”

Mrs. Cook smiled. She said, “Larry isn’t the only one in the family who can cook. I do it, too. And I like it.”

The four young Aldens were looking at Grandfather, hoping he would change his mind.

“Very well,” he said. “We’d love to come if you really feel that way.”

“Good!” said Mrs. Cook. “Come about five and see our yard. “We’ll eat at six.”

Benny said, “I won’t eat much lunch, Mrs. Cook, so I can eat a lot of supper. I bet you are just as good a cooker as Larry.”

They all laughed at Benny. “Really,” he said, “I mean it. I’ll eat hardly any lunch at all.”

“I can’t imagine it,” said Henry.

“I’ll get dressed,” said Larry, “and go along home.”

“You’ll have to wear some of my clothes,” said Henry. “Yours aren’t dry yet.”

After the Cook family had gone, Benny said, “Now I wonder what Mrs. Cook will have for supper. It won’t be frankfurters, I’m sure.”

“It won’t be chowder,” said Henry, smiling.

“It won’t be hamburgers,” Benny went on.

“Now, Benny,” said Violet, “don’t be talking about things to eat all the morning. You make me hungry already.”

“What shall I do, then?”

“You might put up the clothes line. Tie it between the houses. We can get Larry’s things dry in the sun.”

“Shoes and all?” asked Benny.

“Yes. Tie the strings together and hang them over the line.”

When the job was done, Benny came in again. “What shall I do now?” he asked.

“Oh, Benny,” cried Jessie. “Go down to the beach and sit and watch the water. We’re very busy.”

Benny went slowly down to the beach. In a minute he shouted, “Oh, come quick! Millions of shells! Heaps and piles of shells! Bushels of shells!”

Everyone ran. They swept the shells and shoveled the shells into anything that would hold them. They set them on the rock table. As Mr. Alden worked he said, “I think we’re going to make it. These shells were washed up by the storm. They came from far away.”

The water came in steadily. At last almost every shell was saved.

“We won!” cried Benny. “Now the tide can come in.”

“And now we’ll have fun,” said Mr. Alden. “See if you can find an empty pan.”

“Here’s a kettle,” said Violet.

“Just the thing, child,” said Mr. Alden. “I think it will be full.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Henry.

“I am going to pick over the shells and save the interesting ones,” said his grandfather.

The children sat down to watch. At once Mr. Alden cried, “Here’s a beautiful red scallop shell, and this black and white one came from far away. These shells never grow around here. That is why some of them are broken.”

Quickly Mr. Alden picked over the shells. He never stopped once.

“My!” said Benny. “You know a lot about shells.”

“I ought to,” said Mr. Alden. “I have studied them all my life. Isn’t this shell beautiful?”

“Say!” cried Benny. “Doesn’t it look something like an olive? And speaking of olives, I wonder if Mrs. Cook will have pickles? If she has hamburger she will have to have pickles.”

“Now, Benny,” said Henry, “stop talking about food. You know you are not hungry yet.”

But all day long Benny was waiting for five o’clock to come. At quarter of five he said, “Don’t you think we could go now? It will take us fifteen minutes to walk to Mrs. Cook’s.”

Henry said, “Oh, so we are going to walk, are we?”

“Henry and I will ride,” said Mr. Alden.

“Wait five minutes more, Benny,” said Henry, “and you can help me wipe off the car. Then we will go.”

They reached the Cooks’ house at exactly five o’clock. Mrs. Cook came around the house from the backyard. “You are just in time,” she said. “Mr. Cook wants to show you our yard.”

The Aldens were very much surprised when they saw the yard. It was beautiful. There were big bushes of flowers and beds filled with flowers. The grass was very green. In the middle was an enormous fireplace and a long table.

“She does have pickles,” whispered Benny to Jessie. There were chairs around the table.

“We might as well eat,” said Mrs. Cook. “We are all here.”

“That’s good,” said Benny. “I’ve been hungy all day.”

“We’ll fill you up,” said Mr. Cook.

Larry sat in a long chair. He looked weak, but he said he felt fine.

“You can help me, Henry,” said Mrs. Cook. Henry came back from the house with a pan of rolls. They were light and brown. They smelled delicious.

Benny whispered again to Jessie, “I still wonder what we will have to go with the rolls.”

He did not have to wait long. Mrs. Cook gave Henry two holders, and he lifted an enormous pan off the fire. The fire was almost out.

“Oh! Oh! Chicken legs!” yelled Benny. “I can eat a lot of those.”

“How many can you eat?” asked Mrs. Cook.

“Well, four anyway,” said Benny. “My friend Mike can eat eight.”

“You can have eight, too, if you want,” said Mrs. Cook, laughing.

But when Benny saw the watermelon, he ate only four chicken legs. Mr. Alden said, “Mrs. Cook, these are delicious. You can certainly cook as well as Larry.”

Suddenly Larry looked toward the street. A big car drove up quietly and stopped.

“We have more company, Mother,” Larry said, pointing to the car.

“No,” shouted Benny, “it’s our company! It’s Mr. Carter. He’s getting out now.”

And it was John Carter, one of the men who worked for Grandfather. He had a large black box. He carried it over to where everyone waited.

With a smile he said, “I felt lonesome, and after I read your letters I wanted to see Larry.”

“Well, this is Larry,” said Benny. “He is lying down in that long chair because he was almost drowned in the storm we had.”

“I know,” nodded Mr. Carter. “Your grandfather telephoned me.” He shook hands and said hello to everybody.

All this time Larry looked at the box. He knew what was in it, but he could not believe it might be for him.

Mr. Carter was saying, “Here you are, Larry. From what Mr. Alden told me, I guess you need a bigger microscope. Mine has just been lying around. I haven’t used it for years now that I’m not with the F.B.I. You may keep it.”

Benny carried the box over to Larry for him to open.

Larry’s hands shook so that Benny said, “Maybe your hands are shaking because you almost drowned.”

“No,” said Larry, and his voice shook, too. “It’s because I’m so glad to have a good microscope. I can never thank you enough, Mr. Carter, never!”

“Don’t try,” said Mr. Carter. He and the Aldens were glad to see how pleased Larry was.

“Well, Carter,” said Grandfather, “you didn’t come way up here just to give Larry that microscope. You must have had some other reason.”

Mr. Carter laughed and said, “Well, so I did. I thought I might help you pack. And I brought you a letter from Adams College. It is from a Dr. William Steere.”

Grandfather read the letter at once. “Good,” he said. “Excellent. Larry, this Dr. Steere wants a boy like you very much.”

“Why, sir?” asked Larry.

“Because he is doing the same work that you are. He is experimenting with seaweed and plankton for food.”

“Wonderful!” said Larry. “I’d like to work with him.”

“He says something else,” said Grandfather. “He says that we ought to spend more money getting food from the sea instead of bothering with space.”

“I think so, too,” said Larry. “I suppose we ought to do both. But I am more interested in the sea. Think how deep it is. Miles and miles. And all full of food if we can only get it.”

Mr. Cook put his hand on his son’s shoulder. He said, “I can see that you and Dr. Steere will get along fine.”

John Carter had already eaten, but he had a large piece of watermelon just the same.

When the time came to say good-by to the Cooks, Henry said, “We go back to our real home tomorrow. We’re sorry to go.”

“And we are sorry to see you leave,” Mrs. Cook said.

“But I’ll see you soon,” Larry called, “at college.”

The next day Mr. Carter was a great help. He worked with the girls on the packing and he took some of the bags in his own car.

Benny ran to Mr. Hall’s store to give him the lighthouse keys. When he came back, the family was ready to go.

“I want to ride with Mr. Carter,” said Benny.

“Very well,” said Grandfather. “No reason not to, if Mr. Carter wants you.”

Mr. Carter laughed and said he wanted company. The girls and Grandfather rode with Henry.

They drove past Mr. Hall’s to wave good-by and then past the Cooks before leaving Conley.

At last home again, they told Mrs. McGregor, the housekeeper, all about their adventures.

Mr. Carter told how well the young people had solved the mystery. “I couldn’t have done better,” he said.

“Oh, yes, you could,” said Jessie. “You used to be an F.B.I. man.”

“No, really, I couldn’t,” said Mr. Carter. “Larry would trust young people more than he would a man. I’m sure of that. You were wonderful with Larry.”

“That’s right, John,” said Grandfather, nodding. “They were.”

The bags were unpacked and Henry took the empty car around to the garage.

But the family did not sit around very long doing nothing. Everyone was busy in what was left of the summer.

One day Grandfather and Henry went to a store to get Henry clothes for fall. But Grandfather bought two jackets, not just one. Henry tried them on and said they were just right. One was gray and one was brown. The brown one went into a special box to be mailed to Larry Cook.

Henry wrote a letter saying it was the kind of jacket all the boys wore at Adams.

Then the time came when Henry and Larry went to Adams College. Grandfather went, too. He took the boys into the dean’s office and told him who Larry was.

Larry sat down near the door. It was half open.

Suddenly Larry stood up looking very much surprised. A tall man came in. He looked at Larry once. Then he looked again. Then he held out his hand and said, “Well, well! Clam chowder!”

Larry cried, “Baked beans!” The two shook hands.

“What in the world are you two talking about?” asked Mr. Alden. “Do you know Larry?”

“Yes,” said the tall stranger. “I know he makes the best clam chowder and baked beans that I ever ate!”

The dean laughed. He said, “That makes my work easier, if you know each other. Larry, this is Dr. Steere.”

“Dr. Steere!” cried Larry. “The one I am going to work for?”

“The very one,” said the dean. “Sit down, Dr. Steere. This is Mr. Alden, and this is Henry Alden. They brought Larry along to meet you.”

Dr. Steere looked at Larry. He said, “I have seen your papers that you did all alone. You are already doing college work. I will be glad to help you because our work may be important to the whole world.”

“I hope so,” said Larry. “It seems important to me.”

Mr. Alden looked at his watch. “I must go,” he said. “You two boys find your rooms and Henry’s friends, and good luck to you both.”

Mr. Alden shook hands with Larry. He said, “You have a wonderful teacher, my boy. I know you will do well.”

Mr. Alden left and then Dr. Steere left. The boys went to find their rooms and the dean sat alone.

“I like a boy like that Larry,” he thought. “And he has a fine friend in Henry Alden.”

About a month later, Grandfather got a wonderful letter from Henry.

“Read it out loud,” said Jessie.

This is what Mr. Alden read:

Dear Grandfather and All,

Larry and I are so excited! Dr. Steere likes Larry’s work. He has asked him to stay here at the college all summer and work with him. But Larry thinks he shouldn’t do that. He wants to be with his father in the summer. So what do you think? Dr. Steere says he will come to the little white house in Conley and work with Larry. They will fix up the little house and put on a new room. Dr. Steere says he will call it “Cook’s Experiments.” Isn’t that wonderful? He thinks some day Larry will be famous.

I have to tell you that Larry wears his white lab coat all the time. He almost never wears his jacket.

The boys like him and think he is smart.

Love to everybody,

HENRY

“What wonderful news,” said Jessie. “Aren’t we glad we made friends with Larry Cook?”

“I am very much pleased with you,” said Grandfather. “You young people changed a cross young bear into a fine young man.”

“I think Benny did that mostly,” said Jessie.

“Well, I don’t,” said Benny. “I think we all did it together—and you, Grandfather, and Captain Snow and Watch.”

“Don’t forget Mr. Hall,” said Jessie.

“We’ll never forget Mr. Hall,” said Violet.

“No, sir!” said Benny. “Mr. Hall knows absolutely everything!”

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1963 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0783-3

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Mountain Top Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by David Cunningham

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1   Grandfather in the Lead

2   Hold On, Benny!

3   Waiting for Rescue

4   Lovan’s Story

5   More Plans

6   Back Up the Trail

7   A Stranger

8   The First Find

9   Caught in the Rain

10   David Explains

11   Benny Finds the Way

12   The Treasure

13   No Goodbyes

14   Time for Celebration

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Grandfather in the Lead

It was a fine warm day in early summer. The Aldens—Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny—and their grandfather were just eating lunch. They had come to dessert of apple pie and cheese.

Benny rested his head on his hand. After awhile he said, “Grandfather, do you remember a few summers ago we wanted to go mountain climbing?”

“Yes, I remember, my boy.”

“Well, do you remember we got cheated out of it? Joe and Alice had to go abroad and we couldn’t go alone.”

Henry said, “Benny will never forget that. We went to see Aunt Jane at Mystery Ranch instead.”

Benny said, “Well, I wondered where we were going that summer, if we had gone. What mountain were we going to climb?”

“Benny, does all this mean you want to go mountain climbing?” asked Mr. Alden. He couldn’t help laughing.

“Yes, it does,” said Benny. “Maybe not the same mountain.”

“No, indeed, it won’t be,” said Mr. Alden. “That year I was going to take you up in the Rockies. No more of that. We’ll have to choose Old Flat Top because I don’t want Violet getting all tired out with a long climb. And I don’t want me getting all tired out either. The rest of you are tough enough.”

Grandfather looked up to see that every Alden was looking at him. The four shining faces answered him. There were four nods.

“You do have the strangest ideas, Benny,” said Jessie. “What put that into your head?”

“Well,” said Benny, “I’ve been reading about that place in school.”

“About Flat Top?” asked Violet.

“Oh, you have, have you?” said Henry. “You chose Flat Top yourself?”

“Right,” said Benny. “I don’t want to climb too much myself. I get lame.”

Mr. Alden said, “Well, my answer is yes. Old Flat Top is easy enough for all of us, and yet it is interesting all the way up. And we’ll all be able to get a good rest on the smooth top.”

“Just like airplanes landing on an airplane carrier,” said Benny.

“That’s exactly right, my boy,” said Grandfather. “Only this flat top is twice as big as a carrier.”

Benny finished his apple pie and put down his fork. “Then the only question is when. Let’s go right away.”

Everyone laughed. Benny and Grandfather were so much alike. When they wanted anything they wanted it right away.

“What do you mean by right away?” asked Grandfather, smiling. “You mean this minute? If you do, we could go this minute, very easily. It is only a day’s trip. You climb up Flat Top, eat lunch, and climb down. There is just time in one day. Nobody spends the night there.”

“How do you know all this, Grandfather?” asked Henry.

“Oh, I had a friend who made that trip last summer. He said it was exactly right for his wife, and they had a fine time. Near the foot of the mountain is a general store. The men give you poles and a lunch and directions. They always leave a lot of firewood all cut for a campfire to cook your lunch on the flat top. This place isn’t for real mountain climbers. It’s for old men and children.”

Henry laughed. He knew that it was a real mountain. Grandfather was having a good time teasing them.

“Do you mean we can really go today?” asked Jessie.

“Well, no,” Grandfather answered. “I should say tomorrow would be better because we must have a full day. We can drive to Old Flat Top in two hours. What time do you want to get up, Benny? You’re the sleepy one.”

“I’ll get up at five,” said Benny. “I did when we went to the lighthouse.”

“So you did. Five it is. Lay out some sport clothes. Better take some extra clothes. We may want to go on somewhere else. And another thing, we can’t take Watch. He’ll just be in the way.”

“That’s right,” said Henry. “He will do nothing but whine. He doesn’t like to see us do anything dangerous.”

Mr. Alden looked thoughtful and then said, “I believe that Dr. Percy Osgood is working somewhere in the range not too far from Old Flat Top. How about it, Benny, does that name mean something to you?”

Benny shook his head. But Henry said, “Osgood? It means something to me. He was the author of a book on geology I read for a college course last year.”

“Right!” Grandfather said. “Percy is on a hunt for some fossils. If John Carter can find out where he is for me we might pay him a visit. I haven’t seen Osgood for years, but I don’t suppose he’s changed much.”

The Aldens went to pack and Grandfather made a phone call to John Carter. It was too bad Benny wasn’t around to hear some of the plans being made. But he and the others were busy packing.

There was not much sleep in the Alden house that night. At five o’clock everyone was wide awake and downstairs eating breakfast.

“I have two flashlights,” said Henry, “and some batteries and the binoculars. You can see the view better.”

Grandfather said, “We’ll get the lunch at the store and water and either coffee or cold drinks in bottles. We can buy anything we need.”

The day was beautiful. It was warm even in the early morning. They all knew it would be cooler on Flat Top, and they each had a warm sweater.

When they reached the mountain range, Violet said, “Oh, isn’t this lovely!”

“That’s Old Flat Top,” said Benny, pointing. It was the lowest mountain in the range. Other peaks went much higher into the sky. Some looked blue in the distance. Others looked violet. Others looked green. But Flat Top was so near it looked green almost all the way up. The top was all solid rock.

“Hey!” said Henry. “There is the store. It seems to be made of logs.” He stopped the car at the door and they all went into the store. Old Flat Top towered right over them.

“Just right,” said Benny. “Not too high. Not too steep. Just right, just a good healthy climb and a grand view at the top.” Then he thought, “Isn’t it queer that this store man seems to know Grandfather?”

The two men were shaking hands, and Grandfather just said, “Fit us out for Flat Top, won’t you?”

The man said, “You each need a pack on your back to carry your lunch. You’ll need five poles. I should think that would be enough. You’ll find the path is well marked, but there’s only one. And remember that there is no other path down.”

“I’d like to go first,” said Benny.

“I’m sorry to disagree with you, Benny,” said Mr. Alden. “I should like to go first.”

“Oh,” said Benny, “of course, you should go first. That’s OK.”

“Thanks,” said Mr. Alden.

Up they went. It was true that the path was well marked. The trees were marked with knotted strips of red cloth. It was a little hard in some places, but the poles were a great help. Each climber had a pack on his back.

Up and up they went. Violet was right behind Grandfather. Benny still wished he could be the leader, but he thought he had better mind his grandfather at this point.

It took the Aldens three hours to reach the first stop.

“See the sign?” said Henry. “Lunch Here. The man said we must eat just half of our lunch here.”

“I have never been so hungry in my life,” said Benny.

“Oh, yes, you have!” joked Henry. “Almost every meal you eat. And be careful how much water you drink. That’s the thing we have to save.”

Soon they were ready to go on. When they were almost at the top they noticed there were no more bushes, no more trees, no more grass. It was all gray rock.

Grandfather looked ahead. He could see the last two steps very well. He noticed that the last step was a big one, and he was glad he had gone first. With his pole, he reached the very top where it was flat. He turned around and gave a hand to Violet. Then he helped Jessie up, and reached way down to help Benny. With his pole, Henry climbed up by himself.

They all looked around. “This is as big as our own front yard,” said Jessie.

“What a view,” said Benny. “The town is over there, and nothing but woods there at the foot of the mountain.”

Henry said, “Here is the woodpile for campfires and a fireplace. This is where we can cook the rest of our lunch.”

It never entered anyone’s head, even Grandfather’s, that a fire might be needed to keep them warm.

CHAPTER 2

Hold On, Benny!

My, I’m glad we have sweaters,” said Henry. “The wind blows harder up here.” He pulled his brown sweater on over his head.

The others put on their sweaters and then they sat down in a row,

“What a view!” said Jessie. They looked out over the valley. They felt as if they were very high up.

Grandfather said, “Benny, you come over and sit by me. I want to talk to you. You know a boy ought to learn a thing the first time he is told. Of course he can learn it the second time and maybe the third time. But he will save a lot of time for himself by learning the first time. I am telling you not to go near the edge, and I shall say nothing more about it. Is that clear?”

Grandfather almost never spoke in that sort of voice.

“Oh, yes indeed!” cried Benny. “I learned that before you got through talking. I don’t like the edge myself.”

Henry looked around at Flat Top. There was a small hump in the middle. “Look at the wavy lines in the rocks,” he said. “White and black and gray. Wouldn’t a geologist find this interesting?”

Everyone looked around. Violet said, “It looks like the waves of the sea.”

Grandfather said, “That is just what they look like, but they are waves of rock. Probably millions of years ago what we are standing on now was covered by the ocean.”

Henry said, “This low mountain may once have been near the ocean floor. It was pushed up to where it is now.”

Benny threw his head back and laughed. He said, “I’ll bet the old dinosaurs paddled around here.”

“Maybe dinosaurs were here when this was a swamp,” said Jessie.

“I wish I had brought my camera,” said Henry.

“Oh, I wish you had,” said Violet.

Mr. Alden was looking at the great stretch of woods below. He said, “I don’t think anyone has ever cut those trees. I’d hate to get lost there.”

Benny looked at his wristwatch. “I hope someone besides me will say it’s time to eat,” he said.

Violet said, “I am willing to be the one.” She patted Benny’s shoulder.

Jessie said, “Let’s sit here and plan what we will do.”

“That’s the housekeeper in you, Jess,” said Henry. “If we are going to cook that hamburger we’ll have to get a fire started. Let’s find the wood.”

Mr. Alden sat still and watched them.

“Well, there are certainly all kinds of wood,” said Benny. “Big and little. And look, there is a kettle and a frying pan.”

“That kettle is for hot water, I think,” said Violet. “Just throw a little coffee in, and there will be Grandfather’s coffee.”

“Freshly made,” said Grandfather.

“Those men at the store thought of everything,” said Benny. “Here’s the fireplace with a back rock to keep off the wind.” He was beyond the little hump.

“Well, I guess we’re all set,” said Henry.

Everybody had a job. The two boys built the fire, for even Benny knew how to start a good fire. The girls made cakes of the hamburger and took out the bacon.

“I think we had better fry the bacon first,” said Jessie, and the girls soon had the crisp slices lying on a paper napkin.

“Where shall we put the grease, Grandfather, when we get through?”

“Give it to me,” said Mr. Alden, “and I will show you. Wait till I get all set.”

Grandfather, without a smile, got down flat on his stomach and crawled slowly to the edge. “Now I’ll take the pan,” he said. Everyone tried not to laugh—Mr. Alden looked so funny. With a straight face, Mr. Alden took the pan and poured the hot fat down the rocky mountainside. He backed slowly until he was far from the edge. Then he said, “That grease went almost straight down for half a mile. That’s why you can’t go down or up except on our trail.”

“Oh, you did look funny,” said Benny. “I could hardly help laughing.”

“Neither could I,” said Mr. Alden. “Now we can laugh all we want.”

Indeed when anyone thought of Grandfather pouring grease straight down the mountain, it was hard to stop laughing at all.

“Now the hamburger,” said Henry. “Just about room for six in this pan.”

Jessie passed him the hamburger cakes. They started at once to give out a delicious smell.

Soon Henry gave the orders, “Get a plate and a bun and a piece of cheese and a paper napkin, and be all ready for your hamburger.”

“We’ll get a bottle of Coke, too,” said Benny,

“Right,” said Henry. “And I will put Grandfather’s black coifee in one of these cups.”

Never did food taste better. They made it last a long time.

“I think this is the first time,” said Jessie, “that we ever had anything left over from a picnic. I couldn’t eat all my hamburger, and neither could Violet. We have five buns and one hamburger left.”

“You will see that I didn’t quite finish my big hamburger either,” said Grandfather.

Benny’s loud voice was heard saying, “Save it—save every crust and every crumb. I have a feeling I might use it later in the day.”

The Alden family picked up all their papers and cups and burned them in the fire. Grandfather said, “Save my coffee, too. I have a feeling I might like it just before we go. We go at exactly four o’clock.”

Violet shook every drop out of an empty Coke bottle. She filled the bottle with coffee.

Henry saw what she was doing. He said, “Just dump the coffee grounds on the rocks. The wind will blow them away.”

“When we go down,” said Benny, “how about letting me go first?”

“All right,” Grandfather agreed, “you lead the way.”

They put the scraps of food in a paper bag and at exactly four o’clock Benny got ready to back down.

Benny said, “The first step will hold both my feet.”

“So will the second one,” said Henry.

Benny reached down carefully with one foot for the first step. He held onto the edge tightly. It was a long way down to the step and he almost wished he had let Grandfather or Henry go first.

“Let me take one of your hands,” Henry said. “Take your time and you’ll be all right.”

Benny swung his other foot down but still kept Henry’s hand. The next step was not quite so steep.

With one foot on the second step Benny was just about to let Henry go. Then with no warning it happened—one moment Benny’s foot was on the step, the next he was reaching wildly for a foothold.

With a noise like thunder the stone step went crashing down the mountain side. As it rolled, it knocked loose stones and boulders in a regular mountain slide.

“Help!” Benny shouted, hanging on to Henry and trying to catch at anything that would not crumble and break loose.

Grandfather threw himself down and grabbed Benny by his free arm. Henry got a better grasp. Jessie took the back of his sweater and the three pulled Benny to the top and safety.

Benny lay perfectly still on his side, breathing hard. “Gramps,” he said, “it will take me three days to get over this.”

Benny had never called his grandfather “Gramps” before, and nobody had ever seen him quite so still. Mr. Alden knelt down to comfort him. He said, “Benny, you put your mind on this. Forget the step. Just think that your life was saved for something special and try to wonder what it is.”

Benny sat up at once. “I was saved, wasn’t I?” he cried. “Maybe I’ll be a mountain climber. Or a scientist.”

Jessie and Violet both looked pale. They knew what a narrow escape Benny had had. The noise of the rocks crashing down, Benny’s shout, the rescue—it had all happened so quickly.

Henry looked around the rocky top of the mountain. He did not want to frighten the girls, but he knew that the only way down was gone. The rocky sides of Old Flat Top gave no spot to get a foothold.

Mr. Alden said, “Now let’s plan what we’ll do. We are safe here, but we’ll be cold. We certainly can’t get down now.”

Henry said, “Won’t the ranger and the man in the store notice when we don’t come down?”

Mr. Alden gave Henry a look. Then he said, “There are a lot of things that they may do. One thing seems sure. We’ll have to spend the night up here. This is the end of the summer and it will be dark soon.”

Henry said, “Perhaps they heard those rocks coming down.”

“Yes,” said Violet. “They crashed like thunder.”

“They probably did hear the noise,” said Mr. Alden. “I don’t think we need to worry, but perhaps we’d better build a fire. They will see it when it gets dark.”

Henry had a feeling that Mr. Alden knew something that the children did not, but he went right to work and everyone helped to build a roaring fire.

Violet’s teeth were chattering. She said, “The f-f-fire f-f-feels good. I didn’t know I was so c-c-cold.”

“That’s because you nearly lost me, Violet,” said Benny. “Haven’t you ever heard of shivering from fright?”

It soon began to get quite dark. Still Grandfather did not seem to be worried. Suddenly they all heard a strange whirring noise.

“It sounds like an airplane,” said Benny. “I’ll bet it’s a helicopter.”

Henry cried, “That’s Grandfather for you! I’ll bet he planned that in case of trouble.” Grandfather smiled.

It was indeed a helicopter. First it went high over the flat top, winked its lights, and then hovered over the family. The pilot had a megaphone.

He called down, “Are you all right?”

Five voices shouted, “Yes!”

“We can’t take you off in the dark,” the pilot called. “We’ll have to wait until morning. But I am going to drop five sleeping bags. Keep your fire going, and we’ll be around in the morning. Now all of you stand behind the hump.”

The whole family did so. Down came five sleeping bags, one by one. The helicopter whirred away.

Jessie said, “I guess they didn’t know that we are short on food. It’s lucky we saved everything from lunch that we did not eat. I wonder if we should eat the leftovers for supper.”

“Maybe we should save our food for the morning,” Violet said. “We might have to wait for quite awhile.”

“Good idea,” agreed Grandfather. “As long as we are warm we can stand being a little hungry.”

Benny added, “I guess I got being hungry scared right out of me—at least for now.”

Grandfather said, “You know the old saying about an ill wind that blows no good.”

“It wasn’t a wind, it was a rock slide,” Benny said.

Mr. Alden said, “We might as well get into these sleeping bags to keep warm.”

When they were all in the sleeping bags they sat in a row.

Benny said, “We’d look funny if there were anyone to see us.”

They all looked down over the dark country. Many lights of the town showed at the left, but not a light at the right.

In a little while Jessie said, “You know, I think I see a faint light in the woods. You don’t suppose anyone is in trouble, do you?”

“I don’t see it,” said Mr. Alden. “Oh yes, I do, too. It’s very faint, but it stays right in one place.”

Benny asked, “How could anyone live in the woods? I wonder what the light is.”

Mr. Alden was glad to have anything interesting to talk about because he knew the night would be long. “When we get down,” he said, “we will find out what the light is. The rangers may know, and if they don’t, we’ll find out anyway.”

The stars came out. They were very bright.

“I don’t really mind going to bed tonight,” said Benny. “I’m in bed.”

Jessie whispered to Henry, “He seems to be all right.”

“Thanks to Grandfather,” whispered Henry. “He certainly said the right thing to Ben.”

Mr. Alden and Henry decided to take turns putting wood on the fire during the night. There was plenty of wood. They all lay down in a row. Benny was on one side of Grandfather, and Violet was on the other.

Benny sounded sleepy as he said, “I’m coming over closer to you, Grandfather, if you don’t mind.”

“Come ahead, my boy,” said Mr. Alden.

“You know, Grandfather,” said Benny, “I must have been seeing things. When that big rock gave way, I thought I saw an enormous hole behind it.”

“Maybe you really did see a hole,” said Grandfather. “I have heard of holes in mountains.”

But by this time, Benny was asleep.

CHAPTER 3

Waiting for Rescue

When Henry awoke he thought even before he opened his eyes, “The helicopter will come at sunrise.” Then he opened his eyes and blinked.

The whole mountain top was covered with thick fog. Henry turned his head to look at Jessie. She was close enough to touch, but he could hardly see her.

Benny called, “I’m awake, Henry. Foggy, isn’t it?”

Henry propped himself up on one elbow. “I wonder if it is often foggy like this in the morning. I guess when we’re not up so high we don’t pay any real attention.”

Grandfather said, “The mountain top is always covered with fog in the early morning. That’s why campers don’t stay here overnight. But the fog will soon go away.”

Henry said, “One thing is sure. We must stay close together every minute.”

Everyone understood what Henry meant. It would be dangerous to move about too much and perhaps come close to the edge of the rocky, flat top without knowing it.

They all sat up.

“Where is that paper bag of scraps?” asked Benny. “Now I’m hungry.”

“I have it,” said Jessie. “I also have some napkins. Put your hands out and take a napkin, and I will try to divide the breakfast.”

She broke the big hamburger into five pieces. Then she got out of her sleeping bag and went down the line putting scraps of roll and one whole roll on each napkin. She gave Mr. Alden his cold coffee. There were four cups on the top of the thermos bottle.

“Tell me when you want a drink of water,” she said. “We mustn’t waste a drop.”

Violet was on one end of the row, and Henry was on the other. They could not see each other because of the fog, but they could hear very well.

Everyone started to eat breakfast. Violet said, “I wouldn’t think bread crusts could taste so delicious.”

Grandfather said with a laugh, “Nor cold coffee mixed with Coke.”

Benny said, “After this, you’ll have to put Coke in your coffee instead of sugar.”

Henry said, “I certainly hope the fog will lift before lunchtime because we haven’t a crumb of food left.”

Henry had no sooner said this than the fog lifted. Like magic it entirely disappeared.

“That’s the way fog does,” said Henry. “And don’t forget it can shut down just as fast. Maybe it will come back.”

“You’re the gloomy one,” Jessie said, but she laughed.

“Well,” said Mr. Alden, “I don’t think it will this time. Look at that sun!”

The whole valley was golden in the bright sunshine. There was not a cloud in the sky.

“Maybe we ought to get ready for the helicopter,” said Violet. “We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

They got their packs ready, rolled up the sleeping bags, and waited.

“Remember when that big rock fell?” said Benny. “I think I really saw a hole, a huge one. Like a cave maybe.”

Grandfather said, “You may be sure we will find out. Ah! Here comes the helicopter.”

“I guess they know the fog has gone away,” said Jessie.

The Aldens saw the helicopter whirring far above them and then slowly coming down. Without a word they all stood behind the hump. This left an open place for the helicopter to land. It came straight down and landed exactly in the middle of the space.

“Straight as a string,” said Benny. “Oh, look who’s here! It’s Mr. Carter!”

Violet cried, “Now where in the world did he come from?”

Grandfather smiled.

“Really,” said Jessie, “how did he know about us, Grandfather?”

“That will be a good puzzle for you to guess,” said Mr. Alden.

“Pooh!” said Benny. “I bet I can tell you exactly what happened. I’ll bet you told the ranger to send for Mr. Carter right away if anything happened.”

By this time Mr. Carter and a ranger had let down the steps and were coming down.

“We can’t take you all at once,” the ranger pilot said.

“Well, then, leave me for the second trip,” said Mr. Alden.

“And I will stay with you, Grandfather,” said Violet.

“Good girl,” Mr. Alden said.

Henry, Jessie, and Benny took their packs and poles and sleeping bags. John Carter helped them up the steps into the helicopter.

“We’ll be back soon,” he said, pulling in the steps.

Sure enough, in a short time the helicopter was back for Grandfather and Violet.

Grandfather asked the pilot to hover over Old Flat Top. There was the hole that Benny thought he saw when the step fell.

“Look, Violet, there’s the hole!” shouted Grandfather over the noise of the helicopter.

Down they went to the log store. Even before the plane landed, Violet said, “Grandfather, I see the rangers and some other men, too.”

“Yes,” Grandfather said, “a man with a camera. I have a feeling the newspaper people heard about the rockslide.”

Flashbulbs popped as Mr. Alden and Violet got out of the helicopter. Benny came running up and cried, “Isn’t it exciting? A reporter asked me all about what happened.”

“Mr. Alden?” a man with a notebook said, coming up to Grandfather. “Your grandson has already told me about his accident. The others told me about his rescue and your night on Old Flat Top. May I ask if you plan to stay here longer?”

“The large hole that was opened when the rockslide took place interests me,” Mr. Alden said. “We may stay to learn more.”

Benny was listening hard. “Yes, let’s stay,” he exclaimed. “And you remember that light we saw—”

Before he could say anything more, Mr. Alden told the reporter, “Yes, I think you can say we will be here for a few days. And now we need to get some food. You probably know we had a pretty odd breakfast.”

“Thank you,” the reporter said, “I understand.” He closed his notebook and left with the cameraman.

“Benny,” Mr. Alden said, “I didn’t think that the reporter needed to know about what we saw during the night. Not until we know more about it ourselves.”

A ranger was standing nearby and Henry turned to him. “I have a question, sir. When it was dark, we all saw a very faint light quite deep in the woods. We thought somebody might be in trouble, but the light didn’t move. Do you know anything about this?”

“Yes, we do,” said one of the rangers. “An old Indian lives there, the last of the tribe. Perfectly harmless. Just wants to live alone and be let alone. Every month I take over some flour, salt, sugar, and tea and a few canned things. Then I bring back sweet grass baskets in trade. They sell like hot cakes—I haven’t one left.”

Henry asked, “Could I drive the car as far as the house?”

“No. You can go a little way into the woods. Then you have to walk about a quarter of a mile. The path is easy to follow,” the ranger answered.

Mr. Alden came up. He said, “I think we will drive over. My grandchildren are much interested.”

John Carter said, “I have my car. I can take Benny and Violet.”

Jessie said, “Fine. But we need some lunch. Let’s get some food from the store here and then go.”

Grandfather agreed and let Jessie plan to get what was needed. “We can eat in the woods before we go up the trail,” she said.

The Aldens were soon on their way, Henry driving in the lead. When they had driven as far as they could into the woods, Henry and Mr. Carter parked the cars.

Lunch was quickly eaten because everyone was so curious about the Indian in the woods.

Benny called back, “When we get there, do you think it is all right to knock on the door?”

“I should think so,” said Henry. “What else can we do? We want to go in and meet him, don’t we? The ranger said he was perfectly harmless.”

Soon they saw a small gray house with a large vegetable garden. A stone step was at the front door. Benny knocked.

There was a soft sound of feet and the door opened. There stood a very tall Indian woman who held her head like a queen.

For once Benny did not know what to say. Mr. Alden stepped forward quickly and said, “I hope we are not bothering you. My grandchildren saw your light from Old Flat Top. They were afraid you were in trouble.”

The old Indian woman bowed her head a little, opened the door wide, and said, “Please come in.”

CHAPTER 4

Lovan’s Story

The family was so surprised to find an Indian woman instead of a man that no one said anything.

The room they looked into had two chairs and a couch. On a table lay an Indian basket that was not yet finished. Bunches of sweet grass were hung up to dry. The room was sweet with the smell of the grass.

“Sit down,” said the Indian woman. She took the rocking chair, and Mr. Alden sat in the other chair. Mr. Carter sat on the couch and the others sat on the floor.

Still no one had said a word. Then Benny, who was nearest the Indian woman, spoke. He said, “That man is my grandfather, James Alden. John Carter is sitting on the couch. I am Benny and there is my brother Henry and my sisters, Jessie and Violet.”

The old woman said, “My name is Lovan Dixon. I am almost ninety years old.”

“Well!” exclaimed Benny.

Jessie said, “We were on Flat Top all night and saw your light. We were worried thinking somebody might be in trouble.”

“You are very kind,” said the woman. “Why were you on Flat Top? Did you have an accident?”

“Yes, I did,” said Benny. “When I was coming down, the first step broke away. But I don’t think about that any more. Grandfather said there was no use in it.”

The Indian woman turned to Mr. Alden. “He was right,” she said. “I heard all the rocks coming down like thunder. I was worried about you. I saw your fire all night.”

Violet looked at the old Indian and asked, “Is anything wrong?”

“Not now,” said the woman.

Then Benny cried, “Do you really want to live all alone here?”

“Yes, child,” said Lovan Dixon. “I do want to. I do not like living in a town. Too many people laugh at Indian ways. I like to live alone.”

Violet and Jessie looked around at the house. It was neat and clean. The old woman’s gray hair was as smooth as silk. Her strong old face was deeply wrinkled.

Benny shouted, “Those people were mean. I’d like to tell them so.”

“You are a kind boy. There is no need to bother with anyone. I like it here. I love the woods. I am the last of my people. My tribe always lived here and the government gave these woods to my tribe long ago. The woods go to the other side of Flat Top.”

Now Grandfather spoke, “But I have a feeling that something is bothering you. Won’t you tell us?”

The old woman did not speak for a time and it was very quiet in her little house. Then she said, “I hear that the woods will be cut over for lumber and I will lose my land.”

Nodding, John Carter said, “It could be true, Miss Dixon. Many times, I am sorry to say, our government has forgotten its promises to the Indians.”

Mr. Alden said, “From this minute on do not worry any more. I know a man who will find out who owns this land. He will buy it himself if he has to. You may use it as long as you live, Miss Dixon.”

“Please say ‘Lovan,’” said the Indian woman with a bow.

“Lovan,” said Benny at once because he liked the sound of the name. “When that step gave way on Old Flat Top, I thought I saw a big hole behind it. Do you think that was really true?”

Lovan folded her arms and sat for a long time with bowed head. There was not a sound. After awhile she drew a long breath and said, “I trust you. Let me tell you a story. Years ago my grandfather told it to me, and he heard it from his grandfather. You ask about a hole, child. I believe there is a cave.”

For a minute Lovan did not say anything more. Then she went on, “You understand this happened years ago. There used to be a cave on the other side of Flat Top, but no cave where you say the hole is. In those days you couldn’t get up the mountain by your trail, but you could get up on the other side. Flat Top didn’t have such a flat top at that time.”

Every eye was on the old Indian woman. They hoped she would go on, and she did.

“The story goes that a Frenchman who was a friend of the King of France ran away to America to live. There was a war in France and he escaped. He was shot accidently right near here. My great-grandfather, Running Deer, hid him and took care of him until he died. The Frenchman had a great leather bag with things in it which he expected to sell. But when he died, he gave the bag to my great-grandfather for taking care of him.”

“What was in the bag?” cried Benny. Lovan smiled at Benny. “I never knew,” she said. “My great-grandfather died without telling anyone what was in it. But my grandfather thought that his father hid the bag in that old cave.”

“Why didn’t he go up and find it?” asked Benny.

Henry said, “Benny, you are asking too many questions.”

Lovan smiled a little. She said, “I don’t mind. Nobody has ever dared before. Something happened to that mountain and the rocks moved and closed the cave. It looked as if it had been squashed together. That was when Flat Top became flat.”

Mr. Carter said, “Didn’t anyone try to dig the cave out?”

“No, the rocks were too heavy. Besides the climb was too steep.”

Jessie said slowly, “If that bag was ever found, wouldn’t it belong to you?”

Lovan bowed again. “Yes,” she said. “I am the last of the tribe and my grandfather told me it was mine.”

“Wouldn’t you expect to get it then,” asked Henry, “if somebody found it?”

“I don’t know,” said Lovan. “I have lost many things.”

Violet said, “Do you suppose the hole Benny found is a sort of back door to that cave?”

“I have no doubt of it,” said Lovan.

Mr. Alden said, “Don’t worry any more about anything. I myself will see that you get what is yours.”

Lovan said, “I am grateful to you. All I have left now is this house and my garden and my front step.”

“What about your front step?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Come and see,” said Lovan. “You must go down my step and watch.”

She followed them out with a cup of water in her hand. They watched her as she poured the water slowly into some hollows in the step.

“A big, enormous claw!” cried Benny. “It is almost as long as the step.”

“A dinosaur track!” shouted Henry. “I’ve seen one at college.”

Grandfather said, “Where did you get this? It is certainly a big piece of red sandstone.”

“Yes,” said Lovan. “It came from the ledge right over there. My grandfather thought it was the track of a big magic bird. They called it a thunderbird track.”

Benny laughed. “That’s a car,” he said.

Mr. Carter said, “They named the car for the magic bird.”

“I suppose you know,” said Jessie, “that a museum would like your step.”

“But I want my doorstep,” said Lovan.

“And you shall keep it,” said Mr. Alden. “The man who buys your woods would want you to have it. And now I think we should go. Thank you for everything.”

“But we’ll be back,” said Benny. He gave Lovan a great smile, the kind only Benny could give.

CHAPTER 5

More Plans

When the Aldens were in the car, Violet said, “We can see right through you, Grandfather. You are the man who is going to buy the woods, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” said Grandfather, smiling at her. “What better thing could we do for Lovan? She will feel free, and don’t forget, I will have a fine woodlot. John, you attend to that for me, will you?”

Mr. Carter laughed. “I was already planning my first step.”

Henry said, “I don’t see how we can go home and leave this whole thing, Grandfather. What do you think of staying at a motel for a few days?”

“All right,” said Mr. Alden, “that’s a good idea. We can ask the ranger where the nearest motel is.”

Benny said, “Three rooms would be right for us. One for the girls, one for us boys, and one for Grandfather.”

Turning to John Carter, Mr. Alden said, “It’s settled that we’ll stay here. I think you had better drive back to look after business details.”

Everyone waved as Mr. Carter drove off. At the log store, the Aldens found the ranger they knew.

“Did you find Lovan Dixon at home?” he asked.

“Oh, yes,” Jessie said “What a wonderful old woman she is!”

“You will never believe it,” said the ranger, “but that Indian woman, ninety years old, has to walk five miles to the swamp to get the sweet grass and five miles back. Quite a walk for ninety. We sell the baskets just as fast as we get them.”

“I’d like a sewing basket like that,” Jessie said, “and so would Violet.”

“I think Miss Dixon would make you some if you asked,” the ranger said. “But if you ask her first, don’t try to pay for them. It will be a gift, you can be sure. She gave one to my wife, so I know. I tried to pay her and she was very much hurt.”

Now Grandfather spoke, “Do you happen to know if Dr. Percy Osgood and his men are working somewhere in this neighborhood? I have an idea Percy would be interested in the cave Benny found by accident.”

“Yes, we saw the cave from the helicopter. The rocks were huge that fell away to leave it open,” one of the rangers said. “Look out of the door and you can see the pile that rolled down the mountain.”

Indeed there was a pile of rocks of all sizes, perhaps ten feet high. “And I am glad it did not turn into a bigger rockslide,” the ranger said. “I know Dr. Osgood is not too far off. Let me make some calls and I will get his telephone number for you.”

“Good,” said Mr. Alden. “Let’s find that motel. Where is the nearest one?”

“Go back to the main road, turn to the right, and then go about half a mile. That’s the nearest motel, and the best one, too.”

“How lucky we are!” said Benny. “Things seem to happen just right for us.”

The family went out to the station wagon and Henry started the car. They drove away, waving at the ranger.

“We’ll be back soon,” cried Benny.

“Perhaps not until tomorrow,” called Grandfather with a wink.

“The kids are pretty tired, I guess,” shouted the ranger.

“I wasn’t tired at all until he said that,” said Jessie, “and now I guess I am.”

“I guess I am, too,” said Grandfather. “The first thing I will do will be to take a nap.”

Henry drove just as the ranger had said. He soon came to a motel. It was a long row of log buildings. At one end there was an office and at the other a restaurant.

“Good,” said Jessie. “I shall be glad to have a real dinner. It seems as if we’ve been gone much longer than two days.”

Benny said, “I know just what I’m going to eat, too.”

Grandfather said, “Don’t tell, then. Keep it for a surprise.”

The three motel rooms were just alike. Each had two beds and a bathroom.

Benny said, “Oh, I can hardly wait to wash my hands! It has been two days since I’ve really washed them!”

“Funny to hear you say that, Ben,” said Henry. “I’m going to take a shower the first thing I do.”

It did not take long for the Aldens to make themselves at home in their three motel rooms.

“First thing is a shower for me,” said Henry.

“I’m next,” Benny said. “And after that I’m going to try out that bed.”

Violet and Jessie, too, decided to shower and nap. But it was Grandfather who was the first one asleep. There hadn’t been much sleep for anyone for two nights.

An hour or so later Benny saw that Henry was awake. He said, “Guess what I’m going to hare for dinner.”

“You can’t keep that secret, Ben, can you?” said Henry. “But wait. They may not have it.”

“I never thought of that,” said Benny. “I hope they will, because I’ve got my mind all made up.”

At five-thirty nobody could wait any longer. They walked down to the restaurant and found a table for five.

“Too bad Mr. Carter’s missing this,” said Violet. “I’m going to have roast beef and mashed potatoes and peas!”

“And a fine hot summer diet, too!” said Mr. Alden. “I’ll have the same.”

Jessie and Henry could not think of anything better, but Benny said, “Corned beef and cabbage! And lots of chili sauce and turnips and carrots!”

How wonderful that meal did taste! The waiter was amused. He watched Benny cut the tender red corned beef as if he were starving.

After the first few bites, Jessie said, “Grandfather, what is the first step that Mr. Carter is going to take?”

“Try to buy the woodlot is first,” said Mr. Alden. “Then you all heard the name of Dr. Percy Osgood. He is a great man and an explorer. He has written several books on caves and mountains. He is always interested in any new crack or landslide. I used to know him years ago. He can tell right away whether this hole is interesting or not.”

“I bet it is!” cried Benny.

“Well, I won’t bet against you,” said Grandfather, smiling. “I think it is, too, otherwise I should not have asked the ranger to send for Percy Osgood and let him waste his time.”

“Let’s stay in the motel until the whole thing is solved,” said Benny. “Don’t you agree, Grandfather?”

“Yes, my boy,” said Mr. Alden, smiling. “I couldn’t tear myself away now for anything.”

Henry said, “The great question is, is it a cave or is it just a hole?”

Jessie said, “Or is it a cave with something interesting in it or is it a cave with nothing in it?”

Benny was drinking milk now. He said, “I’m going to have bread pudding for dessert.”

“I hope you can hold all that food,” said Grandfather, looking at him.

“Oh, I can!” said Benny. “I have a hollow leg.”

Henry said suddenly, “Grandfather, did you expect an accident on Flat Top?”

“No,” said Mr. Alden, “but I never like a place that has only one way to get in and only one way to get out.”

That night at about twelve o’clock a man came to the office and took the room next to Henry and Benny. At one o’clock another man took the last room next to the restaurant. But nobody woke up and none of the Alden family knew anything about the two men until the next morning at breakfast.

