The Mystery of the Black Raven by Gertrude Chandler Warner

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
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE H IDDEN B EACH
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE M ISSING C AT
    T HE M YSTERY AT S NOWFLAKE I NN
    T HE M YSTERY ON S TAGE
    T HE D INOSAUR M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE S TOLEN M USIC
    T HE M YSTERY AT THE B ALL P ARK
    T HE C HOCOLATE S UNDAE M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE H OT A IR B ALLOON
    T HE M YSTERY B OOKSTORE
    T HE P ILGRIM V ILLAGE M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE S TOLEN B OXCAR
    M YSTERY IN THE C AVE
    T HE M YSTERY ON THE T RAIN
    T HE M YSTERY AT THE F AIR
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE L OST M INE
    T HE G UIDE D OG M YSTERY
    T HE H URRICANE M YSTERY
    T HE P ET S HOP M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE S ECRET M ESSAGE
    T HE F IREHOUSE M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY IN S AN F RANCISCO
    T HE N IAGARA F ALLS M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY AT THE A LAMO
    T HE O UTER S PACE M YSTERY
    T HE S OCCER M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY IN THE O LD A TTIC
    T HE G ROWLING B EAR M YSTERY
    T HE M YSTERY OF THE L AKE M ONSTER
    T HE M YSTERY AT P EACOCK H ALL
    T HE W INDY C ITY M YSTERY

The Mystery of the Black Raven
Created by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Illustrated by Charles Tang
ALBERT WHITMAN & Company, Chicago

CHAPTER 1
Grandfather’s Secret
    B enny Alden leaned against the rail of the ferry. He threw bread crumbs at the swooping gulls. One gull almost landed on the rail next to him.
    “Whoa!” Jessie, his older sister, gently pulled Benny back. “I bet that bird is as hungry as you are!” At twelve, Jessie was always looking out for her six-year-old brother.
    “I am hungry, but I wanted to feed the birds first,” said Benny.
    “Ready for lunch?” Jessie asked. Just then a spray of bracing sea mist stung their faces, making them laugh.
    “You bet!” Benny followed Jessie across the ferry deck and into the warm dining cabin.
    “There you are,” said Henry. He was fourteen, the oldest of the Alden children. “We ordered hot chocolate.”
    “Thanks,” said Jessie. “Brrr! It’s cold out there!”
    James Alden, the children’s grandfather, nodded. “It usually is on the water, even in the spring. This far north, it rarely gets hot. Not like back home in Connecticut.”
    Violet, who was ten, watched seabirds flying past the large square windows. “I can’t believe we’ll be in Alaska in just a little while!” She patted the camera bag hanging on the back of her chair. “I plan to take lots of pictures.”
    “I hope I see a polar bear,” said Benny. He was trying to read the menu. He didn’t know many words, but he could read hamburger and ice cream.
    Grandfather chuckled. “I doubt we’ll see one in Skagway. Polar bears live farther north.”
    “Skagway!” Benny laughed. “What a funny name!”
    Their waiter came by their table. “Alaska is full of odd names,” he said, setting down mugs of hot chocolate. “Skagway was once just a shack owned by a man named Moore. But then the