The Mystery of the Purple Pool Read online

  A smile appeared on Don Parker’s face and he quickly erased it. “Yes?” he said again.

  In a strong voice Joan Ames said, “Don, you’re fired.”

  “Me?” he shouted. “Me? Why me?”

  “Because of this,” Ms. Ames said, showing him the letter.

  Don Parker’s face paled. “I … I … didn’t write that,” he stuttered.

  “Don,” Joan Ames said, “It’s your handwriting. It’s written in the purple pen that you always use. And earlier this morning I went into your office to get some envelopes, and I saw the phone that belonged in room 501. I wondered about it then. Why would you have a guest’s phone in your office?”

  “That’s the Grants’ phone!” said Benny.

  Don Parker saw that he had been beaten. “All right, I did do all those things. I wanted your job. I can do it better than you do it. I know it. I deserve it.”

  At that moment, Lucille walked into the office, looking nervous but determined. “I have to talk to you and Mr. Parker,” she said to Ms. Ames.

  “What’s she doing here?” Benny whispered.

  “Can it wait?” Joan Ames asked gently.

  “No … please … it’s about my brother, Malcolm,” Lucille began. “He worked very closely with Mr. Parker. Mr. Parker fired him last week for no reason at all. Malcolm was wonderful at his job, and there had never been any complaints about him. I think you should rehire him.”

  Ms. Ames turned to Mr. Parker. “Why did you fire him, Don? You told me he wasn’t efficient.”

  “I might as well tell you the truth, since I’m leaving anyway,” Mr. Parker said. “Malcolm was good at his job — too good — and too smart. I was afraid that he would figure out what I was doing. So I fired him.”

  Don Parker looked around the room. Then he looked at the Aldens. “You kids are too smart for your own good. Well, I guess there’s nothing else to say. So long, Joan,” he said, and left.

  Ms. Ames smiled at Lucille. “Of course, I’ll hire your brother back. In fact, I happen to have an opening for an assistant manager.”

  Lucille smiled happily. “Oh, thank you, Ms. Ames, so much.”

  Violet said shyly. “Can I ask you a question, Lucille?”

  “Of course,” Lucille answered.

  “The other day we were walking in front of you and your brother on the street, and we heard you talking. We weren’t eavesdropping. We couldn’t help overhearing. You both were talking about ‘taking care of’ something and ‘going to do something about it myself.’ It sounded so mysterious.”

  “And then yesterday we heard you saying you had a plan that made you nervous,” Benny piped up.

  Lucille laughed. “The plan was to come in to see Ms. Ames and discuss Malcolm’s problem with her. I was nervous because I didn’t know what she’d say.”

  The children laughed, and so did Joan Ames and Grandfather. “That certainly explains everything,” said Mr. Alden.

  “Well,” Ms. Ames said, “you Aldens have been such a big help to me. I hope you will enjoy the rest of your stay. And everything will be on the house. No bill for anything, James.”

  “Wow!” Benny said.

  “Joan, thank you very much,” Mr. Alden said.

  In the lobby they collided with Karen Walsh. Once again she was writing in a notebook.

  “Why are you always writing in that?” Benny asked.

  “Well,” Karen said, “I’m checking out, so I can let you in on my secret. I write travel books. I don’t like anyone to know what I’m doing, so that I can see a hotel at its best and worst. Well, this one is the worst. I would never recommend it.”

  “That’s why we saw you snooping around!” Benny said.

  “You saw what?” Karen asked.

  Jessie sheepishly explained that they had followed her the afternoon before because they thought she was behind the pranks.

  Mr. Alden raised his eyebrows, a bit disturbed that his grandchildren had been following people around. But before he could say anything, Karen Walsh did something unexpected. She laughed. “Yes, I guess you could call me a snoop,” she said. “That’s my job. I was just checking out some of the rooms, seeing how well they keep their supplies, that sort of thing.”

  The Aldens explained to her everything that had been going on at The Plymouth. “I think you have to give The Plymouth another chance,” Grandfather said.

  “Well,” Ms. Walsh said, “I guess I’ll have to. I’ll come back in a couple of weeks and stay here again. I hope things will be better.”

  “I know they will be,” Jessie said.

  CHAPTER 11

  The Mystery Man

  The Aldens all stood in the lobby and Grandfather said, “This is our last day in New York. I have an appointment this afternoon. What do you children intend to do?”

  “I want to swim in the purple pool,” Benny said.

  Henry laughed. “I’m sure by now the pool is filled with plain, clear water — without any purple.”

  “I think a swim would be very nice,” Jessie said.

  “I wonder why,” Violet said, giggling.

