Journey on a Runaway Train

  JOURNEY ON A RUNAWAY TRAIN

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny didn’t think the old trunk in their house held anything interesting. But an unusual statue they find inside leads them to the Reddimus Society, a secret guild dedicated to returning lost treasures to where they belong. Now the Aldens must help their new friends by traveling across the country with the statue and six mysterious boxes! Can the Boxcar Children keep these seven treasures out of the wrong hands?

  ALBERT WHITMAN & COMPANY

  Publishing award-winning children’s books since 1919

  www.albertwhitman.com

  Cover art by Anthony VanArsdale

  Printed in the United States of America

  The Boxcar Children are on a surprise mission!

  Trudy smiled. She took a business card out of her bag and handed it to the children. “Contact me if you have any trouble. We’ve arranged all your travel for you,” she said as she pushed herself up and out of her chair with her crutches. As she stepped off the train, she called, “Good luck! Be careful!”

  Benny felt a strange sensation beneath his feet. Watch barked. “The floor is rumbling!” he cried. “The train is moving!”

  “It can’t be!” Violet said, running over to look out the window. She was shocked to see that Benny was right. The train was moving forward, picking up speed…

  THE BOXCAR CHILDREN MYSTERIES

  THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

  SURPRISE ISLAND

  THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

  MYSTERY RANCH

  MIKE’S MYSTERY

  BLUE BAY MYSTERY

  THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

  THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

  MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

  SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

  CABOOSE MYSTERY

  HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

  SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

  TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

  BICYCLE MYSTERY

  MYSTERY IN THE SAND

  MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

  BUS STATION MYSTERY

  BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

  THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

  THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

  THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

  THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN PAINTING

  THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

  THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY GIRL

  THE MYSTERY CRUISE

  THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

  THE MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

  THE PIZZA MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY HORSE

  THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

  THE CASTLE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

  THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL

  THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

  THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

  THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

  THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

  THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

  THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

  THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT AIR BALLOON

  THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

  THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN BOXCAR

  THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

  THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

  THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

  THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

  THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

  THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

  THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

  THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

  THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

  THE SOCCER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

  THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

  THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

  THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

  THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

  THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

  THE PANTHER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

  THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

  THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

  THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

  THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

  THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

  THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

  THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

  THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

  THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

  THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

  THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER GAME

  THE HONEYBEE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED HOUSE

  THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

  THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

  THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

  THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

  THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD MOUNTAIN

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

  THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S CURSE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

  THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

  THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

  THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

  THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

  THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

  THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

  THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE COOKIE

  THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

  THE RADIO MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY GHOST

  THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED BOXCAR

  THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

  THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING BONES

  THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

  THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

  THE VANISHING PASSENGER

  THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

  THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

  THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

  THE SECRET OF THE MASK

  THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

  THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

  THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

  A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

  THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

  THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING TOMATOES

  THE SPY GAME

  THE DOG-GONE MYSTERY

  THE VAMPIRE MYSTERY

  SUPERSTAR WATCH

  THE SPY IN THE BLEACHERS

  THE AMAZING MYSTERY SHOW

  THE PUMPKIN HEAD MYSTERY

  THE CUPCAKE CAPER

  THE CLUE IN THE RECYCLING BIN

  MONKEY TROUBLE

  THE ZOMBIE PROJECT

  THE GREAT TURKEY HEIST

  THE GARDEN THIEF

  THE BOARDWALK MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE FALLEN TREASURE

  THE RETURN OF THE GRAVEYARD GHOST

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN SNOWBOARD

  THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD WEST BANDIT

  THE MYSTERY OF THE GRINNING GARGOYLE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SOCCER SNITCH

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING
POP IDOL

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN DINOSAUR BONES

  THE MYSTERY AT THE CALGARY STAMPEDE

  THE SLEEPY HOLLOW MYSTERY

  THE LEGEND OF THE IRISH CASTLE

  THE CELEBRITY CAT CAPER

  HIDDEN IN THE HAUNTED SCHOOL

  THE ELECTION DAY DILEMMA

  JOURNEY ON A RUNAWAY TRAIN

  THE CLUE IN THE PAPYRUS SCROLL

  THE DETOUR OF THE ELEPHANTS

  THE SHACKLETON SABOTAGE

  THE KHIPU AND THE FINAL KEY

  Copyright © 2017 by Albert Whitman & Company

  Published in 2017 by Albert Whitman & Company

  ISBN 978-0-8075-0695-0 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-8075-0696-7 (paperback)

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  THE BOXCAR CHILDREN® is a registered trademark of Albert Whitman & Company.

