Mrs. Mason scratched the cat’s ears. “I’d be honored to help you,” she said.
“What’s the cat’s name?” Violet asked.
“I call her Jinx!” Mrs. Mason said. They all laughed. A cat named Jinx was a perfect fit for the Bixby.
The Aldens decided to let the women talk out the plans on their own. It was time to get back to the guest suite and pack up their suitcases. Their visit to Silver City was coming to an end.
“I can’t believe Mrs. Mason turned out to be the one causing all the mischief,” Benny said as they walked down the hall. “I really thought the thirteenth floor was cursed. I kept thinking of all the years of bad luck we had ahead of us!”
“I knew we’d get to the bottom of it,” Jessie said. “Now that we know what really happened, we don’t need to worry about curses, broken mirrors, or the number thirteen.”
Violet turned to look behind them. “How about black cats?” she asked. It seemed that Jinx had jumped down from her owner’s lap and had silently followed them down the hall. Violet crouched. Jinx kneaded the carpet with her paws and purred. This time she was a little less shy. She even let Violet pet her ears.
The others crouched alongside Violet. Jinx showed off her fiercest hunting skills. She bent low, pounced on the rug, and batted at a piece of paper Henry had found in his pocket and made into a ball.
“Jinx doesn’t bring anyone bad luck,” Henry said with a grin. “Except maybe the mice.”
Good Luck at the Bixby
About a month later, when school was out and summer had really begun, the children were out in the front yard. They were playing with their dog, Watch, when the mail carrier, Ms. Singleton, arrived.
“Another beautiful day in Greenfield!” Ms. Singleton said.
“And look,” Benny said, pointing up. “This time there really isn’t a cloud in the sky!”
“You’re right about that,” she said. From her sack, she took a fancy, cream-colored envelope and handed it to Benny. It was addressed to James and the Alden children. Benny tore open the envelope. Inside was an invitation to a party at the Bixby Building in Silver City.
Jessie read the fancy writing aloud. “‘Join us for the Grand Opening of the Thirteenth Floor.’”
“Ooh, a party,” said Ms. Singleton. “Make sure you take pictures!” She waved as she walked back to her white van.
The children ran inside and found Grandfather reading in his study. He checked the calendar and said the weekend was free. The Aldens were going back to Silver City, and this time it would be for a celebration!
The evening of the party, the children packed overnight bags for the trip and dressed in their best party clothes. Henry wore a navy sports coat and a blue tie. Benny chose a black dress shirt and a red bow tie from Grandfather’s collection. Violet wore a purple dress, of course, and a pink beaded necklace, and Jessie wore a rainbow jumpsuit with a black belt. Grandfather looked handsome as always in white linen.
At six o’clock, the Aldens arrived at the Bixby. The stained glass windows in the front door sparkled in the setting sun. In the lobby, the enormous fireplace was no longer covered with plywood. Someone had restored the gray marble titles that surrounded the hearth, and the tile floor had been scrubbed and polished.
“You know,” Benny said, pointing to the floor, “when I first saw the triangles in this pattern, I thought they looked like a monster’s teeth, and it made me think the Bixby was spooky. But now that they are fixed up, I can see how much work it must have been to create this design. Now I don’t think it’s spooky—I think it’s amazing!”
In the center of the wall, right above the fireplace, hung a gleaming brass horseshoe.
“I didn’t notice that before either,” Violet said.
“It’s definitely new,” Grandfather said. “Or maybe a ‘new’ antique. Hanging a horseshoe in your home is supposed to bring good luck, but only if you hang it this way, with the ends pointing up. If you hang a horseshoe upside down, people say the luck falls out.”
“Thank goodness Gwen knew which way to hang it,” Violet said. “Now she will have good luck for sure!”
“I love how Gwen has a sense of humor about everything she’s been through,” Grandfather said.
“I still don’t believe in luck, whether it’s good luck or bad luck,” Jessie said. “But I am very happy that things have gotten better for Gwen.”
