The Mystery of the Orphan Train Read online

  “What about Kate’s necklace?” said Violet, after a moment’s thought. “Isn’t it blue and yellow?”

  Jessie was quick to agree. “A bluebird charm on a yellow-gold chain.”

  “And the blue and yellow make one necklace,” added Violet, pouring Benny another glass of cranberry juice.

  Henry was nodding his head. “You might be on to something, Violet.”

  Jessie said, “The clues seem to fit.”

  “But Kate’s necklace doesn’t have any gems on it,” argued Benny. “Not even a single diamond. Blue and yellow are supposed to make one gem of a clue. Remember?”

  “Good point, Benny,” Henry said, arms folded, leaning back in his chair.

  “But … what else could it mean?” Jessie was bending over her notebook again.

  “It’s a mystery,” Violet said, laughing a little. “As Grandfather would say, Wiggin Place has more mysteries than you can shake a stick at.”

  “And the mysteries aren’t easy to solve,” added Henry.

  “Sally Crawford is the key,” said Benny.

  The others had to admit their little brother was right. All the mysteries had something to do with Sally.

  Jessie started adding everything up on her fingers. “There’s the mystery of Ethan Cape. Didn’t the famous photographer come all the way to Kansas just to take Sally’s picture? And how about the missing necklace? It once belonged to Sally.”

  “And don’t forget about Thane Pace,” put in Violet. “He saved Sally’s life.”

  Henry added, “Even the rhymes were meant for her.”

  “I wish we knew more about Sally’s secret,” Jessie said, lost in thought. “The one she wanted to share after Ethan Cape’s visit.”

  “Speaking of Ethan Cape,” said Violet, reaching for a book on the empty chair beside her, “looks like somebody’s reading his biography.”

  “Probably Kate,” guessed Henry.

  “I’m sure you’re right, Henry.” Violet began to thumb through the pages. “Wow, there’s all sorts of photographs in here.” Her eyes were shining. “Ethan was a genius with the camera.”

  “Sounds like a good book,” Jessie remarked. “Maybe you can borrow it when Kate’s finished.”

  But Violet was only half-listening. She had come to something that made her stop and stare. “This is strange,” she said in a puzzled voice. “Here’s a photo taken in the olden days.”

  Benny, Jessie, and Henry crowded around to take a look. A middle-aged woman in a high-necked blouse and long skirt was sitting at a table shaped like a half moon. She was wearing a white apron and matching cap.

  “That lady must have been a cook,” observed Benny. “At least, that’s how she’s dressed.”

  Henry nodded his head. “That’s what I was just thinking.”

  Jessie looked at her sister. “What’s strange about that, Violet?”

  “Well, maybe this is just a weird coincidence,” said Violet, “but isn’t there something about this photograph that looks familiar?”

  Jessie took a closer look. “Now that you mention it,” she said, “it reminds me of Sally’s photograph. The one taken when she was Benny’s age.”

  Peering over Violet’s shoulder, Henry nodded. “There’s a half-moon table in both pictures.”

  “But that’s not all,” put in Violet. “Did you notice the background?”

  Jessie looked. “Oh, my goodness!” she cried. “An oval window with frosted glass!”

  “And wallpaper with big roses all over it,” added Benny.

  Jessie nodded. “That can mean only one thing.”

  Benny looked at her. “What?”

  “The cook’s photograph was taken right here at Wiggin Place.”

  Henry shook his head. “This is getting weirder and weirder.”

  “What does it say under the picture, Violet?” Jessie asked.

  As Violet scanned the small print, her eyes widened.

  “What is it?” Henry asked.

  Before Violet could answer, the professor stepped out onto the patio. When he caught sight of the book Violet was holding, he rushed over and snatched it away. “How dare you!” He sounded upset. “You have no business touching my grandfather’s book! It’s a good thing I came back early.”

  Violet’s eyes widened in alarm. “But I thought—”

  The professor walked away before Violet could finish. Then he suddenly wheeled around to face them again. “This must never happen again,” he said in an icy voice. “I’m warning you, you’ll regret it if it does!” And then he was gone.

