The Lighthouse Mystery (Boxcar Children #8)
Gertrude Chandler Warner
Chapter One Lighthouse for Sale
The visit to Aunt Jane came to an end. Now, after so many years, Aunt
Jane was married to Andy Bean. Nobody called her Mrs. Bean. This pleased
her very much. Everyone called her Mrs. Andy, and that pleased Andy.
Grandfather Alden called his four grandchildren to him and said, "I
think we should go home now. Aunt Jane and Andy want to go away on a
wedding trip."
"I wonder where?" said Benny. "I bet they are going around the world.
Andy told Aunt Jane that she would never have a dull moment."
Henry laughed. "I can believe that," he said. "Andy is never still."
Violet said, "Aunt Jane looks so young and well, doesn't she, Jessie?"
8
"Yes," agreed Jessie. "Ever since Uncle Andy came home she has been very
happy. I agree with you, Grandfather. I think we ought to go. We don't
want to stay on the farm without Aunt Jane."
So they packed their bags to go home. Aunt Jane helped Jessie make a
picnic lunch.
All the good-bys were said and Henry started the car. "Here we go!"
Benny cried.
And so they started for home-at least that was what they planned.
Henry said, "Let's have a change and go home by the beach road."
Henry drove the station wagon down the beach road. They could see the
ocean most of the way. After about an hour Benny said, "I'm hungry."
"You are always hungry," said his grandfather. "Wait till we come to the
lighthouse in Conley. There is a little store there. We could buy some
milk. We have enough sandwiches to last two meals-ham and chicken. Aunt
Jane makes delicious sandwiches."
9
Lighthouse for Sale
"Let's go out and see the lighthouse," said Benny. "Maybe the lighthouse
keeper would show us the little porch on the top floor."
"Maybe he would, old fellow," said Henry, laughing. "That is called a
lookout, not a porch. But it is a long climb to the top of a
lighthouse."
Soon they saw the lighthouse in the distance. It was white. There was a
little white house near the foot of the lighthouse with a little path
between. The two buildings stood on a rocky point of land, almost in the
water.
"Look!" cried Violet. "There's a sign on it. What does it say?"
"I can't see yet," said Mr. Alden.
"I can," said Henry. "It says FOR SALE."
"A lighthouse for sale!" said Jessie. "I didn't know anyone ever sold
lighthouses. I thought they belonged to the government."
"To the Coast Guard," said Mr. Alden. "But I have heard that many
lighthouses are being sold. Radar is used to keep ships safe now."
10
"Oh, what a wonderful house that would be to live in, Grandfather!" said
Benny. "See, there is a window on each floor. You could sleep on the
first floor, and then you wouldn't have to do any climbing. The girls
could have the next floor, and Henry the next, and I could have the top
floor with that little porch-I mean lookout. That would be neat!"
Mr. Alden laughed. He said, "Are you saying you want to buy the
lighthouse?"
"Oh, absolutely!" said Benny.
"Really," said Jessie, "we could have a lovely time in a lighthouse,
Grandfather. We could go swimming any time right in our own yard."
"And we could pick up shells and study the water birds," said Violet
quietly.
"We could certainly go fishing," added Henry.
They had come to the lighthouse by this time. Henry stopped the car, and
they all looked at the place. Nobody said a word. They were all waiting
for Grandfather to make up his mind.
At last he said, "Come on, children, we'll go into
11
the little store and ask some questions. Maybe we
could
use a
lighthouse."
"Hurray!" shouted Benny.
Everyone else was as pleased as Benny. They smiled and looked at each
other.
"Drive right up to the door," said Mr. Alden. "A store man always knows
everything."
It was true. When Mr. Alden said, "What do you know about that
lighthouse?" the man laughed and said, "I know everything about that
lighthouse. It's not used any more."
"I see it's for sale," said Mr. Alden.
"Well, it isn't for sale now," said the man, "because I bought it
myself. I haven't had time to take down the sign. I'd like to rent it,
though."
"Would you?" asked Mr. Alden. "My grandchildren think they would like to
spend a few weeks there."
"Well, I'd be glad to rent it to you. It's all fixed up for light
housekeeping."
Benny laughed. "Light housekeeping in a light-
12
house," he said. "That's a good joke."
"Does the little white house go with it?" asked Henry.
"Well, no," said the storekeeper. "It ought to. But I wasn't quick
enough to buy the house. A man named Cook bought that. He buys houses
and sells them. He is going to fix it up to rent someday. But now the
windows are broken, as maybe you saw, and they are all boarded up. He
never thought anyone would rent the lighthouse."
"Won't we need the little house?" asked Jessie.
"No. That was the summer kitchen. The winter kitchen in the lighthouse
is all right. It really has a better gas stove and refrigerator. There's
a good cot bed on every floor. You could get all your food right here in
my store. My name is Hall."
