The Mystery of the Missing Pop Idol

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Well, not exactly,” said Violet. “We haven’t found the missing bones yet.”

  “Or the thief,” Benny pointed out.

  “But we’re on the right track,” said Henry. “It looks like the thief came down here, took the bones, and went back up, using a ladder.”

  “We need to tell Elliot!” said Jessie. “Let’s go!”

  The children climbed out of the cave and joined Elliot and Grandfather, who were talking.

  “I found that cave a few days ago,” Elliot was saying. “I thought it would be a perfect place to stash my finds.” Elliot sighed. “I guess I was wrong!”

  “It appears that someone else knew about this cave,” said Grandfather.

  “There aren’t any other tire tracks though,” said Elliot. “There are only the ones from my jeep.” He scratched his head.

  Grandfather noticed Benny shifting from one foot to the other. “Oh, it looks as if my grandchildren have something to tell us,” he said. “Did you find something?”

  “Yes,” said Jessie. “We think we know what happened!”

  The children took turns telling Elliot and Grandfather about their discovery. Perhaps the thief had come down a ladder, stolen the bones, and gone back the same way! The cave must have another entrance.

  “It’s funny that I didn’t notice another passageway before,” said Elliot. He chuckled. “I guess I’m always looking down, looking for bones!” Then Elliot became serious again. “I need to make some phone calls right away,” he said. “We need to go to the house.”

  “Maybe we can come back and look for the other entrance to the cave,” said Henry.

  “Yes, that’s a good idea,” said Elliot. “Let’s get going.”

  “Where is Watch?” asked Violet.

  “Oh, look, he’s over there digging,” said Benny. He ran over to Watch and bent over to see what their dog was digging up. “Oh! Watch found a fossil!” he cried. “Is it one of the stolen bones?”

  “No,” said Elliot. “But it is a toe bone from the same dinosaur!” He pulled a small roll of tape and a marker from his pocket. “It’s the fifty-fourth bone found so far.” Elliot wrote 54 E.B. on a piece of tape. He secured it to the toe bone as Benny held it up.

  “This is your toe bone,” said Benny. “Watch found it for you.” He handed the bone to Elliot.

  “Thank you, Benny,” said Elliot.

  “And we’ll try to find the stolen bones!” said Violet.

  “That would be great,” said Elliot. He put the toe bone in his pocket. “Now let’s get going.”

  At the ranch, the Aldens unpacked. They put their things away while Grandfather and Elliot made phone calls. Since the dinosaur Elliot had found was very rare, Elliot explained that the thief could be trying to sell it quickly before he got caught. Elliot called on the people that he knew in the business. Once the word was out that the bones were stolen, it would be hard for the thief to sell them.

  “I hope you can find clues about who stole my dinosaur bones,” said Elliot. He showed the Aldens where he kept equipment for caving. The children put small packs together. Jessie and Henry helped Bennie and Violet strap on caving helmets. Then Henry grabbed a folding ladder. “I think we’re ready to explore!” he said. The children and Watch headed back to the dig site.

  Watch followed the children into the cave. “Do you smell any clues, Watch?” Jessie asked. Watch sniffed around the floor. He stopped near the ladder marks and looked up and wagged his tail.

  “I think Watch wants us to go up into that passageway too,” said Violet.

  “He sniffs something,” said Jessie.

  “Let’s check it out,” said Henry. “I’ll go first.”

  Henry and Jessie set their ladder against the cave wall. Henry climbed up while Jessie held the ladder steady. He shined his headlight into the passageway before crawling in.

  “Be careful,” called Violet. She looked around nervously. The shadows from their flashlights made the cave walls look like they were alive.

  “I think I hear something,” whispered Benny. He shined his flashlight on a dark corner. Something scurried out of the light beam.

  “What is it?” cried Violet.

  Jessie slowly walked over and shined her light around the cave floor. She gasped as a dark brown mouse scampered between her feet and zipped across the floor. It disappeared inside a crack in the wall.

  “What else lives inside this cave?” asked Violet. She shivered.

  “Henry,” Jessie called. “Watch out for cave creatures up there!”

  Just then Henry poked his head out of the passageway. “Come on up!” he said. “Just watch your step.”

  Jessie helped Benny and Violet up. Then Jessie handed up Watch and crawled in after him. There was room for everyone to crouch. The passageway headed into the darkness.