When the elevator doors opened, Felix was inside.
“Well, hello there!” he said. Felix looked different wearing something other than his work overalls. He had on a striped tie, and he had trimmed his beard. “I just came from the basement,” he said. “Everything is in tip-top shape.”
“We can see that you’ve been working hard,” Grandfather said. “The lobby has been completely restored.”
“It’s not just me,” Felix said. “Everyone has pitched in. The workers, Gwen—even Mrs. Mason.”
“Well, let’s head up to the party!” Benny said.
“Thirteenth floor, coming right up,” said Felix.
Henry looked at him in surprise. “You aren’t worried about saying ‘thirteen’ anymore?”
Felix shook his head. “When we learned about the real cause of the fire, I realized that bad luck had nothing to do with it. Since then, I’ve started to see things a little differently. Sometimes mirrors break, and as long as you clean up the glass, they can’t hurt you. Same goes for the number thirteen. It’s just a number.”
The elevator doors opened on a party in full swing. The thirteenth floor looked beautiful. Not only had all the damage been repaired, but the careful work had preserved the quirky character of the building as well. All the old windows had been fixed and the tulip-shaped lights shined up. At the end of the hallway was an old piano. One of the tenants sat down and started to play. Some people started to dance. Others took a tour to admire what had changed about the Bixby and what would always stay the same.
“Hi, kids!” Gwen said. She gave them high fives and led them, along with Grandfather, into the apartment. It was impossible to tell that it had been so damaged by fire. Everything looked crisp and new.
Hayes stood next to the dining table, which was piled high with treats of all kinds—peanut butter cookies, brownies, blondies, caramel cupcakes, and, in the center, a giant chocolate layer cake.
Benny licked his lips. “Hayes, how did you know that chocolate cake was my favorite?”
Hayes shrugged. “I guess it’s just a coincidence,” he said.
Felix reached to take a peanut butter cookie and winked at Benny. “Some coincidences are good ones.”
Turn the page to read a sneak preview of
THE POWER DOWN MYSTERY
the next Boxcar Children mystery!
The Aldens stood on the boardwalk and looked out over the harbor. Grandfather had brought the children to Port Elizabeth for the annual tall ships festival. But now the ships were sailing away.
Six-year-old Benny swung underneath the wooden railing at the edge of the marina. “Look at all the sails on that one!” he said. “Ten sails. No, eleven. Wait, twelve!”
At first, he had been sad the festival was ending early. But seeing the big boats in action was exciting. Colorful sails billowed on tall wooden masts. And the old-fashioned ships crashed through the waves.
In the marina, waves lapped onto the docks. With the tall ships gone, most of the docks were empty. On the ones that weren’t, people scrambled about, getting ready to move newer, smaller boats.
Henry leaned his elbows on the railing next to Benny. Unlike his brother, Henry wasn’t watching the ships. He was looking at the dark clouds chasing them away. At fourteen, Henry was the oldest of the Alden children, and he liked to pay attention to the weather. “The storm is coming in fast,” he said. “I hope everyone gets to safety.”
“The real storm isn’t supposed to hit until later tonight,” said Grandfather. “The ships will have plenty of time to find shelter up the coast.”
&nb
sp; “I’m glad we have people to forecast the weather,” ten-year-old Violet said. “Imagine if we didn’t have any warning before the storm.”
Grandfather’s friend Marie Freeman spoke up. “There are ships at the bottom of this harbor from the days when the sailors didn’t get enough warning before storms hit.” Ms. Freeman was the Aldens’ host for the festival. She had lived in Port Elizabeth all her life. She loved to study old things.
“Even today, weather can be hard to predict,” said Grandfather. “But it seems pretty likely that this storm will reach us before it dies out. I think the folks who run the festival made the right decision.”
Benny was still more interested in the ships than the storm. As the children started walking toward the exit of the marina, he asked, “How do they know where to go? Once they get away from shore, all there is is waves! They don’t even have street signs to follow! Don’t they get lost?”
