Free Mystery in New York by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

rascal.”
    â€œAnother mystery solved,” said Jessie, grinning.
    â€œSpeaking of mysteries,” said Lydia, “did you hear about Mr. Pound? It’s in all the papers. His stolen diamond was found and he’s going to donate it to the Museum of Natural History. Can you imagine giving such a valuable thing away? I bet there’s a story behind that news item!”
    â€œI bet there is,” said Henry, and the children exchanged smiles.
    At that moment, Lydia noticed the luggage for the first time. “You’re leaving?” she said.
    â€œIt’s time to go home,” Grandfather Alden said.
    Mr. Saunders came in. “Your car is ready,” he said.
    â€œCome back soooon,” Lydia said as Erin the wolfhound pulled her through the door.
    â€œYes, come back soon,” said Mrs. Teague. She hugged everybody, even Watch.
    And Mr. Saunders actually waved as the hired car pulled away from the building.
    Violet sighed as she looked out of the window of the train. The lights of New York City stretched across the skyline.
    â€œLike diamonds,” said Benny, looking out over her shoulder.
    â€œWe had fun, didn’t we?” said Henry.
    â€œYes,” said Violet. “I hope we come back.”
    Grandfather, who was sitting across the aisle, heard Violet. “I guess New York doesn’t seem so big now, does it, Violet?”
    â€œIt’s still big,” said Violet. “But most of the people are pretty nice.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” said Benny. “We’ll be back. There are about a million mysteries in a big city like New York. And somebody’s got to solve them.”
    Violet smiled. “Who else? The Alden Family Detective Agency, of course.”

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 unpredictable.
    While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible — something else that delights young readers.
    Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.

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    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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