Haunted Cabin Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

do.”
    The Mississippi River was only a quick taxi ride from the St. Louis airport. Benny, holding his bright-red suitcase, stared at the huge paddle-wheel steamer.
    â€œDid you ever see so many flags?” Violet cried. “And listen to the music!”
    Her grandfather laughed. “What better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than on America’s longest river?”
    â€œAnd the third-longest river in the world,” Jessie added. Then she smiled. “I only know that because I looked it up.”
    A stream of people were moving up the decorated ramp. At the top, a group of ship’s officers stood waiting.
    â€œCan you come aboard with us?” Jessie asked Mr. Alden. “Just for a while?”
    â€œI wouldn’t miss it,” he said, smiling down at her. “I like being able to imagine where you are in my mind.”
    Henry, feeling very grown-up for fourteen, handed their tickets to the blond officer at the desk.
    â€œWelcome aboard!” the man said, nodding at the children. Then he turned to their grandfather. “Greetings to you, too, sir. The captain’s assistant asked to see you as soon as you came aboard. He has a message for you.” He turned to lead the way. The children and their grandfather followed him.
    A man in uniform met them as they neared his office. “This telegram arrived for you,” he said. “I was asked to see that you got it before you left the ship.”
    The children watched their grandfather’s face as he read the telegram. When he frowned, Benny slid his hand into Henry’s.
    Mr. Alden looked up and put his arm across Jessie’s shoulders. “Thank you again,” he told the ship’s officer. “I need a quiet place to talk to my children for a moment.”

    â€œYou’re welcome to my office,” the man said. “I’m needed on deck.”
    When the door closed behind him, Mr. Alden looked around at the children. “This is disappointing news,” he said. “It’s from Cap. Let me read it to you.”
    â€œDear Friend. Stop,” Mr. Alden read. “I can’t tell you how unhappy I am to write this. Stop. I have looked forward very much to having your fine children here. Stop. But I have to ask you not to send them due to an injury to my ankle that makes me unable to get around. Stop. Regards always. Cap Lambert.”
    â€œWhy does he keep telling you to stop?” Benny cried. “We don’t want to stop. We want to go there.”
    His grandfather chuckled. “That’s just the way telegrams are written. Stop is like a period. Poor Cap! I know he hates having to call off your visit. I’m sure that he’s just as disappointed as you children are.”
    â€œOh, but, Grandfather,” Jessie said. “If he’s having trouble getting around, that’s an even better reason for us to go. We can take care of him and help him with his work. Remember what a good nurse Violet is? And we can see that he eats right so his ankle will heal. Didn’t you say that he lives all alone?”
    â€œExcept for his pet rooster, Doodle,” Benny put in.
    â€œJessie’s right,” Henry said. “Your friend doesn’t know that we have the best time if we have real things to do.”
    Their grandfather listened thoughtfully.
    â€œYou see, Grandfather,” Henry said, “your friend doesn’t know us. He thinks he’ll have to take care of us. Instead, we can take care of him. And we’d really like to do it.”
    Mr. Alden hesitated, still looking doubtful. “He won’t be expecting you when the boat reaches Hannibal,” he pointed out. “There’ll be no one there to meet you and take you out to his place. His cabin is at least three miles from town.”
    â€œWe’ve had worse problems than that,” Henry reminded him. “Remember the time we got snowbound in a cabin? The store was almost