The Mystery at the Alamo Read online

  Jessie couldn’t believe it. “Benny, doesn’t this trailer remind you of our boxcar?” she asked.

  “Yes, but Claire’s trailer has steps and our boxcar has a stump,” Benny said, smiling.

  “Please open up those folding chairs and have a seat,” Claire said. “I’ll get the surprise.”

  “What do you think the surprise is?” Antonio whispered.

  Before anyone could answer, Claire turned around with a tray full of cookies and a pitcher of milk. Each cookie was shaped like the state of Texas.

  “Oh, how cute!” Violet said. “There’s a little bluebonnet on mine.”

  “What’s a bluebonnet?” Benny asked.

  “That’s the state flower of Texas,” Antonio said.

  “Grandfather showed us some when we were walking over to the Alamo,” Jessie said. “Don’t you remember, Benny?”

  “He was probably too busy looking at all the food stands to notice the flowers,” Henry said, smiling at his little brother.

  Claire poured glasses of milk and handed out napkins.

  “May I take a few cookies with me?” Benny asked. “For later, I mean.”

  “Of course, Benny,” Claire said, laughing. “Take as many as you want.”

  “Thank you,” Benny said happily. He wrapped a few of the cookies in a napkin.

  “Well,” Claire said as she glanced at the clock. “I think we’d better get back to work. If we leave now, we’ll be on the set in plenty of time. I hate to be late.”

  As soon as they reached the set, Amy called the children over to explain the next scene. A fake house front had been built especially for the movie. The front of the house was complete with a roof, windows, and several small wooden steps leading to a porch. Boxes of flowers and an old-fashioned rocker were on the porch. But if you opened the front door, there was nothing behind it but a small platform. Claire stood on the platform, waiting for Amy’s cue to come through the door.

  “That house looks real, until you look at the back of it,” Jessie whispered to Violet.

  “It sure does,” Violet agreed.

  “Listen up, everyone,” Amy shouted. “In this scene, Claire will open the door and walk down those steps, carrying some books about the Alamo. After she says her lines, Antonio and Henry will walk over to her, take the books, and exit. Does everyone understand?”

  “Yes,” Henry said. “That’s easy.”

  “Great,” Amy said. “Okay. Action!”

  Claire opened the door and smiled. But as she started down, the second step broke with a loud cracking sound. Splinters of wood flew into the air, and Claire stumbled. The books sailed out of her hands and slid across the grass. She landed in a heap near the bottom step.

  Amy ran to help Claire, followed by the children. The actress sat at the foot of the steps and rubbed her ankle.

  “What happened?” Claire said, moaning. “I stepped down, and the stairs just caved in!”

  “Are you hurt, Miss Claire?” Benny said.

  “I think I’ll be all right, dear,” Claire said.

  “Let me look at your ankle,” Janice said, rushing through the crowd of people who had gathered around Claire. “I know first aid.”

  “Thank you, Janice,” Claire said. “You’re so thoughtful.”

  “I’ll take a look at that step,” Bob said. “One of the supports under the step probably came loose. I’ll fix it right now.”

  “How can you tell?” Henry asked. “You can’t even see underneath that step unless you rip out the top board.”

  “I just know about these things,” Bob said.

  “We have someone who can fix that, Bob,” Amy said. “But thanks anyway.”

  “I want to fix it myself,” Bob said. “That way I’ll know Claire won’t fall again.” Bob looked over at Claire and smiled.

  “Did you see that?” Violet whispered to Henry and Jessie. “I think he likes Claire. Isn’t that sweet?”

  “Yes,” Henry agreed. “But don’t you think it’s kind of suspicious that all these strange things keep happening to Claire?”

  “I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Jessie said. “I heard one of the crew members say they’ve had a lot of things go wrong since they arrived in San Antonio.”

  “I think we should keep an eye out for any more accidents,” Violet said. “We might have a mystery on our hands.”

  While the crew worked to redo the set, Henry, Benny, and Antonio walked over to watch Bob repair the step.

