Your son!” exclaimed Henry. He was very surprised.
“But . . .” Jessie began, then stopped. It would be rude to say what the Boxcar Children were all thinking: that Mrs. Ashleigh was so nice, but her son didn’t seem nice at all.
“I’m sorry I called your son a mean man,” said Benny contritely.
Mrs. Ashleigh shook her head sadly. “That’s all right, Benny. You didn’t know he was my son.”
“Why does he want you to sell your house?” asked Violet softly.
“He’s just worried about me. He says it’s not safe. Hurricanes hit this island often, you know. This last one wasn’t the first, nor the worst. And another hurricane could come along at any time,” said Mrs. Ashleigh.
“But this house has been here for years and years without a hurricane blowing it away,” said Henry. “Diana Shelby told us that. She said the old houses are the strongest.”
“I wish she could meet Forrest and convince him of that.” Mrs. Ashleigh took a deep breath and stood up. “But let’s not think about that now.” She smiled at the four children. “I have some good news for you. You’re fired.”
“Fired?” said Jessie. “But why? What did we do wrong?”
“Uh-oh,” said Benny.
Mrs. Ashleigh smiled. This time it wasn’t a sad smile. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re only fired for tomorrow. We all need a break from work. I’m declaring tomorrow a holiday!”
“And tonight we’re going out to dinner,” said Grandfather Alden, walking into the room. “Right here on the island. Ellen’s favorite restaurant, the Crab House, has just reopened.”
Mrs. Ashleigh looked a little more cheerful. “I’m so glad,” she said. “What a wonderful idea, James. We’ve all been working too hard!”
Everyone hurried to get ready to go out to dinner. Then they went downstairs and waited on the big front porch while Benny went to the kitchen to fill Watch’s water bowl with fresh water and give Watch his own dinner.
“Be a good dog and watch the house,” Benny told Watch. “Maybe I’ll bring you some leftovers.” He paused and added thoughtfully, “If there are any!”
Like everything on the small island, the restaurant wasn’t far away. The Aldens and Mrs. Ashleigh strolled down the quiet streets.
“I’ve been at home working so hard on my house, I haven’t seen how much work everyone else has done on theirs,” admitted Mrs. Ashleigh.
In the restaurant, Mrs. Ashleigh seemed to know almost everyone. The Aldens met lots of new people.
And they saw one familiar face.
“Look! There’s Jackie,” said Benny. He waved.
Jackie got up from her table and came over to say hello. “A big crowd tonight,” she said, motioning to all the people in the restaurant. “The hurricane doesn’t seem to have hurt the Crab House’s business.”
“Everyone’s been working hard,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. “They’re probably glad to take a break, just like we are.”
“Tomorrow we have a holiday,” added Jessie. “We’re not going to work at all.”
Jackie smiled. “You’ve been a lot of help to Ellen, haven’t you?”
“Oh, yes,” said Benny. “We have moved furniture and cleaned and we’re even helping go through lots of old papers. Pirate papers.”
Raising one eyebrow, Jackie looked at Mrs. Ashleigh. “Some of those papers are very old and fragile,” she said.
“The Aldens are being careful,” Mrs. Ashleigh said. “We’ll have them ready for the museum in no time.”
Jackie looked as if she didn’t quite believe Mrs. Ashleigh. “Let me know if you need help,” she said. Then, as if sorry for sounding a little rude, she said, “If tomorrow is a holiday, why don’t you come to town? Drive into Charleston and take a carriage tour with Hoofbeats of History, just like I promised you?”
“That would be fun!” said Violet.
“I think it’s a grand idea,” said Mrs. Ashleigh.
“Good,” said Jackie. “Be there at ten tomorrow! You can even bring your dog. Have a good dinner.”
“We will,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. “How do lobsters and crab cakes sound, Benny?”
“Crab cakes? Can I have chocolate cake instead?” asked Benny. Everybody laughed.
Early the next morning, Henry sneaked down and put a special “pirate’s map” on top of a pile of carefully sorted papers in the study. Jessie and Violet hurried out to bury the “treasure” for Benny to find later that day.
Then, right after breakfast, all the Aldens and Mrs. Ashleigh drove to Charleston. They passed Diana working on a house just down the street and waved as they went by.
But when they got to the Hoofbeats of History stable, Jackie wasn’t there.
