Boxcar Children 62 - Mystery of the Lake Monster (7 page)

L
ater that night, the Aldens were setting up their trap on one of the paths by Lake Lucille.

“I’m tired of waiting,” said Benny.

“Shhh,” said Jessie.

“I hope Nicole is doing her job,” said Henry. “Otherwise we won’t catch anyone.”

“I put a new roll of film into my camera,” said Violet. “That way we can have
lots
of evidence.” The Aldens had decided that the best way to catch a monster — a photograph — was the best way to catch their culprit, too.

Watch pricked up his ears and whined slightly. “Is that — ” Benny began.

But a moment later, Nicole came down the path. “I think he fell for it,” Nicole reported breathlessly. “I told him I had heard Nora and Drew talking and that Nora had said that if they had just one more monster incident, she was going to close the lodge for the summer — even if it’s just more footprints on the beach. I said that she said, ‘In fact, if I had seen those footprints, that would have been enough for me.’ ”

“That’s great, Nicole,” said Violet admiringly.

“I know,” said Nicole. “And I pretended to be really upset.”

“Excellent,” said Jessie.

“Now, when he leaves tonight, follow him, but be careful not to get caught,” Henry said.

“And don’t forget your camera,” Benny reminded her. “Just in case something goes wrong with Violet’s.”

Nicole nodded. “I won’t,” she said. “This time, we’re going to have some solid proof of who the real monster of Lake Lucille is.”

The night grew steadily darker. Stars appeared in the black sky. From far away, a bear hooted and a bear cub answered.

“Don’t worry, Watch,” Benny whispered. “They won’t bother us if we don’t bother them.”

As the lights up at the lodge and in the cabins went out one by one, the whole world seemed to be going to sleep. Quiet and calm lay over the lake and the mountains.

Something rustled in the underbrush.

“What was that?” said Violet.

“Just an animal — a raccoon or opossum,” Jessie whispered to her. “Carl told us they liked to go out at night.”

“Oh, yes,” said Violet.

“Shhh,” said Henry very, very quietly.

Everyone froze in their hiding place. Benny put his hand over Watch’s muzzle so Watch wouldn’t bark.

Then a thin beam of light pricked the darkness. It came down the trail. The Aldens could see that someone was walking, half covering the beam of the flashlight with one hand so that it wouldn’t be as bright. Whoever it was wanted only enough light to see — and didn’t want to be seen.

Turning on their flashlights, the Aldens leaped out from their hiding places and ran toward the light.

“Smile!” Violet said as she took a picture.

Jason Dubois was standing in the middle of the path, wearing an awful scowl. Nicole was right behind him.

He held up his hand to shield his eyes. “Nicole? Was this your idea? You’re in big trouble!”

“I’m not in trouble.
You
are,” Nicole answered.

Then for the first time, Jason realized that Nicole wasn’t the only one on the path with him.

“Who — It’s the Aldens,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“Catching a monster,” said Benny.

“That’s right,” said Nicole.

By the beams of their flashlights, they saw the frightened look that suddenly crossed Jason’s face. “W-What are you talking about?”

“You,” said Henry. “You’re the one who’s been trying to make everyone think there is a monster around here.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jason said.

“If you’re not the monster, why are you carrying a monster foot around with you in the middle of the night?” asked Jessie. She pointed to the ground next to Jason’s feet. There was a pair of flippers, the sort of flippers that swimmers use when they go snorkeling. But these flippers were different. They had metal nails taped to the ends of them with silver electrical tape.

Jason said, “I don’t know where those came from. I’ve never seen them before.”

“Then why does one of the flippers have your name on it?” asked Violet.

“Uh . . .” said Jason. “Uh . . .”

“Admit it,” said Henry. “You’re the lake monster. You’re Lucy.”

Suddenly Jason’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, I am. At first I just did it for fun. I found an old air horn in the storage shed that was almost worn out. I wrapped a couple of towels around it and snuck out one night and used it to make sounds like I thought a lake monster would make. And you guys fell for it!

“That’s when I got the idea of trying to make everybody believe there really was a monster. I thought if I could scare Mom and Dad, they’d take us home.”

“That was rotten, Jason,” said Nicole angrily. “When you fell out of the canoe, I thought you were really in trouble!”

“How did you do that?” asked Henry.

“I borrowed a jigsaw from the toolshed when no one was around and cut teeth marks in the paddle. Then I used it to paddle out onto the lake not too far from where you guys were having your picnic.” Jason made a face. “I didn’t count on Carl being around. I was afraid he’d catch on. That’s why I was so rude to him.”

“And the footprints — how did you leave footprints on the beach without leaving any others?” asked Jessie.

“I knew that since it had been raining, the ground would be soft, so I waded all the way over to where I got out of the water. Then I put on the flippers and walked up on the beach to make the footprints. Afterward, I waded back,” said Jason.

“That’s why Watch went to the other end of the porch. He could smell you, or hear you, as you waded back,” said Jessie.

