Free Boxcar Children 54 - Hurricane Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

she walked up to them. “James Alden,” she said. “I’m so glad to see you. I’m so glad to see all of you!”
    She hugged Mr. Alden and all of the Aldens, even Watch. Then she led the way back to the house. “Watch your step,” she said when they reached the front porch. “The hurricane blew our front steps away. I imagine they are at the bottom of the ocean now!”

    Suddenly Benny started to laugh. “It’s just like the step for our boxcar,” he said. He pointed. Where the front steps had been, Mrs. Ashleigh had put a stump as a temporary step.
    “Your boxcar?” asked Mrs. Ashleigh.
    “We used to live in a boxcar,” said Jessie. “Before Grandfather found us.”
    The Boxcar Children told Mrs. Ashleigh about how, after their parents had died, they had gone to live in an old boxcar in the woods. They didn’t know that their grandfather was looking for them and wanted them to come live with him. When he found them, he’d brought them all to his house in Greenfield. As a surprise, and to make them feel more at home, he’d brought the boxcar, too. He’d put it behind the house and now they could visit it whenever they wanted.
    Hearing the story of the Boxcar Children, Mrs. Ashleigh smiled. “Well, I’m glad my house has a stump for a front step, just like your boxcar does, then,” she said. “It will make you feel more at home.”
    “But soon you’ll have stairs,” said Henry. “Because we’ll fix them for you.”
    Watch gave a little bark and hopped up the stump onto the front porch. He looked over his shoulder at everyone as if to say, Let’s get to work.
    “Okay, boy. Here we come,” said Benny. And the Aldens went inside with Mrs. Ashleigh.
    Inside the house Jessie said, “But there is no furniture! Oh, dear, Mrs. Ashleigh! Did the hurricane blow it all away?”
    Mrs. Ashleigh laughed and shook her head. “No. With the help of my neighbors, I got the furniture moved upstairs before the hurricane hit. Now that things are drying out and I’ve got most of the first floor cleaned up and repainted, I’ve just started moving it back down. We boarded up the windows and the water didn’t get any higher than the first floor. I was one of the lucky people. I didn’t lose much. Except . . .” She stopped and sighed.
    “What?” said Violet, clasping her hands.
    “Well, the hurricane took one very, very valuable thing of mine,” said Mrs. Ashleigh. “The most valuable thing I own. It’s priceless. The Pirate’s Gate.”

CHAPTER 2
Lost and Found
    B enny’s eyes grew very round. “The Pirate’s Gate?” he cried. “See? I told you there were pirates!”
    He gave a little skip of excitement. Grandfather put his hand on Benny’s shoulder. “Slow down, Benny. Let’s hear the rest of the story.”
    “But first why don’t y’all get unpacked and settled in your rooms,” suggested Mrs. Ashleigh. “I’ll be in the kitchen and when you are ready, we can have some refreshments and I’ll tell you about the Pirate’s Gate.”
    “Hurry!” Benny said. Then he added, “I’m hungry!” Watch barked in agreement.
    Mrs. Ashleigh showed the Aldens where to go. Then she went back to the kitchen.
    Each of the Aldens had a separate room upstairs in the big house. As they all hurried to unpack, they discovered that Mrs. Ashleigh had put the downstairs furniture in every single room upstairs. Violet found boxes of books and china, and four rugs rolled up in her room. Henry had five chairs, a coffee table, and a giant hanging fern crammed into his. Benny laughed and laughed when he saw that his room was filled with lamps — tall and short, fat and skinny, fancy and plain. Jessie’s room had tables and pillows and pictures in picture frames propped against the wall. Even the halls were lined with furniture and boxes that Mrs. Ashleigh had put upstairs to keep safe from the storm, in case the ocean came into the house.
    “The hurricane made waves as tall as a house,” Violet said in an awed