Ms. Freeman smiled. “I have a feeling those big, old ships might have some new technology onboard to tell them where they are. But sailors still have to know how to travel the old-fashioned way, just in case. What would they do if their computers failed?”
Benny stopped suddenly. “In the middle of the ocean? They’d never get home!”
“They would if they had the old tools and knew how to use them,” Henry said. “We should try using a compass and map to find our way around.”
“That sounds fun,” Jessie said.
The Aldens came to the end of the marina. Violet noticed a line of smaller, newer-looking boats. Instead of sailing the boats away, people were loading them onto big trailers. On the dock next to the boats was a thin man in an orange raincoat. Around him were half a dozen people. They looked to be arguing with him.
“That’s Hector Valencia,” said Ms. Freeman. “He owns this marina. Poor guy. Ending the festival early can’t be good for his business.”
“Those people don’t look happy with him,” said Henry.
“I suppose everyone is trying to get their boats out of the water before the storm rolls in,” said Grandfather. “But it looks like there’s some sort of holdup.”
“Looks like the boats are being inspected,” Ms. Freeman said. “Unfortunately, there are rumors of smugglers here in Port Elizabeth.”
Benny’s eyes got big. “Smugglers? You mean like pirates?”
Ms. Freeman chuckled. “Not exactly. Smugglers are people who bring things in or out of the country illegally.”
“What happens if they get caught?” Violet asked.
“It depends,” said Ms. Freeman. “Say the smugglers brought in something that was legal to own, like jewels, but they snuck it in without paying taxes. They’d probably get a fine.”
“That seems silly,” said Jessie. “Why risk a fine when you could be honest and not get in trouble?”
Ms. Freeman smiled. “That is a very good question. Sadly, not everyone is as sensible as you are. Most people are honest though. They just want to get their boats to safety.”
Henry pointed at a large speedboat out in the bay. “I wonder whose boat that is,” he said. The boat was anchored, and it didn’t look like there was anyone aboard.
“I hope the owner hasn’t forgotten about it,” said Jessie. “If they don’t move it and the storm hits, who knows what could happen to it?”
The empty boat bobbing on the dark water gave Benny a bad feeling. It reminded him of spooky stories he’d heard about ghost ships and pirates. He was happy when Ms. Freeman changed the subject.
“I’d like to check in on my shop before the storm hits,” Ms. Freeman said. “Would you all mind if we stopped by?”
The Aldens agreed, and they followed Ms. Freeman into town. Along Main Street, they passed by empty gift shops and restaurants. Many were boarded up to protect against the coming storm.
The Happy Bear Ice-Cream Shop was just off Main Street. Outside the shop there was a tall statue of a smiling bear standing up on its back legs. The bear was wearing blue overalls and holding an ice-cream cone piled high with scoops.
“You didn’t tell me us you had an ice-cream shop!” said Benny.
“I love your statue,” said Violet. “It goes perfectly with the name of your shop.”
“Why, thank you,” said Ms. Freeman. “Bears became the symbol for our town a few years ago, and this fellow was made for my shop. I liked him so much, I changed the shop’s name to match.”
“So it’s a town mascot?” Jessie asked.
“That’s right,” Ms. Freeman said. “The tourists like taking pictures with all the different bear statues around town.”
A man in front of the shop next door gave a snort. “Maybe the storm will do everyone a favor and blow that one away.”
“Why do you say that?” Henry asked.
The man stopped hammering and wiped his brow. He spoke with a strong southern accent. “I believe this should be a high-class town with high-class shops. People see that silly bear and the silly name and think they can bring their drippity ice cream anyplace.” He frowned at the children. “Kids come into my shop and let it drip all over. Then they touch things with their sticky hands.”
The man turned back to his work. “At least my shop will be protected from this coming storm,” he said.
