"It was a very good idea," said Henry, "having Mike's Mother's Place. I
never get tired of selling pies. The men are so glad to get them."
Mrs. Wood said, "When you go back to school, I can hire two girls to
help me. I know two nice girls."
"Some day we ought to have a party," said Jessie. "The people have been
so kind."
"A Pie Party!" cried Benny. "Give everybody a pie."
Mrs. Wood laughed. "Not a whole pie, Benny," she said. "We could give
everybody a piece of pie, and some coffee."
"And milk," said Benny.
"Well, all right, milk," agreed Mrs. Wood.
"Have it Saturday night, when all the men could come," said Violet.
"Have it
this
Saturday night!" shouted Benny.
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"We can ask Mr. Carter and Mr. Gardner," said Henry.
"And we can make pies all day," said Jessie, "and have the party in the
evening."
Everyone thought this was a fine idea. When they told Mr. Gardner he
laughed. He said, "Go ahead. I'll help you. It will surely be very
lonesome here when you four Aldens go back to school in the Fall."
Mrs. Wood and Jessie and Violet wore white. They made white caps.
They made white caps for the boys, too. They made big white aprons. The
boys got a printing set and printed MIKE'S MOTHER'S PLACE on the front
of their big aprons. They had many cans of milk and hot coffee.
Then the people began to come to the party. The two dogs ran around
having a wonderful time. They loved everybody, and they were good dogs.
There were plenty of chairs, because Mr. Carter had sent them. He sent
movies too.
He said, "I have some beautiful pictures of the
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The Party 119
[PICTURE NOT SHOWN]
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474
South Seas. The people will like to see the banana trees and the
monkeys."
When it was dark, the movies began. The people sat in rows and watched
the show. They clapped and laughed at the monkeys. Watch had a chair
between Jessie and Benny. He watched the picture with the rest. Next
came Mike and then Spot. Mr. Carter sat on the end near the door. All
the windows were open and the door was open. Benny whispered to Mike,
"This would be a good time for somebody to blow up the mine."
"No, the watchmen are there," Mike whispered.
Mike put his arm around Spotty's neck. Everyone looked at the picture
except Mike. He never knew why he looked out the door, but he did and
Spotty looked too. He saw a man walking slowly by. Then suddenly he felt
the hair on Spotty's neck move. Spotty looked at the door and growled.
Mr. Carter heard Spotty growl. He jumped up, and dashed out of the door.
Mike and Spotty dashed after him.
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478
They all saw a man running in the darkness. But Spotty could run faster
than the man. Soon he caught the man's leg. He held him, growling, until
Mr. Carter came. Mike never knew how strong Mr. Carter's hands were.
The watchmen ran up and soon the man was taken away.
"The man in the blue hat!" cried Mike.
"Yes, Mike, I think it is," said Mr. Carter. "Spotty knew him."
"Spotty ran faster than he did in the race," said Mike.
"I guess he did," said Mr. Carter. "Now, Mike, don't say a word. Just go
back quietly."
"Can't I tell Ben?" asked Mike.
"Yes, if you whisper. Don't let anyone else know about this. It will
spoil the party."
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CHAPTER 14
Ben or Mike?
When Mike and Spotty went back, Mike whispered, "Ben, we just caught the
man in the blue hat."
"You did?" said Benny. "Did he have on a blue hat?"
"He didn't have on any hat at all," said Mike. "I told you he wouldn't."
"I wish you had told me before," said Benny. "Watch and I would have
come, too."
"I had no time," said Mike. "Sh-h-h, don't say a word!"
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486
Ben or Mike?
Then the show was over. The lights went on. Everyone sat around eating
pie and drinking coffee. Mr. Carter came back very quietly.
The boys looked at him but they did not say a word.
"It's all over," Mr. Carter whispered to Mike and Benny.
"Where is that man?" asked Mike.
"Well, he is in jail again. This time he will stay there," said Mr.
Carter. "That man was wanted in four states! You boys helped me a great
deal. "And best of all, you did not talk."
"Wait till I tell Henry!" cried Benny. "He thinks I can't stop talking."
"I'll tell him myself," smiled Mr. Carter. "And Jessie will like to
know, too. She's a mother to you, Benny."
