The Niagara Falls Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

CHAPTER 1
    Thundering Waters
    â€œW ake up, everyone. We’re getting close!” James Alden said, as he drove along a winding highway. But his four sleepy grandchildren didn’t stir.
    Mr. Alden lowered the car windows. The fresh air awakened the children one by one. “Can you hear that sound?” he asked.
    Six-year-old Benny Alden sat straight up. He never liked to miss a thing. “What is it, Grandfather?”
    â€œThat’s millions of gallons of water thundering into the Niagara River,” Grandfather Alden said. “We’re still a few miles away, but you can already hear the falls. All that water is moving toward Niagara Falls, exactly where we’re headed.”
    Benny could see the rushing river from the car window. “It’s going so fast.”
    Jessie Alden, who was twelve, yawned and took a deep gulp of fresh air. “Niagara Falls sounds louder than the ocean.”
    Fourteen-year-old Henry Alden was awake, too. As he often did on family car trips, Henry was helping his grandfather with directions. “Just think what the falls must sound like up close!”
    â€œWe’ll have to shout to hear each other,” Benny yelled.
    Benny’s voice woke up his ten-year-old sister, Violet. She leaned toward the open window to enjoy the sunshine. “The river looks like a pretty ribbon cutting through the riverbanks. It reminds me of the stream that was near our old boxcar.”
    The four Alden children had once lived alone in a boxcar in the woods. Then their grandfather found them. He took them to live with him in his big house in Greenfield.
    Jessie pushed her long brown hair behind her ears. She opened the guidebook on her lap. “It may look like a pretty ribbon, but it’s awfully strong. This book says those tall electric towers over there carry electricity from the falls to places all over North America,” she said.
    â€œWow!” Benny said, amazed. “That sounds neat, but most of all, I want to see those boats. You know, the ones that go right near the falls and everybody gets wet? What are they called?”
    Violet smiled. “The Maid of the Mist boats, Benny.”
    Grandfather Alden slowed down to check a sign. “Well, children, it won’t be long before you’ll actually see those boats. There’s the sign for the border between the United States and Canada. In just a few minutes, we’ll be in another country.”
    â€œCanada, here we come!” Henry said.
    Benny could hardly wait. “If we get out of the car, would we be able to put one foot in America and one foot in Canada, Grandfather?”
    Mr. Alden chuckled. “Almost. I suppose when we pass through the customs booth, the front of the car will be in Canada, and the back will be in the United States. We could be in two different countries at the same time! Do you know what customs is, Benny?”
    â€œIt’s where we have to show the people in Canada our birth certificates. What if they don’t let us in?” Benny asked. He decided he’d better have something else to show the customs people, just in case.
    â€œWell, let’s find out,” Grandfather said. He pulled behind a line of cars stopped on a bridge. “This is the Peace Bridge. That customs booth down at the other end of the bridge is on the Canadian side.”
    The Alden children looked around while they waited for the cars in front of them to pass through the booths.
    Violet pointed to a car covered with streamers and trailing noisy soda cans. “I think that couple just got married.”
    Mr. Alden gave the couple in the car a friendly wave. His grandchildren did the same.
    â€œâ€˜Niagara Falls has been a popular honeymoon spot for over a century,’” Jessie read from her guidebook. “‘Many couples pose for pictures in front of the mists and rainbows that often appear in the falls.’”
    Finally, it was the Aldens’ turn.