The Mystery of the Orphan Train Read online

  Josh turned to his wife. “Now, that might be fun to check out.”

  Vanessa was pulling a biscuit apart. “I’m not all that interested in cowboys,” she said in a bored voice. “I’d much rather browse through antique stores.”

  Josh shrugged a little as he lifted green beans onto his plate.

  “Kate knows all there is to know about antiques,” Lindsay put in, looking fondly at her employer. “She’s a real expert on the subject.”

  “Oh?” Vanessa looked over at Kate.

  Kate shook her head. “I’m not really an expert, but I have—”

  “What an interesting piece of jewelry!” Vanessa broke in. “Is that necklace an antique? It certainly looks old.” Everyone followed Vanessa’s gaze to the bluebird charm that hung from a gold chain around Kate’s neck.

  “Depends on what you call old,” said Kate. “This necklace belonged to my grandmother. The funny thing is, she could never remember how she came by it. But she loved it all the same.”

  “It really is beautiful,” Jessie said admiringly.

  Violet nodded. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Neither have I.” Vanessa carefully buttered each half of her biscuit, then ate two mouthfuls. “About how old do you think it is?”

  Kate lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I really have no idea.”

  “But it must be an antique,” insisted Vanessa.

  “Yes—I suppose,” Kate said.

  “Do you think it was passed down through the family?” pursued Vanessa.

  Kate laughed a little. “Vanessa, there’s no point in asking me all these questions. As I said, my grandmother couldn’t remember who gave it to her. All I know is that she loved it, and always wore it on special occasions. In fact, she was wearing this necklace when Ethan Cape photographed her.”

  The professor, who had been staring glumly at his plate, suddenly looked up. For a long moment he fixed his gaze on Kate’s necklace.

  “Yes, yes, of course,” he said at last, more to himself than anyone else. “That’s the necklace in the photograph.”

  “Oh, have you seen it, Professor?” Violet asked shyly. “The original photograph taken by Ethan Cape, I mean.”

  The professor gave Violet a funny look. “Why do you ask?” he replied sharply.

  “No reason, really,” said Violet in surprise. “I just thought—”

  The professor broke in before she could finish. “I have no interest in photography—or in Ethan Cape.”

  Everyone seemed surprised by Professor Brewer’s harsh tone. Jessie caught Henry’s eye. Why was Kate’s guest so upset?

  There was a strained silence until Lindsay spoke up. “You must see The Wizard of Oz while you’re here, kids,” she said, changing the subject. “I caught a performance last week and really enjoyed it.”

  Jessie was about to say something, but Vanessa spoke first.

  “How much?” she asked, turning to Kate. She propped her knife on the edge of her plate. “Just name your price.”

  Kate wrinkled her forehead. “Are you talking about tickets to the play, Vanessa?”

  “No, no, no!” Vanessa waved her hand in a frustrated way. “I’m talking about your necklace. I’ve taken quite a fancy to it.”

  Kate’s hand closed over the bluebird charm. “I’m afraid it’s not for sale.”

  “Oh, come now!” Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Everything has a price tag.”

  “No, Vanessa. You are quite wrong.” Kate shook her head. “Everything does not have a price tag.”

  “But—” began Vanessa.

  “Let it go,” Josh told his wife through tightened lips.

  At that, Vanessa backed off.

  “Can you believe it?” Lindsay said later as the Aldens helped her clear the plates from the table. “Vanessa has such a nerve.”

  “She sure wanted Kate’s necklace,” said Benny, gathering up the napkins. “I wonder why.”

  “Vanessa wants everything she sees,” stated Lindsay, who seemed to be getting more annoyed by the minute. “She’s from a wealthy family you know. From what I gather, she’s used to getting whatever she wants.” Lindsay paused to tighten the lid on the salt shaker. “Josh is a high school teacher. I’m afraid Vanessa’s not used to living on a budget.”

  “It must be quite a change for her,” said Violet, who never liked to think badly of people. “She probably needs time to get used to her new life.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Lindsay said, backing down a little.

