The Tattletale Mystery Read online

“When you’re a waitress, you overhear things,” Mrs. Turner confided. “You really can’t help it, you know. I think my customers forget I have ears.” She paused for a moment. “When I first started working here, I didn’t know how to hold my tongue. I’m afraid I had a reputation for being a gossip.”

  The children looked surprised to hear this.

  Mrs. Turner went on, “It wasn’t long before my customers were calling me Turner the Tattletale. Oh, it took me years to live that down! After that, I promised myself that never again would I repeat something I overheard.”

  The Aldens nodded as they began to understand. Nobody liked being called names.

  Benny looked puzzled. “But, Mrs. Turner, why did you use that name when you signed the messages? If you didn’t like being called a tattletale, I mean.”

  “I was telling secrets about people again, Benny.” A sad smile crossed Mrs. Turner’s face. “The name just seemed to fit.”

  “But you couldn’t just stand by and let Milly’s paintings be sold,” insisted Janice.

  “Sometimes being a tattletale isn’t such a bad thing,” Violet added softly. “Not if you know somebody’s doing something wrong.”

  Mrs. Turner nodded, but she looked troubled. “Still ... I hope you won’t mention my role in all of this,” she said. “You see, I don’t want to hear that name Turner the Tattletale again. Not ever!”

  “You did everyone a great service, Mrs. Turner,” Grandfather said, speaking for them all. “Your secret’s safe with us.”

  Mrs. Turner looked relieved.

  “And I’ll return that bookmark,” Mrs. Spencer told her. “After all, it was a gift from Milly.”

  Edmund took a napkin from the dispenser. “I wish I’d known Milly Manchester,” he said. “She must’ve been a remarkable person to make such an impression on so many people.”

  Mrs. Spencer nodded. “She was one of a kind.”

  “Milly followed her dream, and she never let anything stand in her way” Rachel commented thoughtfully Then suddenly she turned to her mother. Taking a deep breath, she said, “If that offer’s still open, I just might take you up on it and move back home for a while.”

  “Oh, you’ll make a wonderful nurse, Rachel!” Mrs. Spencer looked close to tears. She reached out and gave her daughter’s hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s never too late to follow your dreams.”

  For a moment, nobody said a word. Then Edmund spoke up. “I think this calls for a celebration. How about dessert all around?” he suggested. “Any takers?”

  “It just so happens I make a great chocolate sundae,” put in Mrs. Turner.

  Benny grinned. “With extra sprinkles?”

  “You’d better believe it!” answered Mrs. Turner.

  “I bet that’s why Mona Lisa was smiling,” said Benny. “I bet she was thinking about a chocolate sundae with —”

  “Extra sprinkles!” everyone finished in unison.

  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

  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

  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 © 2003 by Albert Whitman & Company

  978-1-4532-2149-5

  This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

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  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com