“Sorry,” said Captain Daniel, looking at Watch, “I don’t think we’d better take the dog along. Can’t you leave him?”
“I am not going either,” said Joe. “I have to telephone a lot of people. Don’t you think Watch would stay with me?”
“He will if Jessie tells him,” said Henry.
“Listen, Watch,” said Jessie. “Sit down here. Stay with Joe.”
Watch obeyed and sat down.
“Good dog,” said Jessie. “He understands.”
Soon Captain Daniel started the motor, and the children waved good-by to Joe.
“How nice this is!” cried Jessie. She put her fingers in the water.
“I wish you had asked us to go with you before,” said Henry. “It’s wonderful!”
“Why is that red board floating out there?” asked Benny, pointing.
“Good boy!” cried Captain Daniel, very pleased. “That’s one of my lobster floats. It shows the place where I have a lobster pot in the water. Good sharp eyes you have, Benny, to notice that.”
As they came near the red board, Captain Daniel stopped the motor.
“Can you reach it, Henry?” he asked, as the boat stopped.
Henry caught the red float and began to lift it out of the water. A lot of rope came up, and at last a heavy lobster pot.
“Oh, you caught some lobsters!” shouted Benny. “Aren’t they queer? These are different from real lobsters—they’re green.”
“All lobsters are green, Benny,” said Jessie. “They turn red when they are cooked.”
“Will these turn red, too?” asked Benny, looking at the claws.
“Sure,” said Captain Daniel. He opened the lobster pot and took out three lobsters. He threw one back into the ocean. “Too small,” said Captain Daniel. “We’ll let it grow some more.” The other two he put into the box.
“Don’t pick them up, Benny,” warned Henry. “You’ve got to look out for those big claws.”
Captain Daniel baited the lobster pot with old fish-heads, shut it, and let it down again into the water. Then he started the motor, and away they went.
“The one who sees the next float first gets all the lobsters in it,” said Captain Daniel.
“What color is it?” asked Benny.
“Oh, that would be telling. Each one is a different color,” answered the captain.
All the children stared hard at the water. They could see nothing but waves.
“Ho, isn’t that another float?” said Henry suddenly, as they went past a blue board.
“Yes, that’s one,” said the captain. “I hope there will be lobsters in it.”
Henry caught the blue float. “Pull hard,” said the captain. “It’s deep here and there will be more rope. Want any help?”
“No,” said Henry. It was hard work. The rope seemed to go straight to the bottom of the ocean. At last the lobster pot came in sight.
“Empty!” cried Jessie. “Too bad!”
“Yes,” said Captain Daniel, taking in the lobster pot. “It often happens. This is the best one some days. Do you notice that the bait is gone?”
He baited the pot again and let it down.
“The next one will be yours, also, Henry. Hope for better luck,” said the captain.
Soon Benny said, “This float is white. Or maybe it’s a wave.”
“No, it’s a float,” said Captain Daniel, laughing. “Henry will have to give you a lobster for finding this float.”
Everyone watched as Henry pulled in the lobster pot. At last it came to the top.
“Oh, there are a lot!” cried Henry. “It’s a pile of claws. There must be four lobsters. No, five!”
“Six!” said Jessie, as Captain Daniel dropped them one by one into the box. “Isn’t that enough for our dinner? Six lobsters? You and Joe will have to come to dinner, too, to help us eat them.”
“Yes, thank you, and I’ll boil them for you,” said Captain Daniel. “I have a big wide kettle. When you take the meat out of the shells it is ready to eat.”
“But I don’t know how to take the meat out,” said Jessie.
“Joe will show you,” said the captain.
“Let’s do it outdoors,” said Jessie.
After they had pulled in a few more lobster pots, Captain Daniel headed the boat back to the island.
“You caught fifteen lobsters,” said Benny. “That’s a lot!”
“Not very many,” said the captain when they had reached the island again. “Some days I get two or three dozen. And six of these lobsters are yours.”
When the lobsters had been cooked, Joe sat down on the sand with his young cousins to take out the lobster meat. Jessie and Henry worked, but Violet and Benny just watched.
While they were working, Benny said, “Please let me come when they blow the top off the cave.”
Joe looked a little worried. He remembered what had happened before when he said “No.” And so he said, “Benny, I’m sorry, but only the ones who will do the work can come.”
