by Charles Tang
“See, an underground stream!” Jessie whispered when they found water. “Let’s walk along this ledge and see where it goes.”
Henry led everyone alongside the stream. The Aldens hadn’t gone far when they heard men’s voices shouting in the distance.
“This is your dumbest idea ever,” Ed Lyme said to Randall Pitt. “I’m not getting into that thing. I can’t swim.”
Mr. Pitt was blowing up a large raft with an air pump.
“Hey, what are you kids doing here?” Mr. Lyme shouted when he saw the Aldens standing there.
“It’s us, Mr. Lyme,” Henry explained. “Even though you tried to scare us, we decided to explore these caves anyway.”
“What are you staring at?” Mr. Pitt asked when he noticed Henry staring at his head.
“So you’re the one who broke into our cabin and stole my headlamp. I can see the initials I marked on it—H.A. And that’s not all you stole. Nelly Stoner said a raft was taken from the Dragon’s Mouth Cavern a couple of days ago.”
Mr. Pitt kicked the raft to one side and took the headlamp off his head. “What are you talking about, kid?”
Mr. Lyme shifted from one foot to the other. “Come on, Randy. We need to talk. In private, without four pairs of ears listening in.”
Then the two men moved several feet away so the Aldens wouldn’t hear them.
Henry and Jessie didn’t waste any time. “Come on,” Jessie whispered to Benny and Violet. “Hop on the raft. First, let’s put on these life jackets.”
With barely a splash, the four children climbed onto the raft. Henry pushed off with the oars and quickly began rowing.
The next thing the Aldens heard was a lot of yelling. “Hey! They took our raft!” Mr. Pitt screamed.
“Hey! They took our raft,” the cave walls echoed back.
“Go after it!” Mr. Lyme shouted at Mr. Pitt.
But it was too late. The Aldens were soon floating along the current of a small stream.
CHAPTER 10
Back in the Dragon’s Mouth
Hey, I know where we are,” Benny cried when the raft drifted into a huge, well-lit space. “We’re in the Dragon’s Mouth Cavern again!”
Henry rowed over to the wooden steps where the empty tour boat was tied up, and everyone got off the raft.
“I think we should call the police,” Jessie said when they made their way to the elevator. “Those men took this raft and Henry’s headlamp.”
Henry pressed the elevator button, and the children stepped inside. When the doors opened into the gift shop, everyone headed for the ticket booth where Mr. Alden was waiting.
“Grandfather!” Violet cried. “You’re back.”
“And you’re back, children,” Mrs. Stoner said, happy to see the Aldens. “I was getting worried about your being in the caves so late. Mr. Howe and I were almost about to go out looking for you since it was getting dark.”
“You never would have found us,” Benny said. “Never, ever. Somebody stole our tape markers so nobody could find us. Then the entrance was all stuffed with rocks and things. And a big rock, too! Even Henry couldn’t push it out of the way.”
“Whoa! Slow down, Benny,” Grandfather said. “I see a thing or two happened while I was away.”
“Can we call the police first?” Jessie asked Mrs. Stoner. “We found the people who took your raft. They’re still in the caves. I think they were on your tour the other day.”
After a quick call to meet the police near the cave, everyone piled into Mr. Alden’s station wagon. Mrs. Stoner gave directions while Benny brought Grandfather up to date on all the excitement. When Mr. Alden pulled up to the cave, a police car was already there, parked next to Mr. Pitt’s old green car.
“You folks seem to know these caves better than we do,” one of the two officers said. “Can you lead the way down?”
“Just follow us,” Henry said.
One by one the children slipped into the cave entrance. The two officers followed right behind.
“If we just go in a little, the cave branches off in three directions,” Jessie explained. “If we wait there, the men have to come out one of those tunnels if they plan to go back to their car again.”
The police and the Aldens didn’t have to wait long. They soon heard the sound of heavy steps squishing through the muddy cave.
“Stop!” one of the officers said when Mr. Pitt and Mr. Lyme came into the tunnel.
“What is this all about?” Mr. Pitt demanded.
“It’s about a stolen raft,” the police officer began.
“And Henry’s missing headlamp, too,” Benny added.
Mr. Pitt tried to run in the other direction, but one of the police officers grabbed him first. “Stay where you are. You have some explaining to do, Randall Pitt.”