  After helping with the dishes, the Aldens went looking for Kate. They found her in the front room, reading a book. She looked over and smiled when the children came through the doorway.

  “Come and make yourselves comfortable,” she said, setting her book aside.

  Jessie and Benny joined her on the sofa while Henry sat in the rocking chair nearby. Violet couldn’t resist settling into a lavender chair with padded arms. Purple was Violet’s favorite color, and she almost always wore something purple or violet.

  “There it is, Violet,” said Kate. She pointed to the picture that hung above the fireplace. “The great Ethan Cape himself took that photograph of my grandmother, Sally Crawford.”

  From inside an oval frame, a lady with snow-white hair and gentle eyes smiled down at them. Around her neck she wore a bluebird charm on a gold chain.

  “What a wonderful picture,” said Violet.

  Kate agreed. “Ethan Cape was a brilliant photographer. He managed to capture my grandmother’s inner beauty.”

  Jessie nodded. “You can see the kindness in her eyes.”

  “Everyone loved Sally Crawford, Jessie,” said Kate. She paused to take a sip of coffee. “Sadly, she died a few weeks after that photograph was taken.”

  The Aldens looked at one another in surprise. “What happened, Kate?” Henry asked.

  “My grandmother’s health took a turn for the worse, Henry.” A shadow seemed to fall over Kate’s face.

  “Oh!” Jessie cried. “How sad.”

  “Yes, it was sad. But Sally Crawford died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. Nobody can ask for more than that.” Kate let out a long sigh. “What’s really sad is that she never had a chance to reveal her secret.”

  “Secret?” Benny echoed in surprise.

  “Yes, my grandmother was making plans to get the entire family together. She said she had a secret to reveal—a secret that had been kept hidden too long.”

  Nobody said anything for a moment. Then Benny spoke up. “You’re not supposed to tell secrets,” he said.

  This made Henry smile a little. Benny was famous for not keeping secrets. “It’s okay if it’s a secret about yourself,” he told his little brother.

  Violet had been wondering about something. “Do you think the secret had anything to do with Ethan Cape?”

  “It’s possible, Violet,” admitted Kate. “But not very likely. After all, Ethan Cape had never stepped foot in this house until he arrived to photograph my grandmother. Ethan Cape and Sally Crawford had never met before that day.” Leaning back against a cushion, she let out a long sigh. “I doubt we’ll ever know the truth. I’m afraid my grandmother took her secret to the grave with her.”

  The Aldens looked at one another. Was Grandfather right? Was this one mystery that might never be solved?

  CHAPTER 4

  A Hidden Message

  “What a beautiful garden,” Jessie said. The other Aldens agreed as they helped Kate gather flowers the next morning.

  Kate looked pleased. “Thank you, Jessie. My guests often help out with the weeding. They find it relaxing.” She added some daisies to the basket over her arm. “Of course, my younger guests prefer to swim in the pond or play in the jungle.”

  This caught Benny’s attention. “Jungle?”

  “Oh—that’s the name my grandmother gave to the woods over there.” Kate twisted around and pointed. “When she was growing up, she’d pretend it was fi
lled with lions and tigers and elephants. Sally often lived in a world of make-believe. You see, she never had any brothers or sisters.”

  Just then a doorbell sounded inside the house. A moment later, the back door flew open and Lindsay called out, “The truck’s pulling into the driveway, Kate.”

  “I’ll be right there!” Kate quickly tugged off her garden gloves. “Come and see it, kids!” she said, before rushing away.

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny hurried after Kate. They watched curiously as two delivery men carried a dusty old desk into the front room.

  “There’s a spot for it right over here,” Kate directed the men. “No, no. A little more to the left … more … more. Yes, that’s it!”

  As the delivery men went on their way, Kate clasped her hands. “My great-grandfather’s walnut desk! And look, those are the original white china knobs on the drawers!” she added. “I can’t believe the desk is back where it belongs. Of course, I’m still on the lookout for the matching chair. But I’ll track it down.”