“I guess,” said Jason. “But tonight I didn’t have to wade, because it hadn’t been raining and so the ground was dry and firm. I didn’t know that Nicole was making up everything about Nora being ready to leave.”

“And you kept saying there was no monster so that no one would suspect you,” said Violet.

“But we caught you!” cried Benny. “We tricked you and trapped you and you have the monster feet.”

“Okay, okay,” said Jason. “I did it. What are you going to do about it?”

“Either we tell Nora or you do,” said Henry. “She and Drew are the ones who lost business because of what you did. You at least owe her an apology.”

“I know,” said Jason. Then he said, “I’m sorry. You know, I’m almost relieved it didn’t work. Once I started going out in the canoe and walking around the lake and all that, I started kind of liking it here.”

He pointed to Violet’s camera. “How did you think of that?” he said.

“We did what you did,” said Jessie. “We listened to Carl’s stories. That’s what gave us the idea of taking a picture. Carl’s stories started the lake monster mystery — and they helped solve it, too.”

“I
don’t want to leave tomorrow,” said Benny. “Watch and I want to stay here forever.”

“I wish we could stay too, Benny,” Grandfather Alden said. “But it’s time to go home. We’ll come back again, though.”

“You are always welcome,” Nora said. “In fact, I’m thinking of renaming Black Bear Cabin. I thought I might call it Lucy’s Cabin.”

The Aldens all laughed. So did the rest of the crowd assembled on the porch of the lodge after dinner. They were waiting for Drew to serve a special cake that he had made just for the occasion.

“Am I too late for cake?” a gruff voice asked from the darkness outside the screened porch.

“Not at all, Carl,” Nora said. “Come on up.”

Carl came up the stairs, pushed open the screen door, and walked onto the porch with Wildman at his heels. He pointed to a place by the door. “Wildman, stay,” he said.

Wildman wagged his tail slightly, lay down, and put his head on his paws.

“We should have brought Watch to dinner,” said Benny.

“That’s okay, Benny. I think Drew made a special treat for Watch. And for Wildman, too,” said Nora.

Just then the lights in the dining room behind them dimmed. They turned to see Drew and Jason walking toward them, holding between them a huge cake decorated with candles. They put the cake on the porch table and said, “Everybody blow out the candles for luck.”

So everyone blew out the candles. Then Drew cut the cake and passed the pieces around.

“This is delicious, Drew,” said Dr. Lin. “What do you call it?”

“It’s the new specialty of the lodge,” said Drew. “Monster cake!” Everyone laughed again — even Jason, who looked a little sheepish. Nora and Drew had forgiven him — and given him a job helping them with the lodge for the rest of the summer. He was already working in the kitchen, learning how to cook. He looked happier than the Aldens had seen him look since they’d arrived at Lake Lucille.

“I like it!” Benny declared.

Everyone agreed with him.

Nora came over to stand next to the Aldens. “Thank you for solving the lake monster mystery,” she said softly.

“We didn’t solve the whole mystery,” said Jessie. “I still don’t know who erased the footprints.”

“Or who turned over Carl’s canoe,” added Violet.

Nora looked a little embarrassed. “I’m the one who erased the footprints,” she said. “I was afraid there really might be a monster — and I didn’t want any proof around.”

“Oh!” said Violet.

A gruff voice said, “And I guess I never really had the monster turn me over in my canoe.”

“You didn’t?” Henry asked. “You made that up?”

“Well, I’ve turned over in my canoe before,” said Carl. “But I made up the story because I was afraid the Parkers were gonna fancy up the lodge and have a lot of careless tourists who didn’t care about the wilderness come up here trampling things and scaring the animals.”

“But we weren’t, Carl. You knew I wouldn’t let that happen,” Nora protested.

Carl nodded. “I realized it after a while. That’s why it shook me up so much when I saw that paddle. I almost felt as if I’d made up a monster and then it had come to life.”

Suddenly a long, low sound echoed across Lake Lucille.

Everyone stopped talking. Wildman raised his head.

“A bear,” said Dr. Lin. “Right, Carl?”

The sound came again, more softly now, before it faded away.

Carl put down his cake plate in amazement. He stared out into the darkness. “It doesn’t sound like any bear I’ve ever heard — or any other animal around these parts.”

“No,” said Dr. Lin softly. “It doesn’t.”

Benny bounced up from his seat. “It’s Lucy,” he said. “See? I
knew
she was real. It’s Lucy and she’s saying she’s not a monster. She would never bite a paddle or turn over a canoe or hurt anybody.”

“Maybe you’re right, Benny,” said Nora. “Maybe you are right after all.”

Everyone laughed — everyone except Benny. He waved at the darkness in the direction of the lake. “It’s okay, Lucy,” he called. “See you next year!”

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 succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write the mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car — the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner’s books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens’ independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible — something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from girls and boys telling her how much they liked her books.