Courtney leaped forward—and sprinted past the boxcar and into the woods as Jessie and Henry came out, each holding on to the sleeve of Eddie Hampton.

  “Let go of me!” he shouted angrily.

  Courtney stepped in front of Eddie. “I don’t think so, Eddie.” She helped Jessie and Henry lead Eddie toward the others.

  Monica kept snapping pictures.

  “This is outrageous,” Eddie said angrily. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Catching the bad luck man,” said Benny folding his arms.

  “Bad luck man? What are you talking about?” Eddie said.

  “You’re the one who’s been responsible for all the bad luck that’s happened to me recently,” said Tate.

  “That’s not true!” Eddie said.

  “If it’s not true, what were you doing in the woods, pulling on that rope and trying to turn the boxcar over?” asked Jessie.

  “I got here early . . . and I saw the rope and I went to investigate,” Eddie said weakly. “Anybody could have left that rope there. Stefan. Or Harpo. Or Courtney . . . or Monica. She probably did it, for publicity.”

  “What?” squeaked Monica in outrage.

  “No,” said Henry. “You did it. We were awake and waiting before you got here this morning. We saw you do it.”

  “And you had to be the one who called Monica,” said Jessie. “Because you were the only other person who knew about Tate coming to the boxcar this morning. We trapped you.”

  “A trap?” said Eddie. Drops of sweat popped out on his forehead. “You trapped me? Tate, how could you? After all I’ve done for you.”

  “You mean after all you’ve done to me,” corrected Tate.

  “You set Tate up,” Henry said. “You tried to make him look as if he had a jinx on him.”

  “Why?” asked Violet.

  Eddie looked around at the angry faces. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead. He said, “All publicity is good publicity, Tate. That’s my motto. You know that.”

  “That’s not true,” said Jessie.

  “Tate, listen to me,” Eddie pleaded. “I was just doing my job. When all those other accidents happened during your last movie, and Monica did that bad luck jinx story, that’s when I got the idea. I figured if strange things happened during this movie, it would be great publicity. Get everybody talking.. . .”

  “So you started the fire in the trash can in front of the ice-cream parlor,” said Violet. “And called Monica and told her that Tate was there.”

  “It was mostly smoke,” said Eddie. “Never any danger. But what a great story it would have made! Only you got away before Monica could find you and take your picture.”

  “And you switched off the lights in our house when Tate and Courtney came for dinner,” said Jessie.

  “I had Monica waiting then, too. But you didn’t come outside like you were supposed to,” said Eddie. “How could I get you any publicity if you wouldn’t even be seen in public?”

  “That’s not publicity,” said Tate angrily. “And you’re fired.”

  Eddie threw back his shoulders. “Fine,” he snapped. “You’re not the only star in the sky. There are plenty of other stars—bigger, better stars—who’d love to have Eddie Hampton as their agent.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not,” said Monica. She snapped one last photograph. “Let’s wait and see what happens when they read my exclusive story.”

  “This is the biggest car I’ve ever been in,” said Benny.

  “It’s a limousine, Benny,” Henry said.

  Tate had sent a limousine to take the Boxcar Children to the special showing of his new movie at the Greenfield movie theater. He was ahead of them in another limousine.

  The limousines stopped at the curb where a red carpet had been put down. The drivers sprang to open the doors of the cars. A crowd had gathered behind the velvet ropes on either side of the carpet.

  “What do we do now?” asked Violet.

  “Smile and wave like a movie star,” said Jessie.

  So they did.

  The lights in the Greenfield movie theater came on as the final credits of the movie began to roll. The audience began to applaud.

  “That was the best movie I ever saw,” Violet said to Jessie.

  “It was exciting,” Jessie said.

  “And exciting to be in it, too,” Henry pointed out.

  It was true. Benny, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Watch had all been in Tate’s new movie. They had been extras, standing in the crowd outside the bank as the robbers ran away.

  “It’s so cool,” said Jessie. “Maybe someday I’ll be a movie director.”

  “I’m going to be a star,” said Benny. He paused, and then added, “Just like the boxcar.” He pointed up on the screen.

  There, in splendid color, was their boxcar, with the credits rolling in front of it.

  Then Jessie gasped, “Look!”

  Just before the screen went blank, the Aldens saw the words:

  THE MAKERS OF THIS MOVIE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE PEOPLE OF GREENFIELD FOR ALL THEIR HELP—ESPECIALLY HENRY, JESSIE, VIOLET, BENNY, AND, OF COURSE, WATCH.

  About the Author

  GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were 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.

  When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

  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.

