Hidden in the Haunted School (The Boxcar Children Mysteries, Band 144) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807507199 ISBN 13: 9780807507193

Verlag: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2016

Inhaltsangabe

The old abandoned school in Silver City is being fixed up as an art center and the Boxcar Children volunteer to help clean up the place. But the other volunteers are scared by the spooky goings-on in the school―doors lock by themselves, and chalkboard messages appear out of nowhere! Will the Aldens find out the secret of the haunted school?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Gertrude Chandler Warner grew up in Putnam, Connecticut. She wrote The Boxcar Children because she had always dreamed about what it would be like to live in a caboose or a freight car―just as the Aldens do. When readers asked for more adventures, Warner wrote more books―a total of nineteen in all. After her death, other authors have continued to write stories about Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, and today The Boxcar Children® series has more than one hundred books.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Hidden in the Haunted School

By Gertrude Chandler Warner, Anthony VanArsdale

Albert Whitman & Company

Copyright © 2016 Albert Whitman & Company
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8075-0719-3

Contents

1. Ghost Stories, 
2. The Old Becomes New, 
3. An Important Lesson, 
4. The Locked Door, 
5. A Mysterious Warning, 
6. Unusual Business, 
7. Behind the Curtain, 
8. An Unexpected Discovery, 
9. Unlocking the Past, 
10. A Grand Opening, 

CHAPTER 1

Ghost Stories

Crunch! Benny Alden took a big bite out of his crisp, red apple as he sat in the backseat of the family's minivan. It was a late-fall Saturday, and he and his brother and sisters had helped their grandfather run errands in Silver City, the town next to Greenfield. They'd made a lot of stops, including at the farmers' market. Benny, who was six years old and always hungry, was munching on his second apple, which he'd retrieved from one of the bags of fresh fruits and vegetables tucked nearhis seat. Now it was late afternoon, and the Aldens were headed home.

Twelve-year-old Jessie put her hand on the cool glass of the minivan's window. She watched trees with red, orange, and yellow leaves whiz by. She thought the leaves looked even prettier than usual in the setting sun. Just then, she remembered the notebook in her backpack. She pulled it out and opened it to check the list of errands they'd made that day. She liked making lists and used her organizational skills to help her family.

"Grandfather," Jessie called to the front seat. "I think we forgot to pick up the dry cleaning."

"You're right!" her grandfather replied. He clicked on the turn signal and turned the van down a side street. "It's a bit out of the way, but I think I know a shortcut to the cleaners."

Benny looked around the minivan.

"I don't think we have room for one more thing," he said. "It's crowded in here!" He was sitting next to Violet, his ten-year-old sister, who was busy doodling with her favorite purple pen in her sketch pad. They were surrounded by bags and boxes holding everything the Aldens had bought or picked up on their errands.

"We'll make room," Henry told his little brother. At fourteen, Henry was the oldest of the Alden children. He sat in the front seat, tinkering with the radio. "Watch can sit on your lap!"

Watch, the Aldens' terrier, replied with a small yap — as if he knew everyone was talking about him. They all laughed as the dog jumped into Benny's lap and curled into a ball.

A few miles and a couple of turns later, the minivan drove down a narrow road that ran along the edge of town. The street was very quiet. The children didn't see any other cars, just rows and rows of trees in the woods on either side of them.

"What's that?" Benny asked, pointing out his window. The Alden children turned to see an old brick building surrounded by a black iron fence. The fence had spiked posts, and overgrown vines hung from the roof. Henry looked beyond the locked gate to read the letters carved into the stone above the entrance.

"Hawthorne School," he said. "I've heard stories about it."

The dark shadows behind the school's broken windows made Violet shiver in her seat.

A few minutes later, Grandfather drove the minivan into the lot of Silver City Plaza, a shopping center with half a dozen stores. The spots in front of the dry cleaning shop were full, so he parked in front of Weaver's Flower Shop.

"I'll be right back," he told his grandchildren.

Grandfather had been gone only a moment when Benny spoke up. "Tell us about Hawthorne School," he said to his brother. "It looks spooky."

"Do you mean Haunted School?" Henry asked. "That's what they call it."

"Why?" Violet asked. Although she certainly thought the school looked haunted.

"Well, it's been abandoned since the 1950s," Henry said. "The gates haven't been opened since the day it closed."

"That doesn't make it haunted," Violet pointed out.

"Of course not," Jessie agreed. "But now that you mention it, wasn't the ghost story we heard last weekend about this school?"

Last weekend, Grandfather had treated Henry, Jessie, and a few of their friends to a campfire. Violet and Benny had stayed in the house to watch a movie with Mrs. McGregor. As the group sat around the small fire pit, they roasted marshmallows and exchanged their scariest ghost stories. Jessie's friend, Rose, had told everyone the tale of a haunted school — a school that she said was nearby. It had to be Hawthorne School.

Henry nodded. "I remember. The story says the ghost of the former principal still walks the halls of the school."

"A ghost?" Benny asked.

"That's right," Jessie said, recalling the story. "She was fired from her job because a teacher reported that she was stealing money from the school. After weeks of insisting she didn't do it, the principal was still told to leave. As she walked out of the building, she put a curse on the school!"

"The money was later found," Henry continued. "It turns out she didn't steal it after all."

"Did she get her job back?" Benny asked.

"No," Jessie replied. "Nobody could find her after she was asked to leave. She seemed to just ...vanish."

"Now," Henry added, "if you look through the old windows, you can see her walking back and forth through the halls. Or that's what they say, at least."

"Wow!" Benny exclaimed.

"A real ghost!" Violet said.

"We don't really believe the story," Henry said. "It's probably just a local legend."

The Alden children looked at one another, deep in thought. They heard the clicking sound of the door being unlocked and turned their attention back to Grandfather. He had returned from the dry cleaners with an armload of plastic-covered shirts.

"Look what I found," he said, climbing into the minivan. He handed a yellow piece of paper to Jessie. "You might want to consider this for service work."

Jessie read the paper. She smiled and handed it to Henry.

"Volunteers needed," he read aloud. "Thanks, Grandfather!"

Henry and Jessie's middle school required them to work ten hours of community service every year. In return, they received extra credit. They both enjoyed helping in the neighborhood and meeting new people, and they were looking for new places to volunteer.

"I was thinking about helping the teachers at Greenfield Day Care Center," Jessie said as Grandfather started the car on the journey home. "They can always use an extra pair of hands."

"And the Rec Center is looking for junior camp leaders," Henry added. "Taking little kids on adventures would be fun!"

Benny looked out the window and into the woods as they drove past them again. He thought about his own exciting adventure.

Years ago, the children's parents had died, leaving them without a home. They knew they had a grandfather but had never met him, and they had heard he was mean. So, when they thought they would be sent to live with him, they ran away into the woods. There they found an old boxcar, which they made their home. They found their dog, Watch, while they were living in the boxcar. When Grandfather finally discovered the children, they learned he was actually a very kind man. He loved them very much. They became a family, and Grandfather moved their boxcar into the backyard of their home in Greenfield so they could use it as a clubhouse.

"I wish I could help with the little kids," Benny said. The Aldens laughed, since Benny was not much older than the campers.

"It would be...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2016
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0807507199
• ISBN 13: 9780807507193
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Purmerul LTD; https://strengholt.nl/en/; ; 22 Liuleburgaz Str., floor 4, app. 9; Plovdiv; Bulgarien