Jessie said the next morning. Jessie tickled Violet’s and Benny’s feet. “Stop it, Watch,” Violet mumbled. Still dreaming, she thought she was back in Greenfield where the family dog, Watch, liked to wake up the children one by one. Jessie laughed. “It’s me, not Watch, silly. No wonder you’re both...
Footsteps crossed the parking lot. For a moment it seemed as if they were heading toward the van. Then, nearby, the children heard a car door open. It stayed open for what seemed like a very long time. Then the car door shut and the footsteps moved away, back across the parking lot and out toward...
asked Violet. “Let’s keep walking,” said Henry. “But not so fast.” The four children began to walk down the street, trying to act as if nothing was wrong. Jessie glanced quickly over her shoulder. “He’s still there.” “Why is he following us?” Benny asked. “I don’t know, Benny,” Jessie answered. “...
Benny asked. Seymour actually smiled. “No, nothing like that.” He cleared his throat. “The fact is, someone is stealing our antiques — not the furniture, but smaller things like my stamp collection and some old family letters.” “Oh, no, Seymour,” Grandfather said. “Your stamp collection was very ...
asked Henry. Irene nodded, her ponytail bouncing. “Can we talk to him?” Henry asked. “He’s fixing a friend’s airboat,” she said. “I’ll take you over to him.” The ramp had two airboats docked. Jessie figured one belonged to Irene’s father. “Daddy,” said Irene, “these are the people I told you abou...
Grandfather announced at breakfast the next morning. “Gerald and I have only one more day of work, then his cabin will be finished. We’ll spend tomorrow relaxing, and then we’ll head back home Saturday.” Henry and Jessie looked at each other. One more day. That’s all they had to find Jake. A beep...
In the afternoon the children went to the movies with Grandfather. And for a while they forgot about the zoo. But afterward, as they ate banana splits, Benny said, “Could we stop at the zoo on the way home, Grandfather?” Surprised, Grandfather Alden said, “You spent all morning at the zoo.” “We w...
Jessie asked Henry and Benny. “Do you remember when we visited the butterfly pavilion after lunch yesterday?” Henry asked his sister. After she nodded, he continued. “There was a zookeeper carrying a little monkey in a cage. That might have been Simio.” “I’m sure it was! Zookeeper Frank said that...
But they were surprised to find the building locked up tight. When they knocked on the door, there was no answer. “Jason must not be here yet,” Henry said. The children sat down by the front door of the kennel to wait for him. After several minutes, Jessie asked, “Where do you think he is? He’s u...
The children counted twenty cars. On one end were the sleeping cars and on the other there were many coach cars with big, comfortable seats. The porters were handing out pillows. “A lot of people sleep all night sitting up in the seats,” Jessie said. “We’re lucky we have beds.” “I’ll bet those bi...
Benny cried when the raft drifted into a huge, well-lit space. “We’re in the Dragon’s Mouth Cavern again!” Henry rowed over to the wooden steps where the empty tour boat was tied up, and everyone got off the raft. “I think we should call the police,” Jessie said when they made their way to the el...
asked Benny. “No, Benny,” said Jessie. “It’s our boxcar and we’re going to keep it!” Henry clapped his hand to his forehead. “Oh, no! I almost forgot. We’re supposed to go to the grocery store for Mrs. McGregor.” Putting the rather strange Mr. Chessy out of their thoughts for the moment, the chil...
The next morning the children and their grandfather went to a little shopping village that they had spotted when they first got into town. Originally the children had planned to go alone, but now Grandfather insisted on going with them. Soon after they arrived, however, they split up because the ...
“I think we should take another look at that log,” said Jessie. “There was something odd about the way Eugene Scott made Mark leave. Mark said it was his turn.” “Mark was so sure he put down the right time,” Henry agreed. An early morning mist drifted among the trees like ghostly scarves. “It’s s...
Jessie asked thoughtfully when the Aldens were further down the street. “Maybe she’s just mad the Shoppe is taking customers away from her business,” Henry suggested. “She had lots of customers,” Benny pointed out as he stopped to wait for a red light. “She did. But she probably knows it’s going ...
Sky announced suddenly. “We’re starting with Hare and Hounds.” She explained that one balloon, the hare, would take off first. Shortly after, the other balloons would follow. Whoever landed closest to the hare would win. “Who’s the hare?” someone asked. “We’ll choose by lottery,” Matt said. He he...
She didn’t even see him. The police officer disappeared around the corner. The Aldens looked back in the direction from which the officer had come. They saw a man and a woman standing outside an antiques store. The woman pointed and the man waved his arms in excitement. “There must have been a ro...
Benny said. The four Alden children were sitting and talking in their boxcar, and Benny was feeling restless. “We have to help Grandfather with the Winter Festival. We don’t have time to solve a mystery, too,” said Jessie. She wrote something in a green binder. Knowing that Jessie was organized a...
Claire said. “That’s the ring you gave me this morning!” “No,” Mr. Fambles said. “This is not the ring I gave you this morning.” “Wait a minute,” Amy said. “What’s going on here?” “This is not Angelina Dickinson’s ring,” Mr. Fambles said. “Her ring is made of hammered gold and has a cat’s-eye sto...
“What happened?” he asked, pushing the stand upright. “Somebody knocked into me,” Violet explained. “And I fell into this.” “Did you see who ran into you?” Henry asked. She shook her head. “No, but whoever it was whispered, ‘Mind your own business.’ And I smelled lavender. Like Heather wears.” He...
Benny asked at dinner that night. James Alden finished putting mashed potatoes on his plate. Then he passed the potatoes to Henry. He looked at his youngest grandchild. “Not that I know of,” he said. “Why do you ask?” “Because we saw some bank robbers today,” Benny said. “Outside the bank.” “You ...
“I’ll show you where Charlie usually docks.” They passed big sightseeing boats. Aunt Jane stopped at the ticket booths to collect information. “So well be prepared for our tour,” she explained. A block away at open-air fish markets, men prepared giant crabs for steaming kettles. Inside, people sa...