“You know him?” Henry asked.
“Both of them,” the officer answered. “They’re a couple of petty criminals who can’t stay out of trouble. They just finished six months’ time in the county jail. I see they’re up to their old tricks again.”
Mr. Pitt’s partner kicked at the ground. “I told you not to take that headlamp. A lot of good it did us. We never found the money, anyway.”
“What money is he talking about?” the police officer asked Mr. Pitt.
“The money from the Rockville Union Bank robbery ten years ago,” Mr. Pitt answered. “We overheard one of the robbers at the jail say he hid it down in these caves.”
The two police officers started laughing and couldn’t stop.
“What’s so funny?” Benny asked.
One of the officers finally stopped laughing. “What’s so funny is that the money they’re talking about was fake—worthless. The bank gave the thieves counterfeit money. It was worth less than a pile of old newspapers! Now I’m going to put you two back where you came from—only this time for stealing a raft and a headlamp. That’s pretty funny, too! But most of all, you should be ashamed of yourselves for trying to scare these kids.”
Mr. Pitt and his partner weren’t laughing a bit. Instead they argued with each other all the way out of the cave. When the police car pulled away, the Aldens could still hear the two men bickering in the back seat.
“That’s a pretty good mystery you solved,” Grandfather Alden said after his grandchildren explained about Mr. Pitt and Mr. Lyme.
“Finally,” Benny said, giving Grandfather and Nelly Stoner a big smile. “But we can’t leave Rockville until we solve another one. What was Miss Hollowell doing down in the caves?”
“And why didn’t she want anyone else around?” Jessie asked.
Nelly Stoner smiled back. “I think that mystery is solved, too,” she said. She handed Jessie a newspaper and pointed to a picture of Crystal Hollowell.
Jessie read what it said under the photo:
Rock expert Dr. Crystal Hollowell, a scientist from the Western College of Mines, has just reported a major discovery of silver inside local limestone caves. This is the first time this type of rock has been uncovered in this area.
“When I saw the picture, I figured out why her name seemed familiar,” Nelly Stoner said. “She’s a geologist who helped develop a new way to locate silver. I read about this in some of my journals, but I didn’t make the connection to this young woman.”
“I bet she was the one who blocked off the tunnel with the rock that said ‘Keep Out,’ ” Violet said.
“And look, she’s wearing heeled boots in the picture,” Benny added, using his sharp eyes. “I bet the footprints near that rock belonged to her and her helper.”
Nelly Stoner opened the newspaper and turned to one of the inside pages with a longer story. “This article says that she was afraid a rival would find the special rock. After she and her assistant blocked the tunnel inside the caves, they pushed one big rock outside another cave entrance so no one could get in.”
“Or out,” Henry said. “I guess she wasn’t really trying to trap anybody on purpose—just keep them away.”
/> “My, my,” Mr. Alden said. “You must have had quite a fright being walled in. I’d like to take a look at the place.”
A short ride later, the children led their grandfather to the sinkhole cave by the side of the road. Mr. Howe was already there, helping a work crew fence in the entrance.
“Hello, Aldens,” Mr. Howe said. “I suppose you heard that Crystal Hollowell discovered some valuable rocks on my property. With her new methods, she and some other rock experts—and I hope Nelly here—are going to go through and see if there’s enough silver in these caves to go after. Meanwhile, it’s off-limits to everyone but my guests.”
“Does that mean us?” Benny wanted to know. “We want to show Grandfather how we got trapped inside this great big dark cave, but we weren’t even scared.”
Mr. Howe patted Benny’s head. “Go right in, young fella. You just have to get some of those smaller rocks out of the way. Dr. Hollowell blocked up the entrance until she could get some other rock experts here.”
Benny dug out some rocks from the opening and dropped them to the ground. “Ouch!” he said, when one of the rocks landed on his toe. He started to toss the heavy rock to the side when the sunlight hit it just right. At that moment, the rock sent out a rainbow of lights.
“Well, Benny,” Jessie said, taking a closer look at the rock. “You discovered something, too.”
“Miss Hollowell found a little bit of silver. But look what I found,” Benny said, jumping up and down. “A real Rockville diamond!”
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 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
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 © 1995 by Albert Whitman & Company
978-1-4532-1344-5
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