The Niagara Falls Mystery
Read The Niagara Falls Mystery Online
Authors: Gertrude Chandler Warner
THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY
created by
GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER
Illustrated by Charles Tang
ALBERT WHITMAN & Company
Morton Grove, Illinois
The Boxcar Children Mysteries
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Contents
8. High Above the Raging Waters
CHAPTER 1
Thundering Waters
“W
ake up, everyone. We're getting close!” James Alden said, as he drove along a winding highway. But his four sleepy grandchildren didn't stir.
Mr. Alden lowered the car windows. The fresh air awakened the children one by one. “Can you hear that sound?” he asked.
Six-year-old Benny Alden sat straight up. He never liked to miss a thing. “What is it, Grandfather?”
“That's millions of gallons of water thundering into the Niagara River,” Grandfather Alden said. “We're still a few miles away, but you can already hear the falls. All that water is moving toward Niagara Falls, exactly where we're headed.”
Benny could see the rushing river from the car window. “It's going so fast.”
Jessie Alden, who was twelve, yawned and took a deep gulp of fresh air. “Niagara Falls sounds louder than the ocean.”
Fourteen-year-old Henry Alden was awake, too. As he often did on family car trips, Henry was helping his grandfather with directions. “Just think what the falls must sound like up close!”
“We'll have to shout to hear each other,” Benny yelled.
Benny's voice woke up his ten-year-old sister, Violet. She leaned toward the open window to enjoy the sunshine. “The river looks like a pretty ribbon cutting through the riverbanks. It reminds me of the stream that was near our old boxcar.”
The four Alden children had once lived alone in a boxcar in the woods. Then their grandfather found them. He took them to live with him in his big house in Greenfield.
Jessie pushed her long brown hair behind her ears. She opened the guidebook on her lap. “It may look like a pretty ribbon, but it's awfully strong. This book says those tall electric towers over there carry electricity from the falls to places all over North America,” she said.
“Wow!” Benny said, amazed. “That sounds neat, but most of all, I want to see those boats. You know, the ones that go right near the falls and everybody gets wet? What are they called?”
Violet smiled. “The Maid of the Mist boats, Benny.”
Grandfather Alden slowed down to check a sign. “Well, children, it won't be long before you'll actually see those boats. There's the sign for the border between the United States and Canada. In just a few minutes, we'll be in another country.”
“Canada, here we come!” Henry said.
Benny could hardly wait. “If we get out of the car, would we be able to put one foot in America and one foot in Canada, Grandfather?”
Mr. Alden chuckled. “Almost. I suppose when we pass through the customs booth, the front of the car will be in Canada, and the back will be in the United States. We could be in two different countries at the same time! Do you know what customs is, Benny?”
“It's where we have to show the people in Canada our birth certificates. What if they don't let us in?” Benny asked. He decided he'd better have something else to show the customs people, just in case.
“Well, let's find out,” Grandfather said. He pulled behind a line of cars stopped on a bridge. “This is the Peace Bridge. That customs booth down at the other end of the bridge is on the Canadian side.”
The Alden children looked around while they waited for the cars in front of them to pass through the booths.
Violet pointed to a car covered with streamers and trailing noisy soda cans. “I think that couple just got married.”
Mr. Alden gave the couple in the car a friendly wave. His grandchildren did the same.
“âNiagara Falls has been a popular honeymoon spot for over a century,'” Jessie read from her guidebook. “âMany couples pose for pictures in front of the mists and rainbows that often appear in the falls.'”
Finally, it was the Aldens' turn. A friendly man in a booth looked into the car. “You folks here for business or vacation?”
Mr. Alden showed the man his driver's license and the children's birth certificates. “Business
and
vacation. I'm heading to Ottawa on business. My grandchildren here will be sightseeing and visiting Lasalle's Curiosity Shop. It's owned by an old friend of mine.”
“Lasalle's is famous around here,” the man said. “They sell all types of souvenirs. You kids will love it! My kids can spend hours in there. Now don't get me going, or we'll back up the cars behind you on the bridge. Okay. Drive through. Welcome to Canada.”
Benny couldn't sit still. “I can show you where I live,” he said to the customs man. He waved his library card. “In Greenfield.”
The customs man smiled. “Well, now that you mention it, young fellow, I'd better check your papers. I need to make sure you're not a spy or anything.” He winked at the older children. “Everything seems to be in order,” he said. “You are officially in Canada.”
Benny waved out the back window. “Good-bye, United States.”
“Here's the visitors' center, Grandfather,” Henry announced a few minutes later. “We could use some local maps.”
Mr. Alden drove slowly through the crowded parking lot. The children took turns reading the names of states from license plates.
“Montana,” Henry said.
“That's the third Montana plate we've seen,” Violet reminded Henry. “But look. There's a car from Alaska â the first one we've seen. And it's a honeymoon car, too, with streamers and all.”
Finally the children got out of the car and stretched their legs. It had been a long trip from their house in Greenfield all the way to Canada.
Benny skipped ahead into the visitors' center. Right away he saw what he was looking for â dozens of brochures for the travel scrapbook he and Violet kept. “Too bad we can't stay a long, long time.” He scooped up ads for hotels, restaurants, horse-and-buggy rides and, of course, the famous Maid of the Mist boats.
Jessie showed Benny a brochure of a tower with a restaurant on top. “Here's a restaurant that spins around. You can look at the falls while you eat.”