Haunted Clock Tower Mystery (9 page)

“Don’t play well enough?” Ezra said. “You’re great! In fact, you’re so good, I’m afraid they’re going to give you my job when you graduate! I’m getting old, and you’re bringing in that exciting newfangled music.”

“I thought you didn’t like the new music,” Andi said.

Ezra looked at her sheepishly. “I admit it took me a little while to get used to the idea. But now I really enjoy it.” He paused. “In fact, the reason you couldn’t find your music is because I borrowed it.” He looked at the Aldens. “I may be the one you’ve seen up here at night. I came up here once to try out Miss Barton’s new music, but I didn’t want anyone to know.”

Andi beamed. “I’m so relieved. I thought you were disappointed with me.”

“Well, you could try to be a little more organized,” Ezra said. “But you’re an excellent carillon player.”

“I’ll try harder,” Andi said. “And I’ll help you with the new music. I’m just so honored to be working with a gifted carillon player like you.”

“Now we know who was up in the tower those nights,” Henry said.

“Actually, I only came up here one night,” Ezra said.

The children looked at one another, confused. “But we saw a light up here on two different nights.”

At that moment Don came forward and cleared his throat. “I think I have some explaining to do,” he said. “I was the one you saw up here in the tower the other night.”

“You
were the one?” Joel asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I was the one who found the letter—and then left it up here,” Don said.

“Where did you find it?” Benny wanted to know.

“It was tucked inside that antique book my father gave me,” Don said.

“So that’s why you didn’t want us looking at the book,” Jessie said.

“That’s right—I kept the letter in the book,” he said. “Until I brought it up here. I didn’t want you looking in the book because I was afraid you might see it.”

“That day we saw you on the Quad and you started to ask us about the book—” Jessie recalled.

“By then I’d realized I’d lost the letter,” Don said. “I was going to ask if you had seen it. But then I decided I’d better not mention it, or I’d have a lot of explaining to do.”

Then Joel spoke up. “So that’s why you were so eager to come up here to visit. You wanted to find the treasure.”

“Yes,” Don said. “I went up into the tower in the middle of the night to search. I only had a flashlight on, so I didn’t think anyone would see me.”

Suddenly Violet remembered something. “It was your muddy footprint we saw, wasn’t it?” she said, looking down at the sneakers Don was wearing.

“I suppose it must have been,” Don agreed. “When I was searching around up here, I tried to look inside and behind the carillon—I’m afraid I may have broken some of the wires by accident when I leaned on them. I even went up to look at the bells and unscrewed some of the parts to see if somehow a treasure could be hidden inside.”

“That was a terrible thing you did,” Ezra said angrily. “It took me a long time to fix the carillon.”

Don’s face turned red, and he looked at the floor. “I’m so sorry,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t thinking. I’d come so far, and I didn’t want to leave empty-handed. I’ll repay you for the time you spent repairing them.”

“What I don’t understand is: Why were you being so secretive? Why not tell the university what you’d found?” Professor Meyer asked.

“I know what I did wasn’t right. But I never intended to keep the money. I just wanted to find the treasure.” Don looked at his father.

“Still playing detective?” Joel asked.

“I guess so,” Don said sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, I’m glad all the mysteries have been solved,” the professor said. “Thanks to the Aldens.” She smiled at the children, who smiled back proudly.

“What’s going to happen to the treasure?” Benny asked.

“We’ll have to notify the Chambers family,” Professor Meyer said. “For now, perhaps, we should bring the treasure to the president’s office for safekeeping.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” said Jessie.

The next day, the Aldens were getting ready to leave Goldwin and return home. Their suitcases were packed and ready. The family was just finishing up lunch in the dining hall.

“I’ve enjoyed being here again after all these years, but it will be good to get back to Greenfield,” Grandfather said.

“I agree,” said Jessie.

“I miss Mrs. McGregor’s cooking,” Benny said.

“Look, there’s Professor Meyer,” Violet called out as they stood up to leave.