CHAPTER 6

Back Up the Trail

The Alden family did not get up very early next morning. But when they walked into the dining room they had a surprise. There sat John Carter at a large round table for seven.

“Oh, I’m glad you found us!” shouted Benny.

“I never lost you,” said John Carter, getting up. He pulled chairs out for Jessie and Violet and soon they were all chattering at once.

“I thought you might like to see this paper,” Mr. Carter said. He unfolded a newspaper to show a headline that read “Rescued by Helicopter.”

“Here we are!” Benny said. “And it tells about the rockslide and the hole in Old Flat Top and everything.”

“That’s right,” Mr. Carter said. “How does it feel to read about yourselves in the paper?”

Jessie was looking around at the table, “Who is the seventh place for?” she asked.

Mr. Alden and Mr. Carter looked at each other.

“Then he got here last night?” Mr. Alden asked, “He is not one to waste time.”

“Who got here?” Benny asked.

“I’ll make a guess,” Henry said. “Dr. Osgood?”

“If it is Dr. Osgood—and I’m not saying it is—how do you think he’ll look?” asked Grandfather.

Jessie answered, “Oh, I guess he is a tall, large man. He must be strong to climb all these high mountains.”

“Yes, that’s right,” said Mr. Carter. “He must be a very strong man.”

Benny said, “If a big tall strong man should come in that door, I should say it would be Dr. Percy Osgood.”

Mr. Alden said, “Better order your breakfast, and not keep the waiter waiting!”

Everyone ordered bacon and eggs and toast and orange juice and milk. Grandfather and Mr. Carter had coffee.

They were all busily eating when the door opened. They looked up. There stood a small man not much taller than Benny or Violet. His hair was pure white and his eyes very sharp and blue. His glasses were pushed up on his forehead. He was surely not young, but he walked quickly over to Grandfather to shake hands.

“Good to see you again,” said Grandfather. “You came soon. My grandchildren can hardly wait.”

“That’s the way I feel,” said Dr. Osgood, looking at each one in turn. “I would start working without eating any breakfast, only I have learned to eat when I can. One doesn’t get so tired.”

He sat down and ordered the same breakfast as the rest.

Benny asked, “Have you made any plans about what you will do first, Dr. Osgood?”

“Oh, yes! I made them on the train as I came here. A cave isn’t usually so high on a mountain as this one. We have to build a staging first. The staging has to be strong to hold the workmen and the machines. It will take three days at least to make that.”

“Three days!” cried Benny.

“You’ll find, young man, that three days will go by just like that!” He snapped his fingers. “Making a staging is interesting. If you feel like climbing the mountain again, you can all sit below and watch the work.”

“Oh, yes, we’d like that,” said Jessie. “I was afraid we wouldn’t see anything.”

“Well,” said Dr. Osgood with a twinkle, “what would be the good of that? The very people who found the cave not watching the workmen! No, sir! Not possible!”

“I’ll drive you over after breakfast,” said Henry. “Whenever you say.”

“Thank you,” said Dr. Osgood. “I accept.”

As they left the table, Grandfather said, “By the way, Percy, I have a story about the hole in Flat Top that I’d like to tell you. Why don’t you stop in my room?”

Dr. Osgood’s eyebrows shot up. But all he said was, “Do I smell a bit of a mystery? Now let me see. Is it pirate gold or an Indian grave?”

“Well, those guesses are good. But I would rather talk where we are alone. This just might be important to someone.”

In about half an hour the Aldens and Dr. Osgood were getting into the station wagon. When they arrived at the loghouse store, there was quite a crowd of men and women and children standing around.

The ranger said to Dr. Osgood, “Two of your men have already gone up the trail. Do you want me to go first and show you the way?”

“Thank you, no,” said Dr. Osgood. “I think I can find my way. I’m sure it will be full of rocks brought down by the landslide. You Aldens follow me!”

The Aldens went up the trail after the spry little man, but they could not see him.

Mr. Alden said, “Now it takes three hours to get to the top. We’d better not hurry. We’re not used to it. I’ll go first, then Violet. That will slow you down, I guess.”

“That’s OK,” said Benny.

But it was not Mr. Alden and Violet who slowed them down. It was the rocks. Many of them had come down with the landslide. As Henry climbed over a rock he cried, “See how different some of these rocks are? Some are sharp, just broken off the day we came down. But look at those huge ones, perfectly smooth! I’m sure those were left here by a glacier.”

“Right,” said Grandfather. “This is a fine place to study rocks.”

As they climbed slowly, Henry turned around and said to Jessie, “Did you notice that crowd at the store?”

“I certainly did,” said Jessie. “I suppose they came to see the excitement.”

Henry asked in a low voice, “Did you see what I saw? An Indian boy?”

“Yes, I did. He didn’t look very happy, did he? And when I looked at him, he turned around and hid behind another man.”

There was a pause while they climbed further. Then Jessie said, “I thought the ranger said Lovan was the only Indian around here.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” said Henry.

CHAPTER 7

A Stranger

Henry and Jessie did not say any more about the Indian boy, but they did not forget him. Once in awhile they both wondered where he came from and why he was there. They also wondered why he did not want to be seen.

There was plenty to think about while they were still climbing. In some places the path was almost blocked by the fallen rocks. They had to climb over them or walk around them.

Benny called back, “It’s lucky nobody was on this trail when these rocks came down!”

Grandfather said, “I was just going to say we should be ready to dodge if any more come down.”

“I think somebody is behind us,” said Henry. “We’d better be careful not to send any more down on top of him.”

“I hope somebody is behind us,” said Mr. Alden with a laugh. “Otherwise we’ll have no lunch. John Carter is supposed to bring up enough lunch for us and the workmen and Dr. Osgood.”

“Well, he’ll have a heavy load,” said Benny. “That will be lunch for nine people!”

“Don’t worry about John Carter,” said Grandfather. “He’ll manage.”

When they were quite near the top, they heard noises. It sounded like chopping and pounding, and that was exactly what it was. The two workmen were soon seen chopping down bushes and small trees to the left of the path. There were no trees or bushes near the top; there it was all rock.

The workmen had cleared a spot that looked like a good place to sit and watch what was going on.

There was some lumber, a strong ladder, and a long, flat plank. The plank had been placed near the opening to the cave and was held down with rocks.

Dr. Osgood was standing on the plank and bending over to look into the dark hole.

Benny said, “I guess Dr. Osgood couldn’t wait.”

The explorer held a bright light in his hand. His glasses were pulled down and he was too busy to notice the Aldens.

Grandfather sat down on the dry grass. He said, “I think Dr. Osgood wants to see first what kind of a hole it is. Just see whether it will be worth exploring or not.”

“Oh, dear!” cried Benny. “I hope it turns out to be worth exploring. Wouldn’t it be awful if we had to give up and go home?”

“I don’t think we will,” said Henry. “Look at him now.”

Dr. Osgood had both arms and his head in the hole. The Aldens could see only a pair of legs.

Just then Dr. Osgood looked up from the hole and turned half around. He called to the workmen, but the Aldens could not hear what he said. However, the workmen did and called back, “Very good, sir!” They were used to working with Dr. Osgood.

Then Dr. Osgood started to climb down to talk to Grandfather. He sat down beside him and pushed up his glasses again.

“Well, Percy, what’s the good word?” asked Grandfather.

“A very good word,” said Dr. Osgood, nodding. He wiped his face with a big red handkerchief. “Now, you know I never saw Old Flat Top before it was flattened.” He smiled at the young people. “But I have good reason to think the first cave was on the back of the mountain. Then something happened like a small earthquake. The back was pushed down and closed up that hole. But this front end of the cave was not squashed. So it is just the same as it has been for many years.”

Benny said, “Then this front hole is really the back of the cave.”

“Right,” said Dr. Osgood. “You’ll be a cave-digger some day.”

“Are you going to blast?” asked Benny.

“No, I don’t think so. We can drill as far as we need to. The other end is completely closed, they say. However, we’ll wait and see. Hello, here comes my help.”

“Oh, I thought it was my help,” said Grandfather, “with some lunch.”

“It’s both,” said Henry, who could see the trail. He looked down. Two more workmen were dragging a heavy load of lumber. John Carter was behind, a large knapsack on his back.

Henry said, “Dr. Osgood, what did you see when you put the light in the cave?”

“Well, I could see about ten feet with the light,” said Dr. Osgood. “The hole grows larger. I should say if we crawled in about fifteen feet we could stand up. It surely has not been touched by human hands for about two hundred years. Maybe a bit less; maybe a bit more. However, I saw no treasures. You must be willing to explore and find nothing. That’s why this job takes patience. Lots of my work goes for nothing. Wasted.”

“I wouldn’t like that,” said Benny.

“No, I can see that you wouldn’t,” said Dr. Osgood.

He got up quickly from the ground and climbed up to the workmen. He began to put blue chalk marks on many of the rocks.

When he had gone, Grandfather said quietly, “Did any of you notice an Indian boy in the crowd?”

“Yes!” they all cried.

Henry said, “We thought Lovan told us that she was the last Indian around here. That surprised us.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know about this boy,” said Mr. Alden.

John Carter sat down with the family. He said, “I did try to talk with the boy. But I had to order the lunch. I couldn’t take enough time. But I will.”

“Good!” said Mr. Alden. “Maybe he doesn’t live here anyway. Maybe he heard of this work on Flat Top.”

“He heard fast, then,” said Benny.

“Well, news travels fast,” said Grandfather thoughtfully.

“I hope he won’t bother Lovan,” said Violet.

“Well, after we get down we’ll see that he doesn’t,” said Mr. Alden. “Right now, we are trying to find Lovan’s treasure.”

“Wouldn’t it be awful if somebody stole it last night?” exclaimed Benny.

“Well, it is possible,” said John Carter. “They had all night, if they were good climbers and worked quietly.”

CHAPTER 8

The First Find

Couldn’t we go up that ladder,” asked Benny, “and look in the hole?”

“Not yet, young man,” said Dr. Osgood. He pushed up his glasses. “We don’t want any more accidents. When we get the staging done, it will be safe for any of you to get up to the cave.”

Mr. Alden said, “Percy, the old Indian woman Lovan told us that her great-great-grandfather hid that leather bag in a cave. Now suppose this was the cave. Would that be near this door or near the opening in the other side, do you think?”

“I should say he crawled in and hid it as far back as he could,” said Dr. Osgood.

Benny said, “That would mean the leather bag could be right under our noses! I hope they will get that staging done fast. I can hardly wait! Can you, Mr. Carter?”

Mr. Carter said, “No, I can hardly wait, either. But right now I am hungry. Aren’t you all hungry?”

“Always!” said Henry and Jessie together.

“Well, then, how about a bit of lunch?” said John Carter. “You’ve had a three-hour climb, and we all need food. And you should see the lunch!”

“Oh, we’ll never eat all this food!” Jessie said as she watched the lunch being unpacked.

“Don’t forget, it is for the workmen, too,” said Dr. Osgood. “And me!”

Then Henry noticed that Benny was sitting still and saying nothing.

“What’s the matter, Ben?”

“Well, I simply can’t decide which sandwiches I like best!” said Benny. “I like them all best.”

“Shut your eyes and point, then,” said Mr. Carter.

Benny did so. He was pointing at the cheeseburgers.

“That’s exactly what I do like best, really!” he cried. “Cheeseburgers!”

“I thought you didn’t know,” laughed Violet.

“Yes, I thought so, too,” said Benny. “And I just love to dunk hard-boiled eggs!” He opened his salt and pepper and “dunked” his egg in the salt as he spoke. Then he bit off a huge bite.

“Delicious!” he said.

Everyone agreed. The piles of sandwiches went down very fast. But there were plenty for the workmen when Mr. Alden called them to lunch. When the workmen sat down, the Alden family waited on them. Henry gave them hot coffee. Violet passed the pickles. Mr. Carter got out the cold drinks. Jessie gave each one an egg and salt. Benny sat down with them and had another sandwich. He said, “You haven’t really got very far on the staging, have you?”

“No,” said the head man. “It takes three days. You see a staging must not fall. And it has to rest somewhere. It takes time to make a place to hold it.”

“Don’t you keep wishing that you could take time off and look in the cave?” asked Benny.

“Yes,” said a man. “But if we do, the staging has to wait, and it takes that much longer to finish it. Dr. Percy has had a look. That’s enough for me. He thinks it is worth while, so I’m not wasting my time.”

Henry said to Dr. Osgood, “What do you think could be in the lost bag? A French nobleman expected to sell whatever it was for enough money to live here. So it must be worth something.”

“It could be jewelry,” said Dr. Osgood. “French noblemen often had to sell jewels to keep alive. It could be gold coins or silver. It could be silver candlesticks or vases or mirrors or spoons. I don’t know.”

“I know you, Percy!” said Mr. Alden. “You’re not really interested in that leather bag, are you?”

“Well, no, not much,” said Dr. Osgood. “I always hope to find something important in a cave.”

“What could be more important than Lovan’s treasure?” cried Benny.

“Well, you’re right, boy, if you are thinking mostly of Lovan. But for the whole country, stones could be more important. They are to me.” He threw his head back and tried not to laugh.

Grandfather shook his finger at his old friend. “You’re up to something, Percy! Have you found something already?”

“I suppose I shall have to show it to you,” said Dr. Osgood. “At first I thought I’d put it back and let Benny find it. But Benny wouldn’t like that if he found it out.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Benny.

“Here it is,” said Dr. Osgood. He took a flat stone out of the biggest pocket of his overalls. It was about six inches long. He gave it to Henry, not Benny. “Take care!” he said.

“A fossil,” said Henry. He took the stone carefully in both hands. It was one flat stone, but it was split down the middle.

“Take off the cover,” said Dr. Osgood. “Careful now!”

Henry lifted the top half and they all bent over to look.

“A little fish!” cried Benny.

“Yes, a fossil fish,” said Dr. Osgood. “It is millions of years old.”

“What kind of a fish?” asked Benny. He was sure Dr. Osgood knew everything.

“I don’t know,” said Dr. Osgood. “You may be sure that many people will study this fossil. See the backbone? Every little bone shows on both halves.”

“Does that mean that once this mountain top was under water?” asked Jessie.

“Yes,” said Dr. Osgood, nodding, “and this is the proof. I’d rather find this than ten leather bags.”

Dr. Osgood said, “And now you’ll be surprised to hear this. I think you had better start down the mountain. The weather doesn’t look too fine to me.”

“It looks beautiful to me,” said Benny, looking at the deep blue sky. “But of course you would be right. Are you coming, too?”

“No, I’ll stay. I’ll keep my head man and we’ll come down later in the helicopter.”

Jessie did not have to be told twice. She was already packing the things.

Three hours later they reached the store. They all went in, and Mr. Carter said to the ranger, “Did you see the Indian boy this morning in the crowd?”

“Yes, he is new around here. Before I had time to talk to him, he had gone.”

“Gone!” cried everyone.

“Yes, gone. And what’s more, he’s still gone. Nobody around here ever saw him before. And nobody knew how he got here.”

“That’s very funny,” said Henry. “I should think somebody would have spoken to him. There was such a crowd. Would you guess he was up to no good?”

“Well,” said the ranger. He stopped. Then he went on, “We know nothing about him. He may be lost and need help. That’s really why we’re going to find him, come what may.”

CHAPTER 9

Caught in the Rain

Mr. Alden walked around the store looking at everything. There were no Indian baskets left. He said, “Let’s go to see Lovan again.”

“Don’t get caught in the storm,” said a ranger.

“Storm? It looks pleasant to me,” said Benny.

“Well, you get to know the weather around these mountains,” said the ranger. “I was glad to see you come down so early. Dr. Osgood will be all right. He knows the weather, too.”

What they did not know was that snow had suddenly begun to cover the top of Old Flat Top. Dr. Osgood and his workmen were just running to get the things packed on the helicopter to take off in a hurry.

The Aldens piled into the station wagon and drove down to Lovan Dixon’s. The sky was still blue with hardly a cloud. It was very warm. They found Lovan hoeing in her flower garden next to the house.

“I want to get the earth stirred up before it rains,” she said to her visitors.

Grandfather laughed. “You think it is going to rain, too,” he said.

“Oh, yes,” said Lovan. “But come in.”

“What beautiful flowers!” cried Violet. “Every one is such a lovely color.”

Lovan looked at the eager little girl. She said, “Little Violet, you take these scissors and cut a big bunch of every flower you like. Don’t be afraid to pick a lot. They like to be picked. They blossom all the more.”

Mr. Alden smiled. But he had come on business, so he was glad to go into the house and ask questions.

“I wonder if you ever heard of an Indian boy around here about high school age?” he asked.

“No,” Lovan shook her head. “I am the only Indian left around here. All my brothers died, and my only sister died. She had a daughter, but she died, too.”

“Didn’t your sister’s daughter have any children?”

“I did hear that she had a son, but that baby died when she did. They had moved into Maine with the Maine Indians by then.”

“What was that baby’s name?” asked Henry.

“I don’t know. We had quarreled and I never did learn the baby’s name.”

Mr. Carter said, “We saw a young Indian boy this morning. He looked unhappy and seemed to be afraid. He hid behind the crowd, and now he has disappeared.”

“Oh, dear!” said Lovan.

“We’ll find him,” Benny said.

“How?” asked Lovan. “I thought you said he ran away.”

“Yes, he did. But he never could get away with Mr. Carter after him, and the rangers, and Grandfather.”

Just then Violet came in with her flowers. They were beautiful—pink and white roses, old-fashioned sweet pinks, yellow daisies, lavender heliotrope, larkspur, and sweet peas.

“Let’s go right home and put them in water!” Violet said. “I can’t let them fade!” She made a pretty picture standing in the door with her brown hair, pink cheeks, and the lovely flowers.

“Soon,” said Grandfather. “Just one more question and then we’ll go. Why did your family leave you?”

“I left them,” said Lovan. “I wanted to go to school and nobody else did. They called me stuck-up because I could read and write. I loved school. There were children of all ages. When I was older, I helped the teacher with the little ones. I taught them the good things of Indian life. I taught them to make baskets and beadwork and moccasins. The children were very good at making up designs—even the little ones.”

“Good!” said Grandfather. “Someone must do that, or we’ll lose all the beautiful things that nobody can make as well as the Indian.”

“It’s too bad you don’t know anything about this strange Indian boy,” said Henry.

Lovan said slowly, “If he is from my family, his grandmother’s name would be Susan.”

“That’s something to go on,” said Henry.

“Come on, everyone,” said Mr. Alden. “Violet wants to go.”

“I don’t want to go,” said Violet, smiling, “I just want to put the flowers in water.”

As the Aldens left Lovan’s cottage they felt a cool wind. Clouds were beginning to sweep across the sky. The day that had been so sunny was suddenly very dark. A storm was brewing.

Mr. Alden said, “We will go to the motel first and then go and talk to the rangers.”

“I’ll stay at the motel,” said Violet. “I’ll put the flowers in water before supper. There must be some vases someplace.”

Everyone knew that Violet was perfectly happy arranging flowers. The rest of the family went back to the store. There was only one man there. He was not a ranger.

“Where is everybody?” asked Mr. Alden.

“They’ve all gone off in their jeeps to find an Indian boy. I’m keeping the store.”

Grandfather nodded. “They don’t waste much time, I see. The rainstorm will soon be here. I only wish we could have gone with them.”

“Listen!” said Jessie. “Dr. Osgood’s storm!”

The rain blew a few small spatters in at the open door. Then it came down like a sheet of water. It simply poured.

“Too bad the rangers started out,” said Benny. “They’ll get soaking wet.”

The man said, “They knew it was going to rain. They all wore raincoats. I think they thought the Indian boy would be easier to find in the rain.”

“How?” asked Benny.

The man shrugged. “I don’t know. They know more about finding people than I do. They do it all the time.”

Then in the pouring rain Dr. Osgood and his workman came in the door.

“Oh, everything is happening at once!” cried Benny. “Here come the jeeps!”

Dr. Osgood came in at exactly the same time as a ranger jumped down from a jeep. Then another ranger jumped out. Then another person jumped down. He had no raincoat and no hat. Water streamed down over his face. He kept his eyes down.

CHAPTER 10

David Explains

When the rangers led the Indian boy into the store, Jessie was near the door. Quickly she put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid,” she said. “We want to help you.”

The boy did not look up, but he pushed back his wet hair.

A ranger said, “This boy belongs in Maine. When he heard about Flat Top on a radio program he begged rides and got here in no time. He’s interested in the cave, but so far I don’t know why.”

They all sat down. The boy was on a wooden chair. His clothes dripped on the floor.

The chief ranger took off his raincoat and sat down at a desk. He said to the boy, “This is a very small village, son. We always notice any strangers. We want to know why you came here, what you expect to find, and also why you ran away. You will save time if you tell the exact truth. If you tell a lie, we will find it out. First, what is your name?”

The boy waited a minute. “David Walker,” he said.

“That’s not an Indian name,” said the ranger.

“No, my Indian name is David Walking-by-Night.”

“A nice name,” whispered Jessie to Henry. “But Lovan’s last name is Dixon.”

The ranger went on, “Why were you interested in Flat Top?”

David Walking-by-Night drew a long breath. He seemed very tired, but he seemed to be telling the truth.

“I was born in Maine,” he said. “But I don’t belong in Maine. My mother came from another tribe down here. She told me stories about Flat Top.”

“What stories?” shouted Benny.

David looked at Benny. He did not smile. He said, “The stories may not be true. But one story is about some treasure that belongs to my tribe. I thought I might get it sometime.”

The ranger said, “That treasure would belong to your mother’s people first, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, but they are all dead long ago. I’m the only one left in that tribe. My mother is dead, too.”

Nobody spoke for a minute. It was not hard to guess that this boy without a family had no one to care about him.

The ranger said, “Did you ever go to school, son?”

“A little, not much. I went for a few weeks and then I’d go hunting. Then I’d go to school for awhile.”

“How did you live? Did you have a job?”

“Yes,” said David. “I had a lot of jobs. I didn’t like any of them. I chopped wood and shoveled snow and worked in a garden. I liked that the best.”

“How did you plan to live down here?” asked the ranger. “Have you any money?”

“No. I thought I could carry things up the mountain. I’m a good mountain climber. But everyone kept looking at me, so I was afraid and ran.”

Mr. Alden spoke for the first time. He said, “Now, David, I am beginning to make some guesses. If I am right, I think a new life is open to you if you want to take it. Right now I know you are tired. We have heard enough for tonight.”

David looked at Mr. Alden and no one needed to tell the boy that he had found a friend. He said, “Thank you, sir.”

Benny said, “I can guess as well as Grandfather. Can’t we take David to the motel and get him some food and dry clothes?”

“There is an extra bed in my room,” Mr. Carter said. “David can sleep there. How about it, David?”

The boy nodded, but Grandfather said, “Let’s be sure our plan checks with the ranger.” Then he said, “Is this plan all right with you, sir? I’ll take this boy with me and take good care of him. I’ll see that he comes to no harm.”

“Perfectly all right,” said the ranger. He had learned that John Carter was an ex-F.B.I. man. “The boy hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“We’d better go right along,” said Jessie. “David needs something to eat.”

Mr. Carter said, “I’ll take Dave and Benny and Jessie in my car. Henry, you take Mr. Alden and Dr. Osgood.”

The two cars soon arrived at the motel. Benny had chattered most of the way. Jessie and Mr. Carter had talked pleasantly. But the Indian boy had not said a word.

Henry said, “The first thing we’ll do is find dry clothes for you while you’re taking a shower.”

Henry went at once to his clothes drawer. He got out dry clothes for David. They were all too big, but they had to do. Benny’s shoes were just right for him.

When everyone was washed and dressed they met in the dining room.

“He’s a good looking boy,” thought Violet when she met him.

“Let’s all have hot soup,” said Mr. Alden. “I’m just as tired as David is.”

John Carter thought to himself, “That boy has not eaten anything for a good many hours. I hope he doesn’t faint.”

David looked first to see how Henry ate his soup, and then he did the same.

“He cares,” thought John Carter. “He wants to do things right.” He had a question to ask, but he waited until the soup was gone and a tiny bit of color came into the boy’s face.

Then he said, “You know, David, we hear there is a big leather bag in some cave, with treasures in it. It belonged to an Indian who died long ago. Have you heard this story?”

“Yes, sir!” said David eagerly. “I heard more than that. I heard that a foreign man had it first. He gave it to an Indian who was afraid somebody would follow him, so he got a big bundle of corn, and hid the bag under the corn.”

All this time Dr. Osgood had been eating soup and smiling to himself. He waited until the roast chicken dinner came. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Ahem!” just to be sure that everyone was looking at him.

“I just want to say,” he began, “that all this is very important and interesting. But nobody has said a single word about Old Flat Top!”

“Tell us!” they all shouted.

“Well, the staging is all done,” said Dr. Osgood. “And I crawled inside for twenty-five feet.”

“Any bag?” yelled Benny.

“Well, no,” said Dr. Osgood, smiling. “There are some things right on the floor of the cave that are very interesting to me. The walls seem to be just big smooth rocks.”

Benny said, “Oh, Dr. Osgood, there must be some place where something could be hidden.”

“You’ll have to see for yourself,” Dr. Osgood said. “Maybe your sharp young eyes will see something my old ones missed.”

CHAPTER 11

Benny Finds the Way

Dr. Osgood promised the family that they could all explore the cave in the morning. They went to bed feeling very much excited.

Mr. Carter and David talked awhile before they went to sleep.

“David, what’s on your mind? What are you afraid of?” Mr. Carter asked.

There was a long silence. At last David said, “I climbed Flat Top the night before you did. I heard about the rockslide and the hole on a news program, so I came down from Maine fast. I thought I was the last Indian to know about the treasure and it could be mine. I was going to take it, and no fuss.”

“Now supposing this treasure was yours and somebody else found it. Didn’t you think they would give it to you?”

“No, I didn’t think they would.”

“Well, I don’t really blame you,” said Mr. Carter. “Were you afraid of the rangers after you climbed Flat Top? Did you think they knew your secret?”

“I wasn’t sure. But I thought they wouldn’t believe anything I said. I didn’t make a sound, either. I can walk through the woods and up the mountain without making any noise. But I thought they found out somehow. They looked at me so funny that I hid in the woods.”

“Nothing to eat?”

“No. I didn’t dare take anything with me. I thought later I would find out about any treasure, but the rangers found me first.”

“Is that all?” asked John Carter.

“Yes, sir,” said David.

“You couldn’t get up to the cave? You didn’t even look in?”

“No, I couldn’t. There wasn’t any way to get close. I just saw the hole. Then I had to come down.”

“Dave, I want you to understand the Aldens are your friends,” said John Carter. “They are fine people. They want to help you. You must not let them down.”

“No,” said David. “I like them. They wouldn’t cheat me, I know.”

Everyone was up early next morning. They ate breakfast and then drove to the foot of Flat Top.

Soon everyone was climbing up the old trail again. Benny came right after Dr. Osgood. The doctor did not climb so fast today. All of a sudden he looked around at Benny.

“Young man, don’t get your hopes up on that treasure. I didn’t see a single place where it might be. We are going still further into the cave, but I don’t think I missed it.”

“Oh,” said Benny. “Lovan will be disappointed. I was so sure it was right here. That’s where I would have put it, just as far back as I could. And that would be the front now.”

“Well, you’re not an Indian, son, and this isn’t two hundred years ago. Maybe the man had other ideas.”

“I hope not,” said Benny. “Just for Lovan’s sake.”

David was behind Benny. “Did you say Lovan?” he said. “I have heard that name. But she is dead.”

“Our Lovan isn’t dead,” said Benny. “She is ninety years old, though. And she is the one who told us about the treasure.”

“My grandmother told me everyone was dead but me,” said David.

Benny said, “Do you know your grandmother’s first name?”

“Yes, it was Susan.”

Henry was right behind David and he heard the name. He said, “Lovan had a sister Susan. It looks to me as if you are Lovan Dixon’s grandnephew. That would be great, because you could help her. She is getting old now, and she lives all alone.”

“What is she like?” asked David.

“She’s swell!” said Benny.

The family climbed and climbed. It was almost noon when they reached the staging. The workmen were there. They had put a strong light inside the cave for Dr. Osgood. They were just finishing the wiring.

“I’ll go first,” said Dr. Osgood. “And you can all follow me. First you have to crawl in, but soon you can stand up. You’ll see.”

The cave was bigger than the Aldens had expected. There was plenty of room for everyone. Dr. Osgood began at once to chip out another fossil. This time it was a fern, an important find. The fern told him how old the cave was.

Benny watched him for a few minutes. Then he went back and crawled to the door of the cave. David went, too.

“Let’s see if these stones can possibly be moved,” said Benny. He looked at one side of the opening. The big rocks came out to make a large square.

“That looks like a chimney,” said David.

“So it does!” cried Benny. “It looks like a closet in a corner of a room.” He stuck his head out of the cave and called to a workman, “Hey! Please come and look. Do you think anything could be hidden there?”

The man laughed. He said, “We can find out.” He got a small crowbar and a hammer and went to work. Soon he said, “You’re right, Sonny. These rocks don’t belong here. They were moved here.”

Benny didn’t like to be called Sonny, but this was no time to say so. Henry came over to watch. Then he called the girls and Mr. Alden and Mr. Carter.

The workman said, “When this stone falls, there will be clouds of dust. Better cover your eyes.”

They all did so. The man was right. There was such a crash and so much dust that nobody could see or hear what had really happened. When the dust cleared they all looked in the “chimney thing.” And there it was! It was a large black leather bag lying on the ground behind the stone.

Everyone shouted.

“Don’t touch it,” said the workman. “I’ll get Dr. Osgood.”

The doctor could hardly believe what he saw. “I did miss it after all,” he said. “And now let’s see what’s in the bag.”

Everyone watched as Dr. Osgood worked carefully and slowly. Even so, the leather cracked under his gentle fingers. At last he got it open and pulled out an enormous teapot as black as coal.

“Solid silver,” he said quietly.

“Silver?” cried Benny. “It looks more like iron.”

“It’s silver, just the same,” said the doctor. “Wait until it is polished and you’ll see—a real French piece that belonged to royalty.”

Then he drew out a candlestick with six branches. It, too, was black. A large black pitcher came next, all covered with the same deep, fancy pattern that decorated the other pieces. Then Dr. Osgood pulled out a black box. A little black key hung on a black chain.

Dr. Osgood turned the key very gently. Inside was a necklace of gold, set with red and green stones.

“That’s a queen’s necklace,” said Dr. Osgood. “That thing alone is a great treasure.”

Under the necklace were gold coins of France. There was only one more thing in the bag. It was a roll of heavy paper.

“I may not be able to open this,” said Dr. Osgood. “I shall stop if it begins to tear.”

But he was so slow and gentle that the paper did not tear. He took one look. “It’s in French,” he said. “Of course it would be.”

Both Henry and Jessie could read French. The old faded message was short.

“This is for my Indian friend Running Deer who saved my life. Louis Paul Deauville.”

“That settles it!” said Benny. “This belongs to Lovan. And now who will tell Lovan?”

Nobody spoke for a minute. They all looked at each other.

Then Grandfather said with a smile, “David Walking-by-Night will tell Lovan.”

CHAPTER 12

The Treasure

David looked puzzled when Mr. Alden chose him to tell Lovan.

“Mr. Alden, why me?” he asked.

Mr. Alden answered, “You know all about it, David, and you remember your grandmother. That will please Lovan. She is a fine person to have for a great-aunt.”

Just then they heard the helicopter.

“Lunch!” cried Benny.

Henry looked at his watch. “Did you know it was two o’clock? How did you ever stand it, Ben?”

“I was so interested in that chimney thing,” said Benny, “and the leather bag. I never thought of lunch.”

“Now you know how I feel,” said Dr. Osgood. “I forget all about eating.”

Mr. Carter said, “Jessie, give me one sandwich. I’ll go right back with the helicopter. I have some telephoning to do.”

They all wondered what it was about. But nobody asked a question. They just said goodbye. And back went the helicopter down the mountain.

Mr. Outer carefully held the leather bag. Mr. Alden had given it to him.

After lunch, Dr. Osgood and his head man stayed on Flat Top. But the rest began to climb down. They were eager to tell Lovan what had happened.

“But let’s not tell her the news too suddenly,” Jessie said. “It might be too much all at once.”

“Yes,” agreed Henry. “Maybe it would be a good idea if she met David first and then heard about the treasure.”

Violet said, “I think that is a good plan. Lovan can make up her mind about David and then he can tell her about the treasure.”

When they reached Lovan’s cottage, they found her sitting on the dinosaur step with a rough flat stone beside her. She was rubbing something on it

Lovan had five white beads on a string. She had the string over her hand and was rubbing the white beads on the rough rock. The white pieces got rounder and rounder.

“You’re making beads!” cried Benny.

“Yes. I have almost finished,” said Lovan. “This is the last string.” They saw two boxes of round beads, one of white and one of purple beads.

Lovan went on. She saw that they wanted to know. “I break a clamshell in small pieces,” she said. “I make a small hole in every piece and string a few on a string. Then I grate them until they are round.”

“I never knew that,” said Mr. Alden. “I always wondered how wampum was made.”

“This is how it is done,” said Lovan. “Nobody uses wampum now. But I sometimes weave it into my baskets.”

All this time David had been watching Lovan. But Lovan was so busy she did not see David at all. Even Mr. Alden was a bit nervous now. He didn’t quite know how Lovan would feel about meeting her nephew. But Lovan herself settled that. Suddenly she looked up at Mr. Alden and saw David behind him.

“An Indian boy!” she said. “Who are you, little brother?”

David said, “Well, I suppose I am your grand-nephew and you are my Great-Aunt Lovan.”

Lovan did not speak. She was thinking. She was looking David over. At last she said, “Then that baby did not die?”

“I guess not,” said David, smiling a little. “I feel alive. My grandmother was named Susan. My mother died first, then Grandmother. I thought I was the last of my family.”

Lovan nodded. She looked at David sharply. “A good young man, are you?”

David bowed his head. “I’m going to be. I can help you with your garden. Maybe I can go to school?”

Jessie and Henry were watching Lovan closely. They knew by the look on her face that Lovan was really very tired—tired of living alone, tired of walking so far to get sweet grass, and tired of wondering what would become of her.

Mr. Alden fixed it all up as well as he could. He said, “Lovan, you don’t know David and he doesn’t know you. But you can get to know each other. David can do work for the rangers at first and come to see you often. Then if you get along well, he can live here and take care of you. He’s a strong young man.”

Lovan put the beads in the box with the rest. “Come in,” she said. “I will show you where David could sleep if he came here.”

They all went into the cottage and Lovan opened a door.

David looked at the smooth bed. He looked at Lovan’s kind face. For the first time in a long, long time David felt that he had a home and someone to care about him.

Before David could say anything there was a whistle. It came loud and clear into the little cottage.

“It’s Mr. Carter!” said Jessie. “He always whistles that tune when he feels fine.”

John Carter had a large box. He said, “I thought that Lovan ought to see her treasure.”

“Oh, did you find the leather bag?” cried Lovan.

“Yes, we did,” said Benny. “We came to tell you, but we wanted you to meet David first. Now don’t be disappointed when you see the things. They look black but they’re silver. They have to be polished.”

“Of course,” said Lovan. “The silver would turn black after all those years.”

She looked at each piece. But the thing she seemed to like best was the paper with the French writing. Jessie told her what each French word meant.

“Poor man!” said Lovan. “He was shot by an Indian. When Great-Grandfather found him on the side of the mountain, he took care of him. He gave him all the good Indian medicines. But the poor man was badly hurt and knew it. He did not live long. I never heard where he was buried.”

“It was secret, just like the bag,” said Benny.

Mr. Alden packed the things in the box again. He gave the roll of paper to Lovan. He said, “Now if you agree, I’ll sell these things to a museum or a collector and put the money in the bank. Nobody can get it out except you.”

“And you, too, Mr. Alden,” said Lovan. “I’d feel better if you could get it out, too. Something might happen to me.”

“Very well. I’ll fix it that way. And now you are tired. We’ll go back to the motel. Come on, everybody.”

Benny said, “It looks as if we’ve just about solved another mystery.”

They all went out of the cottage and down the step. All but David. He stood on the step beside Lovan with his head down. He said to Lovan, “Do you mind if I bring my dog here? He’s a good dog and he minds me.”

“No,” said Lovan, shaking her head. “I need a watchdog.”

The two Indians looked at each other—one so old and one so young.

Lovan said a few soft words in an Indian language.

David answered her in the same language. They looked at each other and smiled. Then they shook hands.

David turned to Mr. Alden. “I’ll come down later, sir. I’d like to stay here with Aunt Lovan for a little while, if you don’t mind.”

“No,” said Mr. Alden, walking down to the station wagon, “I don’t mind at all. It’s exactly what I want most.”

CHAPTER 13

No Goodbyes

When the family met at supper, David was not there.

“Don’t worry about him,” Mr. Alden said, sitting down at the table. “He’s got two good legs and he can walk miles. He’ll show up when he gets ready.”

Mr. Carter was not there, either. Nobody asked where he was. They were used to his going and coming.

But Dr. Osgood was there. He said, “I shall be working here most of the summer. You know, my head man is a fine young scientist. He is having the time of his life. He knows those fossils even better than I do.”

Benny had been looking thoughtful. Suddenly he said, “Why don’t we go home, Grandfather?”

Everybody stopped eating to stare at Benny. He was usually the last person to want to go home.

“Well, why not?” Benny went on. “I’d like to see Watch again. We’ve been away quite a few days.”

“That’s an idea,” said Grandfather. “Our real work here is ended. I shall keep track of David anyway, and Lovan, too. We can get here anytime in two hours.”

Jessie said, “David will be a different boy, Grandfather. I think his Indian friends didn’t treat him well. He was not from their tribe. If he’s treated right, he’ll act right.”

Just as she spoke, a figure appeared in the door. It was David and he was indeed a changed boy. The whole family stared at him and listened.

“Oh, Mr. Alden!” he cried. (This didn’t sound like David at all!) “My aunt and I are going to be fine together. She needs me, and I sure need a family.” He put out both his hands to shake hands. “Aunt Lovan talks now, a steady stream!”

“So do you, Dave,” said Benny, laughing. “What are you going to do first?”

“Well, I’m going to get my dog.”

“What kind of a dog is he?” asked Jessie.

“Oh, he’s a hound dog. He came to me. He didn’t have any home either. He’s white with black and sort of yellow. He has long soft ears. His tail wags so fast you can’t see it.”

Everyone was thinking the same thing, “David loves his dog.”

“What’s his name?” asked Violet.

David stopped short. Then he said, “I hate to tell you. I always called him Mine. He was the only thing I had.”

“That’s OK,” said Benny. “When you call him, you can say Miney, Miney, Miney!”

“I never have to call him,” said David, shaking his head. “He’s always with me.”

Grandfather said, “Sit down, my boy, and eat your supper. Don’t you want a ride to Maine?”

“No. I’ll go the same way I came. It won’t take me long.”

“We are going home, too, Dave,” said Henry. “We want to get that silver cleaned and sold. And Grandfather wants to buy your aunt’s woodland on both sides of Flat Top. When he owns it, Lovan can be sure the trees will not be cut. Mr. Carter knows collectors who buy old silver.”

“And that necklace,” said Jessie. “Lovan doesn’t need to worry about money again.”

“She’s going to pay me by the week,” said David. “I’ll have to buy some heavy clothes if I work outdoors and some clothes for school, too.”

“David!” said Grandfather. “I won’t worry about you another minute. You are a man for sure. And that’s what your Aunt Lovan needs—a strong young man. I know you must be disappointed that this treasure isn’t yours, but—”

“Never mind that, Mr. Alden!” said David, putting out his hand. “I don’t want to hear it. Just wait till I get my dog. Then we’ll be all set.”

“We’ll go to see your aunt later and say goodbye,” said Grandfather, “and now we will say goodbye to you for awhile.”

David pushed back his chair. His supper was finished. He looked at them all, one by one. He said, “But I don’t know—I don’t know—” Violet had tears in her eyes.

“Don’t say anything, Dave,” she said. “Just don’t say anything.”

Benny said, “I can’t say goodbye to Dave, either.”

“I know what you mean,” Jessie said. “Dave is a good friend and it seems as if we have known him for a long time.”

The next day was spent getting ready to leave. Mr. Alden wanted to talk with Dr. Osgood. He also wanted to see the rangers about Lovan Dixon and David.

Late in the afternoon the family drove over to see Lovan. They found her sitting on her dinosaur step, finishing a basket.

Somehow Lovan seemed different to them. There was a new happiness in her face.

“I have been looking for you,” she said.

“You have?” asked Benny.

“Yes, the ranger told me,” said Lovan. “He came over with my canned stuff. I have to get powdered milk for David. When you see him again you won’t know him. I’m a good cook.”

“He looks better already,” said Grandfather. “David stands straight now and looks you right in the eye.”

While Mr. Alden was telling Lovan about her woodlands and the treasure, the girls watched her fingers with the basket. They saw that she had put white beads all around the top of the basket. Now she was winding a border of sweet grass for the edge. She came to the last stitch and fastened the grass very tightly. She held it up a minute and then started to get up.

“Come in,” she said.

She walked across the room and took another basket from the table. It was just like the other basket, but the beads were light purple. She turned around and gave the white one to Jessie and the purple one to Violet.

“A sewing basket for you,” she said, “made with love.”

The girls were so pleased that they could hardly speak.

“We need these so much!” said Jessie. She smelled the sweet grass.

“We’ll always think of you when we use these,” said Violet. “It is the nicest present you could have given us.”

“Thank you, Lovan,” said Grandfather. “Those are very thoughtful presents, and they are all your handiwork.”

“Do sit down,” said Lovan. She knew the young people would sit on the floor at her side.

“One more thing,” said Grandfather, “if you are going to feed David and pay him by the week, you’ll need money before I can buy this land. Now this is my business. I want David to be educated. And here is some money to start on. A ranger will come to bring you money. You make out a check and he will cash it. You’ll be surprised how much a boy can eat.”

“And a dog, too,” said Lovan, smiling. She took the money. “I will take care of David like a son. I can teach him many things myself. And there is a school not too far away.”

“Well,” said Mr. Alden, getting up, “we must go. We’ll just say goodbye for now.”

“No, no!” cried Lovan. “Don’t say goodbye. Say, ‘Come again’”

“That’s the way to talk,” said Benny. “We’ll say come again soon, so why say goodbye?”

CHAPTER 14

Time for Celebration

The Aldens had been gone only one day when David came back from Maine with his dog.

It was night when David came, but he was sure of his way through the woods. He and his dog made almost no noise, but David found Lovan at the door of her cottage, waiting and listening.

The old Indian woman was smiling. She liked the way the dog trotted at David’s side.

“This is Mine, Aunt Lovan,” David said. “Let him sniff at you, then speak to him. He won’t bite.”

But Lovan knew what to do better than David. She opened the door wide so that the dog could smell the cooking. It was a delicious pot roast cooking with turnips and carrots and onions and potatoes. The dog trotted happily into the cottage. He turned to Lovan and sat up with his two front paws hanging down.

“He’s smiling,” cried David. “Doesn’t that look like a smile?”

“Good dog,” said Lovan. “Shake hands.”

Now Mine had never learned to shake hands. But when the old lady took his paw in her hand he wagged his tail as well as he could while sitting on it. He seemed to know that Lovan was the one with the supper.

“Your supper is too hot, Miney,” she said. “It’s just right for you, David. Sit right down. Are you about starved?”

“Very near,” said David. “I didn’t want to stop to eat. But now it must be the middle of the night.”

“It’s one o’clock,” said Lovan. She began to cut many thin slices off the meat. Then she piled a soup plate with vegetables. She put corn muffins on another plate and poured a large glass of milk. Mine sat still watching every move.

David said, “We ought not give Miney good meat like this. He eats scraps.”

“Well, some other time, David,” said Lovan. “Tonight it is a party.”

“Miney is glad,” said David. “I’ll cut some of my meat for him. It’s cool enough now. He likes everything—bread and vegetables and candy.”

Mine wagged his tail all the time he was eating. He licked up the last bit and went over to Lovan and put both paws on her lap.

“Good dog,” she said, patting his head. “You are mine, too.”

“I’m glad you like him,” said David.

“Did you have any trouble with the other Indians?” asked Lovan.

“No. They didn’t want my dog. They have two or three others. I didn’t even tell them where I was going. They didn’t ask.”

“I see,” said Lovan. “And now let’s all go to bed.”

Things went along well and a month soon went by. Then the Aldens came back. As they drove into the woods they heard a dog barking.

“That’s Miney!” said Benny, laughing.

Just then David and Lovan appeared around the corner of the house. The dog barked.

“Quiet,” said David. He stopped.

The Aldens could hardly believe what they saw. “You must have gained ten pounds, Dave!” shouted Benny.

“I guess so,” said David, laughing. He was delighted to see his good friends.

“What are you working on behind the house?” asked Henry.

“Come and see,” said Lovan with a smile. “We are both outdoor people. So Dave made this place to eat.”

Under the great pine trees was a large wooden table. On each side was a bench.

“The benches are long so we can have company,” said David.

“Company like us!” shouted Benny.

“Let me show you what else we are doing, Mr. Alden,” said David. “Aunt Lovan and I are making an Indian book.”

“Let me see it. That is the best thing I have heard yet,” said Mr. Alden. “We don’t want to lose the best parts of Indian life.”

By this time the Aldens were in the house, looking at the Indian book pages.

“It isn’t half done yet,” said David. “We are writing down the old stories in the Indian language. And we have drawn Indian pictures to go with them. We are trying to make them look like the ones Indians used to draw. Then Aunt Lovan is telling how to make designs. Here is a design for a basket, and here is one for a blanket. We both remember songs, but I have to learn how to write them down.”

Just then Mr. Carter put his head in the door. He said to Lovan, “If you are worrying about feeding this crowd, we brought dinner for everyone.”

“Thanks for telling me,” said Lovan. “Really I haven’t enough food for everyone. But we can cook whatever you have. Look over there. See what David built?”

It was an outdoor fireplace made of stones.

“Just in time!” yelled Benny. “Because we’ve got real steak today. We’re celebrating!”

When they all sat down at last, Mine went under the table and lay down on Henry’s feet. Benny looked under the table. He said, “I do wish you’d choose my feet, Miney. But I suppose Henry makes you think of David. He’s about the same size.”

Everyone was talking. Violet was talking to David. Benny was talking to Lovan. Jessie was talking to Mr. Carter. Henry looked at Grandfather. “What a noise!” he said.

“But a good noise,” said Grandfather. “Listen and you’ll hear all the news.”

Lovan was telling Benny that David had bought her a warm blanket with her new money. David was telling Violet that Lovan had made colors to paint with from things in the woods. Mr. Carter told Jessie that David was going to school in the fall.

“David is going to be even busier,” said Grandfather. “Dr. Osgood tells me that he has tried him out on the mountain, and he’s going to hire him as a helper in the summers.”

“I didn’t know there were such interesting things in the world,” David said.

So here was David Walking-by-Night with a real job, and a new aunt, and a family to help him, and a good hound dog. What more could he want?

When the Aldens packed up to go, Benny said, “No we won’t say it! We’ll say we’ll ‘come again soon.’”

So that was it—come again—no goodbye.

On the way home, Benny said, “Oh, by the way, what will we do next summer, Grandfather?”

“Don’t you wish you knew!” teased Grandfather.

“You mean you know?”

“I didn’t say so, did I?”

“No, but your face looked so.”

“Dear me,” said Grandfather, “I must be more careful about my face!”

Benny teased for quite awhile. Then he stopped for he knew that Grandfather would not tell them until he got ready.

“Well, it’s OK with me,” he said at last. “Anyway whatever we do will be another story, huh, Gramps?”

