Free The Mystery of the Purple Pool by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

played a lively overture. The Aldens could hardly wait for the curtain to go up.
    And when it did, they were very surprised!
    In the center of the stage was a man with silvery hair and a long, pointed nose. The mysterious man!
    â€œThat’s him!” Benny whispered.
    Several people around Benny said, “Ssh.”
    The musical was wonderful, with lots of colorful costumes and exciting dancing. But all Benny could think about was the mysterious man.
    At the intermission he told Grandfather, “That was our mystery man.”
    Grandfather laughed. “ That was Frederick Astor, one of Broadway’s biggest stars.”
    â€œWhy was he always going around the hotel in dark glasses with his coat collar pulled up around his face?” Violet asked.
    â€œWell,” Grandfather said, “often big stars don’t want to be recognized and bothered by the public, so they try different disguises, as Mr. Astor obviously did.”
    â€œNow all the mysteries have been solved,” Henry said.
    The next morning as the Aldens were leaving, a woman rushed in wearing dark glasses and a hat pulled low over her face. “Is it another mystery?” Benny asked hopefully.
    Just then a man ran over to the woman in sunglasses and asked her for her autograph. The Aldens all laughed.
    â€œBenny, I guess you are just going to have to find a mystery somewhere else,” Grandfather said as they all left the hotel.

About the Author
    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 each 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