The Black Pearl Mystery
Page 6
And that’s just what the Aldens did later that morning. Not a tourist went by the Pineapple Place booth without one of the Aldens handing out a flier. Several people spoke to Cousin Mary about renting a guest cottage on future trips to Hawaii. Things were looking up.
Of course, no one went by the booth without Benny and Soo Lee handing out free pineapple juice. Their farmers’ market business was a success.
You children have put in enough time here,” Cousin Mary told the Aldens at lunchtime. “Your grandfather and I can cover the booth ourselves. It’s your last day. I want you to take a lunch break and do some sightseeing.”
Goody,” Benny said. “I’m going to have barbecued sweet potato chips and papaya juice. And that’s just to start.”
So the Aldens went off in search of lunch at the many nearby food stands. They strolled along the rows of tables offering everything from fresh oysters to grilled shark. Mostly, though, the Aldens tried things that looked a little like food they ate at home.
Sweet potato chips are like Mrs. McGregor’s homemade potato chips when we have hamburgers,” Benny announced. “Except they’re sweet!”
When the children finished eating, they decided to go window-shopping one last time.
Let’s see if anybody bought the black pearl necklace,” Violet suggested.
The Aldens rounded the corner where the jewelry shop was. They saw someone they knew rushing down the street.
Joseph!” Henry called. “Wait up!”
The children ran ahead, trying to catch up with Joseph Kahuna. But Joseph didn’t hear the Aldens. He dodged in between people as if he were being followed.
He was being followed.
Just a few feet behind him, Norma Kane made her way through crowds of people, never getting closer to Joseph.
Joseph!” Henry called again.
This time Joseph stopped and stared at the Aldens. He looked upset.
What’s the matter with Joseph?” Soo Lee asked. “He’s running away.”
Indeed he was. He crossed the busy street, not looking back.
Joseph just dropped something in the middle of the road!” Benny cried. “Some kind of box, I think.”
Joseph turned around and stepped off the curb into the street again to pick up the box. A truck was coming, though, so he had to wait.
Finally the WALK light flashed on, and the Aldens were able to cross the street. Henry quickly scooped up the metal box. He led the children safely to the other side, where Joseph was standing.
Henry handed Joseph the box. “Here, this is yours.”
Thank you. You saved something very, very important. Look.” Joseph pried off the box lid and opened a smaller container. Inside was a glowing black pearl — perfectly round and larger than any pearl the Aldens had ever seen. Joseph let the younger children hold the pearl.
Oooh,” Soo Lee and Benny said, their eyes wide with amazement as they each held the pearl in turn.
At that moment the traffic stopped, and Norma Kane suddenly appeared in front of them.
That’s mine!” she said to Benny. “Hand it over. It came from waters near property I own.”
Benny’s fist tightened around the pearl. He looked up at his brother. “What should I do, Henry?”
Hand it over!” Norma Kane repeated.
Henry took a deep breath. “Let’s go find Cousin Mary and Grandfather. They’ll know what to do.”
When the Aldens and Joseph arrived at the booth, Richard and Emma Pierce were talking with Cousin Mary.
Joseph!” Cousin Mary cried. “What are you doing here?” Then she noticed Norma Kane. “Oh, dear, I suppose you’re going to quit and work for Norma. I knew that was coming when I saw you driving her truck the other day.”
Joseph looked upset. “I wouldn’t leave Pineapple Place, Mrs. Cook. I only worked a couple of days for Mrs. Kane after she told me she might buy your pineapples if I helped out with her harvest. When I drove her home from the airport, she gave me a note to meet her the night of the luau to make the arrangements. That’s all.”
Hmmph!” Norma Kane said. “There is no way I would hire someone who stole something that belongs to my company. Open your hand, little boy,” Norma Kane ordered Benny.
Benny unclenched his fingers one by one. The black pearl rested in the middle of his hand, which he clenched up again.
Oh, the black pearl!” Cousin Mary whispered. “Where did you find it? And how did you find it?”
Joseph sat down to tell his story.
The Aldens really found it, Mrs. Cook,” Joseph began. “One afternoon, I was walking along the bluff over Reef Bay to get to my shack. I saw Henry and Jessie snorkeling out past the rocky point. A while after that, I heard them talking about something silvery Henry saw in a cave. You know, Mrs. Cook, when the wind is right, even whispered words can travel clearly over the water. After Henry and Jessie left the beach, I took my sailboat to the spot and dived down until I found the cave and this box inside the cave. I was just taking it to a jewelry store to find out its value.”
Norma Kane stood there, steaming mad. “The Kane Plantation borders the waters where those caves are, so they’re part of my property as well.”
