Mystery of the Stolen Boxcar

by Charles Tang

  “Or my cousin!” said Soo Lee.

  Still shaking their heads in amazement, the Aldens hurried home.

  They’d just reached the hill near their house when Henry stopped and pointed. “Look!” he said.

  Down below, at the bottom of the hill, stood Susie. She was wearing her harness, but she wasn’t pulling the wagon. She kept shaking her mane and snorting as if she was upset.

  “What happened to Sam? Where is his wagon?” said Violet in a worried voice. Then her eyes widened. “Oh, no!” she exclaimed.

  The others gasped. They’d seen it, too.

  Sam’s wagon had crashed against a tree at the bottom of the hill. It was in what seemed like millions of pieces. One of the wheels lay in the road. Ice cream was melting on the sidewalk.

  Just then, Sam came out into the road from the bushes where he had gone to pick up another wheel. He looked up and saw the Aldens and waved.

  They hurried to the bottom of the hill.

  “Sam! What happened?” asked Jessie.

  Sam shook his head. “I’m not sure. We were just going up the hill when somehow the wagon got loose and slid right back down! I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m lucky I wasn’t in it — and that Susie wasn’t hurt!”

  “Can you fix it?” asked Henry.

  Again Sam shook his head. “Don’t know if I can,” he said. “But I’m sure gonna try.” He looked sadly around at the pieces of his wagon and at the melting ice cream. “I’m trying to gather up as much stuff as I can to take home. Then I’ll come back with my truck to get the rest.”

  “We’ll help you,’ said Henry.

  “Of course,” said Jessie.

  The children helped Sam gather up some of his belongings while he tied a few of the bigger items from the wagon on Susie’s back. Then, holding Susie’s bridle, Sam led the way to his home. They put everything in the red barn behind Sam’s house.

  “After I get Susie out of her harness and settled into her stall in the barn here, I’ll go get the rest of the wagon pieces,” said Sam. “I appreciate your help.”

  “Don’t worry, Sam. You’ll be able to fix your wagon,” said Soo Lee.

  “Maybe,” said Sam. But he didn’t sound as if he believed it.

  The last thing the children saw as they left was Sam standing in front of the barn, holding the wheel of the wagon and shaking his head sorrowfully.

  “Time for me to go,” said Soo Lee, late that afternoon. She sighed. “I wish I could have finished.”

  “We didn’t expect to finish today, Soo Lee,” said Henry. “Don’t worry. We’re almost done and we’ve got plenty of time before the parade.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Soo Lee. She got on her bicycle and pedaled away.

  The Aldens began putting away the paint and washing the paintbrushes. Watch, who’d been sleeping inside the boxcar under the table, came to the door and barked. He was hoping that now it was time to play.

  Benny picked up a stick. “Here boy! Catch!” Watch jumped out of the boxcar and he and Benny began to play a game of catch-the-stick.

  “What a smart little dog!” said a man’s voice.

  Jessie was so startled that she jumped up. “Who are you?” she blurted out to the short, slight man who was standing there. He had on a plaid jacket and brown pants, and had three thin strands of brown hair combed over a bald spot on the top of his head. His nose was long and red at the end.

  Watch heard how surprised Jessie sounded and stopped playing catch with Benny. He ran over to stand beside Jessie. He lowered his head and growled at the man.

  “Good dog! Nice dog!” said the man. “Er, I’m sorry if I scared you. My name is, er, Ralph. Ralph Winters. I, er . . .” Ralph stopped and looked at Watch nervously. “He’s not going to bite me, is he?”

  “No,” said Jessie. Then she added honestly, “At least, I don’t think he is.”

  Watch stopped growling. But he still watched Mr. Winters carefully.

  Just then Henry and Violet came out of the boxcar.

  Jessie introduced them to Mr. Winters.

  Still glancing at Watch, Mr. Winters nodded. “I’m glad to meet you all. I wondered if you could help me?” he said.

  “We will if we can,” said Violet.

  “It’s about your boxcar,” said Mr. Winters. “I saw the article in the paper and I want to buy it!”

  “Oh, no!” Benny cried. “Did Mr. Chessy send you!”

