Free Candy Factory Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

box is practically empty.”
    Mrs. McGregor looked up from the sweater she was knitting. “How can you have room for candy hearts after eating such a big piece of my coconut cake?”
    Benny patted his stomach. “Don’t worry, Mrs. McGregor. I always leave room for candy,” Benny said. “Okay, I’m ready.”
    He picked up a heart and read the message to himself. A puzzled look passed over his face. He scrunched his eyebrows for a long time. Finally, he walked over to the doorway, where Watch’s leash was hanging.
    Watch raced over to Benny.
    â€œDoggone!” Henry yelled. “Is that what your candy heart says?”
    Poor Watch waited. Benny still had the leash in his hand.
    Benny pointed to Watch, then to the door.
    â€œOut? Stay Out?” Jessie guessed. “Never mind. That doesn’t make sense. Candy hearts don’t say things like that.”

    Benny held up Watch’s leash again and pointed to the door.
    Watch began to whine. He didn’t have to guess what Benny was doing — a leash meant a walk.
    â€œWatch? Out?” ten-year-old Violet cried. “Does your candy heart say, Watch Out?”
    Benny broke into a big grin. “That’s it!” he cried, handing his candy heart to Violet to pass around. “Read it. See, it says, Watch Out!”
    Violet looked at the candy heart in surprise. Benny was right — it really did say, Watch Out! She passed it around to the rest of the children so they could see the odd message.
    â€œThat’s a strange message to print on a candy heart,” Grandfather said. “It must be a mistake. I wonder if Mrs. Winkles knows about this.”
    Benny poured the rest of his candy hearts onto the coffee table. He turned them over one by one. Now that he knew how to read, he liked to read everything, from street signs to cereal boxes to candy hearts. “Look. A few other hearts in this box have strange messages, too. Some of them say, Trouble, Danger Ahead, Go Away, Beware, Warning .”
    â€œRemember the chocolate mice Mrs. Winkles sent?” Henry asked. “They didn’t have any tails.”
    Grandfather scratched his chin. “Yes, that was odd as well. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Rose Winkles about those. I didn’t want to upset her — and I thought the shipment might have just been damaged by accident. But these candy hearts seem to be quite a different matter.”
    Benny had an idea. “Hey, what if they’re for April Fools’ Day or Halloween? Maybe the messages are supposed to be for fun.”
    Grandfather shook his head. “Oh, that wouldn’t be something Rose would do — not at all. Her longtime customers wouldn’t find these candy hearts amusing. I’m certain of that.”
    â€œAll the candy she sends us at holidays are sweet and pretty,” Violet said. “Even the chocolate mice with no tails.”
    â€œYou know, children,” Grandfather said, “I’ve been meaning to see how Rose is doing. She’s always inviting us to visit. I’m sure she would enjoy seeing your cheery young faces. She doesn’t have much family left.”
    The children stared into the fire for a few moments. They knew what it was like to be cut off from relatives. After their own parents died, they had lived on their own in a boxcar in the woods without any other family but each other. Luckily, Grandfather had searched for them and brought them back to live in his big white house. Now they couldn’t imagine living apart from Grandfather and all their other wonderful Alden relatives.
    â€œWhen Seth Winkles died, he left the factory to his wife, Rose,” Grandfather went on. “After that, his brother and sister wouldn’t have anything to do with her. They were upset that Seth didn’t leave the factory to them. Rose has nieces and nephews on Seth’s side whom she’s never met, even though they