“You got it, Benny,” Henry said. “It’s the little changes in the message that make all the difference. Just like Shackleton’s Hut and Shackleton’s Hat.”
Aunt Jane had been listening in while they worked out their plan. She raised her eyebrows and nodded proudly. “Clever boy, Henry!” she said.
Henry put the finishing touches on his notes during the rest of the flight. He reused two old Reddimus envelopes and sealed them so they looked very official. Then on both of the envelopes, he wrote, “Do not open” and “Deliver to the Aldens immediately.” He addressed the envelope that contained the message about the man in the red hat to Mr. Ganert, and he addressed the envelope that contained the message about the man in the green hat to Emilio.
“We will deliver them secretly, so the pilots don’t suspect the message came from us,” Henry explained. “If we hand the envelopes to them directly, the spy might be suspicious that we are on to him.”
When the plane finally landed in Christchurch, Aunt Jane found several missed messages on her cell phone. They were all from Grandfather. The Aldens waited while she listened. When she was done listening to the voice messages, she laughed to herself.
“Your grandfather sounds lonely without the four of you to keep him company,” she explained.
“When’s the last time you visited with him?” Jessie asked. She couldn’t help but notice Aunt Jane was looking a bit tired from all the traveling. Although she had been eager to travel with her nieces and nephews, all the flights and hiking were a lot, especially for someone Aunt Jane’s age. Even Jessie felt a bit sore from it sometimes.
“I suppose it’s been a while,” Aunt Jane said.
“Then why don’t you fly to Greenfield and visit?” Violet suggested, noticing what Jessie was noticing.
“Oh, no! I wouldn’t leave you on your own. Especially with those pesky pilots.”
Henry smiled. He had noticed that Aunt Jane looked a little tired too. “Don’t worry, Aunt Jane. We’ve got a plan. We really enjoyed having you with us and spending time with you. But we also want to make sure you have a chance to rest!”
“And we don’t want Grandfather to be very lonely or bored,” Benny added. “Will you go home and let him know we miss him?”
Aunt Jane seemed reluctant to leave them, but she also knew they could take care of themselves. They were resourceful and had already done plenty of traveling on their own. With a bittersweet sigh, she nodded.
“I would be happy to explore with the four of you until the cows came home,” she said. “But I think you’re right. Your grandfather might get into trouble without someone to keep him company, so I will give you all four big hugs and see you when you come home. After you’ve returned that last artifact, of course!”
“Of course!” they said together.
Aunt Jane gave them those four big hugs and they said good-bye. Henry called Emilio to find out where the pilots were staying. Emilio was at the airport hotel, while Mr. Ganert had stayed in the Reddimus jet’s on-board suite.
“This is great news,” Henry said. “This way it will be easy for us to deliver the two different messages without the pilots knowing. Violet and I will bring one letter to Mr. Ganert. Jessie, you and Benny bring the other letter to Emilio at the airport hotel. Then Violet and I will meet you at the hotel to see how our plan works out.”
Jessie nodded and took the letter that was for Emilio. The four Aldens split into two groups and went to deliver their messages. Emilio had checked out two rooms, one for himself and one for the Aldens. Jessie and Benny went to his room, slipped the envelope under his door, and hurried away before he could come out and see them. Afterward, they checked in to their own hotel room.
Henry and Violet met them in the hotel room later.
“Did you do it?” asked Benny. “Did you deliver the letter to Mr. Ganert?”
“Did he know it was you?” asked Jessie.
“No, he did not,” Violet said proudly. “We snuck onto the plane and left it taped to the door of the sleeping suite.”
“We left without him even waking up,” Henry said. “How about you two?”
“We slipped Emilio’s letter under his door. It’s a little ways down the hall,” Jessie said. Henry nodded and looked pleased.
“Great. Now we just have to wait.”
After changing out of their heavy-duty Antarctic gear, they relaxed in the hotel room and waited for one of the pilots to give them a call. Benny was nervous. It was hard to wait to find out which of the pilots was working against them, but Jessie reminded Benny that once they found out, it would be easier to decide what to do so they could safely deliver the last artifact.
The first call came from Mr. Ganert.
“Are you back in New Zealand?” he asked without saying hello.
“We’re back from Antarctica,” Henry replied. “We’ve returned the sixth Reddimus artifact, and we’ve already checked in to the hotel.”
“I received a message for you. Meet me in the hotel restaurant.”
He hung up without saying good-bye. A moment later, the phone rang again. This time it was Emilio.
“How was your trip?” asked Emilio. Henry told Emilio the same thing he had told Mr. Ganert a moment ago.