  Now it was Mr. Winters’ turn to be surprised. “Mr. Chessy? Who is Mr. Chessy?” he asked. “I represent Senator Teacher. She is running for office and she wants to use your boxcar as part of her campaign!” Mr. Winters threw out his arms as if he were making a wonderful announcement.

  The four children stared at him in disbelief. Henry finally said, “Our boxcar’s not for sale.”

  “Oh, but wait until I tell you about it,” said Mr. Winters eagerly. “She’s conducting an old-fashioned whistle-stop tour. That means that she is going to ride the train from town to town and make speeches from the back of the last car on the train, just like President Harry Truman did in 1948. The car will be specially designed with a platform attached to the back for her to stand on. Your boxcar would be perfect — with a little redesigning, of course.”

  Mr. Winters rubbed his hands together. He licked his lips. His eyes shifted nervously from side to side. “What do you think?” he asked. “Are you going to help Senator Teacher?”

  “I’m sorry,” said Henry firmly. “We’d like to help you. But the boxcar isn’t for sale — at any price.”

  “Please! Just think about it!” cried Mr. Winters. “Here’s my business card at the senator’s offices in Greenfield. Like I said, think about it and give me a call.”

  “We have thought about it,” said Benny. “Lots. And we’ve said ‘no’ lots, too.”

  “Thank you for your offer,” said Jessie firmly. “Good-bye.”

  Suddenly Mr. Winters looked angry. “It’s very selfish of you not to want to help,” he said. He turned around and stomped away.

  “Good grief,” said Jessie. “Can you believe it?”

  “He was not a nice man,” said Benny. “He was mean. I didn’t like him and Watch didn’t like him. We’re glad he went away.”

  At that, Jessie had to laugh. “We are, too, Benny. Now let’s go get ready for dinner. We have a lot more work to do tomorrow on our boxcar!”

  It rained the next morning, but in the afternoon the Aldens got back to work. The first coat of paint had dried and it was time to put on a second coat.

  After they gave the boxcar its second coat of paint, they would have to paint the trim. The floor needed sanding and the metal parts needed polishing.

  Meanwhile, Mrs. McGregor was planning the special Founders’ Day dinner. The Aldens were going to be in the parade in the morning on Founders’ Day. Then they were going to come home and have their special dinner that afternoon.

  For several days the Aldens worked hard on their boxcar. They began to worry that they wouldn’t finish in time for the parade.

  But they did. At last the wood of the boxcar was smooth from sanding, and shiny with new paint. All the rusty metal hinges and latches had been polished until they shone. The wheels had been oiled so that they would turn smoothly and the spokes of the wheels had been painted, too. It was hard work, but the Aldens loved seeing the old boxcar look so shiny and new. They were very proud of it.

  “I knew we would finish with plenty of time for the parade,” said Henry, smiling.

  Violet clasped her hands together. “It looks wonderful.”

  “Let’s get Grandfather,” said Jessie. She and Henry went to get Grandfather Alden.

  When they came out, they all stood in front of the boxcar except Watch. He sat proudly inside, his ears up and his tail wagging. He seemed to know how special the boxcar looked.

  “You’ve done a wonderful job,” said Grandfather. “You’ll be the stars of the parade.”

  “Our boxcar will!�
�� said Henry, Everyone was very pleased. It would be good, however, to take a few days off from working on the boxcar, before it was time for the parade.

  Benny gave the boxcar a pat as he left. “See you tomorrow, old boxcar,” he said. Then he followed his brother and sisters and Grandfather into the house for dinner.

  CHAPTER 6

  Missing!

  Benny, you haven’t finished your breakfast yet,” said Jessie.

  “Watch hasn’t eaten his at all,” said Benny. He pointed to Watch’s bowls in the corner of the kitchen by the door. One was full of water. The other was full of dog food.

  “He’s probably out digging holes,” said Henry. “He’ll come in when he’s hungry.”

  “Why don’t you finish your cereal?” Jessie said. “Then you can go call Watch.”

  Quickly Benny began to eat. He ate all his breakfast, then raced out the back door to call Watch.

  A few minutes later Benny ran back in. His face was pale. His eyes were wild. He waved his hands and didn’t seem to be able to speak.