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1964 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0791-8

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Sochoolhouse Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by David Cunningham

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

Contents

CHAPTER

1   Benny’s Plan

2   Being Watched

3   Wanted: A Schoolhouse

4   A Woman of Few Words

5   The Money Man

6   Mystery Painting

7   Grandfather Makes a Call

8   Caught by the Tide

9   The Disappearing Stranger

10   A Discovery

11   Who Is the Englishman?

12   A Sockful of Money

13   Surprise for Violet

14   Caught!

15   The Last Song

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Benny’s Plan

The whole Alden family sat on the front porch reading. It was one of those hot vacation days in June. Supper was over and the sun had not yet set.

“Plenty of light to read by,” said Benny as he took his favorite book to his favorite seat in the corner. Jessie and Violet, his sisters, were already sitting in the porch swing. Henry, the oldest of the Aldens, was just home from college. He sat in one easy chair, and Grandfather sat in another.

Suddenly Grandfather looked up. Benny was not reading any more. He was looking straight ahead. But he was not looking at anything.

“What’s the matter, Ben?” asked Mr. Alden.

“I’m thinking,” said Benny. He did not move.

“What are you thinking about, old man?” asked Henry. “It seems to be important.”

“No, it isn’t important,” Benny said, but he did not go back to his book.

“You might as well tell us,” said his older sister Jessie. “It must be interesting.”

Violet added, “Please, Benny.”

“Well,” said Benny, “it’s something Max said.”

“Oh, your friend Max?” said Henry. “What did Max say?”

“Well, it wasn’t much,” said Benny, “but it got me thinking. He said that we Aldens always seem to have an exciting time on vacation no matter where we go. Always some adventure.”

“Max was right,” said Violet.

“Yes,” said Benny, looking at Violet. “I told Max he was dead right. But then he said he’d like to see us have any exciting adventures if we went to his father’s favorite fishing town up on the northern coast. He said it was a tiny village with nothing there. He is sure we couldn’t go there and have any adventures. He said even an Alden couldn’t find anything exciting in that place.”

Mr. Alden was quick to read Benny’s mind. He laughed and said, “So I suppose you want to go to this fishing village and try it?”

Benny turned and looked at his grandfather. “Well,” he said, “you see it sounded pretty interesting. I mean I can’t imagine being dull anywhere, can you?”

“No, Benny, I can’t,” said Mr. Alden. “This is not a family to have a dull time. It never was. How would you like to go there for a short time? There would still be half the summer left to go somewhere else.”

“Oh, I remember!” said Jessie. “You had something all planned for this summer, Grandfather.”

“It can wait,” Mr. Alden said, smiling to himself.

“It certainly would be fun to visit a dull town,” said Jessie. “Is it right on the sea?”

“Yes,” said Benny. “It’s an island at high tide with water on all sides. But at low tide the ocean goes out and leaves a roadway made of rocks and gravel. You can drive a car across or walk across. But the people don’t go off the island very often, Max says. Just the summer visitors.”

“And I guess there are not many of them,” said Henry.

“Where do the visitors stay?” asked Violet.

“There’s only one place,” Benny answered. “It’s something like an old country hotel with six rooms for summer fishermen like Max’s father. The village is tiny. There’s a schoolhouse and a store. There isn’t even a post office. There are houses for the people who live there, and a sardine factory where they work. They use the schoolhouse for town meetings. And that’s all.”

Grandfather looked around at the family. “If you all want to go, I’m ready. But every one of you must want to go.”

“Of course we do, Grandfather,” said Henry. “It will be fun to prove old Max is wrong. We have exciting times just by ourselves.”

“We’ll show Max!” said Benny.

Henry added, “It would be interesting to study a village where people are so cut off from everyone else. I might even write a college paper on it.”

“What’s the name of this village?” asked Grandfather. “Maybe I know it from my old fishing trips.”

“Maybe you do,” said Benny. “You know a lot of things. It is called Port Elizabeth.”

Mr. Alden shook his head. “No, I don’t know that name. We can look for it on a map. It can’t be too far away.”

Violet ran into the house and soon came back with a book of maps. “You look it up,” said Grandfather.

“Here it is,” cried Violet. “It must be very small, the name is in such fine print. And here’s the island. The only town near it is Northport.”

Henry looked at the map. “It looks as if Northport is about thirty miles away,” he said. “It must be a very small town, too.”

“It’s bigger than Port Elizabeth, though,” Jessie said. “We can probably buy things there.”

“We can take some things with us, too,” said Grandfather.

Benny began to laugh. “I never thought you would want to go to Max’s village,” he said. “I just can’t help thinking about the surprise we’ll have for Max.”

“Neither can I,” said Henry. “We’ll let Benny tell Max when we get home what a dull time we had.”

“You seem to be very sure you will have an adventure,” said Grandfather, his eyes twinkling. “What happens if it is dull, just as Max said?”

“Let’s try it anyway, Grandfather,” said Jessie. “If it is dull, we won’t mind.”

Violet said, “I’ll take my watercolors. I love to paint the sea.”

Henry winked at Benny and said, “We’ll find something to do. We can always fish.”

Just a week later Henry drove the station wagon into the fishing village of Port Elizabeth. The tide was out. It was exactly as Max had said. There was the old hotel with six rooms, the schoolhouse, and a small store. They knew that the storekeeper, Mr. Fenton, owned the hotel. He had rented them three rooms by telephone.

“Shall we go to the store first?” asked Henry.

“Yes, I’m sure Mr. Fenton will have the keys. We can let him know we have arrived,” said Grandfather. “I hope the beds are comfortable.”

Everyone was surprised when Mr. Fenton opened the door of the first room. They had not expected anything so pleasant. There were two comfortable beds. The floor was bare except for two handmade rugs near the beds.

“Very good, very good,” said Mr. Alden nodding his head at the storekeeper. “I can see that we are going to enjoy this.”

“It’s lovely,” said Violet. “It’s just right for us.”

“Now,” said Mr. Fenton, “I’m going to show you something I don’t show all my guests. It’s a kitchen.”

He opened another door at the end of the hall, and, sure enough, there was a small kitchen. There was a large table in the middle of the room. The sink and stove were old fashioned, but the refrigerator looked new. There were cupboards full of dishes.

“It will be a pleasure to let you use it,” Mr. Fenton said. “There’s no place to eat in Port Elizabeth, and you’d have to go to Northport for your meals—and that’s thirty miles away.”

“Oh, aren’t you kind!” cried Jessie, “A kitchen like this is just what we need.”

“Can you cook?” asked Mr. Fenton.

“They all can cook, even Benny,” said Mr. Alden, laughing. “I tell them they can make something out of nothing.”

“Good,” said Mr. Fenton. “I thought you people looked as if you could take care of yourselves. I’m pretty good at guessing what people are like. Don’t often make a mistake. That’s why I showed you the kitchen.”

“Today we brought our own supper,” said Benny. “We didn’t know about the kitchen.”

“That’s fine,” said Mr. Fenton. “You must be tired. You have had a long drive. Maybe you’ll go to bed early and start up again tomorrow.”

“We’ll just drive around and see the town first,” said Mr. Alden.

“It won’t take you long,” said Mr. Fenton with a laugh. “It’s a very small place.”

Henry drove slowly along the sandy road by the ocean. Two large wharves stood out in the water. The sardine factory could be seen in the distance, but it was closed for the day. Some boats were tied up there. Beyond the factory was a high cliff, and on top was a very large and beautiful old house.

“I wonder who lives in that house,” said Benny. “Isn’t it huge? Must be a big family. I guess there are twenty rooms.”

“It looks to me like an old family mansion,” said Grandfather. “It is certainly not new. The house seems to be closed, too.”

It was not, but the Aldens did not know that until later. The road curved around past the cliff, past the store and a row of fishermen’s houses, and back to the hotel. That was all there was to see, except for the schoolhouse. A great many bushes and trees stood between the schoolhouse and their hotel.

The schoolhouse had once been painted white, but much of the paint had worn off. On top there was a belfry with a bell in it.

“Listen!” said Benny. “Is that the school bell ringing?”

“Oh, Benny!” Jessie said. “What an imagination!”

Violet looked hard at the building. She said, “I think it’s a pretty little school. That big chimney is a queer shape, isn’t it?”

And so it proved to be.

“We have done the town,” said Grandfather. “That is all there is. Maybe Max is right, Benny, and it is dull.”

“Well, maybe,” said Benny. “We haven’t been here very long. Anyway I’m hungry.”

“You shouldn’t be hungry,” said Jessie. She looked at her watch. Then she looked up in surprise. “It’s half past five!” she exclaimed. “I thought it was about three o’clock.”

“It’s a long time since we stopped for lunch,” said Henry. “Let’s get unpacked and have supper.”

The girls were delighted. They put the straw basket on the kitchen table and opened it. They took out chicken sandwiches, pickles, cheese, doughnuts, and potato chips. Benny ran over to the store to get cold milk.

Grandfather had hardly had time to unpack when he heard Violet call, “Supper!”

The children sat on long benches, but Grandfather had a chair at the head of the table.

“This reminds me of Surprise Island,” said Henry. “Only there we didn’t have a real table. We used two barrels with a board across them.”

“One thing is the same,” said Benny. “I’m starved. Let’s begin!”

Everyone else must have been hungry, too. The food was soon gone. Then the boys went to their room to unpack, and the girls to another. Grandfather had a big room alone.

The hotel was so near the ocean that the splash of the waves kept them awake for a while. But they loved the sound of waves and quickly fell asleep.

The Aldens did not know that soon they would meet a wonderful friend and find some people who were not friendly at all.

CHAPTER 2

Being Watched

The next day the Aldens began in earnest to learn more about Port Elizabeth.

First they walked over to the little store. They found that they could buy almost any kind of food there. The girls bought enough food to last for a few days. Then Benny asked Mr. Fenton, “Who lives in the big mansion on the cliff?”

“Well,” said Mr. Fenton, “Miss Gray lives there. Miss Elizabeth Gray. She is the last of her family.”

“She lives alone in that great house?” cried Benny.

“No, not really alone. She has a woman to get her meals and a man to mow the grass and shovel snow in the winter. But she has no family. Her grandfather built that house, and twelve children grew up there. But some of them died and some left. She hasn’t anyone close to her. People say she writes books.”

Jessie said, “I should think she would be very lonesome. Does she ever go out?”

“No,” said Mr. Fenton. He shook his head. “Almost never. Nobody calls there, either. She is shy, and people don’t feel comfortable with her. She has plenty of money, and she has done a lot for the town. Her grandfather built the schoolhouse many years ago. He called it the Elizabeth Gray School for his wife, Miss Gray’s grandmother. Miss Gray is the one who has the schoolhouse cleaned in the fall, and she keeps the keys. But she stays by herself.”

“I’m sorry for anyone like that,” said Benny. “She must miss a lot of fun.”

As the Alden family talked with the storekeeper, a red-haired boy and girl came in together. They looked alike and were certainly twins.

The island children did not look at the Aldens. In fact, they looked the other way. But Benny thought, “They must have looked us over before they came in.”

“We want some flour,” said the boy. “And Ma wants some more tea.” His voice was as rough as his looks. His sister looked rough, too. Her hair hung in wisps around her face.

The girl counted out the money carefully, but she did it slowly. It seemed hard for her, so at last Mr. Fenton helped her. When they had gone, Mr. Fenton said, “To tell you the truth, Mr. Alden, I’m sorry for the children who are brought up here. Living is hard on this island, and the people have no education. The children never have a chance to learn any other way to live. They don’t even have TV. They don’t see magazines, and they never go off this island.”

“Oh, dear,” said Jessie, “I shouldn’t think they would know anything about the world.”

“They don’t,” said Mr. Fenton. “As soon as they’re old enough, they work in the sardine factory. Those two are the Moss twins. They work in the factory whenever it is open.”

“Then they earn some money,” said Benny.

Mr. Fenton smiled. “I can see you don’t know what the island people are like. The children don’t ever see that money. The fathers take it and keep it. They don’t spend much. All these people save all the money they can, but they never put it in the bank. They put it in an old stocking.”

“That’s a queer thing to do,” said Benny. “They might lose it that way.”

Mr. Fenton gave a short laugh. “Yes, they certainly might,” he said. “And then again, they might not! Here’s something funny. A strange man came here last summer and he gave Mr. Moss ten dollars for an old quarter. He gave me three dollars for an old penny, but I didn’t trust him.”

Suddenly Grandfather was interested. “What was this man’s name?” he asked.

“Mr. Fred Willet,” said Mr. Fenton. “He said he would come back this summer.”

“Well, if he does,” said Mr. Alden, “I hope to see him.”

“You will,” said Mr. Fenton. “Everyone will see Freddy Willet if he’s around. He’s very friendly. I’ll say that much for him.”

Then Jessie paid for the groceries and thanked Mr. Fenton for telling them about the island. Henry and Benny raced home to the hotel to put the food away.

Violet said, “Imagine how it would be to live on this island and not know anything else.”

“I can’t imagine,” said Jessie. “I don’t blame that girl if she can’t count very well.”

When the boys came back, they and the girls went down to the beach. Mr. Alden did not go this time. He had to write some letters.

As the young people walked along, Violet said, “I have a funny feeling that people are staring at us.”

“Me, too,” said Benny. “And how is it we don’t see any men around? I see kids and some women, but not a single man. I thought a lot of fishermen lived here. But where are they?”

Henry looked all around. “You’re right, Ben. I hadn’t really noticed. But I think I know the answer. If the men are fishermen, they must be out in their boats.”

“Let’s go down to the wharf and see what is going on,” said Benny.

There were people on the beach. There were many children of all ages and some mothers. Some of the older girls and boys were sitting on the sand working on nets. They tied knot after knot. They all worked fast. They did not look up when the Aldens went by.

Little children were playing in the water. They all swam like fishes. Some boys dived off the wharf into deep water.

“Aren’t you afraid to be under water?” Benny asked a small boy.

“No, I like it. I can always come up,” the boy said. He seemed surprised that anyone would ask him such a question.

“I can see you are a fine swimmer,” Benny told him. “Probably you’ve been swimming all your life.”

Henry laughed. He said, “Probably all these children can swim as soon as they can walk.”

Jessie smiled and said hello to a woman who was knitting. The woman answered gruffly, but she quickly looked the other way.

When the Aldens went home for lunch, Jessie said to her grandfather, “These people aren’t very friendly, are they?”

“No,” said Mr. Alden. “They don’t trust strangers. I’ve seen people like this before.”

Benny frowned. “What have we done wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” said Mr. Alden. “You’ll just have to get used to the idea that these people have different ways.”

Benny said, “Well, even if they do, I should think they could smile.”

“Do you want to go home?” Grandfather asked.

“Oh, no, not yet!” said all four Aldens together. Then they laughed, for they had all agreed to keep trying.

Grandfather smiled. He liked to see his grandchildren stick to something that was not easy.

It was lucky that the Aldens could not hear what people were saying about them. The people had watched them quietly ever since they had come.

One girl said, “They’re stuck-up rich kids. Look at their clothes! I bet those girls never had to work.”

Some of the older people said, “Summer people! We’ve seen plenty of them. I wish we had half the money they spend.”

“That car is air-conditioned,” said a big boy. “Showing off, they are.”

But his mother spoke up. “I don’t think they’re stuck-up. And I don’t think they’re showing off. They all smile and act friendly. You are just jealous.”

It was true. The island children wished they were like the Aldens with nothing to do. They watched them every minute. They could hear the four young people laughing and talking together as they went around the town.

But as time passed, things began to change. People began to like the Aldens. They were such pleasant visitors. The island children really wanted to be friends, but not one of them knew how to say so.

CHAPTER 3

Wanted: A Schoolhouse

It was a few days later, and the girls were getting lunch. Grandfather came in from the store. He said, “While you were at the beach Mr. Fenton told me that the fishermen get up at three o’clock in the morning to take their boats out. That’s why we never see any men in the morning.”

Henry said, “Well, we know they come back at four or five in the afternoon. We’ve noticed that every day.”

“They look fine coming in one by one,” said Benny. “I’m going down to the beach to watch those boats. I don’t care if nobody speaks to me. But I’m going early. I don’t want to miss anything.”

Long before three o’clock the four Aldens went down to the sandy beach. Violet took her watercolors, brushes, and paper.

A few boats were coming in early. The fishermen started to shovel fish into boxes. Some of the fish were spread out in nets to dry. Others were packed in ice to go to Northport. Gulls were flying all around the wharf, trying to get leftover fish. They made a great noise.

“Fish smells awful, doesn’t it?” said Benny.

“Well, there is so much of it the whole town smells of fish,” said Henry. “I suppose it is the fish drying that smells.”

Just then the red-haired girl and her brother came slowly out of their house next to the store. They passed the Aldens.

“Oh, hello there!” said Jessie.

“Hello,” said the girl, but she did not stop. In fact she seemed to walk faster.

Jessie said sadly, “Nobody wants to be friends.”

“Maybe Max is right,” said Benny. “It will be dull if nobody is friendly.”

“Come on, Ben, don’t give up so easily,” Henry said. “If anyone can make friends, you can.”

After Violet had watched the boats for a while, she climbed up on the rocks. She could see the harbor better from there. The other Aldens stayed on the sand below.

“Oh, my!” Violet called down. “There are a lot of small pools of seawater all over the top of this rock. I’m going to use salt water for my watercolors!” So she washed her brushes in a pool of seawater.

She had just painted a blue band for the sea and some yellow sand, when she heard someone climbing up the rock behind her. She knew her family was sitting on the sand below her because she could see them. Who could this be? She turned her head to look. It was the red-haired girl!

“Oh, can I watch you? Do you mind?” asked the girl.

Violet was so surprised she could hardly answer. But she said, “Of course I don’t mind! I’m not much of a painter, though.”

The girl climbed the last rock and sat down beside Violet. “I just couldn’t keep away when I saw you painting!” she said.

Then Violet saw that her twin brother was right behind her.

“Are you twins?” she asked.

“Yes,” said the girl. “My name is Marie Moss, and Hal and I are just crazy about painting! There was a man up here when we were kids. He came here to paint the view. Ever since then, Hal and I have wanted to learn to paint.”

“Did the man show you how?” asked Violet. She looked from one to the other.

“Him? Oh, no! He chased us away,” said Hal with a frown. “He didn’t like to have us watch him.”

Marie said, “He didn’t stay here long. He painted just two pictures. One was of the harbor and one was our house. They were beautiful!”

“Then I guess you did watch him,” said Violet.

“Yes, we did,” said Hal. “The man never guessed. We knew the rocks better than he did. So we got behind a rock only a few feet away. We saw everything he did. We saw just what colors he used. He had oil paints.”

“And you remember all this time!” said Violet.

“Oh, yes!” said Marie. “He mixed a lovely blue with green. It looked just exactly like the water. Then he put purple in it! See? Under the rocks, it’s purple.”

“You know,” said Violet slowly, “you see things the way an artist would. Did you ever have any paints?”

“No,” said Hal. “We tried to make pictures with old crayons. But if we only had some paints—!”

The other Aldens heard what was going on. They climbed up the rocks and sat down.

“Are you going to stay very long?” asked Marie.

“Well, I think so,” said Jessie, smiling. “We like it here.”

“You see,” began the boy and stopped. He seemed to be having trouble with his words.

“Did you want something?” asked Benny.

The two strangers laughed a little. The girl said, “I guess we are scared.”

Benny said, “Say! You can’t be scared of us, can you?”

The twins looked at each other, and Marie said, “We aren’t supposed to talk to summer people.”

Henry said, “Come on! Don’t call us summer people. We just came up here to visit Port Elizabeth and see what it is like. A fishing village is new to us, you know.”

“We’ve been wanting to make friends with someone,” said Benny, “but it’s been very hard.”

Then Marie spoke very fast. “Everybody said you were stuck-up, but I said you weren’t. You aren’t stuck-up at all! I was right! I know we haven’t been very nice to you on this island, but Hal and I wondered....”

“What did you wonder?” asked Benny. “I’d like to know.”

The twins were quiet for a minute.

Then Marie said, “You see, we go to school in the winter. But the teachers don’t like it here. They don’t stay long. We had five teachers last year.”

“Imagine having five teachers in one year!” said Benny.

“It’s awful,” said Hal. “Every new teacher thinks we have forgotten everything. So they all start back at the beginning.”

“You don’t get very far that way,” said Henry.

“No,” said Marie. “The last teacher told us to study this summer, but we don’t know how. And we would love to learn to paint.”

Jessie said, “Violet learned to paint in school. She loves it, too.”

“Oh, would you teach us?” cried the twins.

“Of course,” said Violet. “I’ll do my best.”

“Oh, thank you,” said Marie, her eyes bright.

Hal said slowly, “We’d like to learn other things, too, but we don’t know how.”

Then Jessie woke up. Violet woke up. Henry woke up. As for Benny, he was already wide awake. They all saw what the twins really wanted.

Then the whole story came out. The Moss twins talked faster than ever.

Marie said, “The little children can’t read, and they love stories. All the children in this village ought to go to school. Even the little ones would love it if you taught it. And all our mothers would be so glad.”

“OK,” said Benny. “So you want to go to summer school. Henry, let’s teach school! Even I could teach. Just give me a few small kids, and I’ll teach ’em to read. And I could teach singing. Now how about that old schoolhouse? That’s empty, doing nothing.”

“That belongs to Miss Elizabeth Gray,” said Marie. “She has the key.”

“Is she cross?” asked Benny. “Would she let us use the schoolhouse?”

“She might. She isn’t cross, anyway. You could ask her. I wouldn’t dare,” said Marie. “It would be grand if we could use the schoolhouse, wouldn’t it?”

Henry began to climb down the rock. He said, “Never mind your painting this time, Violet. Let’s go!”

“Oh, do you dare?” asked Hal.

“Why not?” said Benny. “She doesn’t bite, does she?”

“No,” said Hal, laughing a little. “But we won’t go. You go.”

Henry smiled. He said, “Yes, I guess four of us will be enough. We’ll tell you later what she says.”

Just then a loud whistle sounded. It whistled and whistled.

“That’s for us!” cried Marie. “It’s the sardine factory! A school of sardines has come in. Sardines have to be canned quick. We have to go. Please don’t forget our school.”

“No, we won’t!” called Benny.

As they climbed down, Henry said to Jessie, “Remember my friend Larry in Adams College? He is going to live in a city this summer and help boys who live in a poor neighborhood catch up in school. Then they won’t be drop-outs. And here we are on an island, doing about the same thing.”

“I think it’s an exciting idea,” said Violet. “We didn’t think we would be schoolteachers this summer, did we?”

“That’s the last thing I thought of,” said Henry. “Just look at everybody going to work.”

Indeed somebody came out of every house. Sometimes there were three or four people from one house. They all hurried down to the factory.

“Well, well,” said Jessie. “We have made friends at last.”

“We made two, anyway,” said Benny.

By that time Marie and Hal were almost out of sight.

CHAPTER 4

A Woman of Few Words

Here we go, up to a strange mansion to see a strange lady,” said Benny.

“Right!” said Henry. “I’m sure it’s all right to ring a doorbell, even if we don’t get in.”

The four Aldens started along the beach, past the factory, and up the high cliff walk. They could see the mansion above them. It was a large square house, painted white. There was a square room on top that looked out to sea.

The Aldens climbed the steps to the front door and rang the bell. They could hear it ringing inside.

After a few minutes they heard someone coming very slowly. The door opened to show a tall, thin woman with straight gray hair. She did not smile. She just stood there.

Jessie began, “Miss Gray, I hope you will forgive us for coming to see you. But we are staying here for a while, and we want to ask you a favor.”

Elizabeth Gray’s eyes went sharply from one to another. Still she did not smile. Then she said shortly, “Come in.” She stood aside for them to pass. “Go straight ahead,” she said.

Benny thought, “Not a very warm welcome! Maybe we won’t get that schoolhouse after all.”

None of the Aldens knew that they were the first real callers Miss Gray had had for many years.

They all sat down. Miss Gray did not say a word. Henry found it hard to begin, but he knew he must say something. He began, “This is a funny question, Miss Gray. You see, we had no idea we would do this. But some of the children in Port Elizabeth want to go to school this summer to learn more. They asked us to help them. Maybe you think that is a queer idea.”

“No,” said Miss Gray, “I don’t.”

That was all she said. Still no smile.

Benny could not stand this. He said, “We came to ask you if we could use your schoolhouse. It’s a wonderful schoolhouse! It has a big bell and everything. I’d be the one to ring the bell. Could we use it, do you think?”

“What would you do with it?”

Jessie answered this. She said, “We’d have a real school every morning, but we wouldn’t use the schoolhouse at all in the afternoon.”

Violet added, “We’d be very careful of it. We’d keep it clean, too.”

“We’d always remember to lock the door,” said Benny.

“No reason why you can’t have it,” said Miss Gray. “Certainly these children have never learned much.”

“You are very kind,” said Jessie. “We are strangers, and we have asked for a lot. I know that you are interested in the children. Everyone says so.”

“Humph!” said Miss Gray.

Jessie went on, “We haven’t told our grandfather yet. But I’m sure he will think this school is a good idea.”

Benny laughed. He said, “Grandfather will think it is funny, though. Me teaching school!”

The sharp voice said, “What are you going to teach, boy?”

“Well, I don’t know,” said Benny. “Maybe I could teach them about the moon.”

Miss Gray looked at Henry and said, “I’m sure they don’t know much about the moon.”

Benny said, “We didn’t expect to teach school. We came up here to find a mystery.”

“What? A mystery?” said Miss Gray. “Why?”

“Because my friend Max said we couldn’t,” said Benny. “He said this island was dull, and we couldn’t have any adventure here.”

Miss Gray said nothing. The Aldens had never met anyone before who talked so little and never smiled.

“Maybe we’d better go now,” said Violet softly.

Miss Gray went stiffly over to a desk and took out two keys. “Back door, front door,” she said. “They are marked.” She gave the keys to Henry.

“We won’t lose them,” said Jessie. “We’ll give them back to you when we go home.”

“Give me your names,” said Miss Gray. She picked up a small notebook from the table. Then the Aldens saw that a new book was lying on the table. The name of the book was The Woman Who Talked Too Much, by E. Gray.

They all thought E. Gray is Elizabeth Gray! She wrote that book. But she certainly doesn’t talk much herself! But nobody dared to ask her any questions.

Jessie gave her the names.

“Your grandfather’s name?”

Henry said, “He is James Henry Alden, and I’m Henry James Alden. We live in Greenfield.”

Miss Gray had heard of the Alden Library in one town and the Alden Museum in another. But she did not say so.

Benny said, “Oh, Grandfather’s wonderful! He’s the best man you ever saw. We’ll go and tell him right now that you are letting us use your schoolhouse.”

The others wanted to go, so they were glad Benny had started toward the door. When they stood on the step they all said, “Goodbye! And thank you!”

Miss Gray did not say goodbye. Instead she called suddenly, “Did you ever see a blond-haired man anywhere who smiles and shows his teeth all the time?”

“No, I’m sorry,” began Henry.

“Don’t be sorry,” said Miss Gray sharply and shut the door.

“Well, what do you know!” said Benny, in a very low voice. “What does she mean by that?”

“I don’t know,” said Henry. “But keep your eyes open, Ben. Miss Gray doesn’t ask questions for nothing.”

The Aldens said no more until they were on the beach.

Then Benny said, “I don’t think Miss Gray is really polite, but I suppose that’s her way.”

“We knew she was different,” said Jessie. “That’s why she lives all alone and never goes out. Maybe she doesn’t like people.”

Henry said, “We know she’s a writer. Maybe she has to be alone. In a way I thought she liked the idea of the school, even if she didn’t say so.”

“Anyway, she gave us the schoolhouse,” said Benny. “And that’s why we went up there.”

Then they walked as fast as they could to find Mr. Alden.

“Oh, Grandfather!” cried Benny when he saw a figure sitting in the sun by the hotel. “Please let us go to Northport this afternoon and buy paints and school things. We’re going to teach school!”

“Teach school!” said Grandfather.

The young people tried not to talk all at once.

“We went up to ask Miss Gray—” began Benny.

“Oh, you did? I thought she didn’t like visitors.”

“Well, that’s right, she doesn’t. That’s sure! But she gave us everything we asked for.”

“Bless my soul! What did you ask for? From a perfect stranger!”

Henry looked straight at his grandfather and said, “It turned out very well, Grandfather. You see the red-haired twins asked us if we would help them with schoolwork. Just to catch up, you know. They said every child on the island would come. So that’s why we wanted the schoolhouse.”

“And she gave it to you?” asked Mr. Alden, laughing.

“Well, yes,” said Jessie. “She doesn’t talk much. But she must have liked the idea, really. She gave us the keys.”

“She gave us a rough time, too,” said Benny.

“Hard to talk to?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Very!” said Henry.

Benny said suddenly, “I’d like to forget Miss Gray. She is no fun at all. I’d rather think about our school. I’m going to ring that bell. And I’ll ring it for recess, too.”

Grandfather nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I know how you feel, Benny. I never saw a bell rope myself without wanting to pull it.” But he could see that his grandchildren had not received a very warm welcome from Miss Gray. He decided to talk with Henry later, when they were alone.

Violet said, “Grandfather, we think Marie and Hal Moss can paint. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they really could paint well?”

“Yes, my dear, it is a great thing to discover an artist. This school idea is a surprise to me, but it’s fine. I never know what you will think of next!”

Henry said, “We thought we could go over to Northport and buy some paints and school things.”

Mr. Alden laughed. “Yes,” he said, “you can take the car. And maybe you will take me, too.”

Everyone laughed at this. They always had a better time when Mr. Alden came along.

Thirty miles seemed a long drive because they wanted to get there and buy the things. They went first to a store to buy paints.

“Better get enough to go around,” said Mr. Alden. “Give them a bit of fun. It isn’t much fun with two sharing a paintbox.”

In the end they bought ten boxes of paints. The older children could each have a box. They bought colored paper, small scissors, gold stars for Benny, and a stapler.

Jessie said, “Marie told us that there is plenty of chalk in the schoolroom closet. And there are pencils and paper left from last year, and some school books.”

“Well,” said Grandfather, “if you forget anything, we can come again. Let’s eat supper at this little restaurant. It seems to be called the Sea Shell.”

The Aldens noticed a bright red sports car parked in the yard. The top was down. “That car looks strange up here in such a quiet town,” said Henry.

“It looks as if it goes fast,” said Benny.

As they went into the Sea Shell a man with blond hair came out. He smiled at the Aldens and showed all his teeth. He said, “Hi, there!” although he was a perfect stranger. They watched him as he started the red car. Off he went like the wind.

“I told you that car could go fast,” said Benny. “And wait! That man had blond hair, all right, and he smiled and showed all his teeth. There can’t be two men like him! Just what Miss Gray said.”

CHAPTER 5

The Money Man

When the Aldens drove back to the island they saw Hal and Marie waving to them from the beach. Marie shouted, “Please come over!”

“You go on,” said Grandfather. “You don’t need me.”

The four Aldens ran down to the beach.

Hal said, “Guess who is coming to the island! The Money Man!”

Benny said, “The Money Man? Now who is that?”

Marie said, “Oh, he’s a wonderful man who buys money. Pa had a quarter, and the Money Man gave him ten dollars for it.”

“Whew, that’s a lot of money!” said Benny. “How do you know he is coming again?”

“Somebody saw him in Northport and told Mr. Fenton,” said Hal.

“Does he have blond hair?” asked Benny.

“Yes, he does, and white teeth,” said Hal. “He has a big smile. He smiles at everybody.”

“There you are, Jessie,” said Henry with a nod.

Jessie said, “Yes, Mr. Fenton was right. You couldn’t miss that man.”

Marie said, “My pa says we ought to help you clean up the school. After all, it’s for us. The big boys can help carry water, and there are more children to help if you want them.”

“Good!” said Henry. “Let me see. We do need help, but it’s too late to do anything now. Let’s clean the school tomorrow morning and begin school the next day. That’ll be Thursday.”

“Funny day to begin school,” said Benny. “But what do we care? We bought some paints and things in Northport.”

“Let’s meet at eight o’clock tomorrow morning at the school,” said Jessie. “Eight of us can do a lot of work.”

As it turned out, there were more than eight. Several other children were waiting with Hal and Marie when the Aldens arrived the next morning.

Henry unlocked the front door, and they all went in and looked around.

“The room is dusty,” said Marie.

It was an old-fashioned schoolroom. The desks and seats were fastened to the floor.

“I’d like my children in the front row,” said Benny. “Your big children can sit in the back seats.”

This was really the only way, because the front seats were small and the back seats were large.

Henry set everyone to work. The children took the books off the shelves and washed the shelves. Every book was dusted and set back. The children were delighted with their own work. The biggest boys washed the seats and desks. The teacher’s desk was washed, and a new pink blotter put in the middle.

“Will somebody bring flowers for this desk tomorrow?” asked Jessie.

“Oh, I will!” cried a child named Isabelle. “We have a big vine of pink roses all over our roof.”

There was a wood stove in the back of the room and a woodbox. Hal wiped off the stove. Then he said, “How about the woodbox? It looks all right to me.”

Henry agreed. “Just brush off the top. We certainly won’t have a fire. Leave the wood for winter.”

A little later Benny was standing still, looking at a big picture on the wall. It hung in the front of the room where the big chimney was. He said, “Look at this picture of George Washington. White wig and hair ribbon and all! What can we do about that? It looks dark and dirty.”

The painting showed the first President in his old-fashioned costume, standing beside a table.

“You can’t clean that, Benny,” said Violet. “It would spoil it to wash it. And it’s too high, anyway.”

“Just let it alone, huh?” said Benny. “I’m glad we don’t have to wear fancy clothes like that with all those buttons down the coat.”

“So am I,” said Jimmy. “I’ve got to go home now, Mr. Benny.”

“Don’t call me Mr. Benny. I’m not really a teacher. Why do you have to go home?”

“I’ve got to find some old bottles out in the fish house,” said Jimmy. “The Money Man wants ’em. I’ve got to have them all ready.”

“Yes,” agreed his sister. “He even wants an old olive bottle! I’ve found that already. It says Queen Olives, 1875, on it. Ma says her ma must have bought it. Isn’t he a funny man? To want an old dusty bottle almost a hundred years old?” Then she added quickly, “But he’s wonderful just the same.”

All the children were listening now. They nodded their heads. An older boy named Jeffrey Frost said, “My pa and ma have been waiting for the Money Man to come. He told them to find all the funny old things they could. He likes ’em! Ma found an old glass pitcher and a whale’s tooth with pictures on it.”

Henry said, “Jeffrey, do you know where that whale’s tooth came from?”

“Oh, yes, my great uncle made the pictures when he sailed on an old whaling ship. That tooth is so heavy you wouldn’t believe it!”

Jessie said, “Well, we’ve finished our work here, anyway. We’ll all go home now and start school tomorrow.”

“What time does school begin?” asked Jeffrey.

“Nine o’clock,” said Henry. “You’ll hear the bell.”

“I’m going to ring the bell,” added Benny.

“That’s lots of fun,” said Jimmy.

“Maybe you can be the bell ringer later,” said Benny. “Tell all the other children, won’t you?”

“Tell them?” said Marie, laughing. “Most of the children are here now. The rest will know just as soon as we get home.”

“No school in the afternoon?” asked Jeffrey.

“No, I’m sorry,” said Henry. “You ought to help at home.”

“I suppose so,” said Marie. Then her face lighted up and she said, “I’m going to clean up my room just like this schoolroom. My sister will help me. She sleeps there, too.”

The schoolroom was indeed clean. Henry locked the door, and the children ran off in all directions.

The Aldens found Grandfather waiting for lunch.

When they were sitting down at the table, Henry said, “We are worried, Grandfather, about the Money Man. I’m afraid he is cheating everyone on the island.”

“I’m sure he is,” said Jessie. “You see, he paid ten dollars for an old quarter. That made them all trust him. But who knows? That quarter may be worth a hundred dollars.”

“Or a thousand!” said Benny. “You see, Grandfather, there really is a mystery here. I don’t think the Money Man is as wonderful as he seems.”

Grandfather smiled. “Well, Benny,” he said, “I’m sure you will keep your eyes open. If this man goes too far, we’ll try to stop him. But I agree with you. He isn’t wonderful at all!”

CHAPTER 6

Mystery Painting

It was a wonderful moment when Benny rang the school bell. Dingdong! Dingdong! Everyone on the island heard it and smiled. Benny did not really need to ring the bell at all—because every child was already in the school yard.

The girls and boys rushed in. They could hardly wait to see what was going to happen. They had no idea what their four young teachers would do.

“Here’s my seat,” cried Isabelle. “I sat here last year. And here are the pink roses.”

All of Benny’s class rushed up to the small front seats. The big boys and girls sat down in the back seats. And the middle-sized ones sat in the middle. There were twenty children when Benny counted them.

Henry began to talk. The children were suddenly very quiet. He said, “Today we will have four classes. First you tell us what grade you were in last year. Now, who was in Isabelle’s class? You stand up, and Benny will see how many there are.”

“Don’t we call him Mr. Benny?” asked Isabelle.

“No,” said Benny, “just call me Benny. And don’t ever call me Teacher.”

“I always call my teachers Teacher,” said Isabelle.

Benny laughed. “I guess you are going to be my talker. There’s always a talker in every class.”

Soon Jessie said, “We will have a spelling match today and a singing school and a new game at recess.”

“Ah!” whispered the children. They were all smiles. School had never been like this.

There were five children in Benny’s class and five in Violet’s, six in Jessie’s, and four in Henry’s. Henry said, “Sometimes we will change teachers. Now we will write down your names and get started.”

Benny sat down with his class and took all their names. Then he said, “Isabelle, you let somebody else tell me what book you can read.”

Tommy Spoon said, “We can’t read any book. The teacher took the books with her.”

Benny was all ready for this. He had not found any easy books on the shelf.

“I’ll write on the board,” he said. He printed in big letters, “I have a dog.”

“I have a dog,” said Tommy Spoon. “That’s what it says.”

“Right!” said Benny. “You read it, Eddie.” Eddie was the smallest child.

“No,” said Eddie, shaking his head, “no dog.”

“You mean you haven’t any dog?” asked Benny. “Well, can’t you read it, even if you haven’t any dog?”

“No,” said Eddie crossly. “No dog!”

“Well,” said Benny, laughing, “have you a cat?”

Yes, Eddie had a cat. So Benny printed, “I have a cat.” Eddie read it very well. “I know cat is the last word. My cat’s name is Fish.”

“Fish!” said Benny. “Why?”

“Because he always comes when we call ‘Fish, Fish.’”

Benny printed the whole story. They all read it together.

I have a cat.

His name is Fish.

I call, “Fish, Fish.”

Fish comes.

“Oh, I like to read about myself!” said Eddie.

Then Benny saw that he would have to make his own reading books. While the children were busy making figure 2’s, Benny printed the story about Eddie’s cat five times on paper. Every child could read it. Benny said they could take the story home.

“Write about me next time,” begged Isabelle. “I’ve got a boat.”

“So have I,” said every child.

“We’ll all read about Isabelle’s boat tomorrow,” said Benny.

The older children had books. They even had spelling books. After reading and a spelling match, Henry said, “Now we will have an art lesson all together. Let’s study that painting of George Washington.”

As Henry pointed out the different things in the picture, Benny was interested.

Henry went on, “You may think it is strange that a strong man would wear ruffles. But every well-dressed gentleman wore short knee pants and long white stockings and shoes with buckles. And now look at the hair. What color is it?”

“White!” shouted every child.

“Yes, it is white. But it is a wig. This is a very good painting, you see. That wig looks exactly like hair.”

Jessie said, “Now notice the eyes. George Washington seems to be looking right at you. It takes a fine artist to do that.”

Everyone looked at the eyes. All but Benny. He happened to look at the coat buttons. There was a long row of buttons down the right side of Washington’s velvet coat.

Benny thought, “One of those buttons looks awfully strange to me. It looks like a round hole instead of a button.”

He couldn’t very well tell Henry, so he wisely said nothing. After the art lesson, Henry said, “Now ring the bell for recess, Ben.”

“Recess!” said Jimmy. “It can’t be time for recess.”

But it was. Time had gone fast for all the children.

“Come outdoors, and we’ll teach you a new game,” said Jessie.

The children made a circle and had already played the game once when they heard a car. They all looked, and a bright red sports car came bumping over the rocky road to the island. It was low tide. The game stopped.

The children called out, “Oh, oh! Look, there’s the Money Man!”

A man put his head out of the car window and waved and smiled. He called “Hello! Hello, kids!” But he did not stop.

When he had gone, Benny said, “Tell me about this Money Man, Isabelle.”

“Oh, he gives us things. He came down here last year. You ought to see the big doll he gave me!”

“Why did he give you a doll?” asked Henry.

“He traded it for my old one,” said Isabelle. “I had a teeny little wooden doll only this long.” She showed with her small hands. “My grandfather made it with his knife. And the man said if I’d trade, he’d give me a beautiful doll with a pink silk dress. And he did.”

“Money Man isn’t his name,” said Hal. “We just call him that. His name is Mr. Fred Willet.”

Marie showed Jessie a chain of bright red beads she had around her neck. “The man gave me this, too,” she said.

“And what did you trade it for?” asked Violet.

“Oh, you’d laugh! It was a string of old buttons. Ma said I could string the buttons and wear them for a necklace. They were old things anyway. Ma said most of them were on her grandmother’s dresses. You can see they were old.”

Henry looked at Jessie. Then he said, “Why do you think he is here again? To trade?”

“Oh, I hope so,” said Eddie. “I’ve got an old iron bank. You put in a penny and a little man comes out and goes back in. The Money Man said I could have a real watch for it or a new cap. I couldn’t decide then. But I know now. I want the watch.”

Then the game went on. Benny knew that something was wrong. He saw Henry whisper to Jessie, “I wish we could get word to Grandfather that the Money Man has arrived.”

Violet heard this, too. She whispered to Henry, “Don’t worry. Grandfather’s eyes are wide open. And he doesn’t miss much.”

Then it was time to go in for the singing school.

Jessie taught the children a new song. It was a round with three parts.

Right after the song, the sardine factory whistle blew. Everybody except the Aldens ran.

Benny went up to look at the picture of George Washington again. He said softly to Henry, “Don’t go yet. Wait till the children are out of sight.”

When the last one had shouted goodbye, Benny took his family up to the front of the room to look at Washington. “Look at button number five,” he said. “There’s a hole in the picture. The fifth button is a hole.”

“Why, so it is!” cried Jessie. “I wonder why.”

“I wonder what is behind it,” said Violet.

“The back hall,” said Henry.

They all went into the tiny back hall. The back door was there with a window beside it. The huge chimney made one wall of the room. There was a big pile of wood.

“We haven’t time to look around any more,” said Jessie. “I’m worried about that Mr. Willet. He’s here now. I wish Grandfather could stop him before he cheats any more people.”

Jessie did not need to worry so much. The Money Man had gone from the schoolhouse straight to Mr. Fenton’s store. When he went in, there was Grandfather leaning on the counter, drinking a cup of coffee.

CHAPTER 7

Grandfather Makes a Call

The Money Man was not at all shy when he saw Mr. Alden. He said brightly, “I’m Freddy Willet, at your service. Introduce me, Fenton, to your friend. I’m a coin dealer. A few antiques, too. Call me Freddy.”

Mr. Alden nodded and said, “How do you do, Mr. Willet. So you’re a coin dealer?”

“Yes, sir! And let me tell you, the people on this island save everything. Never throw anything away. It’s a great place.”

“Really?” said Mr. Alden. “Will these people sell you their things?”

“Sure. They have a lot of old money tucked away. It came from their great-grandfathers, I guess. They trust me because I gave one of them ten dollars for an old quarter. Who wouldn’t take ten dollars for a quarter?”

Mr. Alden wanted to say “I wouldn’t,” but he said nothing. He went on drinking coffee.

Mr. Willet looked at Mr. Alden’s watch chain. He said, “Do you mind if I look? That big old penny on your chain—do you know what that’s worth?”

“Well,” said Grandfather, “not much, I guess.”

“You’re dead right,” said Mr. Willet. “It’s got that hole in it, so it isn’t worth anything at all. But if some idiot hadn’t made that hole it would be worth two hundred and fifty dollars. Yes, sir, no fooling! It’s very rare.”

Mr. Alden said, “Yes, I know. That’s why I wear it. I was the idiot who made that hole.”

“Sorry!” said Mr. Willet with a wink. “Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. By the way, have you any coins on you? I just take a quick look and I know.”

Mr. Alden emptied his pockets on the counter. Mr. Willet quickly turned each piece of money over to see the date.

“No.” He shook his head. “Nothing there.”

“How about this?” Mr. Alden took an old dime from his vest pocket.

Freddy took one look and said, “Ah!” Then he took a magnifying glass from his pocket and held it over the dime.

At last he looked up and said slowly, “Mr. A., you have a rare dime here. I’ll be glad to buy it for a hundred dollars. And cash.”

Mr. Alden shook his head again. “No, I ought to have told you it is not for sale. I just wanted to know how much it was worth.”

“Well, now you know,” said Freddy. “Sure you don’t want to sell it?”

“Sure,” said Mr. Alden.

This did not stop Mr. Willet. He went on, “I sell coins to fine places. To colleges and museums. Other things, too. I know people who would be delighted to get that dime.”

But Mr. Alden still said no. He looked at his watch.

Mr. Willet went closer to Mr. Alden. He said in a low voice, “Listen, Mr. A., you seem to be a nice sort of chap. That watch of yours is very old. I collect things like that. I’ll give you a beautiful modern watch for that watch. I bet it doesn’t keep very good time.”

“It keeps excellent time,” said Mr. Alden. “I don’t want to sell it or trade it.”

“Well,” said Mr. Willet brightly, “maybe you’ll change your mind. I’ll be around.” He winked and went out of the store.

Grandfather watched Freddy from the door. “Now I do hope he won’t go up and try to buy anything from Miss Elizabeth Gray,” he said.

“Oh, he won’t!” said Mr. Fenton. “He’ll never get in there. The maid Eva sees to that. She doesn’t let anyone in.”

“I see,” said Grandfather. “By the way, what is the matter with Miss Gray? Why does she keep herself shut up in that house?”

“I don’t really know,” said Mr. Fenton. “She’s always been that way. She is almost a hermit. All I know is that she hardly ever comes out of her house.”

“She must care about the children of the island if she lets them use the schoolhouse this summer.”

“Yes, I suppose so,” said Mr. Fenton. “Here’s another thing. Have you seen that little white building on one side of my store? Well, that’s the Gray Library. Miss Gray’s grandfather was a book collector. Miss Gray built that library and gave a lot of her grandfather’s books to the island people. But nobody ever goes there.”

“Why not?”

“Well, the books aren’t interesting,” said Mr. Fenton. “They are all old fashioned and in fine print. Nobody can read ’em.”

“How do you get in?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Walk in!” said Mr. Fenton, laughing. “It’s never locked. A young girl used to stay there on Saturdays, but she just sat there. Nobody came. So she doesn’t come any more, and the library’s always empty.”

Mr. Alden was thinking it very strange that the island people didn’t know who Miss Gray was. They did not know that she was a famous author. Long before the Aldens had come to the island, Grandfather had read all her books. He knew that she was well known for her help to many schools all over the country.

“That’s too bad,” said Mr. Alden. “Probably they are all good books.” But then he changed the subject, asking, “What do you think of Freddy?”

“I don’t like him,” said Mr. Fenton at once. “He may be a coin dealer, but he’s something else, too. I don’t trust him.”

“I wonder why these island people trust him?” said Mr. Alden.

“Oh, that’s easy. That ten dollar bill he gave to Moss for an old quarter, that did it! Nobody had ever heard of such a thing. I tried to tell them, but they wouldn’t listen.”

Grandfather said, “I think I’ll go up to Miss Gray’s and see if I get in.”