“Oh, wonderful!” said Emilio. “Listen, I received a message for you while I was taking a nap. Are you all getting hungry for supper? I can meet you in the hotel restaurant if you want to get something to eat.”
After Henry hung up, the Aldens exchanged determined glances at one another. It was time to find out if their plan would work.
“Ready?” Jessie asked.
“Ready!” said Benny and Violet together.
They went down to the hotel restaurant. Benny was glad about this because he was so hungry he felt like he could eat an iceberg. The pilots didn’t come to the restaurant right away, so the children ordered and waited for their meals.
“I hope Mr. Ganert is the Argent spy,” Benny said while they waited. “I like Emilio and his goofy jokes.”
After a little while, both Emilio and Mr. Ganert came to the restaurant and found the Aldens at their table.
“Hello! Would you look at this? We both received messages for you,” Emilio said.
Mr. Ganert, who looked neither happy nor sad about the messages, added, “You should read these messages right away. They are probably clues to returning the last artifact.”
Henry took the envelopes from Mr. Ganert and Emilio. He pretended as if he had never seen them before. He handed one of the envelopes to Jessie, and they read the messages quietly.
“Yes, they are clues,” Henry said. “Thank you for bringing them to us! Soon we will know what to do.”
Mr. Ganert looked around anxiously. He seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Emilio only waved for Mr. Ganert to leave with him.
“Let’s head back to the jet and let the Aldens work on the clues in peace,” he said. “They are clever kids, cleverer than us. I’m sure we’ll soon hear the next destination for the final artifact.”
Mr. Ganert frowned but nodded. “Very well. But make sure to do what the Reddimus Society suggests. We don’t want the artifacts falling into the wrong hands.”
After Emilio and Mr. Ganert left, Violet let out a little sigh.
“I’m so nervous,” she said. “But I’m excited too! I’m ready to know which of them it is at last.”
“In the meantime, let’s try to enjoy our dinner,” Jessie said.
They did. The hotel had delicious food, and for a little while, Violet forgot that they were waiting for a man in a red or green hat to find them. No matter what color hat the man wore, he would be a thief, sent by either Mr. Ganert or Emilio.
It happened while they were eating dessert. Benny was scooping up a spoonful of ice cream when he saw a man in a baseball cap enter the restaurant. The man looked around, and when he saw the children at the table, he walked toward them.
“Here he comes!” Benny whispered. “He’s weari
ng a red hat!”
“So it’s Mr. Ganert!” gasped Violet. “Henry, what will we do when he gets here?”
“I will take care of it,” Henry said.
The man came up to the table and adjusted his cap, as if to make sure the children saw that he was wearing it even though it was bright red and hard to miss.
“Hello,” the man said. “I am a friend of the owls…”
“A friend of the owls?” Henry said. “What do you mean by that?”
The man looked flustered.
“Er, I…isn’t that the secret code?”
“Secret code for what?” Jessie asked, winking at Henry and playing along.
“Aren’t you the Alden children?” the man asked. “Don’t you have a box for me?”
“No, we don’t,” said Violet. “I’m afraid you’ve been tricked.”
“That’s right. We haven’t got any box for you,” Benny added loudly. His voice got the attention of some of the other guests at the restaurant.
The man in the red hat didn’t know what to do. His cheeks turned as red as his hat when he realized everyone in the restaurant was looking at him.
“Is there a problem?” asked the restaurant manager, coming over.
“Oh,” mumbled the man. “No, it’s all right. My mistake…”
Looking over his shoulder, he slunk out of the restaurant. The Aldens gave each other high fives. They had done it! They had figured out that Mr. Ganert was the Argent spy. The thief wearing the red hat was proof.
After dinner, the Aldens went to their hotel room. They had spent a lot of time strapped into airplane seats, and stretching out in the comfortable hotel was a welcome change. As they relaxed, they tried to make a plan for how to deal with Mr. Ganert.
“Will Mr. Ganert know that we found him out when the man in the red hat comes back empty-handed?” Violet asked.
“If he’s suspicious, we will tell him we got another clue at the last minute that told us not to give the box to anyone,” Henry said. “Anyway, he won’t be able to say very much about it without giving away his secret. If we pretend everything is normal, he will have little choice but to do the same.”
“We should tell Trudy right away,” Jessie said. “Hopefully she can use it to prove that Tricia isn’t the one giving information to the Argents.”
But before they could call Trudy, someone knocked on the door. “Room service!” a voice called from outside. Benny went to see what it was. In the hallway was a cart with a little glass jar on the top. Benny brought it in and showed it to the others.