  “We just have to crawl for a few feet, then the passageway gets taller and wider,” said Henry. “It’s very dark and some places are muddy.”

  “We’ll be very careful,” said Jessie. “And stick together. Right, everyone?”

  The children agreed. They crawled slowly through the rocky passageway. The bright lights on their caving helmets and their flashlights showed the way. Soon the passageway became large enough for the children to stand up.

  “Look over there,” said Violet. She pointed to an opening. The children saw a small cavern just below them. “Should we go in there?”

  “I think so,” said Jessie. “We’ll all go together and keep close.”

  They carefully stepped into the cavern and shined their flashlights around the floor.

  “Oh, I see some tracks,” said Violet. “They’re in the mud by that opening in the wall.”

  Jessie tiptoed over and shined her light on the cave floor. She drew in her breath and looked back at her siblings.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Henry. “Are they footprints?” They joined Jessie by the muddy tracks.

  “Oh, those aren’t footprints,” said Violet.

  “Not from a person,” said Jessie. “They look like bird tracks …”

  “Very big bird tracks!” said Violet. “They’re huge! What kind of bird makes tracks that big?” She looked around and hugged herself.

  “I know!” cried Benny. “It’s a real, live dinosaur!”

  Just then Watch started barking.

  CHAPTER 3

  A Cave Full of Bones

  The children stood still and listened. Watch stopped barking.

  “Were those footsteps?” asked Violet. “I thought I heard footsteps.”

  “It must be the dinosaur!” said Benny.

  “There are no dinosaurs living today,” said Henry.

  The children waited. The sound of footsteps stopped.

  “Whatever it is got too far away for us to hear,” said Jessie.

  “Or it stopped,” said Violet. She held tight to her sister’s hand.

  “Watch doesn’t look worried,” said Jessie. “It’s too bad he can’t talk!” She petted Watch as he wagged his tail.

  “I’m sure there’s an explanation for these tracks,” said Henry. He bent to study them again.

  “Maybe they were made from treads on someone’s shoes. Some shoes leave strange patterns,” said Jessie.

  “I just hope whatever made the tracks has left,” said Violet.

  “I think whoever or whatever made the tracks is gone now,” said Henry. “Or else Watch would tell us. So let’s keep exploring.”

  The children headed back into the passageway. Violet posted a sticky note on the entry to the little cavern and wrote strange tracks with a shaky hand.

  “That’s a good idea to mark our way,” said Jessie. “We don’t want to get lost in here!”

  “I’m also drawing a map of the cave in my sketchbook,” said Violet. “It keeps me from getting too scared!”

  The children walked along slowly. They were careful to check all around as they made their way down the passage. They barely squeezed through a s
mall tunnel that led to another wide passage.

  “I don’t think anyone much bigger than us could get through there,” said Jessie. “That was a tight fit!”

  “Caves can have hundreds of miles of passages of all sizes,” said Henry. “Many caves have never been explored before or even discovered.”

  “It looks as if this one has been discovered,” said Violet. She pointed to a plastic bag lying in the passageway. The children examined the little bag.

  “There’s something inside,” said Benny. “It looks sort of like popcorn before it’s been popped!”

  Henry picked up the bag and shined his light on the contents. “It’s dried corn!” he said. “It’s a very odd thing to find inside a cave!”

  “Let’s take it with us,” suggested Violet. “Maybe it’s a clue about who took Elliot’s dinosaur bones.” She put the bag inside her pack.

  “Look ahead of us,” said Benny. “I see light! Did we walk in a circle?”

  Henry checked his compass. “No, we’ve been walking east since we started. That light must be another entry to the cave!”

  “Or maybe the dinosaur has his lights on,” said Benny. His brother and sisters laughed, though Violet looked around nervously. They continued along the passage. Soon they entered a huge cavern with a large entry opposite where they stood. Sunlight streamed inside. The Aldens turned off their helmet lights and looked around.

  “It looks like we found the other entrance,” said Jessie.

  “And it looks like someone uses this side of the cave,” said Henry.

  The children were surrounded by boxes and blue plastic crates. There were bones in piles all over the floor. The boxes and crates were overflowing with more bones and rocks.

  “It looks like a paleontologist uses this cave,” said Jessie. “I wonder who.”

  “Jolanda said that Bones Hogan was ‘long gone.’ Does that mean he disappeared?” asked Violet.

