The Aldens went through the grocery store buying everything on Mrs. McGregor’s list. Then they returned home, pulling the wagon filled with grocery bags.
“I’ll check the mail,” called Benny, running to the mailbox. The mail hadn’t arrived yet, but there was something in the box. Benny pulled it out. It was a brochure with a note clipped to the front. Benny tried to figure out what the note said, but he was just learning to read, and the note was written in cursive. He would have to ask for help. Benny ran into the house.
When he entered the kitchen, he knew immediately that Mrs. McGregor had been baking. The kitchen smelled delicious. Lines of cookies were cooling on a rack. They were filled with jelly and covered in powdered sugar.
“Those look good,” said Benny. “May I have one?”
“Not yet — you’ll spoil your lunch,” Mrs. McGregor said. She was preparing a big fruit salad.
Disappointed, Benny quickly put his hand down.
“Was there any mail?” Henry asked.
“Just this,” said Benny, handing him the brochure.
Henry quickly read the note clipped on top. “It’s from Professor Murray. He wrote, ‘This might be a good place for your boxcar.’” Henry removed the note and looked at the brochure. “It’s a brochure for a museum near here.”
The others moved closer to look at the brochure. “It looks nice, but … ” said Jessie.
“We’re not giving away our boxcar,” said Benny. “Grandfather said so. Professor Murray can’t make us.”
“No, he can’t,” said Jessie, putting an arm around her brother. “We’ll show the brochure to Grandfather when he gets home, but I’m sure he’ll agree with us.”
“Professor Murray doesn’t give up,” said Henry.
The others nodded.
Jessie turned to Mrs. McGregor. “Is it all right if we sleep out in the boxcar tonight?”
“That sounds fun,” said the housekeeper. “And the weather is supposed to be lovely tonight.”
“Great!” said Benny.
After lunch, the children hurried upstairs to pack for their sleepover. They gathered pajamas and slippers and bathrobes and stuffed them into their overnight bags. Then they grabbed sleeping bags and pillows and stuffed animals to sleep with and books to read. At last they came downstairs, their arms filled.
“Oh my goodness!” said Mrs. McGregor when she saw them. “Are you sure you’re only going for one night? Looks like you’ve got enough to last you through next month!”
The children laughed.
“Mrs. McGregor, about those cookies … ” Benny said.
“Yes?” said Mrs. McGregor.
“I was just thinking it wouldn’t be a real sleepover without a bedtime snack,” Benny said.
“I was expecting that,” said Mrs. McGregor, handing him a tin. “I’ve put eight cookies in here — two for each of you. Are you sure you can carry it with all that stuff?”
“Yeah, I’ll just tuck my sleeping bag under this arm and my pillow under this arm. … ” Benny let out a moan as everything fell to the floor.
“Why don’t you come back for the cookies?” Mrs. McGregor suggested, hiding a smile. “It’s a long way until bedtime.”
“Well. … Okay,” said Benny reluctantly. He followed his brother and sisters out to the boxcar.
“Let’s put our stuff in that corner,” Jessie said, pointing. “We’ll get everything set up tonight when we’re ready for bed.” The others agreed.
“Now, how about a rematch of that soccer game,” suggested Henry.
“You’re on,” said Violet.
Benny piled his things in the corner with the rest of the sleeping bags and pillows. “I’ll be right there,” he called to the others, heading back to the house. “I’m going to get the cookies.”
Henry, Jessie, and Violet were kicking the ball around when Benny ran back to the boxcar with the cookies. He opened the tin and peeked in. The cookies smelled wonderful. “Maybe I’ll just have one now,” Benny said to himself. He quickly counted to check how many there were. “Eight cookies, just like Mrs. McGregor said.” That was good. That meant he could eat one now and still have another one that night. He picked up one of the cookies and took a bite. Delicious.
“Benny, are you coming?” Violet called from the yard.
Benny quickly stuffed the rest of the cookie into his mouth, brushing the powdered sugar from his hands. As he came out of the boxcar, his brother and sisters started laughing.
