Free Windy City Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

“I never saw a crooked mustache before.”
    â€œI didn’t know it was crooked!” Cob laughed.
    Now Henry knew what caused Cob’s rash. “You’re allergic to the glue.”
    Cob nodded. “And I couldn’t make it stick. Today I lost an eyebrow.”
    â€œWe found it in the apartment,” Violet told him.
    Cobb nodded. “I thought I might find something in the apartment to tell me how close you were to finding this car.”
    â€œNot very close,” Jessie said.
    â€œOh, you’re good detectives,” Grandfather said. “You would have figured it out.”
    Now that all the puzzle pieces were in place, Cob gave them a new challenge. “See if you can set the table for eight.” He turned to Mr. Alden. “James, you and I will cook.”
    Benny counted. There were six of them. “Who else is coming?”
    â€œChad and Willard,” Cob answered. “They didn’t know it, but they played important parts in our little game.”
    It was tight, but they all fit. During dinner, the Aldens told Chad and Willard about the mystery and how they had solved it.
    â€œI knew you were looking for something,” Willard said.
    Chad just kept shaking his head. “Dad, you planned all this?”
    â€œAnd more,” Mr. Piper said. “I’ve saved the best part for last.”
    Benny jumped in his chair. “Tell us! Please!”
    â€œThis is my own private train car,” he began. “It belonged to my grandfather. He was in the railroad business. After he retired, he brought it to his backyard.”
    â€œWe have a boxcar in our backyard,” Violet said.
    Mr. Piper nodded. “So James told me. And just like you, I played in it every chance I got.”
    Benny looked around. “This is much fancier than our boxcar.”
    â€œIt didn’t always look like it does today,” Cob said. “Time and weather had done their work. Then one day I decided to restore it.”
    â€œBy yourself?” Jessie asked.
    â€œYes,” Cob answered. “It took a long time. After I had finished it, I thought, why not live in it? It’s been here ever since. It’s my hobby — the only way I relax from the paper business. I rent the track. I travel in it, too. That’s my final surprise: I have a trip planned for next week.”
    The Alden children’s minds raced ahead of him. They exchanged excited glances.
    Cob laughed. “You are quick,” he said. “I can tell you’ve guessed it. After you’ve seen the rest of the city, we’ll hook this car to an eastbound train and take you home to Greenfield!”
    The Aldens laughed with delight.
    Willard laughed, too. “I’d say you Aldens found what you were looking for!”
    â€œMuch more!” Violet said.
    Mr. Piper raised his glass. “A toast to buried treasure.”
    Henry looked around the table at his sisters and brother, Grandfather, the Pipers, and Willard. These people were his family and friends. They were the real treasures. He raised his glass. “And to those in plain sight,” he said.

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