Benny sat up and asked, “Who is it?”
Then Henry called down from the top bunk. “Annie? Wait a minute.” He jumped down as Benny slid the door open.
Annie was standing in the corridor in a bright blue robe and yellow slippers. She said, “I’m sorry to wake you, I didn’t have anyone else to come to. Can you please help me?”
The door of the girls’ compartment opened and Jessie asked, “What’s going on?” When she saw that Henry and Benny and Annie were in the corridor, she said, “Just a minute.”
In a few seconds, she and Violet were out of their compartment and also standing in the corridor. They had long sweaters over their pajamas. “What’s wrong, Annie?” Violet asked.
“Please help! My portfolio was stolen and we’re coming to a stop. I need you to watch the doors and make sure no one takes my portfolio off the train.”
“Where are we?” Jessie asked.
Henry looked at his watch and said, “It’s almost midnight. We were due to stop in Omaha, Nebraska, at midnight.”
“So we get to see Nebraska after all,” Benny said.
“I left my room for just a second,” Annie explained, “and when I came back, the portfolio was gone! We’re coming into Omaha and whoever stole my portfolio may try to take it off the train. Will you help?”
“First you must tell us,” Jessie said. “What’s really in that portfolio? It must be something valuable if you are so upset.”
Annie nodded her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth earlier. The portfolio is filled with my collection of old movie posters—not artwork. My aunt and I inherited them and I planned to sell them once I got to California. Now they’re gone!”
“Old movie posters!” Benny cried.
“We met a man who collects old movie posters,” Henry said slowly. “I wonder if Mr. Reeves knew about your collection.”
“I don’t think anyone knows I have the posters with me except my Aunt Ellen and my Uncle Bob,” Annie said. “It was Uncle Bob who suggested I bring them to California to sell. When my aunt found out, she was furious.”
“Would your aunt hire someone to steal them from you?” Jessie asked.
“Never!” Annie answered. She seemed quite upset at the question. “She would never do that.”
Soon the children were all dressed and standing in the corridor of the sleeping car. The train began to slow down and Henry said, “We’d better spread out. Jessie, you and I are the fastest runners so we’ll go as far down the train as we can. Benny, you stay here and Violet and Annie can stop halfway. Let’s go before the train stops.”
“What do we do if we see someone with the portfolio?” Violet asked.
“Just call for help and notice what the thief looks like,” Henry said. “If we can’t get help fast enough to stop him, we’ll call the police and let them take care of it.”
The children nodded and began running to their various stations. Henry was almost at the end of the train by the time it stopped and he stood on the steps watching carefully. Only a few people got off. They were a family with three sleeping children and several suitcases. All the suitcases were small and square, nothing that looked like a portfolio.
When the train started moving again, Henry went back toward his sleeping car and on the way he met Annie. “Did you see anyone suspicious?” she asked.
“No one,” Henry admitted.
“Neither did I,” Annie said. She was a little calmer now. “I guess there’s nothing more to do until morning. Thanks anyway.”
“Don’t you want to talk to the others?” Henry asked.
“I could see the whole platform,” Annie said. “No one got off except a little old lady with a bird cage. I’m going to go back to my room now.”
“Where is your room?” Henry asked.
“Up there.” Annie pointed toward the second floor and down the corridor.
“Are you in this car?” Henry asked.
“No, I’m a couple of cars down,” Annie answered quickly.
“What is your room number?” Henry asked.
“I’ve forgotten,” Annie said. Then she laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sure I’ll find my room, but I was so upset when I discovered the portfolio was gone, I just forgot to look at my room number.”
“I’ll walk you to your room,” Henry offered. “But first, we need to talk to the others. Maybe they saw something suspicious.”
They found the other children waiting in the corridor. When they said they had seen nothing, Annie turned and started for the door of the sleeping car.
“Really, I’ll be all right. You don’t have to walk me to my room,” Annie said. She turned her head, smiled, and put her hand on Henry’s shoulder. “Thanks so much for your help. Now that I know the portfolio is still on the train, I can sleep.”
Annie disappeared into the next car. Henry wondered what was making Annie behave so strangely. Had she seen something she didn’t want to talk about? She seemed very anxious to get away from them. He decided it would be best to talk things over with the others. Henry found Jessie, Violet, and Benny waiting for him in the corridor and he suggested they go to the club car where they could talk some more.
There were only a few people still up and the four children sat in the corner and talked. “Something was funny about Annie,” Henry said. “The minute the train started up again, she tried to get rid of me. Then she said she didn’t remember her room number.”
“That is strange,” Violet agreed.
“So did anyone see anything out of the ordinary?” Henry asked.
The others shook their heads and Jessie asked, “Did you see anyone get off?”
“Just a family. Annie said she saw only an old woman.” Henry shook his head. “Something doesn’t make sense.”
“We saw something funny on the train,” Benny said.
“Yes,” Jessie added. “When we were coming back, we saw Vincent talking with that man with the beard and sunglasses—the man we had dinner with on the first train. They talked for a long time.”
“Why was he wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night?” Violet asked.
“I think he was wearing a disguise,” Benny said. “My detective kit comes with a beard and sunglasses. Maybe he has a kit just like it.”
“Maybe Annie’s wrong,” Henry said. “Maybe Annie’s aunt did hire someone to steal the posters.”
“Maybe she hired Vincent to take the posters,” Jessie said. “We did see Annie’s aunt give him money.”
“But Annie is certain her aunt wouldn’t hire anyone to do anything like that,” Violet said. “I think she knows her aunt well.”
Henry shook his head. “We still don’t know much.”
Then Benny yawned and stretched. He said, “I’m sleepy.”
“We should go back to sleep,” Jessie said. “We don’t want to be tired tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow we’ll see the Rocky Mountains,” Henry said. Then he added, “Tomorrow we can talk about Annie’s problem at breakfast.”
“That’s a good idea,” Benny said. “I am a better thinker when I am wide-awake.”
The Alden children were back in bed and fast asleep in ten minutes. |