The Boxcar Children Mysteries Box Set

by Gertrude Warner

  Henry smiled. He said, “Yes, I guess four of us will be enough. We’ll tell you later what she says.”

  Just then a loud whistle sounded. It whistled and whistled.

  “That’s for us!” cried Marie. “It’s the sardine factory! A school of sardines has come in. Sardines have to be canned quick. We have to go. Please don’t forget our school.”

  “No, we won’t!” called Benny.

  As they climbed down, Henry said to Jessie, “Remember my friend Larry in Adams College? He is going to live in a city this summer and help boys who live in a poor neighborhood catch up in school. Then they won’t be drop-outs. And here we are on an island, doing about the same thing.”

  “I think it’s an exciting idea,” said Violet. “We didn’t think we would be schoolteachers this summer, did we?”

  “That’s the last thing I thought of,” said Henry. “Just look at everybody going to work.”

  Indeed somebody came out of every house. Sometimes there were three or four people from one house. They all hurried down to the factory.

  “Well, well,” said Jessie. “We have made friends at last.”

  “We made two, anyway,” said Benny.

  By that time Marie and Hal were almost out of sight.

  CHAPTER 4

  A Woman of Few Words

  Here we go, up to a strange mansion to see a strange lady,” said Benny.

  “Right!” said Henry. “I’m sure it’s all right to ring a doorbell, even if we don’t get in.”

  The four Aldens started along the beach, past the factory, and up the high cliff walk. They could see the mansion above them. It was a large square house, painted white. There was a square room on top that looked out to sea.

  The Aldens climbed the steps to the front door and rang the bell. They could hear it ringing inside.

  After a few minutes they heard someone coming very slowly. The door opened to show a tall, thin woman with straight gray hair. She did not smile. She just stood there.

  Jessie began, “Miss Gray, I hope you will forgive us for coming to see you. But we are staying here for a while, and we want to ask you a favor.”

  Elizabeth Gray’s eyes went sharply from one to another. Still she did not smile. Then she said shortly, “Come in.” She stood aside for them to pass. “Go straight ahead,” she said.

  Benny thought, “Not a very warm welcome! Maybe we won’t get that schoolhouse after all.”

  None of the Aldens knew that they were the first real callers Miss Gray had had for many years.

  They all sat down. Miss Gray did not say a word. Henry found it hard to begin, but he knew he must say something. He began, “This is a funny question, Miss Gray. You see, we had no idea we would do this. But some of the children in Port Elizabeth want to go to school this summer to learn more. They asked us to help them. Maybe you think that is a queer idea.”

  “No,” said Miss Gray, “I don’t.”

  That was all she said. Still no smile.

  Benny could not stand this. He said, “We came to ask you if we could use your schoolhouse. It’s a wonderful schoolhouse! It has a big bell and everything. I’d be the one to ring the bell. Could we use it, do you think?”

  “What would you do with it?”

  Jessie answered this. She said, “We’d have a real school every morning, but we wouldn’t use the schoolhouse at all in the afternoon.”

  Violet added, “We’d be very careful of it. We’d keep it clean, too.”

  “We’d always remember to lock the door,” said Benny.

  “No reason why you can’t have it,” said Miss Gray. “Certainly these children have never learned much.”

  “You are very kind,” said Jessie. “We are strangers, and we have asked for a lot. I know that you are interested in the children. Everyone says so.”

  “Humph!” said Miss Gray.

  Jessie went on, “We haven’t told our grandfather yet. But I’m sure he will think this school is a good idea.”

  Benny laughed. He said, “Grandfather will think it is funny, though. Me teaching school!”

  The sharp voice said, “What are you going to teach, boy?”

  “Well, I don’t know,” said Benny. “Maybe I could teach them about the moon.”

  Miss Gray looked at Henry and said, “I’m sure they don’t know much about the moon.”

  Benny said, “We didn’t expect to teach school. We came up here to find a mystery.”

  “What? A mystery?” said Miss Gray. “Why?”

