Mystery of the Stolen Boxcar

by Charles Tang

  The Aldens followed the senator into her office. As fast as they could, they told her the whole story of the missing boxcar. When they finished, the senator shook her head.

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you,” she said. “I did discuss the idea of using a train with my staff — but Ralph Winters never mentioned your boxcar to me. And I’ve decided against using an actual train anyway. You see, the trains don’t go enough places. So I’m going to have a large truck fixed up to look like a train, and that’s what I’ll use for my whistle-stop campaign.”

  “So Mr. Winters didn’t have any reason to take our boxcar after all,” said Henry.

  “No,” said the senator. “Not to my knowledge. And I don’t know where Ralph is. He turned out to be very untrustworthy and I had to fire him. He was living in Silver City, but I don’t know if he is still there.”

  “Thanks anyway,” said Henry.

  “I wish I could have helped you,” said the senator. “Here.”

  She gave them campaign buttons and escorted them out of her office. “Come back if I can be of any help at all,” she told them. She gave the receptionist another sharp look and added, “And bring your dog. I work for the voters and their families. Their whole families!”

  “So Mr. Winters didn’t take our boxcar,” said Jessie as they left. “I don’t think a senator would lie, do you?”

  Henry said, “Not about stealing a boxcar!”

  “I liked Senator Teacher,” said Benny. “I’m going to vote for her when I grow up.”

  “I will, too, Benny,” agreed Violet. “But we still haven’t found our boxcar.”

  “We have to find it soon, or we can’t be in the parade,” said Henry. “Let’s check on Mr. Chessy one more time.”

  The Aldens turned back down Main Street. But before they had gone very far, Watch pulled on his leash so hard that he almost pulled Benny over.

  “Watch! Stop that!” scolded Benny.

  Watch didn’t listen. He strained on his leash and barked.

  Someone shrieked. “I hate that nasty dog. He’s barking at me again! Bad dog! Go away!”

  It was Becky. She was walking with Martha.

  The Aldens didn’t stop to hear Becky shouting horrible things about Watch. Becky was very spoiled, but they were a little embarrassed because Watch was behaving badly, too.

  “Watch, stop that!” Benny scolded again as they rode away. But it wasn’t until they had turned the corner and Becky was out of sight that Watch stopped growling and barking and pulling on his leash.

  “None of us likes her, Watch,” said Henry. “You’re a smart dog to know how mean she is right away, without ever even having met her.”

  “He’s the smartest dog in the whole world,” said Violet.

  No one wanted to argue with that, especially since Watch was very good the rest of the way to Mr. Chessy’s caboose.

  “It’s still here,” said Violet.

  They knocked on the door. Mr. Chessy smiled, just a little, when he slid open the door of his caboose and saw them standing there.

  “Well, well, well if it’s not the Boxcar Children. And just in time for a final visit. I’m getting ready to leave. Time to take my traveling railroad car home, you know. Have you changed your mind about your boxcar?”

  Henry took a deep breath, “Even if we did change our mind, we couldn’t sell it to you.”

  Mr. Chessy stopped smiling. “Why not?” he said.

  “Because our boxcar is missing. It’s been stolen!” said Jessie, watching Mr. Chessy closely.

  “Stolen! But that’s impossible!” Mr. Chessy seemed very surprised and shocked. Then Mr. Chessy sneezed. He took a big handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes.

  “You don’t have to cry about our boxcar,” said Benny, even more surprised to see the tears in Mr. Chessy’s eyes. “We’ll find it.”

  With a sneeze, Mr. Chessy said, “I’m not. Although I am worried. Who would do such a terrible, terrible thing . . . achoo!”

  “Oh. May we come in and see your caboose again?” Benny asked.

  “No. No, no, no,” Mr. Chessy shook his head and wiped his eyes again. “In fact, I think I must ask you to leave.”

  “Leave? Why?” asked Henry.

  Mr. Chessy waved his handkerchief in Watch’s direction. Watch was sitting on the top step by Jessie.

  “Because I’m very, very allergic to dogs. And even standing this close to your dog is making my eyes water and making me cough and snee . . . ah-choo.”

  “We’ll leave right away,” said Violet. The Aldens went quickly down the stairs.