  The Aldens looked at one another in disbelief.

  “It was just a mistake,” Violet said in a small voice, “I didn’t know the book belonged to the professor’s grandfather.”

  Jessie patted her sister gently on the shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Violet,” said Jessie, trying to comfort her. “The professor wouldn’t even give you a chance to explain.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Henry. “Didn’t the professor say he wasn’t interested in Ethan Cape?”

  Jessie nodded slowly. “Why would he pretend he wasn’t?”

  “That’s just what I was wondering,” said Henry.

  CHAPTER 9

  Scrabble, Anyone?

  No sooner had the professor gone inside, than Lindsay stepped out the door. “I thought I’d find you here,” she told the Aldens with a smile. “I just wanted to let you know I’ll be leaving in the morning.”

  The children were surprised to hear this. “You mean you won’t be working here anymore?” Benny wondered.

  “Oh, I’ll be back, Benny,” Lindsay assured the youngest Alden. “I’m just going to take a few days off to attend my cousin’s wedding.” She sat down in the empty chair beside Violet. “I really wasn’t planning to go at all, you know. I told my cousin if I could do it in one day that’d be different. But it’s too long a drive for that. I just couldn’t pull it off. And how could I leave Kate with a houseful of guests any longer than that?”

  Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. That must have been the phone conversation they’d overheard in the woods!

  “I was determined to keep the whole wedding thing to myself,” Lindsay went on. “Only Kate found the invitation in my apron pocket and put her foot down. There’s no way she’ll let me miss a family wedding.”

  Violet nodded in sudden understanding. That’s what Lindsay had shoved into her pocket when they’d startled her that first day—the wedding invitation!

  Benny stared at Lindsay. “You were talking on the phone about something old and blue.”

  “Oh, you heard that, did you?” Lindsay was smiling. “It’s a tradition for brides, Benny. ‘Something old, something new…’”

  “‘Something borrowed, something blue!’” finished Violet, in a singsong voice.

  “Exactly!” Lindsay laughed. “My cousin has her heart set on borrowing a lace hanky that’s been in my family for years. It has tiny blue flowers on it.”

  “Something old and blue,” said Jessie, catching Henry’s eye. He nodded. They could cross Lindsay off their list of suspects.

  Lindsay pushed her chair back. “Well, I’d better check on dinner. I’ve got a roast chicken in the oven.”

  “We’ll help,” Jessie offered, speaking for them all. “We can set the dining room table.”

  “It sure is funny about that photograph,” Henry said as he set plates around the table.

  “Are you talking about the lady in the white cap?” asked Benny.

  Henry nodded. “I wonder who she was.”

  Violet had an answer. “Margaret O’Malley. At least, that’s what it said under the picture.”

  “Margaret O’Malley?” repeated Jessie, as she smoothed out the tablecloth. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on where she’d heard it.

  Violet went to shut the opened door. “The painting of the Emerald Isle, remember?” she reminded them in a hushed voice. “Margaret O’Malley wa
s the artist.”

  Henry’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, that’s right!”

  “She must have been the family cook,” said Jessie, every bit as surprised as her older brother.

  Benny nodded. “Kate said she worked here when Sally was growing up!”

  “That’s not all.” Violet set a vase of daisies in the middle of the table. “Margaret O’Malley’s photograph was taken in 1904.”

  “Are you sure?” Henry looked uncertain.

  Violet nodded. “Quite sure, Henry.”

  “But … that’s the same year Sally’s photograph was taken,” Jessie realized, her eyes huge.

  “Sitting at a half-moon table,” added Henry, “when she was a little girl.”

  “There’s no doubt about it,” Violet concluded. “Those photographs were taken at the same time—right here at Wiggin Place.” She nodded her head slowly as it began to sink in. “And I bet they were taken by the same person!”

  The Aldens looked at one another. Had Ethan Cape stayed at Wiggin Place more than once?

  “According to Kate,” Henry said after a moment’s thought, “Sally never met Ethan Cape until she was much older—a grandmother.”

