Free Boxcar Children 68 - Basketball Mystery by Charles Tang, Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

envelope! Where’s that note about the missing trophy? I think the letters are the same!”
    Jessie reached into her gym bag. She pulled out the crumpled note and smoothed it out.
    “Look. It’s the same printing as on this envelope!” Benny cried.
    “I bet if we find Patsy, we’ll find Tipper’s trophy,” Jessie said.
    “I saw Patsy go up that staircase about ten minutes ago,” Henry said when he overheard the children talking. “There’s another locker room on the second floor.”
    Soo Lee and Benny raced up the stairs with Jessie and Henry following right behind.
    The halls leading to the locker room were dark. But Jessie knew the way. She pushed open the door and searched for the light switch. But she couldn’t find it. The children followed her into the darkened room.
    The Aldens were not alone. They stood still. There was just enough light to see someone standing in front of a large wall mirror — someone holding a tall, silver trophy!
    “Patsy!” Jessie cried out.
    Patsy jumped when she saw the Aldens’ reflection. She quickly put the trophy under one of the benches.
    “Where did you find that?” Violet asked.
    Patsy didn’t answer.
    “We’ve been searching for that ever since it disappeared,” Henry said.
    “I’m the one who took it from the trunk of the twins’ car after I saw Buzz put it there,” Patsy told Henry.
    “Why?” Jessie asked, her voice shaking.
    Patsy took a deep breath. “I just wanted to have it overnight — without anyone around. I tried to get it back to your room, Jessie. But you kept following me.”
    Jessie picked up the trophy from under the bench.
    “I saw Tipper on television when she won it last month,” Patsy continued. “I couldn’t believe she was actually in Greenfield coaching our team. I thought if I borrowed her trophy, some of her talent might rub off on me. I want to be a great player like her — and Courtney, too.”
    “Why didn’t you tell her?” Soo Lee asked.
    Patsy went on, “I tried to get it back to her, but it was never the right time. Then, when our team won the league trophy, I felt worse. Tipper helped us win it, and I had taken hers. So I sent her the note and planned to bring it back today without getting caught.”
    “Well, here it is!” Jessie said. “We’d better bring it to the gym right away. Tipper would be pretty embarrassed if the mayor called her to the gym floor and she was empty-handed. You can tell her the whole story later.”
    Soo Lee forgot all about brushing her hair. Benny forgot about the curl that wouldn’t behave. None of it mattered.
    When the Aldens walked into the gym with Patsy they held up the trophy so Tipper could see it. The spotlights made the silver reflect all over the gym. Tipper gave Patsy and the Aldens a thumbs-up sign.
    When Patsy and the Aldens entered the gym, the band was playing the Greenfield High School fight song. Cheerleaders were tumbling and doing somersaults in front of the crowd.
    The mayor tapped the microphone, which made a horrible scratchy sound. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the mayor said, “may I present Tipper Nettleton, the Most Valuable Player in the country. She will now donate her trophy to our new sports center.”
    Jessie handed Benny the trophy. “Go ahead. Take it down to her.”
    Benny ran down to the gym floor. He held up the trophy. The mayor gave him the microphone. In a voice just like the mayor’s, Benny said, “May I present Tipper Nettleton with the most valuable trophy that was ever missing.”
    All of the Aldens laughed, and the whole audience joined in. Benny laughed harder than anyone.

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