Mystery of the Orphan Train by Gertrude Chandler Warner Read Free Book Online Page A

nudge.
    With a puzzled frown, Jessie read the message out loud:
    Blue and yellow,
    yellow and blue,
    two make one,
    a gem of a clue!
    “What do you think it means?” wondered Violet.
    Jessie shrugged. So did Henry.
    “It’s a mystery,” Benny said with a grin. “I love mysteries!”

CHAPTER 8
Two Make One
    “It’s not much to go on,” Jessie remarked as she made a copy of the rhyme.
    Benny was scratching his head. “What I don’t understand,” he said, “is how two can make one.”
    Henry shrugged. “Beats me.”
    “I can’t understand it, either,” admitted Violet. “Thane’s clues are tough to figure out.”
    The children puzzled over the strange rhyme all morning. They thought and thought, but they couldn’t come up with any answers. Everyone was stumped.
    “I have an idea,” Violet said when she caught a whiff of flowers coming through the opened window. “Let’s pack a picnic lunch and go for a bike ride.”
    The others were quick to agree. “We could use a break,” said Henry.
    After telling Kate about their plans, the Aldens loaded sandwiches, apples, and a large thermos of lemonade into Henry’s backpack, then set off on the bikes Kate kept for her guests. Putting all thoughts of the mystery aside for a while, they pedaled happily through the countryside.
    By the time they returned to Wiggin Place, the afternoon sun was getting hot, the rhyme was still a big question mark, and the necklace was still missing.
    “Kate’s been tearing her room apart all day,” Violet remarked. “I think she’s beginning to give up hope.” The children were sitting at the umbrella table on the stone patio, sipping ice-cold cranberry juice from tall glasses.
    Jessie tugged her notebook from her back pocket. “One mystery at a time, remember?”
    Henry agreed. “Let’s take another look at that rhyme.”
    Nodding, Jessie read it aloud. “Blue and yellow/ yellow and blue/ two make one/ a gem of a clue!”
    “What about Kate’s necklace?” said Violet, after a moment’s thought. “Isn’t it blue and yellow?”
    Jessie was quick to agree. “A bluebird charm on a yellow-gold chain.”
    “And the blue and yellow make one necklace,” added Violet, pouring Benny another glass of cranberry juice.
    Henry was nodding his head. “You might be on to something, Violet.”
    Jessie said, “The clues seem to fit.”
    “But Kate’s necklace doesn’t have any gems on it,” argued Benny. “Not even a single diamond. Blue and yellow are supposed to make one gem of a clue. Remember?”
    “Good point, Benny,” Henry said, arms folded, leaning back in his chair.
    “But … what else could it mean?” Jessie was bending over her notebook again.
    “It’s a mystery,” Violet said, laughing a little. “As Grandfather would say, Wiggin Place has more mysteries than you can shake a stick at.”
    “And the mysteries aren’t easy to solve,” added Henry.
    “Sally Crawford is the key,” said Benny.
    The others had to admit their little brother was right. All the mysteries had something to do with Sally.
    Jessie started adding everything up on her fingers. “There’s the mystery of Ethan Cape. Didn’t the famous photographer come all the way to Kansas just to take Sally’s picture? And how about the missing necklace? It once belonged to Sally.”
    “And don’t forget about Thane Pace,” put in Violet. “He saved Sally’s life.”
    Henry added, “Even the rhymes were meant for her.”
    “I wish we knew more about Sally’s secret,” Jessie said, lost in thought. “The one she wanted to share after Ethan Cape’s visit.”
    “Speaking of Ethan Cape,” said Violet, reaching for a book on the empty chair beside her, “looks like somebody’s reading his biography.”
    “Probably Kate,” guessed Henry.
    “I’m sure you’re right, Henry.” Violet began to thumb through the pages. “Wow, there’s all sorts of photographs in here.” Her eyes were shining. “Ethan was a genius with the