“Oh, no,” said Jessie to the man who came out to meet them. “She was supposed to give us a tour.”
The man smiled. He was medium height, with shoulder-length brown hair, and he wore sunglasses. “Then you must be the Aldens. I’m Mike Carson, Jackie’s partner. She couldn’t be here, so she arranged for me to give you a special tour.”
“That sounds great,” said Henry. “My name’s Henry and these are my sisters, Jessie and Violet, and my brother Benny.”
Mike led them toward a black carriage with silver trim. A big, sandy-colored horse stood hitched to it.
“Welcome to Hoofbeats of History,” Mike said. He nodded toward the horse. “This is Sugar. Not only did Jackie leave the very best tour guide in charge but she left the very best horse.”
“Is she called Sugar because she is a sweet horse?” asked Jessie, patting Sugar’s soft nose.
“Because she’s sweet and she likes to be fed lumps of sugar,” said Mike.
“Watch, our dog, is called Watch because he is a good watchdog,” said Benny.
“Hello, Watch,” said Mike, scratching Watch’s ears. Then he motioned toward the carriage. “Now, all aboard.”
The Aldens and Mrs. Ashleigh got in the carriage. Benny held tightly to Watch’s leash.
“Okay, Sugar, let’s go,” said Mike, and Sugar pulled the carriage out into the streets of Charleston.
“Look at all the people!” said Benny as they drove up one narrow street and down another. He waved at people as Sugar trotted by. “It’s like being in a parade.” Benny loved parades.
“Look at all the beautiful houses,” Violet breathed. She pointed at fences made of iron shaped into delicate patterns. “It looks like lace made of iron,” she said.
Mrs. Ashleigh laughed and nodded. “That’s a very good description, Violet.”
As they drove, Mike told them that Charleston had been built in the middle of a marsh and behind walls to protect it from enemy attack. “The name Charleston comes from Charles Town, after the English King Charles II,” he explained.
He showed them the high-water marks that the sea had left behind after the last hurricane. The water had been taller than Benny, taller than Jessie, even taller than Grandfather.
“But Charleston is used to hurricanes,” he said. “And earthquakes, too.”
“That’s what Diana told us,” said Henry. “She said San Francisco had lots of earthquakes, but that Charleston had had them, too.”
“Well, I don’t know Diana, but she’s right. In 1886 we had an earthquake that lasted eight minutes!” Mike said.
“That won’t happen again soon, will it?” asked Violet, looking a little nervous.
“I don’t think so,” said Mike. “I hope not!”
They drove past the City Market, where people once shopped for food, “just like in a big, open grocery store,” Mike told them. Now the market was the center of restaurants and shops and artists of all kinds. Women sat on corners and wove beautiful baskets of palmetto, bulrush, pine, and sweetgrass, “a craft brought by their great-great-grandmothers from Africa and the Caribbean and handed down for generations from mother to daughter,” Mike told them. “Some of those baskets are in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. They are works of art and are worth a lot of money.”
At the end of the tour, the Aldens thanked Mike, and Sugar, too. “I’ve lived all my life in Charleston,” said Mrs. Ashleigh, “but I’ve never been on a tour before. I learned a lot of new things.”
“You should give tours dressed as a pirate,” said Benny.
“That’s a great idea, Benny,” said Mike. “Maybe I will.”
As they walked away from the stable, Mike called after them, “Are you going home now?”
“Not just yet,” said Grandfather. “I think we’ll go get some ice cream.”
“Good,” said Benny.
“The best ice cream is over by the market,” said Mike. “It’ll take a little while to walk there, but it’ll be worth it. And you can see more of Charleston.”
“Thank you, Mike,” said Mr. Alden.
“Take your time in Charleston,” Mike urged. “There is a lot to see and do.”
“We will,” said Jessie cheerfully. “After all, we’re on a holiday today!”
Grandfather Alden and Mrs. Ashleigh dropped the children off at the house before going to the hardware store for supplies.
When they got back, Henry said, “I think we should take a look in the study, don’t you, Jessie and Violet?”
“Yes,” said Jessie.
“Yes,” said Violet. “Come on, Benny.”
She and Jessie and Henry wanted Benny to find his made-up pirate map so they could go on their treasure hunt.
But when they pushed the door of the study open, they stopped in shock.
“Oh, no!” cried Violet. “What happened?” |