The Robot Ransom Read online

  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

  THE 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 HONEYBEE MYSTERY

  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

  THE AMAZING MYSTERY SHOW

  THE PUMPKIN HEAD MYSTERY

  THE CUPCAKE CAPER

  THE CLUE IN THE RECYCLING BIN

  MONKEY TROUBLE

  THE ZOMBIE PROJECT

  THE GREAT TURKEY HEIST

  THE GARDEN THIEF

  THE BOARDWALK MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE FALLEN TREASURE

  THE RETURN OF THE GRAVEYARD GHOST

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN SNOWBOARD

  THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD WEST BANDIT

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SOCCER SNITCH

  THE MYSTERY OF THE GRINNING GARGOYLE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING POP IDOL

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN DINOSAUR BONES

  THE MYSTERY AT THE CALGARY STAMPEDE

  THE SLEEPY HOLLOW MYSTERY

  THE LEGEND OF THE IRISH CASTLE

  THE CELEBRITY CAT CAPER

  HIDDEN IN THE HAUNTED SCHOOL

  THE ELECTION DAY DILEMMA

  JOURNEY ON A RUNAWAY TRAIN

  THE CLUE IN THE PAPYRUS SCROLL

  THE DETOUR OF THE ELEPHANTS

  THE SHACKLETON SABOTAGE

  THE KHIPU AND THE FINAL KEY

  THE DOUGHNUT WHODUNIT

  THE ROBOT RANSOM

  Copyright © 2018 by Albert Whitman & Company

  First published in the United States of America in 2018 by Albert Whitman & Company

  ISBN 978-0-8075-0734-6 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-8075-0735-3 (paperback)

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  THE BOXCAR CHILDREN® is a registered trademark of Albert Whitman & Company.

  Printed in the United States of America

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 LB 22 21 20 19 18

  Illustrations by Anthony VanArsdale

  Visit the Boxcar Children online
at www.boxcarchildren.com. For more information about Albert Whitman & Company, visit our website at www.albertwhitman.com.

  Contents

  1. Robot Ready

  2. Artificial Intelligence

  3. Strange Encounters

  4. Trouble at the Trials

  5. GoneBot

  6. Too Many Questions

  7. A Race for Answers

  8. A Fishy Story

  9. Search and Rescue

  10. Split Decision

  Robot Ready

  Benny Alden knelt on the floor of the boxcar, nose to nose with a one-foot-tall robot. “Hi, DogBot!” he said.

  “Arf!” The robot barked and rolled back and forth on its wheels.

  Six-year-old Benny laughed. “I see why you call it DogBot. It doesn’t look like a dog, but it barks like one!”

  His brother Henry grinned. “We modeled the robot after a search and rescue dog. The barking is just for fun.” At fourteen, Henry was the oldest of the Alden siblings.

  Twelve-year-old Jessie nodded. “Search and rescue dogs affected our design. But our robot doesn’t have to look like a real dog.”

  The robot backed away from Benny and began exploring the room. When DogBot got to a wall, it turned. Soon the robot dog got close to the Aldens’ real dog, a wire fox terrier named Watch. DogBot let out another friendly “Arf!” Watch just backed into a corner and growled.

  Violet, who was ten, hurried to give Watch a hug. “Don’t worry. We would never replace you with a robot dog!” Watch licked her face and then turned to look suspiciously at DogBot. The children laughed.

  “Watch knows that’s not a real dog!” said Benny.

  Henry checked the time on his phone. “Is everyone ready to leave?”

  “We have the robot and the laptop,” said Jessie. “Our suitcases are in the house,” said Violet. “I helped Benny pack.”

  “All right,” said Henry, picking up DogBot. “Say good-bye to the boxcar for a few days.”

  The boxcar was their clubhouse, and they loved hanging out inside it. But it had once been their home. After the children’s parents had died, they’d heard their grandfather was mean, so they ran away. They found a boxcar in the woods and decided to live inside. The Aldens had many adventures before they finally met their grandfather. He turned out to be very kind, and he brought them to his home to stay. Now they all lived together, with the boxcar in the backyard. They still had many adventures.

  “We’ll have to say good-bye to Watch too.” Violet gave the dog another hug. “We’ll miss you, but you wouldn’t like being around all those robots.”

  “Thousands and thousands of robots!” said Benny. “I can’t wait.”

  “Well, hundreds of robots anyway.” Henry led the way back to the house. “This is a regional Robot Roundup. A dozen high school robotics teams will be competing. We’re one of ten middle school teams.” Henry and Jessie had joined the Greenfield Middle School team that year.

  “That sounds like a tough contest,” said Violet.

  Benny skipped ahead toward the house and called back, “Henry and Jessie can win.”

  Henry smiled. “Thanks. Winning would be nice. But no matter what happens, we’ve already learned a lot.”

  “It has been fun,” said Jessie. “We’re lucky that our team members have so much experience.” As the children went through the back door of the house, the front doorbell rang. “That must be Naomi and Rico now!”

  The Aldens hurried to answer the door, where Jessie introduced her teammates to Violet and Benny. “Naomi and Rico have done this competition for two years,” she said.

  Naomi had dark skin and a puffy halo of black hair. She said, “Each team has four students. Our old teammates are in high school this year. We sure are glad Henry and Jessie joined us.”

  Rico was tall, with tan skin and dark hair falling into his eyes. “We need a good team if we’re going to beat Silver City.” Watch came up and sniffed at Rico’s knee, making him jump. Then he bent down to pet the dog.

  “The Greenfield STEAM Team can do it!” said Naomi.