  “I thought Jolanda meant that he died but maybe not,” said Henry. He rubbed his chin as he looked around. “Look, those are fresh boot prints in the mud,” he said. “It’s like someone was just here. We should be careful and talk softly.”

  “Do you think Elliot’s stolen dinosaur bones are here?” whispered Benny.

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “We’ll have to look for them.”

  “Elliot’s bones will be marked,” said Benny. “A piece of tape will have a number and his initials.” He smiled.

  “Good work, Benny,” said Jessie. “You know because that’s how Elliot marked the toe bone that you found.”

  Benny beamed with pride.

  “I’ll take photos of everything,” whispered Violet. She walked around the cavern, snapping photos with her camera. The other children studied the piles of bones. They carefully sifted through the boxes and crates.

  “I don’t see any bones that are marked E.B.,” said Benny.

  “I don’t either,” said Jessie.

  Henry nodded agreement.

  “We should also check those,” said Jessie, pointing to three openings in the cavern’s walls. The children could see even more caverns through each opening.

  “You’re right, Jessie,” said Henry. “Let’s stick together. We want to be ready in case whoever uses this cave shows up.”

  “Whoever—or whatever—uses this cave, you mean,” said Benny.

  The children headed into the first cavern. Inside were metal crates filled with tools. “These look like digging and cleaning tools,” said Henry. “There are chisels, hammers, picks, and all kinds of brushes.”

  “There are lots of shovels in this crate,” said Jessie.

  “These are the tools that dinosaur hunters use to dig up bones,” said Benny.

  Violet was studying a small chisel. “This chisel has letters carved in the wooden handle,” she said. She held it up for everyone to see.

  “B.H.,” said Benny.

  “Those are probably the owner’s initials,” said Henry. “People working together on a dig might mark their tools so that they don’t confuse them.” He looked around the cavern again. “I don’t see any bones in this cavern.”

  The children carefully made their way to the second cavern. There were stacks of books and piles of papers but no bones. They headed to the third cavern. It was very small. There was a wooden table and a chair. A kerosene lamp sat on the table next to an open book. A sleeping bag lay nearby. It looked as if someone had used it recently.

  Henry carefully picked up the book. “Dinosaur Birds by Bones Hogan,” he read. “This is a book about giant dinosaur birds!”

  “The B.H. on the pick must stand for Bones Hogan,” said Benny. “He lives here! And he has a dinosaur bird that lives with him!”

  “Please stop saying that, Benny,” said Violet. “You know dinosaurs are extinct!” She looked nervous again.

  “I’m sorry, Violet,” said Benny. “I know you don’t want to see a live dinosaur. But I do!”

  “This mystery is getting more and more interesting,” said Henry. “Let’s go outside and see what else we can find.”

  The children passed through the wide opening. They stood in a narrow, rocky valley. Craggy hills and scrubby trees surrounded the valley.

  “It looks like a faraway planet,” said Benny.

  “Where someone lives,” said Henry. “And whoever lives here would probably not like finding us here.”

  “Especially if it’s the dinosaur bone thief,” said Violet.

  The children headed back into the cave. Watch ran ahead and began to bark again. They quickly caught up with him in the cavern with the piles of papers. He was sniffing at another opening on another side of the cavern.

  “Oh! We didn’t notice that before,” said Henry.

  “I think we’d better leave—now,” said Jessie.

  “I think so too!” said Violet.

  “Let’s see what’s through that hole,” said Benny. “Please? Then we can leave.”

  “Okay,” said Henry. “I’m curious too!” The children agreed and headed through the opening and into a dark cavern. They turned their helmet lights back on.

  “I don’t see anything,” said Jessie. They walked around, shining their lights on the floor and walls. “Oh wait. Look at this!” Jessie picked something up from the floor. She held it up to her helmet light.

  “That’s a feather,” said Violet.

  “It’s a very big feather!” said Benny. He grinned in the darkness.

  Henry shined his flashlight around the floor. He pointed at white spots on the rocks. “It looks like a bird uses this cavern. Maybe whoever lives here has a parrot.”

  “A parrot doesn’t have giant feet,” Benny pointed out.

  “Or giant feathers,” said Violet.

  Just then a voice bellowed from behind the children. “What do you kids think you’re doing in here?”

  Buy The Mystery of the Stolen Dinosaur Bones now!

  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.

  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 l979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of let
ters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

  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