The Homerun Mystery
Read The Homerun Mystery Online
Authors: Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Boxcar Children Mysteries
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UN
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THE HOME RUN MYSTERY
created by
GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER
Illustrated by Charles Tang
ALBERT WHITMAN & Company
Morton Grove, Illinois
Contents
1. A Broken-Down Baseball Park
CHAPTER 1
A Broken-Down Baseball Park
“I
wonder why they call this place the Half Moon Inn,” said six-year-old Benny Alden. “I don't see any moons. Only that picture of a boat.”
Benny and his big brother, Henry, were unpacking in their room in the country hotel.
“That boat is a famous ship, the
Half Moon
,” Henry replied. He was fourteen and knew a lot. “In the early 1600s, Henry Hudson and his crew sailed the
Half Moon
up that river outside.”
“The Hudson River!” Benny said.
A knock sounded on their door. Their sisters, Jessie and Violet, came inside.
“Aren't you guys done yet?” teased Jessie Alden. At twelve, she was the most organized. “We've been unpacked for ages.”
“We've only been here thirty minutes,” Henry pointed out.
“No wonder I'm hungry!” exclaimed Benny. “We haven't eaten since â”
“Lunch,” ten-year-old Violet said with a giggle. “Plus you asked Grandfather to stop at that roadside stand for strawberries.”
As if on cue, James Alden stopped by the open door. “I see the girls won the unpacking contest,” he said with a laugh. “I'm off to meet the town council. I'll be back for supper.”
“Is it okay if we look around town?” Henry asked.
“Of course.” Grandfather gave him and Jessie some extra pocket money. “In case you want a snack.”
“I will,” Benny piped up.
Jessie put the money in her shorts pocket. Benny would never change!
Just that morning, after eating breakfast in their house in Greenfield, Connecticut, they waved good-bye to Mrs. McGregor, the housekeeper, and Watch, their dog, then piled into the station wagon. Hours later, they reached Pikesville, New York, a small town on the Hudson River. James Alden had been invited by the town council for his expert business advice on improving life in Pikesville.
“What a great summer day,” said Henry as they left the inn.
The weather
was
perfect. But sunshine did little to perk up the dreary streets of Pikesville. Row houses marched one after the other, many in need of painting. Boarded storefronts added to the gloom.
“It's not very pretty, is it?” said Violet.
In fact, the town looked sad and neglected.
Henry agreed. “It's like it's been forgotten.”
“That's why Grandfather was asked to come here,” said Jessie. “He's helped places like this come alive again.”
Benny pointed to an old redbrick building in front of them. “What is that?”
“Let's find out.” Violet led the way down the broken sidewalk. They crossed a vacant lot overgrown with weeds to the front of the long, four-story building.
Large double doors were framed by dozens of small windows. Wire screened the windows, but most of the panes were shattered.
“It's a factory,” Henry figured out. “A very old factory of some kind.”
Jessie tapped a piece of chipped brick from the sidewalk with her sneaker. “It was probably nice when it was first built.”
Just then the children heard a roar from behind the factory. Kids were booing and cheering.
“What's going on?” asked Violet, but Jessie and the others were already heading toward the back of the building.
