Mystery of the Stolen Boxcar (2 page)

“Let’s at least find out about it,” said Henry. “Then we can decide.”

“How will we find out?” asked Benny.

“Let’s ask inside the hardware store,” suggested Jessie. They all went inside.

“Could you tell us more about the parade?” Henry asked the owner of the store.

“It’s on the sign in your window,” added Jessie.

The hardware store owner said, “Of course. In fact, I can tell you everything you need to know.” She reached over to the counter and picked up a colorful folded piece of paper. “This flyer will tell you all about the parade and how to join it.”

“Thanks!” Henry said.

“You’re welcome,” said the hardware store owner. “See you at the parade.”

“Or in it!” said Benny.

The Aldens walked outside. Henry read from the flyer as they walked. He read about how to enter the parade by filling out the form on the back of the flyer and mailing it to the Greenfield Parade Committee. “We have to tell them our names and what we are going to do in the parade,” Henry said. “They’ll let us know when to meet and where. Anybody can be in the parade, but listen to this: ‘Parade members are encouraged to choose a costume or build a float that reflects some part of the history of Greenfield,’” he read aloud.

The children were quiet for a moment. Then Violet said, “Costumes would be fun. I could make a beautiful purple costume.” Purple was Violet’s favorite color.

“But what kind of costume?” Jessie asked. “Greenfield is very old. We have to think of something that goes with the history of our town.”

The children thought and thought all the way to the grocery store. But they couldn’t come up with an idea. After they finished shopping and were headed home, Henry said, “I know! Before we decide on a costume, let’s ask Grandfather what he thinks.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Jessie.

Violet said, “We can ask him at dinner tonight. But you know what else I think we should do? We should learn more about the history of Greenfield, too.”

“That’s right,” said Jessie. “We’ll have an idea for the parade before you know it!”

“Do you hear that, Watch?” Benny said. “We’re going to be in a parade!”

“This apple pie is the best pie I ever ate,” said Benny that night at dinner.

“You say that every time Mrs. McGregor makes apple pie,” said Grandfather Alden to his youngest grandchild.

“It’s true every time,” said Benny.

“Mrs. McGregor said that the apples came from an old apple orchard right here in Greenfield,” said Violet. “She said they’ve been growing apples there for years and years.”

“Farmers have been growing apples in and around Greenfield ever since I was a boy,” said Grandfather.

“Will you tell us more about Greenfield?” asked Henry. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the flyer. “We got this at the hardware store today.”

Mr. Alden read it, then looked up. “I don’t suppose you want to be in the parade, do you?”

“Yes!” answered Jessie. “That’s exactly what we want to do. But we have to think of the perfect costumes. Something historic.”

“If you tell us more about Greenfield,” explained Henry, “then maybe it will help us think of an idea for the parade.”

So Grandfather Alden told his grandchildren all he knew about the history of Greenfield. He told them that when his own father was growing up, there was no electricity, and no running water in any of the houses. “When your great-grandmother was a girl about your age, Jessie, her job was to bring in water from the well. She knew how to make candles so the family would have light. And she knew how to drive a horse and carriage, because back then they didn’t have cars.”

“Did they have bicycles?” asked Benny.

“No bicycles either,” said Grandfather. “Not until she was older. But they did have trains. The Greenfield Train Station is closed now. But in the old days it was the center of activity. I remember going there when I was a boy to watch the trains.”

“What happened to the trains?” Jessie asked.

“There aren’t as many as there used to be. Now people use trucks and cars,” said Grandfather. “The trains only stop in the big towns. They still go through Greenfield, on the tracks by the old station at the edge of town, but they don’t stop here anymore.”

Jessie frowned. She was thinking hard. Suddenly she said, “Trains
are
a part of the history of Greenfield, aren’t they? Just like it said in the newspaper about our boxcar?”

“They sure are,” said Grandfather.

Jessie looked around the table. “I have an idea for the parade. Can you guess what it is?”

Everyone shook their heads. Jessie said, “I’ll give you a hint. Once upon a time, four orphans and a little lost dog who didn’t have any place to live went to live in a special place. And then their grandfather, who had been looking and looking for them, found them . . .”

“In an old, abandoned boxcar in the woods,” said Violet. She slipped her hand into her grandfather’s and continued the story. “So the four children went to live with their grandfather in a big, white house in Greenfield. And as a surprise . . .”

Henry finished, “Their grandfather brought the boxcar to the backyard of the house for his grandchildren. And their names were . . .

“Benny, Jessie, Violet, Henry, and Watch Alden,” Benny burst out.

It was all true. That was how the Boxcar Children had come to live with their grandfather, James Alden.

Benny looked puzzled. “What does our boxcar have to do with the parade?”

“I think I know,” said Henry. “Our boxcar is an old boxcar. Boxcars were probably part of the trains that once went through Greenfield. That means it’s a part of Greenfield’s history.”

“That’s right,” said Jessie. “So, we should take our boxcar to be in the parade!”

“That’s a great idea, Jessie,” said Violet. She frowned. “But how will we get the boxcar in the parade? It doesn’t have a motor!”

“I think I can help you with that,” said Grandfather. “My old truck can pull the boxcar. I can hitch the boxcar to it and drive the truck in the parade.”

“I can wear my engineer’s costume with the red bandanna!” Benny said excitedly.

“Yes,” said Henry. “And we can paint the boxcar and polish it and make it look extra special.”

“We’ll start first thing tomorrow,” said Jessie.

For the rest of the night, the Aldens made plans to decorate the boxcar and to make costumes for the parade. Then they went to bed so they could get up early to mail their entry into the Founders’ Day Parade and start getting their boxcar ready for the big day.