  Printed in the United States of America

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 LB 20 19 18 17 16

  Illustrations by Anthony VanArsdale

  For more information about Albert Whitman & Company, visit our website at www.albertwhitman.com.

  Contents

  1. An Exciting Thing About to Happen

  2. The Turtle and the Truck

  3. Curious about Reddimus Curiosities

  4. The Secretive Silverton Family

  5. A Request for Help

  6. On the Runaway Train

  7. A Close Call

  8. Something Out of Time

  9. The City in the Sky

  10. A Sudden Change in Plans

  An Exciting Thing About to Happen

  The tinkling of little bells woke Jessie Alden up. As she lay in her bed, she wondered whether she had dreamed the nice noises. She looked over to the window. It was very early in the morning. Her room was just beginning to brighten. The curtains billowed as a breeze blew through them. The bells sounded again and then Jessie remembered. She and her ten-year-old sister, Violet, had hung a mobile in Jessie’s room the night before.

  Violet’s latest art project was mobile making. For Jessie’s mobile, she had cut out pictures of amazing sites from all over the world. The pictures were glued to cardboard and then tied to strings hanging from a wire frame. Violet had added little silver bells on strings to hang among the pictures. She said she hoped her mobile would give Jessie dreams of all the places she might go someday.

  Jessie listened to the bells, thinking it was almost like they were signaling her to get up. Soft footsteps sounded in the hallway as if someone was trying not to be heard. Jumping out of bed, Jessie darted over to her door and opened it. Her fourteen-year-old brother, Henry, and Watch, their dog, were just heading down the stairs. Violet and six-year-old Benny opened their own doors.

  Jessie noticed no one looked sleepy. “Why are we all so awake?” she whispered.

  “I was too excited to sleep late, but I don’t know why,” Benny said.

  “I felt the same way, like something exciting was going to happen and I didn’t want to miss it,” Violet added.

  “That’s strange,” Henry said. “I felt the same way.”

  Watch wagged his tail as if he were agreeing with them.

  They stood there for a moment until Violet asked, “What do we do now? It’s really early.”

  “First, we should go downstairs so we won’t wake anyone else up,” Jessie said. They went down to the kitchen. Henry filled up Watch’s bowl with dog food. Watch wolfed it down.

  “I’m just as hungry as Watch,” Benny said. “What time is breakfast?”

  “Not for a while,” Jessie said. “Mrs. McGregor thought we would sleep late since it’s the first day of spring break.” Mrs. McGregor was the Aldens’ housekeeper.

  “How long is a while?” Benny asked. “However long it is, I don’t think I can wait.”

  “I have an idea,” Violet said. “Since it’s finally stopped raining, it would be nice to go outside. Let’s make our own breakfast and take it out to the boxcar to eat.” The Aldens had their very own boxcar in their backyard. It was a special place for them. After their parents died, they had been scared to go live at their grandfather’s house. Fearing he would be mean, the children had run away and found an old boxcar in the woods. They lived there until their grandfather found them. He was not mean at all, and he even arranged for the boxcar to be brought to his yard.

  “I like Violet’s idea.” Benny jumped up and down. “We can have a breakfast picnic!”

  Jessie smiled at Benny’s excitement. “We have some blueberry muffins I made and there are some bananas. That would be a good breakfast.”

  “Perfect,” Henry said.

  “Violet, will you carry the muffins?” Jessie asked. “I’ll take the plates and the bananas. Henry can carry the glasses. Benny, that means you are in charge of the juice.”

  They took everything out to the boxcar, squishing their way across the wet backyard.

  “There is something about this morning that feels so different,” Violet said as they laid out their breakfast. Rain began to ping on the roof of the boxcar.

  “Except the rain.” Henry sighed.

  “At least the rain makes the air smell good,” Violet said.

  “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard so many birds chirping this early in the spring,” Jessie said. “Listen.”

