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Authors: Gertrude Chandler Warner
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scare you away then.”
“And you took my boots,” said Henry.
“I did. But I gave them back!” said Chuck. “I couldn’t let you try to hike down the mountain without them, any more than I could leave you without any food at all. I’m a mountain guide. I just couldn’t do it.”
“You’re a better mountain guide than a thief,” said Rayanne. “That wasn’t even gold that you took.”
Chuck sat up. “What?” he said.
“Iron bars painted to look like gold, for the mining display,” said Rayanne. “That’s all it is. Heavy and worthless. It’s the cape the museum wants back. It’s an important part of this park’s history.”
Chuck’s mouth had fallen open. So had Benny’s.
“N-not gold?” Chuck managed to stammer at last.
“Nope,” said Rayanne. “So now that we’ve got the cape back, the museum’s going to let you go.”
“You will?” said Chuck. He jumped to his feet. “Oh, thank you! I’ll never, ever do something like that again. I’ve never done anything like that before. I know it was wrong. I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Good,” said Jessie. She almost felt sorry for Chuck.
“Thank you,” Chuck cried again. “Thank you.”
“Go on, then,” said Rayanne. “We’ll get this down the mountain.”
Chuck looked around. Then, almost running, he headed down the mountain.
As the Aldens and Maris and Rayanne came out of the woods at the bottom of the Blizzard Trail, Grandfather Alden stepped out of a car parked near Maris’s truck.
“Grandfather!” said Jessie. “We caught the thief.”
“And Rayanne’s a real live detective,” said Benny.
Another person got out of the truck.
“Bobcat!” said Maris. “There you are. What happened?”
“We forgot to ask Chuck what he told you to make you leave town,” said Henry.
“So you figured it out, huh?” Bobcat chuckled. He shook his head. “And I fell for it, too. Chuck met me outside the general store. Must have been waiting for me, I realize now. He gave me a message, said it had been left at the diner for me. That’s not unusual. Everyone knows that the people at the diner can always find you. It’s the way a small town works.”
“What was the message?” asked Violet.
“My brother had an attack of appendicitis. It said please come at once. Chuck said he’d see that someone else took supplies to you, so I drove to the airport and flew halfway across the country. Boy, was my brother surprised to see me. We had a nice visit, though.” Bobcat grinned. “That buzzard!”
“Bobcat called when he got back,” Grandfather explained. “I told him what had been going on and we drove here.”
“But what about when your truck wouldn’t start, Maris? Did Chuck do that, too?” asked Violet.
“Nope. My truck’s just an old truck. But Chuck knew about the trouble I’d been having with it. Carola had stopped by the diner earlier on her way out of town and been talking about it. That’s what gave him the idea to try to scare us off the trail until he could get back up there and haul the gold out,” said Maris.
“And because his ankle was hurting, he waited until the first snow so it would be easy to pull the gold out by sled. Only it wasn’t gold,” Henry concluded.
“Chuck made a mistake,” said Rayanne. “And he got caught. Bad luck for Chuck.”
“He always said Blizzard Mountain was a bad luck mountain,” Bobcat said. “Looks like it was—for him.”
“But good luck for us,” said Benny.
Everyone looked at Benny. “What do you mean, Benny?” asked Jessie.
“Well, Stagecoach George’s gold is still up on Blizzard Mountain,” Benny said. “So on our next visit, we can go back and find it!”
About the Author
G ERTRUDE C HANDLER W ARNER 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
“And you took my boots,” said Henry.
“I did. But I gave them back!” said Chuck. “I couldn’t let you try to hike down the mountain without them, any more than I could leave you without any food at all. I’m a mountain guide. I just couldn’t do it.”
“You’re a better mountain guide than a thief,” said Rayanne. “That wasn’t even gold that you took.”
Chuck sat up. “What?” he said.
“Iron bars painted to look like gold, for the mining display,” said Rayanne. “That’s all it is. Heavy and worthless. It’s the cape the museum wants back. It’s an important part of this park’s history.”
Chuck’s mouth had fallen open. So had Benny’s.
“N-not gold?” Chuck managed to stammer at last.
“Nope,” said Rayanne. “So now that we’ve got the cape back, the museum’s going to let you go.”
“You will?” said Chuck. He jumped to his feet. “Oh, thank you! I’ll never, ever do something like that again. I’ve never done anything like that before. I know it was wrong. I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Good,” said Jessie. She almost felt sorry for Chuck.
“Thank you,” Chuck cried again. “Thank you.”
“Go on, then,” said Rayanne. “We’ll get this down the mountain.”
Chuck looked around. Then, almost running, he headed down the mountain.
As the Aldens and Maris and Rayanne came out of the woods at the bottom of the Blizzard Trail, Grandfather Alden stepped out of a car parked near Maris’s truck.
“Grandfather!” said Jessie. “We caught the thief.”
“And Rayanne’s a real live detective,” said Benny.
Another person got out of the truck.
“Bobcat!” said Maris. “There you are. What happened?”
“We forgot to ask Chuck what he told you to make you leave town,” said Henry.
“So you figured it out, huh?” Bobcat chuckled. He shook his head. “And I fell for it, too. Chuck met me outside the general store. Must have been waiting for me, I realize now. He gave me a message, said it had been left at the diner for me. That’s not unusual. Everyone knows that the people at the diner can always find you. It’s the way a small town works.”
“What was the message?” asked Violet.
“My brother had an attack of appendicitis. It said please come at once. Chuck said he’d see that someone else took supplies to you, so I drove to the airport and flew halfway across the country. Boy, was my brother surprised to see me. We had a nice visit, though.” Bobcat grinned. “That buzzard!”
“Bobcat called when he got back,” Grandfather explained. “I told him what had been going on and we drove here.”
“But what about when your truck wouldn’t start, Maris? Did Chuck do that, too?” asked Violet.
“Nope. My truck’s just an old truck. But Chuck knew about the trouble I’d been having with it. Carola had stopped by the diner earlier on her way out of town and been talking about it. That’s what gave him the idea to try to scare us off the trail until he could get back up there and haul the gold out,” said Maris.
“And because his ankle was hurting, he waited until the first snow so it would be easy to pull the gold out by sled. Only it wasn’t gold,” Henry concluded.
“Chuck made a mistake,” said Rayanne. “And he got caught. Bad luck for Chuck.”
“He always said Blizzard Mountain was a bad luck mountain,” Bobcat said. “Looks like it was—for him.”
“But good luck for us,” said Benny.
Everyone looked at Benny. “What do you mean, Benny?” asked Jessie.
“Well, Stagecoach George’s gold is still up on Blizzard Mountain,” Benny said. “So on our next visit, we can go back and find it!”
About the Author
G ERTRUDE C HANDLER W ARNER 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
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