  “All the same, I’m pretty sure Ethan was here before that,” Violet insisted, “when Sally was a little girl.”

  Benny placed the napkins around the table. “Do you think Ethan met Thane Pace back then?”

  “I guess it’s possible,” Henry had to admit. “They were both here around the same time.”

  “Can you believe it?” Violet couldn’t help laughing. “The mysteries are starting to connect!”

  “Seems that way,” agreed Jessie.

  Henry had a suggestion. “Let’s keep a lid on this for now. At least until we can make some sense of it.”

  After dinner, the Aldens challenged Kate to a game of Scrabble. They were hoping it would take her mind off the missing necklace for a while, but it was no use. Before long, Kate called it a night, leaving the four children to finish the game on their own.

  While Benny was having a turn, Jessie spoke up. “Kate tries to be cheery, but …”

  “She’s afraid she’s seen the last of her necklace,” finished Violet, who had pulled her chair closer to her little brother’s. She knew he might need help with the harder words.

  Henry noticed Benny eyeing the popcorn. “Find any words yet, Sherlock?” he asked, passing the bowl of popcorn across the kitchen table to him.

  Benny shifted the letters around on the wooden tile-holder. “Well, it looks like I can spell APE.”

  “Way to go, Benny!” praised Violet. “And guess what? If you add the letter C, you can turn APE into CAPE.55

  Benny broke into a smile. “Cool!”

  “You can even switch the letters around and turn CAPE into PACE,” Jessie pointed out.

  “I think I’ll stick with CAPE.” Benny shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, then carefully placed his letters on the board.

  As Henry added up Benny’s score, Jessie said, “It’s funny, isn’t it?”

  “What’s funny about CAPE, Jessie?” Benny asked, raising his eyes.

  “It’s just… the last names are so similar.”

  Benny looked puzzled. So did Henry and Violet.

  “Ethan Cape and Thane Pace, I mean,” Jessie explained. “Their last names have exactly the same letters, only switched around.”

  “You’re right, Jessie. I never noticed that before.” Henry shrugged a little. “Just a coincidence, I guess.”

  But Jessie wasn’t so sure. On a hunch, she began fishing around in the bag of lettered tiles. While the others watched, she spelled out the name ETHAN on the scrabble board.

  Benny had something to say about this. “You’re not supposed to use a person’s name, Jessie. It’s against the rules.”

  “I don’t think this is part of the game, Benny,” said Violet, a finger to her lips.

  Jessie switched one letter around, and ETHAN suddenly turned into THANE.

  “Wow!” cried Henry, clearly startled.

  “I … I can’t believe it … .” Violet pressed her hands to her cheeks. “Their last names have exactly the same letters in them, too!”

  “That’s got to be more than a coincidence,” said Benny, his voice rising with excitement.

  “A lot more!” put in Henry, who couldn’t get over it.

  Jessie giggled. “One thing’s for sure,” she said. “Ethan Cape never met Thane Pace because—”

  “Ethan Cape was Thane Pace!” finished Benny.

  The Aldens looked at one another, stunned by their latest discovery.

  “That was good detective work, Jessie,” praised Henry.

  Benny suddenly looked up. “I helped, too.”

  Jessie smiled over at her little brother. “You sure did. You helped make the word CAPE.”

  “There’s something I don’t understand,” said Violet. “Why would Thane Pace change his name to Ethan Cape?”

  “I have a hunch we won’t know the answer to that,” Jessie said, “until we figure out the second rhyme.”

  The Aldens had a feeling they were very close to uncovering the truth.

  Late in the night, Violet awoke from a strange dream about following the Yellow Brick Road. In her dream, when she got to the Emerald City, she found it was ruby-red! She wanted to paint it green, but there wasn’t a drop of green paint in the land. The wizard said he had an answer to the problem. He told Violet, “Two make one.”

  Violet was still thinking about her dream as she lay awake in the dark. She couldn’t help wondering what it meant. And then it suddenly hit her.

  “Wake up, Jessie!” she whispered, sitting up.

  Jessie began to stir. “What …?”

