Mystery of the Orphan Train (3 page)

Kate nodded, sighing. “It was a sad day for my grandmother. But I’ve managed to track most of the furniture down and buy it back.” She looked over at the Aldens. “Do you know where I found that desk? In a workshop!” she said, answering her own question. “The drawers were filled with garden tools.”

“That would explain why it’s so—” Jessie stopped herself in mid-sentence.

Kate laughed. “You can say it, Jessie—that desk is definitely a mess! I’ll cover it with a sheet until I have time to give it a good waxing.”

“Maybe we could lend a hand,” volunteered Henry.

“Of course,” agreed Jessie. Benny and Violet nodded.

Kate looked surprised—and pleased. “Are you sure? It’s a big job.”

“We like big jobs,” said Benny.

Violet asked, “When can we start?”

“Right now, if you like,” Kate said. “I’ll get the rags and a can of furniture wax.” Then she hurried away.

In no time at all, the four Alden children were hard at work. While they rubbed the wood to a shine, they talked about Sally Crawford’s mysterious secret.

“I don’t get it,” said Benny, scratching his head.

“What don’t you get?” asked Jessie.

Benny looked at them. “Why did Sally want to tell a secret if she’d kept it hidden for so long?”

“You got me!” said Henry, wiping out a grimy drawer.

“Maybe Sally just found out about it herself,” Jessie put in.

“From Ethan Cape,” guessed Violet, still thinking there was a connection between the famous photographer and Sally Crawford’s secret.

“You might be right, Violet,” Jessie told her. “But there’s no way of knowing for sure.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” insisted Benny as he rubbed a china knob. “Right, Henry?”

Henry didn’t answer.

“Henry?” Jessie asked. “Is anything wrong?”

Henry still didn’t answer. He was busy patting all around the inside of a drawer. Finally, he looked up and said, “Speaking of getting to the bottom of things, I think this drawer might have a false bottom.”

“Oh, you mean a secret compartment?” Violet asked in surprise. “Is that what you’re saying, Henry?”

“I’m not sure,” Henry answered as everyone gathered round. “Let me try something.”

They others held their breath as Henry slipped a finger into a knothole, then pulled up gently on the bottom of the drawer. Lifting it away, he said, “There’s something underneath!”

“What is it?” Jessie asked in a hushed voice.

Henry reached into the secret compartment and removed a folded piece of paper, yellowed with age. As he silently read the note printed in black ink, his eyes widened and he gasped.

“What is it, Henry?” Violet wanted to know. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

“It’s some kind of message addressed to Sally Crawford,” Henry said.

Everyone was staring at Henry. “Read it, okay?” Benny said.

Henry nodded. Then he read,

Where leopards get spotted

a clue will appear.

Just take a look under

the little dog’s ear.

Benny made a face. “That sure is weird.”

“I wonder who wrote it?” added Jessie.

“Thane Pace,” Henry answered. “At least, that’s how it’s signed.”

“Who was he, do you think?” wondered Violet.

“Maybe Kate knows,” suggested Benny, already halfway to the door, with the others close behind.

It took them a while, but they finally spotted their friend coming up the front steps, letters in one hand, a rolled-up newspaper in the other.

“Oh—have you been trying to find me?” Kate asked.

“Did you know about the secret compartment?” asked Benny, who always got right to the point. “The one in the old desk?”

“Why, no,” she said, sinking down into a porch chair. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Jessie said, “Well, guess what?”

“There’s a false bottom in one of the drawers,” Benny blurted out.

Henry added, “We found a note somebody wrote to Sally.”

“Somebody by the name of Thane Pace,” put in Violet.

Kate looked around at them, stunned. “Did you say … Thane Pace?”

Nodding, Henry handed her the note. As Kate read the strange message, the Aldens pulled the chairs closer and sat down.

“This is an amazing find.” Kate shot the children a grateful glance. “A note from Thane Pace—written to my grandmother when she was just a little girl!” She shook her head in disbelief.

