Mystery in the Sand (9 page)

Benny and Henry brought out plates of sandwiches and the pickles and cups for the hot coffee. For a few minutes it was busy and then it was very quiet as everyone began to eat.

After his second sandwich, Grandfather looked at Mr. Lee and raised his eyebrows in a question. Mr. Lee nodded.

Mr. Alden began very slowly. “Miss Lane, we have an idea for you and for everyone interested in pictures—and in stray cats, too.”

At this last word, Miss Lane looked up at Mr. Alden. She was most interested in the word cats, stray cats.

Then Mr. Alden explained about the idea of a shelter for cats, a place where stray cats could be kept until good homes were found for them.

“I’d be very much interested in that,” said Miss Lane. “But there must be a catch somewhere.”

“There is!” exclaimed Benny. “You’re smart, Miss Lane.”

“It isn’t really a catch,” explained Mr. Lee. “Of course we must raise money to run such a shelter. You could give a one-man show with nothing but your own paintings. There’d be a small admission charge. The money would go to the shelter. Perhaps people who like cats would come.”

“Perhaps people who like paintings but don’t care for cats would come,” Jessie added.

“You are all very clever,” said Miss Lane, nodding. “You all know my weak spot. I may agree to this plan.”

“Oh, I wish you would!” said Violet.

Sugar Cookie was tired out. He had gone to sleep in Violet’s lap, one paw still around the blue string.

“If
you
wish me to, I will,” said Miss Lane. “Your portrait is the best one I have ever done. Do you mind having it shown?”

Violet said, “No, I don’t mind. I should think I might, but I don’t.”

Benny said, “I wouldn’t mind, but I’m surprised at Violet. Usually she minds things like that.”

The sandwiches were fast disappearing. The hardboiled eggs were all gone. The pickles were gone.

After the cookies were gone, Mr. Lee said good-bye. Grandfather watched him as he walked down the beach. He did not have Richard with him or his metal-finder.

Grandfather said, “Dan is exactly like me.”

“Oh, no, Grandfather,” said Violet, “not just exactly!”

“He thinks the way I do,” said Grandfather. “He wants to get things done, quick, right off. He doesn’t waste any time. You mark my words, he already has the whole art show planned. He knows exactly the people he will invite to help. And I am sure he has a place picked out for the animal shelter, too, and maybe a manager in mind. He probably wants you, Miss Lane, to paint a special picture to help advertise the center.”

“I will, you know,” Miss Lane said. “And now Mary and I must go. I know you all want to start for home. And I have to tell Bluebell why I took her kitten away. She has another, anyway, so she won’t mind too much.”

The Aldens left Grandfather sitting in his chair while they took the two ladies home. They wanted to say good-bye for now and to talk about other visits in the future.

Miss Lane had tears in her eyes when she said good-bye to Violet. “You’ve helped me more than you know,” she said in a low voice.

“Don’t forget Ali had to run away so that Violet could get to know you,” Benny said.

They had to smile at that. Then the women disappeared into the tower.

Nobody spoke all the way back to the trailer until they saw Mr. Alden drawing a picture in the sand with his cane.

“I bet you have some ideas about the animal shelter,” called Benny.

“Right,” agreed Grandfather. “You come and get these chairs, Ben, and we’ll go home.”

The bags were soon ready. Jessie put the food that was left in a large basket to take home. They looked around the trailer home. It was all ready for Aunt Jane and Uncle Andy to enjoy again.

Grandfather, Benny, and Violet with her kitten went in the first car. Henry and Jessie followed in the blue car.

As they came near home, Violet said, “Now the most important thing is Watch. We simply cannot hurt his feelings. I’m sure he won’t like Sugar Cookie. We’ll have to think of some way to get him to like a kitten.”

Benny said, “Make him think the kitten is his idea. He will like it if he thinks Sugar Cookie is his kitten.”

Violet laughed. “How can we do that, Ben? You tell me.”

But Benny could not think of a way.

Sugar Cookie found a way himself. He didn’t know any better. He expected everyone to be his friend.

Watch was stretched out in the front hall. When he heard the cars stop, he stood up on his four feet and barked a welcome. He did not move. He was getting old.

The family came into the hall. Violet set the white kitten on the floor. In a second, Sugar Cookie ran to Watch, crying meow, me-ow in his baby voice. He had never seen a dog.

Watch had seen cats before, but never one like this. Sugar Cookie walked around Watch’s front paws, rubbing his head against the old dog. The kitten certainly liked him.

Watch lay down. The kitten, tired out, turned around three times and lay down between the dog’s front feet. Watch looked up at Violet as if to say, “Now I’ve got a friend of my own.”

Violet exclaimed, “Oh, Watch, you’ve changed, and I’m so glad.”

Mr. Alden laughed. He said, “This is a good end to a very pleasant adventure at the beach.”

“Not the end, Grandfather,” said Benny. “This is just the beginning of the end.”

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 book. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.

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
, D
C

T
HE
C
ANOE
T
RIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
B
EACH

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
ISSING
C
AT

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT
S
NOWFLAKE
I
NN

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON
S
TAGE

T
HE
D
INOSAUR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
TOLEN
M
USIC

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
B
ALL
P
ARK

T
HE
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
HE
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
HE
G
UIDE
D
OG
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
URRICANE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
P
ET
S
HOP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
ECRET
M
ESSAGE

T
HE
F
IREHOUSE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN
S
AN
F
RANCISCO

T
HE
N
IAGARA
F
ALLS
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
A
LAMO

T
HE
O
UTER
S
PACE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
S
OCCER
M
YSTERY