The Mystery of the Wild West Bandit

  THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD WEST BANDIT

  created by

  GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER

  ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago

  Contents

  1. A Wild West Ride!

  2. Trigger Is Missing

  3. Interested Parties

  4. A Musical Motive?

  5. A Nervous Performer

  6. More Trouble!

  7. Barbeque, Sarsaparilla, and Questions

  8. The Round Up!

  9. Fancy Handwriting

  10. The Bandit Is Revealed!

  About the Author

  CHAPTER 1

  A Wild West Ride!

  “Next stop, Wildcat Crossing,” said the announcer.

  “We’re almost there!” said Benny. The six-year-old boy pressed his nose against the train window. He watched the Texas desert scenery race by.

  “And we’re right on time,” said Benny’s fourteen-year-old brother, Henry. He glanced across the aisle at Jessie, who smiled.

  The two older siblings had a secret they were keeping from their young siblings. Their little sister, Violet, who was ten, was sleeping peacefully next to Benny. Watch, their wire-haired terrier, dozed at Jessie’s feet.

  The Alden children were riding on the Lone Star Flyer, a train that ran through parts of the American Southwest. Their grandfather had put them on the train in El Paso that morning. They were going to spend a few fun days at the annual Wild West Festival. It took place in a town called Wildcat Crossing.

  Jessie gently nudged Violet. “Let’s get our bags so we’ll be ready to get off the train,” she said. Jessie was twelve and often acted motherly toward her two younger siblings.

  “I was dreaming about our boxcar!” Violet said, smiling and rubbing her eyes.

  “The train makes me think of our boxcar, too,” said Benny.

  At one time, the Alden children had lived in an old railroad boxcar in the woods. Their parents had died, and they had run away instead of going to live with Mr. Alden, their grandfather. They had heard that he was mean, but he turned out to be really very nice. Happily, he found his grandchildren and brought them to live with him. He even moved the boxcar to his backyard in Greenfield.

  “I think we’re here,” said Henry. The train slowed down and came to a gentle stop.

  “Wildcat Crossing,” said the announcer. “Welcome to the Wild West!”

  “Okay, let’s get our bags and go!” said Jessie. She and Henry grabbed their suitcases and herded the younger children to the exit. They were the only passengers who got off the train.

  “Wow, look at that!” said Benny.

  The children saw a wooden wagon with a big palomino horse harnessed to it. The horse and wagon stood in the road next to the little train station. A friendly looking bearded man sat in the front seat of the wagon.

  “Howdy, partners!” he said, smiling. “My name is Bart. Trigger and I have been waiting for you!”

  Trigger nodded his head up and down and snorted.

  “We’re going to ride in a real horse-driven wagon?” asked Violet. Her eyes were open wide.

  “That’s right,” said Henry. “Grandfather arranged for his friend Bart to pick us up in true Wild West style.” Henry extended his hand to Bart. “I’m Henry. Thank you for meeting us!”

  “It’s my pleasure,” said Bart, shaking Henry’s hand.

  “Wow!” Benny said again.

  “We’re so glad to meet you, Bart,” said Jessie. She introduced her sister and younger brother and they all climbed into the wagon.

  “Wildcat Crossing is not far from this stop,” said Bart. “We’ll be there in no time.” He made a clucking sound and Trigger set off at a slow trot.

  “Look at all the cacti,” said Jessie as they bounced along.

  “I see yellow, orange, and red flowers on some of them,” said Violet. Violet loved nature and pretty things. She pulled a camera from her bag and took photographs.

  Benny put his hand over his eyes to shield them from the bright sun. “Look!” he said, pointing. “That’s a huge rabbit out there! It’s bigger than Watch!”

  The children watched as a jackrabbit loped across the scrubby terrain. Watch yipped.

  “Their big ears help them stay cool in the hot weather,” said Henry. Henry had been reading about the Texas desert in preparation for their trip. “They can also run very fast, up to forty miles an hour.”

  “That’s right,” Bart said from the front seat. He guided Trigger through an open gate next to a large parking lot. A small group of cattle with huge horns watched them go by from a fenced area nearby. “And jackrabbits eat cactus—imagine that!”

