The Mystery of the Haunted Boxcar

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  The children laughed.

  “Mrs. McGregor, about those cookies … ” Benny said.

  “Yes?” said Mrs. McGregor.

  “I was just thinking it wouldn’t be a real sleepover without a bedtime snack,” Benny said.

  “I was expecting that,” said Mrs. McGregor, handing him a tin. “I’ve put eight cookies in here — two for each of you. Are you sure you can carry it with all that stuff?”

  “Yeah, I’ll just tuck my sleeping bag under this arm and my pillow under this arm. … ” Benny let out a moan as everything fell to the floor.

  “Why don’t you come back for the cookies?” Mrs. McGregor suggested, hiding a smile. “It’s a long way until bedtime.”

  “Well. … Okay,” said Benny reluctantly. He followed his brother and sisters out to the boxcar.

  “Let’s put our stuff in that corner,” Jessie said, pointing. “We’ll get everything set up tonight when we’re ready for bed.” The others agreed.

  “Now, how about a rematch of that soccer game,” suggested Henry.

  “You’re on,” said Violet.

  Benny piled his things in the corner with the rest of the sleeping bags and pillows. “I’ll be right there,” he called to the others, heading back to the house. “I’m going to get the cookies.”

  Henry, Jessie, and Violet were kicking the ball around when Benny ran back to the boxcar with the cookies. He opened the tin and peeked in. The cookies smelled wonderful. “Maybe I’ll just have one now,” Benny said to himself. He quickly counted to check how many there were. “Eight cookies, just like Mrs. McGregor said.” That was good. That meant he could eat one now and still have another one that night. He picked up one of the cookies and took a bite. Delicious.

  “Benny, are you coming?” Violet called from the yard.

  Benny quickly stuffed the rest of the cookie into his mouth, brushing the powdered sugar from his hands. As he came out of the boxcar, his brother and sisters started laughing.

  “What?” Benny asked.

  “You didn’t by any chance try one of the cookies, did you?” Jessie asked, her eyebrows raised.

  “Er … maybe … ” Benny said. “Why?”

  “Your mustache gives you away,” Jessie said, giggling. Benny smiled and wiped the white powder off his face.

  The Aldens played soccer until Mrs. McGregor called them in for lemonade. Afterward, Henry and Jessie went to the family room for a game of checkers.

  “I’m going to sit on the porch and read my book,” Violet said. She had started a ghost story the day before and was eager to get back to it.

  “I’ll go get my book, too,” Benny said.

  “Great,” said Violet. “I’ll read you some.”

  Benny ran to the boxcar, where he’d left his book, thinking someone might read him another chapter at bedtime. When he stepped inside, he looked longingly at the tin of cookies on the table.

  “No,” he told himself. “I already had one. I’ll have another one tonight.” But then Benny noticed something strange — white powder and crumbs on the table around the tin. “I didn’t make that much of a mess, did I?” he wondered aloud. Stepping closer, Benny noticed that the lid of the tin wasn’t tightly shut. Benny lifted the lid and looked inside.

  “Huh!” he said. There were only six cookies in the tin. Mrs. McGregor had put in eight, and he’d eaten one. That meant there should be seven cookies left.

  “Hey, they made fun of me for eating a cookie, and now one of them had one!” Benny said. He ran back to the house. “Jessie, Henry?” he called, heading into the family room. “Did you have a cookie?”

  “No,” said Jessie.

  “I’m too stuffed from lunch,” said Henry.

  Benny went out to the porch. “Violet, did you have a cookie?”

  Violet shook her head.

  “Are you sure?” Benny asked.

  Violet smiled. “Don’t you think I’d remember if I’d eaten one?”

  “Yes,” Benny said. “But … ” He frowned. “Will you come take a look at something?”

  Benny led Violet back to the boxcar and showed her the tin. “Mrs. McGregor told me we could each have two cookies. That would make eight, right?”

  “Yes,” said Violet.

  “I ate one before,” said Benny. “Which means there should be seven left. But there are only six cookies now.”

  Violet looked inside the tin and quickly counted. “You’re right.”

