Free The Mystery of the Lost Village by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

late,” Joe said. “We won. You’ll have to build your vacation homes someplace else.”
    Michael looked embarrassed. “No, that’s not what I want to say at all. I don’t work for the developer anymore.”
    â€œYou don’t? What happened?” Mrs. Light-feather looked surprised.
    He shrugged. “I’m a full-blooded Navajo, just like you, and I suddenly realized that I couldn’t hurt my own people.” He looked at the children. “When I saw all of you working at the dig, it reminded me of a dream I had. I wanted to be an archaeologist once. I even studied archaeology in college, but then I got sidetracked.” He held open the front door, and they all stepped out into the bright sunlight. “Now I see that I can still go after my dream. I’m going to help with the dig.”
    â€œMichael’s decision was certainly a surprise,” Mrs. Lightfeather said later when they were in their truck, heading home.
    â€œA nice one!” Amy said with a laugh.
    â€œWhat happens now?” Henry asked.
    Mrs. Lightfeather glanced at her watch. “We just have time to have a quick lunch at home before your grandfather comes to pick you up.”
    Grandfather! Violet thought. She was looking forward so much to seeing him, but she knew she would miss the Lightfeathers. Amy and Joe promised to write and tell her what was happening at the dig, but it wouldn’t be the same as being there.
    It was early afternoon when a taxi pulled into the Lightfeathers’ driveway and Grandfather got out.
    â€œGrandfather’s here!” Violet cried, running to meet him.
    â€œIt’s been a long two weeks without you, children,” he said, hugging each of the Aldens in turn.
    â€œWe missed you, too, Grandfather,” Jessie said. “But so much has happened!”
    â€œYou’ll have to tell me all about it on the plane,” Grandfather said. “We just have time to get to the airport.”
    Violet and Amy looked at each other. “How can we say good-bye?” Violet said, giving her a hug.
    â€œWe’ll keep in touch. We’ll write lots of letters,” Amy promised.
    â€œThanks for taking care of the children,” Grandfather said to the Lightfeathers. “I know it was a wonderful experience for them.”
    â€œIt was quite an experience for us!” Mrs. Lightfeather said, smiling. “In fact, I’d say it was absolutely amazing.”
    â€œReally?” Grandfather looked puzzled. “Did something interesting happen here?”
    The Aldens and the Lightfeathers laughed. “Interesting? Just wait until you hear the whole story!” Benny said.

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,