“You will,” said Mr. Fenton. “Eva will know you should be let in.”

Mr. Alden nodded. “But first I think I had better call up a friend of mine. Could I use your telephone?”

There was a telephone on the wall near the door.

“Go right ahead,” Mr. Fenton said. “I have to step out just now.”

Mr. Alden’s call was short, but he seemed pleased. He walked up to the mansion. He took off his hat and rang the bell. Eva knew who he was the minute she saw him through the curtain.

She opened the door and said, “You are Mr. Alden. Miss Gray will see you.”

Mr. Alden followed Eva into the parlor. “It’s Mr. Alden,” said Eva.

Miss Gray was sitting at her desk with her back to the door. She turned around and said, “Sit down, please.”

Grandfather drew a chair nearer to Miss Gray and said, “You have been very kind to my grandchildren. I want to thank you. I can’t stay long because they will miss me and wonder where I am. But before I go, I want to tell you that a queer-acting coin dealer is loose on this island.”

Miss Gray rapped on her desk with a pencil. Then she said sharply, “Freddy Willet!”

“I see you know his name. I just wanted you to know what was going on. I think he plans to cheat these island people this time. Then they’ll never see him again.”

There was a pause, then Miss Gray said, “Thank you very much.”

CHAPTER 8

Caught by the Tide

When Mr. Alden met his grandchildren at noon they were all bursting with news. Mr. Alden certainly had news, too, but he did not tell it then. Nobody thought of lunch. They were too busy talking.

Henry was the one to tell his grandfather about the toy bank and the old wooden doll and the string of buttons. He said, “This man is cheating the people in two ways. First he doesn’t pay enough for the old coins, and then he trades their treasures for cheap things. The new things are bright colored, so the children are delighted. They haven’t any idea that old buttons are worth anything.”

Benny added, “Of course my little Isabelle thinks her new doll is lots better than an old wooden doll. It really is prettier.”

Grandfather nodded and said, “This Mr. Willet is certainly not honest. I’m sure of that. Those old iron banks are worth much more than a knife.”

Henry said, “Freddy is clever. So far he hasn’t done a thing that is against the law. The people here think he pays enough. They are delighted to trade.”

“So he hasn’t really stolen a thing,” finished Benny.

“Exactly right! You just wait,” said Jessie. “He will go from one house to another. But even if he should steal things, what can we do, Grandfather?”

Mr. Alden said, “You children can’t arrest him, certainly.” They all laughed at the idea.

Then they began to tell Mr. Alden about school. He watched Jessie and Violet. They looked tired to him. He said, “Let’s have another quick lunch today. Then we can eat an early supper at the Sea Shell. You girls look tired.”

“Oh, no, we’re not tired!” Jessie said. “We are just thinking hard.”

But both girls were willing to set out the peanut butter and jelly for sandwiches and have doughnuts and milk for dessert. Then the four teachers began to study their lessons for the next day.

“It’s a funny feeling,” said Mr. Alden, “to see you all sitting around doing schoolwork in vacation.”

“This doesn’t seem like work,” said Violet. “It’s just something very interesting mixed up with a thief and a poor rich lady living all alone.”

“And lots of cute children,” said Benny. “Anyway, I can tell Max that something happened on his old island—but I’m not quite sure what it is yet.”

The Aldens sat out in the yard by their hotel with their work. From there they could see the store and the beach and the houses. They could see everything in the village except the mansion. But nobody saw Freddy Willet. The afternoon passed quickly.

Then about five o’clock they saw the red car go bumping over the rocky road to Northport.

Mr. Alden got up and took his hat. “I have an idea,” he said. “Let’s go right now to the Sea Shell and have supper.”

“Right!” said Henry. He went at once to get the car. They all thought that Grandfather was following Freddy, but they did not say so.

When Henry drove into the parking place of the Sea Shell, there was the red sports car!

“I wonder why the Money Man comes over here to eat,” said Benny.

“He has to,” said Henry. “There’s no place to eat on the island.”

Sure enough, there was the Money Man sitting at a table with two other people, a man and a woman. He said to the Aldens “Hello, there,” and went right on talking to his guests.

Suddenly Henry whispered to Benny, “Change seats with me, Ben, will you?” Benny got up at once without asking why. He knew that Henry would tell him later. Now Henry sat with his back to the other table. Grandfather himself wondered why.

When their waitress had left them, Henry said in a low voice, “I know those people with Mr. Willet. The man is Dr. James English. He runs the museum at Adams College, and the woman is Miss Cox, the librarian. I hope they won’t see me.”

“I bet Freddy is trying to sell them something,” whispered Benny.

Grandfather said, “That’s just what he’s doing. I’m sure of it.”

“How do you know?” whispered Benny.

“I’ve met him,” said Grandfather. “I met him this morning in the store. He tried to buy my watch and the big penny on my watch chain.”

“Oh, you’d never sell those! Mr. Willet picked the wrong man that time,” Benny said. “Nobody could cheat you, Grandfather.”

Mr. Alden laughed quietly. He was watching Mr. Willet out of the corner of his eye. But he didn’t see him give anything to the strangers. Suddenly he said, “Let’s get out of here before Freddy gets through with his dinner. We don’t want his friends to see Henry.”

This was easy. Mr. Willet and his friends had just started on their dinner, and they were eating very slowly. The Aldens just went without dessert. When they left the table, they all stood behind Henry to cover him up. Henry went out at once to the car on the other side of the parking lot, and Mr. Alden waited to pay the bill.

Freddy Willet looked up and saw Mr. Alden.

The Aldens sat in the car for a few minutes. “What do you think Freddy is going to do, Grandfather?” asked Benny.

“That’s what I wanted to find out. He saw me, but he didn’t speak,” said Mr. Alden. “I think he’s making a deal with Adams College. I hope he won’t fool the librarian.”

Henry said, “She’s pretty smart, and she would know what coins are worth.”

He started the car and turned into the road.

The drive of thirty miles seemed longer than ever. As they came near the island, Violet was looking ahead. “Oh, look, Henry! The tide!”

“Oh, dear,” said Jessie. “The tide has turned! Why didn’t we think of that? It’s getting dark, too.”

Henry stopped the car and they all looked ahead. There was no road to the island. It was covered with seawater, which was getting deeper every minute.

“I don’t dare try it, Grandfather,” said Henry, frowning.

“Right, my boy! If we got stuck half way over, it would be no fun, I can tell you.”

Henry said, “I thought it seemed awfully wet when we came over. But I knew you must be following Freddy, and I don’t think he gets caught like this very often.”

“By the way,” cried Benny, “I wonder what Freddy will do? He’ll be caught, too. It will be six hours before it’s low tide again.”

“It will be nearer twelve hours, Ben,” said Henry. “You see the tide hasn’t been coming in long.”

“Let’s see,” said Jessie. “It is about eight o’clock now. The tide will be high at midnight, and low again at six o’clock in the morning!”

“We’re not in any danger, though, are we, Grandfather?” said Violet.

“No, my dear. We will just have to find a place to sleep.”

“Oh, boy!” shouted Benny. “We could sleep in the car! That’s what this station wagon is made for. We could do it, Grandfather!”

“Five people?” asked Grandfather, smiling.

Benny said, “I could take the car blanket and sleep on the top of the car. Oh, please!”

Grandfather laughed. He said, “I don’t think we would get much sleep. But I suppose you young people don’t mind that.”

“I don’t,” said Jessie. “I’d like to wait and see what Freddy will do.”

“Very well,” said Grandfather. “Find a place off the road, Henry, and we’ll try it.”

CHAPTER 9

The Disappearing Stranger

Henry backed the car into the woods a little way. Nobody could see it from the road. The Aldens all got out and took out every car rug that they could find for bedclothes. It was so warm that they didn’t really need any covers.

Henry and Benny let down the seats that made beds for four people. By nine o’clock all was ready. Benny climbed up on top of the car.

“I won’t fall down,” he called. “There’s a railing all around the edge. I’m going to put this blanket under me instead of over me.” He folded the car blanket and lay down. “A very soft bed,” he said.

“I should think Freddy would be along soon—if he’s coming,” said Jessie. “I wonder what he will do.”

In about an hour they heard a car coming. It did not make much noise, but everyone was awake. Benny sat up and looked through the trees. “Yes, it’s a car,” he whispered.

But the car stopped. Everyone was watching it now. Mr. Freddy must have seen that the tide was in, because he quietly turned his car around and went back.

“Now what?” Benny whispered down. “I don’t think he is going to give up like that. He would just love to be on the island when we are away. He knows we are watching him, I bet.”

They all lay down again. But nobody went to sleep. It was not too long before they heard another very soft sound. It sounded like water, and it was ahead of them. They all looked hard through the darkness.

“He’s got a boat!” whispered Henry. They all watched. Then they all saw it. It was a rowboat with Mr. Willet’s head showing against the dark sky.

“Come down now, Benny,” whispered Grandfather. “We’ll get a boat, too!”

“Oh, can we really?” whispered Benny. “Where can we get a boat?”

“Where Mr. Willet got his, I think,” said Grandfather.

They all sat up in the car, and Henry drove back over the road very carefully.

“There’s a light!” said Violet. “It’s in a fisherman’s hut.”

Henry stopped the car in front of the house.

“Somebody is awake,” said Jessie. “And do I see the end of that red car sticking out behind the house?”

“You do,” said Mr. Alden. “I do, anyway. I think this is the place where Freddy got his boat. You do the talking, Henry.”

Henry went to the door and knocked. At once a fisherman came to the door. He wore an old coat.

“I’m sorry to come so late,” began Henry, “but we need a boat. It’s high tide, and we’re stuck.”

“Yep, I know that,” said the man. “Seems as if everybody is stuck tonight on the wrong side.”

“Can we rent a boat from you?” asked Henry.

“Sure! I’ve got three. I just rented two.”

“Two!” said Henry in surprise.

“Yep, two. One man came, and then another man came. You can have the last one.”

“Where is it?” asked Henry.

“It’s tied down near the road, when there is a road. You’ll see it on the bank on the left, tied to a post. Can’t miss it.”

“How much will it be?” asked Henry. He couldn’t help wondering about two men. He had been thinking only of Freddy Willet.

“A dollar,” said the man. “Be sure and tie her up on the island side. My boys can row ’em back tomorrow. It ain’t far.”

Henry quickly gave the man a dollar and thanked him. Then he went back to the family. He said, “Do you suppose five of us can get into one boat?”

“We’ll see,” said Grandfather. “I think so.”

Benny had heard about the two men. He could hardly wait to speak. “Who do you suppose that other man was? A mystery, for sure.”

Mr. Alden was thinking, too. “I wonder,” he said.

Henry drove back to the water. Sure enough, a boat was tied up on the bank.

“Good! It’s a big one,” said Grandfather. “I wonder why we didn’t see it. Back the car off the road again, Henry. I guess this night’s sleep is over.”

Everybody got out of the car and went carefully down to the boat. When Henry came, they all pushed the boat into the water. Henry helped Violet and Jessie into the front of the boat, and Benny stepped into the other end. When Grandfather was sitting down on the middle seat, Henry pushed off. He and his grandfather began to row.

“We’ll tie up just below the schoolhouse,” said Henry. “I suppose we will see the other two boats there.”

It was not very far to the island, but it was dark, and the tide was very high. They could see a little through the darkness. But there were no boats to be seen!

“What do you know!” said Benny. “Where would Freddy go? Do you think he has a partner, Grandfather?”

“Well,” said Mr. Alden, “I don’t know. If the man is a partner of Willet’s, why would he come by himself?”

“That’s so,” Jessie said.

Benny added, “But I’m almost sure the first man must have crossed over to the island before we came. We were watching and listening all the time.”

Henry ran the boat up on the beach. He tied it to a tree.

Suddenly Violet looked around and asked, “Where do you suppose Freddy has gone?” She shivered a little.

“Not to the hotel,” Jessie said. “And I don’t think he would stay with any of the island people.”

“I wonder,” said Henry. “I just wonder—”

“I know,” said Benny. “The schoolhouse!”

Benny would have run to peek in the windows, but Grandfather said, “How do you know that Freddy isn’t going back to the other side after getting something? The best thing we can do now is to get some sleep.”

“And there’s school tomorrow,” said Violet.

CHAPTER 10

A Discovery

At breakfast they talked about the two boats and the two men.

“It’s time to ring the bell,” said Benny. “I have to go.”

But Benny really had something else in mind. He wanted to look around the schoolhouse. He wanted to see where the hole went in George Washington’s coat button.

Benny unlocked the schoolroom door and went at once into the back hall. The wood for the winter was there, piled high. There was the back door, a window, and the big chimney. He rattled the window. It was unlocked. The lock was very old and looked as if it hadn’t been locked for a long time. Benny tried it. The lock was broken. It certainly had been broken for years.

Benny looked at the floor under the window and saw some flakes of dry white paint just exactly like the dry paint on the windowsill.

“I bet someone came through this window last night,” he thought. “But why? I like to do things by myself, but this time I wish I could tell John Carter who works for Grandfather. After all, he used to be an F.B.I. man.”

Benny looked around again. Only the big chimney was left, and the broom closet next to it. He opened the small door. Just a broom closet. There was a broom in it.

At recess Benny got word to his family to wait after the children had gone home at noon. When they were alone in the school yard, Jessie said, “Well, Benny, what’s all this?”

“The back hall,” said Benny. “Come and see.”

The four Aldens all went into the tiny back hall.

“See that old dry paint on the floor?” said Benny.

“Yes, old man,” said Henry. He bent over to look. “You are clever! This hasn’t been here long. Somebody must have come in through the window. Maybe this is where Freddy slept last night.”

“This broom closet is just a broom closet,” said Benny. He opened the door beside the huge chimney. “See, there’s a broom in it.”

“Wait!” said Henry. “See those wood planks this closet is made of? If we could only pry them off—”

Henry opened his knife and pried away at one board. It was loose and came off easily. And there was a little brick room in the chimney!

“I thought this chimney was awfully big,” said Henry. “And it has a queer shape. This is the reason, of course. Somebody wanted to make a place to hide in.”

“Who?” asked Benny.

“Well, I don’t know. It was made that way when the schoolhouse was built, and that was a long time ago. I do know that a lot of New England people built their houses with a hiding place in the chimney. I’m sure this is one of them. A perfect place!”

“It is a perfect place for us, too,” said Benny, “if we want to watch what is going on in the schoolroom.”

“What’s the idea, Benny?” asked Violet. “Why would we ever want to watch the children?”

“Not the children, Violet!” said Benny. “Not in the daytime, either. At night! We can watch Freddy Willet if he ever comes in here, and I think he does.”

“I think so, too, Ben,” said Henry. “He must have some place to hide his things.”

They put the planks back, locked the front door, and went home to lunch. They told Mr. Alden all about the room in the chimney. After lunch, Grandfather said, “I know something you don’t know!”

The children laughed. “What is it?” asked Violet.

Then Mr. Alden told them about the Gray Library and the old books. When Benny heard it, he pushed back his bench. “That’s where I’m going,” he said. “Maybe I can find some pictures for my class.”

“I don’t think you will, Benny,” said Mr. Alden. “Mr. Fenton said the books were all old.”

“Well, maybe there’s an old picture of George Washington,” said Benny. “Anyway I want to see the library.”

Benny took a notebook, and off he went. Sure enough, the door of the library was not locked. Benny gave it a push and went right in. He found himself in a room just the size of the building. There were bookcases all around the room and one tall one down the middle.

“Well, here goes!” said Benny out loud. He began to whistle. He went to the first bookcase. He looked at the dusty books on the top shelves. Then he dropped to his knees to look at the books near the floor. All at once he had a queer feeling that someone was in the room. He listened, but he didn’t hear a sound.

“This is nonsense,” he thought. “Mr. Fenton says nobody ever comes here.”

Then he heard a very, very soft noise. “What is that?” he thought. “Somebody is certainly in here!” But he did not get up or turn around. He listened. Then he heard the noise again. It was behind the middle bookcase. Benny knew that he couldn’t see over it if he did turn around. Then there was a soft thud and then another. Benny rushed around the bookcase just in time to see the fingers of a hand disappear from the sill of the open window.

“Well, well, Mr. Willet!” said Benny out loud. He rushed to the window and looked out. Nobody was in sight.

“Freddy is hiding, that’s sure,” said Benny to himself. “He hasn’t had time to get anywhere. But I know what I’m going to do.” He ran up the cliff walk to the mansion!

Benny smiled as he rang the bell because he saw Eva peeking at him. In a minute Miss Gray herself opened the door.

“Sorry, Miss Gray,” said Benny, very fast, “I think someone just stole some books out of the library. I thought I ought to tell you first. Maybe those books are valuable.”

Eva’s eyes grew big and round as Miss Gray said, “Thank you, Benny. I’ll look myself. Nobody else knows the books. You come, too, Eva.”

The three people went quickly down the cliff. Miss Gray went into the library and straight over to the last rows of books. There was the empty space exactly where she thought it would be. She knew which were the most valuable books, and so did Mr. Willet.

“There are four books gone here,” she said. “They were a set. I never had an idea they would be stolen. And over here! Yes, some more are missing. Mr. Willet must have been here before.”

She went around the room and found empty spaces everywhere. “Oh, dear!” said Miss Gray. “He has taken the very best books! He can sell them for a lot of money.”

“But look here, Miss Gray,” said Benny. “See this sign? It says you can borrow anything you want and sign your name. And here is Freddy Willet’s name!”

“I don’t think he will bring them back,” said Miss Gray. “How foolish I was not to lock the door!”

“I don’t think so,” said Benny. “Freddy would have climbed in the window. Windows and doors don’t stop our Freddy. That’s why I think he is a thief. Don’t worry too much, Miss Gray. My grandfather has Freddy on his mind. And my grandfather doesn’t slip up very often.”

CHAPTER 11

Who Is the Englishman?

Benny went slowly back to the hotel. He looked on every side as he walked, but Mr. Willet had disappeared.

Benny did some hard thinking on that walk. He had been sure that Freddy Willet was going to do more trading. But as far as Benny could tell, the Aldens and Miss Gray were the only people who knew Freddy was on the island today. After all, he hadn’t come in his red sports car. He had come secretly in the middle of the night. Why?

One idea came to Benny. Freddy had planned to get the library books on this day while the Aldens were still busy with their school. It was just bad luck for Freddy that Benny had gone to the library to hunt for pictures.

When he reached home, Benny told the family about his adventures. Henry said, “Ben, you certainly have made a friend of Miss Gray. I thought you could. Why, you have even made her come out of her house.”

Jessie said, “We’ve been here in the yard, but we haven’t seen Mr. Willet or anyone new.”

Mr. Alden said, “It’s a mystery how two men can keep themselves out of sight. This is such a small place.”

Nothing else happened that day. Everything seemed peaceful—too peaceful, the Aldens thought.

The next day was Saturday. The first thing the Aldens saw in the morning was children fishing. The island children sat on the edge of the wharf with long fishlines. They did not need poles.

Grandfather said, “Let’s go fishing!”

“Fine,” said Jessie. “We can watch the whole island from the wharf.”

In a short time the whole family was sitting on the edge of the wharf with the children. Mr. Alden gave Hal a dollar for five fishlines. Eddie said, “I’ll show you how to fish, Mr. Alden. You let the line way down. Then pull it up just a little and let it down again. Keep the hook wiggling.”

The Aldens did as Eddie said. The island children were catching fish after fish. But the Aldens caught nothing. Suddenly Mr. Alden had a bite.

“Pull her in, mister!” cried Eddie. “Don’t rush it. Hand over hand! But keep it even-like.”

Mr. Alden pulled as well as he could through thirty feet of water, and landed a beautiful big fish on the wharf.

Benny said, “Aren’t you going to fish any more, Grandfather?”

“No. I’m afraid I’ll catch another.”

“Well, I’m not,” said Benny. “I wish I could catch one. I would eat that whole fish myself.”

Everyone was quiet. The island children went on pulling in the fish. But the Aldens still caught nothing.

All at once Grandfather said slowly, “I believe I see our strange man at last!” Something in Grandfather’s voice made the Aldens look up quickly at the cliff walk. The island children paid no attention.

“Who in the world is that?” said Jessie. “He is dressed like an Englishman.”

The stranger wore a cap that shaded his eyes. He had on dark blue shorts and a soft shirt with a scarf tucked in at the neck. His socks were red and blue and came up to his knees. He carried a walking stick.

“Maybe he’s a friend of Miss Gray’s,” said Henry. “He is coming from that way.”

Then Violet said in a very low voice, “Grandfather! Do look at him! It’s Mr. Carter!”

“It is,” said Henry softly. “Look at his walk! It’s John Carter’s walk. Now why is he here?”

Mr. Alden said, “I telephoned him about Willet, but I didn’t send for him. Maybe he began to look up Willet’s business and thinks we need help.”

Henry whispered, “He’s coming this way. Act as if you don’t know him.”

The man in shorts came down to the wharf. Benny wanted to smile, but he stopped in time.

“Hello, everybody! Fishing?” said the man, as if he had never seen the Aldens before.

“Well, sir, these children are fishing,” said Mr. Alden. “But we have caught only one.”

“I say, that’s a big one!” It was exactly as if an Englishman were speaking. Not one of the island children turned around. But they heard every word.

“You’re a stranger here, sir,” said Grandfather. “Are you staying long?”

“A week or so, don’t you know? My name is Wilder-Smith. Guest of Miss Gray’s. My mother went to college with Miss Gray. Great old friends.”

“We are the Aldens,” said Grandfather. “Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny.”

Mr. Wilder-Smith bowed. He knew that the island children were listening. He went on, “There’s another stranger here, Mr. Willet. Today he is going to visit the good people and look over some dusty old things. He likes old things. Bit odd, don’t you know?”

Isabelle spoke up loudly. “He isn’t odd. He’s wonderful!”

“There, now,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith, “you see! He’s wonderful. I may go with Mr. Willet on his calls.”

“Go with him?” asked Benny, surprised.

“The man invited me. Of course I don’t know anything about old things. By the way, did you know there is no post office on this island?”

“Yes, the mail has to come from Northport,” said Henry.

Mr. Wilder-Smith shook his head. “I’ll have to find some other way. I have to get my letters by fast post.”

“Maybe we can think of a way to help you,” said Benny. “We’ve got a car.”

“Right,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith. “I have important letters. Maybe you can help. But I must toddle along. Cheerio! Top-hole to meet you.”

Mr. Wilder-Smith walked back along the wharf. Not a child spoke. They went right on fishing.

“Let’s go!” said Henry. “Thanks, Eddie, for the fishing lessons.”

“OK,” said Eddie.

When the Aldens reached the sand, Jessie said, “Why do you suppose Freddy ever asked Mr. Carter to come with him?”

“Because he’s a smart man,” said Grandfather. “Freddy wants us to think he is honest. But he’ll find that John Carter is smarter than he is.”

Nobody on the wharf could hear what the Aldens said now. Benny said in a low voice, “Mr. Carter wanted to find some way to send us messages, didn’t he—talking about the post office?”

“That’s what I thought,” said Jessie.

“I know a way,” said Benny. “You know that old log on the beach that Grandfather sits on? There’s a deep hole in one end. We can put a small piece of paper in the hole any time. And so can he.”

“Good!” said Jessie. “Let’s send him our message right away. The people know that we often sit on that log. They won’t notice.”

Henry wrote it. He made it as short as he could. “Light in schoolhouse at night. Back window has no lock. Broom closet goes into secret room in chimney. Look out of Washington’s coat button.”

“Now how shall we put it in the log?” asked Violet.

“I know!” said Jessie. “We’ll make some sandwiches and have a picnic on the beach. While we are eating we can hide the paper.”

The girls quickly made some cheese sandwiches. They packed the basket with many other things. Mr. Alden sat on the log. “Why don’t you hide the paper yourself, Gramps?” said Benny. “You know where the hole is.”

“Don’t watch me,” said Mr. Alden. Then in a minute he said, “It’s all done.” Not a sign of paper showed.

“I wonder how Mr. Carter will get it out?” said Benny.

“Well, that’s his lookout,” said Mr. Alden. “I wouldn’t worry about him.”

CHAPTER 12

A Sockful of Money

The picnic was over. The Aldens sat looking out over the blue water when the factory whistle blew.

“Oh, dear,” said Benny. “Now everyone will go to work and nobody will be at home when Freddy comes.”

“They don’t all go to work,” said Jessie. “By the way, I need some stuffing for the fish tonight. I’ll go to the store while you take the picnic things home.”

“I’ll go for you, Jessie,” said Benny. “I’d like to.”

“Good boy,” said Henry.

Benny walked up to the store, whistling. Mr. Fenton had the fish stuffing, and the two began to talk. The door opened, and who should come in but Freddy Willet!

“Hello, kid,” said Freddy. “I saw you come in. You one of the youngsters that teaches the funny school?”

“It isn’t a funny school,” said Benny with good nature. “And I do teach the smallest ones. They’re pretty keen kids, too.”

“Your name?” asked Mr. Willet.

“Benny.”

“Well, Benny, how would you like to learn something yourself? Come with me to the Easton family and watch me buy their old money. I bet you don’t know money when you see it. You’d never think a common penny was worth a dollar, would you?”

“No,” said Benny. He kept wondering why Freddy had invited him and Mr. Wilder-Smith to watch while he cheated the people. Benny took his box of stuffing and the two walked over to the house where the Eastons lived.

Mrs. Easton was waiting at the door with a smile. At that moment Mr. Wilder-Smith came along.

“Well, here we all are,” said Freddy. “Now you can watch me work. Mrs. Easton, we are all happy to be here. Let’s get started.”

Benny could hardly believe his eyes when Mrs. Easton put an old stocking on the table and poured out a pile of money. Some of the coins were very old, and a few had hardly been used at all.

Mrs. Easton said, “Some of that money was saved by my grandfather.”

They sat down at the table. Mr. Willet moved like lightning. He picked out one coin after another and dropped each in an empty box. He checked some coins by using a magnifying glass. Mr. Wilder-Smith just looked on. He did not seem to know a thing about coins.

“Is this an old penny?” asked Benny. It was almost as big as a half dollar, but it was made of copper.

“Yes, that’s an old penny. Let’s see. The date is 1864. I can pay Mrs. Easton ten dollars for it.” He put a ten-dollar bill on the table and the penny in the box.

Mrs. Easton smiled and said, “Mr. Willet works fast. He knows his business.”

“You can say that again!” said Freddy. He showed his teeth in a wide smile. He went on, “This is a nice job, Mr. Wilder-Smith. I have already bought five-hundred dollars worth of coins and things from these fishermen. They are very grateful to me.”

“No wonder, old boy,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith. “What in the world do you want them for?”

“Oh, I’m crazy about old things,” said Freddy. “I like ’em all. But I like coins best.”

Benny said, “I don’t see how you remember the prices without a book.”

“Easy!” said Freddy. “I’ve been at this business for many years. I know a coin the minute I see it.”

“I say,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith, “you might make a mistake.”

“Not me,” said Freddy. “I know these coins like old friends. I never make a mistake. There! This is the best one I’ve found.”

He pushed a dime over to the two visitors. “Here is a new coin in perfect condition. But look at the date. 1901S. I’ll pay Mrs. Easton plenty for that. She’ll never forget Freddy Willet, you bet.”

“I certainly won’t,” said Mrs. Easton.

“I’m sure of that,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith. “That dime looks as if it had never been used.”

“That’s right. It never has been used. That dime has sat here for more than sixty years.”

“By Jove, I thought a worn-out coin was worth more,” said the Englishman.

“No, not if it’s worn smooth. Then it’s worth nothing. See this big copper penny? Smooth as silk. I can’t read the date. That penny is old enough, but it’s not worth a cent!” He laughed loudly at his own joke.

“That’s all,” said Freddy. “The rest are no good. I’ll just settle up with Mrs. Easton.”

“Thanks very much,” said Mr. Wilder-Smith. “It was a jolly good show. I learned a lot from you.”

“I guess you learned something today, too, young man,” said Freddy.

“Yes, I did,” said Benny. He said goodbye to Mrs. Easton, and he and Mr. Wilder-Smith went out together.

Benny whispered quickly, “Hole in the log.” And Mr. Wilder-Smith whispered, “Look three times a day.”

Then Benny went one way and Mr. Wilder-Smith another. They did not seem to know each other, for the Englishman took off his hat to the boy.

Benny had a great deal to tell his family. He told it in a whisper.

Jessie said, “It’s funny how we all whisper. It seems as if somebody is listening all the time.”

“Maybe someone is,” said Violet.

They were noisy enough when Jessie put the baked stuffed fish on the table. They had baked potatoes, too, and onions, and apple pie and cheese.

“A big dinner at last,” said Benny. “I’m hungry.”

When it grew dark, the Aldens sat out in the yard in front of the hotel. Henry was on one end. He turned suddenly as he heard a noise coming from the bushes behind the house. It was a whisper.

“Benny! Come with me to the schoolhouse. Bring the back door key. Follow me through the bushes.” It was John Carter’s voice.

They all heard it. Henry gave the key to his brother. Benny went without a sound.

“Why did he want Benny?” Jessie wondered.

“Maybe his small size is better than my big size,” guessed Henry, speaking low. Then he began to talk about other things in his own tone of voice.

At ten o’clock Benny came back. He was very much excited.

“Whisper, Ben,” said Henry. “Who knows who is listening?”

So Benny said in a whisper, “We tried the room in the chimney. We could both get in, and we could see right through the coat button into the schoolroom. Mr. Carter thinks Freddy is hiding things in the schoolroom. But we couldn’t find them. He is going to hunt again. He thinks Freddy will stay a while longer because he has a lot of families left to visit.”

“Well, well,” said Mr. Alden. “You will have something to tell Max. It won’t be dull, either.”

“It’s funny,” said Benny. “We didn’t do anything to make this happen.”

“No, Benny,” said his grandfather. “But you all kept your eyes open. You cared enough about your new friends to worry about them. And you listened when they told you about the man who paid so much for a quarter. You guessed that he was cheating in every trade.”

“But we can’t prove a thing,” said Henry.

“No,” said Grandfather. “That’s why I am so glad to see John Carter.”

CHAPTER 13

Surprise for Violet

The Aldens could hardly teach school on Monday with Mr. Willet making calls on every family in the village. All the children knew about it. They couldn’t help talking about it. At recess they did not want to play. They wanted to talk.

“Oh, my ma’s got an old gold pin with a lion’s head on it,” said one girl. “The Money Man’s going to pay her real money for it. And she’s got an old garnet ring, too.”

“And my grandma’s got a big box of old valentines,” said her brother. “The Money Man is going to buy those.”

“My pa has got an old tin dish they used to cut meat on,” said Tommy Spoon.

“Could that be pewter?” asked Violet.

“Pewter? No, I never heard of that.”

“And we’ve got an old hourglass they used in church over in Northport,” said Eddie.

“We’ve got a glass paperweight full of flowers. The Money Man is just crazy over it,” said another child.

Then suddenly Hal got up on a rock and began to talk. “You kids, listen here!” he began. “You got all the afternoon to talk about the Money Man. And this morning you got a good chance to learn something. We don’t ever get any teachers like these Aldens, teaching us interesting things. And they won’t be here much longer. Let’s stop talking and learn. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Some of the children clapped for Hal’s speech, and soon everyone was busy. The morning flew by. Then Violet said, “Now let’s paint. We can go down to the beach.”

Marie and Hal were more excited than the other children. Marie begged, “Please teach me to paint the harbor the way the artist did.”

“I’ll help you as much as I can,” Violet promised.

The girls and boys took their painting things down to the water. The Aldens helped them get started. Violet had Marie and Hal draw the harbor first with pencil. She showed them only one thing. She said, “Notice that the lines of the wharf look as if they get closer together as they stretch into the water.”

As soon as Violet had shown the children how to hold their brushes she said, “Now paint away, just as you feel.”

Soon Jessie and Henry came over by Violet to watch the Moss twins.

Both Hal and Marie dashed on blue and green paint that was just the right color for the sea. The boats that they made looked like real boats, but they were drawn with only a few lines. It was hard to believe that this was the first time the twins had had watercolors.

All at once Violet knew the truth. Here were two natural artists, much better than she would ever be. There was something different about their painting—something all their own.

Marie cried, “Oh, here’s that purple place,” and she splashed purple and black under the wharf. She was not careful at all. Her picture made Jessie exclaim, “Beautiful!”

Hal’s picture was just as good, but it was different.

“May I take your paintings to show our grandfather?” Violet asked the twins.

“I could paint another!” cried Hal. “I know a different way to paint the ocean, the way it looks in a storm.”

Just then Mr. Alden came walking along the beach to see what was going on. Violet ran to show Mr. Alden the two paintings.

“Well, well!” he said. “What have we here? Watercolors? These are really good! These artists ought to go to art school. Not now, but later.”

School was over for the morning. The bell was ringing. Henry knew that Benny would soon lock the schoolroom door and come back to the beach.

“Old Ben wants his lunch,” he said, laughing.

“So do I,” said Mr. Alden. “I wish Benny would come.”

As they were eating, Violet said slowly, “I think Miss Gray ought to see these paintings.”

“Oh, so do I,” said Benny. “I’m sure she’d like them.”

After lunch the whole family set out with the two pictures. They climbed the cliff walk and rang Miss Gray’s bell.

Eva opened the door. She laughed. “I don’t have to ask any more when it’s you,” she said. “Come right in.”

When Miss Gray saw the Aldens she really smiled. It was the first time the Aldens had seen her smile like this.

“How is Freddy?” she asked.

“Well, Freddy is getting into trouble,” said Grandfather. “He is too brave. He is going a little too far.”

“How about the books?”

Mr. Alden had to say, “We don’t know yet about the books.”

“I’m sure you will get them back,” said Benny. “You see—”

Henry looked at his brother. Benny stopped.

Miss Gray said, “Yes? What were you going to say?”

“Well, I guess it wasn’t important,” said Benny. “We’re watching Freddy most of the time.” Benny was not sure what Miss Gray knew about her English guest.

Mr. Alden said, “We really came to show you two watercolors. We’d like to know what you think of them.” He passed them to Miss Gray.

“The harbor,” said Miss Gray. “Very good. Were they done by one artist or two?”

“Two,” said Violet with bright eyes. “The twins, Hal and Marie Moss.”

“Hal and Marie!” said Miss Gray. “They never had a lesson!”

“No,” said Grandfather, “they were born that way.”

Jessie said, “They have seen only three paintings in their lives. An artist came here long ago and painted their house and the harbor. And there’s George Washington in the schoolroom.”

“That’s why they have a style of their own,” said Miss Gray with a nod.

Violet said, “We have to go home the first of August. Somebody ought to look after those twins.”

Miss Gray looked straight at Violet. “I will,” she said. Then she seemed to be having a hard time with her words. At last she said, “When you go home, I’m going to teach your school myself.”

“You?” cried Jessie. “Are you strong enough?”

“I’m strong enough,” said Miss Gray. “Those twins live in my own town, and here I sit writing books. Nobody ever knew those children could paint. If you hadn’t come along, I don’t believe anyone would ever have found them.”

The Aldens started to go. Miss Gray went to the door with them. As Grandfather bowed to her, she said, “Mr. Alden, Violet found the two artists, and your Benny found me.”

CHAPTER 14

Caught!

The next day everyone saw Freddy Willet coming and going about the island in his red sports car. But no one ever saw him open the trunk, and there were no boxes in the front of the car.

“He must be hiding the library books in the schoolhouse,” said Benny. “There’s no other place here where he could hide the bigger things he has traded. But Mr. Carter can’t find a thing.”

Henry looked serious. “Time is getting short,” he said. “In another day or two Freddy will have everything of value that can be found on this island.”

After supper the Aldens found a long note hidden in the hollow log on the beach. In it John Carter said, “Fred Willet is Harold K. Frederic. He has two other names he also uses. Canadian police want him for smuggling. All we have to do is get him to the border.”

That evening the Aldens sat outside their hotel as they always did. When it was quite dark, they grew more and more excited. They were sure something was going to happen. They were not at all surprised to hear a whisper: “Benny, follow me.”

While the others talked about the weather, Benny slipped after John Carter.

At first Benny thought that the schoolhouse was dark. Then he saw that something had been hung over a window. It was a car blanket. A dim light showed through another window.

Without a word, John Carter and Benny crept in at the back door. They went into the tiny chimney room. Mr. Carter looked through the hole in Washington’s coat button. He let Benny look.

The room was faintly lighted by a square flashlight on one of the desks in the back of the room. At first Benny could not tell what Freddy Willet was doing. Then he saw. The man was taking the wood out of the woodbox!

“His hiding place!” whispered Mr. Carter. “Now let me look.”

When all the wood was out of the woodbox, Mr. Willet turned the box upside down very carefully and poured coin after coin on the back desk. He swept them quickly into a strong bag.

“The books?” whispered Benny.

Mr. Carter shook his head. Then he was really surprised. Mr. Willet went to the bookcase that held the school books and took them all out. He took out a board in the back of the bookcase. Then he began to take out the old books from the library.

Mr. Carter stepped aside to let Benny look through the hole. Book after book came out of the space behind the shelf. Then came the doll, the buttons, the gold pins, the iron bank—everything.

Benny was thinking hard. “Mr. Willet must have been in the schoolhouse many times before. It took a long time to fix that hole behind the school books. That’s what he was doing when we couldn’t find him. My, what a lot of books! What will he do with them?”

He soon found out. Freddy took six books and began to tie them up with string. He set them on another desk. Soon he had sixty books. Then he put the board back, and fixed the school books just as they had been.

Mr. Carter took Benny’s place at the peephole. He was not a minute too soon, for Freddy took some books in one hand and was reaching to put out the flashlight when he heard Mr. Carter’s voice.

“Hold it, Willet! Don’t move! The front door is locked now!”

Mr. Carter and Benny dashed down the back hall and into the schoolroom. Mr. Willet did the only thing he could do. He put out his light.

But this did him no good, for when his light went out, Mr. Carter’s went on.

“What’s the matter with you?” shouted Freddy. “I haven’t done anything!”

“Oh, yes, you have!” said John Carter. “Just put those books down. What about all the little things you traded? What about the coins?”

“They were fair trades!” shouted Freddy. “Everyone was satisfied. They were glad to trade.”

“That’s because they did not know the things were antiques,” said Mr. Carter. “And what about these books? A trade?”

“I borrowed those books. You just sign your name and take what you want. And I signed mine!”

“Which name did you sign, Freddy?” asked Mr. Carter softly.

Then Freddy knew he was in trouble. He had three or four names, and John Carter knew every one of them. Mr. Carter went on. “The Canadian police want you, Freddy. They will be very glad to see you. You have been smuggling for years. You made a great mistake to try it again. No, leave all the things right where they are!”

Mr. Willet made one last try. “You aren’t a policeman. You can’t arrest me.” He was very angry.

“You’re wrong,” said John Carter. “I was made a special policeman a week ago in Northport. But you’ll be glad to know that the chief of police from Northport is sitting in your red car out in the bushes.”

That stopped Freddy for a minute. Then he said, “Now, listen! I’ve paid these people a lot of money for old coins.”

“Not enough,” said John Carter. “You were going to sell the coins to the Adams College Museum. We can do that for you, and thanks very much for picking out the best ones!”

“You’ll have to pay me back what I paid,” said Freddy.

“We will, in time,” said Mr. Carter. “Nobody is going to cheat you, Freddy. But money won’t do you much good in prison. Ah, hello, Anderson! Benny and I are glad to see you.”

A tall policeman from Northport had come in the back door.

Freddy growled, “The Alden kids did this!”

“Yes,” agreed Mr. Carter, “the Alden kids did this. They did their duty as American citizens. They just did what was right.”

Mr. Anderson said to Benny, “We all thank you, and so will Canada. We have tried for years to catch Mr. North.”

“Mr. North!”

“Yes, and Mr. Frederic and Mr. Benson. They are all Freddy Willet. We will go in his own car.”

Freddy Willet was smart. He knew when he was caught. He went with the policeman without another word. It was low tide, just as Freddy had planned, and the road to Canada was straight before the two men.

Standing outside the hotel, Grandfather, Henry, Jessie, and Violet saw the car disappear over the stones and gravel to the mainland.

CHAPTER 15

The Last Song

What excitement there was in Port Elizabeth when the people heard about Freddy! It was hard for them to believe that the Money Man had cheated them. But when Mr. Carter told them that just one of the old valentines was worth many dollars, they changed their minds.

“Oh, it seems wonderful to talk out loud again,” said Benny. “I don’t like to have people hiding and listening and whispering. Now I can yell if I want to.”

“It’s good to talk to you again, Mr. Carter,” said Henry, “and no Mr. Wilder-Smith.”

“What did you find out at Adams College, John?” asked Grandfather.

“They want to buy many of the coins,” said Mr. Carter. “And I found two collectors who want the rest. I am going to call on every family and pay them the right price for their coins.”

“What a job!” said Henry.

“All in a day’s work,” Mr. Carter said with a smile.

“What about the little things?” asked Jessie.

“I will give them all back,” said Mr. Carter. “An honest antique dealer will come up here a little later. The people can sell them or keep them, whatever they wish.”

“Mr. Willet did give Marie a red necklace,” said Benny slowly.

Mr. Carter smiled. “That necklace cost him twenty-five cents,” he said. “I guess you don’t need to worry about that.”

Violet said suddenly, “Maybe Miss Gray would like to sell her old books to an honest man. Nobody here reads them.”

“Right, Violet,” said Mr. Carter. “That’s exactly what she told me. But she said a lot more. She thought she was foolish to think anybody would read them. She plans to buy a whole library of colored picture books, stories, and other new books. The books will be for both children and grown-ups.”

“Good,” said Jessie. “She has changed, and now she’s really wonderful.”

The Aldens had planned to have a picnic for the school children on the last day. But no—the children wanted to go to school!

“What children!” said Violet. “I never saw any children like them anywhere.”

As the children were singing a last song, someone came in the back door. The children could hardly believe their eyes. They clapped without knowing it. They had seen Miss Gray only from a distance, but they knew who she was.

Henry said, “Miss Gray is going to be your teacher until a new one comes. And she will choose somebody to ring the bell.”

“We won’t say goodbye,” said Benny. “We hate to say goodbye. We never do, we just go.”

It was hard, but everyone did just go. Mr. Alden sat outside in the station wagon. Miss Gray’s gardener took her home. The Aldens piled into the station wagon, and the school children waved and waved. Then the car rattled over the rocks and stones, and the Aldens were soon on their way home.

When they reached home, Benny called up his friend Max.

“Hello, Max! It’s me!”

“Oh, hi, Ben! How about adventures? Did you catch a thief or find hidden treasure?”

“Both!” said Benny. “Come over on your bike and we’ll tell you all about the thief and the money hidden in old socks.”

“Don’t try to fool me, Ben,” said Max. “You couldn’t find all that on such a dull island.”

“Well, we did,” said Benny. “It was so exciting that we could hardly pay attention to our schoolteaching.”

“Schoolteaching! Are you crazy?”

“No,” said Benny. “We did more than that. We met a famous author and we discovered two artists.”

“I don’t believe it,” said Max. But he always believed Benny Alden.

It was not long before Max leaned his bike against the front steps. The Aldens took turns telling him about the schoolhouse mystery.

“It’s too much,” said Max at last. “I’ve been up there two summers. And not a thing happened except that we ate our meals and went fishing. Not a thing! But, Mr. Alden, I thought you were going to take the family somewhere else this summer?”

“Well, so I am, Max,” said Grandfather. He winked.

“Not much time left, sir.”

“There’s enough. There’s all of August and part of September,” said Mr. Alden.

“Almost time to go to the moon,” said Benny.

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1965 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0795-6

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Caboose Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by David Cunningham

Albert Whitman & Company, Chicago, Illinois

To My Readers

The Little North Railroad is a storybook railroad, but the cabooses are real cabooses. With the help of six very kind trainmen, 1 myself took a trip by caboose, riding on the back platform and feeling just like Benny. I ran the Diesel engine, blew the whistle, rang the bell, and watched as the trainmen set off dynamite on the track, just as it says in these pages. As for the story, the adventures are wholly imaginary.

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Contents

CHAPTER

1   Grandfather’s Idea

2   All Aboard!

3   Beaver Man

4   A Strange Tale

5   Glass Factory Junction

6   Benny’s Adventure

7   A Wild Ride

8   The Rainy Day

9   Engineer Benny

10   Curing Sneezes

11   Is It Real?

12   Mysterious Message

13   Surprise for Cho-Cho

14   Best Trip of All

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Grandfather’s Idea

One morning Benny Alden sat in his room thinking. The four Alden children lived with their grandfather, James Alden.

“What a lot of adventures we have had,” thought Benny. “First we lived in a boxcar in the woods. That was fun! Then after we found Grandfather, we have been to so many places and had so many surprises. By the way—”

Benny had a sudden thought. He ran downstairs as fast as he could. He found his grandfather at his desk. Violet was nearby, sewing on a button.

Benny said, “Grandfather, I just remembered you had a plan for this summer!”

Jessie walked in. “Yes, you did,” she said. “And then we suddenly went away and found the mystery in the schoolhouse.”

Henry appeared at the door. “And that spoiled your plan, Grandfather,” he said.

“Oh, no,” said Mr. Alden. “It didn’t spoil my plan at all. We can still go on this trip if you want to.”

“Of course we want to!” said Violet. “You always have such wonderful ideas.”

“Come and sit under the trees,” said Mr. Alden, “and I’ll tell you all about it. Thank you, my dear, for sewing on my button.” He put on his coat.

Watch, the dog, trotted along with Jessie. He lay down on her feet.

Grandfather began, “You see I have a friend who owns a railroad.”

“A railroad!” said Benny.

Mr. Alden smiled. “Yes, it is called the Little North Railroad. Sometimes my friend lets people rent an old-fashioned wooden caboose. It is put on the end of a freight train and travels along with the train. So I thought we could take a trip in a caboose.”

“What a neat idea!” said Benny. “I never saw the inside of a caboose.”

“Neither did I,” said Mr. Alden, smiling.

Henry said, “That would be an adventure for sure. Where could we go?”

“Anywhere the Little North Railroad goes.”

Violet asked, “Have you really rented a caboose, Grandfather?”

“Yes, my dear, I have rented two.” His eyes twinkled. “I was sure one of you would remember my plan. We can have two cabooses, one for the girls, and one for Henry, Benny, and me.”

“And we can get together for meals,” said Benny.

Henry laughed at his younger brother. “Always thinking of something to eat, Ben,” he said.

“I like to eat,” said Benny. “Do we do our own cooking?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Alden. “That will be part of the fun. Every caboose has a few pans and dishes in it. There is always a stove and a sink, and an icebox, too. You may want to buy more dishes, Jessie. You are the housekeeper.”

“Oh, I’d rather use the caboose dishes. It would be fun to try,” said Jessie. “Why can’t we drive down to the freightyard now? We can see for ourselves what a caboose is like.”

“Just what I planned,” said Grandfather, getting up.

Henry got out the station wagon. Everyone climbed in.

Benny saw the two cabooses first. He said, “Oh, they are not just alike! One is big and one is little.”

“There must be some reason,” said Grandfather. “Just look at the new red paint on the big one! We’ll soon find out.”

The conductor was on the steps of the small caboose. When he saw the family coming, he smiled and got off the train to meet them. He said, “Good morning. You must be the Aldens. My name is Carr.”

Benny said, “That’s neat! Your name is Carr, and you take care of cars.”

“That’s right. I hear plenty of jokes about my name.”

Mr. Alden said, “My granddaughters, Jessie and Violet, want to see where they are going to keep house.”

“Fine!” said Mr. Carr. “Climb right in and look around all you like. I want to tell you, Mr. Alden, that the big caboose hasn’t been used lately. It had to be painted. But I thought it would be better for you because the windows are much bigger. You can sit by the window and read. That big caboose has some history, but you’ll hear about that later.”

