Free Vanishing Passenger by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

He was an older man, with unruly hair. He wore a pair of small, round glasses, and his shirt wasn’t tucked in.
    The children had arranged the book display the night before, and they were very proud of it.
    This strange man, however, didn’t seem very impressed. Instead, he was moving the books around so that they were harder to see. He turned them so only the backs were showing! And then he took some other books off the shelf and put them up in front of Finch’s books. While he was doing this, he kept peering around the corner of the nearest bookshelf. It seemed as though he was worried about Ms. Connally catching him!
    When the man was done ruining the display, he walked away quietly.
    “What was that all about?” Henry said.
    “I don’t know,” Jessie replied, “but it was pretty odd.”
    “We should go fix it,” Violet suggested.
    “Yeah!” Benny agreed in a huff.
    They walked over and put everything right again. When they were finished, Jessie said, “We should tell Ms. Connally when we get back.”
    “But for now,” Henry said, “let’s get over to the train station. We don’t want to be late.”
    As they reached the front door, they saw the strange man again. He was at the front desk, speaking with Ms. Connally. The children couldn’t help overhearing their conversation.
    “Why can’t I speak at the library, too?” he grumbled. “My books are just as good!”
    “I know they are, Mr. Van Buren,” Ms. Connally said in a calm, low voice. The children got the impression she was hoping the man would lower his voice.
    “You’re having Gilbert Finch come all the way down from Clairmont. That’s more than two hundred miles from here. I live less than an hour away! I could get as many people in here as he could,” the man went on. He was also making sharp gestures with his hands, as if his loud voice wasn’t enough. “All I ever hear about is Gilbert Finch this, and Gilbert Finch that.” He tapped himself on the chest. “What about Daniel Van Buren?”
    Ms. Connally took a deep breath. “Mr. Van Buren,” she began, “we have an opening in our schedule next month, the night of Sunday, the twenty-third of—”
    “What good will that do?” he snapped. “I’ll be busy then! I’m here, now, in town on business. It wouldn’t be too much to squeeze me in tomorrow night, would it?”
    “I’m sorry, I can’t,” she replied.
    “Ah, forget it,” he said with a wave of his hand, and turned away. He stalked past the Aldens without noticing them and pushed his way out the front door.

CHAPTER 2
Vanished!
    “That man at the library had to be the rudest person I ever saw,” Jessie said as they taped the last poster to a pole at the Greenfield train station.
    “He certainly was,” Henry agreed.
    Jessie checked her watch again. “Anyway, Mr. Finch’s train should be arriving any minute. Are we ready?”
    “I’m ready!” Benny replied.
    “Me, too,” said Henry.
    “So am I,” added Violet. “Except that … I’m a little nervous.” She laughed.
    Jessie said, “I hope the train isn’t late. I wouldn’t want—”
    At that moment, far in the distance, came the faint blast of a horn.
    “It won’t be late,” Henry said.
    They leaned forward to get a good look as it came around the bend. Jessie straightened up and brushed off her clothes. “Okay, everyone get ready …”
    After the train came to a complete stop, the doors slid back, and the conductors stepped off. They wore handsome blue uniforms with gold buttons down the front. Then, the passengers began coming out. There were a lot of them. Some were people the Aldens recognized as Greenfield residents. Others were strangers.
    The Aldens didn’t know which car Finch was in, so they watched all the doors. Violet noticed a family with a little girl and a little boy get off the train. She could see that the two children were crying. The little boy was rubbing both eyes and pouting. The little girl, with tears streaming down her