Free The Sleepy Hollow Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

must be Jessie,” she said, shaking
Jessie’s hand. “And I’d recognize Watch
anywhere.” She patted the dog, and the terrier
wagged his tail. “I’m sorry it’s so dark, but the
power is out,” she explained.
    “The dark made your porch look scary,”
Benny said.
    “We thought the scarecrow was a headless
man,” Violet added.
    Mrs. Vanderhoff looked puzzled. “The
scarecrow isn’t supposed to be scary. My
daughter Annika carved a happy face on the
pumpkin head.”

    “The pumpkin head is on the ground,”
Jessie said. Henry shone the flashlight so
Mrs. Vanderhoff could see it.
    “Oh, that’s too bad. The pumpkin must
have fallen off the scarecrow frame. Annika
wouldn’t make a headless scarecrow. She
doesn’t like scary Halloween decorations.
We’ll fix the scarecrow tomorrow. Now, if
you want to bring your suitcases around back,
I do have a nice fire going in the fire pit. I also
have some hot cider for everyone. My other
daughter Margot made some crullers today
too. I think you will like those.”
    “I don’t know what crullers are, but they
sound good!” Benny said. “I’m hungry.”
    Mrs. Vanderhoff laughed. “Crullers are a
special kind of doughnut dipped in sugar. The
recipe has been in my family for generations,
ever since the first Dutch settlers came to
this area of New York.”
    “We can’t wait to try them,” Jessie said
as she helped Henry get the suitcases out of
the car.
    Henry paused to look around. “The power
isn’t out anywhere else,” he said. “That
restaurant next door has all its lights on.”
    Mrs. Vanderhoff sighed. “The restaurant
is the reason we don’t have electricity. They
are doing some repair work. Somehow
the power to my property was cut off. It’s
supposed to be fixed in the morning, but
until then, we’ll have to rely on flashlights
and candles.”
    A paved path led to a fenced-in backyard.
Torches in the ground lit a stone patio with
a fire pit in the center. The fire in it blazed
away. Jessie thought it looked very cozy, like
a little island of light in the dark yard.
    “Take a seat,” Mrs. Vanderhoff said,
motioning to the benches placed around the
fire. They all sat down except Watch, who
stood next to Henry. The dog sniffed the air
and then whined.
    “Settle down, Watch,” Henry said. He
patted the dog, who sat down but continued
to look around, his ears alert.
    “Who would like hot cider?” Mrs.
Vanderhoff asked.
    “I would!” Benny said.
    “I think we all would,” Mrs. McGregor
added.
    Mrs. Vanderhoff went over to a small table
that held a thermos, mugs, a large platter
covered with foil, and a cookie jar. As she
poured, she explained, “Annika will be back
with her ghost-tour guests very soon. They
walk most of the way, but then a friend of
hers picks them up in an old wagon and
brings them back here. When they arrive,
everyone sits around the fire for snacks and
one last story.”
    “How is the ghost-tour business going?”
Mrs. McGregor asked.
    Mrs. Vanderhoff handed a mug of cider
to Benny. “Annika is just starting out so it’s
been a little slow. Her tours are unusual. She’s
calling them family-friendly ghost walks. So
many young children think some parts of
Halloween are too scary. She tells interesting
stories and shows them some beautiful places
in the woods.”
    “That’s a good idea,” Violet said.
“Sometimes I’m scared of the dark. My
friends like Halloween haunted houses, but
I don’t.”
    “Annika is hoping some of the people who
take the tours will tell their friends,” Mrs.
Vanderhoff said. “Every little bit of money
helps. My poor old house needs so many
repairs. We fix one thing just when something
else breaks.”
    “If you have some tools I can use,” Henry
said, “I’ll be happy to fix what I can. I like to
fix things.”
    “Thank you, Henry. I have several small
jobs you could do. At least the apartment over
the garage where you’ll be staying is in good
shape, except it doesn’t have any