Boxcar Children Super Summer

by Charles Tang

  The other children followed. Joshua asked several bystanders to guard Frank, and hastily ran after the children.

  Henry entered the House of Mirrors. “Benny,” he shouted. “Where are you?” Benny, however, had already disappeared in the twists and turns and passages of the hundreds of mirrors.

  Jessie and Violet stayed together, but Henry went after Benny.

  Benny, on the trail of Sheila, tiptoed forward. As he came around a corner, he found himself face to face with a short fat boy. “It’s me!” he squealed, and ran on, trying to find Sheila.

  Hearing a noise, Benny whirled around, but no one was there. His stomach tightened in a knot. He was alone. “J-Jessie,” he stammered.

  No answer.

  “Violet?” he called, raising his voice.

  No answer.

  “Henry!” he called in a louder tone.

  No answer.

  All at once Sheila appeared. Her eyes were wild and her red scarf was half untied and flapped around her face. “You!” she gasped, glaring at Benny.

  Benny couldn’t move.

  Sheila grimaced and then vanished behind a mirror.

  “Henry!” Benny yelled at the top of his lungs.

  “I’m here!” Henry said, stepping from behind a mirror.

  Benny turned around and saw a tall skinny Henry. He reached out, but his small hand touched cold glass. “Henry?”

  “Here I am,” Henry said, tapping Benny on the shoulder.

  Benny sighed with relief. “Sheila was here!” he gasped.

  “We’ll stick together,” Henry said. “Joshua’s here, too.”

  And sure enough, Joshua seemed to step out of a mirror.

  “Where did Sheila go?” Joshua asked urgently.

  Benny shook his head. “She went in back of a mirror and just disappeared.”

  “We’ll find her,” Joshua said, his jaw square and set.

  A slight rustling noise startled them. Henry turned one way, Benny another, and Joshua still another. “Who’s there?” Benny cried.

  “Come out!” Henry said in a forbidding voice.

  Surprised, Violet and Jessie appeared before them.

  “We’re all together,” Jessie exclaimed. “Didn’t you see Sheila?”

  “I did,” Benny said proudly, “but she got away.”

  The five of them stood in the center of the House of Mirrors, wondering which way to turn.

  All at once Violet put a finger to her lips. She nodded in Joshua’s direction.

  Slowly, Henry turned and glimpsed the tip of a red scarf.

  “I see Sheila,” Benny whispered.

  “Stay close to me,” Joshua said. “I know every passageway.”

  Jessie glanced at him. Did they dare approach Sheila? There was no telling what she might do.

  CHAPTER 12

  The Horses Come Back

  Silently, Joshua moved toward the mirror where Sheila was hiding. The only movement was the quiver of the red scarf.

  Suddenly Joshua flew around the corner and pounced on the woman. Henry followed. Sheila and Joshua scuffled, but Henry grabbed her arm and she stopped struggling.

  “All right,” she growled, yanking her arm free of Henry’s grip. Henry recognized the suddenly gruff voice.

  “I can tell you made the phone calls!” he said. “What a coward you are!”

  “You kids were always interfering,” she sneered. “I had to do something to stop you!” She glared at Henry. “But nothing kept you away from the amusement park. Not even my letter!”

  “This way, Sheila!” Joshua ordered.

  Henry, Jessie, and Violet walked on one side of Sheila while Joshua was on the other. Benny trailed behind.

  “Just in case Sheila tries to escape,” he said fiercely.

  After Joshua explained to the waiting police what the Arnolds had done, they led Sheila and Frank away.

  “Whew!” Benny said. “I’m glad that’s over!”

  All at once Karen raced across the grounds, flying into her father’s arms. “Oh, Dad, I’m sorry I wanted to get rid of the merry-go-round. Ned told me about the thieves.” She paused, gazing fondly at him. “I didn’t realize how important it was to you.”

  “You’ll keep the merry-go-round?” Benny asked, his brown eyes growing big.

  Karen tossed back her red hair, laughing. “Yes, Benny. The carousel will be the main attraction in our park.” She glanced at her father, her green eyes sparkling. “A roller coaster would take up too much space! I’ll never complain about the horses again.”