  Jessie and Violet helped Claire hobble over to the cast members’ chairs. Janice and Roger watched her as she slumped down into the chair that had her name stenciled on the back. Violet went to get Claire a glass of water.

  “I’m so tired of this place,” Claire said sadly. “Nothing seems to be going right. I’d do anything to get back home to California.”

  Jessie and Violet looked at each other. They really liked Claire and felt sorry for her.

  “Claire,” Roger said impatiently. “When do you think you’ll be able to go on? I want to wrap this scene up as quickly as possible so I can film my scene. I’m more than ready to get out of this heat!”

  “I don’t think I can walk, Roger,” Claire said. “And besides, Bob is still working on the steps.”

  “There’s no rush, Claire,” Janice said quickly. “You know I’ll be glad to fill in for you.”

  “Roger,” Amy said as she waved him over to her chair, “could I speak to you for a minute?”

  “What is it now?” Roger asked, walking closer to Amy.

  “I’ve been looking over the script and I think we need to cut some of your lines from this scene. Claire needs to say more about the history of the Alamo.”

  “Claire, Claire, Claire. That’s all I hear,” Roger shouted angrily. “We’re never going to complete this film if we’re depending on her to carry the lead.”

  “Roger,” Amy said quietly. “I’m trying to be fair to everyone. Claire has the lead role and it’s important that she say these lines about the Alamo — ”

  “You’re reducing my part to almost nothing!” Roger interrupted. “You won’t get away with this!”

  Roger walked away, muttering angrily to himself.

  “Okay everyone,” Amy said, throwing her hands into the air. “It looks like we’re finished for the day. We’ll start again tomorrow.”

  Jessie and Violet went back to the house front, where Henry, Benny, and Antonio were helping Bob repair the steps.

  “The supports underneath the steps were cracked,” Antonio explained to the girls. “Just like Bob said they were.”

  “It was a lucky guess,” Bob said quickly.

  “We helped him fix it,” Benny said. “I handed him the nails.”

  “You did a great job,” Henry agreed.

  “Wait a minute, children,” Amy called. “I need to pay you before you leave for the day.” She handed them ten dollars each.

  “Wow,” Benny said, thinking of what he would use the money for.

  Violet smiled at Benny. “Why don’t you save your money and buy a cowboy hat?”

  “That’s a good idea,” Benny said as he put the money into his pocket.

  “Please turn in your costumes before you go,” Amy said. “I’ll see you back on the set at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”

  “We’ll be here,” Henry said.

  The children quickly turned in their costumes to Mary at the costume tent. Mary carefully checked off every item and hung the clothes up.

  “Everything is present and accounted for,” Mary said. “I’ll pin your names on your costumes so that you can get them yourselves tomorrow.”

  “I need to go now,” Antonio said. “I’m sure my mother can use some help at the lemonade stand. I’ll stop by the hotel tomorrow and we can walk to work together.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Henry said. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

  The Boxcar Children waved good-bye to Antonio as he left to join his mother.

&n
bsp; “Grandfather should be here soon,” Jessie said. “He said to wait for him on this bench.”

  “I’ll be glad to sit down for a while after the day we’ve had,” Violet said.

  “I think that someone is deliberately trying to keep this movie from being made,” Henry said.

  “Roger said he was going to get even,” Jessie said. “Do you think he’s the one who has been making all these accidents happen?”

  “He could be,” Henry said.

  “Or it could be Janice,” Violet said. “She really wants Claire’s part. She always offers to fill in for her.”

  “Well,” Jessie said, “that is her job. But it’s true that if something happened to Claire, Janice would get her part.”

  “We should keep an eye on all of them tomorrow,” Henry said. “Maybe we can figure out who’s behind all this.”

  “Hello, there,” Grandfather called out to them. “How are my movie stars?”

  “Working on a movie set is fun, but it makes you really tired,” Jessie said.

  “And hungry!” Benny said. “Are we going someplace good to eat?”

