Henry moved closer. He knew that Michael was talking about the baseball card in the glove compartment. “We’re going to start the party as soon as everyone cleans up.”
Half an hour later, the Pirates had left the parking lot, and the Bears were milling around the field, sipping cold lemonade. Henry was just about to approach Coach Warren when a female voice rang out.
“Surprise, surprise!” Violet and Jessie turned to see Mrs. Sealy bearing down on them with a large birthday cake. “I hope Coach Warren can blow out all these candles,” she said, teasing. She was balancing the cake carefully, and Jessie noticed that it was decorated to look like a baseball diamond.
Susan and her mother were right behind her, carrying napkins and paper plates.
“Did you know your aunt was planning this?” Violet asked quietly.
Susan looked a little embarrassed. “My aunt knew we were having a party to celebrate after the game, and she decided to bake a cake.” She paused. “I’m surprised she knew it was the Coach’s birthday. . . . ”
Violet didn’t say anything. Somehow, Mrs. Sealy always seemed to be in the middle of things.
A little bit later, after the cake had been cut, Violet wandered over to Henry. He was standing next to the van, his hand on the door handle. “Is the baseball card still there?” she said, glancing at the inside of the van.
Henry shook his head. “It’s gone,” he told her. “Just as I knew it would be.”
“So the thief is right here!” It gave Violet a little chill to think that the thief was someone close by — someone so close she could almost reach out and touch him or her. She glanced around the field. Chuck was sitting next to Mr. Jackson in the dugout, eating cake, and Mrs. Sealy was talking to Coach Warren. Susan had been collecting signatures on a giant birthday card, and she made her way over to Violet and Henry.
“We can give this to the coach just as soon as you two sign it,” she said. After Henry and Violet wrote their names, she headed for Coach Warren. Henry motioned for the rest of the Aldens to follow him.
“We’d like to wish you a happy birthday, Coach,” Susan began. As Coach Warren took the card, Henry stepped forward.
“And we have a little present for you.” To Violet’s amazement, he took a plastic-wrapped baseball card out of his pocket.
“Why, thank you,” Coach Warren said. His face lit up when he recognized Joe DiMaggio.
“How in the world . . . ” Violet muttered.
Jessie edged closer. “That’s the real card,” she said in a low voice. “Henry substituted a fake one in the glove compartment to catch the thief.”
“What do we do now?” Violet whispered.
“We spring the trap,” Jessie said simply.
She moved quickly and stood between Susan and Coach Warren. “There’s something you need to know, Coach,” she began. “You know the series of thefts we’ve been having. . . . ”
The coach nodded sadly. “I had hoped all that was behind us.”
“I’m afraid it’s not,” Henry said firmly. “In fact, someone tried to steal your birthday present today. The Joe DiMaggio card.”
The coach fingered the baseball card. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. That’s why we set a trap and substituted a fake card in the glove compartment of the van.” Everyone in the crowd was very still. Violet noticed that Chuck jammed his hands in his pockets, and Mr. Jackson looked worried. “And someone is holding the fake card right now. . . . ”
“But who would do such a thing?” Susan blurted out. She looked at her aunt, who was fumbling with her pocketbook.
“I think it’s you, Mrs. Sealy,” Henry said quietly. “I saw you poking around the van earlier today. You had no reason to be there.”
“This is ridiculous!” Mrs. Sealy blurted out. She clutched her pocketbook more firmly, and suddenly Violet realized that she had something to hide.
“How dare you accuse my sister!” Mrs. Miller said. “What would she want with a baseball card? Look, I’ll prove it to you.” Before anyone could stop her, she grabbed Mrs. Sealy’s pocketbook and emptied the contents on a picnic table. “See, what did I tell you?” she said angrily. “Here’s a hairbrush, some tissues, a change purse, and . . . ” She paused, shaken. A plastic-wrapped baseball card lay squarely on the table. “Oh, no!” she gasped.
“And a baseball card,” Henry said. He picked up the card and showed it to the group. “Joe DiMaggio. Except this one’s not autographed.”