  Joshua squeezed his daughter’s hand. “You don’t know how much this means to me, dear. The real horses are hidden in Old Jim’s barn.”

  Karen’s eyes glistened. “Let’s go and get them.”

  “First, I’ll need a truck,” Joshua said, grinning.

  “I’ll call Peter. He’ll rent one,” Karen said. “Can’t we all go out to the barn? If it hadn’t been for the Aldens we wouldn’t have discovered the three fake horses.”

  “Yes, indeed. The children are invited!” Joshua beamed at each of the Aldens. “This is the happiest day of my life,” he said.

  Within an hour, Peter drove up in a truck and the children piled in back. Joshua and Karen sat up front with Peter.

  When they arrived at Old Jim’s barn, they couldn’t see a sign of the horses.

  “Where could they be?” Joshua asked with a puzzled frown.

  Benny noticed a patch of gray shining through the straw piled in one of the stalls. He ran over and tossed straw in the air. “The dapple gray!” he exclaimed. “Here!”

  Karen and Peter hurried into the next stall and brushed away the straw on the chocolate brown while Henry, Jessie, and Violet uncovered the pale gray.

  Carefully, Joshua and Peter placed the dapple gray, the pale gray, and the chocolate brown horse on the truck.

  Driving back to the amusement park, everyone felt happy and relieved. The mystery was solved. And the horses were safe.

  Ned met them at the merry-go-round, and he and Joshua installed the precious Dentzel horses in their rightful places.

  “Aren’t they beautiful?” Violet said in a hushed tone.

  “The most beautiful sight in the world,” Jessie answered, standing back to admire the entire spectacular carousel.

  Peter, standing with the Aldens, said, “Which is your favorite, Benny?”

  “The dapple gray,” he answered without a moment’s hesitation.

  “It so happens I have something for you,” Peter said, his dark handsome face lighting up with a grin.

  Benny tilted his head. “For me?” he asked, pleased.

  “For you,” Peter replied, taking a drawing from his sketchbook. With a big smile he held it out to Benny.

  Benny’s mouth dropped open in amazement. “Look,” he said. “This is my dapple gray! It’s beautiful!”

  The others crowded around Benny. “Oh,”Violet exclaimed. “What lovely lines. How real it looks!” Being interested in art, she could appreciate Peter’s skill. She looked up at Peter. “Was this what you were drawing at the carousel that day?”

  Peter grinned. “I like to draw. I wanted to surprise Benny with a sketch.”

  “We’ll have it framed, Peter,” Jessie promised. “And, Benny, won’t it look beautiful framed, and hanging above your bed?”

  Benny, still gazing at his wonderful horse, said, “Yes! I’d like that!”

  Happily, the Aldens returned to Joe and Alice’s house. It was time to return to Grandfather’s.

  They related what had happened and Alice said, “We’re proud of you. The Dentzel horses are part of our American history, and you’ve helped save them.”

  “We’ll miss you,” Joe said, reaching over and roughing up Benny’s hair. “We didn’t have a dull moment since your arrival!”

  “We’ll miss you, too,” Jessie said, “but we’ll come back again.”

  “You’d better,” Alice said, chuckling.

  That night the chi
ldren packed, and the next day Joe drove them to the bus.

  On the way back to Greenfield, each Alden had satisfied and happy thoughts. But all of them were glad that they had helped Joshua find his beautiful horses!

  Benny couldn’t wait to tell Grandfather the whole story. And to hug Watch!

  The Mystery of Lake Monster

  GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

  Illustrated by Charles Tang

  ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago

  Contents

  CHAPTER

  1 Into the Wilderness

  2 The Wild Man of the Woods

  3 Here Be Monsters?

  4 A Sound in the Dark

  5 A Monster Hunt

  6 Enormous Footprints

  7 A Monster Bite

  8 Suspects and Clues

  9 A Monster-Maker

  10 Who Loves Lucy?

  CHAPTER 1

  Into the Wilderness

  Benny Alden leaned forward to stare out the window. “Wow,” he said. “Look how tall all those mountains are!”

  His brother, Henry, laughed. “Mountains are supposed to be tall, Benny. That’s why they’re called mountains.”