  “I know the answer to the rhyme!” Violet said as she slipped out of bed.

  “What are you talking about, Violet?” Jessie asked in a drowsy voice.

  “Two make one/ a gem of a clue!” Violet recited. “Two colors make one, Jessie. Blue and yellow make green.”

  Jessie opened her eyes. “And an emerald is green!”

  Violet nodded. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “I think so,” said Jessie, throwing her covers back. “Let’s go check it out.”

  After waking Benny and Henry, the Aldens tiptoed downstairs. As they stepped into the front room, Violet stopped so suddenly that Henry almost bumped into her. Somebody was prowling around in the dark with a flashlight!

  CHAPTER 10

  A Long-Lost Letter

  Just as Henry reached for the light switch, there was a terrible crash. The Aldens could hardly believe their eyes when they saw Vanessa standing over a broken lamp, a flashlight in her hand.

  “Now you’ve done it!” she snapped, as doors opened upstairs. “I almost jumped right out of my skin.”

  There was a sudden rush of footsteps on the stairs. Then Kate appeared in the doorway, struggling to put an arm into her robe. Lindsay was close behind, followed by Josh and the professor. All eyes turned to the lamp on the floor.

  “Yes, I broke that,” Vanessa told them. “Thanks to the Aldens snooping around down here. They scared me half to death.”

  “We weren’t snooping!” Benny said indignantly. “We were just … just …” His voice trailed away. He didn’t know what to say.

  Henry squared his shoulders. “You’re the one with the flashlight, Vanessa,” he pointed out, looking her right in the eye.

  Josh spoke up. “Yeah, what’s with that, Vanessa? What are you doing down here with a flashlight?”

  Vanessa looked embarrassed, and then angry. “I’m in no mood for this right now,” she told her husband. “We’ll discuss it in the morning.”

  Benny thought he knew the answer. “You were trying to steal Kate’s painting, weren’t you? The one of the Emerald Isle.”

  “What … ?” Vanessa stared at Benny in disbelief. “You think I’m a thief?”

  “Well, you stole Kate’s necklace, didn�
�t you?” Benny said accusingly, his hands on his hips.

  Kate looked horrified. “Benny what a terrible thing to say.”

  Vanessa opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. Finally she went over to the window and stared out into the night, looking defeated. After what seemed like forever, she finally spoke. “I am responsible for the missing necklace,” she confessed. “But I didn’t steal it.”

  Kate looked over at her, stunned. “Please turn around, Vanessa,” she said in a strained voice. “I’d rather not talk to your back.”

  Vanessa turned around. “I was walking by your room, Kate, and I noticed the necklace on your dresser. I just wanted to try it on, that’s all. Before I had a chance to take it off, Lindsay called me downstairs to the phone.” Vanessa’s voice wavered. There was a long silence while she tried to compose herself. “The next thing I knew, the necklace was gone. I looked everywhere for it, but …”

  “The clasp was loose,” Kate told her. “I imagine it slipped off.”

  Josh, who was crouched down by the broken lamp, looked over at his wife. “Why on earth didn’t you say something, Vanessa?” He sounded more disappointed than angry.

  “I was ashamed,” she answered, looking close to tears. “I thought I could find the necklace if I just looked around.”

  Jessie nodded. “That’s why you were using a flashlight. You didn’t want anyone to notice the light on.”

  Vanessa didn’t deny it. “The last thing I expected was to run into the Aldens in the middle of the night,” she said, sinking into a chair.

  Josh was busy trying to fit the pieces of the lamp together. “Looks like a clean break,” he said, moving everything off to the side. “A bit of glue should do the trick. If not, we’ll buy you a new lamp, Kate.”

  “I’m not worried about the lamp, Josh,” Kate assured him. “I can replace it easily.”

  “But that’s not true of the necklace, is it?” Vanessa buried her head in her hands.” I’m so sorry, Kate.”

  “If you mean that, Vanessa,” replied Kate, “you’ll learn a lesson from this, and respect what belongs to others.”

  Vanessa nodded, looking truly regretful.