“What?” Benny asked.
“You didn’t by any chance try one of the cookies, did you?” Jessie asked, her eyebrows raised.
“Er … maybe … ” Benny said. “Why?”
“Your mustache gives you away,” Jessie said, giggling. Benny smiled and wiped the white powder off his face.
The Aldens played soccer until Mrs. McGregor called them in for lemonade. Afterward, Henry and Jessie went to the family room for a game of checkers.
“I’m going to sit on the porch and read my book,” Violet said. She had started a ghost story the day before and was eager to get back to it.
“I’ll go get my book, too,” Benny said.
“Great,” said Violet. “I’ll read you some.”
Benny ran to the boxcar, where he’d left his book, thinking someone might read him another chapter at bedtime. When he stepped inside, he looked longingly at the tin of cookies on the table.
“No,” he told himself. “I already had one. I’ll have another one tonight.” But then Benny noticed something strange — white powder and crumbs on the table around the tin. “I didn’t make that much of a mess, did I?” he wondered aloud. Stepping closer, Benny noticed that the lid of the tin wasn’t tightly shut. Benny lifted the lid and looked inside.
“Huh!” he said. There were only six cookies in the tin. Mrs. McGregor had put in eight, and he’d eaten one. That meant there should be seven cookies left.
“Hey, they made fun of me for eating a cookie, and now one of them had one!” Benny said. He ran back to the house. “Jessie, Henry?” he called, heading into the family room. “Did you have a cookie?”
“No,” said Jessie.
“I’m too stuffed from lunch,” said Henry.
Benny went out to the porch. “Violet, did you have a cookie?”
Violet shook her head.
“Are you sure?” Benny asked.
Violet smiled. “Don’t you think I’d remember if I’d eaten one?”
“Yes,” Benny said. “But … ” He frowned. “Will you come take a look at something?”
Benny led Violet back to the boxcar and showed her the tin. “Mrs. McGregor told me we could each have two cookies. That would make eight, right?”
“Yes,” said Violet.
“I ate one before,” said Benny. “Which means there should be seven left. But there are only six cookies now.”
Violet looked inside the tin and quickly counted. “You’re right.”
“If you and Jessie and Henry didn’t have any,” Benny said, “who ate the missing cookie?”
Violet narrowed her eyes and smiled at her little brother. “Are you sure you didn’t have another?”
“No!” Benny said. “They’ve just been sitting here in the boxcar.”
“Maybe Watch took one,” said Violet. “Or some other animal, like Mrs. McGregor said this morning.”
“Would an animal take out one cookie and leave the tin here, with the lid on?” asked Benny.
“That does seem unlikely,” said Violet.
Benny bit his lip. “You don’t think it was the ghost, do you?”
“Oh, Benny, not the ghost again. No, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation,” said Violet.
Just then Watch appeared in the doorway of the boxcar with his wet, shredded tennis ball in his mouth.
“Hey, boy, you want to play?” Benny asked, plucking the ball from Watch’s mouth. He threw the ball out into the yard, and Watch chased after it. Laughing, Benny followed him.
Violet looked at the cookies and shrugged her shoulders. Then she curled up on a chair and opened her book to read.
She hadn’t been sitting there long when she heard a strange scuffling sound.
Violet looked around, but seeing nothing unusual, she went back to her book.
A moment later the sound came again. Violet looked up quickly, scanning the boxcar. It sounded like the noise had come from inside, but Violet couldn’t figure out what would have made the sound. She was alone with just the table, chairs, stack of games, and all the usual things. And in the corner, the pile of bedding for that night. Was she imagining things?
Violet began reading again, but she found it hard to concentrate. She felt a prickly feeling at the back of her neck, as if someone was watching her.
Suddenly, Violet jerked around, almost certain there was someone behind her.
But the boxcar was empty.
This is silly, Violet thought. Benny’s talk of ghosts and this creepy book have got me spooked.
Just then Watch appeared in the doorway, panting and wagging his tail.