  It did seem as if their yard was filled with birds. The children were quiet as they ate their breakfast, enjoying the sound of the birds.

  “Sometimes I wish this boxcar was still attached to a train,” Benny said when they were finished. “And that we were going someplace right now.”

  “I wish we could have an adventure this week,” Jessie said. “We haven’t had any mysteries to solve recently, and I’m ready for one. Anyone heard of any mysteries that need solving?”

  “No,” Henry said glumly. “I’ve even asked around. No one has lost anything or seen any strange things lately.”

  “It’s like all the mysteries have been solved,” Violet said, just as glumly as Henry.

  “Don’t be sad.” Benny looked around at his brother and sisters. “It’s still the first day of spring break. Let’s play a game. Everybody close your eyes and imagine where you’d like the boxcar to go.”

  “There are so many places. It is hard to”—a rumbling noise drowned out the rest of Violet’s sentence.

  “Do you hear that?” Benny opened his eyes. “Is the train moving?”

  Henry got up and went to the door of the boxcar. “No, it’s thunder. Looks like it’s going to storm again.”

  “Let’s get inside before the rain gets too heavy,” Jessie said. They collected the picnic supplies and got ready to run for the back door. Watch jumped out of the boxcar and then stopped, his ears perking up. He gave a bark and then dashed toward the front of the house. As he disappeared around the corner, he began to bark again.

  “He’s going to wake up the neighbors,” Jessie said.

  “Watch!” Henry called.

  Watch didn’t come back. He kept barking.

  “We’d better go see what he’s doing,” Benny said. The four of them ran around the house to the front yard. Violet was in the lead, but when she got to the front yard, she skidded to a stop on the wet grass. The others nearly ran into her. “There’s someone on our front porch,” she said.

  They could see a man standing on the top of the steps looking at Watch. Watch was on the walkway at the bottom of the steps looking back at the man.

  He was an older man, about Grandfather’s age. He was very small with a wrinkly face and silvery gray hair that stuck out from underneath a purple cap.

  When the man saw the Aldens, he tipped his cap at them and smiled. Violet noticed the cap matched the purple bow tie he wore. He had a silver hoop earring in one ear and one fro
nt tooth capped in silver.

  “Good morning, children,” he said. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”

  Jessie wasn’t so sure such a gray rainy day could be called lovely, but the man didn’t even seem to notice he was all wet.

  “Sorry about our dog,” Henry said to the man. “Watch won’t hurt you. He just barks at strangers sometimes.”

  “That’s all right,” the man replied. “I understand. Back when I was a pirate, I learned you can’t trust everyone. Sometimes you need to bark at people just to let them know you are watching them.”

  Benny’s eyes opened wide. “You were a pirate?”

  The man’s smile grew. “Some people called me that a long time ago. Today I’m just passing out flyers. I’ve put one in your door.” He winked at them and then tipped his cap again. “Good day to you.”

  He came down the steps and patted Watch on the head as he walked by. The dog wagged his tail. The Aldens watched as the man then strolled down the sidewalk away from them. Right before he turned the corner and disappeared from the Aldens’ sight, he jumped up and clicked his heels together.

  “That was an interesting man,” Jessie said. “Maybe he was the exciting thing we thought would happen today.”

  “He was interesting, but now he’s gone,” Henry said. “That’s not very exciting.”

  “I wonder why he left us a flyer.” Violet ran up the steps and pulled out a piece of paper that had been stuck between the door and the frame. She held it up for the others to see.

  The flyer had an image of an old storage trunk on the top and the words “Reddimus Curiosities Antique Dealers” beneath.

  Benny pointed to the next line. “I can read the first part. It says We make house calls. I can’t read a couple of the other words in the rest of the sentence.”

  Violet read it for him. “It says We make house calls to appraise all your curiosities.”

  “I don’t understand,” Benny said. “What does appraise mean?”

  “It means to look at something and decide how much it is worth,” Henry told him. “This antique dealer comes around to people’s houses to see if they have valuable old things they might want to sell. A curiosity is an interesting or rare item.”

  “That old trunk on the flyer looks exactly like the one we have in the study. So is our trunk a curiosity?” Benny asked.

  “I guess it could be,” Violet replied. “I never think about our trunk because it’s always been there.”

  “Mrs. McGregor thinks about it,” Jessie said. “She doesn’t like it because it takes up so much room.”