  When Kate paused to catch her breath, Henry said, “What do you mean about tracking it down, Kate?”

  “The chair was sold at auction years ago, Henry. So was the old desk … a sideboard … some tables and chairs.” Kate threw up her hands. “Oh, the list goes on and on.”

  The children looked at one another in surprise. “Why was the furniture sold?” asked Violet.

  Kate answered, “I’m afraid my grandfather was a bit reckless when it came to money. Just after he married my grandmother, he lost a small fortune on the stock market. The bills were piling up, so …”

  “The furniture was sold,” finished Benny.

  Kate nodded, sighing. “It was a sad day for my grandmother. But I’ve managed to track most of the furniture down and buy it back.” She looked over at the Aldens. “Do you know where I found that desk? In a workshop!” she said, answering her own question. “The drawers were filled with garden tools.”

  “That would explain why it’s so—” Jessie stopped herself in mid-sentence.

  Kate laughed. “You can say it, Jessie—that desk is definitely a mess! I’ll cover it with a sheet until I have time to give it a good waxing.”

  “Maybe we could lend a hand,” volunteered Henry.

  “Of course,” agreed Jessie. Benny and Violet nodded.

  Kate looked surprised—and pleased. “Are you sure? It’s a big job.”

  “We like big jobs,” said Benny.

  Violet asked, “When can we start?”

  “Right now, if you like,” Kate said. “I’ll get the rags and a can of furniture wax.” Then she hurried away.

  In no time at all, the four Alden children were hard at work. While they rubbed the wood to a shine, they talked about Sally Crawford’s mysterious secret.

  “I don’t get it,” said Benny, scratching his head.

  “What don’t you get?” asked Jessie.

  Benny looked at them. “Why did Sally want to tell a secret if she’d kept it hidden for so long?”

  “You got me!” said Henry, wiping out a grimy drawer.

  “Maybe Sally just found out about it herself,” Jessie put in.

  “From Ethan Cape,” guessed Violet, still thinking there was a connection between the famous photographer and Sally Crawford’s secret.

  “You might be right, Violet,” Jessie told her. “But there’s no way of knowing for sure.”

  “We’ll get to the bottom of it,” insisted Benny as he rubbed a china knob. “Right, Henry?”

  Henry didn’t answer.

  “Henry?” Jessie asked. “Is anything wrong?”

  Henry still didn’t answer. He was busy patting all around the inside of a drawer. Finally, he looked up and said, “Speaking of getting to the bottom of things, I think this drawer might have a false bottom.”

  “Oh, you mean a secret compartment?” Violet asked in surprise. “Is that what you’re saying, Henry?”

  “I’m not sure,” Henry answered as everyone gathered round. “Let me try something.”

  They others held their breath as Henry slipped a finger into a knothole, then pulled up gently on the bottom of the drawer. Lifting it away, he said, “There’s something underneath!”

  “What is it?” Jessie asked in a hushed voice.

  Henry reached into the secret compartment and removed a folded piece of paper, yellowed with age. As he silently read the note printed in black ink, his eyes widened and he gasped.

  “What is it, Henry?” Violet wanted to know. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

  “It’s some kind of message addressed to Sally Crawford,” Henry said.

  Everyone was staring at Henry. “Read it, okay?” Benny said.

  Henry nodded. Then he read,

  Where leopards get spotted

  a clue will appear.

  Just take a look under

  the little dog’s ear.

  Benny made a face. “That sure is weird.”

  “I wonder who wrote it?” added Jessie.

  “Thane Pace,” Henry answered. “At least, that’s how it’s signed.”

  “Who was he, do you think?” wondered Violet.

  “Maybe Kate knows,” suggested Benny, already halfway to the door, with the others close behind.

  It took them a while, but they finally spotted their friend coming up the front steps, letters in one hand, a rolled-up newspaper in the other.

  “Oh—have you been trying to find me?” Kate asked.

  “Did you know about the secret compartment?” asked Benny, who always got right to the point. “The one in the old desk?”

  “Why, no,” she said, sinking down into a porch chair. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

  Jessie said, “Well, guess what?”