“Will you be here?” asked Violet.
“Yes, Violet. I have to come. You see this is my work. All the things will go in a museum bigger than Uncle James’ museum. You found some wonderful things.”
“Oh, Joe, I’d like to have this for my work, too!” said Henry. “Would you teach me?”
“Yes, Henry, I’d like to. You never can tell what will happen. We might work together.”
“Will you tell us everything the men find?” asked Jessie.
“Oh, my, yes!” replied Joe. “You can see every single thing after they have dug it out. I’m glad you don’t feel too bad about not doing the digging.”
“We understand,” said Henry. “It will be better this way.”
“Now the lobster meat is all out,” said Jessie. “How shall we fix it, Joe?”
“Some people like it cold,” began Joe.
“Oh, but I want to cook just once more on the stove,” cried Jessie.
Joe smiled. “Then have a stew. Put the lobster meat in milk with butter and salt, and eat it hot.”
“That sounds good,” said Jessie.
The stew was delicious. When they were eating, Henry said, “I have an idea. Let’s come back here weekends until it gets too cold to come.”
“Wonderful,” said Jessie. “Now we won’t have much packing to do. We’ve eaten all the food.”
Violet put the dishes in the cupboard while Jessie put the towels and blankets in boxes to be taken home and washed. Henry stood the rest of the boxes along the wall and shut all the windows. They left the museum just as it was.
Benny carried Violet’s paints, pen, and her work-bag. She carried the violin herself.
“Good-by, barn!” said Benny, when Henry shut the door. “I am not going to cry.”
“Good for you, Benny!” said Henry. “Just keep thinking how lonesome Grandfather has been.”
“I want to go home now,” said Benny. “I want to sleep in my real bed.”
Henry laughed. A real bed seemed very good to him, too.
Captain Daniel took the children over to the mainland. When they saw their grandfather waiting for them in the car, they ran to him and all began to talk at once.
“Get in, get in!” said Mr. Alden. “I want to hear all about it, but I can’t understand four people all talking at the same time.”
But the children could hardly wait to take turns. They told him about the floats and the lobsters and the cave.
“They are going to blow the top off the cave, Grandfather!” cried Benny.
“Really?” said Mr. Alden, who of course knew all about it. “What a noise that will make!”
“Joe won’t be home for good until later,” said Jessie. “He said to tell you that he would stay with Captain Daniel. He won’t move into the little yellow house.”
“I should say he won’t!” cried Mr. Alden.
For a minute, the children were too surprised to say anything.
Then Henry said, “Grandfather,
that’s one thing we can’t understand. Why didn’t we ever get to go into that little yellow house? Doesn’t it belong to you?”
Mr. Alden looked at his grandchildren. Then he said quietly, “That’s another story.”
“We won’t ask about it now,” said Jessie quickly. “You have been so wonderful to us. Thank you for our summer on the island.”
“That’s all right,” said Mr. Alden, smiling again. “I’m glad to have you all at home. I believe I shall even be glad to hear Watch bark at the milkman tomorrow morning.”
That night, when Jessie was going to bed in her own room, she thought she heard Benny calling.
“Did you call me, Benny?” she asked, going into her little brother’s room.
“Yes,” said Benny very slowly, for he was almost asleep. “I said Joe is going to live with us, and he’s my best friend in all the world.”
“Yes, I know he is,” said Jessie, pulling up the blanket.
“I mean all but you, Jessie, of course, and Violet, and Grandfather—”
“And Watch?” asked Jessie.
“Yes, of course Watch, and Henry—”
He stopped.
“And Captain Daniel—”
Jessie saw that Benny’s eyes were shut. He had gone to sleep naming his friends. But it did not matter, thought Jessie, smiling. For it would have taken a long time to name all of Benny’s friends.
And downstairs, the children’s real best friend settled back in his big chair to make plans for them.
About the Author
GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book, The Boxcar Children, quickly proved she had succeeded.
Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.
When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.
While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.
Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books. And so she continued the Aldens’ adventures, writing a total of nineteen books in the Boxcar Children series.
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
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 MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED
HOUSE
THE HOCKEY MYSTERY
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
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 1949, 1977 by Albert Whitman & Company
ISBN: 978-1-4532-0755-0
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