  “Benny! What’s wrong?” exclaimed Henry, jumping out of his chair so fast it turned over.

  “Gone!” Benny managed to say at last. “Gone! Gone!”

  “Oh, Benny, don’t worry. Watch didn’t go far. We’ll find him,” said Violet.

  Benny shook his head.

  “Calm down,” Jessie said. She put her arm around her younger brother’s shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

  Benny took a deep breath. He looked around at everybody. Then he said, “The boxcar! It’s gone!”

  “Gone? Benny, are you sure?” gasped Violet.

  Benny nodded. “I’m sure, and Watch is gone, too!”

  He turned and ran back out the door. His brother and sisters raced after him.

  They ran toward where the boxcar had been.

  They stopped and stared.

  The boxcar was gone. Only the stump they’d used as a front step remained.

  Jessie’s mouth dropped open. Violet put her hand over her mouth. Henry rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “See?” said Benny, pointing at where the boxcar had once stood.

  “Where could a boxcar go?” whispered Violet. “It couldn’t just disappear!”

  “Someone must have taken it,” said Jessie. “But how?”

  Henry pointed down at the ground. “Look!” Big, wide, muddy ruts cut through the grass. “Someone must have pulled it away.”

  “We can follow the tracks!” said Jessie. The children ran in the direction of the muddy ruts. But the tracks stopped at the road.

  Benny sat down and covered his face.

  Violet knelt down beside him. “Don’t cry, Benny. It’ll be all right. We’ll find the boxcar.”

  Benny lifted his face to look at Violet. “But the boxcar is gone. Even worse, Watch is gone, too.”

  “We’d better find Watch right away,” said Henry. “Then he can help us look for the boxcar.”

  Benny felt more cheerful at the thought of this. They called and called, but Watch didn’t come.

  “Where could Watch be?” asked Jessie at last.

  “He’ll come back,” said Henry.

  “I didn’t let him in the house last night,” said Benny in a worried tone of voice. “I went to bed early. I thought someone else would.”

  “I didn’t let him in,” said Violet.

  Jessie and Henry shook their heads. They hadn’t either.

  “But maybe Grandfather or Mrs. McGregor did,” said Henry. “And then let him out early this morning.”

  The Aldens went back in the house to tell Mrs. McGregor and Grandfather. They ran outside to see for themselves.

  They couldn’t believe that the boxcar was missing. Grandfather shook his head. He frowned. “This is very serious,” he said.

  “We are going to find the boxcar,” said Jessie, putting her hands on her hips. “And Watch. Don’t worry.”

  “I know you’ve solved many mysteries,” Grandfather Alden told his grandchildren. “But you’ve never had a mystery like this one. Who would steal a boxcar? And why would Watch run away for a whole night? Because if he had been here, he would have barked when someone took the boxcar.”

  “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out,” said Henry.

  The four Aldens went back out to where the boxcar had been. They searched the entire area for clues. They weren’t sure what they were looking for, but they didn’t find anything that helped — not even a muddy footprint, or dog’s paw print.

  “What do we do now?” asked Benny.

  Henry put his hand on his chin and thought. Then he said, “Mr. Chessy!”

  “What?” Benny said, confused.

  “That’s right!” exclaimed Jessie. “Mr. Chessy. Remember how badly he wanted to buy our boxcar? He was very unhappy when we wouldn’t sell it to him. He said he’d get it one way or the other.”

  “I thought he would come back. He was so angry. But he never did,” said Violet.

  “Maybe he never came back because he didn’t want us to get suspicious,” said Jessie. “Maybe he realized we would never sell the boxcar to him, so he took it!” She jumped up. “We have to go talk to Mr. Chessy right away.”

  “But he said he was leaving soon, remember?” said Henry. “What if he took our boxcar and left town?”

  “What about Watch?” asked Benny. “We should look for Watch!”

  “We’ll leave a bowl of Watch’s favorite food outside on the steps for him,” said Henry. “We can ask Mrs. McGregor and Grandfather to look out for him in case he comes home.”

  “We’ll call for Watch and look for him on our way to Mr. Chessy’s,” Jessie said.

  “But what if we don’t find him?” Benny cried. “What if he’s lost?”