  “Yikes, that would hurt to eat those sharp thorns,” said Benny. “Are those your cows?” he asked.

  “Those are real Texas longhorn cattle,” said Bart. “They’re here for the festival.”

  The children gasped as Wildcat Crossing appeared ahead of them.

  “This town looks just like a Western movie!” said Violet.

  “We think it looks better than a Western movie,” said Bart. He helped the children out of the wagon. Then a large man with a curly mustache and black hat walked up. He led Trigger and the wagon down the road without saying a word.

  “Don’t mind Jack McCoy,” said Bart. “He’s always grumpy like that. We just ignore him.”

  “Hello there, Aldens!” said a friendly voice. “I’m Nellie, Bart’s wife and partner.” A tall woman wearing a long striped dress with a bright blue apron stood in the doorway of a building. “Come on in and have a snack.”

  “We’re happy to meet you,” said Henry.

  “We’re happy to meet you and have a snack!” said Benny.

  Jessie patted Benny’s head and laughed.

  “This is Benny, Henry, and Violet, and my name is Jessie,” she said. “Benny is a bottomless pit when it comes to food.”

  “That’s okay with me,” said Nellie, smiling. “We always have plenty of food at Wildcat Crossing. Cowboys love to eat too!”

  “S-a-l-o-o-n,” said Benny, reading the sign over the door of the building. “What is a saloon?”

  “This saloon is a Western-style restaurant,” said Bart. “It has food, drinks, and entertainment. Come on in!”

  The children followed Bart and Nellie inside the saloon. Nellie introduced them to Calamity Connie, her sister. Connie was placing menus on the tables.

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” said Calamity Connie. “I hope you enjoy the festival!”

  “I love your shiny pink boots!” said Violet.

  “Thank you,” said Calamity Connie. “I love pink—and purple too!”

  “So do I!” said Violet. “Purple is like my name, Violet.”

  “What does calamity mean?” Benny asked.

  “Calamity means disaster. It’s the stage name that Nellie gave me,” said Connie. She scowled at her sister, who smiled.

  “It’s all in fun,” said Nellie. “Connie is a very talented musician. It’s just that sometimes…”

  Just then Connie dropped the pile of menus, which scattered all over the floor.

  “See?” said Nellie.

  “I’m a clumsy gal,” said Calamity Connie with a laugh. The children helped her gather up the menus.

  Then everyone enjoyed fresh biscuits with scrambled eggs, cheese grits, and glasses of milk. When they were finished, Bart took the Aldens up the road to the bunkhouse where they would be staying.

  “We’ve known your grandfather since Nellie’s parents built this town,” said Bart. “I’m glad he let you come visit! You’ll have lots of fun.”

  “Thank you,” said Jessie. “We’re also here to help in any
way we can.” The children nodded in agreement. They liked to chip in and help people.

  “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll keep you busy!” Bart promised. “Okay, get settled and then feel free to wander around. We’ll have lunch back at the saloon at twelve. But watch out, you never know what might happen in the meantime.” He winked and smiled then left.

  “I wonder what he meant by that,” Violet said. She looked nervous.

  “You’ll see. Don’t worry,” said Henry. Jessie smiled with him.

  “Oh, another surprise!” Benny said. “I love Wildcat Crossing! It’s full of surprises.”

  The children unpacked their clothes and headed back outside. They wandered along the wooden sidewalks, peering in the windows of the old buildings. There was a huge museum with lots of Western history and a library filled with old books. They also noticed a stable for horses near a big outdoor stage. There were hitching posts for horses all along the lane. One horse, a sleepy back one, was hitched to a post by the saloon.

  When they had seen every building, the Aldens ventured back to the saloon to see if Connie needed any help with lunch.

  “Oh, you’re back,” Connie said, appearing at the kitchen doorway. Her face was red and she was out of breath. Violet noticed that her shiny pink boots looked a little dusty.

  “We came to see if you needed any help,” said Jessie. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, and I don’t need any help right now,” said Connie. “Why don’t you tour the town?” Connie didn’t wait for an answer. She ducked back into the kitchen.

