Mystery of the Runaway Ghost by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

that.”
    Henry shrugged. “There’s no way of knowing.”
    “Do you think Lottie’s up to something?” Benny wondered.
    “Yes,” Jessie answered with a quick nod. “We just don’t know what.”
    “You can’t be sure of that, Jessie.” Violet didn’t like to think the young artist would do anything wrong. “Rally Jensen’s an art collector. For all we know, Lottie might be planning to show him some of her art before he leaves town.”
    Jessie turned to her sister. “But, Violet, that doesn’t explain her reaction. Whatever that man was whispering, it seemed to really upset her.”
    “It is suspicious,” Violet admitted. “But I don’t think we should jump to any conclusions.”
    “I suppose you’re right,” Jessie said, backing down a little. Violet had a point. It was one thing to suspect somebody, it was another thing to have proof. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.
    “I’m not sure I trust Lottie,” Henry said. “I think we should keep an eye on her for a while.” The others agreed.
    Benny’s face suddenly broke into a grin as four small black dogs came toward them. A teenage boy in a green-and-yellow baseball cap was holding onto their leashes.

    “You sure are lucky to have four dogs!” Benny told the teenager.
    “They’re not mine,” the boy answered. “I just walk them for a neighbor.”
    “Oh, too bad,” Benny said, as one of the puppies licked his hand.
    The teenager shrugged. “I’m a dogwalker. That’s what I do for the summer.”
    “Cool job,” said Henry.
    “Yeah, I guess it’s all right.” He turned to Benny. “You can pet them if you want.”
    “Thanks!” Benny was all smiles as he dropped to the ground. The dogs began to wag their tails as he scratched them behind the ears.
    “We have a little dog at home,” Violet told the boy shyly. “His name’s Watch.”
    The teenager wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Well, I’d better go. I have to take the dogs to the park.” Then he hurried away.
    “I’m going to be a dogwalker when I grow up,” Benny announced, as he ran along beside Henry. “And a detective.”
    “You’re already a dogwalker, Benny,” Violet pointed out. “We’re always taking Watch for walks.”
    “And you’re a pretty good detective already,” Jessie reminded her little brother.
    Violet frowned in thought. “I just wonder if we’ll solve the case we’re on now.”
    “It’s going to be much harder than we thought,” admitted Jessie.
    Henry nodded as he turned to face Jessie. “A tree house called Little St. Ives isn’t much to go on.”
    They were deep in thought when Benny began to chant, “When we were going to Shadowbox, we met a boy and four dogs out for a walk. How many were going to Shadowbox?”
    They all laughed at their little brother’s funny riddle.
    Benny added everything up on his fingers. “The four of us … plus the boy … plus four puppies. That makes nine going to Shadowbox!”
    “Not quite, Benny.” Henry smiled and shook his head. “Only the four of us are going to Shadowbox. The boy and the dogs are going the other way.”
    “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” said Benny.
    Jessie suddenly snapped her fingers. “That’s it!”
    Henry turned and gave Jessie a confused look. “What’s it?”
    “I know how many were going to St. Ives!”
    “We already figured that out,” Benny reminded her.
    “Well, I’m pretty sure we got it wrong,” Jessie said excitedly. “Remember how the riddle goes?” She began to recite, “ When I was going to St. Ives/ I met a man with seven wives. ” She paused for a moment to let them think about it. “Don’t you see?” she said at last. “What if the man and his wives — and their sacks and cats and kits — were all going in the opposite direction?”
    “Then only the person who met them is going to St. Ives!” cried Benny.
    “Exactly!” said Jessie. “And that means, the answer to the riddle is one .”
    Henry