  “If he still hasn’t come home when we get back,” said Henry, “we’ll go the animal shelter and to Dr. Scott’s and tell them Watch is missing. We’ll put up signs at the shelter and at the veterinarian’s, too. Then we’ll put up signs all over town, and offer a reward.”

  “Don’t forget, we solved the mystery of the missing cat,” said Violet. “We found her — and we found the champion dog from the dog show when she disappeared.”

  Benny felt a little better when he remembered that. Slowly he nodded. “We will find Watch,” he said, getting up off the stump. “And our boxcar.”

  Benny put down a big bowl of Watch’s favorite food by the back steps of the house. He told Grandfather Alden and Mrs. McGregor to watch out for the little dog. Then the Aldens got on their bicycles and pedaled as fast as they could into Greenfield and to the old train station.

  “Look, Mr. Chessy’s train car is still there!” shouted Jessie.

  “I’m so glad,” said Violet.

  “Let’s ask Mr. Chessy some questions and see how he acts,” suggested Henry. “We won’t tell him our boxcar is missing.”

  Everyone agreed that Henry’s plan was a good one. They parked their bicycles, and went up to Mr. Chessy’s caboose. They walked up the stairs that had been lowered from the edge of the caboose beneath the door. Henry knocked loudly on the door.

  Mr. Chessy slid the door open at once. He seemed surprised to see the Aldens. He stroked his mustache and raised his eyebrows. “Well, well, well,” he said. “What have we here?”

  “Hello, Mr. Chessy,” said Henry politely.

  Mr. Chessy answered, “Has your grandfather managed to make you change your minds about selling me the boxcar?”

  “Not exactly,” said Jessie. She frowned. If Mr. Chessy had stolen the boxcar, would he still ask them if they wanted to sell it?

  “Well,” said Mr. Chessy, folding his arms. “I think it is a disgrace. That boxcar should be in a museum. Or a collection like mine, where it can be properly cared for. Dragging it up and down the streets in a parade! Hmmmph!”

  “If you bought our boxcar,” asked Violet, “would you pull it away with a truck?”

  Mr. Chessy looked shock
ed. “Certainly not!” he said. “I would have a special truck and lift the boxcar onto it. That would be the safest way for it to travel.”

  “Wouldn’t you take it to a railroad track and pull it home with you?” asked Benny.

  “Young man,” said Mr. Chessy, “there is no way I would treat a valuable old boxcar like that!”

  “But what about your own railroad car that you travel in?” asked Henry.

  Mr. Chessy twisted his mustache. His eyes shifted. Then he said, “Well, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to tell you the truth. My caboose is not exactly a real railroad car. It’s a replica. A special, exact full-sized replica of the real thing. I never could find a real caboose that was in good enough condition.”

  “Oh,” said Benny. Then he said, “What’s a replica?”

  “It’s a copy, Benny,” explained Henry. He couldn’t think of any more questions to ask Mr. Chessy. Neither could anyone else.

  “Well, thank you,” said Henry.

  “Hmmph,” said Mr. Chessy crossly.

  As the Aldens left, Benny suddenly turned around. “You haven’t seen our dog Watch, have you?” he called.

  “Dog? Absolutely not!” Mr. Chessy suddenly sneezed. Then he slammed the door.

  “Well, I guess it wasn’t Mr. Chessy,” said Jessie.

  “But it could have been him,” argued Henry. “He could have put it up on a truck and taken it away in the middle of the night.”

  “I bet Watch would have liked Mr. Chessy’s caboose. He liked Sam and Susie’s wagon,” Benny said sadly.

  Jessie looked over at Benny. “Mr. Chessy’s caboose was like Sam and Susie’s wagon, wasn’t it Benny?” Her eyes narrowed. “I wonder . . .”

  “What is it, Jessie?” asked Violet.

  Jessie stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “What if Sam did it?” she said. “What if Sam took our boxcar so he and Susie could have a new wagon?”

  CHAPTER 7

  Suspects

  Sam would never take our boxcar!” cried Benny. “He and Susie are our friends!”

  “I don’t want to think he would either, Benny,” said Henry. “But we have to check everything. And Sam’s wagon is broken. He did say that our boxcar would make a great wagon.”