“They’re in the tack room.” He opened the door to a small room across from Domino’s stall. “The brushes are drying outside, but most of the other supplies are in that cabinet.”
“May I look in the cabinet?” Violet asked.
Mr. Sanders nodded. Violet opened it and examined the containers and jars. She reached in and took out a jar full of black glittery gel.
Mr. Sanders took a step back in surprise. “I don’t know how that got in there. People use that on horses in parades and horse shows. We don’t have any need for that here.”
Violet pulled out two cans. “These say horse paint. There is one can of black and one can of red.”
“Isiah, did you put the paint there?” Mr. Sanders asked.
Isiah shook his head. The Aldens all looked at Brett.
Brett’s face turned red. “I did,” he admitted. “I’ve been dressing up as a headless horseman and borrowing Domino. I used the paint and the glitter to make him black and frightening.”
“Did you do all the other tricks too?” Henry asked. “The tube with the eyes in the woods?”
“Yes,” Brett said. “And I hurt my wrist yesterday when I was trying to climb the tree.”
“What about the fake worms and dirt in the cookie jar?” Jessie asked. “Did you do that too?”
He ducked his head. “I did that too. I’m very, very sorry.”
“Brett, how could you?” Mr. Beekman was shocked and angry.
“I wanted the Vanderhoffs to sell their house so we could buy it. I don’t always want to be a waiter.”
“That’s no excuse for all you’ve done,” Mr. Beekman said. “Mr. Sanders could call the police. You’ve been stealing his horse.”
Mr. Sanders sat down on a stool. “I can’t say I understand exactly what’s going on, but since the horse is back here in his stall, there’s no need to call the police. He doesn’t look like he’s been harmed.”
“Brett will pay you for the time he was riding him though, the regular rental fee.” Mr. Beekman said.
“Well, right now I need something more than money. I could use more help mucking out these stalls. Especially since Isiah will be spending more time in New York City.”
“I’ll see that he’s here whenever you need him.” Mr. Beekman turned to Annika. “And he’ll make it up to you too.”
Before Annika could answer, her cell phone rang. She answered, and when she hung up a few moments later, she was smiling. “I can hardly believe it. That was Margot. They’ve been getting calls at the office from people wanting to go on the haunted ghost tour they’ve heard about. People who want to be scared! I guess I’ll have to change my tours.”
“I can help,” Brett said. “I know that won’t make up for all the tricks I played, but it will be a start. I’m good at thinking up ways to scare people.”
“Yes, you are,” Violet and Benny said together. Everyone laughed.
“I don’t know.” Annika frowned. “You’ll have to stop being mean to Isiah.”
“I will, I promise. And I’ll think up tricks that not even the Aldens will be able to figure out.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Mrs. Vanderhoff said. “I suspect Sleepy Hollow wouldn’t be very spooky if the Aldens lived here. They’d solve all our hauntings and mysteries.”
“We’d be happy to try,” Jessie said.
Mr. Beekman looked at his watch. “Before the Aldens take on another mystery, I’d like you all to be my guests at the library dinner tonight. It’s starting soon. Mr. Sanders and Isiah too. The Alden detectives deserve a feast after all their hard work.”
“We did work hard, didn’t we?” Benny said. “I knew there was a reason I’m so hungry. Let’s go!”
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.
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 l979. 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 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
TH
E 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
THE AMAZING MYSTERY SHOW
THE CLUE IN THE RECYCLING BIN
MONKEY TROUBLE
THE ZOMBIE PROJECT
THE GREAT TURKEY HEIST
THE GARDEN THIEF
THE BOARDWALK MYSTERY
THE MYSTERY OF THE FALLEN TREASURE
THE RETURN OF THE GRAVEYARD GHOST
THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN SNOWBOARD
THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD WEST BANDIT
THE MYSTERY OF THE GRINNING GARGOYLE
THE MYSTERY OF THE SOCCER SNITCH
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING POP IDOL
THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN DINOSAUR BONES
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof 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, events, 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 © 2015 by Albert Whitman & Company
Cover art by Logan Kline
Interior illustrations by Anthony VanArsdale
978-1-5040-1748-0
Albert Whitman & Company
250 South Northwest Highway, Suite 320
Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
www.albertwhitman.com
Distributed by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
THE BOXCAR CHILDREN
MYSTERIES
FROM ALBERT WHITMAN & COMPANY
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
Since 1919, independent publisher Albert Whitman & Company has created some of the world’s most loved children’s books. Best known for the classic Boxcar Children® Mysteries series, its highly praised picture books, novels, and nonfiction titles succeed in delighting and reaching out to children and teens of all backgrounds and experiences. Albert Whitman’s special-interest titles address subjects such as disease, bullying, and disabilities. All Albert Whitman books treat their readers in a caring and respectful manner, helping them to grow intellectually and emotionally.
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