  “I guess she doesn’t need any help,” said Violet. The children went back outside.

  “Look at that big stage,” said Henry, pointing at the large structure in the center of the town. “This must be where they have the stage shows for the festival.” They admired the ornate wooden building. It had a big red velvet curtain in front.

  “There’s a sign,” said Benny. “It says Wildcat Stage.” Benny was just learning to read and liked to practice by reading signs.

  “We’ll be helping with the stage play tomorrow,” said Violet. “I can’t wait! I’m going to take lots of pictures.”

  “I wonder where everyone is,” Jessie said. “It seems like a ghost town. Earlier we saw people walking around.”

  Suddenly a man with a bandana hiding most of his face rushed out of a building. It had a sign that read bank. The masked bandit leaped onto the black horse tied to the hitching post by the saloon. The bandit galloped down the road. Clouds of dust billowed in his trail. Bart, dressed in a black suit, ran out of the bank.

  “Stop, thief!” yelled Bart.

  Nellie appeared in the bank window wearing a colorful costume. “We’ve been robbed!” she screamed.

  A cowboy on a white horse galloped in from behind the big stage. He was dressed in a fancy white and gold outfit. “Somebody call Sheriff Dooworthy!” he yelled. His horse circled in the dirt.

  A woman wearing a shiny star on her plaid shirt appeared from a building marked jail. “Hey!” she yelled. “Somebody stole Tricky Trigger!”

  Bart, Nellie, and the cowboy all stared at her.

  “Wait a darn rawhide minute,” said Bart. “That’s not in the script!”

  CHAPTER 2

  Trigger Is Missing

  The Aldens rushed to join the frantic group. The man playing the part of the masked bandit returned. He jumped off his horse. Then he removed the bandana, smoothed his curly mustache, and scowled. “What the heck happened?” he asked.

  “That’s the grumpy guy,” whispered Benny.

  “Yes, that’s Jack McCoy,” Henry whispered back.

  Everyone else was talking at once.

  “Everyone, please, calm down,” said Bart. “Wanda, what happened?”

  “Trigger wasn’t tied up behind the jail where he was supposed to be!” Wanda waved her arms around as she talked. She glared at Jack McCoy. “You were supposed to make sure Tricky Trigger was ready for rehearsal!”

  “Don’t look at me,” Jack griped. “I had Trigger tied up where he belonged. And I had Blackie out there by the saloon. I waited in the bank for my cue. I did my job.”

  “What’s a cue?” Benny whispered.

  “Shh,” Jessie replied. “We’ll tell you later.”

  “I didn’t see anything,” said the cowboy in the white-and-gold suit. “I was behind the stage waiting for my cue.”

  “You’re always waiting for your cue, Dapper Dallas,” said Jack. He sneered at the fancy-dressed cowboy.

  “Cut that out, boys,” said Nellie. “We have to find Tricky Trigger. That horse is worth a fortune. It looks as if somebody may have stolen him.”

  “You’re in charge of the horses, Jack,” said Wanda. “So you must know where Trigger is.”

  “Well contrary to what you think, Sheriff Wanda Dooworthy, I sure don’t know,” said Jack. “So maybe we should look for that valuable horse.” He got back on Blackie. He headed up the road, dust clouds trailing behind them.

  “Oh dear,” said Nellie, watching the dust roll by. “What next?”

  “It’s just a coincidence, Nellie,” said Bart. He patted her arm. “Trigger probably just got loose and Jack is embarrassed. We’ll find him.”

  “Has something else like this happened?” Henry asked.

  “This is not the first mishap,” said Bart. “Just the other day—”

  “We aren’t going to find Trigger by standing around here yakking,” said Dapper Dallas, interrupting. “Hey, you kids, do you know how to ride a horse?”

  “You bet we do!” said Jessie.

  “And we want to help find Trigger,” said Henry.

  “Come on then. Let’s saddle up,” said Dallas. “Let’s go, Wanda!”