  “If you and Jessie and Henry didn’t have any,” Benny said, “who ate the missing cookie?”

  Violet narrowed her eyes and smiled at her little brother. “Are you sure you didn’t have another?”

  “No!” Benny said. “They’ve just been sitting here in the boxcar.”

  “Maybe Watch took one,” said Violet. “Or some other animal, like Mrs. McGregor said this morning.”

  “Would an animal take out one cookie and leave the tin here, with the lid on?” asked Benny.

  “That does seem unlikely,” said Violet.

  Benny bit his lip. “You don’t think it was the ghost, do you?”

  “Oh, Benny, not the ghost again. No, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation,” said Violet.

  Just then Watch appeared in the doorway of the boxcar with his wet, shredded tennis ball in his mouth.

  “Hey, boy, you want to play?” Benny asked, plucking the ball from Watch’s mouth. He threw the ball out into the yard, and Watch chased after it. Laughing, Benny followed him.

  Violet looked at the cookies and shrugged her shoulders. Then she curled up on a chair and opened her book to read.

  She hadn’t been sitting there long when she heard a strange scuffling sound.

  Violet looked around, but seeing nothing unusual, she went back to her book.

  A moment later the sound came again. Violet looked up quickly, scanning the boxcar. It sounded like the noise had come from inside, but Violet couldn’t figure out what would have made the sound. She was alone with just the table, chairs, stack of games, and all the usual things. And in the corner, the pile of bedding for that night. Was she imagining things?

  Violet began reading again, but she found it hard to concentrate. She felt a prickly feeling at the back of her neck, as if someone was watching her.

  Suddenly, Violet jerked around, almost certain there was someone behind her.

  But the boxcar was empty.

  This is silly, Violet thought. Benny’s talk of ghosts and this creepy book have got me spooked.

  Just then Watch appeared in the doorway, panting and wagging his tail.

  Relief flooded over Violet. “Hey, boy!” she said. Watch ran over and she rubbed his head and back. “Are you done playing ball with Benny?”

  Then Violet had a thought. “Was that you before, scratching around the outside of the boxcar?” Of course Watch couldn’t answer her. He just looked up at her and wagged his tail as she scratched his ears. “That must be what I heard,” Violet told herself. But she wasn’t completely convinced. Nervously, she took one more look around the boxcar before walking out with Watch.

  Stepping out into the bright sunshine, Violet felt silly for having been scared. She raced Watch to the house and got him a dog biscuit from the kitchen.

  Leaving him to munch it happily, Violet went to find the others. Jessie and Henry had just finished their checkers game and Benny was about to play the winner.

  “I beat Henry,” Jessie said.

  “But you won’t beat me,” said Benny, grinning.

  “How’s the book?” Henry asked.

  “It’s okay,” said Violet. “Um, Benny, when did you come in from playing with Watch?”

  “A little while ago,’ Benny said as he set up his pieces.

  “Did you see him scratching around the boxcar at all?” Violet asked.

  “No,” said Benny. “Why?”

  “Oh, I don’t know … ” Violet said. She felt silly mentioning how spooked she’d felt.

  “What’s up?�
�� Henry asked.

  “Well, it’s just that when I was alone in the boxcar, reading, I heard some weird noises,” said Violet. “I thought it might have been Watch.”

  The other three looked back at the board.

  “But I had the strangest feeling … ” Violet went on.

  “What kind of feeling?” Henry asked.

  “Well, like someone was watching me,” said Violet.

  “Really? Inside the boxcar?” said Benny. “And remember there was that missing cookie!” He quickly told Henry and Jessie about the cookie.

  “Let’s go out and look around,” said Jessie. “Maybe some sort of animal was in there or right outside. Maybe it left some pawprints or scratches.”

  Leaving their checkers game, the Aldens went back outside. The boxcar looked the way it always did. Benny showed Henry and Jessie the cookie tin. Violet showed them where she’d been sitting when she heard the noises.

  “Let’s do a thorough search,” Jessie suggested.

