Boxcar Children

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  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."

  X11-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. A. 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 Al
den 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 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 Wa
tch'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.