T
he next day, as soon as they had finished breakfast, the four Aldens helped Mrs. McGregor pack lunches for them. Then they got on their bicycles for a ride into Greenfield.

Watch wanted to come, but he couldn’t. “We are going to the post office and then to the library, Watch,” Benny explained. “We might be in the library for a long time. And dogs aren’t allowed in the post office
or
the library.”

Watch tilted his head. He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to go.

“I know, Watch,” said Benny. “I think they should change those rules, too. But you can stay here with Mrs. McGregor until we get back.”

Mrs. McGregor, who was standing by the back door, opened it and said, “I think I might have a nice dog biscuit in the kitchen for Watch.”

At the word “biscuit” Watch got up and trotted happily into the house.

The Aldens set off for the post office. On the way, they stopped by to pick up their cousin, Soo Lee. Soo Lee lived with their cousins, Joe and Alice, in an old gray-shingled house nearby. The Boxcar Children had helped their cousins fix up the house when they moved there.

Soo Lee was waiting for them. She got on her bicycle as soon as her four cousins came into sight, and coasted down the driveway to join them.

The five children went to the post office first, to mail the parade entry form to the Greenfield Parade Committee. Then they went to the library to research their costumes for the parade.

They found lots of books about trains and costumes in the old days. But the long dresses with their high necks and tight sleeves didn’t look like much fun to Jessie or to Violet.

“These are pretty dresses,” said Jessie. “But you can’t run or play or even ride bicycles in them.”

Violet agreed. “They don’t look very comfortable, either. And I think it would be hard to make costumes to look like that.”

“Listen to this,” said Henry. “This book says that a train engineer usually wore a gray-striped cap and a red bandanna around the neck. And here’s an old picture of an engineer on an early locomotive. He’s wearing overalls, too.”

The four children crowded around Henry to look at the picture.

“We all have overalls,” said Jessie. “We could get caps and bandannas and all dress like engineers. They sell all kinds of caps and bandannas at the department store in town, and they aren’t too expensive. We can buy our costumes there and then we will have plenty of money left over for our other supplies.”

“Look at this.” Soo Lee pointed to another picture in the book. “We can learn some of the train signals, too. The signal for the train to stop is two arms up.”

After doing a little more research on the history of Greenfield — and on railroads in particular — the children decided it was time for lunch.

“Let’s take our lunches to the old railroad station,” said Violet as they came out of the library.

When they got to the train station, the windows were all boarded up, the paint was chipped and peeling, and there was a big lock on the door.

“It looks like it could use some fixing up,” said Henry. “But it would take a lot more than just paint!”

The five children took out their lunches and sat on stone steps that led up to the station. “I bet this was a really busy place a long time ago,” Soo Lee said, as she took a big bite of her sandwich.

Just then, a voice said, “So! I was right. You changed your minds!”

The Aldens all looked up. It was Mr. Chessy!

“What are you doing here?” exclaimed Henry in surprise.

“This is where I’m staying.” Mr. Chessy swung around and motioned with his hand. Then the Aldens saw an old-fashioned railroad car pulled off onto a side track near the back of the train station. “That’s my traveling home,” the man said. “It’s an old caboose.”

“It looks a little like our boxcar,” said Henry.

“The first cabooses were just the last boxcars on the trains, you know.” Mr. Chessy sounded almost friendly.

Benny cried, “I’d like to see what your boxcar looks like!”

Mr. Chessy looked surprised — and pleased. “Would you?” he asked. “Come along and I’ll show you the inside.”

The children all looked at one another. “Thank you!” said Henry.

The children had finished lunch. They quickly cleaned up and followed Mr. Chessy to his railroad car.

“Come in, come in,” said Mr. Chessy. He stepped back and motioned for them to come into his caboose.

The Aldens couldn’t help thinking of how they’d made their boxcar a home when they’d first lived in it. Their boxcar had an old table they’d found, with a blue tablecloth on it. They’d made beds at one end out of pine needles. They didn’t have any light, except when they built a fire outside to cook.

But this caboose had a lamp that looked like an old-fashioned lantern. It had a stove and a refrigerator and even a sink with a little window above it.

Mr. Chessy proudly showed them around his caboose, explaining how he had designed and built everything himself.

Then he opened a narrow door. He stepped inside — and disappeared!

“Come on up!” his voice said above them.

A short ladder was inside the door. The children climbed up it, and found themselves in a small square room with windows all around and benches around all the walls.

“This is the cupola, or crow’s nest,” said Mr. Chessy. “Conductors and trainmen sat here to watch the train — and the scenery! I’m glad you came to see my little home. I’d take just as good care of your boxcar, if you should ever decide to sell it, you know. I’ll be leaving soon, but you have my card — if you change your minds.”

“Thank you,” said Henry, without saying anything about selling the boxcar. The others thanked him, too.

Mr. Chessy was smiling as they left. When Jessie looked over her shoulder, however, she saw Mr. Chessy wasn’t smiling anymore. He had his arms folded and his eyes were narrowed.

Was Mr. Chessy just pretending to be nice because he wanted their boxcar? she wondered.

But Jessie didn’t say anything. She just listened as her brothers and sister told Soo Lee all about Mr. Chessy and his offer the day before to buy the boxcar. They didn’t have to tell her that they’d never, ever sell it. Soo Lee knew that already!

They decided to go to the hardware store next to get supplies for fixing up the boxcar, and then to the department store.

When they got to the hardware store, the owner remembered the Aldens from their last visit. “Did you enter the parade?” she asked.

“We sure did,” said Benny. “We’re going to be engineers in our boxcar.”

The owner of the hardware store, like many people in Greenfield, knew the story of the Boxcar Children. She nodded approvingly. “That’s a neat idea.”