  “How tall are these mountains?” Benny asked.

  Violet Alden looked up from the book she was reading. “It says here that the tallest mountain in the Adirondacks is Mt. Marcy. It’s over five thousand feet tall.”

  “How tall am I?” asked Benny. He was six years old.

  “Not over four feet tall,” said Jessie Alden.

  “I guess that these mountains are a lot taller than I am,” said Benny.

  Everybody in the car laughed.

  The Aldens were on their way to spend a week at Lucille Lodge on Lake Lucille, high in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State.

  “Are we almost there, Grandfather?” asked Jessie.

  “Almost,” he answered. Grandfather Alden slowed down and turned the car off the paved road onto a dirt road. The car bounced and bumped over the deep ruts. Tree branches clawed the windows.

  The road twisted and turned, higher and higher. Benny could no longer see the tops of the mountains through the trees. At last Grandfather stopped in front of a huge wooden gate. On the gate, a carved sign said LUCILLE LODGE.

  “I’ll open the gate,” said Jessie.

  “I’ll help,” said Henry.

  They jumped out of the car and opened the gate. After Grandfather Alden had driven through, they closed it again and hurried to get back into the car.

  They followed the rough track through the trees, but still they didn’t see Lake Lucille or Lucille Lodge.

  “We’re not lost, are we?” asked Violet.

  “No,” said Grandfather. “Look.” He turned one more corner and the four Alden children gasped.

  They were in a broad clearing. Ahead of them was a small, clear, beautiful lake, as blue as the sky it reflected. Steep walls of rock and wooded mountainside rose above it on every side. At the far end of the clearing right on the edge of the lake was an enormous two-story building made of wood. Wide porches with birch-branch railings ran around the building on the lower floor.

  Grandfather drove forward and parked to one side of the building. As the Aldens got out of the car, a small, wiry woman with short dark hair and friendly green eyes came out of the building and walked toward them. “Welcome to Lucille Lodge,” she said. “I’m Nora Parker. Everyone calls me Nora.”

  “James Alden,” said Grandfather Alden. “And these are my grandchildren: Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny.”

  “And Watch,” said Benny, patting his dog on the head.

  “Hi,” said Nora. She looked at Benny. “How old are you, Benny?”

  “I’m six. Henry is fourteen, Jessie is twelve, Violet is ten.” He paused and added, “I don’t know how old Grandfather is.”

  “That’s okay,” said Nora, her smile widening.

  “Or Watch, either,” said Benny. “We found him when we were living in the boxcar.”

  Seeing Nora’s surprised look, the Alden children quickly explained how, when they had become orphans, they had gone to live in an old boxcar in the woods. They didn’t know their grandfather was looking for them. But he was, and when he found them, he brought them all to live with him in his big old house in Greenfield. To surprise them, and to make them feel more at home, he’d brought the boxcar home and put it behind the house so they could visit it whenever they wanted.

  “That’s some story,” said Nora when they had finished. “But I’m glad to know you’ve lived in a boxcar. You might not find our cabins so very different!”

  A man came out onto the porch and stood on the top step. He wasn’t much taller than Nora. He had short brown hair and blue eyes. He was holding a large rolling pin in one hand. He raised the rolling pin. “That’s the truth! You’ll see,” he said in a grim voice.

  “Oh!” exclaimed Violet, her eyes widening when she saw the rolling pin.

  The man looked at the raised rolling pin. He grimaced. “Sorry,” he said.

  Nora said, “This is Drew, my husband. He’s the chef at the lodge.”

  The Aldens said hello. Drew nodded curtly. “Welcome to mountain life,” he said. “Mountain life about a hundred years ago, that is.” With that he turned and walked back into the lodge.

  Nora looked momentarily embarrassed. She cleared her throat and said, “Drew isn’t used to living up here yet. But when he does get used to it, I know he’ll love it as much as I do. Now let me take you to your cabin.”

  The Aldens got their suitcases and backpacks and followed Nora across the clearing to a trail on the other side of the lodge. The trail led up into the woods, but the Aldens saw that there was a small sandy beach nearby. After they had walked for a few minutes, Nora turned down a smaller trail, walked a few steps, and said, “There’s your cabin. You’re in Cabin Number Three, also known as Black Bear Cabin. There are seven cabins in all and four guest rooms in the lodge.”