Mrs. Miller looked astonished. “What’s going on?” she asked, turning to her sister. Mrs. Sealy didn’t answer, and stood with her arms folded across her chest. “Well, say something, Edna,” Mrs. Miller persisted. “How did this end up in your purse?”
Mrs. Sealy hesitated for a moment, and then realized the game was up. “All right,” she said. Her voice was low and angry. “I took the card.”
“And that’s not all you took, is it?” Jessie asked.
Mrs. Sealy shook her head. “I took some other things as well.”
“But why?”Susan looked as if she was near tears. “Why would you do such a thing?” Violet felt sorry for her. It must be terrible to think that your own aunt would try to destroy your team.
“You know I wanted you to drop out of baseball,” Mrs. Sealy began. “I thought if enough bad things happened, maybe you’d get disgusted and stop playing. Or maybe Coach would disband the Bears, I don’t know . . . ” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t suppose this makes sense to you.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Susan said. Her voice was shaky. “I love being on the team. And I never understood why you hate the game so much.”
“Don’t you see?” Mrs. Sealy took a step toward Susan. “It takes time away from more important things. You could be a wonderful artist if you just spent more time painting. You’re wasting your time on this . . . baseball field.”
“Why didn’t you just tell her how you felt?” Mrs. Miller asked.
Mrs. Sealy looked vaguely at her sister. “I tried to . . . I guess I never believed it would sink in. I thought this way would be better.”
“You made a big mistake,” Coach Warren said. “You’ve caused a lot of problems for us.”
“I know. I see now that I was wrong.” She paused. “I’m really sorry, Susan. You probably don’t believe this, but I did it for you.”
“But I wasn’t giving up my painting,” Susan said. Her voice was stronger now. “I’m still going to take lessons and paint every day in the off-season. I thought you knew that.”
Mrs. Sealy shook her head and for a moment no one said anything.
“It’s a big relief to know who did it,” Chuck said.
“Did you take Jessie’s mitt?” Benny demanded. “And then try to trick her with a fake one?”
“Yes, I took her mitt.” Mrs. Sealy looked embarrassed. “But I don’t know anything about a fake one.”
“You don’t?” Henry looked suspicious.
“She’s telling the truth,” Chuck said. “I felt so sorry for you, Jessie, that I tried to make you a new one. I guess I didn’t fool anyone.”
“You did?” asked Jessie. Chuck nodded, embarrassed.
“The new one still looked new,” Jessie explained.
Benny turned to Mr. Jackson. “We were afraid maybe you were the one who switched gloves.”
“Me?” Mr. Jackson looked surprised. “What made you think that?”
“You always keep a saltshaker in the dugout . . . ”
“And salt can be used to make new leather look old,” Violet finished for him.
Mr. Jackson laughed. “Well, I can explain the saltshaker to you. Hard-boiled eggs. I love ’em. Eat ’em all the time.” He grinned. “But what’s a hard-boiled egg without salt? Anyway, why would I want to hurt the team?”
“You said you didn’t think girls should be on the team,” said Benny.
“Well,” Mr. Jackson said, “I’m beginning to realize I was wrong about that. Very wrong.” He looked at Jess
ie and she smiled.
“But I saw you snooping around the lockers one day,” Benny said. “You said they needed painting, but I knew they didn’t.”
“Oh, that.” Mr. Jackson was embarrassed. “I have a little confession to make, Benny. I was trying to sneak Stockings back into your locker, but you caught me.”
“Stockings! You found Stockings?” Benny was thrilled. He had his teddy bear back.
Mr. Jackson nodded. “My little granddaughter picked him up, Benny. But I was afraid everyone would think I’d stolen the other missing things.”
“What about the bat?” Susan said suddenly. “How come I ended up with Ann’s bat?’’
“I’m responsible for that,” Mrs. Sealy said. “I thought that if they suspected you of taking it, they’d throw you off the team.”
“Edna! That was a terrible thing to do,” Susan’s mother said.
“I know.” Mrs. Sealy stared at the ground. She looked very sad.