  “Because my friend Max said we couldn’t,” said Benny. “He said this island was dull, and we couldn’t have any adventure here.”

  Miss Gray said nothing. The Aldens had never met anyone before who talked so little and never smiled.

  “Maybe we’d better go now,” said Violet softly.

  Miss Gray went stiffly over to a desk and took out two keys. “Back door, front door,” she said. “They are marked.” She gave the keys to Henry.

  “We won’t lose them,” said Jessie. “We’ll give them back to you when we go home.”

  “Give me your names,” said Miss Gray. She picked up a small notebook from the table. Then the Aldens saw that a new book was lying on the table. The name of the book was The Woman Who Talked Too Much, by E. Gray.

  They all thought E. Gray is Elizabeth Gray! She wrote that book. But she certainly doesn’t talk much herself! But nobody dared to ask her any questions.

  Jessie gave her the names.

  “Your grandfather’s name?”

  Henry said, “He is James Henry Alden, and I’m Henry James Alden. We live in Greenfield.”

  Miss Gray had heard of the Alden Library in one town and the Alden Museum in another. But she did not say so.

  Benny said, “Oh, Grandfather’s wonderful! He’s the best man you ever saw. We’ll go and tell him right now that you are letting us use your schoolhouse.”

  The others wanted to go, so they were glad Benny had started toward the door. When they stood on the step they all said, “Goodbye! And thank you!”

  Miss Gray did not say goodbye. Instead she called suddenly, “Did you ever see a blond-haired man anywhere who smiles and shows his teeth all the time?”

  “No, I’m sorry,” began Henry.

  “Don’t be sorry,” said Miss Gray sharply and shut the door.

  “Well, what do you know!” said Benny, in a very low voice. “What does she mean by that?”

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “But keep your eyes open, Ben. Miss Gray doesn’t ask questions for nothing.”

  The Aldens said no more until they were on the beach.

  Then Benny said, “I don’t think Miss Gray is really polite, but I suppose that’s her way.”

  “We knew she was different,” said Jessie. “That’s why she lives all alone and never goes out. Maybe she doesn’t like people.”

  Henry said, “We know she’s a writer. Maybe she has to be alone. In a way I thought she liked the idea of the school, even if she didn’t say so.”

  “Anyway, she gave us the schoolhouse,” said Benny. “And that’s why we went up there.”

  Then they walked as fast as they could to find Mr. Alden.

  “Oh, Grandfather!” cried Benny when he saw a figure sitting in the sun by the hotel. “Please let us go to Northport this afternoon and buy paints and school things. We’re going to teach school!”

  “Teach school!” said Grandfather.

  The young people tried not to talk all at once.

  “We went up to ask Miss Gray—” began Benny.

  “Oh, you did? I thought she didn’t like visitors.”

  “Well, that’s right, she doesn’t. That’s sure! But she gave us everything we asked for.”

  “Bless my soul! What did you ask for? From a perfect stranger!”

  Henry looked straight at his grandfather and said, “It turned out very well, Grandfather. You see the red-haired twins asked us if we would help them with schoolwork. Just to catch up, you
know. They said every child on the island would come. So that’s why we wanted the schoolhouse.”

  “And she gave it to you?” asked Mr. Alden, laughing.

  “Well, yes,” said Jessie. “She doesn’t talk much. But she must have liked the idea, really. She gave us the keys.”

  “She gave us a rough time, too,” said Benny.

  “Hard to talk to?” asked Mr. Alden.

  “Very!” said Henry.

  Benny said suddenly, “I’d like to forget Miss Gray. She is no fun at all. I’d rather think about our school. I’m going to ring that bell. And I’ll ring it for recess, too.”

  Grandfather nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I know how you feel, Benny. I never saw a bell rope myself without wanting to pull it.” But he could see that his grandchildren had not received a very warm welcome from Miss Gray. He decided to talk with Henry later, when they were alone.

  Violet said, “Grandfather, we think Marie and Hal Moss can paint. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they really could paint well?”

  “Yes, my dear, it is a great thing to discover an artist. This school idea is a surprise to me, but it’s fine. I never know what you will think of next!”