“But … who was Thane Pace?” asked Benny.

“He was the teenage boy who saved my grandmother’s life.”

The children were so surprised by Kate’s words they were speechless.

“My grandmother wasn’t much older than Benny that winter,” Kate said in a quiet voice. “She was skating all alone on the pond out front when it happened.”

Henry gave Kate a questioning look. “When what happened?”

“The ice broke and Sally fell through—into the icy water.”

“Oh, no!” Violet cried, horrified.

“What happened then?” Benny asked breathlessly.

“To make a long story short,” said Kate, “a teenage boy, who happened to be walking along the road at the time, heard Sally’s cries for help. At great risk to his own life, Thane Pace pulled my grandmother from the icy water.”

Henry let out a low whistle. “What a brave thing to do.”

For a few moments, no one spoke. Then Jessie asked, “Was he a neighbor? Thane Pace, I mean.”

Kate shook her head. “No, he wasn’t from around here. According to my grandmother, he lived some distance away. He’d left home to search for his sister.”

“His sister?” Henry repeated, not understanding. “Was she lost?”

“I should explain,” said Kate. “The thing is, Thane Pace and his sister came out to Kansas together on the Orphan Train. Thane was about ten years old at the time, and his sister was just a baby.”

The Aldens were instantly curious. “What’s an Orphan Train?” asked Benny.

“It was a train that brought orphans out west long ago. A group of people called the Children’s Aid Society believed children who had no parents would have a better chance living on farms than on the streets of New York.”

“Oh,” said Violet, catching on. “Then Thane and his sister came out to Kansas to find a new family.”

“Exactly,” Kate said, nodding. “But sometimes a family wanted one child, not two.”

“Oh, Kate!” cried Jessie. “You can’t mean that … that …” It was too horrible to think about.

“I’m afraid it’s true, Jessie,” said Kate. “Thane was adopted by one family, and his baby sister by another.”

The four Aldens stared at Kate in disbelief. Finally, Benny said, “We were orphans, too. Only, Grandfather wanted all of us to live with him.”

“Even Watch,” added Henry.

“There’s nothing your grandfather values more than family,” Kate said quietly. “But I guess that was true for Thane, too. He never forgot his baby sister. When he was old enough, he set out to find her.”

“And did he?” Henry wanted to know. “Find her, I mean.”

“Nobody knows, Henry,” answered Kate. “Sally never heard from Thane again after her father—my great-grandfather—chased him away.”

“What …?” Henry could hardly believe his ears. “Why would her father chase him away? Thane saved Sally’s life, didn’t he?”

Kate sighed. “Apparently some money went missing.”

Benny’s eyebrows shot up. “Missing?”

“After Thane had been staying here for a few weeks, my great-grandfather accused him of theft.”

Violet shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t imagine a hero like Thane Pace stooping to petty crime. That did not seem possible. But then, why else would Sally’s father chase him away?

“I guess that’s why this note was kept from Sally” Kate concluded. “If they thought it was from a thief, I mean.”

“Maybe Thane put the note in the desk himself,” offered Henry.

Kate thought about this. “Yes, I guess it’s possible,” she said at last. “If he knew about the secret compartment, that is.”

“Did your great-grandfather have any proof that Thane stole the money?” Jessie wondered.

“I’m not sure, Jessie,” Kate admitted. “It happened so long ago.”

“I bet he didn’t do it,” Benny said.

“Something about it sounds fishy,” agreed Henry.

Kate was bending over the note again. “It doesn’t make any more sense than this rhyme,” she said. “I mean, why would Thane save Sally’s life and then steal from her family?”

Violet had a thought. “Do you think that rhyme holds the truth?”

Kate waved that away. “I doubt it, Violet. This was just a parlor game. I remember my grandmother talking about Thane’s rhymes and riddles, and how much fun she had trying to solve them.”

But the Aldens weren’t convinced it was just a game. They had a feeling there was more to it than that. A lot more.