“Where’s my glove?” Jessie spoke up. “I hope you didn’t sell it!”
“It’s in the trunk of my car,” Mrs. Sealy said. “We can get it right now.”
They walked silently to the parking lot, and Mrs. Sealy opened the trunk of her car and handed Jessie her glove.
Jessie thrust her hand inside it. She felt the little rough spot inside. This was the real glove from Aunt Jane!
“I think I better leave now,” Mrs. Sealy said quietly. Everyone was watching her except Mrs. Miller, who had her arm around Susan.
“Wait, there’s still something I don’t understand,” Jessie said. “What did you mean when you said that Coach Warren was in for the surprise of his life? I thought you and Mr. Jackson were plotting something.”
“No, for once I wasn’t plotting anything,” Mrs. Sealy said. “Just a surprise birthday party.”
“Something else is bothering me.” Nicole stepped out of the crowd. “Did you cut the cables in the van that day?”
“Yes, I did.” Mrs. Sealy’s voice was so low Nicole could hardly hear her. “I wanted you to miss the first game of the season. I’ll pay for the repairs.”
“I suppose you took the keys to my van, too,” Coach Warren said angrily.
Mrs. Sealy nodded.
“We thought you took them,” Jessie said quietly to Chuck.
“And we thought you got lost on purpose, too,” Michael added.
Chuck took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. “No, I’m afraid I’m just lousy at directions.”
“Who was that boy we saw you with in the store?” Benny asked. “He plays for the Pirates.”
“Oh, that’s my little brother, Danny,” Chuck said.
“You have a brother who plays baseball!” Jessie exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us about him?”
“I was going to tell you about him when the season was over. I thought you might think it was kind of strange that he was playing for the other team.” He paused for a moment. “You see, Danny joined the Pirates way before I started working for Coach Warren.”
“We’ve certainly cleared up a lot of things,” Henry said.
“I’m really sorry,” Mrs. Sealy said in a small voice. “I just wanted Susan to quit the team.” She looked so miserable, everyone felt sorry for her.
“Well, we all make mistakes,” Coach Warren said gruffly. “Maybe we should just forget this one.” Everyone was quiet while Mrs. Sealy started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’m glad that’s over!” Chuck said, letting out a long breath.
“I’m glad that you figured out what was going on,” Coach Warren said to the Aldens.
“I think we should try to put this behind us,” Chuck said.
An hour later, the Aldens were celebrating with Michael and Nicole on the front porch of Grandfather’s house. Benny was hugging Stockings tightly. Violet looked at her little brother and smiled.
“Things have a way of turning out all right, don’t they?” she said. They had solved the mystery, and she had even hit a home run!
Jessie nodded. “Benny got Stockings back, and I got my autographed glove back.”
“And we won the game!” Michael added. He remembered how exciting it had been. “Do you think Susan will be okay?” Nicole asked. “I really feel sorry for her.”
“I think she’ll be fine,” Henry said. “She knows her aunt made a big mistake, but it’s all over with now.” It was a warm evening, and Mrs. McGregor’s garden was starting to bloom. “You know, we really did a good job today. We won the game and we solved another mystery.”
“Another mystery?” Nicole asked curiously.
“Do you mean you’ve done this before?” Michael piped up.
Jessie laughed. “Many times.”
“Wow,” Nicole said softly. “Can you tell us about them?”
“Sure,” Benny told her. “But it’ll take a long time!”
THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH
GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER
Illustrated by Charles Tang
ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago
Contents
CHAPTER
1. Welcome to Camp Coral
2. A Night on the Water
3. A Very Special Island
4. Petting a Shark
5. Someone’s Stealing Coral!
6. Benny Finds an Unusual Coin
7. A Trip to the Coral Reef
8. The Thief Returns!
9. To Catch a Thief!
10. The Mystery Is Solved!
CHAPTER 1
Welcome to Camp Coral
“Are we almost there?” Violet asked eagerly. She was wedged in the front seat between Grandfather and Henry as the rental car sped along the Overseas Highway toward Key West, Florida.
