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The Mystery of the Star Ruby

Page 6

by Gertrude Chandler Warner


  “Who did run away?” Cecil Knight pursued.

  “The person who stole the ruby,” said Jessie. “We found the ruby buried in the dump pile.”

  Grandfather looked confused. “A valuable stone buried in a pile of dirt? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “It’s the perfect place,” said Henry. “Who would think of looking in the dump pile? But the thief got nervous and checked on it one night. When we went down there, the thief ran away.”

  Cecil Knight sat down at his desk. “Why would anyone be so dishonest?”

  “Some people here are very interested in getting a star ruby for their collection,” Grandfather put in, looking at Sybil.

  “You don’t think it was me?” Sybil asked, shocked. “Yes, I’d love a star ruby. But I wouldn’t steal one! I felt bad enough kicking over the children’s bucket the other day.”

  “So that wasn’t on purpose,” said Violet. “We thought you took Jessie’s backpack at first, too,” she added. “We found a scrap of white shirt material at the creek the day it was taken. And the day I found my Mama Bear ruby, you left the gem line in a hurry. At lunch later, you seemed very interested in my pack, which looks just like Jessie’s.”

  “I can explain,” said Sybil. “I had forgotten to take my medication and I remembered while I was in line. I went back to my cabin to take it. But I don’t understand about your pack. I thought Jessie’s pack was taken.”

  “It was,” Jessie explained. “Mine looks just like Violet’s.”

  “All this talk of rubies and backpacks!” Donald said scornfully. “What does this have to do with the robbery?”

  “Because,” said Henry, “the thief was interested in winning the contest.”

  “And who was it?” Cecil Knight demanded. “Who is the thief?”

  Jessie produced the warning note. “The same person who wrote this. Donald Hodge.”

  Everyone sat stunned.

  Then Donald’s face turned a deep red. “How dare you accuse me! Anyone could have written that. What real proof do you have?”

  “This.” Henry pulled out the black velvet bag. “This is your Papa Bear ruby. We found it in the Laundromat. Jessie, let me have the star ruby again.”

  Jessie handed him the star ruby. Henry scratched the star ruby across Donald’s ruby.

  “Our ruby leaves a mark!” Benny said. “That means Donald’s ruby isn’t a ruby at all!”

  Mr. Knight was amazed. “You were going to enter a fake ruby in the contest? That would never work.”

  “Donald must have known that,” said Henry. “What I don’t know is why he did it.”

  Donald shoved his hands in his pockets and glowered.

  Benny stared at him. The way Donald was standing reminded him of something …

  He went over to the wall and looked at the picture of the two boys standing by the waterwheel. The taller boy had his hands jammed in his pockets and was frowning into the camera.

  “Look,” Benny said, pointing to the photograph. “Donald looks just like the boy in this picture, the way he’s standing.”

  Cecil Knight took the photograph off the wall. Then he looked carefully at Donald. “It is you!”

  “Who?” asked Jonathan, puzzled.

  “Mr. Knight’s cousin,” Benny said matter-of-factly. “He’s the cousin who came to visit once.”

  “Cousin Don,” Mr. Knight said. “I haven’t seen you since you came with Uncle Josh and Aunt Cathy, forty years ago. So that’s why you’re always wearing sunglasses—you thought I’d recognize you. What are you doing here?”

  “These kids think they’re so smart,” Donald sneered. “Why don’t they tell you?”

  “We can guess,” said Henry. “You want Ruby Hollow.”

  “That’s exactly it,” Donald confessed angrily. “The mine should belong to me. My father said we got cheated. So I decided to come back and make trouble. I tried to make people think you run a dishonest operation.”

  “You took my backpack and returned it so we would complain,” said Jessie. “But you ripped your shirt that day. We matched the scrap to the shirt you left in the Laundromat.”

  “You did things like complain about the buckets being salted,” said Violet. “When Jessie found the star ruby, you took it. If everyone knew there was a thief here, they might leave. But we never reported the robbery.”

  “If you’re such clever detectives,” Donald said, “what else have you figured out?”

  Henry had noticed something on the wall, too.

  “We saw you spying on us the day we went creekin’,” said Henry. “But you were really watching Mr. Knight, weren’t you? You were in his office that day. Is that when you read about a star ruby being found here in 1988?”

  “I was looking for Cecil’s account books,” Donald admitted. “I’d heard he was in debt.”

  “I was in debt a few years ago,” Cecil Knight said. “But my business is doing better now. This winter I’m going to fix up the cabins.” He shook his head. “I still don’t understand why you had that fake ruby.”

  “I was going to enter it in the contest, and when the judges called it a fake, I planned to tell everyone it came from one of the native-stone buckets you sold me,” Donald explained.

  “And then Jessie Alden found a star ruby that upset your plans,” Sybil figured. “So you stole her ruby.”

  “I wanted to take away anything else I could—like this resort.” Donald said.

  “Never!” Cecil Knight stated. “Ruby Hollow Mine belongs to me and always will. I suggest you leave immediately. For Aunt Cathy’s sake, I won’t press charges.”

  Donald left the room in a huff.

  “Thanks, kids,” Mr. Knight said to the Aldens. “Don could have caused a lot of damage if it hadn’t been for you.”

  “We’re just glad everything turned out okay,” said Jessie. “And if it’s all right with Grandfather, we’d like to sell the ruby to you, for your museum.”

  Violet took her gem box over to Jonathan.

  “I know this isn’t a star ruby,” she said. “It’s not even a Papa Bear ruby. But I’d like to give it to you for Carrie. I think it would make a pretty ring.”

  Jonathan smiled at her. “Your ruby will make a very special ring. Thank you very much. I’ll tell Carrie all about you Aldens.”

  Benny grinned. Another mystery solved!

  Maybe, he thought, we won’t have to dig for our next case!

  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 STAR 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 © 2001 by Albert Whitman & Company

  978-1-4532-2146-4

  This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

  180 Varick Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

 

 

 


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