"I thought so, Mr. Hall, when I saw the sign HALL'S GROCERY," said Mr.
Alden.
Henry asked, "Could we ever build a fire on the beach for a cook-out?"
"Yes, you could. There's nothing on that point
13
but sand and water and rocks. No bushes. You will be careful, I
know."
Benny said, "Yes, we bury our fires with sand."
"Good! Make yourselves at home. Do anything you want. Here's the key if
you want to go in and look around."
"Well, I do," said Benny. "I want to see the top floor with the porch
railing."
"Fine," said Grandfather. "You get in the car. I'll settle the rent with
Mr. Hall."
Henry took the key and drove down to the lighthouse. They could not
drive to the door because the road was too sandy.
When Henry unlocked the door, the girls went into the kitchen at once.
"Good!" said Jessie, "this is a fine little gas stove."
Violet said, "The dishes are all different, but we like them different."
Benny climbed the winding stairs. Round and round he went.
14
[PICTURE NOT SHOWN]
He called, "These rooms are very small. Nothing
but
a cot bed in each
one." He stopped to look out of each window. He called out, "First
floor. This
15
is Grandfather's room."
He climbed h
igher. "Second floor, Jessie and Violet. Third floor, Henry.
And here's mine!" They could hardly hear him.
Then they heard no more at all from Benny. He was out on his top floor
looking out to sea.
Grandfather said, "It's lucky there's a window on every floor. It will
be hot in here."
"Maybe not too hot," said Violet. "We are right by the sea breezes."
By the time the beds were made, everyone was tired.
"Let's go to bed," said Mr. Alden.
"Go to bed at eight o'clock?" cried Benny. "But I guess my bed will feel
rather nice after all."
Everyone was soon asleep. No one heard the town clock strike. But it did
strike-nine, ten, eleven. As it struck twelve, Watch sat up and began to
bark.
16
CHAPTER 2
Unfriendly Characters
Watch always slept at the foot of Jessie's bed.
"Keep still, Watch!" said Jessie. "You'll wake everybody up!"
But Watch didn't stop. He barked all the more. His hair stood up
straight around his neck.
Benny came down the stairs. Henry came. Mr. Alden called, "What's the
matter with Watch, Jessie?"
"I don't know, Grandfather," called Jessie. "He must hear something he
doesn't like."
Benny began to pat the dog. "What's the matter with you, Watch? Why do
you have to bark at twelve o'clock midnight? Why couldn't you bark at
four o'clock in the afternoon? Then we could do something about it."
17
Watch barked on and on. He stopped just long enough to growl.
Suddenly Benny said, "I smell steak and mashed potatoes."
"Benny, mashed potatoes don't smell," said Violet.
"I can smell them," said Benny.
"Are you sure it is not baked potatoes you smell?" asked Henry. "I don't
smell anything."
"No. Baked potatoes smell even better. Maybe it's the milk and butter
and pepper and salt that I smell."
"Well, maybe pepper, Benny. Certainly not salt," said Jessie.
Henry was frowning. "Maybe someone is hiding and eating in that little
house at the foot of our lighthouse. But I thought it was empty," he
said.
Just then Watch stopped barking. He lay down and put his head on his
paws and shut his eyes. Everyone was surprised.
"Just look at Watch now," said Jessie. "He
18
doesn't care any more. I guess the danger is over, whatever it was."
"That's a funny thing," said Benny. He started upstairs.
"It's more than funny, Ben," said Henry. "The dog must have heard
something."
"We'll find out tomorrow," said Mr. Alden. "I'll ask the police."
Then everyone went back to bed. Violet thought she could not go back to
sleep, but she did.
They slept till morning. After a rather poor breakfast, Jessie said,
"Well, the first thing is to go to the store and buy food."
"Right," said her grandfather. He missed his morning coffee and toast.
No one spoke of the midnight noise. With the sun shining, it seemed as
if nothing had happened.
As they walked up the street to the grocery store they saw a middle-aged
man coming. He had sharp, black eyes. He did not even look at the
Aldens. He passed Jessie, almost bumping her.
19
"Well!" said Benny, when the man had gone by. "He's a queer character."
"He did look at us sideways," said Violet. "I saw him when he was far
down the street."
"But why should he almost bump into Jessie?" Henry asked. "He might have
knocked her down if she hadn't moved quickly. A queer character is
right, Ben."
"I think we notice everybody now," said Violet. "We think they are a
part of our mystery."
Suddenly everyone was thinking about the noise in the night. It had been
real!
"Right!" said Henry. He took Violet's arm as they went into the store.
"You are always right."
There was only one person in the store. It was a boy of about Henry's
age. Under his arm he had a college book. Henry knew it at once.
The girls started to buy groceries, but Henry gave the boy a friendly
smile and said, "I noticed your book. Do you go to college?"