Once the Aldens were in the ice-cream shop, Violet whispered, “That man didn’t seem very nice.”
Ms. Freeman sighed. “That is George Williams. He’s not really so bad. He just moved here from Georgia. He doesn’t understand Port Elizabeth yet. If he had it his way, there’d only be fancy gift shops like his.”
“Why does he want you to change your shop’s name?” asked Jessie.
“Yeah, I like The Happy Bear,” said Benny. “It’s…happy!”
Ms. Freeman gave a small smile. “My shop used to be called Sailor’s Delight Sweets and Treats. It went along with the name of the shop next door, The Stylish Sailor Boutique. But a couple years ago, I decided to just sell ice cream and changed the name. He’s always trying to get me to go back to selling fancy candies and knickknacks.”
“Well, I think ice cream is the perfect thing to sell,” said Benny. “Shoppers need energy. They can take a break with ice cream and have more energy to shop.”
“I’ll bet you’re right,” Ms. Freeman said. “How about some energy for you kids? Give your orders to Savannah.”
The young woman behind the counter had not looked up from her cell phone since the Aldens entered the shop.
Ms. Freeman sighed. “Savannah!”
The young woman jumped and looked up. She had long, brown hair and wore a purple shirt.
“Take the Aldens’ orders, please,” Ms. Freeman said. “I’m going to check on the generator.”
As the woman rang them up, Violet said, “I like your shirt. Purple is my favorite color. Your bracelets and earrings are nice too. Are the red stones rubies? And pearls?”
The young woman blushed. “Oh, these? They aren’t anything special. Only stuff I put together.” She turned away to scoop ice cream. Violet wanted to ask about her name tag, which said Sarah instead of Savannah. But it did not seem like the woman wanted to talk.
The children and Grandfather sat at a table and ate their ice cream. Soon Ms. Freeman joined them.
Henry asked, “Are you worried about the storm, Ms. Freeman? Should we put up boards like the man next door?”
“I’ve seen enough storms hit Port Elizabeth,” Ms. Freeman said. “We’ll survive one more. I’m only concerned about one thing. We’ve had some issues with the power lately. It’s the strangest thing. Some days I come in, and the ice cream is soft and runny—like it’s been melting overnight.”
“That is strange,” Henry said.
“I have a backup generator though,” Ms. Freeman continued. “So if the power does go out, the generator will turn on. It will keep the ice cream cold and run the security system.”
Benny’s eyes got wide. “Security system? Do you think someone will come and steal the ice cream
?”
Ms. Freeman smiled. “More likely they’d steal money from the cash register. We don’t keep much overnight, but it’s better to be safe. Things can get a little crazy when a storm hits. You never know what people will do.”
“Maybe we should stay here and protect the ice cream,” said Benny. “Just in case.”
Everyone laughed. “We’ll be more comfortable at Ms. Freeman’s house,” said Grandfather. He winked at Benny. “We can get some ice cream to go, for after dinner.”
Benny nodded. “That’s a good idea. And after the storm, we’ll come back and make sure the ice cream is safe.”
Add to Your Boxcar Children Collection with New Books and Sets!
The first twelve books are now available in three individual boxed sets!
The Boxcar Children Bookshelf includes the first twelve books, a bookmark with complete title checklist, and a poster with activities.
The Boxcar Children 20-Book Set includes Gertrude Chandler Warner’s original nineteen books, plus an all-new activity book, stickers, and a magnifying glass!
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden are on a secret mission that takes them around the world!
When Violet finds a turtle statue that nobody’s seen before in an old trunk at home, the children are on the case! The clue turns out to be an invitation to the Reddimus Society, a secret guild dedicated to returning lost treasures to where they belong.
Now the Aldens must take the statue and six mysterious boxes across the country to deliver them safely—and keep them out of the hands of the Reddimus Society’s enemies. It’s just the beginning of the Boxcar Children’s most amazing adventure yet!
Secret on the Thirteenth Floor Page 6