  Jessie blushed. “Violet, you are reading things into that.”

  “How can she read what you said when you didn’t write it down?” Benny asked.

  “We’ll explain some other time,” Henry said. “Let’s go for a swim.”

  The Aldens went back to their rooms and changed into their suits. When they went up to the pool, Mike was sitting in his usual place. “Hi, Aldens,” he said.

  “Can we swim today?” Benny asked.

  “Sure can,” Mike replied. “Everything is in top shape.”

  The children went into the pool room and saw that the water was crystal clear, sparkling in the sunlight. They dived right in. “It’s perfect,” Violet said. “Not too hot or cold.”

  They swam and played and splashed for half an hour. After they had dried off, they stopped at Mike’s desk.

  “We’re leaving tomorrow morning, so we won’t see you again,” Henry said.

  “Well,” Mike said, “I hope you had a good visit. Come back soon.”

  “I hope we can,” Jessie said quickly. She heard Violet giggle behind her.

  Back in their room, they dressed. “Let’s find a hot dog stand for lunch,” Benny said.

  “I’m ready for that,” Henry agreed. “Then what should we do?”

  “I want to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Violet said.

  “The guidebook said they have great old suits of armor there,” Henry said. “Let’s go.”

  “We mustn’t forget that Grandfather is taking us to dinner and the theater tonight. We need to get back in time to dress,” Jessie reminded them.

  “We have to dress up?” Benny asked.

  “Of course,” Violet answered. “When you go to the theater in New York, you have to look nice.”

  They left the hotel and luckily found a hot dog vendor a block away. They bought hot dogs and cold drinks and sat down on a bench in the park to eat. When they had finished they took a bus uptown to the museum. Together they roamed around the huge building. They looked at wonderful things: the armor, famous paintings, Egyptian mummies, a Japanese garden, and at last they all agreed they were tired.

  On the way back to the hotel, Jessie said, “I never realized a museum could be that big.”

  “And we didn’t see a quarter of it,” Violet said. “At least according to our guidebook, we didn’t.”

  Grandfather was waiting for them in their suite when they got back to the hotel. “Now, you all have to look your best tonight for the theater. Girls, wear your best dresses. Boys, jackets. We’ll have dinner at the restaurant here in the hotel and then off to the theater.”

  “Are we going to eat in the coffee shop?” Benny asked.

  “No, this time we’ll eat in the big restaurant,” Grandfather answered.

  The restaurant had tables with pink cloths, candles, and flowers. The food was delicious, and after dinner Benny said,
“You know, I think I’m full.”

  “That’s a first,” said Jessie, and they all laughed.

  They took a taxi to Broadway.

  “Wow!” Benny said when they entered the theater. “Now I can see why we got dressed up. This is much nicer than the movie theater back in Greenfield.”

  “Yes, isn’t it pretty?” said Violet.

  The seats were dark red, and the stage was hidden by a dark-red velvet curtain. An usher took them to their seats. Soon afterwards, the lights dimmed and the orchestra played a lively overture. The Aldens could hardly wait for the curtain to go up.

  And when it did, they were very surprised!

  In the center of the stage was a man with silvery hair and a long, pointed nose. The mysterious man!

  “That’s him!” Benny whispered.

  Several people around Benny said, “Ssh.”

  The musical was wonderful, with lots of colorful costumes and exciting dancing. But all Benny could think about was the mysterious man.

  At the intermission he told Grandfather, “That was our mystery man.”

  Grandfather laughed. “That was Frederick Astor, one of Broadway’s biggest stars.”

  “Why was he always going around the hotel in dark glasses with his coat collar pulled up around his face?” Violet asked.

  “Well,” Grandfather said, “often big stars don’t want to be recognized and bothered by the public, so they try different disguises, as Mr. Astor obviously did.”

  “Now all the mysteries have been solved,” Henry said.

  The next morning as the Aldens were leaving, a woman rushed in wearing dark glasses and a hat pulled low over her face. “Is it another mystery?” Benny asked hopefully.

  Just then a man ran over to the woman in sunglasses and asked her for her autograph. The Aldens all laughed.

  “Benny, I guess you are just going to have to find a mystery somewhere else,” Grandfather said as they all left the hotel.

  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 each 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.

  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 MIDNIGHT DOG

  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
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  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

  THE SPY GAME

  THE DOG-GONE MYSTERY

  THE VAMPIRE MYSTERY

  SUPERSTAR WATCH

  THE SPY IN THE BLEACHERS

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  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 © 1994 by Albert Whitman & Company

  ISBN: 978-1-4532-1286-8

  This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

  180 Varick Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

 

 

  Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Mystery of the Purple Pool

 

 

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