  Henry said, “We thought we could go over to Northport and buy some paints and school things.”

  Mr. Alden laughed. “Yes,” he said, “you can take the car. And maybe you will take me, too.”

  Everyone laughed at this. They always had a better time when Mr. Alden came along.

  Thirty miles seemed a long drive because they wanted to get there and buy the things. They went first to a store to buy paints.

  “Better get enough to go around,” said Mr. Alden. “Give them a bit of fun. It isn’t much fun with two sharing a paintbox.”

  In the end they bought ten boxes of paints. The older children could each have a box. They bought colored paper, small scissors, gold stars for Benny, and a stapler.

  Jessie said, “Marie told us that there is plenty of chalk in the schoolroom closet. And there are pencils and paper left from last year, and some school books.”

  “Well,” said Grandfather, “if you forget anything, we can come again. Let’s eat supper at this little restaurant. It seems to be called the Sea Shell.”

  The Aldens noticed a bright red sports car parked in the yard. The top was down. “That car looks strange up here in such a quiet town,” said Henry.

  “It looks as if it goes fast,” said Benny.

  As they went into the Sea Shell a man with blond hair came out. He smiled at the Aldens and showed all his teeth. He said, “Hi, there!” although he was a perfect stranger. They watched him as he started the red car. Off he went like the wind.

  “I told you that car could go fast,” said Benny. “And wait! That man had blond hair, all right, and he smiled and showed all his teeth. There can’t be two men like him! Just what Miss Gray said.”

  CHAPTER 5

  The Money Man

  When the Aldens drove back to the island they saw Hal and Marie waving to them from the beach. Marie shouted, “Please come over!”

  “You go on,” said Grandfather. “You don’t need me.”

  The four Aldens ran down to the beach.

  Hal said, “Guess who is coming to the island! The Money Man!”

  Benny said, “The Money Man? Now who is that?”

  Marie said, “Oh, he’s a wonderful man who buys money. Pa had a quarter, and the Money Man gave him ten dollars for it.”

  “Whew, that’s a lot of money!” said Benny. “How do you know he is coming again?”

  “Somebody saw him in Northport and told Mr. Fenton,” said Hal.

  “Does he have blond hair?” asked Benny.

  “Yes, he does, and white teeth,” said Hal. “He has a big smile. He smiles at everybody.”

  “There you are, Jessie,” said Henry with a nod.

  Jessie said, “Yes, Mr. Fenton was right. You couldn’t miss that man.”

  Marie said, “My pa says we ought to help you clean up the school. After all, it’s for us. The big boys can help carry water, and there are more children to help if you want them.”

  “Good!” said Henry. “Let me see. We do need help, but it’s too late to do anything now. Let’s clean the school tomorrow morning and begin school the next day. That’ll be Thursday.”

  “Funny day to begin school,” said Benny. “But what do we care? We bought some paints and things in Northport.”

  “Let’s meet at eight o’clock tomorrow morning at the school,” said Jessie. “Eight of us can do a lot of work.”

  As it turned out, there were more than eight. Several other children were waiting with Hal and Marie when the Aldens arrived the next morning.

  Henry unlocked the front door, and they all went in and looked around.

  “The room is dusty,” said Marie.

  It was an old-fashioned schoolroom. The desks and seats were fastened to the floor.

  “I’d like my children in the front row,” said Benny. “Your big children can sit in the back seats.”

  This was really the only way, because the front seats were small and the back seats were large.

  Henry set everyone to work. The children took the books off the shelves and washed the shelves. Every book was dusted and set back. The children were delighted with their own work. The biggest boys washed the seats and desks. The teacher’s desk was washed, and a new pink blotter put in the middle.

  “Will somebody bring flowers for this desk tomorrow?” asked Jessie.

  “Oh, I will!” cried a child named Isabelle. “We have a big vine of pink roses all over our roof.”

  There was a wood stove in the back of the room and a woodbox. Hal wiped off the stove. Then he said, “How about the woodbox? It looks all right to me.”