  “Okay,” said the others. Following Jessie’s lead, they got down on their hands and knees and searched the floor and walls for any animal scratches or muddy pawprints. They looked under the table, behind the chairs, near the stack of games, and under the big pile of sleeping bags, clothes, and stuffed animals in the corner. There was nothing.

  Jessie stopped searching and looked around at the others. “We thought Amelia or Professor Murray could have been poking around in the boxcar last night,” she said. “But I don’t think either of them would steal a cookie, do you?”

  “That doesn’t seem likely,” Henry agreed. He stared at the wall, deep in thought. Suddenly he noticed something.

  Henry looked from one corner of the boxcar to the corner opposite. “That’s weird,” he said.

  “What’s weird?” asked Jessie.

  Henry looked back and forth again. “I can’t believe we never noticed this before.”

  “Noticed what?” asked Benny, bursting with curiosity.

  “See how, down in this corner, there’s a diagonal wall?” Henry pointed to the corner where the pile of sleeping bags was. “But that corner doesn’t have it.” Henry pointed to the opposite corner. “It’s almost as if extra boards were added in this corner.” Henry tapped the wall and raised his eyebrows. “It’s hollow!”

  “I don’t get it,” said Benny.

  “There’s a space between these boards and the wall. A hollow space,” Henry explained.

  “You think someone just added a secret compartment to the boxcar?” Jessie said.

  “No,” Henry said. “If the boards had just been added, they would look fresh and new. But these boards are faded to the same color as the rest of the boxcar walls. That means they must have been nailed into place a long time ago.”

  “Why?” asked Violet.

  “I’m not sure,” said Henry. “Maybe this space was once used to store something.”

  “But there’s no handle or doorknob,” Jessie pointed out. “No way to get in there easily.”

  “That’s just what I was thinking,” said Henry, staring at the corner.

  “Why would someone want a compartment that you can’t get into?” asked Benny.

  “Good question,” said Jessie. She looked puzzled.

  Henry spoke up. “It would be the perfect place … to hide something.”

  CHAPTER 6

  A Treasure Hunt

  The children stared at the corner of the boxcar.

  “A place to hide something?” Jessie repeated. “To hide what?”

  “That’s what I want to find out,” Henry said. He peered closely at the nails holding the boards in place. Then he ran out of the boxcar.

  “Where — ” Jessie called after him. But he was already gone.

  Henry ran straight to Grandfather’s workshop. He grabbed a hammer and returned to the boxcar.

  “What’s that for?” Violet asked when she saw what Henry was holding.

  “I’m going to pry out the nails holding the boards. Then we can see what’s behind there,” Henry said excitedly.

  “Wait a minute,” said Jessie. “Remember Professor Murray said our boxcar is a valuable antique. First we should ask Mrs. McGregor if it’s okay.”

  Henry sighed. He was eager to see what was hidden in that compartment and didn’t want to wait. But he knew Jessie was right. “All right.”

  Jessie ran into the house. The others waited impatiently for her return. At last she came running back across the grass.

  “She said it’s okay, as long as we’re very careful,” Jessie said. “She said it could always be nailed back into place.”

  “Great!” said Henry. One by one, Henry pried off all the nails holding the board in place. He took off the board and looked down into the narrow space behind.

  “What do you see?” Benny asked eagerly.

  “It’s too dark,” Henry said after a moment. “I can’t see anything.” He began removing the nails from the next board. As he pulled out the last nail, the board began to tilt forward. Henry caught the board and set it on the floor.

  The children were quite surprised to see what was hidden inside.

  On the floor in the corner sat an old-fashioned rag doll. She was made completely of cloth, with thick brown yarn for hair. Her face had been stitched on with colored threads. She wore a faded dress with an apron on top. Henry carefully picked up the doll. After looking at it for a moment, he handed it to Jessie, who held it delicately and examined its hair and face.

  “A doll?” said Benny. “Why would a doll be in a secret compartment?”

  “I wonder who this belonged to,” Jessie said in a hushed voice. She handed the doll to Violet, who cradled it gently in her arms.

  “How long do you think she’s been hidden there?” asked Violet. “She looks very old.”