  “If you change your mind about selling your boxcar,” Mr. Chessy called after them, “you know where to find me. . . .” Then the door of Mr. Chessy’s traveling home closed.

  “Allergic?” Benny asked. “Does being around any dogs in the world make him cough and sneeze?”

  “Yes, it does,” said Henry. “Let’s walk our bicycles home. Watch looks as if he could use a rest from all the running with us he’s been doing.”

  Hearing his name, Watch wagged his tail. The Aldens began to walk slowly home.

  A horrifying thought came to Benny. “Oh! Does being allergic mean that Mr. Chessy can’t have a dog ever?’’ he asked.

  “I’m afraid so, Benny,” said Violet.

  “Poor Mr. Chessy,” said Benny. “He’ll never have a dog like you, Watch. Or any dog at all.”

  “Yes,” said Jessie. She bent over and patted Watch’s head and he wagged his tail again. “Mr. Chessy’s boxcar is very nice, but it wouldn’t be any fun to have the fanciest boxcar in the world if we didn’t have Watch!”

  CHAPTER 9

  The Key to the Mystery

  As the Aldens walked through Greenfield, they saw signs everywhere that said: COME TO THE GREENFIELD FOUNDERS’ DAY PARADE! They saw shoppers hurrying about and children playing. Watch wagged his tail at the people passing by. He sniffed noses with a poodle on a leash.

  “Everybody likes Watch,” said Benny. “And Watch likes everybody.” He paused and frowned. “Except Mr. Chessy doesn’t like Watch. And Becky doesn’t like Watch and Watch doesn’t like Becky. And Watch doesn’t like whoever took our boxcar. Do you, Watch?”

  “Benny!” exclaimed Jessie. ‘That’s it!”

  “What?” said Benny.

  “That’s the key to the mystery!” said Jessie. She threw out her hands excitedly and almost dropped her bike.

  “Whoa,” said Henry, catching Jessie’s bicycle before it fell over.

  “Mr. Chessy couldn’t have taken the boxcar because of Watch. He’s too allergic to dogs to even let Watch near him. Remember how he had to jump out of the boxcar the day he visited it, because Watch was inside?’

  “And he was sneezing then, too,” Benny said.

  “How does that help solve the mystery?” Henry asked.

  “Well, when Watch saw Becky, he didn’t like her. And she didn’t like him. Remember what she said. ‘I hate that nasty dog. He’s barking at me again!’ ” Jessie went on. “But how did she know she didn’t like ‘that dog’? And how could Watch be barking at her ‘again’ if Becky and Watch had never met each other? At least, not when we were with Watch.”

  Violet said slowly, “But Becky acted as if she knew Watch. And Watch acted as if he knew Becky.”

  “And when we saw Becky, she said, ‘I want to go play in my new playhouse.’ Why did she say that about her new playhouse when she saw us?” asked Henry.

  Everyone thought a moment. Henry continued, “She wanted our boxcar for her playhouse, remember? That’s why seeing us reminded her of her playhouse . . . because our boxcar is her new playhouse!”

  The Aldens all looked at one another. Then Jessie said, “And Watch was inside when she got it. That’s why Watch doesn’t like Becky. And why Becky doesn’t like Watch!”

  “But how could a little girl take a boxcar?” wondered Violet.

  “I don’t know, Violet. But we’re going to find out where Becky
Jennings lives. And I think when we do, we’re going to find our boxcar!”

  The Aldens looked up the name “Jennings” in the phone book the moment they got home.

  “There,” said Violet, pointing. “Harold Jennings on Mansion Road. That woman who was talking about Becky and her father the first time we met Becky said that’s where the Jennings lived.”

  The Aldens left their house quickly. As they did, Jessie stopped to grab the photograph from the newspaper article that was stuck to the refrigerator. Then the Boxcar Children and Watch raced toward Becky Jennings’ house.

  When they got near Mansion Road, Watch suddenly barked and pulled ahead. He turned between two huge, open gates set in a high wall, and pulled Jessie with him before she could even see the street number on the wall by the gate.

  “I think Watch knows the way,” she called.

  “He sure does,” said Henry, following Jessie. The Aldens rode their bicycles down the long, long driveway and stopped.

