Read Online Boxcar Children 61 - Growling Bear Mystery by Charles Tang, Gertrude Chandler Warner - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Charles Tang, Gertrude Chandler Warner
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old papers in here, too. Look, Emily,” he said to Ranger Crowe.
Everyone crowded around to see what Sam Jackson had found.
Sam began reading:
“The unforgiving Yellowstone winter is over at last. The deep snows are melting. We begin the next leg of our trip back to Missouri today, six months after our terrible journey through these mysterious mountains. We leave behind our dreams and return to our old farmland. Samuel Jackson Crowe, 1850.”
“Samuel Jackson Crowe?” Jessie asked Sam. “Is that your full name?”
Sam clutched the old, yellowed paper in his hand. “That is my name. This is my sister, Emily Jackson Crowe. I just used my middle name Jackson out here. Emily and I were afraid that if everyone realized we were a brother and sister with the last name Crowe, they would figure out that we were searching for the lost cabin. So we didn’t tell anyone we were related.”
Ranger Crowe looked upset when she saw all the puzzled faces. “I started working in Yellowstone last year. I knew my ancestor had been a gold miner, but not a successful one. He wound up a poor farmer in Missouri. But then I started hearing stories about some miners leaving gold behind in this old cabin. So I got Sam to come out here, too, so we could look for the cabin together. Now it looks as if our relative just left this bag of rocks.”
Oz took off his hat and unzipped his jacket. “It looks as if your relative played a funny joke on you folks. Now I have to ask you two, did you steal my map? That didn’t belong to you or your relatives. It belonged to my relative—Granddad, then my cousin, then me. Nobody else had any business with that map.”
Sam looked down at his snowshoes. “I took the map when I realized you’d left it in the copier. I know I shouldn’t have. As soon as I discovered you had a mailbox at the inn, I returned it there when no one was looking.”
Ranger Crowe didn’t look any happier than her brother. “Sam was the one I let through the gates when you arrived in Yellowstone,” she explained. “I was allowed to let him go through, of course, since he works in the park.”
Jessie needed to know something. “Did you put the sign up saying the trail was closed?”
Ranger Crowe explained. “This summer, I signed up for all the trail-clearing duty. I worked so hard at it, I was put in charge. Whenever I was out working on the trails, I put up the sign. I didn’t want someone else to find the cabin when we were so close. And I changed the markers, too. There are plenty of other hiking trails around here, anyway.”
Benny listened to all this, but he needed to know more. “What about our map? Oz made a copy, just for us. Henry found it in the Dumpster.”
Sam looked Benny straight in the eye. “I guess it could have fallen off of the dresser and into the trash. But I didn’t notice it when I emptied the trash can into the Dumpster. I just did my job.”
“Same here,” Mr. Crabtree said, “though I wouldn’t have minded using a map instead of my brains to find this cabin. I’ve been looking for this place every summer since I started coming out here with Eleanor.”
The children looked at each other, full of questions.
“But why did you tell Mrs. Crabtree you weren’t hiking yesterday? She said you told her you were in your trailer all day. But we saw you through our binoculars, right before our bear scare.”
Mr. Crabtree looked more upset than Sam and Emily Crowe put together. “Well, I might as well tell the rest of the story,” he went on. “Eleanor doesn’t care much for hiking, so I go by myself. I know I shouldn’t go too far in the woods alone. But once I had a bee in my bonnet about the lost cabin, I kept going farther and farther on the trails. I just didn’t want to tell Eleanor about hiking alone, you understand?”
Everyone was smiling now, except Mr. Crabtree.
“There, there, Lester,” Oz said. “If you don’t want Eleanor to know about this, we don’t have to
Everyone crowded around to see what Sam Jackson had found.
Sam began reading:
“The unforgiving Yellowstone winter is over at last. The deep snows are melting. We begin the next leg of our trip back to Missouri today, six months after our terrible journey through these mysterious mountains. We leave behind our dreams and return to our old farmland. Samuel Jackson Crowe, 1850.”
“Samuel Jackson Crowe?” Jessie asked Sam. “Is that your full name?”
Sam clutched the old, yellowed paper in his hand. “That is my name. This is my sister, Emily Jackson Crowe. I just used my middle name Jackson out here. Emily and I were afraid that if everyone realized we were a brother and sister with the last name Crowe, they would figure out that we were searching for the lost cabin. So we didn’t tell anyone we were related.”
Ranger Crowe looked upset when she saw all the puzzled faces. “I started working in Yellowstone last year. I knew my ancestor had been a gold miner, but not a successful one. He wound up a poor farmer in Missouri. But then I started hearing stories about some miners leaving gold behind in this old cabin. So I got Sam to come out here, too, so we could look for the cabin together. Now it looks as if our relative just left this bag of rocks.”
Oz took off his hat and unzipped his jacket. “It looks as if your relative played a funny joke on you folks. Now I have to ask you two, did you steal my map? That didn’t belong to you or your relatives. It belonged to my relative—Granddad, then my cousin, then me. Nobody else had any business with that map.”
Sam looked down at his snowshoes. “I took the map when I realized you’d left it in the copier. I know I shouldn’t have. As soon as I discovered you had a mailbox at the inn, I returned it there when no one was looking.”
Ranger Crowe didn’t look any happier than her brother. “Sam was the one I let through the gates when you arrived in Yellowstone,” she explained. “I was allowed to let him go through, of course, since he works in the park.”
Jessie needed to know something. “Did you put the sign up saying the trail was closed?”
Ranger Crowe explained. “This summer, I signed up for all the trail-clearing duty. I worked so hard at it, I was put in charge. Whenever I was out working on the trails, I put up the sign. I didn’t want someone else to find the cabin when we were so close. And I changed the markers, too. There are plenty of other hiking trails around here, anyway.”
Benny listened to all this, but he needed to know more. “What about our map? Oz made a copy, just for us. Henry found it in the Dumpster.”
Sam looked Benny straight in the eye. “I guess it could have fallen off of the dresser and into the trash. But I didn’t notice it when I emptied the trash can into the Dumpster. I just did my job.”
“Same here,” Mr. Crabtree said, “though I wouldn’t have minded using a map instead of my brains to find this cabin. I’ve been looking for this place every summer since I started coming out here with Eleanor.”
The children looked at each other, full of questions.
“But why did you tell Mrs. Crabtree you weren’t hiking yesterday? She said you told her you were in your trailer all day. But we saw you through our binoculars, right before our bear scare.”
Mr. Crabtree looked more upset than Sam and Emily Crowe put together. “Well, I might as well tell the rest of the story,” he went on. “Eleanor doesn’t care much for hiking, so I go by myself. I know I shouldn’t go too far in the woods alone. But once I had a bee in my bonnet about the lost cabin, I kept going farther and farther on the trails. I just didn’t want to tell Eleanor about hiking alone, you understand?”
Everyone was smiling now, except Mr. Crabtree.
“There, there, Lester,” Oz said. “If you don’t want Eleanor to know about this, we don’t have to
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