“We just passed Key Largo,” Grandfather told her, “so we have another couple of hours to go.”
“And we have a lot more Keys to go,” Jessie piped up from the back seat. “Sugarloaf Key, Eagle Key, Big Pine Key . . . ” She reeled off the names from a map that Soo Lee had spread across her lap.
“I hope we’ll be at Camp Coral in time for dinner,” said Benny, who was six. He loved to eat.
“The names are so pretty,” Soo Lee said. She stared out the window at the turquoise water that inched right up to the narrow ribbon of highway. The silvery blue-green Atlantic Ocean was on the left, and the Gulf of Mexico was on the right.
“I’m glad you came with us, Soo Lee,” Violet said.
“So am I.” Soo Lee was a seven-year-old Korean girl who had been adopted by Joe and Alice Alden, the Boxcar children’s aunt and uncle. She was looking forward to sharing adventures with her new cousins.
“I think we’ll see a lot of the islands and keys at Camp Coral,” Jessie assured her. “They have fourteen boats, and we’ll be on the water every day.” Jessie, who was twelve, was the most organized of the four Boxcar children, and she had read the camp handbook from cover to cover.
“I’ll be on the water, too,” Grandfather said. “Jake loves to fish and I expect we’ll be out catching blue marlin and snapper for dinner.” He had already explained to the children that he would be visiting his friend on Upper Matecumbe Key while they were at camp for a week.
“I bet you’ll have fun, Grandfather,” Violet said, resting her hand on Grandfather’s shoulder. Ten-year-old Violet Alden was a shy, sensitive child, who was very attached to her grandfather. She remembered the days when she and her sister and brothers were orphans, living in a boxcar, and Grandfather had found them and given them a real home.
It was late afternoon when Henry, who was fourteen, spotted a small green sign. “That’s it,” he said excitedly. “Turn here for Camp Coral, Grandfather.” They left the highway and headed down a narrow dirt road bordered by a tropical jungle of mangrove trees and palms. A pair of white herons streaked across the sky, and a small deer darted across the road into a thicket.
A few minutes later, they arrived at a collection of white stucco
buildings nestled at the edge of a dazzling blue ocean. Two giant palms framed a nautical-looking sign: WELCOME TO CAMP CORAL. A piece of fishermen’s net was draped over one corner, and a thick coil of rope formed the words.
“We’re here!” Benny shouted. As soon as Grandfather pulled into the parking lot, Benny scrambled out of the car. Jessie and Soo Lee were right behind him.
“It’s just like I pictured it,” Violet said, turning to help unload the luggage from the trunk. A group of campers were paddling kayaks close to the shore, and two young girls walked by in wet suits. They were carrying goggles and flippers, and one of them waved to her.
“Why are they dressed like that?” Benny asked curiously.
“They’re probably going snorkeling,” Grandfather told him. “Or maybe even scuba diving. They teach both here at the camp.”
“And we teach a lot of other fun things,” a young woman said, walking up to them. She was wearing cut-off shorts and a red T-shirt with the word STAFF printed on it. “I’m Melanie, the activity director,” she said, sticking out her hand to Grandfather. “And you must be the Aldens.”
Grandfather shook Melanie’s hand and introduced everyone. Then a loud bark made Melanie turn in surprise. “Oops,” she said, reaching down to pat a friendly-looking collie. “I forgot to introduce Bingo. He’s the camp mascot.”
“We have a dog back home,” Benny said. “His name is Watch.”
Melanie smiled at him. “Then I’ll give you a special assignment, Benny. You can give Bingo his doggie treat every day after dinner. Would you like that?”
“You bet!”
“Now, after you say your good-byes, I’ll take you to your cabins.” She bent down to pick up one of the duffel bags lying next to the car.
“Good-bye, children,” Grandfather said, embracing each of the children in a big hug. “Have a wonderful time, and I’ll see you next week.”
“Good-bye, Grandfather,” Jessie said, somewhat sadly.
“We’ll miss you!” Violet added.
Grandfather started the engine and the children waved until the blue car had rounded a turn in the dirt road and was out of sight.