Soccer Mystery

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by Charles Tang


  “Thank you,” said Gillian, sounding stunned. “We didn’t win very many games, though.”

  Coach Della smiled more broadly. “Winning isn’t the only thing — although it is important. Come to my office tomorrow morning at nine and we’ll work out the details.”

  “I’ll be there,” promised Gillian.

  Coach Della nodded and walked back across the field.

  “Hooray!” shouted Henry. “Hooray for Gillian!”

  “Yes. You are a real winner,” said Jessie.

  “When I grow up,” said Benny, “I’m going to go to the university and play soccer for you, Gillian.”

  “Me, too,” said Elena.

  “Me, too,” said Violet.

  Then the Panthers gave their coach a victory cheer. It had been a winning season after all.

  “Hurry,” urged Benny. “Or someone will get our seats.”

  He jumped out of the car and pointed toward the university stadium.

  “It’s okay, Benny,” said Violet, catching Benny’s hand. “The tickets Gillian gave us are special seats. No one else can sit in them.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Benny.

  “Yes,” said Grandfather Alden with a laugh. “We’re sure.”

  “Hello,” someone called.

  The Aldens turned.

  “It’s Stan and Robert,” said Soo Lee.

  Sure enough, the brothers were walking across the stadium parking lot toward them.

  “What are you doing here?” Jessie asked.

  Stan said, “We came to watch the university’s first soccer game of the new season. I’m glad we ran into you. Robert and I both have something to say to you.” Stan put his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder.

  Clearing his throat, Robert said, “I’m sorry about what I did. It was wrong. And you were right, it was cheating and being a bad sport.”

  “And I was wrong, too,” said Stan. “Robert learned his win-at-all-costs attitude from me. I didn’t realize how bad I had gotten until this happened. And until I lost that coaching job.”

  Henry held out his hand. He and Robert shook hands. Then all the Aldens shook hands with Robert and Stan.

  “The game will be starting soon. We’d better get into the stadium,” said Grandfather.

  “Just one other thing,” said Stan. “Craig got a job coaching at the university, too.”

  “Oh, I’m glad,” said Jessie. “He’s a good coach.”

  “And,” Stan went on, “I’ve been asked to organize the Greenfield Community Center Summer Soccer League again next summer. It’s going to be a league for everyone — all players. I want to make sure you’ll join.”

  “Yes!” said Benny.

  “Thank you,” said Jessie. “We’ll be there.”

  Then they all hurried into the stadium.

  “There’s Gillian!” said Violet as they sat down.

  “Do you think she’s nervous?” asked Soo Lee.

  “I’m sure she is,” said Henry. “But that’s okay. She’ll do a good job anyway.”

  “I’m still nervous before a soccer game,” said Benny to his grandfather. “But it’s not as bad. I’m getting better all the time. When I go to the university to play soccer for Gillian, I’ll hardly be nervous at all.”

  The players went out onto the field. The referee blew the whistle and the game began.

  Benny leaned over to his grandfather. “And don’t worry,” he told him. “If you don’t understand anything about the game, just ask me!”

  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 ST
AR 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

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. 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 © 1997 by Albert Whitman & Company

  978-1-4532-1393-3

  This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

  180 Varick Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

 

 

 


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