As they went up the steps of the small caboose, Benny said in a low voice to his brother, “Did Mr. Carr say history or mystery?”

“He said history,” said Henry, laughing. “But I’m sure you’ll think there is a mystery, too.”

“No,” said Benny. “I don’t need a mystery. Just traveling in a caboose is good enough for me.”

The Aldens began to look around. Jessie opened the icebox.

Mr. Carr said, “You see it is small. We stop often for ice and water. But you will have to take canned food with you. Then sometimes we stop on a siding for an hour or two, and you can go shopping.”

Henry took the cover off the little stove and looked in. He said, “This seems to run on bottled gas.”

“Right,” said Mr. Carr. “If you are cold, light the stove. You’ll get a little heat.”

“I shouldn’t think it would get very cold in August,” said Henry.

“Well, it does. But there are plenty of blankets. There are sheets and towels, too. And see, the beds are bunks.”

“Oh, boy, I’d like the top bunk!” said Benny.

“You can have it,” said Henry, laughing. “I’d rather have the lower one, anyway.”

Grandfather said, “Look! The mattresses are covered with old black leather. My friend asked me if I wanted new covers, and I said no. I thought you’d all like the caboose just as it always was.”

Then the Aldens went across from the little caboose to the big one.

But Benny went right through to the back platform. He said, “Oh, this is just the place for me! There is room for three. This is where I shall sit on the very end of the train and watch the country go flying by!”

Mr. Carr laughed. He said, “When do you want to go, Mr. Alden? I have a short freight that leaves tomorrow. I’m going on that one myself. Then there is another going the next day.”

Everyone looked at Benny. He said just what they knew he would. “Let’s go tomorrow!”

Grandfather smiled at Mr. Carr. He said, “My family likes to move fast. We’ll start tomorrow.”

“Be here before one o’clock, then,” Mr. Carr said. “Be sure to bring everything you need.”

The Aldens walked back to the station wagon. Jessie was already making a list of canned food to buy.

Suddenly Benny said, “The big caboose was quite different. Did you notice?”

“Yes, it was much better,” said Grandfather. “The floor was better, and the walls were better.”

Benny said, “Did you notice that the walls looked as if some fancy wood had been taken off? And there were curtain rods on the windows, but no curtains.”

Henry said, “Of course it looked new because it had just been painted red.”

But Benny had begun to wonder. The last thing he said when he went to bed was, “That big caboose has a history. Maybe it has a mystery, too.”

CHAPTER 2

All Aboard!

What a rush! Next day the Aldens went dashing around buying food and packing their things. By noon they were ready to go. When they were leaving, Watch, the dog, trotted along with Jessie. He was ready to go, too.

“You can’t come, old boy,” said Henry. “Too bad. You wouldn’t like riding in a caboose.”

Jessie tried to explain to Watch why he couldn’t go. At last she thought he understood. Anyway he did not whine. He turned right around and went back into the house where Mrs. McGregor, the housekeeper, was waiting for him.

Very soon Henry had parked the station wagon in the freight yard with the trainmen’s cars. He planned to leave it for Mr. Carter, who worked for Mr. Alden. Then everyone helped move into the two cabooses.

“Oh, what fun this is!” said Jessie. She and Violet began to put the cans of food on the shelves in the big caboose. Henry and Benny poured water into the tank and lifted a big cake of ice into the icebox.

When the things were put away, the family got out again. They stood by the steps and watched the engineer far down the tracks.

“Look, Grandfather,” said Benny. “There’s a postman! Do you suppose he would have any mail for you?”

“Well, perhaps I might have a letter from my friend who owns the Little North Railroad,” said Mr. Alden. “He knows we’ll be on this freight. But I never knew a postman delivered mail to a freight train before. If I have any, Mr. Carr will bring it to me.

“I’ll run down and see,” said Benny. He was off before they could stop him.

“I’d better go with him,” said Henry. And off he went, too. He caught up with Benny, and they reached Mr. Carr and the postman at the same time.

The postman was a very tall, heavy man. His blue-gray uniform and cap were too small for him. He had a small black mustache and black eyes. He looked at the two boys closely.

Benny said, “I didn’t know a postman came to a freight train, Mr. Carr.”

Mr. Carr laughed. “This is a very special postman,” he said. “When he has a letter for me, he is kind enough to bring it to the train. His name is Sid Weston.”

“How do you do,” said both boys.

Benny went on. “Our name is Alden. Is there any mail for our grandfather, Mr. Alden?”

“No,” said Mr. Weston, shaking his head. Then he turned away and spoke in a low voice to Mr. Carr. “Could I go down to that big caboose and just look at something inside? It won’t take ten minutes.”

“Sorry,” said Mr. Carr. “We can’t wait ten minutes. You boys run back as fast as you can. We go in just two minutes. Tell everyone to sit down because there will be a bang when we back the train into the caboose.”

But Henry and Benny had already gone. The minute they got on board, they waved back to Mr. Carr.

Mr. Carr raised his arm and waved at the engineer. The freight train backed toward the caboose. Then came the bang! The little caboose and the big caboose were coupled at the very end of the train, behind the caboose used by the trainmen.

“What a train!” said Grandfather. “Three cabooses in a row! People will smile when this Little North freight goes by.”

The Aldens heard the whistle on the engine far ahead. Then very slowly the train began to move. Mr. Carr swung himself onto a boxcar.

“Say, isn’t this exciting!” said Benny. “To be riding in a caboose at last. I’ve always wanted to live in a caboose.”

“So have I,” said Grandfather, smiling.

“Come on, Ben,” said Henry. “Let’s sit out on the back platform. Want to come, Jessie?”

“Yes, I’d like to,” said Jessie.

Violet said, “I’ll stay with Grandfather in the big caboose.”

“Isn’t this great, flying along!” said Benny after a few minutes. Then he leaned forward and said, “Henry, did you really look at that big postman? Did you hear him ask to see this caboose?”

“Yes, Ben, I did,” said Henry. He looked quickly at Benny. “I thought it was a strange thing to ask.”

“Well, I thought it was an awfully strange thing to ask,” said Benny.

Jessie said, “What are you boys talking about?”

Henry told her about Sid Weston, the postman. She said, “What do you think he wanted to look at?”

“I haven’t any idea,” said Henry. “He was a very heavy man. I’m sure he couldn’t have run as fast as we did.”

“Yes, wasn’t he enormous?” said Benny.

“Even his cap was too small for him,” said Henry, laughing.

“A mystery!” shouted Benny. “The mysterious caboose!”

“Now don’t get excited, Benny,” said Jessie. “It is probably something very simple. Maybe he is just interested in trains. Some people are.”

But Benny had the last word as usual. “That postman certainly thought there was something different about this big caboose, and sometime I’ll find out. You just wait and see.”

“Right!” said Henry. “You didn’t hear the postman, Jessie. I’m sure he was worried about something.”

“I’m sure you’re right if you both say so,” said Jessie. “But let’s enjoy this lovely country with all the woods and fields.”

“I’m enjoying them,” said Benny. “I noticed every cornfield we passed. The corn ought to be ripe soon.”

Along went the train. It passed through one small town after another. Just before five o’clock Benny said, “Look at that ladder over our heads. I’d hke to climb up and walk on top of the caboose.”

Just as he said this, a foot suddenly appeared on the top step of the ladder. Then another foot appeared, then two long legs dressed in overalls.

“Oh, look what’s coming!” said Benny.

At last a head appeared with a railroad cap, and a smiling man said, “Hello! I hope I didn’t scare you?”

“No,” said Henry. “But you surprised us.”

“I have a message from the engineer,” said the man.

Benny said, “He’s the boss of the train.”

“No,” said the man, shaking his head. “The conductor, Mr. Carr, is the boss of the train. The engineer is number-two man. I’m the brakeman. My name is Al.”

“I never knew the conductor was the boss,” said Benny.

“Well, he is,” said Al. “The engineer, Mr. Davis, runs the train, but the conductor tells him when to stop and when to go.”

“What’s this message, Al?” asked Henry.

The brakeman seemed to be right at home on the ladder. He held on with one hand, swung one foot, and took his cap off and put it on again. He said, “Really I have two messages. The first one is this. If you are in any trouble, you will want to stop the train.”

Benny said, “Oh, I don’t think we will have any trouble.”

“You never can tell, Ben,” said Henry. “What do we do, Al?”

“Well, there’s a little lever by the desk. You turn that halfway. That puts on the air brakes. Even if we had a hundred cars, the train would stop.”

“I’ll look for that lever when we go inside,” said Henry.

Violet came to the door to see what was going on. She was just in time to hear Benny say, “Al, did you see that big postman just before we started? Did you hear what he said?”

“I saw him,” said Al. “But I didn’t hear what he said. Why?”

“Oh, nothing,” said Benny.

“I have another message,” said Al. “At about five o’clock we go right through the engineer’s field of corn. He has sweet corn on both sides of the tracks. Mr. Davis says if you want some corn for supper, just get off and pick all you want.”

“Sweet corn!” said Violet. “We love it. This will certainly be fresh.”

“Cook it as soon as you pick it,” said Al. “I’m getting enough for our supper, too.”

“Oh, are you the cook?” Jessie asked.

“Yes,” said Al, “I do the cooking. I’d ask you to come into our caboose, but Mr. Carr wants the door locked at the end of your second caboose. He thinks you’ll be better off that way. We use our caboose just for work, you know.”

“I’ll put the water on to boil right now,” said Jessie. “Then it will be ready for the corn.”

“Oh, don’t do that, miss,” said Al. “Get a big kettle of cold water and put in the corn. When the water is boiling fast, the corn is done.”

“Thank you,” said Jessie, “I’ll try it.”

“It’s the best way to cook corn,” Al told her. “I’ll stay right here, and you get off when I do.”

Jessie went in to fill the biggest kettle with cold water. She told Mr. Alden what they were going to do. Everyone stood ready to get off. Soon the train began to slow down.

“I see the cornfield!” Benny called out. “How many ears shall we pick, Jessie?”

“Oh, I should say two dozen ears. Put them in this old box.”

The train stopped, and everyone got off and began to pick corn.

Mr. Alden said, “I haven’t picked corn for years. What else are we going to have for supper?”

Jessie answered, “Plenty of butter on the corn, hamburgers, cookies, and milk.”

“Good enough,” said Grandfather. “I’m hungry already.”

The engineer gave a loud whistle, and they all climbed back into the caboose. Everyone sat down and helped pull off the corn husks. Jessie dropped the ears into the cold water, and Henry turned on the stove.

Soon they were sitting down to supper.

“What delicious corn!” said Mr. Alden.

“It certainly is fresh,” said Benny. “Right from the field into the kettle!”

After the dishes were done, the Aldens took turns riding on the little back platform. As they sat there, Al came climbing down the ladder again.

He said, “Mr. Carr forgot to tell you that we stop at Beaver Lake at nine o’clock tomorrow morning. You will like that.”

“Why?” asked Benny.

“You always want to know why, don’t you? Well, you can watch real live beavers at work. We have to stop for an hour to load freight, and you might as well watch something interesting.”

“I should think the beavers would run away if they saw us watching them,” said Benny.

“That’s the secret,” said Al. “They won’t see you. Now don’t ask me why, young man. Just wait and see. One more thing. There is an old man who takes care of these wild beavers. He’s a strange old fellow, but he doesn’t want people to kill all the beavers. So he lives in the woods and keeps the hunters away. You may see Old Beaver, and you may not. He’s odd. Then a little later we stop at Pinedale for ice and water.”

“Thanks a lot,” said Mr. Alden. Al disappeared up the ladder.

When the stars came out, Mr. Alden said, “Our lights are not bright enough to read by. I’m going to bed.”

“I’m tired, too,” said Violet. The girls said goodnight and went into the small caboose.

Henry and Grandfather put clean sheets on the three old black mattresses, and Benny started to climb into his top bunk in the lookout. He began to laugh.

“I can hardly reach these steps with my feet,” he said. “First one side and then the other. I guess these footholds were made for a man.”

Mr. Alden and Henry watched.

“Just made it, Ben,” said Henry. “Those steps are too hard for you.”

“But I like it up here,” said Benny. “I can look out at the stars.”

He began to wonder about the postman and the beavers and the big caboose, but suddenly he fell asleep.

The caboose rattled and banged along until morning.

CHAPTER 3

Beaver Man

The train did not stop during the night. Once Benny said loudly, “I’ll tell you in the morning!”

“Morning?” Grandfather said. He woke up suddenly. “Is it morning?”

Henry whispered, “No, Grandfather. Benny’s talking in his sleep.”

When it was really morning, Benny said, “I didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

Henry laughed. He said, “Oh, no?”

“No, I didn’t,” said Benny again. “But you and Grandfather did. I heard you both snoring all night.”

“I’m sorry I kept you awake, Benny,” said Mr. Alden. He winked at Henry. “I know I do snore.”

“I could go right back to sleep,” Benny said.

“Oh, don’t do that, Benny,” called Violet. “You’ll miss the beavers. Remember we get off at Beaver Lake at nine o’clock.”

“That’s right,” agreed Benny. “I do want to see the beavers. I guess I can stay awake that long.”

After breakfast, Benny said, “I’m going to sit on the back platform until nine o’clock.”

His two sisters went with him this time. The train went through many small places without stopping. The Aldens waved at everyone they saw.

Suddenly Benny said, “Jessie, did you notice the workmen at the last station we passed? They pointed at our big caboose and began to laugh.”

“Yes,” said Jessie. “I suppose we do look funny, with three cabooses in a row.”

“But not that funny,” said Benny. “I’m sure they were pointing at the big caboose and at us.”

Violet said, “I don’t think they are pointing at us. They point to something on the caboose.”

“Right over our heads, Violet,” said Benny. “Maybe there is something on the caboose.”

They looked up, but all they could see was the number of the car, 777.

Soon they heard Mr. Carr call out, “Beaver Lake, Beaver Lake!”

They were all ready to jump down when the train stopped. Mr. Carr and Al met them at the steps.

Benny said, “Oh, I wanted to ask you about the big caboose. You said it had a history.”

Mr. Carr laughed and said, “So I did. But I haven’t time now. I can’t even go with you. I have to watch the men unload the freight. But Al can go with you.”

Al led the way. A small river went under the railroad track. They followed it. Soon they reached some thick woods. Al took them along a path. They could not see the river, but they could hear it rushing along.

Al pointed to a sign that said “Beaver Lake.” “You could go on alone,” he said, “but I like to watch the beavers myself.”

Benny said, “I suppose Old Beaver put up that sign?”

“That’s right,” said Al. “Sometimes he will come and talk. Sometimes not. This is the place where I usually meet him.”

But no one was there.

Soon there was another sign. It said “Please do not talk.”

Not even Benny said a word after that.

Then the Aldens saw something that looked like a tent. It had a long bench inside. The roof and one wall of the tent were made to look like real bushes. A sign said, “Sit down and watch. Room for six only.”

Everyone had the same thought—how lucky! There were exactly six people, counting Al.

The Aldens could look out through holes in the bushes and see the river, only now the river was a lake. Al pointed. Then everyone saw a big beaver.

The beaver was swimming along with only his head showing. When the beaver came to the round roof of his house, he stopped. Then he began to climb up. Benny noticed that the beaver was covered with mud. Soon he saw why.

The beaver climbed to the top of his house. Then he slid down and scraped off the mud. After that, the beaver climbed up the other side of the house and slapped the mud down with his tail. Then the Aldens knew that the beaver meant to do this.

Suddenly there was a loud crash in the bushes, and a tree fell with a splash into the water. Beside the stump was another beaver. It had cut the little tree down by gnawing the trunk with its sharp teeth.

The Aldens could not take their eyes off this beaver. It walked along the tree it had just cut down. Then it began to gnaw the tree in two, exactly in the middle.

Part of the tree fell into the water. When the tree was cut into two pieces, the beaver swam out and pushed the two parts together, side by side. Then he pushed them both down the lake to the dam. They were just the right length and stayed on top of the dam to keep water from spilling over.

Just then Al looked at his watch and got up to go. The rest followed. They were near the first sign when they heard something in the bushes.

“Hello, folks,” said a deep voice. They all turned around.

“Yes, I’m Old Beaver,” said the man. He had thick gray hair, and his face was almost covered with a curly gray beard. He was smiling.

Grandfather said, “You are doing a fine job saving a few beavers. They are wonderful animals.”

“Thank you,” said Old Beaver. “They are smarter than we are in some ways. May I ask how you got here?”

Grandfather laughed. “We came on the caboose of a freight train. We are having a new kind of vacation.”

“This young man seems to be having a good time,” said Old Beaver, looking at Benny.

Benny said, “Yes, I’m having a grand time. We cook and eat and sleep in the caboose. It’s Number 777.”

“What?” said Old Beaver. “Number 777?” He suddenly turned around and crashed into the woods without another word.

“What do you know!” cried Benny, staring.

“Well, what’s the matter with him?” asked Henry.

“Come on,” said Al. “He’s always been odd. We can’t bother with him.”

Grandfather said, “I should say he was odd.”

When the Aldens reached the station, they looked all over the outside of the caboose. They could not see anything strange. All they could see was the number, 777.

Violet said softly, “But Number 777 was enough to scare Old Beaver.”

When the train had started again, Mr. Alden said, “Al told us that the next station will be Pinedale. We get off there to get ice and water. Maybe someone can tell us at Pinedale about Old Beaver. And maybe they will know what is so strange about our caboose, Number 777.”

CHAPTER 4

A Strange Tale

Very soon the train slowed down at Pinedale and stopped. Six men were standing on the platform. Some of them were laughing and pointing as the Aldens got off the caboose.

Benny went up to a tall man and said, “We’d like to know what is different about our caboose. Why are the men pointing at it?”

“That’s easy, sonny,” said the man, laughing. “That caboose is the famous old Number 777. It used to be white with gold numbers. It’s a circus caboose!”

The Aldens stared at the man. A circus caboose! So this might have something to do with history and mystery!

The tall man smiled. “You’re surprised, aren’t you? I can tell you a lot more about your caboose. My name is Shaw. I’m the stationmaster.”

“I’m glad to meet you,” said Grandfather. “My name is Alden. My grandchildren are very much interested in anything you may say about our caboose.”

Just then the Aldens noticed that one of the station workmen had walked over to the big caboose. He was standing there looking at it with his head on one side. He had his hands on his hips. He wore a funny, small hat and big shoes turned up at the toes. But there was something sad about his face.

Mr. Shaw called to the workman and said, “How about it? What do you think of Number 777 in its new red dress?”

The workman drawled, “It couldn’t fool us! We’d know that caboose if we saw it in China!”

Everyone began to laugh. Nobody could help laughing. There was something about this man that was very funny. And this was strange, too, because the man looked sad.

Suddenly the workman said to Henry, “I’ll get you the ice and water that you need.”

The man turned and left quickly.

Henry started to say no, but Mr. Shaw said out of the side of his mouth, “Let him do it. I’ll tell you why later.”

When the workman was out of sight, Mr. Shaw said, “It will do that man good to help you. He hardly ever says a word. I was surprised when he offered to help you.”

Benny said, “Mr. Shaw, it’s funny about that man. He looks so sad, and yet he makes me laugh just to look at him. He ought to be a clown.”

“He was a clown,” said Mr. Shaw. “How did you ever guess? He was called Cho-Cho, and he traveled with a circus. He used to live in Pinedale before he joined the circus. That’s why we all know caboose Number 777. Cho-Cho was always on the circus train.”

“Was that a long time ago?” asked Henry.

“Yes, quite a few years ago. That circus train came this way every summer. It used the tracks of the Little North Railroad. We trainmen got to know a lot of these circus people. We saw them every year. Some of us even went to see the show in the nearest big town.”

“Why is Cho-Cho so sad now?” asked Benny.

“That’s quite a story,” said Mr. Shaw. “His wife was Chi-Chi, the high-wire artist. Her whole family was famous. Her mother was so wonderful that some king or other in Europe gave her a beautiful diamond necklace. When her mother grew old, she gave the necklace to Chi-Chi. I remember when it came. Chi-Chi showed it to everyone right on this very platform. She loved to show it because it was so beautiful. But she never wore it when she was doing tricks. She wore a cheap copy that sparkled. Then one night she fell. She slipped on the wire and was instantly killed.”

“How awful!” said Jessie and Violet.

“Yes, it was a terrible thing. It was awful for Cho-Cho. He left the circus and came to live in Pinedale again. He soon ran out of money, so he agreed to work for me around the station. He had to sell his talking horse, too.”

“Talking horse?” asked Benny.

Another man spoke up. “Yes, sir! That was a beautiful horse—a special color. Never saw a horse like him. He had four white feet and a white star on his forehead. His coat was golden brown.”

“That’s right,” said Mr. Shaw. “His tail was cream color and wavy, and it was so long it almost touched the ground.”

“He sounds wonderful,” said Violet. “How did he talk?”

“Cho-Cho asked him questions. He tossed his head for yes and shook it for no. Then he would paw with his foot to answer number questions. If Cho-Cho asked him how many were two and one, the horse pawed three times. At the end of the act, Cho-Cho always said, ‘What do you want to do now, Major?’ and the horse would lie down and shut his eyes.”

“What a pity he had to sell that horse,” said Grandfather. “Do you know who bought him?”

“Oh, yes. A man named John Cutler bought him to amuse his children. The Cutlers live in Glass Factory Junction. That is the next station. They live about a mile from the station through the woods.”

“Oh, I’d love to see that horse,” said Benny.

“Well, you can. If you can walk a mile and back.”

Mr. Alden said, “If Cho-Cho owned the diamond necklace, I don’t see why he didn’t sell it. Maybe he could have kept the horse.”

“Oh, the necklace was lost,” said Mr. Shaw. “Chi-Chi always hid it when she wasn’t wearing it. She would never tell anyone where it was, not even Cho-Cho.”

Benny shouted, “Maybe she hid it in our caboose!”

“No, not likely,” said Mr. Shaw. “The police looked through every car in that circus train, but they never found it. Anyway, Chi-Chi never lived in that caboose.”

Another man said, “She spent a lot of time there, though.”

“Yes, she did,” agreed Mr. Shaw. “The owner’s wife lived in Number 777, and she made a great friend of Chi-Chi. They fixed up that caboose with lace curtains and everything. Look! Here comes Cho-Cho. See if you can get him to tell you the rest. It will do him good to talk.”

The Aldens watched Cho-Cho as he came back with two pails of water and ice on a truck.

Before anyone could stop Benny, he ran up to the old clown.

“Mr. Cho-Cho,” Benny said, “Mr. Shaw has been telling us about you. He told us about your wife’s diamond necklace. Do you think someone could have stolen it?”

For a minute Cho-Cho did not say anything. It looked as if he were going to turn and run away. Then he said in almost a whisper, “Yes, boy, I think the Thin Man stole it.”

“And who was the Thin Man?” asked Henry.

“He was my friend. He had a sideshow in the circus with me.”

“What makes you think he stole the diamonds?” asked Henry.

“Well, one day Chi-Chi was showing the diamonds to everybody. I saw her give them to the Thin Man, but I never saw him give them back. He said he did, but Chi-Chi was dead then, and nobody else saw anything at all. At first I believed my friend.”

“Did you get the police?” asked Benny.

“Oh, yes. We had a terrible time! Everybody was upset. The police believed that the Thin Man stole the necklace. And at last I believed it myself.”

“Why?” asked Benny.

“The next day the Thin Man disappeared.”

Mr. Alden nodded. “That does look bad for poor Mr. Thin Man.”

Jessie said, “I should think it would be easy for the police to find him if he were really very thin.”

“Oh, he was thin, all right! You could see his bones. He had a long black beard down to his waist.”

“Of course he could cut that off,” said Henry.

“Yes, that is the first thing he would do. The police had men on the lookout for miles and miles. But nobody ever found a single sign of the Thin Man.”

Mr. Shaw said, “Let me tell them about the Thin Man’s best friend. He lives at Beaver Lake. He was so angry at everybody that he can’t bear to hear anything about Number 777, even to this day. He’s an odd fellow and is taking care of some wild beavers at Beaver Lake.”

“Oh, oh! We know him,” shouted Benny. “And he was really angry when he heard we came from Number 777.”

Mr. Shaw nodded. “He would be. The people in that caboose made his best friend run away. Old Beaver never believed that the Thin Man stole the diamonds.”

“Here’s another thing,” said Henry. “Do you know anything about a big postman named Sid Weston who came to this train with a letter for Mr. Carr?”

“No, I never heard of him. Why?”

“Well, he wanted to look around in our big caboose, but Mr. Carr said there wasn’t time. Why do you suppose he wanted to do that?”

Cho-Cho threw his hands up in the air. “Maybe he is interested in trains. Lots of people come to take pictures of the cars on this old railroad.”

Benny said, “I want to see your horse, Cho-Cho, if he is at Glass Factory Junction.”

“I’m sorry, Benny. We can’t take time,” said Grandfather. “We want to see the glass.”

Benny said, “But I’d rather see the talking horse.”

Jessie said, “Oh, Benny, glassmaking is so interesting. You never saw anyone blow glass, did you?”

“No,” said Benny, “and I never saw a talking horse either.”

Mr. Shaw laughed. “You girls will like the glass. There are pieces of broken glass all over the place. You can pick them up and have them polished.”

“What colors are they?” asked Violet.

“Every color, and some are mixed colors. You can find red and white ones, black and white, and all shades of blue and green. The pieces make beautiful pins and bracelets.”

Henry and the clown put the ice and water in the two cabooses. As Mr. Alden started to get on the train, Mr. Shaw whispered, “I’m certainly amazed. I never heard Cho-Cho talk so much in my whole life. He never says a word if he can help it.”

“This time he couldn’t help it,” said Benny, laughing.

CHAPTER 5

Glass Factory Junction

In a short time the train stopped at Glass Factory Junction. The Aldens got off the train and looked around. They could not see any sign of a town. There was a small freight station on one side of the tracks and a large factory on the other. Everything seemed to be in the middle of the woods. Trees grew almost down to the tracks.

“I wonder where the town is,” said Benny.

Al came to meet them. “The town is on the other side of the woods,” he said. “It’s a very small town, anyway. But we have to stop here just the same to unload potash for the factory. And this glass is all over the ground.” He picked up a blue piece.

“Isn’t that beautiful!” said Violet.

Benny said, “Grandfather, I really don’t want to pick up glass. I want to see that talking horse.”

Mr. Alden thought it over. Then he said, “That’s up to you, Benny. You’re old enough to take care of yourself. If you’d rather walk two miles and see the horse, go ahead. You heard Al say we could stay here two hours.”

Henry said, “I thought you were too sleepy to do anything. You said you didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Well, I am sleepy. When I get back to the caboose I’m going to take a nap. Al told me I couldn’t miss the path through the woods. I’ll go and see the horse first, and then I’ll go into the little caboose and go to sleep. And don’t any of you open the door. Don’t even peek at me and wake me up.” He started off.

Grandfather called, “Don’t get lost, Benny.”

“I’ll find my way all right. If I get lost, I can eat nuts and berries. Children always eat nuts and berries when they get lost,” Benny said, laughing at his own joke.

“Don’t be late, either,” Grandfather called again. “The train won’t wait for you, you know.”

“Yes, I know. I guess I can walk a mile and back in two hours!”

Violet watched Benny as he went into the deep woods. She said to Henry, “I don’t like it. You go with him.”

Henry said, “No, Violet. I don’t think I ought to tell him what to do. Benny must learn to live his own life and make his own mistakes. We all must.”

“Good!” said Grandfather. “Benny will never learn if you look after him all the time, Henry.”

The Aldens picked up so much glass that they had to get a paper bag from the caboose to put it in. Suddenly a man put his head out of the factory window and called, “Would you like to see the glass factory?”

“We’d like to very much, sir,” said Grandfather. They all went up the steps and met the man at the door.

“I’ll show you first how we make pressed glass. Just follow me. My name is Lidstone.”

“I’m James Alden,” said Grandfather, “and these are my grandchildren.”

“Yes, I know,” Mr. Lidstone said, smiling. “I guess you are the people traveling by caboose. Everyone is talking about it. You young people may know how glass is made,” he went on as they went into another room. “We mix sand and potash and get it so hot it melts. Then we pour it and press the glass into molds.”

It was exciting to watch the workmen pouring the melted glass into fancy molds.

“Oh, what beautiful colors!” said Violet.

“And so many,” said Jessie.

“These small dishes are finished,” said Mr. Lidstone. He pointed at a table. “You may choose any color you want. They will be gifts to remember us by.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Henry. “My young brother Benny isn’t here. He went to see the talking horse. Too bad he is missing this.”

“Then you choose one for him,” said Mr. Lidstone.

“Benny would choose red, I’m sure of that,” said Jessie. She picked up a red dish for Benny.

“Let me tell you something about that color,” said Mr. Lidstone. “We use real gold to make red. In the old days, the glassmakers threw in gold dollars to make red. Have you all decided on your colors?”

Jessie held up a blue dish for answer. Violet had a violet one, and Henry chose green. Mr. Alden had a bright yellow one.

“Now come and see the glassblowers,” said Mr. Lidstone. He took them to another room. Three men were blowing glass. A worker picked up a lump of melted glass on a pipe and began to blow.

“Oh, that’s going to be a pitcher,” whispered Jessie.

The big glass ball on the end of the pipe grew larger and larger. Then suddenly it grew smaller. The man jerked off the pipe.

“No, it’s a vase,” said Violet. “Isn’t it wonderful how they do that?”

In another room the Aldens watched a row of men and women making designs on glass dishes. Mr. Lidstone said, “This is very fine work. Each person here is an artist.”

The Aldens could have watched them all afternoon, but they knew they had to get back to the train. They thanked Mr. Lidstone for their visit and went back to the caboose with their new dishes.

Jessie said, “Benny will like to know that his red dish was made with gold.”

Mr. Alden looked at his watch and frowned. “It’s much later than I thought,” he said. “Only five minutes before we go. I hope Benny is in the small caboose taking his nap.”

Jessie said, “He’s probably been back a long time because we stayed so long in the factory. Remember what he said. He told us not to go into that caboose and wake him up.”

“I’d like to peek in and see if he’s there,” said Violet.

“Don’t do it, Violet,” said Henry. “He’ll come out at supper time. You wait and see.”

The train gave two whistles. Then it started. Off went the Aldens. Soon Glass Factory Junction was far behind them.

CHAPTER 6

Benny’s Adventure

While the Aldens were at the glass factory, Benny was walking through the woods. The path was very poor. Sometimes he thought that he was not on the path at all—and he was right.

Benny knew that he was supposed to go a mile, but he knew that he had walked much further than that. After a while, he did come to a main road. He looked both ways. At last he saw a house almost hidden by trees. Two boys were playing in the yard.

Benny walked toward the boys and called, “Do you own a talking horse?”

“Yes, we do,” said the older boy. “Want to see him?”

Benny nodded. “Yes, that’s what I came for,” he said.

The boys led Benny to a large shed. The little boy asked, “How did you hear about old Major?”

“Mr. Shaw, the stationmaster at Pinedale, told me,” said Benny. “He said Major was a circus horse.”

“That’s right,” said the boy. “Cho-Cho the clown works for Mr. Shaw. He used to own our horse, but he sold him to us.”

The three boys stopped at the door of the shed, and sure enough, inside was the horse.

The big boy said, “Well, Major, are you glad to see this stranger?”

The horse tossed his head and looked at Benny. The boys took the horse out of the shed.

“Are you afraid of the stranger?” asked the boy.

Major shook his head from side to side. His beautiful white mane blew in the wind. Benny was delighted.

“Could I ask him a question?”

“Sure,” said the boy. “Maybe he will answer you.”

“How much are two and one?” asked Benny in a loud voice. The horse pawed the ground three times.

“Sit down, Major,” said the boy. The horse sat down like a dog.

“What do you want to do now?” asked the boy. The horse lay down on his side and shut his eyes.

“He’s a wonder,” said Benny. “I suppose you will never sell him?”

“Well, it’s possible,” said the boy. “Major is lonesome here. You’re the first visitor we have had for two weeks. Where are you going from here?”

“Back to the train,” said Benny.

“You’d better get going then,” said the boy. “The train may leave, and the path isn’t very good.”

“I think I lost the path coming over. My name is Benny Alden. Maybe I’ll write to you sometime. Is your name Cutler?”

The big boy said, “Yes. If you want to write about the horse, you’d better send the letter to my father. His name is John Cutler. Send it to Glass Factory Junction.”

Benny thanked the boys and turned into the woods. “Keep going right along,” called the smaller boy, “or you’ll miss your train.”

“I’ll go as fast as I can,” shouted Benny. “Goodbye!”

Benny could not see any path. He struggled through the bushes. Once he tripped and fell on a stone and cut his knee. At last he said to himself, “I’m certainly lost. But I know I’m going the right way toward the station.”

Soon the path was better, and he began to run. In a minute he saw a little house that he had not passed on his way to the Cutlers. On the step sat a little boy and his mother.

“Look, Mom,” said the little boy. “Somebody’s coming.”

Benny was very glad to see some people. He said, “I want to catch that freight train. Do you think I can make it?”

“No,” said the woman. “I’m sorry. We just heard one whistle already. When it whistles again, the train will start. You can’t go fast enough to catch it.”

“I have to go just the same,” said Benny. “I lost the path when I came over. It took me a lot longer than I expected.”

The boy said, “Did you go to see the talking horse?”

“Yes, I did,” said Benny. “He was fun, but now I’ve lost my family.”

The boy looked at his mother. Then he said, “I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t look old enough,” said Benny.

“Oh, yes, I am,” said the boy. “I know the way to the station anyway, and I know every single train that goes by.”

“Yes, he does,” said the woman. “In summer he hasn’t anything else to do except watch the trains.”

“Come on,” said the boy. He led the way, running.

Benny followed him as well as he could.

“What’s your name?” he called to the boy. “Mine is Benny Alden.”

“Charley Jackson,” said the boy, running faster. “Be careful! This is a bad place!” It was too late. Benny had tripped over a great bunch of vines and fallen again on his sore knee.

“I’m sorry,” said Charley, coming back. “I guess you’re not used to running in the deep woods.”

“No,” said Benny. “But I ought to have seen those vines.”

“You’re caught for sure,” said Charley. “This is what I use for a knife.” He took a thin flat stone out of his pocket. He started to cut one vine after another.

“Well, that stone is sharp,” said Benny.

“Yes,” said Charley. “I have to carry something. I’m always needing a knife in these woods. There you are. Pull your foot out now.”

Benny started to get up.

“Look out! Don’t touch that!” said Charley. “That’s poison ivy!”

“Oh, I see it is now,” said Benny. “I wasn’t even looking. A good thing you stopped me, because that stuff poisons me.”

When Benny was on his feet, the boys ran on.

“Don’t feel bad about falling,” Charley called back. “I’ve seen grown-up men fall down in here, going to see the talking horse. I know where you went this morning. You weren’t on the path at all. This is bad, but that is worse. Oh, oh! There goes the whistle again.”

“And now I’ve lost my train,” said Benny.

Charley slowed down. “What are you going to do?”

“Well,” said Benny, “I’ll have to go to the railroad station just the same. You see my grandfather and my big brother and two sisters are on that train.”

“Won’t they make the train wait for you?” asked Charley.

Benny shook his head. “No. I told them that when I came back I would take a nap. I told them not to open the door and wake me up. So they will think I’m sleeping in the caboose.”

“Caboose!” said Charley. “I never heard of such a thing—traveling on a caboose!”

The boys walked slowly now.

“Yes,” said Benny. “We are taking a trip in two cabooses. I’ve been trying to think what my grandfather will do when he finds I’m not there. I’m sure he will come back to this station. There’s no other place for him to go.”

“I guess you’re right,” said Charley. “That’s the only road except this path. This road just goes a long way around by Cutlers.”

“My family won’t know I am lost until it’s supper time,” said Benny. “Oh, boy, am I hungry!”

“What did you have for lunch?”

“I didn’t have any lunch,” said Benny.

“No wonder you’re hungry,” said Charley. “Do you like apples?”

“I love them!” said Benny. “I could eat about a dozen right now.”

The boys reached the station. The door was locked. The factory was shut, too. The train had gone.

“You sit down on the doorstep,” said Charley. “I’ll be right back.”

Off he ran into the woods. In no time he was back again with his pockets full of small red apples.

“Have an apple,” he said. “These are wild. Not very good.”

“They are delicious!” said Benny. “You eat some, too, Charley.”

“I had my lunch,” said Charley, “but it’s supper time now.” He took an apple.

The two boys sat on the steps of the station.

“Charley, did you ever hear of a clown named Cho-Cho and a diamond necklace?” Benny asked.

“Oh, yes. Everybody knows about that,” said Charley. “Cho-Cho used to own the talking horse. My father used to tell me all about it, because the police asked him to watch out for a thin man.”

Benny nodded. “And your father never found him?”

“No. That was a long time ago. I don’t think they’ll ever find him.”

The two boys went on eating apples. They waited and waited and waited.

CHAPTER 7

A Wild Ride

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Grandfather sat quietly in the big caboose. Nobody spoke. The train rattled along.

At last Jessie said, “I can’t stand this. I’m going to see if Benny is in the little caboose. I hope you don’t mind, Grandfather.”

Mr. Alden said, “No, Jessie, I don’t mind. I think you are right. He ought to wake up anyway. It’s time for supper.”

Jessie and Violet opened the door of the little caboose. They took one look. They could see all four bunks. They were empty.

“He’s not here!” they called.

“Oh, Grandfather, what shall we do?” said Violet.

Mr. Alden said quickly, “Don’t worry, Violet. We’ll find him. I’m perfectly sure of that.”

Henry said, “Now is the time for those air brakes. We can let the trainmen know we are in trouble.”

He went to the desk and turned the lever halfway. The train slowed down at once and stopped.

The Aldens jumped off and met Al running down beside the train to meet them.

“Benny is missing!” shouted Grandfather.

“Missing!” called Al. “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later,” said Mr. Alden. “I’m sure he is still at Glass Factory Junction. He went to see the talking horse.”

“We can’t go back, sir,” said Al, frowning. “I’m sorry, but those are the rules. It might cause an accident.”

Grandfather nodded. “I understand,” he said, “but how can we get back to Glass Factory and find him?”

Al said, “I think you’d better go right along to the next station and get off. That will be Woodstock. You can hire some kind of a car at the station. Maybe you can catch us at Springdale if you find the boy.”

“Oh, we’ll find him!” said Grandfather. “We’ll find him if we have to cut down the whole woods.”

“We’ll do all we can,” said Al. “We’ll make a fast run to Woodstock.”

Al ran back to the engine. The Aldens piled into the big caboose. Two whistles, and away they went.

Jessie said, “Grandfather, where do you think Benny really is?”

“Well, my dear, Benny has a good head on his shoulders. He will think it out. When he sees that he has missed the train, he will probably stay right there. I am counting on that. What else could he do?”

“He might telephone,” said Violet.

“Well, where would he find a telephone?” asked Mr. Alden. “The station is probably closed, and so is the factory. Anyway, we will hurry back to Glass Factory and see if he is there.”

The caboose swayed from side to side.

“We’re going faster than usual,” said Jessie. “The engineer is helping us.”

The whole family was ready to jump off as soon as the train stopped at Woodstock. As they hurried toward the head of the train, they saw Mr. Carr talking to a man in an old station wagon.

Mr. Carr called, “Here is a man who will take you back to Glass Factory. I know him, and he’s a good driver.”

“Do you know the shortest way?” asked Grandfather, as they all got into the car.

“Yes, sir, we’ll come out by the factory and go over the track. There’s the station and the woods.”

“Right!”

Nobody spoke. The old car bumped along. At last it passed the glass factory and bumped over the railroad track.

“Here’s the station,” Henry called out, as the car came to a quick stop.

Benny and Charley sat on the step, eating apples. Benny looked up.

“There he is!” said Jessie.

“Oh, Benny! “called Violet.

Benny shouted, “There’s my grandfather, Charley.” He rushed to the car with an apple in each hand. “I knew it, I knew it! I knew you’d find me,” he said over and over. “I got lost and Charley was awfully good to me.”

Mr. Alden was in a great hurry, but he took time to thank Charley. He said, “Thank you, Charley. I can’t talk long now because we want to catch that train at the next station.”

“You can’t do it, mister,” said Charley. “Don’t stop at the next station. Go on to Fairfield and catch it there.”

“Thank you,” called Mr. Alden.

Charley watched the car as it turned around and went out of sight. Then he went off through the woods. He had had a wonderful time.

“That boy was right,” the driver said. “I won’t try to catch the train at Springdale, but I’ll go right across to Fairfield.”

They passed through Springdale, and no Little North Freight was in sight.

The car raced along. The driver was going to Fairfield, just as Charley had told him. The driver soon took a different road. He said, “When I tell you, be ready to get out.”

“You bet we will,” said Benny.

“Now!” called the driver. He stopped. The Aldens raced to the station and looked down the track.

“Oh, dear!” said Jessie. “There goes the train. We’ve missed it!” The big caboose was just disappearing around the bend.

“Never mind,” said the driver. “Get right back in the car, and I’ll race it to Oak Hill.”

“Wait!” cried Violet. “The train is backing up! There is Al on the back platform. He sees us.”

“And the conductor, too,” said Henry. “They are both waving.”

Sure enough, the Little North freight was slowly chug-chugging back to the station.

Grandfather paid the driver, and they all waited in a row until the train came to a stop.

Never was a train crew so glad to see passengers. The engineer blew his whistle. The conductor took a deep breath and helped Mr. Alden up the steps. Al looked at Benny and said, “Don’t go off again, young man.”

“No, I never will,” Benny promised.

The Aldens sat down in the big caboose. Jessie washed off Benny’s knee and put on a bandage. Then they all looked at each other. “I’m cold,” said Grandfather.

“I’m cold, too,” said Violet, shivering.

“You all need food,” Al said, going up the ladder. “Remember you haven’t had supper, and it’s eight o’clock.”

Jessie said, “I’ve an idea. Henry, you make some hot cocoa on the stove in the small caboose. Violet and I will use the stove in Number 777. We’ll get up a fine supper in no time.”

Jessie opened a can of chicken and heated it. Violet used potato flakes to make mashed potatoes. The girls opened a big can of cherries for dessert.

What a dinner the Aldens had! It was almost nine o’clock before they were through eating.

“I can see some of us are almost asleep,” said Henry. He winked at Jessie. Benny’s eyes were almost shut. The girls went quietly into the other caboose.

Henry began to help Benny get into bed.

“What about the lower bunk, old man?” said Henry. “Just for one night?”

“OK,” said Benny. That was all he could say. He was fast asleep.

CHAPTER 8

The Rainy Day

That night, the Aldens slept and slept. Henry was the first one to wake up. He was in the upper bunk. This was really the lookout with windows on all sides.

“Raining!” said Henry to himself. “Just look at the rain! I think the rain woke me up.”

The water was running down all the windows, making a loud tapping sound on the top of the caboose. Henry climbed down and found Mr. Alden and Benny awake.

“It’s pouring,” said Benny. “I don’t like that. I never thought of rain. We can’t sit out on the back platform at all.”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Henry. “We’ll find plenty to do.” He could see the girls walking around in the other caboose.

As Benny dressed, he looked around the big caboose. He thought about Cho-Cho, and Chi-Chi’s necklace, and the talking horse.

When the family sat down to breakfast, Mr. Alden said, “Now Ben, tell us how you got lost.”

Benny told the whole story. At the end he said, “Grandfather, you can see that Charley needs a knife if he has to use a sharp stone. Do you suppose you and I could give him one?”

“Maybe we could,” said Mr. Alden with a smile.

All this time Henry was thinking. He said, “Everything would be all fixed up if we could only find that diamond necklace. Cho-Cho could sell it and buy his horse back. Then maybe the Thin Man would not be afraid to see his friends.”

Violet said, “I worry about that Thin Man. And I don’t know a thing we can do.” She looked out of the window. “Just listen to that rain,” she went on. “And look at the trees. They are all bent over in the wind. I never saw it rain so hard. What a storm!”

“I’m sorry,” said Jessie, looking out of the window. “I’ll tell you why I’m sorry. I didn’t plan very well for rain. Today I was going to make a big stew, but I didn’t get the meat.”

“Never mind, Jessie,” said Henry. “I have a raincoat. I’ll get off at the next stop and buy whatever you want.”

Mr. Alden said, “Mr. Carr told me that we don’t make many stops, but the next one is quite a large town. Henry would have time to get meat, because we stay there for half an hour.”

“That will be fine,” said Jessie. “It will give the stew three hours to cook.”

“Make a list of what you need, Jessie,” said Henry. “I’ll get on my rain things.”

Benny said, “Here’s an old pair of boots under the sink.”

Henry put on his raincoat and pulled a black rain hat over his ears. He pulled on the big boots.

Jessie said, “Here’s the list. I hope you can get everything.”

Henry was a funny looking sight. He had a red scarf around his neck to hold up his collar. The boots were too big for him. Soon the train went past a big station and stopped above it. Henry opened the door and ran down the steps in the rain. Just as Henry reached the platform, Al met him. The two went off together.

“Good!” said Grandfather. “Al will know where the stores are.”

Jessie and Violet began to heat water for dishes. The sink was so small that they washed a few and put them away. Then they washed some more.

“You make your bed now, Benny,” said Jessie. “That will give you something to do. And the caboose will look better.”

“I’ll make all the beds in this Number 777,” said Benny. “The top bunk in the lookout is really mine, and I’ll sleep there tonight.”

The girls peeled onions and potatoes for the stew. They went into the small caboose and made their own beds.

“Ha!” called Benny from the lookout.

“What’s the matter?” asked Grandfather.

“Nothing—just the stuffing is coming out of my mattress. It makes me sneeze.”

“Yes,” said Grandfather, “I’ve heard you sneeze. I thought you had a cold.”

“No,” said Benny. “No cold—just stuffing. Some day will you mend my mattress, Jessie?”

“Of course,” said Jessie, “but not right now.”

Soon Grandfather said, “Here’s Henry back again. See him run! He can hardly stand up.”

Henry pushed the door open and came in, dripping water all over the floor. “It’s a cloud-burst!” he said.

Henry took off his wet things and hung them around the little caboose to dry. Jessie took out the carrots, the beef, milk, and other things that Henry had bought. She filled the biggest kettle with water. In went the onions, the meat, and some salt. She put on the cover.

“Thank you for the newspaper, Henry,” said Grandfather. “Rain all day,” he went on. “That’s what the paper says.”

“I don’t care,” Benny said. “I like it.”

“I thought you didn’t like it,” said Henry laughing.

Benny said, “I’ve been thinking about Number 777. I’m sure it does have a mystery. And a rainy day is a good one to work on a mystery. You know that necklace may be right in plain sight.”

“It couldn’t be,” Henry said. “We’d have seen it, Benny.”

“I mean it could be in something we look at everyday,” said Benny.

“Now that’s a good idea.” Henry looked at his brother. “I believe you might be right, Ben,” he said. “I don’t think the police looked in everything after the Thin Man ran away. I’m sure they thought he stole it.”

“Let’s begin again and look everything over,” Benny said.

They began by the door. Henry took the old stove apart. Jessie laughed and took the lamp apart. Violet began to take the canned vegetables off the shelves, to look under the papers.

Benny went to the bookcase beside the desk. He shook every book. A few old papers fell out. Benny-looked at every one, but he could not find a single clue. He began to put the books back. Some of them were quite tall.

As Benny started to put the books on the shelf, he saw something he had not seen before. It was an old postcard tacked up on the wall behind the books. Benny took out the thumbtack and looked at the postcard. His heart beat faster when he saw that it was addressed to Cho-Cho. He turned it over and read the three lines written there.

“Look!” he shouted. “Look at this, Grandfather!” He was so excited that he dropped the card. He picked it up and watched his grandfather as he read,

“If you are a Clown,

Be on the lookout

For things in a crown.”