“What is it?” Violet asked. “It looks like caramel.”
The contents of the jar were light brown and very thick. The label on the jar read Dulce de Leche. There was also a note tied to the neck of the jar with a string. The note simply said, “Fair Winds.”
Violet opened the jar and gave the sticky contents a sniff. “Mmm!” she said. “It smells sweet!”
“Dulce de leche,” Jessie said, reading the label again. “Oh yes! It’s Spanish. We tried some in my Spanish class. It means ‘sweet of milk.’ It’s a traditional Spanish dessert ingredient.”
“It must be a clue to our last destination—some place where Spanish is spoken. The note that says ‘Fair Winds’ must be part of the clue too,” Henry added. He was surprised they had gotten their next clue so soon, but that just meant they would get to travel again first thing in the morning. It would be the start of their journey to return the final Reddimus artifact. Jessie nodded.
“Let’s figure out where we’re headed to right away!” she said.
“Wherever we’re going next,” Benny said, “I’m sure they have great desserts!”
Turn the page to read
a sneak preview of
THE KHIPU AND
THE FINAL KEY
The final book of
the Boxcar Children
Great Adventure!
Seeking to complete their mission for the Reddimus Society, the Aldens head to South America, where a strange clue leads them to the salt flats of Argentina!
As the Aldens got closer to the salt flats, they started to see booths of merchants selling salt sculptures, pottery, and handmade textiles. After they exited the car, they found a merchant selling sunglasses. The booth was busy because it was such a sunny day, with many people crowded around the little stand. Everyone bumped into each other and talked about how eager they were to explore the flats. When the Aldens were finally at the front of the line, they each got a pair.
“Oh, that’s much better,” said Jessie, putting on the sunglasses.
“The salt is reflecting so much light!” Henry agreed. “This sunglass seller has the right idea.”
With the sunglasses on, they were finally able to look around. The salt flat was a huge stretch of land covered in pure-white salt. It stretched into the distance on all sides of the road. Some parts were smooth, and others were cracked and rippled from the sun. Under the clear blue sky, it was quite breathtaking.
“It really does look like snow,” Violet said as they walked out onto the salt. Benny reached down to touch it. The raw salt felt hard and light, like table salt. But the crystals were much bigger.
“Can we eat it?” Benny asked. “It’s just salt, right?”
“You could, but somebody might have walked on it,” Henry said. That didn’t bother Benny. Who knew when he would have another chance to eat natural salt? He picked up a cluster and tasted it.
“So? How is it?” Jessie asked.
“Salty!” Benny said, and they all laughed. Henry looked down to check his watch and noticed the snap on his camera bag was dangling open. Heart racing, Henry opened his case and looked inside.
“Oh no!” he cried. “The final Reddimus box is gone! When could this have happened?”
“It must have been while we were waiting to buy sunglasses,” Jessie said. “It was so bright we could hardly see anything. And there were so many people.”
“Is Anna Argent here?” Benny asked, looking around. It was Violet who caught sight of a woman with a blond ponytail walking swiftly up the road to where the cars were parked. She was carrying something in one hand.
“There she is!” Violet said, pointing. “If she gets to her car, she’ll get away!”
“Don’t worry!” Henry said. “I’ll get to her before she gets to her car!”
“Be careful!” Jessie called.
Henry was a strong runner. He sprinted ahead, determined to beat Anna to her car. Behind him, his siblings cheered him on.
The salt crackled and flew up under Henry’s shoes as he dashed onward. When he got closer, Anna noticed him. She looked from him to her car and realized she wouldn’t reach it before he would.
“Give back the Reddimus box!” Henry called to her.
“No!” Anna yelled back. And with that, she spun on her heel and started running in the other direction, out onto the salt flats.
By now, everyone had stopped to watch the chase take place. Henry had already run about a quarter mile. He figured he could easily run another three-quarters, but whether he might catch up to Anna, he wasn’t sure. She was a powerful runner, fast enough to jump onto a moving train. In fact, he had never seen her without her sneakers on.
Henry and Anna raced across the flats while all the visitors watched. The sun glared off the salt, and Henry’s calves began to ache. Anna was running right toward the edge of the flat. It seemed she hoped he would grow tired and give up so she could escape, but Henry was determined. He watched her silhouette against the bright salt, hoping that any moment she would start to slow down so he could gain on her.
Suddenly, Anna’s shape disappeared. Henry frowned and ran onward. Then suddenly he tried to skid to a halt—but it was too late. He tripped on a mound of salt, almost invisible in the white daylight, and went tumbling over the other side…
GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that we
re 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.
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.
Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Shackleton Sabotage
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