The Disappearing Friend Mystery (8 page)

“What is going on?” demanded Jessie.

But she still didn't get an answer. Instead the first Beth burst into tears. “I just w-wanted to have some friends. Like you, Beth,” she cried.

“Oh, don't cry. Don't cry,” said Violet, jumping up. “It's okay . . . Beth?”

“I'm not Beth,” sobbed the first Beth. “I'm Heather!”

“You're twins,” said Jessie suddenly.

Beth nodded. “Yes. Heather and I are twins.” She didn't look happy about it.

“Do you take turns being each other?” asked Benny.

“No!” said Beth. “
She
has been following me around ever since we moved to Greenfield. Pretending she's me. And causing trouble.”

“I know what I did was wrong. I guess I was just jealous,” said Heather, who had stopped crying. She rubbed the tears off her cheek on the sleeve of her shirt. “You always have friends. Every time we move you meet new people. I never do.”

“Well that's not my fault, is it?” asked Beth. She turned to face the Aldens.

They listened in amazement as Beth told them how, every time they moved, Heather grew jealous of Beth's new friends and tried to ruin their fun, sometimes even pretending to be Beth. It had been Heather, not Beth, who was responsible for all the nasty tricks over the past week.

“You mean you took our art supplies and ruined Benny's bicycle tires?” gasped Violet.

Heather nodded shamefacedly.

“And ruined our posters and our garden?” asked Henry.

“Yes,” said Heather softly.

“I wasn't sure at first,” said Beth. “Then I saw Heather in town when we went to get new art supplies. I went after her. But she was too quick for me, and she disappeared. And, of course, by the time we got back outside, she'd let the air out of Benny's tires.”

“That's why you were so jumpy,” said Jessie. “And those times you acted so strange—like in the ice cream parlor that night.”

“That wasn't me, that was Heather,” explained Beth. “That's how she found out about all of you in the first place.”

“And that day we saw you in town, when you said you had to go to the dentist?” asked Violet.

Beth looked startled. “I
did
go to the dentist.”

“You're right. That was me,” said Heather. “And that was me, baby-sitting, too. I got the phone call and pretended to be Beth.”

“But Beth,” said Jessie. “Why didn't you just tell us you had a twin?'

“Because she always ruins everything. I can't trust her!” cried Beth.

Violet looked at Heather. “Heather? You've done some really mean things. Why couldn't you just be friendly, like Beth?”

Heather looked ashamed. “I was afraid you wouldn't like me. Everyone always likes Beth, not me.”

“Maybe that's because you don't give people a chance,” Henry said.

Beth was looking at her twin sister. “I never understood why you did all those mean things before. I guess I never realized how you felt, Heather,” she said.

“I'm sure you all must hate me for what I did,” Heather said. “But I promise I'll never do anything like that again. Will you give me another chance?”

Just then Mrs. McGregor opened the back door of the house. “Phone call for the helper service,” she called.

“Come on,” said Jessie.

“What about me?” asked Beth. “Do you still want me to come along?”

“Of course we do,” said Violet. She looked from Beth to Heather. “Let's
all go
help out.”

“Even me?” Heather asked.

“Yes, you, too,” Jessie said. “If you want to.”

“I
would
like to,” said Heather.

“Then let's go!” said Benny.

“A twin can make twice as much trouble,” Benny said. “But you know what? Maybe having a twin can be twice as much fun, too.”

About the Author

G
ERTRUDE
C
HANDLER
W
ARNER
discovered when she was teaching that many readers who like an exciting story could find no books that were both easy and fun to read. She decided to try to meet this need, and her first book,
The Boxcar Children,
quickly proved she had succeeded.

Miss Warner drew on her own experiences to write each mystery. As a child she spent hours watching trains go by on the tracks opposite her family home. She often dreamed about what it would be like to set up housekeeping in a caboose or freight car—the situation the Alden children find themselves in.

When Miss Warner received requests for more adventures involving Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, she began additional stories. In each, she chose a special setting and introduced unusual or eccentric characters who liked the unpredictable.

While the mystery element is central to each of Miss Warner's books, she never thought of them as strictly juvenile mysteries. She liked to stress the Aldens' independence and resourcefulness and their solid New England devotion to using up and making do. The Aldens go about most of their adventures with as little adult supervision as possible—something else that delights young readers.

Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Connecticut, until her death in 1979. During her lifetime, she received hundreds of letters from boys and girls telling her how much they liked her books.

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

T
HE
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

T
HE
B
LACK
P
EARL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
C
EREAL
B
OX
M
YSTERY

T
HE
P
ANTHER
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
Q
UEEN'S
J
EWELS

T
HE
S
TOLEN
S
WORD
M
YSTERY

T
HE
B
ASKETBALL
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
OVIE
S
TAR
M
YSTERY

T
HE
M
YSTERY OF THE
P
IRATE'S
M
AP