“Well, well,” said Mr. Alden. “This is a real clue, Benny! It is signed right here by Chi-Chi.”

Jessie said, “Surely things in a crown would be diamonds!”

“I do think you’re right,” said Henry. “But it still doesn’t mean much to me.”

“It didn’t mean much to Cho-Cho,” agreed Mr. Alden, “or he would have told us about it. Or maybe he never found it.”

“He must have,” said Benny. “It went through the postoffice. It’s a clue all right. Perhaps there was something in the shape of a crown where she hid the necklace. We’ll have to think about it.”

Jessie jumped up. “I’ll have to think about the stew! Just smell it!”

She cut up the potatoes and carrots and put them into the stew. When they were done, Violet got five dishes out of the closet. Some were bowls and some were soup plates.

Jessie served the stew. She said, “We have rolls and milk and the stew, and that’s all.”

“That’s enough,” said Grandfather. “This is delicious, Jessie.”

The rain poured down all day. Mr. Alden said, “This is almost a hurricane. I hope tomorrow will be pleasant.”

Mr. Alden got his wish. When the Aldens woke up the next morning, the sun was shining.

About the middle of the morning, there was a loud knock on the door of the caboose.

CHAPTER 9

Engineer Benny

The knocking on the caboose door grew louder and louder.

“Who can that be?” Henry asked as he went to open the door. “Oh, it’s Al! Come right in!”

Al said, “I came to invite you to dinner at noon in our work-caboose.”

“What fun!” said Benny. “Are you going to do the cooking?”

“Yes,” said Al. “I’m the cook. But this is a surprise. We’ll unlock the door, and you can walk into our caboose at noon.”

“Could I ever see the engine?” asked Benny.

“I’ll ask Mr. Davis,” said Al. “He’s the engineer. I think he may let you run the engine. He’ll show you the dead-man’s pedal, anyway.”

“What’s the dead-man’s pedal?” asked Benny.

“A secret,” said Al. “See you at noon.”

At noon the family walked into the work-caboose. Mr. Carr was there, waiting. He said, “Mr. Davis is stopping the train. He says Benny can walk down to the engine.”

Benny said, “I suppose I couldn’t walk down on top of the train?”

“No,” said Mr. Carr laughing, “you could not.”

When the train stopped, Al and Mr. Carr and Benny walked down to the engine. When they were safely aboard, the train started again.

“Now you sit down in the engineer’s seat, Benny,” said Mr. Davis. “Here is the dead-man’s pedal. I keep my foot on that pedal all the time. If anything happened to me, my foot would slip off, and the train would stop. The air brakes would stop the train.”

“What could happen to you?” Benny asked.

“Well, I might have a heart attack.”

“Oh, I hope you won’t,” said Benny.

Mr. Davis laughed. “No, I don’t expect to, but that pedal is a nice thing to have. Now, Benny, pull this lever and the train will start.”

Benny pulled the lever. The big engine began to move. Benny said, “Oh, this is fun! I’m really running the train.”

“You can go faster,” said Mr. Davis. “Just pull the lever a little more.”

Soon Benny could make the train go faster or slower.

“Good, Benny,” said the engineer. “Now ring the bell. Now blow the whistle—right here. You see we are on a double track. A faster train will pass us later. Sometimes we set off dynamite on the track. See this little torpedo? That tells another train that danger is ahead. But now you had better stop the train.”

Al said, “Dinner is ready anyway.”

Benny stopped the train, and he walked back with Al and Mr. Carr to the trainmen’s caboose. He took one look at the table. “Oh, that’s keen!” he shouted. “Everyone has a talking horse!”

On each plate was an animal made of a big frankfurter. The legs were four smaller sausages. The heads were pickles. The tails were carrot curls.

Al said, “We have plenty of extra frankfurters, so eat all you want.”

They all sat down at the table. Mr. Davis started up the engine again.

“This is the first party we ever had on this caboose,” Mr. Carr said.

“I never thought I’d ever be eating dinner in a caboose with a train crew. Can I run the Diesel again after dinner?” asked Benny.

“Sure,” said Mr. Carr. “Mr. Davis says he likes to have help. It gives him a rest.”

Grandfather laughed.

After dinner, Mr. Davis stopped the train again, and Benny walked back to the engine. Mr. Davis gave him the engineer’s seat, and he pulled the lever. Benny was quite used to it now. He kept his eyes on the two tracks ahead, but there was not much to see.

Mr. Davis said, “Very soon that fast train will pass right by us on that other track. Just slow down while it goes by.”

“My, this is a lonesome place,” said Benny. “No houses.”

“No,” said Mr. Davis, “there isn’t a house for miles.”

“A few trees,” said Benny, “two railroad tracks, and us. And that’s all.”

Suddenly Benny saw something on the track ahead.

“Oh, look, Mr. Davis!” he shouted. “What’s that?”

Mr. Davis had seen the same thing. He grabbed the lever. “Let me do it, boy!”

He stopped the train as quickly as he could. It was not a minute too soon.

“Well, that was good luck,” he said. A narrow escape!”

Al was on top of the train. He took one look at the tracks ahead. Then he climbed quickly down the ladder and ran back toward the end of the train.

“Why is Al running?” Benny asked. “I can’t see anything back there.”

“The fast train on the other track is due any minute,” Mr. Davis said. “They won’t see the trouble in time to stop. We have to warn them.”

“How?” asked Benny. “What can we do in time to stop them?”

“Al is going to put a torpedo on that other track behind us. When that fast freight runs over the torpedo, the engineer will stop his train.”

“What is that thing on the tracks ahead of us?” Benny asked.

“A tree. Let’s get out and see it. You see it has fallen right across both tracks.”

By now the rest of the Aldens knew that something was wrong. They had seen Al running past them, and they knew that the train had stopped very suddenly. Violet asked, “Oh, do you suppose anything has happened to Benny?”

“Let’s go and see,” said Grandfather. When the family reached the front of the engine, they could see Benny standing beside the men. Mr. Davis and Mr. Carr each had a shovel and an axe.

It was a sight to see. An enormous tree had fallen across both tracks. Wet earth was piled high on one side. It had come from a high bank above the track.

“The storm did this,” said Mr. Davis.

The two men began to chop off branches. The Aldens pulled the branches away without a word. They threw them down the bank out of the way. Everyone worked fast. Al shoveled the earth off the track.

Mr. Davis and Mr. Carr were listening for something. The engineer took out his watch and looked at it. “That train ought to be along any minute,” he said.

Suddenly there was a great BANG! Everyone jumped. Violet covered her ears. “What an awful noise!” she said.

“That’s the torpedo!” said Benny. He looked down the track and saw the other train. It had stopped. Men were running toward them.

One man shouted, “The storm did this, I suppose?”

“Right!” said Mr. Carr. “The wind blew the tree down, and the rain washed down all this earth. It’s a wonder it didn’t wash out the track under us.”

The new train crew had shovels and axes, too. They went right to work. Soon both tracks were clear, and the fast train could go along. The Aldens waved and watched it out of sight.

Benny said, “I guess you’d better run the engine, Mr. Davis. It’s too exciting for me.”

The Aldens thanked the men for the fine dinner. Then they started back to their own caboose. As they walked along, Jessie said, “I’ve had enough excitement for one day. Let’s do something quiet.”

“You might mend my mattress, Jessie. That will be quiet enough,” said Benny.

“Good!” agreed Jessie. “Just the thing. I will mend your mattress right now.”

The minute the train started, Jessie got a big needle and heavy thread from Violet’s workbag. She sat down at the big table.

“This is just what I meant,” she said. “A quiet change for everybody.”

CHAPTER 10

Curing Sneezes

It was quiet in the caboose while Jessie laid out Violet’s scissors and threaded a needle. Grandfather sat by his window as he always did, but the others sat around the table with Jessie.

Benny asked, “Are you going to mend my mattress way up in the lookout?”

Jessie laughed. “No, I couldn’t work up there. I think we shall have to take it down.”

“I’ll do it,” said Henry. “Come on, Ben, give me a hand.”

The boys pulled at the mattress. It was heavy and hard to hold. But at last the long mattress slid down from the lookout. The boys laid it on the table.

Jessie sat down right in front of the hole. She looked at the mattress. It was covered with old black leather.

“I wonder if this is the same mattress the circus people used,” she said. “It looks old enough.”

“Remember I told you,” said Grandfather, “that my friend said we could have new covers if we wanted them.”

“I remember,” said Jessie. “But we’re glad we took the caboose just as it was. No new things.” She took a stick and poked at the stuffing. She said, “A lot of stuffing is coming out. I think I’ll pull out a little more. That will make it more even.”

She did so. Out came a big bunch of stuffing. She picked it to pieces because it was rather hard. Then she pushed it back with the long stick. Then she began to sew. Everybody watched.

“That’s like a baseball,” said Benny.

“Yes, it’s called baseball stitch,” said Jessie. “The needle goes in one side and then in the other.”

When it was done, Benny said, “That’s fine, Jessie. Would you want to mend the other side, too?”

“Of course! I might as well do it all.”

Jessie went around and sat down on the other side of the mattress. She said, “This side isn’t as bad.”

“I’ll help you pull out the stuffing,” said Benny. “I’m used to it. Every night I sneeze and sneeze.”

He pulled out a lot of stuffing with the stick.

“Let’s take it all out, Jessie,” he said. “Then it really will be smooth. It’s so lumpy.” He dug out some more.

Henry laughed. He said, “You have lots of troubles, Ben. Lumps and sneezes. Why didn’t you say so?”

“I did say so. I asked Jessie a long time ago to mend my mattress, didn’t I? What’s all this?”

“Well, what is it?” asked Henry.

Benny began saying “Hey! Hey! Hey!” He pulled at the stuffing, and out dropped a little package done up in paper!

“Oh, Benny!” said Jessie.

Benny’s hands shook as he tried to untie the string.

“Oh, shucks!” he said. “I can’t untie that string. I’ll tear it open.”

He tore the paper and shook it. A long chain fell out that sparkled with every color of the rainbow. Benny picked up the chain and hung it on one finger. The light made it shine with blue and yellow and green and flashing red. Everyone said, “O-ooo!”

“Benny!” called Mr. Alden in a loud voice from his chair. “Let me see that!”

Benny gave the shining string to his grandfather.

“Children!” said Grandfather. “This is that diamond necklace! Real diamonds, I’m sure.”

“That big one in the middle is just the color of my red dish,” said Benny.

“I’m sure that is a ruby. If it is a real ruby, it is worth more than the diamonds.” Grandfather gazed at it.

Henry said, “This is wonderful! Think what it means! This certainly belongs to Cho-Cho. He can sell it for hundreds of dollars.”

“And get back his talking horse,” said Benny.

The Aldens passed the necklace from hand to hand. They all watched it sparkle in the light. Violet said, “I can see a beautiful violet color as I turn it.”

“And I can see red,” said Benny, twisting it.

“I’ll tell you what we can do,” said Grandfather. “Al says the next stop is a big city. It will surely have a good jewelry store. We can take the necklace there and ask them how much it is worth. They will know if the diamonds are real.”

Jessie added, “Then we’ll have something to tell Cho-Cho.”

Violet said slowly, “I was thinking of the Thin Man. He didn’t hide it here, did he, Grandfather?”

“No, certainly not. I’m sure this was Chi-Chi’s own hiding place. Probably nobody slept in this lookout for years. I’m sure the owner’s wife would not take the upper bunk. She’d sleep in the lower one.”

“Just let me see that necklace again,” said Jessie. “Isn’t it beautiful!” They passed the necklace around again.

Henry gave the necklace back to Benny. He said, “How in the world did Chi-Chi expect her husband to find it?”

“Maybe she didn’t want Cho-Cho to find it,” said Jessie. “But I can’t think why.”

Benny was staring at nothing. “Listen!” he shouted. “She did want Cho-Cho to find it! Think of that postcard we found behind the books. It said ‘Be on the lookout’—and the necklace was up in the lookout!”

“Benny, I do believe you are right,” exclaimed Mr. Alden. “Cho-Cho read that verse, but he didn’t understand what his wife meant.”

Henry said, “We didn’t understand, either, at first.” He smiled at Benny.

Jessie settled back. She said, “Now I can hardly wait to get to that big city to see how much the necklace is worth. I was sorry before, because the city means the end of the trip.”

Benny shook his head. He said, “No, Jessie, our trip is just half over. We still have the trip back home. And don’t forget we still have a mystery. Why did the Thin Man run away? And how can we get word to him that we have found the necklace?”

Henry nodded at his brother. “Good for you, Ben. That is a real question. If the police couldn’t find the Thin Man, how can we?”

At last, Jessie picked up her needle. “I’ll have to sew up this mattress or Benny won’t have any bed to sleep in.” She stuffed it carefully and sewed up the corner.

“We’ll put it back, Jessie,” said Henry. Benny took hold of one end. As he climbed up, Benny began to laugh. He called down,

“If you are a Clown,

Be on the lookout

For things in a crown.”

“I’d like to see Cho-Cho’s face when he sees the necklace,” said Jessie.

“And Mr. Shaw’s face, and the Thin Man’s face,” said Benny.

“If we find him,” said Violet.

After the sheets were on the bed again, the family sat down. Henry laughed. He said, “Well, Jessie, I hope this isn’t your idea of a quiet, peaceful change!”

“Well, no,” said Jessie. “But it certainly was a change!”

CHAPTER 11

Is It Real?

Mr. Alden kept the necklace in his pocket. Next morning, after the housework was done, the train began to slow down. It went clacking onto a siding and came to a stop. The Aldens went down the steps, and there was Al.

Al called to them, “You have two hours here, Mr. Alden. We have to turn the train around. This is the end of the run. Be ready to go back in two hours.”

Mr. Alden asked, “Do you know of a good jewelry store?”

“Yes, right over there on Main Street,” said Al. “We pass it when we eat lunch at the Golden Horn. Maybe you’d like to eat lunch there, too.”

Mr. Alden said, “Come nearer, Al. Look at this.” Mr. Alden held up the sparkling necklace.

“Chi-Chi’s diamonds!” said Al. “Where in the world did you find them?”

“In my mattress,” said Benny. “Jessie was mending it, and there they were.”

“I’ll tell the crew,” said Al. “Oh, will they ever be surprised! I’ll tell them this minute. I have to go now anyway.”

He rushed off. The Aldens went along Main Street. “What an adventure! It seems strange to see sidewalks and stores again,” said Benny.

Jessie said, “Isn’t that the Golden Horn way up the street?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “I can see it. And the jewelry store is on this side.”

Mr. Alden looked at the sign. “Oh, I know all about that store,” he said. “It is famous. We can trust them to tell us the truth.”

In a few minutes the Aldens went into the store. Mr. Alden went over to a gray—haired man behind a counter.

“How do you do. My name is James Alden. My grandchildren have found a lost article. We know who lost it, but we would like to know how much it is worth.”

The gentleman smiled. He expected to see a ring or a pin. He took one glance at the necklace and then looked up. “Well, sir!” he said. “Do you know what you have here?”

“Well, I have some idea,” said Mr. Alden, smiling.

The man called to another man, “Come here a minute.”

When Mr. Alden put the necklace on the black velvet tray, the second man whistled. He sat down and began to look at the diamonds through a magnifying glass. It took a long time.

Jessie thought, “Will he never tell us?”

At last he took the glass from his eye and said, “Mr. Alden, every stone is a real diamond, and every one is perfect. But the ruby is the best of all. It is a very fine one.”

“How much is the necklace worth?” asked Grandfather.

“I wouldn’t want to say,” said the man. “I would need more time.”

Benny spoke up. “Well, could a single man buy a horse and support himself and the horse for a year?”

The man laughed. “Yes, I think so.”

“That’s just what I wanted to know,” said Grandfather. He put the necklace back in his pocket. Then he said, “And now we’d like to buy a knife.”

“A knife!” exclaimed the man. He thought that Mr. Alden must want to buy a knife for himself. He took out some beautiful silver pocketknives.

“Oh, no,” said Mr. Alden. “I should have told you. We want to buy a knife for a nine-year-old boy. But it must be a strong knife that will fit a boy fourteen years old. Right, Benny?”

“Yes,” said Benny. “This boy lives in the woods, and he cuts vines and everything.”

The jeweler smiled. “Right over here,” he said. “These are all boys’ knives. Here is one with all sorts of things in it. Two blades, and a screwdriver—”

“A can opener,” said Benny, “and a leather punch. It couldn’t be better, Grandfather! Charley will certainly like that one. I can hardly wait to see his face when he opens it.”

Mr. Alden paid the man and gave him a card. The man looked at it and said, “Don’t I know you? I know the James Alden Library and the James Alden Museum. Are you that James Alden?”

“Well, I suppose I am. We all thank you very much.”

When the Aldens were outside, Henry said, “He was surprised about the knife. First a diamond necklace and then a boy’s jackknife!”

“Oh, I’m hungry,” said Benny, “and here’s the Golden Horn.”

The other Aldens didn’t laugh this time, for they were hungry, too. They all went into the restaurant.

“I’m going to have a pizza,” said Jessie.

“So am I,” agreed Violet. “We haven’t had a pizza for weeks and weeks.”

Everyone wanted a pizza. Soon the pies came, hot and bubbling. The tomato sauce was thick with cheese. When lunch was over, Henry said, “We’d better go back to the caboose now.”

When they reached the caboose, the whole train had been turned around. They climbed the steps of Number 777.

This time Al walked down on the top of the cars to see if Benny was aboard.

“It’s all right, Al,” called Benny. “I’m here this time. I try not to make the same mistake twice.”

“That’s a fine idea,” said Al. “It won’t take as long to get home as the trip out. It never does. We have more empty boxcars and not so much freight. But we do have to stop at Glass Factory Junction and Pinedale. You can see your friends then. Are you all ready, Mr. Alden?”

Mr. Alden laughed. “Yes, we are ready. We have many things to do before we stop anywhere.”

“I can believe that. You folks would always think up something to do. That’s sure. So here we go!”

In a minute the train began to move slowly toward home.

CHAPTER 12

Mysterious Message

The train was creeping along. It had hardly left the freight yard in the city.

“I wonder why we don’t go faster,” said Henry. He looked out of the window.

Jessie said, “Maybe they have to go slowly when they have just turned the train around.”

But then the train stopped.

“Now what’s the matter?” asked Benny. “I’m sure Al will tell us if there is anything wrong.”

“Mr. Carr will tell us,” said Grandfather.

As he spoke, Mr. Carr came down the ladder and tapped on the door. Henry opened it.

“Don’t be worried,” said Mr. Carr. “We are having a little trouble with the engine. The men are starting to fix it already. You’ll just have to sit here for a bit.”

“What is wrong?” asked Grandfather.

“The waterline broke, but Mr. Davis says we’ll be off in an hour.”

“An hour!” said Benny. “I thought nothing could happen to a Diesel.”

“Well, young man, plenty can happen. We never know. I’m sure you folks can think of things to do.” He laughed. “You can’t help us this time, so just amuse yourselves.” He walked quickly away.

The Aldens sat down in Number 777 and looked at each other.

“I don’t mind waiting an hour,” said Jessie.

Henry said, “If we really can’t help the men, we can think about the Thin Man. We ought to let him know we found the diamonds.”

“How can we let him know if we can’t find him?” asked Violet.

“There must be some way,” said Benny. “That poor man wasn’t to blame at all. Just think how he must feel.”

Jessie said, “I’ve always been sorry for him. Of course he made a mistake to run away. That’s the worst thing he could have done.”

Benny nodded. “He made a mistake all right. But the police were so sure he stole the necklace, I don’t blame him, really.”

“You don’t blame him, Ben?” asked Grandfather, looking right at his grandson.

“No, I don’t. We wouldn’t want to be arrested, would we? Even if we hadn’t done anything wrong?”

Violet said, “I wouldn’t, I’m sure. I wonder where he went. And how could he earn a living? Somebody would be sure to see him.”

“It’s a mystery still,” said Jessie. “It happened so long ago. The Thin Man could be anywhere.”

“He must be somewhere,” said Benny. “And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to think of some way to send him a message. He ought to be told.”

Henry winked. “We might get an airplane to do skywriting.”

Benny stood up. “Boy, that gives me an idea!” he said. “What about radio? We could get a radio station to send a message.”

Henry nodded.

Jessie asked, “Henry, what would you say on a radio? We can’t say diamonds or necklace because everyone will answer.”

“I’d say a lost article,” said Henry. “And tell him to come to Pinedale. That will give him time to get there.”

Benny sat down at the desk. “Let’s write this down,” he said. “Then it will be ready when we need it. We’ll begin, ‘Notice to Thin Man.’ OK, Henry?”

“That’s fine,” said Henry. “There aren’t many men who are called thin men.”

In a few minutes Benny had written this piece. He read it aloud to his family.

Notice to Thin Man:

Chi-Chi’s lost article has been found.

She hid it herself. Please come Thursday

to Pinedale and Number 777.

“Good!” said Henry. “I should think he could understand that, wherever he is. And now where will we find a radio station?”

“I know!” shouted Benny. “Right here in this big city. Will you help us, Grandfather?”

“Certainly,” said Mr. Alden, getting up. “We’ll have time if we get a taxi and hurry.”

“I’m ready,” said Benny.

“You and Ben go, Grandfather,” said Henry. “Two can hurry faster than five. We’ll walk down to the engine and tell Mr. Carr where you are.”

Mr. Alden and Benny got off the caboose and walked quickly back to Main Street.

“A taxi driver will know where the radio station is,” said Mr. Alden. “Let’s ask this one.”

In ten minutes Benny and his grandfather were standing in the radio office. Grandfather quickly told the man what he wanted. When the man read the notice, he smiled.

“You sit down right here,” he said, “and you’ll hear what I say. This station reaches for miles and miles.”

Benny said, “Will you keep on saying it? He may not be near a radio.”

“I will, young man.”

“My grandfather will let you know when we have an answer,” said Benny.

“You seem sure that this man will answer,” said the radio man.

“Oh, yes, I am,” said Benny. “He’ll be so pleased.”

After Mr. Alden had thanked the man, he told Benny to wait. “I have to make a few telephone calls,” he said.

Benny was used to this. Grandfather was always telephoning.

When the taxi returned to the train, the men were still working on the waterline. Mr. Carr called, “Ten minutes more will do it!”

“Good!” Mr. Alden called back.

When the family sat down again in the caboose, Mr. Alden said, “Let me see. We spent five days on the train coming out. We should get to Pinedale the day after tomorrow.”

Benny said, “That will give the Thin Man nearly two days to get to Pinedale. Oh, I hope he listens to the radio!”

Jessie had a surprise for them. “See what Mr. Carr gave me. A transistor radio.” She took a tiny radio out of her bag and set it on the table.

“Good for Mr. Carr,” said Grandfather. “Just what we need.”

Almost at once a voice gave the notice. They could hear every word.

“The same man!” said Benny.

Then the train started. Soon they were rolling along to make up time.

Jessie said, “Let’s not forget Charley. We see him first at Glass Factory before we ever get to Pinedale.”

“And how will we ever find Charley?” asked Benny. “It seems as if we are always looking for lost people or lost things. You won’t want to walk through the woods, Grandfather, as I did.”

“I certainly don’t expect to walk through any woods,” said Mr. Alden. “But we’ll find him.”

Everyone helped Jessie with the cooking. They swept out both cabooses and made everything neat. They stopped once for milk. They had to wear sweaters this time when they sat on the back platform. The leaves were starting to turn red and yellow, and the country was beautiful. All the time they talked about their friends in Glass Factory Junction and Pinedale. The train rattled along faster and faster.

After a day and a half, Benny said, “That didn’t really seem long. And we are almost at Glass Factory. Let’s see if Charley is there.”

The Aldens didn’t need to worry. Charley was standing on the platform when Number 777 came to a stop. The two Cutler boys were there with their father. Mr. Lidstone from the factory was there. The Aldens jumped down.

“How did you know we were coming today?” asked Benny.

Mr. Lidstone laughed and said, “This is the only time for Number 777 to come through here, and you’d have to be on it. And we had some good reasons to expect you.”

Benny ran right over to Charley. “Something for you, Charley,” he said. “You were so good to me when I was lost.” He gave him the knife. Charley was very much pleased. But when he opened it, he was more pleased than ever.

“Oh, a screwdriver,” he said. “And I’ve always needed something to punch holes with. This knife will do everything! And how is your knee?”

“Fine,” said Benny. “And thanks to you, I didn’t get poison ivy!”

Mr. Alden was walking over to Mr. Cutler who owned the talking horse. They began to speak in low voices. All at once they all heard a strange sound behind the station.

“That sounds like a horse!” shouted Benny.

“It is a horse,” said the Cutler boy. “The talking horse. Didn’t you know?”

“No,” said Henry. “That’s just like Grandfather.”

“He telephoned to us,” said the boy, laughing.

“Yes, Major’s going on the same train with you, in a boxcar,” added Mr. Cutler.

Everyone rushed around to see the horse. There stood Major, pawing the ground and shaking his head. He was tied to a tree. Mr. Cutler untied the rope and led him to the train. A boxcar was ready. A heavy board led up into the boxcar. Mr. Cutler went up the board first, and Major followed him.

When Major was safely in his boxcar, the whistle blew and the train started. Everyone waved to the Aldens.

Charley said, “I don’t think I’ll ever see Benny Alden again.”

“Well,” said the Cutler boy, “you’ve got a knife to remember him by.”

Charley thought for a minute.

Then he said, “But I don’t need a knife to remind me of Benny Alden. Nobody could ever forget Benny.”

CHAPTER 13

Surprise for Cho-Cho

It was not far from Glass Factory to Pinedale. Suddenly Jessie said, “Grandfather, let’s have a party for the train crew and the people at Pinedale. We have big boxes of cookies. And I could use up all the canned orange juice and mix it with coke. Do you think it would be good?”

“We can try it and see,” said Henry.

Jessie put one bottle of coke into a big pitcher. Then she put in a cup of orange juice.

“Not bad!” Henry said.

Violet tried it. She said, “It really is good.”

The train rattled along. Soon they heard the whistle up in the engine.

Mr. Alden said, “Remember Cho-Cho doesn’t know we have found the necklace. And he doesn’t know that his horse is on the train.”

“Do you think he’ll be at the station?” asked Henry.

“Yes, I do. Mr. Shaw has to be at the station, and Cho-Cho helps him.”

When the train stopped, all the Aldens looked out.

Benny said, “The very same men! Six of them.”

The Aldens hurried down the steps. Everyone began to shake hands.

Grandfather said to Benny, “You found the necklace. You give it to Cho-Cho.”

Benny couldn’t wait a second. He shouted, “Cho-Cho! Come here a minute! See what we found. We found it in the mattress in the lookout!”

Cho-Cho took the paper package. He did not understand what Benny was talking about. “Open it!” said Benny. “It’s yours!”

Everyone was watching. Cho-Cho took off the paper, and there hung the diamond necklace shining in the sun.

Cho-Cho began to shake. He said, “Chi-Chi! Your necklace!”

“Look out. He’s going to faint,” said Mr. Shaw.

“Oh, no, I’m not,” said Cho-Cho. “I’m going right to Glass Factory and buy my horse back. Mr. Cutler will sell him when I show him these diamonds.”

“I’m sure he will,” said Mr. Alden, smiling.

“We’ll go with you, Cho-Cho,” said Benny. “Come on, we’ll get on the train.”

“No, boy,” said Cho-Cho. “That train is going the other way.”

His voice was quite loud. Major heard his master, and he did his best to answer with a loud whinny.

“Major!” shouted Cho-Cho. He could not hurry fast enough.

Al and Henry had the board ready. And off walked Major without a single slip. He stopped beside his master.

Cho-Cho put his arms around the horse’s neck and began to talk to him.

“Oh, Major, I was so lonesome for you!”

Then nobody could believe it. The answer came back, “I was lonesome for you, too.”

“That sounded just like a horse,” shouted Benny.

Mr. Carr laughed. “What does a horse sound like, Benny?” he asked.

“The horse didn’t really talk though, did he?” asked Benny.

“Well, no, I can’t really talk,” came the horse’s voice.

Everyone looked at Cho-Cho, but nobody could see his lips move. The horse said, “My master is a clever man, as you say. I have missed him very much.”

Mr. Davis said, “People would pay money to hear Cho-Cho and his horse talking together.”

“I would myself,” said Mr. Alden.

“I’m hungry, Cho-Cho,” said Major. Still Cho-Cho did not move his lips.

Benny was glad to hear that. “We’re all hungry, Major. We are going to have a party right now.”

Henry said, “Everyone come into the caboose and help bring the things down.”

Mr. Carr came down with a big plate of cookies. Mr. Davis had another. Henry and Al came down with the new drink in big pitchers.

“This is our Alden orange-coke special,” said Henry.

All the people stood around eating. Mr. Alden said to Cho-Cho, “Do you want to sell the necklace?”

“Yes,” said Cho-Cho. “Diamonds are no good to me.”

“Do you know what you want to do with the money?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Oh, yes, I thought of that long ago. I can buy a truck with a horse-trailer on the back. This would be a little home for Major and a home for me. I’ve always wanted to travel around and show my talking horse.”

“Good!” said Mr. Alden. “I wish I could go with you. I am going to New York soon anyway. I shall be glad to sell the necklace for you.”

Cho-Cho gave the necklace to Mr. Alden. He said, “I’m afraid I couldn’t do it myself. But I could get the trailer.”

“Could you?” asked Grandfather in surprise.

“Yes, I could,” said Cho-Cho. “It’s not far. I think Mr. Shaw will take me tomorrow in his car.”

“Tomorrow? Tonight!” said Mr. Shaw. “Why wait till tomorrow, Cho-Cho?”

Suddenly Mr. Davis said, “Listen! Here comes a motorcycle. I wonder who that is.”

A large man dashed up on a motorcycle. He got off quickly and went right over to Cho-Cho.

“Don’t you know me?” he asked.

Cho-Cho looked him over. “No. I never saw you before in my life,” he said.

“You’ve seen me hundreds of times,” said the man.

“I’ve seen you,” shouted Benny. “You’re a special postman, and your name is Sid Weston.”

The postman shook his head. “No, my name is not Sid Weston any more. My name is John Mann. I’m the Thin Man!”

Cho-Cho looked at him more closely. “You are the Thin Man, John!” he exclaimed. “But you aren’t thin any more.”

“I hope not,” said the Thin Man. “I worked hard enough to gain all this weight. It took me over a year. But it was worth it. Nobody ever knew me.”

Cho-Cho said slowly, “John, tell me why did you ever run away if you didn’t take those diamonds?”

“I want to tell you,” said the Thin Man. “Nobody believed what I said, and I had a lot of money on me. I didn’t have a chance to hide it. I had been saving all my money for a long time. I didn’t want to stay in the circus all my life. The money was sewed in the lining of my coat.”

Henry nodded. “That would mean trouble for you. If the police had found all that money, they would think you had stolen the diamonds for sure.”

“And sold them,” said Benny.

“Right,” said the Thin Man. “You’re a smart boy. I went to a lonely place and lived in a tumble-down house, and nobody found out where I went.”

Mr. Shaw said, “You must have been eating all the time.”

“Yes, that’s all I did,” said the Thin Man. “I would walk to a big city and get all the food I could carry. Then I just sat around and ate.”

“I never heard of such a thing,” said Mr. Alden. “I suppose when you were fat enough, you looked for a job as a postman.”

“Yes, I used to be a postman before I joined the circus. So I got a job near the Little North Railroad. When I heard that notice on the radio, I came down here as fast as I could. I rode all night. I haven’t had a happy moment since Chi-Chi died. Who was kind enough to put that news on the radio?”

“Grandfather,” said four voices.

“Thank you, Grandfather,” said the Thin Man with a bow. Everybody laughed.

Just then Mr. Carr said, “I am sorry to stop this party, but the train has to go along.”

“Could I go, too?” asked the Thin Man. “I want to stop and see my friend Old Beaver. It will save me a lot of time if you could take me and my motorcycle on board.”

Mr. Carr laughed. He said, “We’re not supposed to stop at Beaver Lake. But I guess we can stop long enough to let you off.”

The Aldens went up the steps of Number 777. The Thin Man followed with his motorcycle. Then the train moved away, leaving behind some good friends who were still laughing and pointing and waving.

CHAPTER 14

Best Trip of All

The train did stop at Beaver Lake after all. On the way from Pinedale, Benny said, “I’m glad you’re going to see Old Beaver. He has been angry ever since the police made you run away.”

“Yes, he would be,” said the Thin Man. “He didn’t know a thing about the money sewed in my coat. But he knew I’d never steal anything. By the way, where did you find the diamonds?”

“In the old black mattress in the lookout,” said Henry.

“Oh,” said the Thin Man, thinking it over. He nodded. “Yes, Chi-Chi did sleep there once in a while. You see the owner’s wife was important. She always slept in the lower bunk. But she thought a lot of Chi-Chi.”

The train slowed down for Beaver Lake. The Thin Man was all ready to get off.

“Here I go,” he said. “I’m going to see Old Beaver every week on my motorcycle. He is still my best friend.”

The Aidens watched him take the motorcycle off, then the train started again.

Jessie said, “Well, I’m glad those two are together. We don’t have to worry any more about either of them.”

The train rattled along without stopping. But the Aldens had plenty to talk about. They talked about their new friends and all their adventures.

“You solved the mystery as usual, Ben,” said Henry.

“Well, I don’t know,” said Benny. “Nobody could have solved it if Jessie hadn’t mended my mattress.”

Benny was quiet for a minute. Then he exclaimed, “Say! I just thought of something. Supposing we had told Grandfather’s friend we wanted new mattress covers! We would never have found those diamonds!”

“Good for you, Ben,” said Henry. “And nobody else would have, either.”

Mr. Alden agreed. “I think they would have been covered up for good. And now I think I shall begin to pack.”

“I don’t really want to pack,” said Benny. “I could go on and on riding in this caboose forever.”

“Well, I couldn’t,” said Mr. Alden. “I have to get back to work. I shall fly to New York and sell the necklace the very first thing I do.”

The next morning, the train began to slow down for the last stop. It ran into the freight yard where the Aldens had started on their caboose adventure. They were all on the back platform, ready to get out. The train stopped.

Benny shouted, “Yes, John Carter has come to meet us. The station wagon is right over there.”

Mr. John Carter worked for Grandfather in a great many ways. Everyone called, “Hello, Mr. Carter!” as they stepped off the caboose.

“I’m glad to see you back,” he called back. “And somebody else is glad, too. Here he is!”

Mr. Carter opened the car door, and Watch jumped out. He dashed over to Jessie. Then he went from one to another, barking and jumping. They each gave him a pat as he dashed on to the next one.

Benny said, “Watch, your name ought to be Dash. I didn’t know how fast you could run around. And I didn’t know how glad I’d be to see you.”

All the railroad men began to help take the things out of the caboose. Mr. Carter and Henry packed them in the Alden car.

Al said, “Maybe you will go again sometime. You were wonderful passengers.”

Mr. Carr said, “It was a pleasure to have you aboard.”

“I was just going to say that,” said Mr. Davis. “It was exciting, too!”

The Aldens piled into the station wagon and waved until the men were out of sight. When Henry drove the car up to the front door, they all unpacked the car. Mr. Alden went in and started to open his mail.

He called, “This is for all of us. It’s a postcard from Charley. He says how much he uses his knife.”

“Let me see it,” said Benny. “Yes, that’s a picture of the old station at Glass Factory. I’ll never forget that place.”

In a little while the Aldens sat down to supper.

“I think I’ll pack some clean things,” said Grandfather, “and fly to New York tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!” said Jessie. “You just got home!”

“I know,” said Mr. Alden. “But I want to sell that necklace and send the money to Cho-Cho.”

“I don’t blame you, Grandfather,” said Henry. “You’d like to get it off your mind.”

Grandfather returned the same day from his trip.

“Oh, I’m so glad I went,” he told them. “A jeweler bought the diamonds for a good price. But he paid twice as much as I expected for the ruby. He said it was especially fine, and he could easily sell it.” Grandfather smiled at the thought. “So Cho-Cho’s worries are over.”

A week later a real letter came from Cho-Cho himself. Inside was a picture of Cho-Cho sitting in the cab of a truck. A horse-trailer with a roof was behind the truck. There was Major looking out of the big window.

“There’s Major’s little house,” said Benny. “I was hoping he would have a roof over his head when it rains. I’d like to go South with them, Jessie.”

“I think we have traveled enough for a while,” said Jessie. “But didn’t we have a grand time!”

“I think the caboose was the best adventure we ever had,” said Violet.

They all agreed.

And if the Little North Railroad could talk, it would have said, “This is the very best trip I ever had in my whole life, even when I used to carry the gold-and-white circus caboose, Number 777.”

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1966 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0803-8

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Houseboat Mystery

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

Illustrated by David Cunningham

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago, Illinois

My thanks to

Commander Neal E. Williams

of the United States Coast Guard

for many courtesies.

G.C.W.

Contents

CHAPTER

1   Houseboat for Rent

2   Henry’s Invention

3   Trouble Brewing

4   The Auction

5   April Center

6   Something Wrong

7   Mystery in a Picture

8   A Discovery

9   The Plan

10   Trapped!

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

Houseboat for Rent

What a hot day in July! The four Alden children were sitting under the trees with their grandfather. This was the coolest place they could find.

“Oh, it’s so hot!” said Benny Alden. “Let’s go for a ride.”

“Good!” said Grandfather Alden, looking at his four grandchildren. He stood up. “I was hoping somebody would have a good idea. Henry—”

But Henry, who was older than Benny, had gone. They could hear him in the garage getting out the station wagon.

Jessie wiped her face with a large handkerchief. “Let’s ride until it gets cooler,” she said. “The weather report says this heat is going to last for a week.”

The Aldens’ dog, Watch, wagged his tail as he lay at Jessie’s feet. “Yes, Watch, you can go, too,” Jessie said.

Watch gave a bark and trotted along with the family. They all walked across the grass to the drive. Violet put her arm through her grandfather’s and said, “This family has the best ideas. Don’t you think so, Grandfather?”

“Yes, indeed,” Mr. Alden replied as he smiled at his younger granddaughter. “Somebody always thinks of something to do when we need it.”

“It’s funny,” said Jessie. “Things always seem to happen to this family when we don’t expect them. I was thinking I’d never feel cool again. But we will be cooler just as soon as the car is moving.”

Henry stopped the car in the driveway. The children, Grandfather, and Watch all got in and away they went. Every window was open as they rode along a straight highway.

Henry said, “Benny, I’m glad you thought of this. I feel better already.”

The Aldens rode for over an hour. Then Henry saw a sign at the left saying River Road. Henry turned left. Soon he was driving along a small river.

“Good,” said Benny. “This is even cooler. And I don’t think we’ve ever been here before.”

Jessie said, “You don’t have to drive so fast, Henry. My hair is blowing out straight.”

It was a good thing that Henry slowed down. If he had not, the Alden family might have missed an exciting adventure. But no one guessed it then.

The pretty little river flowed slowly along. There were cool green banks and trees on both sides. All at once Henry slowed down still more.

“I hear whistling,” he said. The family listened. They could hear it, too, down by the river.

Suddenly they came to a short side road that led to the river itself. Henry stopped the car, and they all looked down the side road.

“What in the world is that thing?” asked Benny. “Is it a boat?” He pointed to a little house that seemed to be sitting in the water.

“It’s a houseboat, I do believe!” said Mr. Alden. “I haven’t seen one for years and years.”

“Let’s drive down,” said Henry. “We can see what’s going on. My, this is a rough road! Lucky for me it is so short.” Henry drove slowly down the rough side road to the edge of the river.

They all looked at the little house. It had four windows and two ladders which led to the roof. At one end was a blue awning that covered the front deck. A railing ran all the way around the boat. Another railing ran around the roof. On the lower deck of the houseboat a man was sitting in a chair, whistling.

“Hello, there!” he called. “Want to see the houseboat? My name is Rivers.”

The family got out of the car and went down to see the strange man and the strange boat. The houseboat was anchored at a small dock, and also tied to the dock with a rope.

Benny looked at the dark blue letters on top of the boat. “Its name is The Blue Heron,” he said. “How did you happen to name it that?”

“I didn’t,” said Mr. Rivers. “The couple who just left named it that. You see, the people who rent this boat can name it anything they like. Come on board, and I’ll show you. Just step from the dock over here.” He took off a chain to make an opening in the railing. Watch began to whine. “Never mind, Watch,” said Jessie. “You don’t have to come. You just sit here and wait.”

The Aldens stepped on board the houseboat, leaving Watch sitting on the dock.

Mr. Rivers took down a rack that was fastened against the wall.

“Here are all the letters of the alphabet,” he said. “People who rent the boat pick out the letters and spell any name they like. You’d laugh at some of the names this boat has had. One couple named it Rock and Roll. Another named it Moon Rocket. And another tired family named it The All Inn.”

Benny laughed. “It would be fun to name a boat,” he said. “It could even be a different name every day. Now the first day we could name it for Grandfather, The James H. Alden. The next day it could be The Henry James Alden, then The Jessie Alden, and so on.”

Everybody laughed. Mr. Rivers said, “I guess you’re the one in the family with grand ideas. Comical, I’d say.”

“Benny talks as if we were really going to rent your houseboat, Mr. Rivers,” said Jessie. “And it really would be fun. There are chairs on the deck and everything. I suppose you can sit here under the awning and stay out of the hot sun.”

Mr. Rivers smiled. He pointed to the flat roof of the houseboat. “Yes, and if you want to get tanned, just climb up the ladder and lie down in the sun.”

Violet said, “Just look at the pretty white curtains in the windows. They make it look like a big dollhouse.”

Mr. Alden had been looking at the houseboat, too, and now he looked at Mr. Rivers. He seemed to like what he saw. “Do you own this boat?” he asked.

“Yes, I do,” Mr. Rivers answered. “I rent this boat by the week. Everybody seems to like it. The last family went today, and they were very sorry to go. I have just cleaned it all up for the next customer. Why don’t you look around?”

“Oh, let’s look at it, Grandfather,” said Jessie.

“It’s made like a flatboat,” said Henry. He was looking down over the railing into the water. “It’s like a raft. I’m sure it can’t go very fast.”

“That’s right,” said Mr. Rivers. “In fact, it just floats down the river all by itself. If you want to land, you can use those two poles to push it ashore. Coming back up the river, you have to use the motor on the back.”

Grandfather said, “Well, this river seems to be very slow. I must say that living here would be a nice quiet rest. Of course, these grandchildren of mine are all tired out by a whole year in school. They would just love to do nothing.”

The Aldens looked at their grandfather. They knew he was joking because no Alden ever liked to do nothing.

“Let’s go inside,” said Jessie.

Benny was inside already. He sat on one of the bunk beds. “I don’t think this boat is big enough for us, Mr. Rivers,” he said. “We need five beds and there are only two.”

“There are six beds,” said Mr. Rivers, smiling.

“Where?” asked Benny. He looked all around, but he didn’t see any more bunks.

Mr. Rivers said, “A houseboat has to be small. Everything has to be shipshape. That means that things must be in perfect order or you can’t get everything in. Here are the other beds.” He pulled one down out of the wall.

“What do you know!” said Benny. “That’s pretty smart. Now I see the others. They all have curtains.”

“I suppose this is the water tank under the sink,” said Henry. He took off the cover. “You can’t drink the river water, can you?”

“No, you have to go ashore for drinking water and supplies. There are many places along the river where you can stop for water and ice and other things. You can use the river water for washing, though.”

“Let’s go, Grandfather!” said Benny.

The Aldens knew what Benny meant. He wanted to rent the houseboat and start out tomorrow. That was how the Aldens liked to do things—in a hurry.

But Mr. Alden was not in a hurry this time. He put his hand on Benny’s shoulder and said, “We’d better go slow, Benny. We have to know how to handle this boat for one thing.”

“I know how,” said Henry.

Everyone stared at him. “How do you know, Henry?” asked Benny.

“Well, you remember one weekend I visited a fellow in school? His family had a boat something like this, and I learned how to steer it. We had a grand time. Benny can help me pole the boat when we want to land, and I know how to run the outboard motor when we want to come home.”

“Well, how lucky!” said Jessie. It was plain that she wanted to try living on the houseboat.

Violet said, “If we don’t like it, we can always come back, can’t we?”

That settled it for Mr. Alden. He really wanted to try it himself.

Mr. Rivers said, “It is really very safe. This river has no dangerous places. Every night it is easy to find a place along the bank to drop anchor. There aren’t many boats on this river, but still you don’t want one of them to run into you. Do you understand about lights, young man?”

“Yes,” said Henry. “From sunset to sunrise there must be white lights about eight feet above the water so that other boats can see you for one mile.”

“Well, well!” said Mr. Rivers. “Good for you! What else do you know?”

“I suppose you have a fire extinguisher and life jackets?” answered Henry. “And a bell? Yes, I see the bell right up there on top.”

Mr. Rivers said, “Life jackets right there. Six of them.” He pointed to the wall of the first cabin. “And it’s the law to have a fire extinguisher. I have a fire pail and a sandbox, too. You know that you can put out a fire by pouring sand on it.”

Benny got down and read the printing on the pail. It said, “Keep water up to this line.” On the sandbox it said, “Keep sand up to this line.”

Mr. Rivers explained, “We never had a fire yet. Everyone is careful. I had one family that let the baby play in the sand. I soon stopped that.”

“You don’t have to worry about us,” said Benny. “We promise not to play in the sand. And besides, I lost my last pail and shovel a long time ago.”

“You’re good-natured,” said Mr. Rivers. “You always see the funny side, don’t you? Comical.”

Benny looked at Henry and said, “I guess you should be the captain.”

“Then you can be my first mate,” said Henry.

Mr. Rivers said, “That’s fine! This boat is registered with the Coast Guard. They know all about it, even when its name is something different.”

“Oh, let’s go! “said Benny.

“When?” asked Mr. Rivers.

“Tomorrow,” said Grandfather, before Benny could answer. “We’ll be here at ten o’clock.”

Watch was whining and barking when his family stepped on the dock. “You don’t like this, do you, old fellow?” Henry said to the dog. “Come and get in the car.”

He turned the car around while Mr. Alden talked with Mr. Rivers about the rent.

“Here’s the key,” said Mr. Rivers. “Lock up at night. And whenever you go to the store, shut the windows, too. The windows lock themselves when you shut them.”

The Aldens all were excited. They started up the rough side road, waving to Mr. Rivers. Grandfather gave the key to Henry. “Here, Captain,” he said.

Mr. Rivers shouted after them, “Don’t bring too many things!”

“No, we won’t,” Jessie called back. Then she said to her family, “We won’t need many clothes. We can all just live in swimsuits and sweaters—all but Grandfather.”

Grandfather winked at Benny. “You’d be surprised,” he said.

Henry drove the car carefully up the rough side road and stopped before turning at River Road.

Suddenly, right in front of him, a heavy black car came roaring down River Road. It turned a sharp corner past Henry, down the side road toward the houseboat. Stones flew as the tires screamed and the car skidded past the Aldens’ station wagon. It almost hit it.

“Hey! What are they thinking of?” said Henry.

“Whew!” said Benny. “Those two men almost hit us! That was a close one!”

Violet said, “What in the world do they want of a houseboat? People who drive like that?”

Nobody felt much like talking. Henry started slowly down River Road toward home. He looked in his rearview mirror. “Here are our friends again,” he said. He pulled over to the right and slowed down. The black car roared past.

Henry said, “Well, what’s their hurry? What do they want with our houseboat, anyway?”

Benny said, “I guess they don’t want it. They didn’t stay long enough even to look at it. I hope we won’t ever see them again.”

Henry wondered, but he said nothing.