The children worked on the old desk all morning. After a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and coleslaw, they took a break to play Frisbee and cool off in the pond. It wasn’t long, though, before they were hard at work once more. When Benny stopped to rub his shoulder, Jessie spoke up.

“You’d better rest a while, Benny,” she advised, “or you’ll be sore in the morning.”

The youngest Alden didn’t need to be coaxed. In no time at all, he was sprawled out on the floor nearby with a
Wizard of Oz
coloring book and a jar of crayons.

“Boy, this desk has taken a real beating,” said Henry, shaking his head.

Violet watched as her older brother ran a finger along a deep scratch in the wood. “I see what you mean, Henry,” she said. “I guess it needs a bit of a touch-up. You know, with some paint or stain.”

“Well, if you ask me,” said Jessie, stepping back to admire their work, “it’s looking pretty good.”

Violet went over and stood beside her older sister. “Now that you mention it, the walnut does have a nice shine to it,” she said. “I can’t wait to show Kate.”

“I wish we could solve the mystery for her,” said Benny.

“So do I,” agreed Violet. “I really like Kate.”

“Which mystery?” Henry wanted to know. “The mystery of Ethan Cape or the mystery of Thane Pace?”

Jessie laughed. “I guess we got more than we bargained for.”

“Two for the price of one,” Henry said, half-joking.

Violet pulled a clean rag from the wicker basket. “Maybe we should concentrate on one mystery at a time.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” said Henry. “How about if we stick with Thane’s rhyme?”

Jessie agreed. “At least we’ll have something to work with.”

Violet wiped away a cobweb from under the desk. “I have a funny feeling there’s more to that rhyme than Kate thinks.”

“You could be right,” said Henry as he rubbed wax into the wood. “It must’ve been hidden away for a reason.”

Benny was deep in thought. “You don’t think …” he said, and then stopped.

“Are you wondering if Thane really did take that money?” Violet asked in a gentle voice. Then she quickly added, “I’ve been wondering about that, too, Benny. But I have a strong hunch he didn’t.”

Benny turned to Jessie. “Do you think Thane was a thief?”

Jessie didn’t answer right away. Finally, she said, "No, I don’t.”

Benny looked up at his older brother. “What do you say, Henry?”

“Thane saved Sally’s life,” Henry answered, standing up straight. He arched his back and stretched. “I can’t believe somebody that brave could be a thief.”

“I don’t believe it, either,” said Benny, looking relieved.

“The important thing right now,” put in Jessie, “is to figure out that strange rhyme.”

Benny frowned a little. “What did it say again?”

Jessie smiled at her little brother. “Don’t worry, Benny,” she assured him. “I jotted it down in my notebook. We can check it out again later.”

Henry and Violet exchanged smiles. They could always count on Jessie to be organized.

Just then, Benny groaned. “Uh-oh.”

“Oh, Benny, is your shoulder still bothering you?” Jessie asked him, a worried look on her face.

Benny shook his head. “My shoulder’s okay, but … I can’t find a green crayon.”

“Oh,” said Jessie, sounding relieved. “Well, just use another color.”

Benny shook his head again. “It’s the Emerald City, Jessie, and emeralds are green.”

Violet went over to check it out. After digging through the crayons, she said, “You’re right, Benny. No green.”

“Why don’t you call it the Ruby City?” Henry suggested, hiding a smile. “Then you can color it red.”

Benny thought about this. “I guess that’ll work.”

“Or …” put in Violet, “you can color it with a yellow crayon and then with a blue crayon.”

“Two colors?”

“Watch what happens, Benny.” Violet colored one of the towers in the Emerald City with a yellow crayon. Then she colored over it with blue.

Benny’s jaw dropped. “It turned green!”

“That’s what happens when you mix yellow and blue together, Benny,” Violet explained, smiling at her little brother. “The two colors make one brand new color—green!”

“Cool!” Benny was grinning from ear to ear.

Kate poked her head into the room. “Well, just look at that desk!” she said. “It’s amazing what can be done in a short time.”