  “And worn out,” added Benny.

  “It looks like someone loved this doll very much,” said Violet.

  “It must have been hidden here a long time ago,” said Henry. “See how much darker the walls of the boxcar are behind where I removed the boards? That’s because the sunlight faded the rest of the walls. Seems to me this compartment must have been closed up for a long time.”

  “I wonder if the person who came here last night was looking for this doll,” said Jessie.

  “How would anybody know about her?” Violet asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jessie said. “But Professor Murray and Amelia both seemed so interested in looking at our boxcar. I’m wondering if maybe the boxcar wasn’t the only thing that interested them.”

  “Do you think the doll is valuable?” asked Violet.

  “That old thing?” said Benny, looking surprised.

  “Some old things are worth a lot of money,” Jessie explained.

  Henry had another idea. “Maybe whoever broke into the boxcar has some connection to the doll.”

  Benny’s eyes widened. “You think whoever hid it here came back to get it? And stole a cookie?”

  Henry smiled and shook his head. “No, whoever hid the doll here must have done it long ago, before we even found the boxcar. And I don’t think it’s related to the cookie.”

  Violet stroked the doll’s soft hair and fluffed her little dress. As she was smoothing the doll’s apron she felt something inside the tiny pocket. “What’s this?” she asked, pulling out a scrap of paper. Violet set the doll in her lap and carefully unfolded the paper. “It says, Dig next to the doorstep.” She held the note out for the others to see.

  “Dig next to the doorstep?” repeated Henry. “But what — ”

  “It’s a treasure hunt!” Benny said excitedly. “We’re supposed to dig next to the doorstep to find the treasure!” He quickly got to his feet. “Let’s go!”

  Benny jumped out the door and followed the others. They stood looking at the stump they used as a doorstep.

  But suddenly Henry said, “Wait a minute. If this doll was hidden a long time ago, then this is the wrong doorstep.”
/>   “What do you mean?” asked Violet.

  “Remember, the boxcar didn’t used to be here,” Henry reminded them. “Grandfather moved it for us.”

  “You’re right!” said Jessie. “If we want to dig next to the doorstep, we have to go back to Silver City where the boxcar used to be!”

  “Can we?” Benny asked.

  “Sure,” said Jessie. “Silver City isn’t too far from here. We could get there on our bicycles.” She looked at her watch. “But I think it will have to wait until tomorrow. It’s nearly dinnertime.”

  “All right,” said Henry. “Sounds like tomorrow will be an adventure.”

  The children all smiled at one another. Violet looked down at the doll that she was still holding and gave it a gentle hug.

  When they went inside for dinner, the Aldens showed Mrs. McGregor the doll.

  “She looks like a very old doll,” said the housekeeper.

  When they told her about the note in the doll’s apron pocket, Mrs. McGregor’s eyes widened. “Sounds like a treasure hunt,” she said.

  “That’s what I thought!” said Benny.

  “Tomorrow we’d like to go back to the place where the boxcar was before,” Jessie said.

  “Sounds exciting,” said Mrs. McGregor. “I can’t wait to hear what you find!”

  After they’d eaten, the children went out to the boxcar. They were excited to camp out. They waved to Professor Murray and Claire, who were just getting out of a car and going into the house next door.

  “Did you get the brochure I left you?” Professor Murray called.

  “Yes,” said Jessie. “Thank you.”

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  The children looked at one another.

  “It was … interesting,” said Henry. “We’ll show it to our grandfather.”

  “Good,” said Professor Murray. “It’s a wonderful museum. I think it would be just the right place for your boxcar.”

  The Murrays went into the house.

  “He just keeps on trying,” said Henry as they went into the boxcar. “Convincing us to give up the boxcar seems really important to him.”

  The Aldens put on their pajamas. They arranged their sleeping bags and pillows in two neat lines. Henry’s and Benny’s sleeping bags were blue, Jessie’s was red, and of course Violet’s was purple, with tiny purple flowers on the soft flannel lining. Jessie placed their flashlight in the center of the sleeping bags, and its cozy light filled the boxcar.