  “The hotel has a wonderful restaurant,” Grandfather said.

  “Then let’s go to the hotel right away,” Benny said. “I’m a little hungry.”

  “A little hungry?” Violet said, smiling.

  “Okay. I’m big hungry,” Benny said as he rubbed his stomach. “As big as Texas!”

  “Well, we’d better be on our way, then,” said Grandfather.

  They all laughed as they walked to the hotel.

  CHAPTER 3

  Touring the Alamo

  The next morning, Antonio waited for Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny in the hotel lobby.

  “Buenos días,” Antonio said as the children got off the elevator.

  “Good morning,” Henry, Jessie, and Violet answered back.

  Benny looked puzzled. “What did you say, Antonio?” he asked.

  “Buenos días,” Antonio replied. “That means ‘Good day’ in Spanish.”

  All the children repeated the words until they could say them correctly. Antonio taught them other Spanish words as they walked along.

  As they neared Alamo Square, they could see the crew moving things around on the set.

  “I hope Claire has a better day today than she did yesterday” Violet said.

  “Me, too,” Antonio said. “There sure have been a lot of accidents.”

  “If they are accidents,” Henry said. “What if everything has been arranged on purpose to get rid of Claire?”

  “Why would anyone want to do that?” Antonio asked.

  “We don’t know,” Jessie replied. “But we’re going to try to find out.”

  The children quickly picked up their costumes, signed the checkout sheet, and changed into their clothing.

  “Hurry, now,” Mary said. She was sewing the hem of one of Claire’s dresses. “Amy wants to make up for lost time.”

  The children ran over to the set.

  “Where is Claire?” Amy shouted. “We’re all ready to go.”

  “I’m sure she has another excuse,” Roger said.

  “I’ll go and get her,” Bob offered.

  “Please tell her to hurry,” Amy said.

  Before Bob could leave, Claire rushed onto the set. Her hair was still wet and in rollers.

  “Amy, I’m sorry I’m late,” Claire said breathlessly. “Someone turned my hair rollers off. It must have happened while I was in the costume tent.”

  “Oh, Claire,” Amy said. “I was hoping things would go smoothly today.”

  “Me, too,” Claire said. “I was up in plenty of time to get ready. I don’t know how my rollers got turned off.”

  The children all looked at each other.

  “That’s okay, Claire,” Janice said. “I can go on for you until your hair is dry.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Amy said. “We can go over Claire’s new lines while she fixes her hair. Then we’ll start the shoot.”

  Janice dropped her head and walked over to her chair. She didn’t look very happy.

  “Do you think someone really went into Claire’s trailer and turned off her rollers?” Violet asked the other children.

  “It could be just an excuse for being late,” Henry said.

  “But Claire said she hates to be late, remember?” Jessie said. “She even made us go back a few minutes early yesterday after the break so that we would be on time.”

  “That’s true,” Henry said. “Let’s watch everything that happens today. Maybe if we put our heads together we can figure out what’s going on.”

  “Okay, people,” Amy said as she walked back onto the set. “Claire’s ready. Let’s go.”

  The crew members and actors got in their places, and they finished the scenes they had begun yesterday.

  “Great,” Amy said when Claire finished her last line. “Let’s take a fifteen-minute break while we set up the next scenes.”

  The children watched as the crew members set up the huge lights and the cameras for the next shots.

  “Let me explain what you all will be doing in these scenes,” Amy said.

  This time the children’s part called for them to cheer for Claire and Roger Martin, who was dressed up like Davy Crockett, one of the defenders of the Alamo. Grandfather had told them about Davy Crockett. He helped the Texans fight against Mexico, a long time ago, so Texas could be free and independent. Crockett and the other men in the Alamo lost the battle. Davy Crockett died, along with almost everyone else in the fort.

  “Okay,” Amy called out loudly. “Action!”

  There was a loud crash. “Look!” said Benny. He pointed to a set of lights that had fallen over and shattered.