"I certainly don't," said the boy loudly. Then he
20
went out of the store and banged the door.
"Hey, what's the matter with
him?"
asked Henry. He stared after the boy.
"He's looking for trouble, that feller!" said Benny. His voice sounded
just like his grandfather's.
Mr. Hall said, "He doesn't have to look for trouble. He's got trouble."
"What trouble?" asked Henry. "He looks so cross at everybody."
"Well, his father won't let him go to school," said Mr. Hall.
"School?" cried Benny. "He
wants
to go to school, and his father won't
let
him?"
"That's right," said Mr. Hall.
Benny said, "Didn't that boy go to high school?"
"Oh, yes, he had to go to high school. It's the law. He's very smart,
especially in science. He got through high school at sixteen."
"Well," said Henry, "he is smart, then. But he's looking for trouble. It
wouldn't hurt him to be
21
Unfriendly Characters 21
[PICTURE NOT SHOWN]
22
polite to a stranger."
"He isn't polite to anybody," said Mr. Hall. "I try to be nice to him,
but you see how he acts. He doesn't want friends."
"Now
that
is too bad," said Benny. "Everyone ought to have friends."
"I guess it isn't hard for you to make friends," said Mr. Hall. He
laughed.
"No, it isn't," said Benny. "I'm lucky. We're all lucky."
Henry was quiet. At last he said, "I wish we could do something with
that father. A boy like that ought to go to college if he wants to."
"He wants to all right. That's all he thinks about -college-college-and
I guess whatever lives in the sea. He's always picking up shells or bits
of seaweed. Now I say if any boy wants to learn, let him learn."
"Right," said Benny. "There are lots of boys I know that don't want to
learn."
"I don't think you can do anything with his
23
Unfriendly Characters
father," Mr. Hall said. "You're not the first people who have tried."
Then the four Aldens thought of the same name-Grandfather. But they did
not say it. Grandfather knew how to get things done.
"That boy is another queer character," said Benny. "Two cross people in
ten minutes." Benny did not see many cross people.
Then Mr. Alden said, "By the way, Mr. Hall, our dog barked in the night.
We feel that someone was prowling about. I thought I'd see the police
today."
Mr. Hall shook his head. "No police in this town," he said. "Never had
any trouble here."
"No police!" said Mr. Alden. "I never heard of such a thing. Who looks
up a mystery?"
"Nobody, I guess. Never had a mystery either."
As the Aldens drove home, they were all thinking.
Grandfather said, "I suppose I could send for John Carter."
24
"Oh, please don't," cried Benny. "We w
ant to find out for ourselves. No
police, no Mr. Carter, no help at all!"
"Very well," said Grandfather with a smile.
"We'll have to solve the mystery, Ben," said Henry.
"Maybe we can do it better than Mr. Carter can," said Benny.
"Oh," said Jessie. "Somebody thinks he's pretty smart, Mr. Benny! But we
all know that Mr. Carter is right there. He would come to help us in a
minute."
When they reached the lighthouse with the groceries, Jessie said, "I
wonder just the same about that black-eyed man and the cross boy. Could
one of them have anything to do with our mystery?"
"I don't see how," said Benny. "But you never know. Maybe they are
cooking up something or other."
Benny didn't know then how near he was to the truth.
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CHAPTER 3
Cement for a Project
Jessie boiled a dozen eggs and a dozen potatoes. She put them in the
refrigerator. By noon she had made an enormous potato salad. She had
bought rolls and butter and a cherry pie.
"Let's eat lunch out on the rocks," she said. "It's too hot in the
lighthouse. You carry the salad, Henry. And, Benny, you carry the cherry
pie and the knife."
They found a fine seat for Grandfather that just fitted him. "Really,
this is an easy chair," he said, "made out of rocks."
The other seats were not so easy. The rocks were sharp. The table was
not very flat either.
"I have an idea," shouted Benny suddenly. "Let's find stones and make
five easy chairs. Then build up the table with a flat stone. And then
get some cement and fill in the cracks."
26
"A wonderful idea, Ben," said Henry. "A small bag of cement would be
enough. We've got plenty of sand."
"I saw a place where they had cement," said Violet. "Some men were
building a driveway."
"Where?" asked Benny.
"Well, don't you remember when we came from Aunt Jane's there was a big
new gas station where some men were building a driveway?"
"I remember it," said Mr. Alden. "It was right beside a little fish
market."
"Let's go the minute lunch is over," said Benny.
"Lunch is over for me right now," said Mr. Alden. He ate the last of his
cherry pie. "The ocean will wash away the crumbs."
Jessie and Henry picked up all the dishes and washed them in the sea.
Then Henry backed the car out and they all went down to the little fish
market. Sure enough, the men were at work on the driveway. Bags of
cement were lying around.
"Where can we buy some cement?" asked