They quickly untied one horse after another. Then Henry climbed on the pretty red horse and Jessie climbed on Dragon. The children made clicking sounds with their mouths. Slowly, they eased their horses down the ramp and all the others followed. The driver spun around at the sound of hooves banging down the ramp.
“Hey!” he yelled, running to the back of the truck.
“Stop!” yelled the man in the striped shirt.
But the horses didn’t stop. They scattered in all directions.
“Oh, Henry, how will we catch them all?” cried Jessie.
“You kids!” yelled the men, running toward Benny and Violet. “Stop!”
Jessie watched in horror as the thieves closed in on the two young children.
Suddenly, a voice yelled, “Eeeeeee-haaaa!” The children looked up. “Eeeeeee-haaaa!” shouted Alyssa as her horse burst out of the hay field. The wrangler raced full speed, waving her red hat in the air, charging right at the men. The men turned and ran. Alyssa whirled her horse around and rode up to Benny. She reached down. “Grab my arm,” she said. Benny grabbed hold and Alyssa swung him up onto the saddle behind her. Henry pulled Violet up behind him.
“We have to save the horses,” cried Jessie.
“Round ’em up!” Alyssa commanded, galloping after the scattered horses.
“Eeeeeeee-haaaaa,” they all yelled, chasing the horses away from the truck. “Eeeeeeeehaaaaa,” not stopping until they rounded up every last horse and ran them back to the safety of the corral.
CHAPTER 10
S’more Fun
Cookie drove up as the children rode into the corral. They quickly told her about the horse thieves and they all ran inside to call the police. Slim sat at the office computer. He jumped up when they came in. “Just a little computer work,” he said, quickly turning off the computer. He looked at the serious group. “What’s going on?”
Henry picked up the phone, dialing. “I’m calling the police to arrest your horse-thieving brother and your friend.”
Slim’s face turned white. “My what!?”
“You stole horses,” Jessie said, “and you stole my camera.”
“W-why would I do that?” His Adam’s apple bobbed wildly.
“Because,” Violet said, “your friend at the old barn saw us taking pictures of your horses. Our photos were proof that your ‘rescue horses’ were really stolen horses. You tried to get rid of the evidence by stealing Jessie’s camera.”
“Why, that’s crazy talk,” said Slim.
“No one saw the camera thief come into this office,” said Violet. “Cookie told us you’re in here all the time using the computer, so no one suspected you were the thief.”
Henry hung up the phone. “The police are on their way,” he said.
Slim lunged for the door. Suddenly, Bucky stepped into the doorway. His short wide body blocked Slim’s escape. “I always thought you were a terrible vet,” said Bucky. “Any vet worth his salt would have known Dragon needed a special square-toed shoe. I was the one who spotted it. I had to tell you. Even then, you didn’t know what I was talking about.”
“You told Alyssa to keep Dragon in the west pasture until his leg healed,” Jessie said. “His leg was fine. You just wanted to steal him. You used black shoe polish to cover the white dragon marking on his back. You’re the one who dumped oats near the fence. When Dragon and the other horses came to eat the oats, you stole Dragon and took him to the old barn.”
Sirens wailed in the distance. Soon, Slim and his friends were all on the way to jail.
The Aldens sat with the ranch hands cooking hot dogs over the campfire. Kurt had stacked a pile of wood to keep the small fire going. Benny dropped two hot dogs into the fire before he finally got one to stay on his stick.
“I’m so mad at myself,” Kurt said. “I should have seen that Slim was a fake.”
“You were too busy trying to get Alyssa fired,” said Cookie. “You weren’t paying attention to your work.”
Kurt turned to Alyssa. “I’m real sorry about that,” Kurt said. “I was just trying to help my friend get a job.”
“You let Honey and Bunny go, didn’t you?” said Henry. “Then you broke the fence, and put the tree branch there to make it look like it was an accident.”
The cowboy hung his head, ashamed. “I thought losing a couple of horses would make Alyssa look bad. I had to make it look like she let them wander away from the pasture.”
Bucky smiled. “Those two lazy bones didn’t wander far. Slim’s brother confessed that he saw them wandering along the fence. He was afraid that a couple of missing Dare to Dream horses might bring the police. And he sure didn’t want the police sniffing around this ranch. Not with all the stolen horses they’d hidden in the old pasture. So he loaded Honey and Bunny into his trailer and brought them back.”
Cookie narrowed her eyes at Kurt. “I should fire you right this minute,” she said. “For all the trouble you’ve put Alyssa and the rest of us through.”
“I’m all right,” Alyssa said. She turned to Kurt. “I’m tougher than you think. And maybe a little smarter. Last night I went to the library to find that book Slim said he wrote, How to Raise Dogs. I wanted to read it today on my day off. The librarian couldn’t find it anywhere. So, I drove here to ask Slim if I had the right title. I saw that big horse trailer sitting in the west pasture. Slim didn’t tell me he had horses coming in or going out. So I went to check it out.” She looked at the children. “When I saw your horses saddled up and wandering loose in the hay field, I knew something was wrong.”
Kurt took off his hat and held it over his heart. “Cookie, Alyssa, I’m sorry for all the hurt I caused,” he said, sadly. “But I would like a second chance.”
“I don’t know …” said Cookie.
“Don’t be too hard on him,” said Bucky. “We all make mistakes. At least his mistake was done out of friendship.”
Benny squirted mustard on his hot dog. “Bucky, you said we all make mistakes. Did you make mistakes when you were my age?” he asked.
“Sure,” said Bucky.
“Like what?” Benny asked.
Even in the light of the campfire, the children saw Bucky’s face turn deep red. “Well,” he said, “like when I was a boy, just a little older than you, I moved away from my best friend in the whole world. And I never once picked up a pen and paper to write her a letter. I never once told her … how much I missed her.”
Cookie leaned forward, staring hard at Bucky’s face. “Trevor?” she said. “Trevor Austin? Is that really and truly you?” The old man nodded. Cookie jumped up. “Why in tarnation didn’t you say something?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d remember me. I thought if I came here and volunteered, you’d get to like me. It’s been fifty years. I never once wrote. I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me.”
“Want to see you!” She reached out and gave him a giant hug. “I’ve spent the last fifty years wondering what in the Sam Hill happened to you. Of course I want to see you! You’re my best friend, always and forever.” They hugged and hugged until Benny had to remind them it was time to make s’mores.
Later, as the fire cooled, Cookie sat next to Bucky, both of them glowing in the campfire’s light. Henry put one last piece of chocolate on one last graham cracker and added one last marshmallow on top. “I think I figured out the mystery of the hearts carved into the maple tree and in Dragon’s stall,” said Henry, “the ones with TA and LM carved inside … Trevor is you, Bucky—Trevor Austin.”
Bucky smiled shyly.
Henry went on. “And, Cookie, I know your last name is Miller. But what is your real first name?”
Cookie tilted her head to one side, a secret smile on her lips. “Well, now,” she said. “Folks have called me Cookie since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I’m afraid my real name is one mystery the Alden children are just going to have to leave unsolved.”
And they did.
About the Author
GERTRUDE CHAN
DLER 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
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 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 PUMPKIN HEAD MYSTERY
THE CUPCAKE CAPER
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 © 2008 by Albert Whitman & Company
978-1-4532-2903-3
This 2011 edition distributed by Open
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