  Bart and Nellie stayed behind in case Trigger wandered back to town while the Aldens and Wanda followed Dallas to the stable. The Aldens donned cowboy boots, and then Wanda, Henry, and Jessie saddled up on their horses. Violet and Benny got to ride twin ponies named Mutt and Jeff.

  “Hurry up, please,” said Wanda. “Trigger is smart enough to find his way back home, but not if he’s in trouble.”

  The group headed down the lane past the stage and the saloon. They trotted down the road that the children had traveled earlier. Everyone looked around, hoping to spot Trigger.

  “I wonder where Jack McCoy went,” Jessie said, trotting alongside Wanda.

  “He might be ahead of us or he may have circled back the other way,” said Wanda.

  “Jack sure is grumpy,” said Benny. He and Violet rode their ponies next to each other. Wanda sniffed. “Jack is a grump all right. He’s worse than ever since I got his job playing the part of sheriff in our shows.”

  “Why did he lose the job?” Henry asked.

  “Because he was taking it too seriously,” said Dallas. “Always telling everyone what to do. So Bart took it away from him.”

  “And now he gets to be a bad guy and take care of the horses,” said Wanda. “It seems to suit him.”

  Benny looked down at Dallas’s bright blue sneakers. “Don’t cowboys wear boots to ride horses?” he asked. Benny pointed to his own cowboy boots.

  Henry noticed that Dallas frowned and then smiled. “Well, sure, little partner, but the boots I wear are very expensive. I want to keep them clean and shiny for our performances.”

  “Oh, okay,” said Benny.

  Suddenly Mutt, Violet’s pony, whinnied. “Mutt, what’s the matter?” asked Violet. Mutt looked around nervously as he walked.

  “Maybe he heard something,” said Jessie.

  “Hold up, everyone,” said Wanda.

  “Did you hear that?” asked Dallas. He turned his horse back toward Wildcat Crossing and put one hand up to his ear. “That was a horse whinny!”

  “Maybe that’s what Mutt heard,” said Violet. “Oh, I hear it too!”

  “I hear it too. It sounds like Trigger,” said Wanda. “Let’s go!” She spurred her horse and galloped back toward Wildcat Crossing.

/>   “Come on, kids!” yelled Dallas. “Yee haw!” he sang as he followed Wanda back down the road.

  Henry, Violet, and Benny turned to follow, but Jessie raised her hand to stop them.

  “Wait. I think the sound came from down the side road we just walked by,” she said. “Dallas and Wanda may have heard another horse at the stable in town.”

  “Wanda might be too upset to recognize Trigger’s voice,” said Violet.

  “You two could be right,” said Henry. “Let’s sit quietly for a minute.”

  The children waited quietly, their horses staying still and silent.

  “There it is again!” said Benny. It is coming from that side road!” He walked his pony down the narrow drive. Jessie followed along with Violet and Henry. The road looked like nobody had used it for a long time. Tree roots split the pavement and grass grew in the cracks. Desert willow branches hung down so that the children had to duck to get past them.

  Benny’s pony, Jeff, whinnied just as they approached an old wooden building that looked like a barn.

  “I don’t see Trigger,” said Violet, looking around. “Mutt, where is Trigger?”

  Mutt snorted and grabbed a mouthful of grass by the road.

  “Mutt doesn’t seem upset anymore,” said Henry. “Maybe we’re close to Trigger.”

  “Let’s ride around to the back of the building,” suggested Jessie.

  They walked their horses around the barn. They were greeted by a nicker and a snort.

  “Hello there, Trigger!” said Henry. “We’ve been looking for you.”

  The big palomino horse nodded his head and whinnied. He was inside the old barn with his head hanging out an open window. He wore the bridle and saddle that Jack had put on him earlier.

  “Thank goodness he’s okay,” said Violet. She jumped down from her pony and walked over to greet Trigger. He nuzzled her hand and pawed the ground.

  “Let’s get him out of there,” said Jessie. She got off her horse and pulled open a big door. Trigger happily clopped out and Violet grabbed his reins.

  “What’s that taped to his saddle?” Benny asked.

  Violet reached for the bright orange piece of paper taped to Trigger’s saddle and handed it to Benny. “I don’t think I can read this,” he said.