Free Deserted Library Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

salesman and completed the sale.
    With tears in his eyes, Pedro heartily shook Grandfather’s hand. “I’ll never forget you.”
    Jessie and Violet hugged Miguel, and the slender boy gazed at them for a moment, then turned away with his father.
    Pedro and Miguel stopped once at the entrance and waved, and then they were gone.
    â€œI’ll miss Miguel,” Benny said sadly.
    â€œWe all will,” Violet said softly.
    Without a word they joined Grandfather and went home.
    The next week, Grandfather Alden convinced the City Council that the library should be saved and, because of its age and the hidden sword, be given landmark status.
    Several months later, he took his grandchildren on a trip to Boston to visit the Boston Museum. Displayed in a beautiful glass case was their Civil War sword. It no longer was in rusty pieces but in one long blade.
    The blade shimmered. Nearby was the letter from General Meade.
    â€œWe found the sword,” Violet said proudly.
    â€œYes,” Jessie said. “We found an American treasure. That’s one of the best things we’ve ever done!”
    â€œNo,” Benny piped up. “The best thing was helping Miguel and his father.”
    They laughed, knowing that Benny was right!
    And they left the museum feeling warm and good. Not, however, because they’d saved a library and discovered a Civil War sword, but because they’d helped someone as nice as Miguel and his father.

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 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