CHAPTER 2

Henry’s Invention

The next morning Henry said, “I have to leave half this stuff at home. I’ve got to take my camera and a flashlight and my fishing rod and tackle.”

“Can’t take that fishing tackle, Henry,” called Mr. Alden from his room. “This time we will have to go without some things. There isn’t room on the boat.”

Jessie said, “Henry, I’m afraid Watch thinks he is going. It’s too bad to leave him at home.” She looked at the big dog lying right in the way. She stepped over him.

Benny said, “He wouldn’t like a houseboat trip. He whined when we went aboard. He would bark every time we went swimming. You’ll be better off at home, Watch, with Mrs. McGregor.”

When the Aldens were away, Mrs. McGregor, their housekeeper, took care of things. She nodded and said, “Watch is always all right after you go. He sleeps in the hall and wags his tail when I go by. Then he walks out in the yard and lies in the shade. Don’t worry about him.”

At last the Aldens had everything stuffed into their suitcases. Henry had his camera and Benny had a flashlight.

Mrs. McGregor was right. Watch barked a little, but not much. He sat on the front steps with Mrs. McGregor as the Aldens packed the car.

When Henry drove away, Jessie looked back and saw Watch go into the house with Mrs. McGregor. He didn’t even try to follow the car.

“Well,” Jessie said, “we don’t have to worry about Watch anymore. I’m glad.”

When the Aldens reached River Road, Mr. Alden said, “There is a store on this road before we get to the houseboat.”

“Yes, Mr. Rivers told me about it, too,” said Jessie. “He says all the houseboat people get their food there. The man knows what they need.”

As the Aldens came into the store, the groceryman said, “So you want to try houseboat life?”

“That’s right,” Benny said.

“Five of you, I see,” said the man. “You can choose between three cans of tuna and three cans of chicken. Take two cans of beans or two cans of hash. You can use a dozen eggs, two quarts of milk, two loaves of bread, sugar, salt, and butter. One cake of soap can be used for washing everything.”

“Coffee?” asked Violet, looking at Grandfather.

“Oh, yes, coffee,” the groceryman said. “But if you forget anything, you can stop and buy more down the river. We call it Second Landing.”

The Aldens put the groceries in the car and went along toward the houseboat. Mr. Rivers was there.

“Right on time!” he said. “You can lock your car and park it here. It will be safe. I’ll help you unload.”

“Fine!” said Benny. “I can hardly wait to see this boat go.”

“You can hardly see it go,” said Mr. Rivers, “even when it goes.” That made everyone laugh.

The suitcases and supplies were soon on board. Benny climbed up the ladder and changed the name to The James H. Alden.

“Looks fine,” said Mr. Rivers. Then he said to Henry, “Just pole yourself out to the middle of the river. It’s about eight feet deep. You can dive out there all right.”

“This is so exciting,” said Jessie as Henry pulled up the anchor and Mr. Rivers untied the rope.

Henry began to pole. Then suddenly there they were, floating gently away!

“Goody-bye, Mr. Rivers!” they shouted.

“Good luck!” he called. He watched them as they went out of sight around a bend in the river.

“Oh, let’s just watch the river for a little while,” said Violet. She sat down on the deck. “It won’t take us long to get settled.”

It was peaceful on the river. Sometimes it was so narrow that the beautiful trees almost met overhead. A big orange-and-black butterfly flew right across the deck.

“Look, a milkweed butterfly,” said Violet.

Benny looked at the cattails. They grew very thick near the shore. Suddenly he pointed. A red-winged blackbird was swinging on the reeds.

“Isn’t that beautiful?” said Jessie. “What bright red and yellow on his black wings!”

“He doesn’t sing,” said Violet. “Oh, he saw us. Do you suppose he has a nest somewhere?”

Then they all saw the nest. A dull brown bird flew off, showing a grassy cup with five blue eggs in it.

Mr. Alden said, “This must be their second family this year. It is too late for the first one.”

Benny said, “That pattern on the eggs is like modern art. All those brown wiggles. And look—there’s a blue heron.”

The water bird stood on one leg and did not move. He was so near that the Aldens could see every blue-gray feather and its black eyes.

“That’s probably why that other family named this boat The Blue Heron,” said Benny. “Maybe they saw a lot of blue herons.”

In a little while the Aldens began to put things away. Jessie put the food on the shelf. She came back on the deck to get the box of salt. Just as she picked it up, a bird flew right in front of her.

“Oh!” cried Jessie, jumping back. The salt slipped out of her hand and rolled along the deck, over the edge, and into the water.

“Oh, how could I?” said Jessie. “Now we haven’t any salt. And we must have salt.”

Grandfather said, “Don’t worry, Jessie. We’ll just watch for Second Landing and get another box of salt.”

In about half an hour Benny called out, “There it is. That must be Second Landing.”

“Yes,” said Henry. “And it looks as if there are several buildings there.”

Henry poled The James H. Alden up to the dock. The Aldens remembered what Mr. Rivers had said. They locked the houseboat, windows and all. Henry made sure it was tied up safely and the anchor dropped.

As usual, Benny was in a hurry. He was the first one on the dock and the first one on the narrow path. As he went through the bushes, he didn’t see a stone in his way and tripped over it and fell. When he stood up, he was covered with dirt and grass stains.

Jessie brushed him off and said, “Well, I guess I’ll have to wash these clothes, Ben. When we get back to the houseboat, you pull up a pail of water from the river.”

Violet added, “You can put on your swimsuit while your clothes dry. We can hang them on that little clothesline on the houseboat.”

“Oh,” said Benny, “that’s a lot of work. I don’t care much how I look.”

“Yes, Ben, we know that,” said Henry with a smile.

“There’s your store,” said Benny, pointing. A sign said, “Eric A. Martin, Groceries.”

The whole family went into the store. “I need a box of salt,” Jessie told the man behind the counter. “Ours rolled overboard.”

The man laughed and took some salt off the shelf. “Are you the folks in the Rivers houseboat?” he asked.

“That’s right,” said Violet. “How did you guess?”

“Almost everyone forgets something or loses something,” said Mr. Martin. “They come in here because it’s the first place to stop.”

Henry asked, “Do you have any clothesline?”

Everybody stared at Henry. Jessie said, “There’s a fine clothesline on the boat, Henry.”

Mr. Martin said, “Yes, I have two kinds. Cotton and plastic.”

“I think I want cotton,” said Henry. “It’s softer.”

“Yes, it is softer and it stretches more,” Mr. Martin agreed.

“Good,” said Henry, looking at the bunch of line. “Not too many feet in one bunch. I’ll have to take two. I want a ball of string, too, please.”

“What in the world do you want with two bunches of clothesline and a ball of string?” asked Jessie.

“Secret,” replied Henry. “I don’t want to tell because I may not have good luck.”

“Oh, you will, Henry,” said Benny. “I know you. You must have a secret idea.”

“Let’s buy some bananas,” said Jessie. “They’re a good dessert, and there’s no cooking.”

Mr. Martin nodded. “Yes, you must have everything shipshape on a boat. You can’t cook too many things.”

Violet was looking out of the window. She said, “Grandfather, there’s a restaurant on the other side of the street.” “It’s a good one, too,” said Mr. Martin. “Very good food.”

Violet went on, “It’s almost noon. I think it would save time to eat lunch here. We have so much to do on the boat.”

“Good!” said Grandfather. “We’ll do that.”

The Aldens said good-bye to Mr. Martin and walked across the street with their groceries.

There were only two men in the restaurant, having lunch. They sat off in one corner. The Aldens sat down at a big table on the other side of the room.

The food was excellent, and they all chose ice cream for dessert.

“Noice cream for a while,” said Jessie. “It won’t stay frozen on a houseboat.”

Benny and Grandfather were facing the two men. Benny looked at them and decided he didn’t like them. He didn’t really know why, so he said nothing.

Mr. Alden looked at the strangers, too. He thought, “I wonder what they are talking about. It seems to be nothing good.”

This was such a small restaurant that a husband and wife ran it alone. The man was the cook and his wife was the waitress.

Benny noticed the woman as she came out of the kitchen. She went over to the table where the two men sat. She asked, “Do you want more coffee?”

One of the men said, “Yes, I’d like some more.”

But when the waitress put down the cup, Benny saw her slip a small envelope under the saucer. Then she looked back toward the kitchen where her husband was. But the man was too busy to notice. He went on cooking.

The man at the table put the envelope into his pocket and tried to smile at the woman. But it was not a real smile. The waitress walked quickly over to the Aldens’ table.

The men kept their heads down as they talked in low voices. When the Aldens started to go out, Benny heard one man say roughly to the other, “What do you mean—find out? Nobody has found out yet. And it’s three years.”

When the Aldens were in the street, Benny said, “I don’t like those men in there.”

Henry looked at his brother and said, “What’s the matter, Ben? You always like everybody.”

“Well, I don’t like them,” said Benny. “That’s for sure. You were sitting with your back to them. You didn’t see them. What do you think, Grandfather?”

“I agree with you perfectly, Benny,” said Mr. Alden. “I didn’t like them either. They are up to no good.”

“Well, we’ll never see them again,” said Jessie, “and I’m glad.”

The Aldens started back toward the houseboat. Benny looked back at the restaurant and stopped suddenly. He could just see the front part of an expensive black car parked a little beyond the restaurant.

“I’ve seen that car before,” Benny thought to himself. Then he knew! It was the heavy black car that had almost hit them the day before!

“Two men in a hurry,” he thought. He decided to say nothing right away.

By now the Aldens had reached the houseboat. “It seems like home already,” said Violet.

Benny said, “Now don’t drop the salt again, Jessie.”

Jessie got the salt safely aboard. Benny carried the clothesline and string for Henry. Mr. Alden and Henry untied the boat, and Henry poled it out into the middle of the stream. It floated beautifully, and yet it went slowly.

Benny asked Henry, “Are you going to tell your secret now, Henry?”

“No, but I’m going to work on it. We’ll need it very soon. You can guess if you want to.”

Just then Jessie said, “Benny, change your clothes and I’ll wash your things out.”

“Oh, let’s watch Henry first,” Benny answered.

Jessie herself wanted to watch when Henry brought his clothesline on the deck and began to measure it. He made many long loops. Then he laid the middle of each loop on the deck and crossed it with another rope. He tied this place together with string.

“What in the world!” said Violet. “Are you making a chair seat?”

Henry looked at his sister in astonishment. “How did you ever guess?” he said. “It doesn’t look like anything so far.”

“You mean I’m right?” asked Violet. “I was only guessing.”

“Well, you guessed right,” said Henry. He crossed another line and tied it.

“Why do we need another chair seat?” asked Benny. “We’ve got enough chairs, and someone can always lie down.”

“This is different,” said Henry. He tied the last cord. What he had made looked like a square piece of net with very long ends. “Remember that big hook on the back of the boat? But wait. I’ll put on my swimming trunks first. You change, too, Benny.”

When the boys came back, the family went down to the rear deck. Henry hung the loops on the hook so that the seat was over the water. He made a fine dive off the boat. He swam back and came up beside the new chair seat.

But when Henry got into the seat, it began to go down, down, down! The ropes stretched so much that Henry was soon up to his neck in water.

Everyone began to laugh. “A joke on me,” said Henry. “I thought I could sit in this seat and wash Benny’s clothes. Then we wouldn’t have to take all that water on board.”

“It’s a good idea, though,” said Mr. Alden quickly. “Maybe you can still make it work. Make the loops shorter.”

“You’re too heavy, Henry,” said Benny.

Then Violet said, “Maybe I’m not. Let me do the laundry!” She went inside and put on her swimsuit. Henry climbed out of the seat and Violet climbed in. There she sat, just up to her waist in the river.

“Good for you,” said Mr. Alden. “Too bad there isn’t any laundry.”

“Oh, but there is,” said Violet. “Benny, just hand down your shirt and shorts and the cake of soap.”

“You can’t hold the soap,” called Benny. “What will you do with it?”

“Well,” said Violet looking around at the water, “put the soap dish on the deck and I’ll put the soap in it every time I use it.”

She soaped Benny’s clothes and rubbed and rinsed them in the river.

“Pass them up to me, Violet,” said Jessie. “I’ll hang them on the real clothesline. There’s nothing so homelike as having washing on the line.”

Then they all went swimming. The water was cool and lovely. Even Mr. Alden was floating beside the boat.

“This is the nicest place,” said Benny. “If you want to go swimming, just jump out the window.”

After their swim, the Aldens were glad to sit on the deck. Everyone was so hungry that they had supper at five o’clock.

Henry took his last bite and said, “I think we should find a place for the night before it gets any darker.”

“You and Benny find one,” said Jessie. “Violet and I will wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen.”

“Galley, not kitchen,” said Mr. Alden. And after that it was always the galley.

The boys found a fine place to stay for the night, where the branches of the trees hung over the houseboat. They left the windows open, but locked the doors.

In his bunk, Benny turned this way and that. He could not get to sleep. He kept remembering those two men in the restaurant and the little envelope and the big black car parked outside.

CHAPTER 3

Trouble Brewing

The first morning on The James H. Alden was bright and sunny. As soon as Benny was dressed he climbed up the ladder to change the name of the boat to The Henry J. Alden.

“This boat is all yours, captain,” he called to Henry as he came down again.

Henry went out on the deck to look. He began to laugh. “You did well, mate,” Henry said. “Come and see for yourself.”

Benny looked up and began to laugh, too. The name was nedlA .J yrneH ehT!

“Well, it looked okay to me,” Benny said, climbing up the ladder again. “But it’s backwards to everyone else.” He soon changed the letters to read the right way.

Jessie was in the galley looking out the window. “It’s so cool and pleasant on this boat,” she said. “I suppose it’s because we’re on the water. Oh, the boat is moving sideways!”

“Don’t worry, Jessie,” said Henry. “Mr. Rivers said it doesn’t do any harm. The boat will straighten out by itself or I can pole it back.”

Henry did not need to pole the houseboat. It soon turned slowly by itself.

Henry went inside the cabin. He looked up and said, “Look, there’s a fishing pole up there and a fishnet with a long handle. I think I’ll go fishing.”

“Not a very good day for fishing, Henry,” said Benny. “The sun is too bright.”

“It’s okay, Ben,” said Henry. “I think I’ll try my luck anyway.” Henry took down the pole and fishnet and looked at the line and hook.

“What are you going to use for bait, Henry?” asked Benny.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Henry. “This is one time I have to use what we’ve got.”

Benny thought a minute. Then he said, “Didn’t we see a lot of little minnows yesterday? Maybe we could catch some of them in that net.”

“Good for you, Ben!” said Henry. “Minnows are the best bait of all. They swim near the shore, where the water isn’t so deep. I’ll pole in nearer.”

Both boys began to pole. When they reached shallow water, they looked over the side. Sure enough, they saw hundreds of minnows swimming around.

“This is easy!” said Benny. He bent over with the net and pulled up a lot of the tiny fish.

“Now we’re all set,” said Henry. He poled back into the deeper water. He set two chairs on the rear deck. Then he put a tiny minnow on his hook. He threw the fishline out over the water and sat down with the heavy pole. Benny sat down beside him. The boat floated gently along. Everything was quiet.

Grandfather and Violet went out to the front deck. They smiled at each other. Violet said, “I wouldn’t count on having fish for lunch today.”

Mr. Alden nodded. “I’m afraid you’re right if you mean fish from the river. But Jessie can give us tuna fish.”

Just then Jessie came out on the deck to watch the river with Violet and Grandfather.

“This is the most peaceful trip we’ve ever had,” Jessie said.

Mr. Alden, sitting in a deck chair, said, “Yes, it is.”

A half hour passed.

Benny chattered away to his brother. The sun shone hotter than ever. Nothing happened. Not one fish had pulled at Henry’s line.

“I was afraid of this,” said Henry. “I’m not even sure there are any fish in this river.”

“There must be some fish, Henry,” said Benny. “If there weren’t any, this boat wouldn’t have had a fishing pole on it. I wish we had two poles.”

“Here, Benny, you take this one,” said Henry. He handed the pole to his brother. “We can take turns catching nothing.”

Benny took the pole. He could see the line and the minnow still in the water.

Jessie and Violet came over to see how the fishing was going. They were both smiling.

Benny turned around with a frown on his face. “We’re not doing too well,” he said. “But you have to have patience when you’re fishing.” Then suddenly something pulled at his line.

“I’ve got you, old boy!” he called to the fish. He pulled in the line and found a big silver fish caught on the hook.

“A bass!” said Henry. “Don’t lose him, Ben! He can flop back.”

Benny was quick. He jerked the fish over the railing and it lay on the deck, flapping wildly. Suddenly a great cloud of gulls flew over the boat, calling and screaming.

“You can’t have my fish!” Benny shouted to the birds. “How did you find out I caught a fish, anyway?”

It was a real mystery. One minute not a gull was in sight. The next minute, there were over a hundred. Gulls sat on the top of the boat and along the sides. They were not a bit afraid. They flew around and around looking for food.

Benny carried his fish safely inside the galley.

Jessie said, “The gulls are so beautiful. It’s too bad not to feed them. Wait. Here’s a piece of banana skin. They might like that.” She threw it over the water as far as she could. A gull caught it in his bill. She threw another.

Henry laughed, “Well, I guess gulls will eat anything.”

Benny brought some bread crusts out of the galley. Each time he threw one over the side of the boat, a gull snapped it up before it landed in the water.

Henry went inside and came out with his camera. “That ought to make a pretty picture,” he said. “You two pretty girls throwing rubbish at the gulls.”

They all laughed.

When Henry looked at Benny’s fish, he said, “It’s a big bass. It is plenty big enough to feed this family. I’ll clean it for you, Ben. The gulls can have the head and tail for dessert.”

After a delicious lunch, Jessie said, “Oh, dear! We’ll have to stop again for ice and milk.”

Mr. Alden said, “I want to mail my letters, too.”

Henry began to watch for a landing place.

At Pomfret Landing Jessie said, “Let’s go to the post office first and get the ice and milk last. Then the ice won’t melt.”

The Henry J. Alden was soon locked up, anchored, and tied. The family walked down the path from the dock to the small town.

All at once they saw a familiar black car roaring down the main street. It was soon out of sight.

“It’s that black car again!” Benny cried. The Aldens saw that it was the same car that had almost hit their car on River Road. And Benny remembered that he had seen it parked near the restaurant where they had stopped for lunch the day before.

“Whoever drives that car always seems to be in such a hurry!” said Jessie.

“I wonder whose car it is,” said Henry. “It certainly doesn’t belong in a small town like Pomfret Landing.”

“Well, maybe we can find out just who does own that car,” Grandfather said.

The Aldens walked up the main street to the post office. As they opened the door, the man behind the counter was saying, “Here’s your stamp, Mrs. Young.”

The little lady, who was wearing a black dress, put down her money and took the stamp.

The Aldens watched politely, but the lady did not look up. She slipped out of the door like a shadow.

Mr. Alden bought a sheet of airmail stamps, some stamped envelopes, and some postcards.

Benny said, “I guess the lady who just left doesn’t write many letters. She only bought one stamp.”

“That’s right,” said the clerk. “Mrs. Young isn’t exactly poor, but she has a lot of trouble. She and her son live with her sister up the street. They own a candy store.”

“We’d better go and buy some candy,” said Henry.

“You’ll have to eat it now,” said Jessie. “There’s no place to put candy on the boat.”

“You’re from the Rivers’ houseboat, aren’t you?” asked the clerk, smiling.

“How do you know?” asked Benny.

“Oh, all the people from the houseboat come here,” said the man. “We like to meet new people. Pomfret Landing is such a small place that we know everybody’s business, I guess.”

“We just saw an enormous black car go by,” said Benny. “Who owns that?”

“I don’t know,” said the clerk, laughing. “That’s the only thing I don’t know. I’ve seen it before, but it certainly doesn’t belong in Pomfret Landing.”

The Aldens left the post office and walked up the street to the candy store. As they went in, a bell on the door rang.

“Oh, isn’t this a lovely store!” said Violet.

The wallpaper was white with pink stripes. The ruffled curtains were white with pink dots. Two small tables and some chairs stood by a tiny soda counter. The shelves were covered with lace paper. Boxes of candy were everywhere.

The store was empty, but soon a lady appeared. It was the same Mrs. Young. She now wore an apron over her black dress, and she looked more tired than ever. Jessie thought to herself, “She looks as if she has been crying.”

Mrs. Young was trying to smile now as she said, “I’m glad you like my store. People come here from miles around.”

“Do you make your own candy?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Well, my sister is really the candymaker,” answered Mrs. Young. “But I help.”

Benny looked at Mrs. Young with a bright smile. He said, “I’ve always wanted to know how they made those curly things on the top of the chocolates. Do you know?”

“I do, indeed,” she replied. “Would you like to see it done? My sister is putting on those curly tails right now.”

“What luck!” said Benny. “I certainly would.”

Henry whispered to Jessie, “That Ben can get away with anything!”

Mrs. Young pushed back a curtain and led them all into the candy kitchen.

Mrs. Young’s sister was standing over a pan of chocolate. She had gray hair and was older than Mrs. Young, but she had a tired and worried look, just like her sister.

The Aldens watched her as she worked. She took a pink center on a fork, dipped it into the melted chocolate, and set the piece of candy on some waxed paper. Then with a flip of her fork she laid the curly tail across the top.

“Oh, Violet!” said Jessie. “Wouldn’t that be fun? Let’s try it sometime. I never knew how it was done.”

The centers were pink, white, yellow, pale green, and lavender. The sister smiled at Violet and said, “Your name is Violet? Here is a good one for you.” She picked up a lavender center, covered it with chocolate, and put on the tail. “You will have to wait for it to cool before you eat it,” the lady said.

“Oh, thank you,” said Violet.

“How about a milk shake while we wait?” asked Mr. Alden.

Mrs. Young smiled again. “You’ll like our milk shakes. We make our own syrup.”

Jessie led the way back to the tables. She said, “This is a good idea. We can take our dessert home inside us this time.”

The milk shakes were delicious.

Mr. Alden said, “Mine tastes exactly like fresh strawberries.”

“It ought to,” said Mrs. Young. “The strawberries grow in our backyard.”

The Aldens did buy some candy, but it was not chocolate. It was too hot on the boat for chocolate. But Mrs. Young gave Violet hers, and one for each of the rest.

As the Aldens were leaving, Benny turned to Mrs. Young and said, “When we came down the street, we saw an enormous black car going very fast. Do you happen to know who owns it?”

To his surprise, Mrs. Young turned very red and looked more worried than ever. Indeed she turned away, saying, “I’m sure it doesn’t belong in this town.”

“Oh, I’m awfully sorry,” said Benny. “It’s none of my business.”

“It’s all right,” said Mrs. Young. “Come again.” Then nobody heard what she said, because she almost whispered the words. Jessie heard the word “worried” but that was all.

When the Aldens were halfway down the street, Benny said, “I didn’t mean to upset her. I just thought she might know who was driving that car.”

Violet said softly, “I think she does.”

That night Benny was just floating off to sleep. He was almost dreaming. But suddenly he heard Mrs. Young’s words very plainly, “I’m just worried about my boy.”

Boy? What boy? Then Benny was asleep.

CHAPTER 4

The Auction

The next morning Benny climbed up to the roof of the houseboat. He called down to Jessie, “Look here and see if I have the new name right.”

“Oh, this is my day!” Jessie said, as she read The Jessie Alden. “I like having a houseboat named for me.

Henry asked, “Do you need to buy food today? Benny and I can watch for a place to land.”

“No,” said Jessie, shaking her head. “I have plenty of food for another day. We can just enjoy houseboating.” She looked up at the trees. “See, the branches almost meet over our heads. Isn’t it beautiful?”

The Aldens sat in chairs on the deck and watched the river grow wider and then narrower. Suddenly Jessie said, “Look, Grandfather! See that sign on the bank of the river? It says there’s an auction!”

The sign did indeed say:

AUCTION, EVERY SATURDAY AT 10 A.M.

“Oh, you love auctions, Grandfather!” said Violet. “Let’s stop.”

Grandfather said, “You’re right, Violet. I do love auctions. But do you all want to go?”

Benny looked at his grandfather and said, “I never went to an auction in my whole life!”

“Neither did I,” said Violet.

Mr. Alden said, “I can’t believe it! I know it is so, but I can’t understand why I never took you to an auction.”

“You took me once,” said Henry. “And Jessie went, too. But that was years ago. Benny and Violet would love it, that’s for sure. It’s exciting, Ben.”

Jessie said, “Some auctions are better than others. This auction must have some good things, if they have one every week.”

Henry went on, “The auctioneer is very funny sometimes. He tries to keep everybody good-natured. You see, Ben, people call out what they will pay for a clock or a rug. The one who pays the most gets it.”

“That would be fun,” said Benny. “Let’s go.”

“We’re always saying ’Let’s go!’” said Jessie, laughing.

Henry said, “Just give me time to lock the doors and shut the windows.” They never forgot.

Henry and Benny poled the boat to the dock and anchored it and tied it.

When the Aldens reached the main street, they saw crowds of people going into a low, brown building with an enormous door. The door was as wide as the front of the building. The Aldens went along with the crowd.

Inside, they saw rows of folding chairs on the wooden floor. There was a little platform in the front, and on it were all sorts of things to sell. Furniture of all kinds stood on the platform. There were radios, TV sets, and bicycles. There were silver teapots, pictures of all sizes, and even baseball gloves. On a table was a box of old clothes and boxes of tin dishes and china and glass. It was fascinating.

Grandfather had seen many auctions. He always went up to the front seat. But this time, nobody seemed to be sitting down. All the people were up at the front of the hall, pushing and looking over the things to be sold. Some of the people had come to buy a book or a clock or a table for themselves. But dealers were there, too. They were men who bought things at an auction to sell again at a higher price. Dealers often bought furniture or dishes for their customers who had ordered them.

“Let’s look around,” said Benny. “It isn’t ten o’clock yet.”

“Then start here at the left end of the platform,” said Mr. Alden, “and work toward the right. Then we’ll see everything.”

Grandfather looked at a few things. “There are some expensive things here,” he said. “I wonder if there is a policeman around to see that nothing is stolen?”

“There’s one over there,” said Henry, pointing to a man standing in a corner. “But there are so many people here he can’t watch everybody.”

The crowd was good-natured. A big man laughed and said to Henry, “Excuse me for pushing. I can’t help it because someone is pushing me.”

“That’s all right,” said Henry. “I’m pushing, too!”

There were children in the crowd. The boys were looking at the baseball suits and bats. Girls were looking at sweaters.

“That is a beautiful mirror,” said Mr. Alden to Jessie. “And that desk is a very fine one, but—”

Someone pushed between Jessie and Grandfather, and Mr. Alden could not finish his sentence. When Jessie could get near him again, she asked, “What were you going to say, Grandfather?”

“I was going to say that the little vase way back on the desk is worth more than the desk.”

Again Jessie was pushed a little way from Mr. Alden, but she called to him, “Let’s stay right through this auction, Grandfather! We can eat lunch afterward. I’m sure we can find a restaurant.”

“Just as you like,” Mr. Alden called back.

Everyone nearby could hear all this. A lady turned to Mr. Alden and said, “There is a fine place right on Main Street called the Elm Tree Inn. There is a large elm tree right by the doorstep.”

“Thank you!” said Mr. Alden. “We’ll certainly go there.”

Just then a bell rang. Everyone began to rush for seats. The Aldens found seats in the front row. Henry sat beside a man in a gray suit.

The auctioneer began. He held up a small painting.

“What am I offered?” he called out. “This is a hand-painted picture of the river.”

A very young voice answered, “One dollar!”

Grandfather looked back to see who was bidding. It was a young boy, younger than Benny. Mr. Alden whispered to Henry, “It’s a young boy in a red cap. He’s very young to bid at an auction. He seems to be all alone.”

The man in the gray suit called out, “Five dollars!”

“Six dollars!” called a woman’s voice.

“Seven dollars!” said the man in the gray suit.

Grandfather whispered again to Henry, “I think that man beside you is a dealer. He knows what things are worth.”

“Ten dollars!” called the woman.

The dealer said to Henry, “Oh, let her have it! It isn’t worth more than ten dollars. They always start with the cheap things. I’m waiting for that little vase. It is out of sight now on the old desk.”

“Yes, I saw that vase,” said Henry.

The woman came forward and took the painting and gave the man ten dollars.

Then the auctioneer held up a box of old clothes. He took a boy’s shirt off the top and held it up. He said, “There are five shirts in this box, a boy’s jacket, a man’s heavy overcoat, and five women’s dresses. What am I offered?”

“One dollar!” called the boy in the red cap.

“Two dollars!” called a man.

“Three dollars!” called the boy.

“Four dollars!” shouted another man.

“Five dollars!” called the boy.

There was no answer. Nobody would bid higher than that.

“Going, going, gone!” said the auctioneer. “To the boy in the red cap!”

The boy came forward and took the box. He gave the man five one-dollar bills. Everyone smiled at the boy as he went out with the box of old clothes. He looked very much pleased with the things he had bought.

Benny whispered to Henry, “I saw that boy in the red cap looking over that box. I guess he is poor.”

“Well, he had five dollars, Ben,” said Henry. “And he got what he wanted. He’s gone, anyway.”

Benny half stood up. He looked through the window after the boy. He was surprised when he saw the boy begin to run. The boy was soon out of sight.

“That’s funny,” thought Benny. “I wonder why he was in such a hurry. Maybe he wants to show the things to his mother.”

At last the cheaper things were sold. The expensive things would be put up for sale now. The crowd began to talk and buzz. They made a great noise in their excitement.

“Quiet!” said the auctioneer.

First the dealer in the gray suit bought an old table for $500. He laughed as he paid for it. He knew he could sell it for more. But when he came back to his seat, he said to Henry, “I’m really waiting for that vase.”

At last the auctioneer came to the vase. He said to the crowd, “The vase I am going to sell next is the best piece here. It is very old and made of gold. You see! A rhyme! Old and gold.”

The people laughed.

Then the auctioneer went on, “This vase has rubies and emeralds set in the gold. It came from Egypt. I am talking about this small vase on the desk.”

He turned to take the vase off the desk, but the vase was not there!

The dealer whispered, “Stolen! I bet it was stolen!”

It seemed that the dealer was right. The vase could not be found. Again the crowd began to buzz.

“I stood right here,” said the policeman. “But I didn’t see anyone take it.”

“Well, somebody took it,” said the auctioneer.

“Too bad,” said Grandfather. “Let’s go. This auction is no fun anymore. No one likes to think there is a thief in the room.”

“Yes, you can go,” said the policeman to Grandfather. “I’m sure you didn’t take the vase.”

“I should say not,” said Grandfather. “I know the police will take care of this.”

Indeed, as the Aldens went out of the building, they met two more policemen coming in. Henry thought, “Someone must have telephoned the police station.”

As he passed a policeman on the steps, Benny said to him, “I hope you will find that vase.”

“Oh, we’ll find it,” the policeman answered. “There are strange things going on around here. This is only one of them.”

The other policeman added, “Right up and down our own river! It always has been so peaceful here. Nothing like this ever happened before.”

The Aldens went along the street looking for the Elm Tree Inn. It was easy to find, for they soon saw the big tree.

Violet said, “I don’t feel very hungry. But we’d better eat just the same, I suppose.”

Jessie smiled and said, “We’ve got a chance now to eat without cooking a meal or washing the dishes. We’d better eat whether we’re hungry or not.”

“Well, I’m hungry,” said Benny.

“So am I, mate,” said Henry. “It will be no trouble at all for me.”

Benny held the door of the Elm Tree Inn open while the others went in. Just as he was going to follow them he looked toward the street. He was in time to see a big black car swing out to pass a small truck. The truck driver called out, “Hey! Look where you’re going!”

Benny had a fine chance to see the driver of the black car as it whizzed by. He thought to himself, “That is the very man I saw in the restaurant! He’s the one I didn’t like. He’s the one who said, ’What do you mean—find out? Nobody has found out yet.’ “

The driver’s left hand was on the small open window of the black car. He drove with his right hand. Benny saw that the man wore a big square black ring. Then the car was around the corner and out of sight. Benny went into the inn.

The family stayed a long time at the Elm Tree Inn. The restaurant was crowded with people. The waitress could not serve them for a long time. But as they waited for their lunch, Benny told them in a low voice about the man in the car.

Then Jessie said, “Those men don’t seem to do anything wrong. They just drive too fast.”

“Well, they almost ran into our car,” said Henry. “I won’t forget that in a hurry.”

By the time the food was served, every Alden was hungry. Even Violet ate an excellent meal.

After lunch, Violet said, “Let’s go, Grandfather. I’m tired.”

Everyone agreed. They all wanted to get back to the houseboat.

As the family walked along, Henry said, “I wonder what those policemen meant about strange things. Maybe that black car has something to do with all the trouble. It certainly looks strange in these small towns. It goes too fast.”

Violet said, “Maybe the police have seen those two men who almost ran into us.”

“I don’t like them,” said Benny. “I didn’t like them when I saw them in the restaurant.”

The Aldens walked down the path. They found the houseboat still safely anchored at the dock. Benny untied the rope, and Henry unlocked the door. They all went into the cabin.

Everyone began to sniff.

“Smoke!” said Benny. “I smell smoke! Where’s that sandbox? I want that sand ready if there’s a fire.”

“It’s cigarette smoke,” said Henry. “No fire.”

Grandfather looked very sober. He said, “Henry, unlock the back door, too. You can use the same key.”

Grandfather looked at both doors. Then he tried the windows. They were all locked.

Jessie looked around the galley. Not a dish had been moved. Violet looked at the beds and the curtains.

Henry went out and checked the motor. It seemed to be all right.

They looked in the icebox and even in the water tank. They could not find a thing.

“I don’t like it,” said Grandfather. “Both doors were locked, and there isn’t a mark on the keyholes.”

After a while they all agreed on one thing—someone had been in the cabin, smoking a cigarette.

Benny said, “You know, this was a fine time for someone to get into this houseboat. Everybody at that auction knew we were going to eat lunch on land. Remember, Jessie, how you called to Grandfather?”

Jessie nodded. “And a stranger even said, ’I know a place where you can eat—the Elm Tree Inn.’ Oh, yes, I guess we told everybody in that town that we wouldn’t be home for a while.”

Benny went out on the front deck and sat down to think. He was thinking about the boy in the red cap. It was strange how he ran away from the auction.

“Something funny here,” Benny said to himself. “But that boy is too young to be smoking cigarettes. Besides, he seemed like such a nice boy. I liked him the minute I saw him looking over the box of old clothes.”

Everyone came out on the front deck and sat down.

Henry said, “Whoever was in our houseboat wasn’t very smart. Anyone would know we would smell smoke. How do you think the person got in, Grandfather?”

Mr. Alden answered, “Well, I think someone has a key.”

Benny was safely in bed that night. Suddenly he felt that something was missing. Then he knew what it was. He could not hear the clock tick! He looked out in the dark and found the spot on the wall where the clock hung. The clock was gone!

“Now I know someone has been here,” Benny thought. “I know people often steal clocks and radios because they can sell them. But I wouldn’t think anyone would come aboard just for a little old clock.”

Benny did not want to wake everybody up to tell them, so he turned over and went to sleep.

CHAPTER 5

April Center

The day came when Benny changed the name of the houseboat to The Watch Alden. The family spent the morning cleaning up the boat and doing the laundry. After lunch, the four young Aldens were sitting on the front deck. Suddenly they saw a large sign on the riverbank. Benny read it aloud, April Center. “What does that mean?” he asked. “There’s a dock and everything.”

Mr. Alden, who was sitting in the cabin, heard Benny. He came out at once and looked at the sign.

“It can’t be! It simply can’t be!” he said.

“What can’t be?” asked Henry and Benny.

“Well, April Center,” answered Mr. Alden, still staring at the sign. “That belongs to my old friend, George April.”

“That’s a funny name,” said Benny. “Mr. April.”

“I suppose so,” said Grandfather. “I have known George April for years and years. He lives in London now.”

“What is this April Center?” asked Henry.

Grandfather seemed to wake out of a daze. “Oh, yes, Henry! It’s Mr. April’s idea. He is interested in old things and new things—he especially likes children.”

“We’re not children,” said Benny.

“Well, no,” agreed Grandfather. “But George April would think you were. Wait until you see the things he has in April Center.”

“What things?” asked Benny.

“Now don’t rush me,” said Mr. Alden. “A few years ago, George April bought some land and built April Center. It is a small place in the country, but very famous. I had no idea it was so near. People come here from all over the United States. No cars are allowed. You have to leave your car at the gate. After you pay to enter, you can walk around April Center. Or you can hire a horse and driver by the hour. The drivers wait at the gate.”

Benny opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. Grandfather noticed.

“Good, Ben,” he said. “You know I am telling this as fast as I can. There is a village green in the middle of April Center—a park with green grass and trees. George sent me a picture postcard of the place once. A road goes right around the edge of the green. There are a lot of buildings all along the street—all different. I remember there’s an old country store. There’s also a doll museum and an animal museum. In the animal museum you can see mounted wild animals and even stones with dinosaur tracks.”

“I’d love to see the dolls,” said Violet. “They must be interesting.”

“I’m sure they are,” said Mr. Alden. “I’ve never seen the place myself. But I’d like to.”

“So would I,” said Henry. “I’ll pole the boat up to the dock.”

The Aldens soon stepped ashore, and Henry dropped the anchor. Both doors of the houseboat were locked and the windows shut. Benny tied the rope. He said, “We will never forget to lock this houseboat. We don’t want to come back again and find that a stranger has been here.”

They started down the path, but they did not walk far before they saw the gate.

Many people were visiting April Center that day. As the Aldens paid for their tickets, they saw parents walking along with their children. On the other side of the gate they could see the village green.

Inside the gate, a horse hitched to a strange-looking wagon was standing under a tree. A small, thin man in a red coat was the driver. The Aldens looked once at the man, but they looked twice at the horse.

“What a thin horse!” said Benny. “I can see his ribs.”

Mr. Alden said, “I don’t understand this. That horse isn’t well fed. George wouldn’t have such a thin horse on his place. I’m sure he doesn’t know about this.”

The driver saw the Aldens. He climbed down from his old wagon. He took off his cap. “See the Center, sir?” he asked Mr. Alden with a bow. “My name’s Sam. Dolly and I go right around the Center. We’ll wait at every building as long as you want.”

Benny looked at Sam and said, “You can’t take five of us. We’re too heavy. That horse can’t pull us all.”

“Oh, yes she can,” said Sam. “Dolly, you’re used to it, aren’t you, girl?” Sam patted Dolly gently. “See, she doesn’t mind at all. This carriage holds six.”

Indeed, there were three seats, and each seat had room for two persons. Without another word, Benny climbed into the front seat beside the driver. Grandfather and Violet sat behind them, and Jessie and Henry took the back seat. Dolly started down the street.

“Go along, pet,” said Sam. “Go along, old girl. You like hot weather. You know you do.”

Benny looked up at Sam. “You don’t come from around here, do you?” he asked.

“No. I’m an old jockey. I’m so small I used to be a jockey in the Blue Grass Country. But I’ve been up here for five years. Now, ladies,” said Sam, looking over his shoulder, “over there is the country store. Then come some old-fashioned houses. And next is the doll museum.”

“Let’s go to the doll museum first,” said Jessie. “We can’t see every building in one day.”

“No,” said Sam. “It takes two days. Some people stay a week.”

Benny said suddenly, “Tell me, Sam, why is Dolly so thin?”

Sam shook his gray head. “I know she’s too thin. It makes me feel poorly. Maybe Dolly’s just a thin horse. I feed her as well as I can.”

Mr. Alden said, “Sam, doesn’t Mr. April pay you well? He’s a good friend of mine.”

Sam sat up very straight. “Oh, yes, sir! Mr. April pays me fine. He’s a good man. Don’t ever say anything bad about Mr. April! He can’t come here very often. He lives in London.”

“Yes, he does,” said Grandfather. “But he wouldn’t like to see such a thin horse on his place.”

But Sam only said, “Giddap, old girl. Stop at the doll museum.”

Dolly began to trot. She stopped in front of the museum.

“We’ll wait right here,” said Sam. “Take your time. Stay as long as you like.”

The Aldens went up the front walk. Mr. Alden said, “Something is wrong here. I’d like to know what it is.”

Violet said, “Sam loves his horse. You can see that. Did you notice that Dolly was brushed till she shone like silk?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Alden. “That’s why it’s so strange. Sam takes good care of Dolly, but neither one gets enough to eat.”

Henry laughed just a little. He said, “Grandfather, you know most people wouldn’t even notice a thin horse. And they wouldn’t care if they did.”

“Yes, Henry, I know. But this family loves animals, and we can’t help noticing them.”

The Aldens had reached the door. “Well, here are the dolls,” Grandfather said.

“What a wonderful place!” said Violet when they walked inside. Even Henry and Benny were fascinated. A young girl in an old-fashioned costume came to meet them.

“Let me show you this dollhouse,” she said. “Notice the man doll sitting in that easy chair? He is six inches tall. He is reading a newspaper that is just the size of a postage stamp. You can see it is printed exactly like a big one. Now let me show you his set of checkers.”

The girl picked up a tiny black box from the little doll table. It was so small that she could hardly hold it. She opened it. The box and cover made a tiny checkerboard, and twenty-four red and black checkers were inside.

“This game is even smaller than a postage stamp,” said the girl.

Violet said, “I don’t see how anyone made those checkers so small.”

“This dollhouse is one hundred years old,” said the girl.

“Look at that beautiful doll’s tea set!” said Jessie, pointing to another tiny room in the dollhouse.

“Yes, some people think that is the smallest china tea set in the world,” said the girl. “The little handles are real gold, and the roses are painted by hand.”

“We’d better not touch that,” said Violet.

Benny was looking around the room. Suddenly he said, “Look over there!” He pointed to a corner where many people were standing. The Aldens walked across the room.

On a large wooden table was a model of a Pennsylvania farm. Everything in the model was carved and painted by hand.

A wooden man was sitting on a milking stool beside a cow. Hens and chickens stood around the barnyard. A woman doll stood among them with a tiny basket of corn. Two horses were hitched to a wagon with a black top. A boy doll stood beside a well, with his hand on the pump handle.

The girl said to Benny, “Just turn that switch.” Benny did so.

Suddenly the farm came to life with a great rattle. The man began to milk the cow. The woman began to throw the corn. The hens began to peck the corn. The boy began to pump the well. Real water ran out of the pump into a pail. The two horses began to trot down the road.

What a great noise—clack, clack! Everyone watching the model began to laugh. A woman standing near the Aldens said, “That is the cleverest thing I ever saw in my life!”

At last Jessie said, “Grandfather, we’ll never have time to see all these things. Maybe we ought to go into another building that Benny likes.”

“Yes, my dear. What do you want to see, Benny?” Grandfather asked.

“The animals,” said Benny.

The Aldens went out, looking at more dolls on the way. Sam and Dolly were waiting outside, but both of them seemed to be asleep. Just then another horse and carriage exactly like Sam’s came trotting along with a load oi people.

“That horse is as thin as Dolly,” said Henry in surprise. “And the man looks like Sam, doesn’t he?”

“Maybe he is Sam’s brother,” said Benny. “Maybe the horse is Dolly’s sister.”

Grandfather laughed. He didn’t know then that Benny was exactly right.

The Aldens didn’t want to wake Sam and Dolly so they went on foot down the street. Soon they came to a bright red brick building. Over the door was the word “Animals.” The Aldens went inside.

In this building they saw beautifully-mounted foxes and wolves, a deer, and a raccoon. But Benny went straight for a small dinosaur standing in the middle of the room. It was about as tall as Benny, but the sign said, “This is a model of a dinosaur fifteen feet tall and forty feet long.”

“Just think!” said Jessie, looking at the model. “Those animals used to be walking around here.”

Benny said, “If one of them stepped on me, he wouldn’t even know it.”

“That’s right, Ben,” said Henry. “Just the way we step on a bug and don’t know it.”

Along the sides of the room were large stones with dinosaur footprints in them. One footprint looked like a bird’s and another like an elephant’s. There were dinosaurs’ leg bones that were taller than Benny.

Soon Jessie said, “I must think about cooking supper. I think we ought to go, Henry. But I’m sure we want to come again tomorrow. We can sleep in the houseboat right at the dock.”

Benny said, “We must come back tomorrow. We have to find out more about Sam.”

Sam and Dolly were still asleep when the Aldens came out of the museum. But the second horse was going by with a load of people. Henry happened to look at his grandfather. Mr. Alden was staring at the second horse. He looked from one horse to the other.

“Henry!” said Grandfather. “Those two horses are a matched pair! I’m sure they came from the Blue Grass country. If I’m right, they were once beautiful horses, worth a great deal of money.”

Benny looked at Sam, fast asleep. Then he looked at the other driver. He exclaimed, “You can hardly tell those two drivers apart! One’s awake and one’s asleep. That’s the only difference.”

Jessie said, “You’re right, Ben. They look like twins.”

Benny said, “A matched pair of horses and a matched pair of drivers!”

“Shh, Ben. They’ll hear you,” said Jessie.

Indeed, someone at April Center did hear Benny. A workman said, “That is a matched pair of horses, all right. I can remember when they first came here. They held their heads up high. The old jockeys did, too.”

“What’s the matter with the horses now?” asked Benny.

The man shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t ask me,” he said, walking away.

Benny called after the man, “Are the two men brothers?”

“Yes,” answered the man. “Sam and Jeff. The horses are Dolly and Molly.”

The Aldens walked to the dock without waking Sam. It seemed strange to eat supper on the houseboat when it was quietly resting at the dock.

“Well, we learned a little about Sam,” said Benny. “His brother’s name is Jeff. I’m glad we’re spending another day at April Center. I want to see the country store tomorrow. And besides, I have a plan in mind.”

Violet smiled. “I suppose you don’t want to tell us your plan?”

“No,” said Benny. “Not yet.”

CHAPTER 6

Something Wrong

The next morning the Aldens waited only long enough to eat breakfast and change the name of the houseboat.

Benny climbed up the ladder to change the letters. He said, “I hate to take The Watch Alden down. But you’ve had your day, Watch. Today it will be The Mrs. McGregor.”

When Benny climbed down, Henry was saying, “I wish we could find out why those horses are so thin. We know that Mr. April pays Sam well.”

Jessie added, “Sam said he gives as much as he can to Dolly.”

“And we know Sam loves his horse,” said Violet. “It doesn’t seem to make sense.”

Benny thought a minute. Then he laughed. “The only way to find out is to ask Sam,” he said.

“Oh, no,” said Jessie, shaking her head. “I would never ask Sam!”

“I would,” said Benny. “I bet Sam would tell me.”

Henry laughed. “I bet he would, too, Ben. Try it! No harm done if he won’t tell.”

Violet said, “Sam likes Benny. I think he would say that Benny was comical, just as Mr. Rivers did.”

So the Aldens locked up the houseboat and went back to April Center. As they walked through the gate Benny looked around for Sam. But Sam was nowhere in sight.

“You’ll like the country store, Ben,” said Henry, walking along. “They will have everything in there—cloth, sugar, cheese, and a cracker barrel.”

The cracker barrel was the first thing the Aldens saw when they went into the store. The storekeeper looked up at Benny and said, “Help yourself to a cracker!”

There was a hole in the cover of the wooden barrel. Benny put his hand into the hole and pulled out a cracker. Henry came next. He said to the man, “That hole is almost too small for my hand.”

“That is why the hole was made small,” replied the man. “Nobody can get two crackers out at one time. They used to try in the old days, but they never could do it.”

Three old men were sitting around an old stove, smoking pipes. Grandfather looked around the room and said, “This looks exactly like the old country store I went in when I was a boy. See the old-fashioned stick candy?”

“Red-and-white stripes,” said Benny. “I bet it is peppermint.”

The storekeeper said, “Try the coffee grinder, folks. Right over there.”

