Vanishing Passenger by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Author:Gertrude Chandler Warner [Chandler Warner, Gertrude]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-2896-8
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2011-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

An Old Friend

The Aldens’ minivan pulled up to the train station. “Are you sure you kids don’t want a ride to Allerton?” said Grandfather.

“That’s okay, Grandfather,” said Jessie. “We’re looking for clues around the train station. Why not take the train?” The other three children nodded.

“And it’s fun!” Benny chimed in.

“Indeed it is,” said Grandfather. He knew his grandchildren well. “Call me if you need anything,” he said as the children climbed out of the van.

“Thank you,” they replied together.

By the time the children had bought their tickets, the train was waiting at the station.

“Here we go,” said Jessie, as they climbed aboard.

When the Aldens got off the train at Allerton, they noticed signs of the thunderstorm from the day before. Wet leaves and branches were lying everywhere, and huge puddles had formed in the parking lot.

“Wow,” Violet said. “That must’ve been quite a storm!”

“So, if Max jumped off the train, where would he go?” Henry wondered. He took a good look around. Then he spotted the parking lot. “How about over there?”

Jessie said, “If I was a small dog caught in a thunderstorm and scared, I’d look for the first place where I could get away from it, just like the Taylors said he would. Under a car would be easy enough.”

“Let’s check it out,” Henry said.

They searched from car to car, and after awhile it didn’t look as though they would find any clues. They figured Max would have gone to a car close to the tracks. But there didn’t appear to be any sign of this.

Then Violet looked under an old red truck that was parked near the back of the lot.

“Hey!” she called out, “I think I found a clue!”

As the others hurried over, Violet stood up with something in her hand—another granola-bar wrapper.

“That’s the same kind as the one we found in the fourth car yesterday!” Jessie said.

“Except this one is all chewed up,” Violet pointed out, holding it up so they could see the little dent marks all over it. “Also, it still has some granola bar inside. Yuck!”

Henry said, “You know what? I’ll bet Mr. Finch used it to lure Max from under this truck. He was probably too scared to move otherwise.”

The others nodded. “That would explain the way this is all torn up,” Violet said. Then she tossed it into a nearby garbage can.

“But it doesn’t explain where they are now,” Jessie added. “What do you think?”

“Don’t forget, Mr. Finch said something in his message about going to see someone named Mr. Bean,” said Benny.

Henry smiled. “That’s right, Benny—good job.” He pointed to a phone booth across the street. “There’s a phone book in there. Let’s see if anyone in Allerton has the last name Bean.”

The children looked through the phone book and found two people with the last name Bean. The Aldens decided they would call them both.

Violet picked up the phone. “There’s no dial tone,” she said.

“The phones must still be out from the storm,” said Jessie. “Let’s see if any of the shops down the street have a phone that is working.

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