The Mystery of the Runaway Ghost Read online

  “There’s something I don’t understand.” Benny looked puzzled. “If the mysterious box was still under the floorboards, how was the mystery solved?”

  That was a good question. It was clear Anne’s children had never found the box of clues. So how had Winslow Homer’s painting come to hang on the wall in the living room?

  “Anne died from pneumonia the winter of 1866,” Fran said after a moment’s thought. “It’s possible she became ill before giving her children the first riddle.”

  “Oh, no!” cried Violet.

  Fran went on, “Somebody probably came across the painting of The Runaway Ghost when the old mudroom was torn down years later.”

  “I guess the answer to the last riddle was supposed to lead to the Buttercup Room,” Henry concluded.

  Grandfather nodded. “Anne probably had no idea the painting itself would be worth a fortune one day.”

  “And when it was finally found,” added Cora, “I imagine nobody knew the real artist was the great Winslow Homer.”

  “Well, thanks to the Aldens, the mystery has finally been solved,” said Fran. “And I have a lot more to add to that article I’m writing.”

  Cora blinked in surprise. “You’re writing an article?”

  Fran nodded. “For the historical magazine. It’s all about the runaway ghost.”

  The Alden children looked at one another. That was what Fran had meant when she said she wasn’t going to sit around and do nothing. If Cora wouldn’t write about Buttercup, then she would!

  Benny looked over at the painting. “Did Winslow Homer really paint a ghost?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, Benny,” Fran said with a wink. “It’s a mystery.”

  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 the 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

  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 Black Raven

  The Mystery of the Pirate’s Map

  The Mystery in the Mall

  The Mystery in New York

  The Gymnastics Mystery

  The Poison Frog Mystery

  The Mystery of the Empty Safe

  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 © 2003 by Albert Whitman & Company

  978-1-4532-2888-3

  This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

  180 Varick Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

 

 

 
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