The Canoe Trip Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

of these coins are so pretty,” Violet exclaimed. She held up a silver coin with an oak tree engraved on it. “This one is dated 1652.” She laid the coin on a rock.
    â€œMost of them seem to be early American colonial coins,” Aunt Jane said. She fingered a large gold piece from the 1700s with an eagle on it.
    â€œLook at this one!” Henry almost shouted. He held up a heavy gold coin. It had an engraving of a sunrise coming up over mountains on one side. On the back was an eagle with a shield and the date—1787.
    â€œDo you know what that is?” A familiar voice spoke behind them. Without waiting for an answer, the voice continued. “It’s a famous gold doubloon. Some collectors would do anything to get their hands on it.”
    The Aldens turned to find Rob staring at the coins laid out on the rock.

CHAPTER 9
    Rob’s Story
    â€œI guess I owe you an explanation,” Rob said. He put his walking stick down and sat by the Aldens in the long grass.
    â€œYou’ve just found one of the most valuable private collections of early American coins in the country,” he continued.
    â€œWas it stolen about a year ago?” Henry asked, remembering the conversation in the pizzeria.
    â€œYes.” Rob nodded. “From Mr. Orville Withington. He hired me as a private detective to try to find it.”
    â€œSo you’re not a burglar?” Benny sounded very relieved.
    â€œBenny,” Jessie groaned.
    Rob chuckled. “No, Benny, I’m not, but I don’t blame you for being suspicious of me.” He sighed. “You see,” he explained, “I really couldn’t tell anyone my identity.”
    â€œWhat made you think the coins would be hidden here in the woods?” Aunt Jane asked.
    â€œWell, it was a hunch, really,” Rob answered. “To answer that question, I think I’d better start at the beginning.”
    Aunt Jane and the Aldens nodded and waited, a bit impatiently, for him to go on. Rob leaned against the big granite boulder and continued his story.
    â€œYou see, Mr. Withington is a very wealthy and also a very kind man. I always thought that some of the people who worked for him took advantage of his good nature.”
    â€œYou think someone who worked for him took the coins?” Henry asked.
    â€œYes,” Rob answered. “Even the police strongly believed it was an inside job, and there were a number of possibilities. Mr.Withington employed a cook, a maid, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a personal secretary, several gardeners, and an illustrator.”
    â€œAn illustrator?” Violet asked.
    â€œYes, she was doing drawings of the coins to be published in a book. The collection was stolen before she could finish.”
    â€œWho did Mr. Withington suspect?” Jessie wondered.
    â€œWell, he didn’t really suspect anyone at first. He’s very trusting,” Rob said. “But the police thought the robbery must have been done by someone who knew Mr. Withington’s habits extremely well. Nothing but the coins were taken, and nothing else in the house was disturbed.
    â€œWhen Mr. Withington hired me,” Rob went on, “I checked up on all the people who worked for him. The illustrator, the chauffeur, and two of the gardeners had been with him less than a year. All the others have worked for him for a very long time and are like his family.”
    â€œLike Mrs. McGregor is to us,” Bennywhispered to Jessie. She nodded at her brother.
    Rob cleared his throat. “Right after the robbery, the illustrator left rather suddenly. At first, Mr. Withington thought it was because there was no more work for her.”
    â€œDo you know anything about her?” Violet asked.
    â€œMr. Withington showed me a picture of her, since I couldn’t interview her as I had the others. Her name was Eliza Fallon. She looked like Angela, but in her picture, she had shorter hair.”
    â€œYou think