“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
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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: 978-1-4532-0778-9
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The Woodshed Mystery Page 7