They all went to look at the coffee grinder. Jessie said, “I don’t suppose you sell the coffee, do you?”

“Oh, yes, I do,” the storekeeper answered. “You can buy coffee, candy, cheese, and oats for horses. All the other things are just to look at.”

Jessie said, “We’ll take a pound of coffee, then.”

The man poured a pound of brown coffee beans into the coffee mill. He said to Benny, “Grind away, son!”

Benny took the handle and turned it round and round. It was hard work. The ground coffee came out in a bag and was all ready to use.

“Did you say you sell cheese?” asked Mr. Alden.

“Right here!” The man showed them an enormous round cheese, as big as an automobile tire. “I’ll cut off whatever you want.”

“I never saw such a big cheese,” said Jessie. “I’ll take a pound.”

“Now what about oats for a horse?” asked Henry.

“Yes, we sell oats,” said the man. “But what do you want oats for?”

“I was thinking about Sam’s horse, Dolly,” said Henry.

The storeman stopped smiling and shook his head. “It’s a funny thing about that,” he said. “Sam used to buy a lot of oats for Dolly. And his brother Jeff did, too. But they don’t buy so much now. Not half as much as they used to. I can’t understand it. It’s been going on for almost a year.”

Benny said, “Oh, let’s buy some oats for Sam. We can tell him it’s a birthday present for Dolly.”

Henry nodded. The man took a big bag of oats out of a corner and gave it to Henry.

As the Aldens went out to the street, they saw Sam and Dolly. Sam had no customers, but he smiled at the Aldens.

Benny said to his family, “You go along. I’d rather stay here with Sam. He isn’t busy right now. I’ll be along soon.”

Benny climbed up into the wagon and sat down beside the old jockey.

“How is Dolly today?” he asked.

“Fine,” said Sam. “See her ears now? She knows we’re talking about her.” Indeed, her ears were turned backwards.

“I’ve been thinking, Sam,” said Benny. “It seems to me that you are in some kind of trouble.”

The old driver turned to the young boy and said, “That is surely kind of you. Most people don’t care about an old carriage-driver.”

“I care,” said Benny.

“I know you do,” said Sam.

“Well, Sam, are you in trouble?”

“No, not exactly,” said Sam.

“What do you mean, not exactly?” asked Benny.

“Well, I got no trouble myself, but I hear that my brother Jeff has. So I feel poorly. Yes, boy, I’m sure enough worried about Jeff.”

The man and the boy sat a while without saying a word.

Then Benny said, “Sam, my grandfather is a smart man. Maybe he could get Jeff out of trouble.”

“No, boy. Nobody could do that,” Sam answered.

Benny put his hand on Sam’s arm. “Now, Sam! What a silly thing to say! You don’t know what my family can do when we get started. But how can we help you when we don’t know what the trouble is? Don’t you trust me?”

Sam drew a long breath. “I’d like to trust you, boy. I’d surely like to!”

“Well, then, tell me about Jeff. Has he done anything wrong?”

Sam turned and looked at Benny. “I know Jeff wouldn’t do anything wrong. I don’t believe it! I never believed it!”

“Who says he’s done something wrong?” asked Benny.

“Well, somebody says he has,” answered Sam. “But I can’t tell you who it is. Then I’d be in trouble.”

“You’re in trouble now,” said Benny.

Sam was thinking. He looked at Benny for a long time. He knew he could trust Benny. Sam took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to tell you, boy. A man comes to me every month and I give him half my pay. If I don’t, he says he will tell the police about Jeff.”

“I see,” said Benny, nodding his head. “So that is why you can’t afford to feed Dolly enough.”

“Yes, that’s why. I give Dolly as much as I can. But I have to eat, too.”

Benny nodded again. Then he said, “Would you believe me, Sam, if I said you would be out of trouble soon?”

“I don’t know,” said Sam. “That would be a great day.”

Benny began to climb out of the wagon. He said, “Well, don’t worry anymore, Sam. It won’t be long now!”

Benny walked away. As he looked back, he saw three people getting into Sam’s wagon. He stepped out of sight. He waited until Sam had turned the wagon around and trotted off. Then Benny walked slowly down the street looking for Jeff. He found him outside an old-fashioned house waiting for his customers.

Benny looked up at Jeff and said, “May I come and sit with you a minute?”

“Sure,” said Jeff. He was surprised.

When Benny was in the front seat, he said, “You don’t know me, Jeff, but Sam does.”

“Yes, I know you,” said Jeff. “Sam told me all about the Aldens. He said the old man is very kind.”

“You mean my grandfather?” asked Benny. “He isn’t old.”

“Oh, I don’t mean old,” said Jeff. “He’s just grown up.”

“I wonder if you would talk to me, Jeff,” asked Benny.

“Oh, yes, I’d like to talk to you. Any of your family. I’d be glad to.”

“Well, then,” said Benny, “tell me this. Are you in trouble?”

Jeff turned around to Benny just as his brother had done. “No,” he said. “But don’t tell Sam.”

“Why?” asked Benny. “I won’t tell Sam.”

“I just worry about Sam,” said Jeff. “I hear tell he is in trouble. So I worry all the time.”

Benny said, “Do you think Sam has done anything wrong?”

“No!” said Jeff. “Sam wouldn’t. He’s my twin brother.”

“But somebody told you he has. Is that right?” asked Benny.

“Yes, that’s right. But I still don’t believe him. And don’t you tell, boy!”

“I won’t,” said Benny. “You know, Jeff, I thought something was wrong.”

“Now why did you ever think that?” asked Jeff.

“Well, because Molly is so thin,” said Benny.

“Think of that!” said Jeff. “Nobody cares about an old thin horse.”

“You care a lot about Molly, don’t you?” asked Benny.

“Oh, yes. I brush her and brush her. See how she shines?”

“But you don’t feed her very well,” said Benny quietly.

“No,” said Jeff sadly. “But I do the best I can.”

“I know that,” said Benny. He began to climb down. He had learned what he wanted to know. Then he had an idea. He said, “By the way, Jeff, have you seen two men in a big black car driving around April Center? I’m interested in cars and it’s a special one.”

Jeff looked quickly at Benny and then away. It seemed as if he was going to nod, but he said, “Two men in a black car? I see lots of men and lots of black cars. They all look alike to me.”

Jeff looked so worried that Benny said, “Jeff, don’t worry anymore. In four or five days everything will be all right.”

“What do you mean, boy?” asked Jeff.

“I can’t tell you that because I don’t know what it will be myself. But you’ll see very soon.”

“Don’t you tell Sam!” Jeff warned.

“No, I won’t,” promised Benny. He almost ran to find his family. He felt light as a feather! How wonderful it would be when Sam and Jeff were happy again, and Molly and Dolly had enough to eat. He was sure Henry and Jessie could think of some way to help the old jockeys.

Benny found his family just leaving an old house. Jessie saw Benny coming.

“Oh, let’s go home,” she said. “We can hear all about Sam and Dolly on the boat where nobody is listening.”

“Let’s give this heavy bag of oats to Sam first,” said Henry.

Jeff came by just then with an empty wagon. He heard what Henry said. “I’ll see that Sam gets it,” he said, stopping his horse.

“Good,” said Henry. “Please take some oats for Molly, too.” Henry lifted the bag into Jeff’s front seat. “Thank you,” said Henry. “That will save time.”

“Thank you,” said Jeff, driving off.

The houseboat, The Mrs. McGregor, was just as they had left it. Henry poled it out into the river, and the Alden family sat down on the deck to talk. Benny told his story to the end.

Then Henry said, “You did well, Ben. We know now what is bothering Sam and Jeff. Let’s think of everything else that seems wrong. First, that vase was lost at the auction. And Mrs. Young and her sister are worried, too.”

Jessie said, “Don’t forget the waitress in the restaurant.”

“Yes, the waitress,” agreed Henry. “Then the smoke on this boat. Oh, by the way, Ben. A policeman came into the old house while we were there, and I told him about our clock. He said he would tell Mr. Rivers.”

“Good!” said Benny.

“We still don’t know why the boy in the red cap ran away from the auction so fast,” said Violet.

“And remember, the two policemen said something strange was going on up and down this river,” said Mr. Alden.

Benny said, “And the black car!”

“Right. The black car and the two men,” said Jessie. “Do you think the black car has anything to do with all these people, Henry?”

Henry replied, “Yes, that is exactly what I do think.”

Benny added, “But remember, we’ve still got four or five days!”

CHAPTER 7

Mystery in a Picture

The next day at breakfast Benny said, “Let’s name the houseboat The Sam and Dolly today. That would make Sam laugh if he could see it.”

The family always ate on the deck now. They liked it better than the galley.

Benny looked at the row of gulls sitting on the railing. “The only trouble with eating out here is you gulls,” he said. “You watch every bite.”

Jessie said, “I wonder where all those gulls go. They just come here for meals.”

Mr. Alden replied, “They must go fifty miles down the river to the ocean.”

When breakfast was over, the gulls flew away. Benny climbed up the ladder to change the name of the houseboat. It was The Sam and Dolly today.

Violet was holding a glass of orange juice in her hand. She stood up to watch Benny and stepped back to see better. Her foot hit the sandbox. Splash! Orange juice went everywhere. It was all over the clean white sand.

“Oh, look where it went!” said Violet. “We need that sand to put out fires. Wait! I can get it off.” She took a spoon and a cup. Then she very carefully scraped off every bit of wet sand.

“I don’t think I lost a spoonful of sand,” she said.

“No harm done,” said Jessie. “We promised to keep the sandbox filled up to the line and it is.”

The Aldens floated slowly down the beautiful river. They sat on the front deck.

Benny was looking straight down the river from the roof. He said, “Something is right in the way. What is it?”

Henry said, “It looks like an island.”

It was indeed an island, but a very small one. Here the river was a little wider. As the Aldens floated nearer, they saw that the island was made of rock. A few bushes grew here and there on small spots of sand. As they came still nearer, a great crowd of sea gulls rose in the air, calling and screaming.

Benny climbed down the ladder. “This is where the gulls live!” he said. “There must be a million.”

Henry laughed. He said, “Hold on, Ben. Not a million, but a lot of gulls for one small island.”

There were some posts in the water. Henry said, “This was once a dock. You can see where it was. Let’s float in. We’ve already scared the gulls anyway.”

The gulls had flown off, but when the boat stopped moving, the birds began to come back. One by one they came. Some sat on the posts. Some landed on the rocks. The place was soon thick with gulls.

“Let’s call this Gull Island,” Benny said.

Henry pointed at an enormous gull on a post. “What a picture that would make!” he said. He rushed to the cabin to get his camera.

“Take two pictures,” said Jessie. “One may not come out very well. Oh, look at the duck!” She pointed at a bird which was flying back again behind the rocks. “Let’s go ashore and see where it went.”

The Aldens stepped into the water from the boat and waded ashore. The gulls rose in the air, screaming loudly. The Aldens climbed over the stones and looked over the top of the big rock. There was the duck swimming around in the water. Seven baby ducks followed her. Sometimes they put their bills in the water and caught bugs. Sometimes they turned upside down.

Violet said, “Aren’t they cute, Henry? See if you can get a picture of a duckling upside down. You can only see its tail.”

Henry snapped the camera. He said, “I think two of them were upside down, and the mother duck, too.”

Something made Benny look away from the island toward the riverbank. There stood a lovely white bird!

“Look, Henry!” Benny whispered. “Take a picture. It’s a white heron.”

Benny waded back to the boat and asked Grandfather for the field glasses. He looked through them at the bird. It was beautiful, standing on one leg in the water, its lacy white topknot blowing in the wind.

“That’s an egret,” said Grandfather. “Sometimes they fly this far north. Take its picture, Henry.”

The bird was quiet, and Henry could work slowly. He snapped one picture and then another.

Benny looked through the field glasses again. All at once he whispered, “Henry! Something is behind that egret. Something white. Just look.”

Henry looked in the camera finder. Then he looked toward the bird as if he were going to take another picture.

Benny whispered, “I think it’s a man in a white shirt.”

“Right, Ben,” agreed Henry. “But why is he hiding behind a tree? He thinks the tree hides him, but I can see an arm sticking out on each side.”

Snap, went the camera. “I have a picture of two arms and two shoulders,” said Henry. “I wonder if he came here to watch us? And why?”

“I don’t know,” said Benny. “But I think that is just what he’s doing.” Then one arm moved.

“Keep watching him,” said Benny excitedly. “If he starts to leave, take another picture.”

A minute went by. Suddenly the man moved. He didn’t walk or run. He bent down and scrambled through the bushes. Henry snapped two more pictures before the man was out of sight.

“I hope these pictures are good,” Benny said.

Grandfather said, “It’s too bad Henry doesn’t have his long-distance lens on the camera.”

“I do,” said Henry. “All these pictures will be big. And now the next thing is to get these pictures printed.”

“Right,” said Benny. “Let’s watch for a landing.”

The four Aldens climbed aboard the houseboat, and Henry poled it away from the island. Soon they were floating down the river.

Benny and Henry watched the riverbanks for a landing. Benny was looking for something else, too. He thought he might see the man in the white shirt again, but he did not. Once he thought he saw a car parked in the woods, but he wasn’t sure. It was not far from Gull Island.

At last The Sam and Dolly came to a landing. Even in their excitement the Aldens did not forget to lock the houseboat.

When they found a drugstore in the small town, Benny spoke to the clerk. He said, “We have some very important pictures in our camera. How soon can we have prints?”

The clerk laughed. He said, “I’m sure you must have pictures of the President of the United States. I do develop my own pictures. I’m not very busy so I’ll develop the film right now if you hand it over.”

“Oh, thank you!” said five voices. “We’ll wait.”

The clerk began to think the pictures were really important. “You can sit at the counter,” he said. “I’ll hurry.”

In less than half an hour the man handed Henry prints of the pictures. The Aldens crowded around and Violet said, “Those pictures are large. That lens is a wonderful thing, Henry.”

Then Benny said one single word, “Look!”

He pointed at the white shoulders of the man in the bushes. Right behind him was a very faint picture of a face!

“There were two men,” said Benny.

Henry studied the picture. “There certainly is another man,” he agreed.

Violet said, “Do you think the men were watching our houseboat? They must have some reason for hiding from us. What could it be?”

“Benny and I think the men were watching us, too,” Henry said. “They wouldn’t hide if they weren’t doing something wrong.”

“Do you think we ought to give these pictures to the police?” asked Benny.

“Yes,” said Grandfather. “But let’s go back to the houseboat first.”

“Yes,” said Henry. “I have a feeling somebody wants to get on the houseboat when we are not there. It happened once. It could happen again.”

Henry and Benny soon poled the boat away from the landing. Once again they were in the middle of the river.

Henry put the pictures in his suitcase.

“A boat is coming!” called Jessie.

“I see it,” said Grandfather. “It’s the Coast Guard. Maybe they have heard of a houseboat with too many names and want to look us over. The Coast Guard has to do that. It has to find out what every boat is doing. And if any boatman is breaking the law, the Coast Guard can go aboard and search the boat. It can even arrest a boatman.”

Two men were on the Coast Guard boat. They steered carefully around The Sam and Dolly.

The men shouted to Henry, “Want to drop your anchor?” Henry threw it overboard at once.

“Come aboard,” called Grandfather. “My name is James Alden.”

“Yes, I know,” said the older man, smiling. He had several large fish on a string. He stepped aboard the houseboat, but the other man stayed on the Coast Guard boat.

“We just pulled these fellows out of the river. Would you like them?”

Jessie smiled and took the fish with thanks.

The stranger went on, “The houseboat has so many names that I wanted to see the crew.”

“Well, these are my grandchildren,” said Mr. Alden. “This is Captain Henry and his first mate, Benny. Jessie is the cook, and Violet the washerwoman.”

“I’m Commander Williams,” said the man. “I hope the washerwoman is stronger than she looks.”

“Yes, Violet is a tough girl,” said Benny. “Come and see our laundry tub. Come right through the cabin to the rear deck and I’ll show you.”

The Commander went along with Benny. He noticed that everything was clean. He even noticed the fire pail and the sandbox. But before he had time to look for a laundry tub, Violet had jumped into the river and was climbing into the rope seat.

“Well, I never saw anything like that!” exclaimed Commander Williams. “Did you make it?”

“Henry made it,” said Violet. “I do the washing, and Jessie hangs it out.” Then she swam off and climbed up on the deck.

“Your boat is all shipshape,” the commander said. “You do very well with your housekeeping. Do you enjoy this kind of life?”

“Oh, we’re having a neat time!” answered Benny. “Something new every day.”

“Is that so?” said the visitor. “What, for instance?”

Suddenly the Aldens looked serious and Mr. Alden said, “I’m really very glad you came, Commander.”

“We all feel that something is wrong,” said Henry.

“Wrong with the houseboat?”

“The houseboat is all right. The trouble is along the river,” said Henry.

Benny said, “We’re beginning to think there is something mysterious going on.”

“Well, I must tell you that the police officers think this, too,” said Mr. Williams. “They asked the Coast Guard to help. We often work together. They think something is going on, but they need some proof.”

“We may have some proof,” said Henry. “Let me show you the pictures I took at Gull Island.” He got the pictures of the white egret and handed them to the commander.

“Very good!” said Mr. Williams. He took out a small magnifying glass to look at the pictures.

“Do you see what I see, Captain Henry?” he asked.

“Well, I see the man hiding and the face of another man farther away, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, I mean the black ring on the man’s left hand.” He handed the glass and the best picture to Henry.

Henry looked closely through the glass. “Well, we missed it!” he said. “I never noticed that ring. Did you, Jessie?”

“No,” said Jessie. “Let me look.”

“Me, too,” said Benny.

Benny looked at the picture. “Oh!” he said excitedly. “I’ve seen that black ring before, Henry! Don’t you remember at the Elm Tree Inn I told you about the man who drove so fast with his right hand? That very ring was on his left hand. I saw it as he held the window!”

“Yes,” said Henry. “I remember.”

The commander said, “Good! Then that’s one more thing we know.” He leaned back in his chair. “What else do you know about this trouble along the river?” He looked at Benny as he spoke.

“We know six people who are worried. They are all too scared to talk. Then somebody took a vase at the auction at Pomfret Landing.”

Jessie said, “When we came back to the houseboat after the auction, we smelled cigarette smoke. Our clock was gone. We think someone has a key.”

Commander Williams nodded. He said, “Maybe I can explain that. Before you came, there was a family who named the houseboat The Blue Heron. They were careless with the key. One day they left it in the lock all morning while they went shopping. I happened to need a new key for my supply room, so I went to the locksmith. I was surprised to see a man slipping out the back way. I asked the locksmith who it was, but he didn’t want to tell. That made me wonder. At last he said that the man had wanted a new key to match the one from Mr. Rivers’ houseboat. So maybe that is how someone got in while you were away.”

“But who was the man?” asked Benny.

“That’s what I don’t know,” said the commander. “Maybe it would help if you’d tell me the names of the people who are worried.”

“Sam and Jeff at April Center,” began Benny. “And Mrs. Young and her sister at the candy store at Pomfret Landing, and a waitress at Second Landing. And I don’t know about a boy in a red cap.”

“You don’t think the boy in the red cap was the person on your houseboat while you were gone?”

“No!” said Benny. “I don’t think he was. I liked him.”

“Do you know that the boy in the red cap is Mrs. Young’s son?”

“No,” answered Benny. “So that’s why she is so worried!”

“Yes, she has plenty to worry about. That boy came home with twenty-five dollars and wouldn’t tell his mother where he got it. She thinks he is getting into trouble.”

“I think she’s right,” nodded Henry.

Commander Williams stood up. “Now I must go. If you let me have one of those pictures, I’ll pass it on to the police. It may help them.”

“Glad to help,” said Henry.

“Thank you for the fish,” added Jessie.

CHAPTER 8

A Discovery

Jessie called, “Lunch! We have a surprise for you, Benny.”

Benny took one look at his plate. On it was a piece of Commander Williams’ fish and a pile of fluffy mashed potatoes.

“Oh, mashed potatoes!” shouted Benny. “You’re a nice sister, Jessie! But where did you get them?”

“Out of a box,” said Jessie. “It’s instant potato.”

Halfway through lunch Henry looked out over the river and began to laugh. “We’re still at anchor,” he said. “I forgot to pull up the anchor after Commander Williams left.”

“I guess we’re going nowhere in a hurry,” said Benny.

When everything was eaten, Jessie said, “If you all help, we’ll be through our work in a hurry. Henry, will you take these fish heads and tails and throw them to the gulls? They must have known we had fish.”

It happened that Henry had the houseboat key in his hand when Jessie called him. He picked up the scraps and went to the back deck. He raised his arm as high as he could and threw—not the fish heads—but the door key!

“Jessie!” Henry yelled. “Dive with me! Swim right where I swim!”

Jessie did not know what it was all about, but she did exactly what Henry told her. She dived in and followed him.

Henry gasped, “I threw the door key! I haven’t taken my eyes off the spot. I know just where it went.”

“We’ll dive for it,” said Jessie, swimming faster.

“Here!” said Henry. He put his head down and disappeared. Jessie followed.

In a minute they both came up. “I saw it!” gasped Jessie, “but I couldn’t stay down.”

“Same here,” sputtered Henry. They both went down again. By this time the family was watching from the rear deck.

“Stay here, Benny,” Grandfather said. “You’ll just stir up the water so they can’t see. Two is enough. Ha! Good for you, Henry!”

Henry came up, holding the key. Jessie came up. They swam quickly to the boat and climbed aboard.

Henry made a bow to Jessie and gave her the key. “Put it around your neck on a chain,” he said. “I’m not fit to carry a key!”

“Oh, yes, you are,” said Grandfather. “You did very well to see exactly where the key went.”

Then Benny said, “But look where all the fish heads and scraps went—all over the sandbox!”

Benny held up a fish tail and called. The air was full of gulls in an instant. They caught all the scraps before they landed in the water.

Jessie sniffed. “That sand will always smell fishy. We can’t have that on a boat. We’ll have to get some new sand.”

Benny began to laugh. He said, “Henry, you ought to have seen yourself! Throwing that key as far as you could and dropping the fish bones. That was pretty neat!”

Violet pointed toward the shore. “Isn’t that a nice white beach?” she asked. “We can empty the box and fill it up with clean sand.”

“It looks fine,” said Mr. Alden. “Let’s pole the boat in, Henry.”

“I’ll go and empty the sandbox,” said Benny. “We can just dump the sand in the water.”

“I’ll help you,” said Jessie. “Sand is heavy.”

The two dragged the sandbox to the rear deck and tipped it over. The sand poured smoothly into the river.

“The sand looks like water,” said Benny. “It’s like a waterfall.”

But suddenly, what was this flashing thing in the bottom of the box, under the sand? Before Jessie or Benny could do anything it went into the river, with a flash of red and green and gold.

“The vase—the vase from the auction!” Benny shouted. In an instant he dived into the water. Jessie followed him, shouting “Henry!”

Henry heard his name and came running. Mr. Alden and Violet came, too. Just then Benny came up gasping. “It’s the vase on the desk!” he said.

Jessie came up, gasping. “I see it! It is that vase. You try, Henry.”

Down went Henry. In no time he was up again with the vase in his hand.

“Terrific!” yelled Benny.

“Good thing,” said Henry as he tried to get his breath, “the boat is hardly moving. The vase was right there on top of the white sand.”

Jessie, Benny, and Henry climbed on board, breathing hard. They looked at the vase.

Violet said, “It is just what the auctioneer said, gold with rubies and emeralds.”

“But how did it get in our sandbox?” asked Jessie.

“I know!” said Benny. “The one who came aboard our houseboat thought it was a safe hiding place. I’m sure!”

Mr. Alden said, “I’m sure, too.”

Benny said, “I’ll tell you what. Let’s go and get that clean sand. We might still have a fire on board and need sand to put it out. When the sandbox is filled, Henry can start the motor and we’ll go back to the auction place.”

Henry nodded. “That’s good, Ben. I certainly want to put this vase in a safe place. And we know there is a policeman at that landing.”

Henry and Benny poled the boat to the sandy beach. Henry jumped out with the empty box and waded ashore. He filled the box up to the line and came back with it on his shoulder.

Mr. Alden reached down and took the box. Henry climbed back on the boat. “This is the day when we are in and out of the water,” he said.

Henry and Mr. Alden turned the houseboat around to head up the river. Henry started the motor in the rear. Off they went! How strange it seemed to be going so fast.

Past Gull Island, past their old landings, past the red-winged blackbirds, past April Center. At last Violet said, “I see the auction sign ahead.”

Henry turned off the motor and poled the boat up to the landing. The Aldens walked up the path, Benny carrying the vase in the empty mashed-potato box.

“Who’d ever guess what we have?” Benny asked, “A potato box is just the thing for a treasure.”

CHAPTER 9

The Plan

When the Aldens came to the auction building they found the door open. But nobody was inside.

“No auction today,” said Benny. “This isn’t Saturday.”

“Well, let’s look for someone to help us,” Jessie said. So the Aldens walked slowly down the main street, looking for a policeman. There were not many people on the street because there was no auction.

“There’s the Elm Tree Inn,” Violet said, pointing.

Benny exclaimed, “Quick! The boy with the red cap! He’s going into the Elm Tree Inn.”

“No, Ben,” said Jessie. “That boy hasn’t any cap at all. And besides he didn’t look like that boy to me.”

“He did to me,” said Benny. “Let’s go in and see.”

The Aldens went in. Nobody was in the dining room. But Benny and Violet saw a boy go through a door in the back.

“Hey, wait a minute!” called Benny. “Just one minute, please!”

The boy half turned and stood still.

Henry said, “It’s all right. Don’t be afraid. You’re Mrs. Young’s boy, aren’t you?”

The boy looked up. “What of it? What do you want?”

“We’re trying to find a policeman,” Jessie said.

“I can’t help you,” the boy said.

“Aren’t you the boy who bought the clothes at the auction?” Benny asked. “We were there, too.”

The boy did not say anything.

“Why did you want the clothes?” Violet asked. “Did you need them?”

“Those old clothes?” the boy said suddenly. “We’re not that poor. A man asked me to buy them for him. He said he was too busy to go to an auction himself.”

“Did he give you money to do that?” Benny asked.

“Maybe twenty-five dollars?” asked Henry.

The boy looked at the Aldens. He decided he could trust them. “Yes, that’s right. I didn’t do anything wrong. I just bought the box and gave it to the man. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing,” replied Benny. “Have you ever seen the man again?”

“Yes,” the boy said. “I saw him today at the Princess Hotel. He was talking to another man. I ran before he saw me. I don’t like him.”

“I don’t blame you,” said Benny. “Now could you tell us where we can find a policeman?”

This time the boy nodded. “There are two at the town hall.”

Benny said, “Why did you come to the Elm Tree Inn just now?”

“My mother is out in the kitchen. She came to sell candy.”

“Ask her if she’ll come and talk with us,” said Jessie.

But as Jessie spoke, the door opened and Mrs. Young came in from the kitchen. She said, “I heard every word and I am so glad Tom isn’t in trouble.”

The Aldens got up and Mr. Alden brought a chair for Mrs. Young.

Violet said, “There are a lot of people in trouble around here. We are trying to help.”

Henry said to Tom, “Do you think you could go out the back door and get one of those policemen to come in the back way?”

“Easy!” said Tom Young. “I’ll tell him it’s the folks from the houseboat.” Then he was gone.

“He knew us all the time!” said Benny.

“Everybody knows you,” said Mrs. Young. “These towns up and down the river are quite small. You will find that almost everyone knows your names and when you stop for the night.”

Just then a few people went by, looking in the window.

Mr. Alden said quickly, “Before that policeman comes, do you suppose we could go into the kitchen? People can see us too well from here.”

“Oh, yes,” replied Mrs. Young. “The lady who runs this inn won’t mind. She will let you sit in the small dining room through that door.”

In a few minutes Tom came in with a policeman.

“Sit down,” said Mr. Alden. “We are all glad to see you. Look!” He pointed at Benny.

The policeman looked at Benny, who began to open the mashed-potato box. He put in his hand and pulled out the vase.

“Whew!” said the policeman. “That vase! Where did you get it?”

Then Benny told the whole story. He told it very well. When he had finished, the lieutenant said quickly, “Who knows you found this vase?”

“Nobody,” said Benny.

“Good!” said the man. “I’m glad nobody knows that you have found the vase. The men who hid it will think it is still buried in the sandbox. Yes, I think there were two men just as you do. I think one of them hid the vase in the box of old clothes.”

Benny nodded. “Then they hired Tom to buy the box and give it to them.”

“Right,” said the policeman. “They had to hide the vase somewhere, and your houseboat was just the place.”

Jessie said, “That’s why the two men were watching us when we stopped at Gull Island. They were all ready to get out of town, so they wanted to get on board and get the vase if we left the houseboat alone for a few minutes.”

Benny exclaimed, “We could play a trick on them! Just let everybody know that we are going to spend the evening on land and then the men will go to the houseboat and try to get the vase back. When they get aboard, you can be in the cabin to catch them.”

“That’s quite a plan,” said the lieutenant with a little laugh. “You can come with us. You deserve to see the end.”

But Benny surprised them. He said, “No. I don’t want to see those men ever again. It’s just the way I feel about it.”

“You don’t have to,” said the policeman. “Maybe your brother will go with us? We need somebody to show us where the things are on the houseboat.”

“Okay,” said Henry. “I’d like to.”

“I know!” said Jessie. “Let’s all go out on the street and let everyone know we are having supper at the Elm Tree Inn. And then we’re going to the movies.”

“Good!” said the policeman. “News gets around here fast. Henry, right after supper, go down to the houseboat the back way. Captain John De Rosa and I will be there. Then we’ll see.”

Jessie laughed. She said, “If Benny is left behind, people will think the whole family is here.”

So the Aldens went out of the Elm Tree Inn, laughing and talking. They went into every store on the street, talking together about what they were going to do. They would have supper at the inn, then go to the movies. They asked what was going on at the movies.

People smiled and told them what the picture was. By dinnertime almost every person knew the houseboat people were in town and were going to spend the evening. Who would carry the news to the men at the Princess Hotel? Nobody knew.

The Aldens had a table right in the middle of the dining room. They had a delicious dinner. Without any talk, Henry slipped out through the kitchen. He walked quickly and quietly to the houseboat. The rest of the family went to the movies and thought about the houseboat instead of the picture.

CHAPTER 10

Trapped!

When Henry stepped softly on the dock he thought that the police had not come. When he put his key in the lock he still thought that they had not come. But when he opened the door he heard a soft “Hello.”

To tell the truth, Henry was very glad to hear it. There were two policemen sitting on the floor of the galley with their backs to the wall. Nobody could see them through the windows.

“Come and sit on the floor,” whispered Captain De Rosa. “Sit on my other side. We want to sit nearest the door. We may have to wait a long time.”

“I suppose the men may not come at all,” said Henry.

“Well, maybe not,” said the other policeman. “We’ve pulled the sandbox into the cabin. We’ll let them dig a while before we jump.”

“I think they’ll come tonight,” said Captain De Rosa. “They want to get out of this place fast.”

There was no more talking. Henry could look up and see the stars out of the windows. They were bright because there were no lights and no moon. The minutes ticked away.

The water lapped gently around the boat. The night birds began to chirp and the whippoorwills sang and sang.

After a long time Henry turned his wrist over and looked at his watch. It was nine o’clock. His legs were getting stiff so he sat on one. But the policemen did not move.

Henry thought, “Maybe nobody will come tonight. Maybe they will wait until tomorrow night.”

He had all sorts of ideas. “The movies will be out at ten. Suppose the men wait until ten and they meet the family coming home? That will scare them off. Suppose somebody saw me get on the boat? Suppose the two men are too strong for the police?”

Still the policemen did not move. Once Henry thought he heard a board on the dock creak. But nothing happened. Then all at once the boat moved gently. Henry could feel the policemen getting ready to stand up, but they did not move.

The boat tipped again a very little, as if a person were stepping aboard. Henry heard a key go very softly into the lock. The door of the cabin opened. Henry could see the black shapes of two men. They stepped into the cabin and flashed a weak light toward the sandbox.

One man said crossly, “They’ve moved the sandbox.”

“What of it?” said the other. “It’s the same sandbox. Just get that vase and go!”

Both men knelt down and began to dig in the sand.

“Hold it!” cried Captain De Rosa, jumping to his feet. He turned a bright flashlight full on the two men by the sandbox.

The two men looked up with their mouths open. In an instant the two policemen had handcuffs on both of them. Then Henry was surprised to hear a car drive up.

“Our light was a signal for the car to come,” explained Captain De Rosa. “We have plenty of help now.” And he led the two men off the houseboat with the police lieutenant following.

“I’ll lock up,” said Henry. “My family can sleep here tonight without worrying about anything.”

Henry had another surprise. Commander Williams was sitting in the front seat of the car beside the police driver. “I wanted a good look at those fellows, too,” he said. “Where’s Benny?”

“He said this wasn’t the part he wanted to see. He thinks the best ending will be feeding oats to Dolly and seeing Sam happy again.”

The two handcuffed men did not make any fuss. They knew they were caught. But they began to quarrel when the station wagon started to move.

“I told you it was a dumb thing to take that vase,” one said. “But you wouldn’t listen. We were doing all right getting money from dumb people.”

“That was my idea, too, remember! People will pay anything if you tell them their family is in trouble.”

Henry thought to himself, “Sam and Jeff and the others weren’t in trouble at all. But these two men are. They won’t trick anybody again.”

“Do you want to come to the police station with us?” asked Captain De Rosa, speaking to Henry.

“No, drop me off at the movies. I want to tell my family it’s all over.”

The movie had just ended. The Aldens were the first people to come out.

“Oh, what happened, Henry?” Benny called out.

“Everything is okay,” said Henry, looking at his grandfather. “Walk along to the boat and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Henry told the story from the beginning to the end. Then Benny said, “Oh, Grandfather, tomorrow let’s float back to April Center to see Sam and Dolly!”

“We don’t have to float, Ben,” said Henry. “We can use the motor.”

“Good, we’ll get there fast,” Benny said. The Aldens laughed because that sounded just like Benny.

Henry said, “How about the movie? What was it about?”

Violet looked up at Henry with a smile and said, “I haven’t the slightest idea!”

That night everyone slept well on the houseboat. There was nothing to worry about.

After the houseboat was in order the next morning, Henry and Benny poled the boat toward the dock.

The Aldens bought tickets for April Center at the gate. The first person they saw was not Sam but Jeff. He was sitting up straight in his wagon, waiting for river customers.

Benny called, “Hello, Jeff! We’re back sooner than we said. It didn’t take four or five days. Only two!”

“That’s right,” said Jeff. “I heard all about it last night.” He climbed down and shook hands with Grandfather.

“You heard last night?” asked Henry. “It must have been late.”

“Yes, it was. But I can tell you everyone around here knows it. Even before it was on the radio.”

“I wonder how,” said Henry.

“Well, this is a great place for getting news around,” said Jeff.

“Where’s Sam?” asked Benny.

“He’s down at the main gate. Do you see how much better Molly looks? That’s because of the oats you bought. But now I’ll be able to buy all she needs. She’ll look fine!”

“Good! Let’s go and find Sam,” Benny said.

“Have a ride!” said Jeff. “I’ll be glad to take you.”

The Aldens thanked him and climbed in. Down the street went Molly. She held her head up high. People smiled as the wagon went past them. At last Molly reached the main gate.

“There’s Sam!” said Benny.

Sam looked up. His face was one big smile. He pointed at Dolly. She was eating oats from a bag on her nose.

Sam said, “Dolly’s fine now. And Jeff and I didn’t do anything wrong, and everything is all right!”

Benny looked from Sam to Jeff and from Dolly to Molly. He said, “This is what I wanted to see—Dolly eating oats! And this is the way to end our adventure—with everybody happy!”

Jessie said, “Grandfather, don’t you think our trip is really over, too?”

Mr. Alden said, “Yes, I ought to get back to work.”

“I’m ready to go home,” said Henry.

“Then I’ll telephone Mr. Rivers,” Grandfather said. But it was Mrs. Rivers who answered. She said, “I will meet you myself with my oldest boy. My husband has just gone away for the day.”

The Aldens said good-bye to all their friends and chugged away up the river in the houseboat. They looked for the last time at the green trees and the quiet water. At last they saw Mrs. Rivers and her son standing on the dock, waiting.

“What an awful time you had!” said Mrs. Rivers. “Everybody is talking about your trip and how it was spoiled.”

“Oh, it wasn’t spoiled,” said Benny. “We had a neat time. We always have some excitement. And it all turned out well, even if those men did hide their treasure on our boat. Please don’t tell Mr. Rivers the name of our boat. We’d like to have him see it himself.”

Mrs. Rivers looked at the name and laughed. “No, I won’t tell him,” she said. “You did have some treasure aboard all the time and didn’t know it.”

Mrs. Rivers’ son helped the Aldens take their things from the houseboat and load them in the station wagon. The drive home was a short one, and Watch was waiting for them.

After everything was unpacked, the Aldens sat on the porch. They couldn’t stop talking about the houseboat.

Henry laughed and said, “Remember the day on The James H. Alden when Jessie lost the salt?”

And Jessie said, “Remember the day on The Mrs. McGregor when Ben found out why Dolly was so thin?”

Benny said, “Remember the day on the Nedla Yrrieh? And Henry found the fish pole?”

But Violet said, “Oh, I wish we could see Mr. Rivers’ face when he sees the last name for his boat!”

Really, it was too bad that nobody saw Mr. Rivers. He went down alone to look at his houseboat and get it ready for the next customer. He happened to look at the blue letters on the top and began to laugh. He laughed and laughed and slapped his knee and shook his head.

The houseboat’s name was Captain Kidd.

“That Benny!” said Mr. Rivers. “Comical.”

About the Author

GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

SURPRISE ISLAND

THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

MYSTERY RANCH

MIKE’S MYSTERY

BLUE BAY MYSTERY

THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

CABOOSE MYSTERY

HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

BICYCLE MYSTERY

MYSTERY IN THE SAND

MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

BUS STATION MYSTERY

BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN

PAINTING

THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY GIRL

THE MYSTERY CRUISE

THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

THE PIZZA MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY HORSE

THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

THE CASTLE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT

AIR BALLOON

THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN

BOXCAR

THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

THE SOCCER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

THE PANTHER MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER

GAME

THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED

HOUSE

THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE

MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD

MOUNTAIN

THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S

CURSE

THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE

COOKIE

THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

THE RADIO MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY

GHOST

THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED

BOXCAR

THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING

BONES

THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

THE VANISHING PASSENGER

THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

THE SECRET OF THE MASK

THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING

TOMATOES

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1967 by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-0803-8

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Illustrated Biography

Gertrude Chandler Warner (1890—1979) was an American author of children’s books, most notably the first nineteen titles of the Boxcar Children mystery series, as well as four books for adults.

Born on April 16, 1890, Warner was raised in Putnam, Connecticut, in a house built by her grandfather, John Carpenter, at 42 South Main Street, across the street from a railroad station. Her sister, Frances, was two years older than her, and her brother, John, was two years younger. Their parents, Edgar Warner and Jane Elizabeth Carpenter Warner, were extremely active within the Putnam community as a lawyer/judge and head of the town school committee, respectively. Although she was afflicted with severe sore throats and other childhood illnesses, Warner attended the Fifth District School House with her siblings. When she was halfway through her sophomore year of high school, her ailments got the better of her and she had to withdraw. Instead of formal schooling, she studied at home with a tutor and with her mother, although she never graduated.

Warner’s first job was for a Sunday school newspaper published in the nearby town of Danielson, which paid her a dollar for every five hundred words she wrote. Having written stories since she was nine years old, mostly for her family, she longed to write a book and have it published. Her dream came true in 1916 with the publication of The House of Delight, a children’s book about her childhood dollhouse and its residents, Mr. and Mrs. Delight. Shortly after, both Warner and her sister began publishing stories and essays in magazines such as the Atlantic Monthly, Ladies’ Home Journal, House Beautiful, and Harper’s.

In 1918, as the United States became involved in World War I, the resulting dearth of educators led Warner to begin what would become a thirty-two year career teaching first and third grade at the Israel Putnam School. At first, she assisted another teacher for a few hours each day, but when that teacher died of influenza during the pandemic of 1918—19, Warner took over. She had forty children in her morning class and another forty in the afternoon, and her salary was raised five times—from four hundred to one thousand dollars—during her first year of teaching. Meanwhile, she continued to write, composing a nature series for Little Folks magazine, and, in 1918, a Boston publisher collected her many articles about stars and constellations for a children’s astronomy book, Star Stories for Little Folks.

When Warner suffered a bout of bronchitis that kept her from teaching for several months, she began to write the story that would become The Boxcar Children. It was about the Alden children—four orphans who live in a boxcar—and it was inspired by the Putnam Railroad Station across the street from Warner’s childhood home. The Boxcar Children, published in 1942, would become the first installment of her beloved mystery series and establish her as a writer of children’s books. In 1949 she published the second Boxcar book, Surprise Island. The following year, when she turned sixty, Warner finally retired from teaching and devoted herself to writing full-time, publishing books for both children and adults. She wrote nineteen Boxcar books in all, including The Yellow House Mystery (1953), Mystery Ranch (1958), The Woodshed Mystery (1962), and Benny Uncovers a Mystery (1976), which would be her last.

Warner died in Putnam on August 30, 1979, when she was eighty-nine years old. But the Boxcar Children live on: To this day, authors contribute new stories to the series, which now totals over one hundred and twenty books.

A two-year-old Warner around 1892 with her sister, Frances, age four. Growing up, Warner earned money by killing flies around the house. Her parents paid her the handsome sum of ten cents for every hundred flies she killed.

Warner’s childhood home in Putnam, Connecticut. It had been built for her family by her grandfather, John Carpenter, and was kept heated in the winter by wood and lit at night by kerosene lamps.

The Putnam railroad, situated across the street from Warner’s childhood home. As a child, Warner would stare into the caboose of a parked train and think about how fun it would be to live in one.

The Warner family. From left: Edgar, Frances, John, Gertrude, and Jane.

Warner, in 1901 at age eleven, poses for a portrait. Just two years before, she had completed her first book, Golliwogg at the Zoo, which she illustrated with watercolors and gave as a gift to her grandfather.

Warner with her first-grade class in 1924. She taught first and third grade for thirty-two years at the Israel Putnam School in Putnam, Connecticut. The school building still stands today, though it has been converted into apartments.

This photo, taken in 1933, shows Warner sitting at the piano while her sister, Frances, holds a violin. The Warner family often played music together growing up.

Warner in 1940, seen wearing a fur coat. She was very active in the Congregational Church of Putnam at this time, and in 1948 wrote a history of the church for its centennial celebration.

Warner writing in her home. She published nineteen Boxcar books in all, as well as numerous other books for both children and adults.

A photo of Warner taken shortly before her death in 1979. Even in retirement, Warner invited students from the Putnam School to visit her at home to enjoy some lemonade and talk about books.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © by Albert Whitman & Company

ISBN: 978-1-4532-1116-8

This 2010 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

180 Varick Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Contents

The Boxcar Children (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book One)

I. The Four Hungry Children

II. Night Is Turned into Day

III. A New Home in the Woods

IV. Henry Has Two Surprises

V. The Explorers Find Treasure

VI. A Queer Noise in the Night

VII. A Big Meal from Little Onions

VIII. A Swimming Pool at Last

IX. Fun in the Cherry Orchard

X. Henry and the Free-for-All

XI. The Doctor Takes a Hand

XII. James Henry and Henry James

XIII. A New Home for the Boxcar

About The Author

Surprise Island (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Two)

1. The First Surprise

2. Housekeeping

3. The Garden

4. Clamming

5. Summer Plan

6. The Museum

7. Exploring

8. Indian Point

9. A New Violin

10. Grandfather's Visit

11. Apple Pie

12. The Picnic

13. Joe Again

14. Everybody's Birthday

15. Good-by, Summer

About the Author

The Yellow House Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Three)

1. The Cave

2. A Wedding

3. The Mystery

4. The Tin Box

5. The Next Move

6. Starting for Camp

7. Company in the Woods

8. The Lumber Camp

9. Almost Starving

10. Potato Camp

11. Old Village

12. A Hunt for Benny

13. The Tin Box Again

14. The Hermit

15. Starting for Home

16. A Happy Home

About the Author

Mystery Ranch (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Four)

1. The Door Bangs

2. The Letter

3. A Cool Welcome

4. Aunt Jane's First Meal

5. A Day at the Ranch

6. Golden Chimney

7. The Boys Come

8. Aunt Jane's Nurse

9. The Yellow Stones

10. A Big Present

11. A Strange Offer

12. The Mystery Man

13. Fast Work

14. The Boss

15. The Party

About the Author

Mike's Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Five)

1. Yellow Sands

2. An Old Friend

3. Fire!

4. At the Big Table

5. The Empty Room

6. Mike's Mother's Place

7. The Blue Hat

8. Secrets

9. Quick Work

10. Mike's Idea

11. Pie Day

12. An Empty Can

13. The Party

14. Ben or Mike?

About the Author

Blue Bay Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Six)

1. Plans

2. Getting Ready

3. Ship's School

4. The Lifeboat

5. Food

6. Surprises

7. Clues

8. Cooking and Swimming

9. Bread

10. Trapped

11. Peter

12. Eight in the Family

13. Sea Star

14. Home

About the Author

The Woodshed Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Seven)

1. A Farm for Sale

2. Making Plans

3. Grandfather Takes Over

4. The Potato Pit

5. An Old Flintlock Gun

6. Exploring the Woodshed

7. Clues from an Old Book

8. A Light in the Dark

9. What Was in the Box

10. Back to the Woodshed

11. A New Discovery

12. Too Much Excitement

13. Just in Time!

14. A Treasure Bag

15. Letter from Long Ago

16. Aunt Jane's Surprise

About the Author

The Lighthouse Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Eight)

1. Lighthouse for Sale

2. Unfriendly Characters

3. Cement for a Project

4. A Midnight Visitor

5. Little House with a Secret

6. Well Done for Benny

7. Baked Beans and Chowder

8. From the South Seas

9. Who Needs a Friend?

10. Hints and Plans

11. A Wild Storm

12. The Secret Is Out

13. A Final Surprise

About the Author

Mountain Top Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Nine)

1. Grandfather in the Lead

2. Hold On, Benny!

3. Waiting for Rescue

4. Lovan's Story

5. More Plans

6. Back Up the Trail

7. A Stranger

8. The First Find

9. Caught in the Rain

10. David Explains

11. Benny Finds the Way

12. The Treasure

13. No Goodbyes

14. Time for Celebration

About the Author

Schoolhouse Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Ten)

1. Benny's Plan

2. Being Watched

3. Wanted: A Schoolhouse

4. A Woman of Few Words

5. The Money Man

6. Mystery Painting

7. Grandfather Makes a Call

8. Caught by the Tide

9. The Disappearing Stranger

10. A Discovery

11. Who Is the Englishman?

12. A Sockful of Money

13. Surprise for Violet

14. Caught!

15. The Last Song

About the Author

Caboose Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Eleven)

1. Grandfather's Idea

2. All Aboard!

3. Beaver Man

4. A Strange Tale

5. Glass Factory Junction

6. Benny's Adventure

7. A Wild Ride

8. The Rainy Day

9. Engineer Benny

10. Curing Sneezes

11. Is It Real?

12. Mysterious Message

13. Surprise for Cho-Cho

14. Best Trip of All

About the Author

Houseboat Mystery (The Boxcar Children Mysteries Book Twelve)

1. Houseboat for Rent

2. Henry's Invention

3. Trouble Brewing

4. The Auction

5. April Center

6. Something Wrong

7. Mystery in a Picture

8. A Discovery

9. The Plan

10. Trapped!

About the Author

A Biography of Gertrude Chandler Warner

Copyright