  “There’s a false bottom in one of the drawers,” Benny blurted out.

  Henry added, “We found a note somebody wrote to Sally.”

  “Somebody by the name of Thane Pace,” put in Violet.

  Kate looked around at them, stunned. “Did you say … Thane Pace?”

  Nodding, Henry handed her the note. As Kate read the strange message, the Aldens pulled the chairs closer and sat down.

  “This is an amazing find.” Kate shot the children a grateful glance. “A note from Thane Pace—written to my grandmother when she was just a little girl!” She shook her head in disbelief.

  “But … who was Thane Pace?” asked Benny.

  “He was the teenage boy who saved my grandmother’s life.”

  The children were so surprised by Kate’s words they were speechless.

  “My grandmother wasn’t much older than Benny that winter,” Kate said in a quiet voice. “She was skating all alone on the pond out front when it happened.”

  Henry gave Kate a questioning look. “When what happened?”

  “The ice broke and Sally fell through—into the icy water.”

  “Oh, no!” Violet cried, horrified.

  “What happened then?” Benny asked breathlessly.

  “To make a long story short,” said Kate, “a teenage boy, who happened to be walking along the road at the time, heard Sally’s cries for help. At great risk to his own life, Thane Pace pulled my grandmother from the icy water.”

  Henry let out a low whistle. “What a brave thing to do.”

  For a few moments, no one spoke. Then Jessie asked, “Was he a neighbor? Thane Pace, I mean.”

  Kate shook her head. “No, he wasn’t from around here. According to my grandmother, he lived some distance away. He’d left home to search for his sister.”

  “His sister?” Henry repeated, not understanding. “Was she lost?”

  “I should explain,” said Kate. “The thing is, Thane Pace and his sister came out to Kansas together on the Orphan Train. Thane was about ten years old at the time, and his sister was just a baby.”

  The Aldens were instantly curious. “What’s an Orphan Train?” asked Benny.

  “It was a train that brought
orphans out west long ago. A group of people called the Children’s Aid Society believed children who had no parents would have a better chance living on farms than on the streets of New York.”

  “Oh,” said Violet, catching on. “Then Thane and his sister came out to Kansas to find a new family.”

  “Exactly,” Kate said, nodding. “But sometimes a family wanted one child, not two.”

  “Oh, Kate!” cried Jessie. “You can’t mean that … that …” It was too horrible to think about.

  “I’m afraid it’s true, Jessie,” said Kate. “Thane was adopted by one family, and his baby sister by another.”

  The four Aldens stared at Kate in disbelief. Finally, Benny said, “We were orphans, too. Only, Grandfather wanted all of us to live with him.”

  “Even Watch,” added Henry.

  “There’s nothing your grandfather values more than family,” Kate said quietly. “But I guess that was true for Thane, too. He never forgot his baby sister. When he was old enough, he set out to find her.”

  “And did he?” Henry wanted to know. “Find her, I mean.”

  “Nobody knows, Henry,” answered Kate. “Sally never heard from Thane again after her father—my great-grandfather—chased him away.”

  “What …?” Henry could hardly believe his ears. “Why would her father chase him away? Thane saved Sally’s life, didn’t he?”

  Kate sighed. “Apparently some money went missing.”

  Benny’s eyebrows shot up. “Missing?”

  “After Thane had been staying here for a few weeks, my great-grandfather accused him of theft.”

  Violet shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t imagine a hero like Thane Pace stooping to petty crime. That did not seem possible. But then, why else would Sally’s father chase him away?

  “I guess that’s why this note was kept from Sally” Kate concluded. “If they thought it was from a thief, I mean.”

  “Maybe Thane put the note in the desk himself,” offered Henry.

  Kate thought about this. “Yes, I guess it’s possible,” she said at last. “If he knew about the secret compartment, that is.”

  “Did your great-grandfather have any proof that Thane stole the money?” Jessie wondered.

  “I’m not sure, Jessie,” Kate admitted. “It happened so long ago.”