The police arrived twenty minutes later. “We’re going to need you to write out a full confession,” one of the police officers told Mike as he led him outside to the waiting car.
“I will,” Mike said. “And I want to do all I can to get Seymour’s things.”
“The more you cooperate in this investigation, the lighter your sentence will be,” the officer said.
That evening, the old black phone in the living room rang three times before Benny rushed to answer it.
“It’s for you, Seymour,” Benny called. “It’s the police.”
Benny waited by the phone hoping to hear some news, but the person on the other end of the line was doing most of the talking. “Yes. Yes,” Seymour was saying. “Good. Good. Really. Yes. Okay. Thank you.”
Benny hopped on one foot, then the other. “What did they say?” he asked after Seymour hung up the phone.
“Well, thanks to Mike’s help, the police caught up with Blake Ambrose just outside of Boston. He’s wanted in five other states for burglary — all antiques. He’s the one who did all the robberies in Chassell.”
“Wow,” said Benny.
“Are you getting your things back?” Jessie asked as she came into the kitchen, followed by Henry, Violet, Grandfather, Rose, Veronica, Martin, and Jeff.
“Yes. The police are working on that. Apparently my sword and helmet were in Blake’s car, so I can have those right away. It may take longer to get the stamp collection and letters, but the police know where they are. And if the dealer has sold them, he’s kept records. In time, I’m sure I’ll get everything back.”
“Thank goodness,” Grandfather said.
“What’s going to happen to Mike?” Benny wanted to know.
“Since it’s his first offense and he cooperated with the police, he won’t have to go to jail,” Seymour said. “But he may have to do lots of community service.”
Jeff shook his head. “I had no idea Mike was under so much financial pressure. He has been looking worried lately, but he keeps everything to himself, so it’s hard to know what’s really going on with him.”
“If we’d known Mike was so desperate, we would have lent him money,” Rose said. “We still can.”
“I’m planning to,” Seymour said.
“That’s kind of you,” Jeff said.
“What a story,” Veronica commented, shaking her head. “Who would have thought all this was happening in this sleepy old orchard?”
“Veronica,” Jessie said, “how did you know Blake Ambrose?”
“Oh, I didn’t know him very well,” Veronica said. “I used to see him in the library when I was there getting books for my history paper on the Civil War.”
“Did he offer to help you with your research?” Henry asked.
“Yes,” Veronica said, laughing. “I remember once he seemed kind of mad because I was taking out some books he said he needed. He sure knew a lot about the Civil War. He told me he was an expert on military history.”
“That’s probably how he knew so much about my sword and armor collection,” Seymour remarked. “It is a relief to have this mystery solved.”
“Well, one mystery is solved,” Benny said. “But I still want to find out about Joshua’s ghost.”
Veronica rolled her eyes, but everyone else laughed.
The next three nights, Benny walked out to the orchard, sometimes alone, sometimes with Henry, Violet, or Jessie. Each night he heard a long, low boo. On the third night, Jessie convinced him it was really an owl when her flashlight spotlighted the bird in the tree.
“But what about that hissing sound Violet and I heard?” Benny asked.
“It could have been a snake,” Jessie said. “But I bet it was the sound of leaves rustling.”
“That’s what Violet said.” Benny sounded extremely discouraged. “You don’t really think there’s a ghost, do you?”
“No, I don’t,” Jessie answered.
Benny looked so crushed that Jessie put her arms around him.
The following morning, it rained. “Why don’t we go to the shed to explore that buggy,” Jessie suggested.
“Sure,” Benny said. “I’ll go.”
“Be my guests,” Seymour said, chuckling. “Let me know if you find anything interesting.”
“There’s tons of cool stuff in this buggy,” Benny said as he looked through a box that held some old spinning tops, marbles, and a set of wooden blocks with letters and drawings carved into them.
“I bet those blocks are handmade,” Jessie said. “Someone must have carved them for his children.”
“Do you really think so?” Benny held up a block with the letter D carved on one side, and a dog on the other.
“It would have been a great way to teach a little kid the alphabet,” Henry remarked. He sat inside the buggy poring over some old letters he had seen in one of the wooden chests.
Jessie and Violet were beside the buggy, carefully trying on old hats and petticoats they had found in the steamer trunk.
Benny blew dust off a marble and then dropped it. It fell inside the buggy. As he bent down to look for it, he noticed a long leather bag near his feet. Part of the bag was under a wooden box. Benny moved the box out of the way so he could pick up the bag.
Henry looked up from his reading. “That’s a saddlebag,” he told Benny. “People used to put them across a horse’s shoulders in front of the saddle while riding, to carry stuff.”
“Neat,” said Benny. “Let’s see what’s in it.” Benny pulled out a newspaper, very yellowed with age, that practically crumbled to pieces as he set it down. Then he took out an old seed catalog, and finally a letter in a long white envelope. The letter was addressed to Mr. Gideon Curtis!
“This letter has never been opened,” Benny said. “Should we read it?”
“Maybe we should let Seymour open it,” Henry suggested. “It’s addressed to his ancestor.”
“Look, it’s got a Virginia postmark,” Jessie said, looking over Benny’s shoulder. The feathers in her hat tickled his nose.
“Aaa-choo!”
“A Virginia postmark,” Henry said, reaching for the letter. “Maybe it’s from Joshua!”
The Aldens lost no time finding Seymour. He was sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of coffee with Grandfather and Rose.
“I never knew there was a saddlebag in that buggy,” Seymour said as he opened the letter, which was written in ink. “It is from Joshua!”
“What does it say?” Benny was so impatient, he was hopping up and down.
Seymour cleared his throat and began reading:
Virginia
18 November 1865
Dear Cousin,
It has now been eight years since I last saw you. I have not written because I was still very angry we could never come to an agreement about your father’s sword & armor collection, & then the War began. I left your house in a huff, & it has taken me years to stop being so angry. I regret the time we’ve lost, when we once so enjoyed each other’s company, but so be it. I am writing now to tell you I plan to leave the country. The War has left my house and land in ruins & there is nothing left for me here. I plan to go abroad & hope to settle in Australia.
Cousin, as I will probably never see you again, I write to wish you well. Love to Sybil, Theodore, and Alice.
Faithfully yours,
“My goodness. And this letter has been in the barn all the time! Gideon never opened it. He must have picked up his mail on horseback one time, put it in his saddlebag, and then forgot about it,” Rose suggested.
“It’s strange he would have forgotten a letter from Joshua,” Seymour said. “Maybe he wasn’t the one who picked up the mail.”
“He never knew his cousin had forgiven him,” Violet said.
“Australia. No wonder no one ever heard from him.” Seymour couldn’t believe it.
“I guess that means Joshua was never really a ghost,” Benny said sadly.
“I’m afraid not, Benny.�
�� Seymour shook his head.
“Maybe the ghost isn’t really Joshua?” Violet teased.
Benny perked up. “I never thought of that.”
Everyone laughed.
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 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
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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 © 1998 by Albert Whitman & Company
978-1-4532-1416-9
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