Grandfather waved to her and she came right over. “I’m glad I found you before you left,” she said. “I spoke with Laurence Chambers last night. He was overjoyed to hear that you had found the family valuables—he couldn’t believe it. In fact, he took the first flight here and arrived this morning.”

“Really?” Henry said. “Has he seen the treasure yet?”

“Yes, and it was more wonderful than he’d imagined,” the professor said. “He’d like to meet you and thank you in person.”

The children looked at one another, their eyes glowing.

“We’d love to,” said Jessie.

The Aldens went with the professor up to the top of the tower one last time. When they reached the top, a tall dark-haired man was standing looking out the window. As he turned to face them, Violet said, “You look like your great-great-granduncle.”

“Do I?” Mr. Chambers asked.

“Yes,” Henry agreed. “We saw a picture of him in a book.”

“And you must be the Aldens,” Mr. Chambers said. “I can’t thank you enough for finding my family heirlooms.”

“It was our pleasure,” Jessie assured him.

“I’d like to give each of you a small piece of the treasure,” Mr. Chambers went on. He held out his hand and showed the children four old gold coins. “Will you accept these as your reward?”

The children were too stunned to speak. As he handed each of them a coin, Grandfather said, “They’re speechless. I think that means they accept your offer.”

At last the children remembered their manners. “Thank you!” they each said.

“As I was saying, it is the sentimental value, not the money, that matters to me,” Mr. Chambers said. “Last night I discussed with my family what to do with this treasure.

“As you know, my family has always been very devoted to this university. We will keep a few pieces, but the rest we are going to donate to Goldwin. We’ll be putting some of the antiques, like the goblets, on display.”

“What about the gold and silver?” asked Henry.

“My cousins and I discussed what to do with it,” Mr. Chambers said. “My great-great-granduncle was quite fond of music, especially the carillon. You may have figured that out from his letters.”

“Yes, it sounded that way,” said Jessie.

“My family would like to use this money to add some new bells,” said Mr. Chambers.

“What a wonderful idea,” Ezra said. “Thank you so very much.”

“Our music will sound even more beautiful,” Andi said excitedly.

“Your great-great-granduncle would have been proud,” Ezra said.

“Thank you for calling me,” Mr. Chambers said to Professor Meyer. Then he turned to the Aldens. “And thank you again, for finding my family’s treasure.”

“You’re welcome,” said Henry.

“Anytime you need a treasure found, just call us!” said Benny with a smile. “We’re always ready for a treasure hunt.”

G
ERTRUDE
C
HANDLER
W
ARNER
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

T
HE
B
OXCAR
C
HILDREN

S
URPRISE
I
SLAND

T
HE
Y
ELLOW
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY
R
ANCH

M
IKE’S
M
YSTERY

B
LUE
B
AY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
W
OODSHED
M
YSTERY

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
M
YSTERY

M
OUNTAIN
T
OP
M
YSTERY

S
CHOOLHOUSE
M
YSTERY

C
ABOOSE
M
YSTERY

H
OUSEBOAT
M
YSTERY

S
NOWBOUND
M
YSTERY

T
REE
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

B
ICYCLE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
AND

M
YSTERY
B
EHIND
THE
W
ALL

B
US
S
TATION
M
YSTERY

B
ENNY
U
NCOVERS
A
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING

T
HE
A
MUSEMENT
P
ARK
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
IXED
-U
P
Z
OO

T
HE
C
AMP
-O
UT
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
G
IRL

T
HE
M
YSTERY
C
RUISE

T
HE
D
ISAPPEARING
F
RIEND
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
INGING
G
HOST

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
NOW

T
HE
P
IZZA
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
H
ORSE

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
D
OG
S
HOW

T
HE
C
ASTLE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
OST
V
ILLAGE

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON THE
I
CE

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
P
URPLE
P
OOL

T
HE
G
HOST
S
HIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN
W
ASHINGTON
, DC

T
HE
C
ANOE
T
RIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
B
EACH