"Yes, I know," said Benny.
"She always keeps care of you, Ben," said Mike.
"Takes
care of me," said Benny.
"Well,
takes
care, then," agreed Mike. He didn't
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even start to argue. Benny was quite surprised.
With everyone gone, the Woods, the Aldens and Mr. Carter were left alone
in the big room.
Mr. Carter said, "Please sit down, all of you. I want to tell you
something."
When they were quiet, he said, "The hunt for the man in the blue hat is
over. The man has been caught, and the mystery is solved."
"Oh, how?" asked Aunt Jane in excitement.
Then Mr. Carter told her about the man. He told her about Spotty
growling.
"You don't need to growl any more, Spotty," said Mr. Carter. He patted
the dog's smooth head. "The man has gone away."
"Well, I am glad," said Violet softly. "I know it was exciting for the
boys, but I didn't like it at all."
"No," said Mr. Carter, looking at Violet with a smile, "neither did I."
"Well," said Mike, "now it's all over, it was my mystery, wasn't it?"
"Oh, no, it wasn't!" cried Benny. "It was mine!"
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Ben or Mike 125
[PICTURE NOT SHOWN]
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"My dog found the blue hat!" shouted Mike.
"But my dog helped him. And Watch found the tin can!" said Benny.
Then Mike suddenly stopped. He said, "Yes, Ben, I think it was your
mystery after all. Because it was your mine."
"Well," said Benny slowly, "maybe it was yours, because it was your
house that burned up."
"Well, well!" said Henry, smiling at Mike. "How you have changed, Mike!"
"That's what I say," said Mrs. Wood. "Mike is getting to be a very nice,
thoughtful boy. He doesn't argue so much. I said it did him good to play
with Benny."
Henry laughed. "And you remember I said it was good for Benny to play
with Mike! They are quite a pair."
"Yes, boys, you are quite a pai
r," said Mr. Carter. His eyes began to
twinkle. "Let me give you something to think about. Maybe you two boys
will be together next summer, too. But not here."
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"Where," cried Jessie, "will we all be together?"
"Well, you children will all be together, but the rest is a secret."
"Oh, a secret? Grandfather's secret, I suppose," said Henry. "He is
always a little ahead of us."
"Yes, I can tell you that much. You children and Mike, and your
grandfather are included in the secret."
"And Spotty and Watch?" asked Mike.
"Yes, Watch, but not Spotty."
The children were thinking hard. They had no idea what it was all about.
Jessie asked the last question. "Will you be there, too, Mr. Carter?"
"No," said Mr. Carter. He looked at Jessie with a funny little smile.
"And I shall certainly be very sorry for myself."
After that, Mr. Carter shook his head at every question. He would not
tell another thing.
Then Mike said, "I'm not going to ask Mr. Carter any more. He don't want
to tell us. I mean
doesn't."
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506
"Well, well, you're learning, Mike," said Henry. "Maybe you'll be a
schoolteacher yet."
"Oh, no, I won't. I'm going to be an FBI man," said Mike.
"Yes, and he may," said Mr. Carter. "He and Benny talk all the time. But
I want you all to know that they know when to keep still."
Benny was thinking. Then he went over to Mr. Carter and put his hand on
Mr. Carter's shoulder. "I think this really was Mike's mystery," he
said. "It was his dog that found the hat. And he would have found it if
I had stayed home with Grandfather, and never come out here at all."
"Good for you, Benny," said everyone.
"What a kind boy you are, Benny," said Mrs. Wood.
"That was good of you, Ben," said Mike. "Thank you."
Mike was so polite that everyone laughed. But it was Mike's mystery
forever and ever.
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One warm night four children
stood in front of a bakery,
No one knew them. No one knew
where they had come from.
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a
boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather and
are spending the summer out west on Mystery Ranch.
The excitement begins when they meet their old friend,
Mike. When Mike is blamed for starting a fire, the Boxcar
Children know he's innocent. But can they discover who's
really behind Mike's Mystery - before it's too late?
Look for more Boxcar Children adventures. The books in
this exciting series are available in hardcover from Albert
Whitman Company.
ALBERT
WHITMAN
COMPANY
Gertrude Chandler Warner, Mike's Mystery
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