  “Bears?” said Jessie.

  “I read about the bears in my book about the Adirondacks,” said Violet. “The book said that the bears won’t hurt people. They’re just as afraid of people as the people are of them.”

  “That’s true, Violet,” said Nora. “If you don’t bother the bears, they won’t bother you. In fact, that’s true of all of this wilderness. The motto of the Adirondack Park is ‘Forever Wild.’ That means that these mountains are the homes for the animals and that the people are the guests. As guests you should be just as thoughtful and well behaved as you would be when you visit anybody’s home.”

  Benny giggled. “If I see a bear, I’ll say, ‘Please, go away.’ ”

  “I wonder what the bear will say?” Nora smiled at Benny. “Here we are.” She pushed open the door of the cabin.

  The Aldens stepped inside. The cabin was small, with windows at the front that looked out onto a screened porch above the lake.

  Henry and Benny put their belongings in one of the smaller bedrooms and Violet and Jessie put theirs in the other. Grandfather took his suitcases to a larger bedroom. When they came back out into the living room, Nora was standing by the sink. “None of the cabins has plumbing — no running water,” she explained. “This is the pump. You move the handle up and down and it pumps up water from the well for you to use. There’s also an outside shower that uses water that runs down a pipe from the stream. But be careful! The stream water is cold.”

  “That’s much nicer than our boxcar,” said Violet. “We didn’t even have a pump.”

  “The cabins don’t have electricity, either,” Nora said. “We use special lamps with candles for light. There is a woodstove and a fireplace, of course.”

  “We used to cook over a fire when we lived in the boxcar,” Henry said.

  “We’ll cook on the stove,” said Grandfather, “but we’ll also eat many of our meals at the lodge.”

  “I like this place,” said Violet.

  “I’m glad,” said Nora. “Some people think it
is not modern enough and too far from other people, but I like it. I’ve been coming here since I was a little girl. I inherited it recently from my cousin.”

  “It’s great,” Henry said.

  Nora smiled. “I think so, too. And there is electricity and plumbing at the lodge. Plus a small library and all kinds of games and puzzles. Lots of people like to spend the evenings by the fire at the lodge, doing puzzles or drinking hot chocolate.” She smiled. “We usually build a fire in the fireplaces at night, even in the summer. Evenings in the mountains can get cool.”

  Grandfather looked at his watch. “After we get unpacked, we should be able to take a short hike before dinner.”

  “Why don’t you take the Lakeside Trail,” suggested Nora. “It branches off from the cabin trail just past your cabin. It’s well marked and it will take you all the way around the lake.”

  “I’d like that,” said Jessie.

  “I’d like dinner,” said Benny. He was always hungry.

  Nora said, “Don’t worry, Benny. You’ll be back in plenty of time for dinner. And if you see the Wild Man of the Woods, tell him hello for me.”

  “The Wild Man of the Woods!” exclaimed Violet. She looked alarmed. “Who is he?”

  But Nora only smiled mysteriously. “You’ll see,” she promised.

  CHAPTER 2

  The Wild Man of the Woods

  “What’s that?” gasped Violet. She moved closer to her older sister.

  “Don’t worry, Violet. It’s just a chipmunk. See?” said Jessie. She pointed.

  “Oh,” said Violet in a relieved voice.

  “Hold on tightly to Watch’s leash,” Grandfather reminded Benny. “We don’t want him to chase any of the animals.”

  “Especially the bears,” agreed Benny.

  “Woof,” Watch barked, wagging his tail and looking at the chipmunk.

  “No, Watch,” said Benny. “Come on.”

  Watch gave the chipmunk one last, longing look and then trotted just ahead of Benny as they hiked around Lake Lucille. At first they passed several trails leading down to the lake and the other cabins. But soon they didn’t see any trails at all except the one they were on. It went over rocks and around huge trees. It crossed a narrow stream that tumbled down the mountain into the lake. Through the trees and underbrush they could see glimpses of the lake down below.