  Violet was often shy with strangers, but Naomi was wearing a purple shirt. Purple was Violet’s favorite color. She immediately liked the older girl, so she said, “That’s a good team name. I’m glad you included Art along with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. I like STEAM better than STEM.”

  “Oh, I get it now,” said Benny. “STEAM comes from the first letters of those other words.”

  “That’s right, Benny,” Jessie said proudly. Then she turned to Naomi. “Violet is an artist.”

  “That’s great,” Naomi said. “Art is an important part of science and engineering. Maybe you’ll join the robotics club in a couple of years.”

  Grandfather entered the room. Henry introduced him to Naomi and Rico. “Thank you for offering to drive us,” said Rico.

  Grandfather nodded. “I have business near Port Elizabeth. We’ll stay at the hotel together. I can drop you off and then take care of my work. It will be fun for Violet and Benny to see all the robots too. Shall we go?”

  Everyone double-checked that they had their luggage. Benny held up a bulging tote bag. “I’m bringing lots of snacks! Watching robots makes me hungry.”

  Henry laughed. “Everything makes you hungry, Benny.”

  “Snacks are a good idea,” said Naomi. “The conference has a lot to see. It can be tiring.”

  “I thought it was a contest, not a con-for…that other thing,” Benny said.

  “Conference,” said Jessie. “The contest is part of the conference. There are also displays and talks. Businesses will have booths to show off their new robots.”

  Grandfather said, “A conference is a big meeting with many people. They expect about a thousand people each day at this Robot Roundup. Now get yourself and your snacks into the car.” He patted Benny on the back.

  Once they were on the road, Violet turned to Rico. “You said you want to beat the Silver City team. What about the other teams?”

  “Sure,” said Rico. “But the Greenfield STEAM Team and the Silver City Gearheads are rivals.”

  “We get along with most of the teams,” Naomi explained. “Building robots is mainly about learning and having fun. But it’s different with the Gearheads.”

  “Tell them what happened last year,” said Henry. Rico nodded. “The Silver City team is very competitive, especially this boy named Logan. He can get pretty insulting.”

  “He doesn’t have the right spirit for the Robot Roundup,” Naomi said. “But that’s not the worst part. Last year, we won fair and square, but Logan complained. He said the judges hadn’t given us the right score.”

  Violet stared at her with wide eyes. “What happened?”

  Naomi shrugged. “The judges stayed with their decision. We got the trophy and the prize money. But Logan and the Gearheads kept saying bad things about us. It took some of the fun out of winning.”

  Jessie made a face. “I’m not looking forward to meeting him.”

  “We’ll avoid him as much as possible,” said Henry. “We have a good robot, and we play fair.”

  “You have a great DogBot!” said Benny, reaching over to pet the plastic robot.

  The others chuckled. “That’s the right spirit,” said Grandfather. “We’re nearing Port Elizabeth. Henry, can you help me find the exit?”

  Henry used the map on his phone to find the best way to the hotel. After a few minutes, they pulled up at the door and piled out. They carried their bags into the lobby and waited while Grandfather checked in.

  Jessie looked around the lobby. “It’s time to meet Coach Kaleka, but I don’t see him yet.”

  Henry, Rico, and Naomi also looked around the lobby. A few people sat in chairs, while others came and went. Naomi said, “I don’t see Coach. But there’s the Silver City team!”

  A short woman with big glasses was talking to four children. One of them, a boy about Henry’s age, glanced around the room. When he spotted thei
r group by the check-in desk, he walked over. “Look, it’s the Greenfield daydream team,” he said. “Because you’re dreaming if you think you can beat us.”

  Naomi rolled her eyes. “Hello, Logan.”

  “Are these your new team members?” Logan pointed at Violet and Benny. “I guess even little kids could do better than you.”

  “Hey, I could make a good robot!” Benny said. Violet simply ducked behind Jessie. She didn’t want any trouble.

  Henry stepped forward. “I’m Henry and this is my sister Jessie. We’re the new members of the Greenfield STEAM Team. We’re looking forward to a fun, fair competition with good sportsmanship.”

  Logan snickered at that. Before he could speak, Grandfather turned from the desk and handed the children keys. “Here you are, rooms two twenty-two and two twenty-four. Let’s go unpack.”

  “What about Coach?” Naomi asked. “Should we wait for him?”

  “Is he usually on time?” Grandfather asked.

  Naomi and Rico looked at each other and shrugged. Rico said, “He’s been late for our meetings, but only by a few minutes. We haven’t done any trips with him before.”

  Henry asked the hotel clerk, “Has Mr. Kaleka checked in yet?” He spelled the name for her.

  The woman checked the computer. “No one by that name has a reservation this weekend, and the hotel is all booked up. Lots of people are coming for the Robot Roundup.”

  “Thank you,” said Henry, turning back to his family and teammates. “Maybe Coach is staying at a different hotel.”

  “I’ll text him and let him know our room numbers,” suggested Rico.

  “Good plan,” said Grandfather. “Let’s go to our rooms so we’re not in the way here.”

  They grabbed their bags and headed down the hallway. Henry glanced back, but Logan had disappeared. So had his teammates and coach.

  At their rooms, Henry pushed open the door that said 222. Something made a soft scuffling sound.

  “What was that noise?” asked Rico.

  Henry stepped into the room. “There’s a piece of paper on the floor. The door pushed it back.” He picked up the white paper. Words were written on it in black marker.

  Greenfield, Go Home!

  Artificial Intelligence

  The next morning, the children gathered in the hotel lobby. Henry noticed a computer that guests could use. Next to it was a stack of white paper to feed into a printer. A jar on the table held pencils, markers, and a pair of scissors. “Look,” Henry said. “Whoever left that message for us might have gotten the paper from here.”