The Yellow House Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner, 1953, 1981.
This story in the Boxcar Children series picks up the following spring after the previous book. The children’s cousin, Joe, is arranging for the excavation of the cave where the children found their Native American artifacts. They’ve decided to use dynamite to blast open the roof of the cave to make excavation easier (I’m not sure if this is really the best way to get at artifacts that were sheltered safely for years in their cacve and were easily being dug up by children in their current situation, but okay), and although he had told the children that they couldn’t be there for the blasting, he’s changed his mind. He’s even going to let seven-year-old Benny be the one to push down the handle that will set off the blast. (Because this is one of the early books in the series, the children are aging from the first book in the series – Henry is sixteen years old, Jessie is now fourteen, and Violet is twelve.)
One of the people who will be working on the excavation is Alice, an old school friend of Joe’s. Everyone can tell that Joe is in love with her, and soon, he proposes to her. They get married and decide to spend their honeymoon camping out in the barn on the island, just like the children did the previous summer.
However, the children have started to wonder what the story is about the old yellow house on the island. For some reason, it makes their grandfather sad, and he doesn’t like to talk about it. Eventually, their grandfather tells them that their housekeeper, Mrs. McGregor, used to live in that house with her husband, Bill. Bill used to take care of Mr. Alden’s father’s race horses. He was a nice man, but weak-willed. His brother, Sam, and his brother’s disreputable friends were often able to persuade Bill to do things that would get him into trouble, and Bill was never able to stand up to them. One day, he vanished mysteriously from that house, and neither his wife nor the Aldens have any idea what happened to him. There are only two clues about the reason for Bill’s disappearance. One is money that Bill was supposed to give to Mr. Alden’s father for the sale of two horses that he managed on his behalf. Mr. Alden assumes that Bill’s brother did something with the money and that Bill probably left because he was afraid to face Mr. Alden without the it. Sam died soon after Bill disappeared, so they were unable to ask him about what he knew. The other odd thing that happened before Bill disappeared was that Mrs. McGregor heard strange sounds in the night. When she went to investigate, her husband was apparently just reading a newspaper, and he claimed that the noise was nothing unusual. But, what was Bill really doing?
The kids want to investigate Bill McGregor’s mysterious disappearance, and their grandfather and Joe and Alice enter the house with them to have a look for more clues. In a hiding place behind one of the fireplace bricks, they find a letter from Sam to Bill about the money from the horse sale. Sam promised Bill that he would be able to pay him back more than the money he owed and tells Bill to meet him at a house in Maine near Bear Trail. The kids persuade their grandfather to let them to go Maine with Joe and Alice over the summer to try to find the house on Bear Trail so they can find out what happened to Bill. The trip will involve camping, hiking, and canoeing, but they’re up to the challenge!
Joe is familiar with Bear Trail because he used to work as a trail guide when he was in his teens. They are also joined by another trail guide, Mr. Hill, and have adventures that include a storm and a real bear. However, the real answers to the mystery lie at the Old Village at the end of the trail.
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My Reaction
In a number of ways, this book is more adventure than mystery. It doesn’t take long for the kids to realize discover Bill McGregor’s new identity. However, what happened to the money is more of a puzzle. Even Bill has been unable to find where his brother hid it years ago. Benny discovers it by accident while watching a toad.
One thing that had made me uncomfortable was how long Bill had stayed away from his wife. When the kids confront him about his real identity, it turns out that Sam’s disreputable friends had lied to him, telling him that his wife had died shortly after he disappeared. He is overjoyed to discover that she is still alive, and she is glad to see him when he finally returns home.
General Butterfingers by John Reynolds Gardiner, 1986.
Mrs. Wilson and Walter talk to a lawyer, but he says that, since the General apparently didn’t leave a will, the estate has to go to his nearest relative, which is Ralph. As far as he’s concerned, there’s nothing they can do about, even though the General made a verbal promise to the men that they could stay in his house for the rest of their lives.
In some ways, you could feel sorry for Ralph, who is a very unhappy person. Because of his meanness and selfishness, his father spent years giving him pretty much anything that he wanted on the condition that he not come around to see him. Ralph is hurt at his family’s avoidance and disdain for him, which is why Walter, at one point, invites him to come for dinner and be their friend. However, Ralph’s motives are always selfish, and that causes him to suspect that the same is true of everyone, so he refuses their kindness. It gives the impression that he’s probably done the same for many others over the years, for the same reasons.
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