  “Oh, no,” said Amy. “Take a break, everyone.” She hurried over to examine the broken lights. “It may take an hour or so for the camera crews to fix this mess. Well, I guess we’re lucky no one was hurt.”

  “Why don’t we go to my mother’s stand and get some lemonade while we wait,” Antonio suggested.

  “That’s a good idea,” Benny said.

  After returning their costumes, the children followed Antonio to his mother’s lemonade stand, which was near the edge of the square. The stand was brightly decorated with red, yellow, and green streamers. A wax museum was nearby and every few minutes a loud voice boomed out the attractions inside and music played.

  Antonio introduced the Aldens to his mother. “Mama,” Antonio said. “These are my new friends.”

  “Hello, there,” Mrs. Rivas said. “Antonio told me all about your adventures yesterday.”

  “It looks like we’re going to have more adventures today,” Antonio said.

  “Have a glass of lemonade before you go back to being movie stars,” his mother said, laughing. She handed each child a tall glass filled to the brim with her famous lemonade.

  “Your mother makes the best lemonade I’ve ever had,” Violet said.

  “She does,” Jessie said. “This lemonade is delicious.”

  “Mama,” Antonio said, “would it be all right if the Aldens and their grandfather came over to our house to make cascarones tomorrow night?”

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Mrs. Rivas said. “We would love for you to come.”

  “What’s a cascarone?” Jessie asked.

  “Cascarones are colored eggshells filled with confetti,” Antonio said.

  “Many people in Mexico and Texas make cascarones in spring,” Mrs. Rivas explained. “It’s a custom.”

  “A custom like dyeing boiled eggs at Easter and then hiding them?” Jessie asked.

  “Yes,” Mrs. Rivas said. “But we don’t hide our cascarones after we make them.”

  Benny frowned. “How do you get the confetti into the eggs?”

  Mrs. Rivas chuckled. “There’s a trick. You’ll see.”

  “Making cascarones sounds like fun,” Violet said. “We love craft projects. We make things all the time at home.”
r />   “¡Qué bien! Good!” Mrs. Rivas said.

  “I’m sure Grandfather will enjoy visiting your home with us,” Jessie said.

  “Antonio and I will be glad to pick you all up at your hotel tomorrow evening,” said Mrs. Rivas.

  “Great,” Henry said.

  “It’s time to get back to work,” Violet said.

  “Bye, Mama,” said Antonio.

  “Have a good day, children,” Mrs. Rivas said.

  But when the children got back to the set, no one was working.

  “While you were gone, another set of lights broke,” Amy explained. “The crew is working on it, but it will take another couple of hours to fix it. Maybe you children should take the rest of the day off. I’ll see you in the morning at eight o’clock sharp.”

  “We’ll see you in the morning, I guess,” Antonio said, sounding a little disappointed.

  “Well,” Violet said. “I guess we have more time to sightsee today than we thought we would have.”

  “Mr. Fambles is going to show us around the Alamo this afternoon,” Jessie explained to Antonio.

  “Then we’re going sightseeing around the city. Will you come with us?” Henry asked Antonio.

  “You can be our guide,” Jessie said.

  “I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to go with you today,” Antonio said. “I think I should help my mother for a while. It looks like she might have a big crowd during lunch. I want to surprise her by staying here to help. She’ll be so happy.”

  “That sounds like a nice thing to do for your mother,” said Jessie. “Maybe you can go with us some other time.”

  “I hope so,” Antonio said. “Buenas tardes! Good afternoon!”

  “Buenas tardes,” the children called back.

  Antonio waved good-bye and ran over to his mother’s lemonade stand. The Boxcar Children hurried back to the hotel.

  “Grandfather,” Henry called as they entered the room. “Amy gave us the rest of the day off.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Mr. Alden said. “Now we can go on a tour of the Alamo and San Antonio. My friend Lew is expecting us.”

  “Perfect timing!” Mr. Fambles said when he saw the children and their grandfather. “I was just finishing up my paperwork.”

  “We’re looking forward to our tour of the Alamo,” Grandfather said.