Haunted Cabin Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

they saw Cap in his white nightshirt leaning on his cane in the clearing. Then the awful whistle sounded from the direction of the orchard. It was dark in the shadow of the barn, but they could see a bulky shadow leaping away into the trees.
    Violet gasped. “There it is again. That’s the same thing I saw running away when I was in the henhouse.”
    â€œThe dwarf,” Benny whispered. As they spoke, Cap turned and walked back toward the cabin.
    â€œBut now we do know something for sure,” Henry said. “There have to be at least two people. One person stands guard and whistles to the other one as a warning.”
    â€œLet’s go figure out what to do,” Jessie said, shivering. “I can’t believe that they’ll dare come back tonight.”

CHAPTER 10
    Henry’s Plan
    T hat night they talked a long time. They went over their plan until each of them knew exactly what to do. They talked so late that Thursday morning came too fast.
    Again the sky was dark and overcast. As they sat down for breakfast, Cap said, “Not much of a night for sleeping, was it?”
    Henry was flipping golden brown pancakes in an iron skillet. Violet carried them to the table on warmed plates.
    â€œDid you have trouble sleeping?” Benny asked Cap.
    â€œSome,” he said. “How about you?”
    â€œWhen I did sleep, I did it good,” Benny told him.
    â€œThen nobody heard any animals crashing around or strange cries or anything?” Cap asked.
    Violet put her fork down and looked up at him. “Well … ” she began.
    Jessie interrupted her quietly. “Come on, Violet, let’s do the dishes since Henry cooked.”
    â€œI felt terrible at breakfast,” Violet told Jessie. “Ever since we’ve been here, we’ve done nothing but keep secrets from Cap. It makes me feel dishonest.”
    Jessie nodded. “I feel the same way, but it’s almost over. If we can catch the people who are making him so nervous, keeping secrets from him will be worth it.”
    When the sun still hadn’t come out by afternoon, Cap shook his head. “At this rate, you won’t be able to get to town on Pilot tomorrow, either. I don’t know what we’re going to feed your grandfather on Saturday.”
    â€œWe’ll do fine if we can get into the garden tomorrow,” Violet said. “But it’s probably pure mud out there now.”
    â€œWorse comes to worse, I can tell you how to build bridges into the garden,” Cap told her.
    â€œGrandfather will be able to get here without building bridges, won’t he?” Benny asked Cap with a worried look.
    The old man nodded. “He’ll have no problem in one of those big cars he always rents. It’s not like having a horse loaded with four kids and a bunch of groceries.” He glanced around. “Is that Henry back out at the barn again? Pilot’s going to be lonesome when that boy leaves.”
    Jessie knew what Henry was doing out there with Pilot. He was fixing the barn lights so that all of them could be turned on with a single switch just inside Pilot’s stall. She was really proud of the plan they had worked out. And they had all gone over it so many times the night before that she was positive it would work.
    Every single one of them had a different job. Jessie herself would be the lookout in the hayloft. She would have the flashlight. The minute she saw anyone creeping into the barn, she would wink the flashlight three times out of the window of the loft.
    Benny was to stay on the back porch and keep watching to see her signal from the hayloft window. The minute he saw Jessie flash the light three times, he would switch on the floodlight and make the whole barnyard as bright as day.
    Violet would be standing inside the barn, just inside Pilot’s stall where she could reach the switch Henry had fixed. When she saw the lights go on outside, she would turn on