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

camera.”
    “Sounds like a good book,” Jessie remarked. “Maybe you can borrow it when Kate’s finished.”
    But Violet was only half-listening. She had come to something that made her stop and stare. “This is strange,” she said in a puzzled voice. “Here’s a photo taken in the olden days.”
    Benny, Jessie, and Henry crowded around to take a look. A middle-aged woman in a high-necked blouse and long skirt was sitting at a table shaped like a half moon. She was wearing a white apron and matching cap.
    “That lady must have been a cook,” observed Benny. “At least, that’s how she’s dressed.”
    Henry nodded his head. “That’s what I was just thinking.”
    Jessie looked at her sister. “What’s strange about that, Violet?”
    “Well, maybe this is just a weird coincidence,” said Violet, “but isn’t there something about this photograph that looks familiar?”
    Jessie took a closer look. “Now that you mention it,” she said, “it reminds me of Sally’s photograph. The one taken when she was Benny’s age.”
    Peering over Violet’s shoulder, Henry nodded. “There’s a half-moon table in both pictures.”
    “But that’s not all,” put in Violet. “Did you notice the background?”
    Jessie looked. “Oh, my goodness!” she cried. “An oval window with frosted glass!”
    “And wallpaper with big roses all over it,” added Benny.
    Jessie nodded. “That can mean only one thing.”
    Benny looked at her. “What?”
    “The cook’s photograph was taken right here at Wiggin Place.”
    Henry shook his head. “This is getting weirder and weirder.”
    “What does it say under the picture, Violet?” Jessie asked.
    As Violet scanned the small print, her eyes widened.
    “What is it?” Henry asked.
    Before Violet could answer, the professor stepped out onto the patio. When he caught sight of the book Violet was holding, he rushed over and snatched it away. “How dare you!” He sounded upset. “You have no business touching my grandfather’s book! It’s a good thing I came back early.”
    Violet’s eyes widened in alarm. “But I thought—”
    The professor walked away before Violet could finish. Then he suddenly wheeled around to face them again. “This must never happen again,” he said in an icy voice. “I’m warning you, you’ll regret it if it does!” And then he was gone.

    The Aldens looked at one another in disbelief.
    “It was just a mistake,” Violet said in a small voice, “I didn’t know the book belonged to the professor’s grandfather.”
    Jessie patted her sister gently on the shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Violet,” said Jessie, trying to comfort her. “The professor wouldn’t even give you a chance to explain.”
    “Wait a minute,” said Henry. “Didn’t the professor say he wasn’t interested in Ethan Cape?”
    Jessie nodded slowly. “Why would he pretend he wasn’t?”
    “That’s just what I was wondering,” said Henry.

CHAPTER 9
Scrabble, Anyone?
    No sooner had the professor gone inside, than Lindsay stepped out the door. “I thought I’d find you here,” she told the Aldens with a smile. “I just wanted to let you know I’ll be leaving in the morning.”
    The children were surprised to hear this. “You mean you won’t be working here anymore?” Benny wondered.
    “Oh, I’ll be back, Benny,” Lindsay assured the youngest Alden. “I’m just going to take a few days off to attend my cousin’s wedding.” She sat down in the empty chair beside Violet. “I really wasn’t planning to go at all, you know. I told my cousin if I could do it in one day that’d be different. But it’s too long a drive for that. I just couldn’t pull it off. And how could I leave Kate with a houseful of guests any longer than that?”
    Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. That must have been the phone conversation they’d overheard in the woods!
    “I was determined to keep the whole wedding thing to myself,” Lindsay went on. “Only