This was too much for Mr. Alden. “I’m afraid the law wouldn’t agree with you. Property rights do not extend into the ocean, Mrs. Kane, In any case, may I ask how you learned about the location of the cave?”
Mrs. Kane didn’t answer, but Jessie did.
You overheard Joseph tell the legend of the black pearl the night the moon was full, didn’t you?” Jessie asked. “Cousin Mary said you were going to look for Joseph that night. We overheard the story, too.”
And we heard rocks falling down and, know what? We saw someone on the beach, but we couldn’t tell who it was,” Benny said.
Mrs. Kane looked away. “It’s no use. You might as well know. I was on the beach. I hired a scuba diver twice to go out in my cargo boat to look for the black pearl. I told the pilot to chase anyone away by saying there were sharks.”
Now the Aldens looked confused.
Sharks? The Pierces said that, too,” Henry remembered. He turned to the Pierces. “Did you know about the cave and the black pearl, too?”
Richard Pierce shook his head. In a quiet voice he answered Henry’s question. “We took Mr. Cook’s old maps to go look for the cave. We’re treasure hunters, but it looks as if Joseph got there first.”
Are you scuba people, too?” Benny wanted to know.
We’re scuba people, too,” Richard Pierce confessed. “We borrowed the Pineapple Place boat a couple of times, once at night, and tried to find the caves, but the bay has changed since your husband drew those maps.”
Cousin Mary looked upset now. “So you took my husband’s old maps without asking?”
Emma Pierce nodded. “I’m so sorry. I was about to return them, but the children were in your office when we tried to put them back. I returned there later on. That’s when Mr. Alden called to say he was coming back early, but I forgot to give you the message.”
Cousin Mary reached into her pocket and handed Emma Pierce a piece of paper. “Please take back your check. I don’t want any dealings with you and your husband.”
Richard Pierce walked over to his car. When he returned, he handed Jessie her duffel bag. “I took more than the maps, young lady. I’m really sorry. Here’s your snorkeling bag. Emma and I got carried away with the idea of this black pearl. We didn’t want some kids upsetting our plans to find it.”
Look, we’re really sorry,” Emma Pierce said to the Aldens and Cousin Mary. “I see now that the black pearl brought us bad luck. It made us do things — bad things — that we wouldn’t normally do.”
Jessie took the duffel bag without a word.
Soo Lee looked down at the ground. “You do have big feet,” she said to Richard Pierce. “Bigger than Henry’s, even.”
This made nearly everyone smile a little before the Pierces got in their car and drove away.
Benny was still clutching the black pearl in his hand.
May I?” Cousin Mary asked Benny. Though her hands were shaking, she held up the pearl. “So this is the pearl that brought my husband so much bad luck? If only Hiram had thrown it into the ocean as the old fisherman told Joseph to do. Instead, Hiram wanted to keep it and hide it away. Everything went wrong after that,” she whispered.
Mr. Alden put his arm around Cousin Mary. “There, there,” he said. “It’s only a story. Hiram wasn’t the only one in Hawaii who ran into bad luck. Hawaii is beautiful, but starting a new life here isn’t always easy, Mary.”
Cousin Mary handed the pearl to Joseph. “Here, Joseph. Now that the five hundred moons have passed, maybe it will bring you good luck. You found the pearl. It’s rightfully yours.”
I suppose you won’t be needing that job, then, will you?” Norma Kane asked Joseph. “It’s too bad, because after I reached my goal of buying up the rest of the small plantations, I would have made you the manager of all of them.”
Joseph Kahuna took the pearl in his hand. “No, rich or poor, I was never going to take your job. You see, I grew up on a small plantation, then I worked for Mr. and Mrs. Cook’s plantation. Working hard is what changed my bad luck to good luck, not the moon or this pearl. Anyway, the pearl is rightfully yours, Mrs. Cook. I gave it to your husband. Please take it back. You can fix up Pineapple Place like a palace now. You can even send our harvest off on that plane in two days. This pearl is worth a great deal of money.”
Cousin Mary looked happier than the Aldens had ever seen her. “Friends like you, Joseph, and a family like Cousin James and these dear children — they’re worth more than money.”
Everybody was smiling and hugging, except for Norma Kane, of course. And Benny.
Is this worth more than money?” Benny asked when he dug something out of his pocket.
What’s that?” Joseph asked when Benny held up a tiny gray pebble.
It’s a black pearl, I think. I found it on the beach. Is it worth anything?”
It’s worth our whole trip to Hawaii!” Grandfather Alden said, laughing.
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 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
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 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
THE SPY GAME
THE DOG-GONE MYSTERY
THE VAMPIRE MYSTERY
SUPERSTAR WATCH
THE SPY IN THE BLEACHERS
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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 © 1998 by Albert Whitman & Company
978-1-4532-1406-0
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