Boxcar Children 56 - Firehouse Mystery by Charles Tang, Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

perfect day for the rally,” said Jessie.
    After lunch, Grandfather drove them to the firehouse. Steve and Sparky greeted them inside.
    “Any news about the burglary?” Henry asked.
    “No, but the police are working on the case,” Steve answered.
    Grandfather and Mike helped the children hang their banner on the front of the building. As they were putting it up, Ms. Lerner appeared.
    “I hear you’ve had a burglary,” she said to Mike.
    “Yes, I’m afraid so,” he replied.
    “If there’d been a proper display case — with a lock — maybe those pieces would still be here,” she said angrily. Then she walked away to join the small crowd that was gathering.
    “Did you hear that?” Jessie whispered to Henry.
    “Yes,” her brother answered. “Do you think Ms. Lerner would have taken the pieces herself, just to create one more strike against the firehouse?”
    “Maybe,” said Jessie.
    As more and more people showed up for the rally, Henry passed the petition around. More and more signatures were added to the already full page.
    “Look, there’s Rebecca,” said Violet.
    A woman right next to Rebecca was speaking loudly. “I think it’s just terrible they’re planning to tear down this beautiful old building.”
    “I know. They’ll probably put up something big and modern that will look just awful,” said the man next to her.
    Violet knew that Rebecca must have heard what they were saying. She saw Rebecca sigh heavily, but she couldn’t tell if Rebecca was angry or sad.

    Then Mike stood up on a chair and began speaking. “I want to thank you all for coming today. I especially want to thank James Alden’s grandchildren, Henry Jessie, Violet, and Benny, who came up with the idea for this rally. They did all the wonderful posters you’ve seen around town, as well as this banner.”
    A murmur went through the crowd, and someone shouted, “Great job, kids!”
    Mike went on, “As you know, the town council is thinking of tearing down our firehouse and putting up a new one. I’ve worked here a long time, and I know this place has some problems. But it’s also got a lot of history, and it belongs here.”
    “That’s right!” someone called out.
    Mike continued speaking. “The Aldens have been helping us fix up the building, and I think it looks pretty good. I invite all of you to go inside and take a look. I hope that with your help, we can convince the town council that this building should stay.”
    Mike went on to tell a little bit about the history of the firehouse, back to the days when the pumpers were pulled by horses. Then he asked everyone to please sign the petition. When he finished, everyone cheered.
    “Nice speech,” Grandfather said, patting Mike on the back. The Aldens watched as Ms. Lerner and Rebecca walked away. They did not look happy.
    When the crowd of people had gone home, Steve came over to the Aldens. “The rally was a real success,” he told them. “You all have been working so hard — how about taking a break this afternoon?”
    “Sounds good to me,” said Jessie.
    “How does a game of basketball sound?” Steve suggested. “Benny and me against Violet, Jessie, and Henry.”
    “Can you play basketball in your wheelchair?” Benny asked.
    “You bet,” Steve answered. “I even have a special sports wheelchair that’s more flexible. Come on!”
    As Grandfather left to go home, the children followed Steve eagerly out to the basketball court in back of the firehouse. In no time, Steve and Benny were winning, 10 to 4.
    Just as Benny was running to the basket to take another shot, Violet pointed over his shoulder. “Hey, what’s that over there?” she called out.
    Benny was so startled that he lost control of the ball. It bounced away and rolled onto the grass. “Violet!” Benny said angrily. “Are you trying to make us lose?”
    “No, really,” Violet said, running over to the side. She reached down below a bush and picked up a small blue