Outer Space Mystery (8 page)

“We will find Eugene. If what you say is true, he will be expelled immediately,” Able Porter pronounced. “What he did will remain on his records, no matter which other schools he applies to.”

“And me, sir?” Rachel’s voice wavered.

Dr. Porter shook his head with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Rachel. You must be dismissed also. You were a part of Eugene’s crime.”

Rachel lifted her chin. “I understand, sir. I’ll pack and be out of my dorm room as soon as possible.”

“I’m sorry,” the president told her sincerely. “I wish you had come to me. I would have helped your financial situation.”

Jessie reached out and grabbed Rachel’s hand. The young woman was trembling.

The meeting was over. The Aldens and Rachel left Dr. Porter’s office.

Violet saw Rachel bite her lip to keep from crying. Violet felt like crying herself. She knew Rachel had done a bad thing, but the punishment seemed so harsh.

“Grandfather,” she whispered, touching his sleeve, “can’t you do something?”

“You mean to help Rachel?” He thought a moment. “Yes, I believe I can. Able Porter and I go back a long way. I’m sure he will work with me to help Rachel get a new start.”

Rachel stared at him with huge eyes. “You mean I won’t have to give up my dream of becoming a scientist?”

“You will have to leave Mountvale College,” James Alden told her. “But I’m sure I can help you finish your schooling. The world needs young scientists.”

Rachel threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Mr. Alden! I’ll work harder than ever! I promise!”

“I know you will,” Grandfather said. “Now, I’d better get back to the conference.”

“Can I come, too?” Rachel asked. “There’s something I have to do.”

“All right,” Grandfather relented. “Everyone might as well come. The conference is nearly over anyway.”

Back inside the auditorium, Rachel went directly to Mark Jacobs. She handed him the envelope.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I hope you don’t hate me, but I don’t blame you if you do. Here are your notes.”

Mark seemed overjoyed to get his notes back.

“I can rewrite my paper,” he said. “And mail it to the conference committee. It’ll be submitted late, but it won’t be a total loss.” Then he said to Rachel, “No, I don’t hate you.”

Now James Alden stepped up to the podium. “Since you have your notes, Mark, why don’t you give us an overview of your discovery.”

Mark jumped up. “I can do that! I even have slides.”

Henry poked Jessie. “We’re finally going to find out Mark’s discovery!”

The lights were dimmed and the projector was turned on. Everyone stared at the white screen onstage.

Mark took over the microphone. When he spoke, his voice vibrated with energy.

“In this great universe of ours,” he said, “there are many wonders. Astronomers have always searched for those wonders, like the discovery of our own solar system. But lately astronomers are looking beyond our solar system. They are finding other solar systems, other galaxies.”

He paused to click the button on the slide projector. A dark picture with a lot of dots came into focus.

“What is that?” Benny whispered to Violet.

“Shhh,” she said. “He’ll tell us.”

Mark continued. “But I believe there are many wonders in our own solar system we haven’t yet found. You all know about the asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. These tiny fragments orbit the sun just as the other planets make that journey.”

Now Benny scratched his head. “What’s an asteroid?”

Mark smiled at the youngest members of his audience. “Asteroids are pieces of old moons or planets. They may have come from a single planet that blew up long ago.”

“Neat!” said Benny.

“They are only a few hundred miles wide. Some are only fifty miles across,” Mark explained. “Most people find the asteroids boring. Chunks of rock that go around and around. Big deal!”

He clicked the projector button and a new slide came into view.

Now the audience stared at a picture of dark space. Among the stars, there was a single fuzzy dot.

Mark used a pointer to tap the dot on the screen. “That, gentlemen, is my discovery. A new asteroid. It orbits
outside
the belt between Jupiter and Mars. It has a wobbly path. I think it’s influenced by the orbit of our own planet, Earth. It’s not the biggest asteroid, but it’s not so small, either!”

There was a brief silence. Then the applause started.

The men at the table got up to shake Mark’s hand. Grandfather clapped Mark on the back.

Mark stepped up to the microphone again. “I have one more thing to add. As you know, the International Astronomical Union oversees the naming of celestial objects. If I can get their approval, my discovery will be named the Alden Asteroid.”

Violet bounced in her seat. This was incredible!

Jessie was overcome with excitement. “Did you hear that, Benny? We have our very own asteroid!”

“Terrific,” he said, flatly.

The conference was adjourned.

Everyone walked outside.

Randy Merchant caught up to the Aldens. “Hey, guys!” he cried. “I can tell you
my
secret now! A science magazine has agreed to publish my article about young astronomers.”

“That’s great!” said Henry. Then he noticed a small device inside Randy’s left ear. Randy Merchant had trouble hearing, he realized. No wonder Randy didn’t answer his questions about the old trail. Henry was probably speaking into the wrong ear.

