Disappearing Staircase Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Read Free Book Online

same thing. I suppose we could take a peek now that everyone else is asleep downstairs. Maybe those stairs lead to the room that has the skylight.”
    One by one the Aldens slipped out of their sleeping bags and into the hallway.
    Soo Lee was in her bare feet. “This floor is wet,” she said when she came out of the room.
    Jessie bent down to touch the floor. She slipped out of her shoes so she could feel the floor. “Let’s follow these wet spots,” Jessie whispered. “Somebody must have come up here from the outside. If we follow these footprints, maybe we can figure out where the person went.”
    “Good thinking,” Henry said to Jessie. “Lead the way.”
    Jessie and Soo Lee tracked the wet footprints to the third-floor hallway.
    When the footprints stopped, so did the Aldens. They found themselves directly under the ceiling panel they had discovered the morning before.
    Henry aimed his flashlight upward. “Who wants a boost up on my shoulders?” Henry whispered. “I need Soo Lee or Benny to tug the knob.”
    Before Benny or Soo Lee could decide, the children heard a creak coming from the ceiling. The panel started to open right where the Aldens were standing!
    Jessie motioned to the nearby bathroom and opened the door. The other children squeezed in behind her. They climbed into the claw-footed tub and hid themselves behind an old shower curtain. Jessie put her finger up to her lips so no one would speak.
    A couple of minutes later, the children heard a springy sound, followed by a faint thud, then another springy sound. Some footsteps came close to the bathroom where the children were hiding. The door opened. A dim light swept over the bathroom.
    The Aldens could barely breathe. What if the person found them huddled behind the shower curtain? The children stood as still as statues. Eventually they heard footsteps going downstairs. They waited in the tub for several minutes. Finally they felt safe enough to climb out.
    “I think whoever that was is gone now,” Henry whispered. He stuck his head out and checked the dark hallway. “Which way, guys? Follow the person down the regular staircase or go up the disappearing staircase?”
    The other children looked at one another.
    “We might not get another chance to go up there alone,” Jessie pointed out.
    Violet looked up at the staircase panel in the ceiling. “Maybe my music box is up there.”
    “And who knows what else we might find?” Henry said. “After we get a look around, we can keep a watch out for anyone else we find up here.”
    “Let’s go,” Benny said, following the beam of Henry’s flashlight down the dark hall.

CHAPTER 8
The Disappearing Staircase Appears
    The Aldens tiptoed into the hallway behind Henry. They stood under the secret ceiling panel.
    Jessie beamed her flashlight upward. “Hey look. Whoever was up here didn’t close the panel all the way. It’s hanging open partway. I think we can reach it from the stepladder. Bring it over.”
    Jessie was right. Even though she was two inches shorter than Henry, she easily reached the knob from the top of the stepladder. The panel made a springy sound and came down a couple of feet. “All I have to do is unfold the steps the rest of the way,” Jessie said, doing just that.
    Henry caught the steps before they landed on the floor. He didn’t want to make any extra noise.
    The disappearing staircase filled the hallway. The Aldens got in line, eager to go up.
    “I’ll stay down here to keep a lookout in case that person comes back,” Henry said. “We could solve two mysteries at the same time—finding some missing treasures and whoever knows about them. Good luck.”
    As Henry stood by, the other children carefully climbed the wooden steps.
    “I hope this attic is filled with treasures,” Violet whispered when she reached the top step.
    Violet wasn’t disappointed. “There’s another playroom above the nursery! Only smaller,” she said in a whisper.
    The children flashed