  The house was indeed a mansion. It was three stories tall and seemed even taller. As they stood there, the door opened. A tall man with a round stomach looked down his nose at the children. It was the butler.

  Before the butler could say anything, Jessie said, “We’ve come to talk to Becky, please.”

  “One moment, please,” said the butler. Soon he returned, looking surprised. “Miss Becky and her father are in the back play area,” he said. “I will arrange for someone to take you to them.” He raised his hand slightly, and a gardener who had been working in a nearby flowerbed stood up.

  “Please take these people and their, er, dog, to Miss Becky,” said the butler. “You can go around the side of the house.”

  The gardener nodded and smiled. She led the children around the side of the house — which was a very long walk — and stopped and pointed. “There she is, over there,” said the gardener. “With her father.” The gardener left.

  But the Aldens didn’t go to say hello to Becky right away. They just stopped and stared.

  And stared.

  Because their boxcar was standing right in the middle of the backyard of the mansion.

  Benny spoke first. “Our boxcar!” he shouted and ran toward it, holding Watch’s leash. The others hurried after him.

  As they got closer, Mr. Jennings stood up. “Look, Becky. Here are your friends coming to visit you,” he said.

  Becky looked up, too. And she began to scream. She threw her arms around her father’s leg. “Go away!” she shouted.

  “Becky!” said Mr. Jennings.

  “That’s our boxcar!” said Benny.

  Becky buried her face against her father’s leg and began to cry loudly.

  But her father ignored her. He bent slightly toward Benny. “What are you talking about, son?” he asked.

  “Our boxcar! That’s our boxcar!” said Benny.

  “See?” said Jessie, stepping up beside Benny and holding out the newspaper clipping.

  “Hush, Becky,” said Mr. Jennings, stroking his daughter’s head with one hand. With the other he held the newspaper clipping and read it.

  “Someone stole our boxcar,” said Henry. Then the four Aldens told Mr. Jennings what had happened.

  Mr. Jennings handed the newspaper clipping back to Jessie. She folded it carefully and put it in her pocket.

  “Well, this boxcar is not stolen, I paid for it. However, I did buy it right after yours disappeared. I was out of town so I didn’t see the newspaper article,” he said. “But that doesn’t prove that it is your boxcar.”

  “Did this boxcar have a table with a blue tablecloth inside? And a cracked pink cup?” asked Violet.

  “No!” cried Becky furiously.

  “Yes,” said Mr. Jennings. “Everything is still in there . . . we haven’t started redecorating it yet. But how did you know about those things?”

  “Because those were the things in our boxcar,” said Violet simply.

  Suddenly Watch, who had been very good, barked.

  “No!” screamed Becky. “Mean, nasty dog. I don’t like that dog!”

  Mr. Jennings’ eyes widened. He hadn’t noticed Watch before. “Why, that’s the dog that jumped out of the boxcar when Mr. Winters opened the door for Becky.”

  “Mr. Winters!” gasped Henry.

  “He said it was his dog,” Mr. Jennings went on. “He said the dog had just come along for the ride. But the dog barked at him and at Becky and then ran away.”

  “No,” said Benny firmly. “Watch is our dog. Mr. Winters was not telling the truth!”

  “Mr. Winters,” repeated Henry. “A short man who was going bald?”

  “Sounds like him. I didn’t like him much, especially after the dog he said was his ran away. Now I see why. And I see that this is your boxcar.”

  “Mr. Winters tried to buy it from us. He said he wanted it for Senator Teacher’s whistle-stop campaign,” said Jessie. “He said he worked for Senator Teacher. But when we talked to her, she’d never heard of our boxcar. She told us she had fired Mr. Winters.”

  “I wonder how he knew that Becky wanted our boxcar?” Henry said.

  Mr. Jennings frowned. “I don’t know. How strange.” Then he stopped frowning. “But we can soon find out. Mr. Winters is supposed to come by this afternoon to get the rest of the payment for the boxcar. I told him I wouldn’t pay him all at once until I was sure that we were satisfied with it.”

  “My playhouse,” wailed Becky miserably.

  Mr. Jennings bent down and picked his daughter up. “Now, now, Becky. You don’t want a stolen playhouse, do you? You couldn’t be happy in a playhouse that belongs to someone else. We’ll get you a new one.” Becky stared at her father. Then she nodded slowly and put her head against his shoulder.