James Alden turned to Mark. “Thank you very much for naming your discovery after my family. It’s a great honor.”

“Your grandchildren deserve it,” Mark said warmly. “Without their help, I wouldn’t have been on that stage today.”

“Now when we look up at the sky,” Henry said, “we will know a little piece of it is named after us.”

“Rachel,” said Grandfather, “let’s go talk to Dr. Porter about your future.”

Rachel grasped Jessie’s hand. “Thanks for being such a dear friend.”

Jessie smiled back. She knew Rachel was a good person.

Mark and the children strolled down to the creek.

Benny squatted on the sandbar. His fleet of leaf boats was still docked. He launched one into the swirling water.

Mark knelt beside him. “You seem quiet, Benny. Aren’t you excited about the Alden Asteroid?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Benny pushed another boat into the current.

“Didn’t you learn a lot about outer space this week?” Violet asked her little brother. It wasn’t like him to be so unenthusiastic.

He sat back on his heels. “Well, I learned stars make pictures. But I really wanted to find one of those meteor-things. You know, to go with my snakeskin.”

“A meteorite.” Mark nodded, understanding. “You’d like an outer-space souvenir.”

“Yes!” Then Benny’s face fell. “But I didn’t find one. I don’t even know what one looks like.”

Mark picked up a white pebble washed smooth by the water. He put it in Benny’s hand.

“There,” he said, “is your outer-space souvenir.”

Benny stared at the rock. “Is this a meteorite?”

“No, it’s just an ordinary Earth rock,” Mark replied. “A piece of our planet.”

Henry helped explain. “You see, Benny, our earth is part of the universe. We’re in outer space ourselves.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” said Benny.

“That’s because it seems like we’re not moving,” Mark said. “But we are. The earth is always spinning around its axis.”

“You remember, that’s what makes day and night,” Jessie said to Benny. “When our part of the Earth turns away from the sun, it’s night.”

“And when it faces the sun, it’s day,” added Violet. “We’re moving right this instant, only we can’t feel it.”

Benny’s face lit up. “I get it! We’re in outer space!” he said in triumph.

“Exactly.” Mark grinned.

Now Benny pulled the rolled-up snakeskin from his pocket. He smoothed it flat and set the white pebble next to it.

“My Earth outer-space souvenirs,” he said proudly. “Aren’t they great?”

Violet frowned. She wished Benny would get rid of that snakeskin. But in the dappled sunlight, the gray, papery strip revealed a pretty pattern. It really wasn’t so ugly, after all.

Benny had figured that out all by himself.

Violet tipped her head back. Tonight, she would look up at Benny’s “outer space” for star-pictures and orbiting planets.

And if she was lucky, she might even see the Alden Asteroid.

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.

The Boxcar Children Mysteries

T
HE
B
OXCAR
C
HILDREN

S
URPRISE
I
SLAND

T
HE
Y
ELLOW
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY
R
ANCH

M
IKE’S
M
YSTERY

B
LUE
B
AY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
W
OODSHED
M
YSTERY

T
HE
L
IGHTHOUSE
M
YSTERY

M
OUNTAIN
T
OP
M
YSTERY

S
CHOOLHOUSE
M
YSTERY

C
ABOOSE
M
YSTERY

H
OUSEBOAT
M
YSTERY

S
NOWBOUND
M
YSTERY

T
REE
H
OUSE
M
YSTERY

B
ICYCLE
M
YSTERY

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
AND

M
YSTERY
B
EHIND
THE
W
ALL

B
US
S
TATION
M
YSTERY

B
ENNY
U
NCOVERS
A
M
YSTERY

T
HE
H
AUNTED
C
ABIN
M
YSTERY

T
HE
D
ESERTED
L
IBRARY
M
YSTERY

T
HE
A
NIMAL
S
HELTER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
O
LD
M
OTEL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
H
IDDEN
P
AINTING

T
HE
A
MUSEMENT
P
ARK
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
M
IXED
-U
P
Z
OO

T
HE
C
AMP
-O
UT
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
G
IRL

T
HE
M
YSTERY
C
RUISE

T
HE
D
ISAPPEARING
F
RIEND
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
S
INGING
G
HOST

M
YSTERY IN THE
S
NOW

T
HE
P
IZZA
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY
H
ORSE

T
HE
M
YSTERY AT THE
D
OG
S
HOW

T
HE
C
ASTLE
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
L
OST
V
ILLAGE

T
HE
M
YSTERY ON THE
I
CE

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
P
URPLE
P
OOL

T
HE
G
HOST
S
HIP
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY IN
W
ASHINGTON
, DC

T
HE
C
ANOE
T
RIP
M
YSTERY