“I won’t,” Bessie replied. “I promise. And I’m sorry for any trouble that I have caused.”
Bessie hurried off to the farm stand. She almost bumped into Benny. He was kicking a stone around the front yard. He was waiting for Jason to finish talking with Mr. Beckett.
When Jason finally looked up, Benny asked his question. “Where is Sam? Is he still on the farm?”
“Oh, of course!” Jason said. “I’m sorry. I bet you want him back. He is in my office.” Benny dashed toward the barn.
“Your office?” asked Mr. Beckett. “Do you mean the barn?”
Jason’s face turned red.
“It’s quite clever,” Henry explained. “You would never know that it is there. Jason made a small room out of hay bales in the corner of the barn.”
“You do have good ideas!” Mr. Beckett said. “I wish you wouldn’t hide them all from me.”
“From now on,” Jason said, “I won’t.”
“I have a good idea, too,” Sally said. “With Jason doing such a good job on the farm, you and Mom can come to Florida and visit my family during the winter.”
Mr. Beckett nodded his head. “That sounds like a fine plan. But then you must visit the farm with the children during the summer.” Sally smiled. “I would love to.”
Benny came rushing back pushing his scarecrow in a wheelbarrow. “I found him!” he cried. “I have Sam back!”
“Oh, my,” Sally said. “That is the scariest pumpkin head I have ever seen!”
“And this is his body,” Benny said. He picked up the stuffed shirt and pants. Some of the straw had fallen out. Sam’s belly was quite flat.
“I think Sam has lost some weight,” Violet said.
“I know! I haven’t fed him in days!” Benny grabbed handfuls of straw from the wheelbarrow and began to stuff his scarecrow. Both Benny and Sam were soon covered in straw.
Jessie laughed. “One more handful of straw and Sam’s buttons will burst!” she said. “I think he is full!”
“Who is full?” Mrs. Beckett walked out onto the porch carrying a warm applesauce cake and a pitcher of cold milk. “Should I take this back inside?”
Benny jumped up from the ground. “No! I am not full. Only my scarecrow is. I’m starved.”
“That’s what I was hoping.” Mrs. Beckett cut big slices of cake for everyone. Sally poured the glasses full of milk.
Benny sat on the porch swing and ate his cake. It was soon gone. He was still covered in straw. It was stuck in his hair and on his shirt and pants.
“Benny, you look like a scarecrow again!” Jessie said.
“Yes,” Violet agreed. “But there is one big difference between Benny and Sam.”
“I know what the difference is,” Henry said. “It is impossible to stuff Benny. He is never full!”
Mrs. Beckett placed another large slice of cake on Benny’s plate. “Well, as long as Benny doesn’t mind,” she said, “I am going to keep on trying to fill him up!”
Benny dug his fork into the warm cake. “I don’t mind at all!” he said, patting his stomach. “You can try to fill me up any time you want!”
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
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 Black Raven
The Mystery of the Pirate’s Map
The Mystery in the Mall
The Mystery in New York
The Gymnastics Mystery
The Poison Frog Mystery
The Mystery of the Empty Safe
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Convent
ions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
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 © 2009 by Albert Whitman & Company
978-1-4532-2913-2
This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media
180 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
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