Animal Shelter Mystery (9 page)

Violet slid the gray cat's cage across the backseat where there was just enough room for it.

Miss Newcombe looked puzzled. “Why are you giving me this cat?” she asked.

Violet checked inside the carrier to make sure she had the right animal. “Isn't she yours? She was in the boxcar the night you brought Lady here, remember? That rainy night?”

Miss Newcombe shook her head. “Why, I found that cat wandering outside the boxcar that night. I thought she lived in the boxcar already and had just gotten out. So I put her in an empty cage. She isn't mine.”

At this news, Violet broke into a big smile. “Maybe we'll get to keep one of the strays, after all. Now that the Greenfield Animal Shelter can stay open, our boxcar will be practically empty.” She opened the cage and lifted the pretty gray Persian in her arms. “And I do like this fluffy cat.”

Unlike Patches and Midnight, the gray cat was a shy one and never went too far from the boxcar or from people.

“She's such a frightened one, isn't she?” Violet asked. “I'd hoped that with the other cats gone, she would look around the yard a bit more.”

“She must have been an indoor cat, she's so shy of every little thing,” Henry told his sister.

“And every big thing,” Benny said. He pointed to Watch, who was standing nearby and not a bit pleased with all the attention this ball of fur was getting.

The gray cat looked terrified of Watch.

Violet stroked the frightened Persian. “Poor cat. That gives me an idea. I know someone who would like you very much,” she said before she ran into the house.

Everyone looked puzzled, especially Benny. “Where does Violet want to send this cat, Jessie?”

Benny didn't have to wait long for an answer. Violet was back in no time. “It's all set,” she announced. “I'm sending this cat to the O'Connors, you know, the mother and the little boy who found Lad wandering around near their apartment. Jeffrey wanted a pet so much, especially a nice cat. And this is a nice cat! So I called the number they gave me when we met them and told them all about this cat. They'll be over right away to pick her up.”

“Then we'd better pick her up,” Benny said. He bent down to catch the Persian. “Animals always run away just when you need them.”

Miss Newcombe's eyes were twinkling. “Sometimes people run away when you need them, too!”

“But we always find them,” Benny said.

“I
am
glad you found me,” Miss Newcombe said. “I won't run away again. I'll be nearby with my dear pets and my dear new friends!”

About the Author

G
ERTRUDE
C
HANDLER
W
ARNER
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

T
HE
B
OXCAR
C
HILDREN

S
URPRISE
I
SLAND

T
HE
Y
ELLOW
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY
R
ANCH

M
IKE'S
M
YSTERY

B
LUE
B
AY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
W
OODSHED
M
YSTERY

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
M
YSTERY

M
OUNTAIN
T
OP
M
YSTERY

S
CHOOLHOUSE
M
YSTERY

C
ABOOSE
M
YSTERY

H
OUSEBOAT
M
YSTERY

S
NOWBOUND
M
YSTERY

T
REE
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

B
ICYCLE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
AND

M
YSTERY
B
EHIND THE
W
ALL

B
US
S
TATION
M
YSTERY

B
ENNY
U
NCOVERS A
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING

T
HE
A
MUSEMENT
P
ARK
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
IXED
-U
P
Z
OO

T
HE
C
AMP
-O
UT
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
G
IRL

T
HE
M
YSTERY
C
RUISE

T
HE
D
ISAPPEARING
F
RIEND
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
INGING
G
HOST

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
NOW

T
HE
P
IZZA
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
H
ORSE

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
D
OG
S
HOW

T
HE
C
ASTLE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
OST
V
ILLAGE

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON THE
I
CE

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
P
URPLE
P
OOL

T
HE
G
HOST
S
HIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN
W
ASHINGTON
, DC

T
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C
ANOE
T
RIP
M
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T
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M
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H
IDDEN
B
EACH

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
ISSING
C
AT

T
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M
YSTERY AT
S
NOWFLAKE
I
NN

T
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M
YSTERY ON
S
TAGE

T
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D
INOSAUR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
TOLEN
M
USIC

T
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M
YSTERY AT THE
B
ALL
P
ARK

T
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C
HOCOLATE
S
UNDAE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
OT
A
IR
B
ALLOON

T
HE
M
YSTERY
B
OOKSTORE

T
HE
P
ILGRIM
V
ILLAGE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
TOLEN
B
OXCAR

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN THE
C
AVE

T
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M
YSTERY ON THE
T
RAIN

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
F
AIR

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
OST
M
INE

T
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G
UIDE
D
OG
M
YSTERY

T
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H
URRICANE
M
YSTERY

T
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P
ET
S
HOP
M
YSTERY

T
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M
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ECRET
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ESSAGE

T
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F
IREHOUSE
M
YSTERY

T
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M
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AN
F
RANCISCO

T
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N
IAGARA
F
ALLS
M
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T
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M
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A
LAMO

T
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O
UTER
S
PACE
M
YSTERY

T
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S
OCCER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN THE
O
LD
A
TTIC

T
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G
ROWLING
B
EAR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
AKE
M
ONSTER

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT
P
EACOCK
H
ALL

T
HE
W
INDY
C
ITY
M
YSTERY

T
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B
LACK
P
EARL
M
YSTERY

T
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C
EREAL
B
OX
M
YSTERY

T
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P
ANTHER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
Q
UEEN'S
J
EWELS

T
HE
S
TOLEN
S
WORD
M
YSTERY

T
HE
B
ASKETBALL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
OVIE
S
TAR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
P
IRATE'S
M
AP

T
HE
G
HOST
T
OWN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
B
LACK
R
AVEN

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN THE
M
ALL

T
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M
YSTERY IN
N
EW
Y
ORK

T
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G
YMNASTICS
M
YSTERY

T
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P
OISON
F
ROG
M
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T
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M
YSTERY OF THE
E
MPTY
S
AFE

T
HE
H
OME
R
UN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
G
REAT
B
ICYCLE
R
ACE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
W
ILD
P
ONIES

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN THE
C
OMPUTER
G
AME