Relief flooded over Violet. “Hey, boy!” she said. Watch ran over and she rubbed his head and back. “Are you done playing ball with Benny?”
Then Violet had a thought. “Was that you before, scratching around the outside of the boxcar?” Of course Watch couldn’t answer her. He just looked up at her and wagged his tail as she scratched his ears. “That must be what I heard,” Violet told herself. But she wasn’t completely convinced. Nervously, she took one more look around the boxcar before walking out with Watch.
Stepping out into the bright sunshine, Violet felt silly for having been scared. She raced Watch to the house and got him a dog biscuit from the kitchen.
Leaving him to munch it happily, Violet went to find the others. Jessie and Henry had just finished their checkers game and Benny was about to play the winner.
“I beat Henry,” Jessie said.
“But you won’t beat me,” said Benny, grinning.
“How’s the book?” Henry asked.
“It’s okay,” said Violet. “Um, Benny, when did you come in from playing with Watch?”
“A little while ago,’ Benny said as he set up his pieces.
“Did you see him scratching around the boxcar at all?” Violet asked.
“No,” said Benny. “Why?”
“Oh, I don’t know … ” Violet said. She felt silly mentioning how spooked she’d felt.
“What’s up?” Henry asked.
“Well, it’s just that when I was alone in the boxcar, reading, I heard some weird noises,” said Violet. “I thought it might have been Watch.”
The other three looked back at the board.
“But I had the strangest feeling … ” Violet went on.
“What kind of feeling?” Henry asked.
“Well, like someone was watching me,” said Violet.
“Really? Inside the boxcar?” said Benny. “And remember there was that missing cookie!” He quickly told Henry and Jessie about the cookie.
“Let’s go out and look around,” said Jessie. “Maybe some sort of animal was in there or right outside. Maybe it left some pawprints or scratches.”
Leaving their checkers game, the Aldens went back outside. The boxcar looked the way it always did. Benny showed Henry and Jessie the cookie tin. Violet showed them where she’d been sitting when she heard the noises.
“Let’s do a thorough search,” Jessie suggested.
“Okay,” said the others. Following Jessie’s lead, they got down on their hands and knees and searched the floor and walls for any animal scratches or muddy pawprints. They looked under the table, behind the chairs, near the stack of games, and under the big pile of sleeping bags, clothes, and stuffed animals in the corner. There was nothing.
Jessie stopped searching and looked around at the others. “We thought Amelia or Professor Murray could have been poking around in the boxcar last night,” she said. “But I don’t think either of them would steal a cookie, do you?”
“That doesn’t seem likely,” Henry agreed. He stared at the wall, deep in thought. Suddenly he noticed something.
Henry looked from one corner of the boxcar to the corner opposite. “That’s weird,” he said.
“What’s weird?” asked Jessie.
Henry looked back and forth again. “I can’t believe we never noticed this before.”
“Noticed what?” asked Benny, bursting with curiosity.
“See how, down in this corner, there’s a diagonal wall?” Henry pointed to the corner where the pile of sleeping bags was. “But that corner doesn’t have it.” Henry pointed to the opposite corner. “It’s almost as if extra boards were added in this corner.” Henry tapped the wall and raised his eyebrows. “It’s hollow!”
“I don’t get it,” said Benny.
“There’s a space between these boards and the wall. A hollow space,” Henry explained.
“You think someone just added a secret compartment to the boxcar?” Jessie said.
“No,” Henry said. “If the boards had just been added, they would look fresh and new. But these boards are faded to the same color as the rest of the boxcar walls. That means they must have been nailed into place a long time ago.”
“Why?” asked Violet.
“I’m not sure,” said Henry. “Maybe this space was once used to store something.”
“But there’s no handle or doorknob,” Jessie pointed out. “No way to get in there easily.”
“That’s just what I was thinking,” said Henry, staring at the corner.
“Why would someone want a compartment that you can’t get into?” asked Benny.
“Good question,” said Jessie. She looked puzzled.
Henry spoke up. “It would be the perfect place … to hide something.”
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