  Henry agreed. “Just brush off the top. We certainly won’t have a fire. Leave the wood for winter.”

  A little later Benny was standing still, looking at a big picture on the wall. It hung in the front of the room where the big chimney was. He said, “Look at this picture of George Washington. White wig and hair ribbon and all! What can we do about that? It looks dark and dirty.”

  The painting showed the first President in his old-fashioned costume, standing beside a table.

  “You can’t clean that, Benny,” said Violet. “It would spoil it to wash it. And it’s too high, anyway.”

  “Just let it alone, huh?” said Benny. “I’m glad we don’t have to wear fancy clothes like that with all those buttons down the coat.”

  “So am I,” said Jimmy. “I’ve got to go home now, Mr. Benny.”

  “Don’t call me Mr. Benny. I’m not really a teacher. Why do you have to go home?”

  “I’ve got to find some old bottles out in the fish house,” said Jimmy. “The Money Man wants ’em. I’ve got to have them all ready.”

  “Yes,” agreed his sister. “He even wants an old olive bottle! I’ve found that already. It says Queen Olives, 1875, on it. Ma says her ma must have bought it. Isn’t he a funny man? To want an old dusty bottle almost a hundred years old?” Then she added quickly, “But he’s wonderful just the same.”

  All the children were listening now. They nodded their heads. An older boy named Jeffrey Frost said, “My pa and ma have been waiting for the Money Man to come. He told them to find all the funny old things they could. He likes ’em! Ma found an old glass pitcher and a whale’s tooth with pictures on it.”

  Henry said, “Jeffrey, do you know where that whale’s tooth came from?”

  “Oh, yes, my great uncle made the pictures when he sailed on an old whaling ship. That tooth is so heavy you wouldn’t believe it!”

  Jessie said, “Well, we’ve finished our work here, anyway. We’ll all go home now and start school tomorrow.”

  “What time does school begin?” asked Jeffrey.

  “Nine o’clock,” said Henry. “You’ll hear the bell.”

  “I’m going to ring the bell,” added Benny.

  “Tha
t’s lots of fun,” said Jimmy.

  “Maybe you can be the bell ringer later,” said Benny. “Tell all the other children, won’t you?”

  “Tell them?” said Marie, laughing. “Most of the children are here now. The rest will know just as soon as we get home.”

  “No school in the afternoon?” asked Jeffrey.

  “No, I’m sorry,” said Henry. “You ought to help at home.”

  “I suppose so,” said Marie. Then her face lighted up and she said, “I’m going to clean up my room just like this schoolroom. My sister will help me. She sleeps there, too.”

  The schoolroom was indeed clean. Henry locked the door, and the children ran off in all directions.

  The Aldens found Grandfather waiting for lunch.

  When they were sitting down at the table, Henry said, “We are worried, Grandfather, about the Money Man. I’m afraid he is cheating everyone on the island.”

  “I’m sure he is,” said Jessie. “You see, he paid ten dollars for an old quarter. That made them all trust him. But who knows? That quarter may be worth a hundred dollars.”

  “Or a thousand!” said Benny. “You see, Grandfather, there really is a mystery here. I don’t think the Money Man is as wonderful as he seems.”

  Grandfather smiled. “Well, Benny,” he said, “I’m sure you will keep your eyes open. If this man goes too far, we’ll try to stop him. But I agree with you. He isn’t wonderful at all!”

  CHAPTER 6

  Mystery Painting

  It was a wonderful moment when Benny rang the school bell. Dingdong! Dingdong! Everyone on the island heard it and smiled. Benny did not really need to ring the bell at all—because every child was already in the school yard.

  The girls and boys rushed in. They could hardly wait to see what was going to happen. They had no idea what their four young teachers would do.

  “Here’s my seat,” cried Isabelle. “I sat here last year. And here are the pink roses.”

  All of Benny’s class rushed up to the small front seats. The big boys and girls sat down in the back seats. And the middle-sized ones sat in the middle. There were twenty children when Benny counted them.