  The Boxcar Children Mysteries

  THE BOXCAR CHILDREN

  SURPRISE ISLAND

  THE YELLOW HOUSE MYSTERY

  MYSTERY RANCH

  MIKE’S MYSTERY

  BLUE BAY MYSTERY

  THE WOODSHED MYSTERY

  THE LIGHTHOUSE MYSTERY

  MOUNTAIN TOP MYSTERY

  SCHOOLHOUSE MYSTERY

  CABOOSE MYSTERY

  HOUSEBOAT MYSTERY

  SNOWBOUND MYSTERY

  TREE HOUSE MYSTERY

  BICYCLE MYSTERY

  MYSTERY IN THE SAND

  MYSTERY BEHIND THE WALL

  BUS STATION MYSTERY

  BENNY UNCOVERS A MYSTERY

  THE HAUNTED CABIN MYSTERY

  THE DESERTED LIBRARY MYSTERY

  THE ANIMAL SHELTER MYSTERY

  THE OLD MOTEL MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN PAINTING

  THE AMUSEMENT PARK MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MIXED-UP ZOO

  THE CAMP-OUT MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY GIRL

  THE MYSTERY CRUISE

  THE DISAPPEARING FRIEND MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SINGING GHOST

  MYSTERY IN THE SNOW

  THE PIZZA MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY HORSE

  THE MYSTERY AT THE DOG SHOW

  THE CASTLE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST VILLAGE

  THE MYSTERY ON THE ICE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE PURPLE POOL


  THE GHOST SHIP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN WASHINGTON, DC

  THE CANOE TRIP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN BEACH

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING CAT

  THE MYSTERY AT SNOWFLAKE INN

  THE MYSTERY ON STAGE

  THE DINOSAUR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN MUSIC

  THE MYSTERY AT THE BALL PARK

  THE CHOCOLATE SUNDAE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HOT AIR BALLOON

  THE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE

  THE PILGRIM VILLAGE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN BOXCAR

  THE MYSTERY IN THE CAVE

  THE MYSTERY ON THE TRAIN

  THE MYSTERY AT THE FAIR

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST MINE

  THE GUIDE DOG MYSTERY

  THE HURRICANE MYSTERY

  THE PET SHOP MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SECRET MESSAGE

  THE FIREHOUSE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN SAN FRANCISCO

  THE NIAGARA FALLS MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY AT THE ALAMO

  THE OUTER SPACE MYSTERY

  THE SOCCER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN THE OLD ATTIC

  THE GROWLING BEAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE LAKE MONSTER

  THE MYSTERY AT PEACOCK HALL

  THE WINDY CITY MYSTERY

  THE BLACK PEARL MYSTERY

  THE CEREAL BOX MYSTERY

  THE PANTHER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN’S JEWELS

  THE STOLEN SWORD MYSTERY

  THE BASKETBALL MYSTERY

  THE MOVIE STAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE PIRATE’S MAP

  THE GHOST TOWN MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK RAVEN

  THE MYSTERY IN THE MALL

  THE MYSTERY IN NEW YORK

  THE GYMNASTICS MYSTERY

  THE POISON FROG MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY SAFE

  THE HOME RUN MYSTERY

  THE GREAT BICYCLE RACE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES

  THE MYSTERY IN THE COMPUTER GAME

  THE MYSTERY AT THE CROOKED HOUSE

  THE HOCKEY MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MIDNIGHT DOG

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREECH OWL

  THE SUMMER CAMP MYSTERY

  THE COPYCAT MYSTERY

  THE HAUNTED CLOCK TOWER MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE TIGER’S EYE

  THE DISAPPEARING STAIRCASE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY ON BLIZZARD MOUNTAIN

  THE MYSTERY OF THE SPIDER’S CLUE

  THE CANDY FACTORY MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE MUMMY’S CURSE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY

  THE STUFFED BEAR MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF ALLIGATOR SWAMP

  THE MYSTERY AT SKELETON POINT

  THE TATTLETALE MYSTERY

  THE COMIC BOOK MYSTERY

  THE GREAT SHARK MYSTERY

  THE ICE CREAM MYSTERY

  THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY IN THE FORTUNE COOKIE

  THE BLACK WIDOW SPIDER MYSTERY

  THE RADIO MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE RUNAWAY GHOST

  THE FINDERS KEEPERS MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED BOXCAR

  THE CLUE IN THE CORN MAZE

  THE GHOST OF THE CHATTERING BONES

  THE SWORD OF THE SILVER KNIGHT

  THE GAME STORE MYSTERY

  THE MYSTERY OF THE ORPHAN TRAIN

  THE VANISHING PASSENGER

  THE GIANT YO-YO MYSTERY

  THE CREATURE IN OGOPOGO LAKE

  THE ROCK ’N’ ROLL MYSTERY

  THE SECRET OF THE MASK

  THE SEATTLE PUZZLE

  THE GHOST IN THE FIRST ROW

  THE BOX THAT WATCH FOUND

  A HORSE NAMED DRAGON

  THE GREAT DETECTIVE RACE

  THE GHOST AT THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE

  THE MYSTERY OF THE TRAVELING TOMATOES

  THE SPY GAME

  THE DOG-GONE MYSTERY

  THE VAMPIRE MYSTERY

  SUPERSTAR WATCH

  THE SPY IN THE BLEACHERS

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  copyright © 1996 by Albert Whitman & Company

  978-1-4532-1422-0

  This 2011 edition distributed by Open Road Integrated Media

  180 Varick Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

 


 

  Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Movie Star Mystery

 


 

 
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