Secret of the Mask by Gertrude Chandler Warner

CHAPTER 1
Rain, Rain, Go Away
    A bolt of lightning ripped across the night sky.
    “One, one-thousand,” whispered a frightened voice.
    “Two, one-thousand,” whispered another.
    “Three, one-thousand, four, one-thousand,” counted four soft voices together.
    “Five, one—”
    Thunder shook the house.
    The four Alden children huddled on Henry’s bed, staring out the window. The storm had awakened them in the middle of the night. Six-year-old Benny was the first to tiptoe to his big brother’s room. Violet and Jessie soon followed, with Watch scampering close behind.
    “Will this storm ruin everything?” asked Violet.
    “We’ll have to wait and see,” Henry said.
    “It can’t rain tomorrow,” said Benny. “It just can’t. ”
    Watch whimpered. Benny patted the dog and hugged him tight.
    Downstairs in the kitchen, boxes and baskets and buckets of old things stood near the back door. On top of them lay bright green and pink posters the children had made:
Boxcar Backyard Sale
    Saturday and Sunday 10–4:00.
    Toys, books, clothes,
    and much, MUCH more!
    For one whole week, the children had cleaned out their closets, drawers, and shelves. Into boxes went clothes that didn’t fit. Into baskets went toys no longer used. Into buckets went books no longer read. But there could be no yard sale if it was storming outside.
    Another bolt of lightning turned the black sky bright. “One, one-thousand, two, one-thousand, three, one-thousand.” They counted until the thunder boomed.
    “The storm is coming closer,” said Henry. “When it’s right over our house, the lightning and thunder will come at the same time.”
    The children’s hearts pounded as they watched and waited. Once, they had no home to protect them from storms. After their parents died, the children were supposed to live with their grandfather. But when they heard he was mean, they ran away.
    It was during a storm like this that they found shelter in an old railroad car. The boxcar quickly became their home, and they lived in it until Grandfather found them. When they saw how nice he was, they came to live with him. Later, he surprised them by bringing the boxcar to the backyard so they could play in it whenever they liked.
    Suddenly, a burst of lightning and clash of thunder came all at once. “Oh, no!” cried Benny, jumping under the covers with Watch. They made such a funny lump in the bed that everyone laughed.
    After a while, the storm drifted so far away they could hardly hear it. Then, four tired children and one sleepy dog curled up on Henry’s bed and fell fast asleep.
    The next morning, the yard sparkled with sunshine. The children ate a quick breakfast of cereal with milk and bananas, then washed their dishes and went to work.
    Twelve-year-old Jessie piled their yard-sale signs onto a red wagon and tossed in a ball of string and a pair of scissors. “See you later,” she said, hurrying off to hang the signs around the neighborhood.
    Violet set up a table with a sign that read, “Violet’s Tasty Treat Table” in the shade of the large oak tree. The ten-year-old spread out a red-and-white tablecloth.

    On this she put a tall pitcher of lemonade, plastic cups, napkins, and two plates of fresh-baked cookies.
    Henry began making a cashier’s table out of a board he’d found in the alley. The fourteen-year-old slipped the claw end of his hammer under a few old nails and pulled them out. Then he rubbed sandpaper over the board, making it smooth so no one would get a splinter.
    As Benny emptied the boxes, baskets, and buckets of their old things onto tables, a familiar black truck rattled down the alley. Sticking up in the back were a three-legged chair, a kitchen sink, one snow ski, and a lamp with a torn shade.
    Everyone in Greenfield knew Mr. Robbins’s truck. Every morning, the retired carpenter drove up and down alleys collecting things people threw away. “Junking” he called it. He always came by early because, he said, “This