  Smiling and looking a little relieved, Mr. Jennings said, “Why don’t you come into the house for milk and cookies until Mr. Winters gets here?”

  “And then we will have a big surprise for Mr. Winters,” said Jessie. “A very big surprise!”

  “Shhh,” whispered Henry. “I hear voices.” The Aldens had had milk and cookies with Mr. Jennings, Becky, and Martha. Then Becky had gone with Martha to take a nap while the Aldens went back outside. Now they were sitting inside their boxcar behind the almostclosed door.

  “. . . not entirely satisfied with this boxcar,” they heard Mr. Jennings say.

  Mr. Winters’ voice said nervously, “Why? It’s in very good condition. I fixed it up myself.”

  “No, he didn’t,” whispered Benny, outraged. “We did!”

  “It’s not the condition of the boxcar,” said Mr. Jennings. “It’s what I found inside!” With that he pulled the door of the boxcar open and the Aldens jumped out!

  Mr. Winters took a step back. “No!” he cried in amazement. “It can’t be you!”

  “But it is,” said Henry. “You stole our boxcar and we can prove it!”

  “I didn’t,” said Mr. Winters. “Honestly I didn’t.”

  “Then how do you explain having a boxcar that belongs to these children?” asked Mr. Jennings.

  “And how do you explain telling Mr. Jennings that our dog Watch was your dog?” demanded Jessie.

  Mr. Winters rubbed his hands together nervously. He licked his lips. His eyes darted from side to side. He looked over his shoulder as if he wanted to run away, so Henry grabbed his arm firmly.

  “Well?” asked Jessie.

  At last Mr. Winters spoke. “Okay, okay, I took your old boxcar. I needed the money, see? I was desperate. I’d just lost my job — ”

  “We know about that,” said Henry. “You were fired for being dishonest!”

  Mr. Winters pretended not to notice what Henry had said. He went on, “And I remembered hearing the little girl scream in the street that day that she wanted your boxcar. I happened to be passing by on my way back to the office. I heard her, and that’s how I found out about your boxcar. I didn’t read about it in the paper.”

  Mr. Winters sighed. “Even then, I knew
that the senator didn’t think I was doing a good job. I thought if I could get the boxcar, she’d change her mind. But I didn’t get the boxcar and then she fired me anyway.”

  “That’s not our fault,” said Jessie indignantly.

  Again Mr. Winters pretended not to hear. “When I got fired, I remembered that someone else wanted your boxcar. Someone who could afford to pay me a lot of money for it. So I thought, Why not take it? You didn’t need it. And I needed the money.”

  “You stole our boxcar!” cried Benny.

  “I came in the night with a truck that I rented. The dog was inside and began to bark so I slammed the door shut. I couldn’t let him out. He would have given me away. I hooked the boxcar to the truck and hauled it away. Then I brought it here, and sold it to Mr. Jennings.”

  Mr. Winters took a deep breath. “That’s all,” said Mr. Winters. “That’s the whole story.”

  Mr. Jennings looked at the Aldens. “I will arrange to have your boxcar, and all your belongings that were in it, moved back to your home immediately,” he said. “What do you want me to do about Mr. Winters?”

  “I think you should call the police,” said Henry. “He stole our dog and our boxcar.”

  “But it wasn’t my fault,” said Mr. Winters. “It was Senator Teacher’s fault for firing me.”

  “It was not!” said Violet firmly.

  Mr. Jennings said, “I’ll see to it that the police take care of Mr. Winters . . . but first, let’s see about getting your boxcar safely home!”

  “Hooray!” cried Benny. “Hooray! Our boxcar is going home!”

  CHAPTER 10

  The Parade

  Smile!” said Grandfather Alden. He held up his camera and took a picture of Henry, Jessie, Violet, Benny, Soo Lee, and Watch sitting in the open door of their boxcar. The children wore blue workshirts under their overalls. They were wearing engineer’s caps and had red bandannas tied around their necks. Watch had a red bandanna tied around his neck, too.

  The boxcar had come safely home. And so, early on the morning of the Founders’ Day Parade, Grandfather had hitched it to his big old truck and pulled it slowly into town. The parade would go right down Main Street where the old railroad track had once run.