The Mystery of the Alligator Swamp by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

we talked to him at the museum.”
    “Here,” said Jessie. She stepped to one side of the road and pushed the bushes aside. Ahead lay a faint path leading into the shadows of the swamp. The path looked firm enough, but dark water surrounded it.
    They stared for a moment. Then Henry said, “I’ll go first. Jessie, you bring up the rear. Violet, Benny, you stay in the middle. Everybody watch out for snakes.”
    “And alligators,” said Violet in a small voice.
    “And ghosts!” Benny said happily.
    They began to walk. They stopped talking. Henry broke off a stick and used it to test the trail ahead of them.
    A turtle plopped off a nearby log into the water as they passed, making them all jump. But they didn’t see any snakes, alligators, or ghosts.
    Gradually the path grew wider and there was less water. More light seemed to shine through the branches above them.
    Then suddenly they saw a little cabin standing in a clearing in the middle of the swamp.
    “Oh!” said Violet in surprise. Somehow this wasn’t what she had expected to find at all.
    Benny pushed past Henry and walked boldly into the clearing.
    “Benny, wait,” said Jessie. But Benny was already testing the front door of the cabin. It wasn’t locked. He pushed it open and stepped inside.
    “Wow!” he said.
    His brother and sisters were right behind him. They all stopped to stare. Light streamed through skylights in the roof of the tiny cabin. Along one wall, a table made of a wide, thick board on two sawhorses held all kinds of paint and painting tools. Canvases were propped all around the other walls and under the table. A very large canvas covered with a cloth stood on an easel in the center of the floor.
    “This must be Beau’s art studio!” exclaimed Violet.

    Walking forward, Jessie raised a corner of the cloth that covered the painting. She smiled a little. “I think I’ve found one of the surprises Beau is planning to give Billie for her birthday,” she said.
    They crowded around to peer at the painting. It was beautiful. It showed someone fishing in an old pirogue in a bayou at the first light of dawn. Brighter than the sun was the hair of the person fishing.
    “That’s a painting of Billie in her boat,” said Benny. “It looks just like her.”
    “It’s amazing,” said Henry. “Billie’s going to love it.”
    Letting the cloth drop back over the painting, Jessie said, “Well, we’ve solved one little piece of the puzzle. But we still haven’t solved the mystery.”
    “Let’s go to Swampwater’s museum and look for more clues,” Benny said. He didn’t really think they’d find more clues, but he wanted to see the museum.
    “Okay,” said Henry. “Maybe we can find out where Rose is. That might be a clue.”
    “Or it might just be her day off,” said Jessie.
    “Let’s go,” said Benny, tugging at Henry’s sleeve.
    At the museum, they found Swampwater — and Gaston. Gaston looked angry.
    “Hi,” said Jessie. “We brought Benny to see the museum. He didn’t come yesterday because he was taking a nap.”
    “I wasn’t taking a nap. I was just resting my eyes,” Benny corrected her.
    “Step right on in. I’ll be with you in a moment,” said Swampwater.
    “No, no, don’t let me keep you,” said Gaston crossly.
    “Why don’t you join me, Gaston? It’s cool in the museum. It would cool you off,” said Swampwater.
    “I don’t want to be cooled off!” snapped Gaston. “I’m angry, and with good reason!”
    “Why?” asked Benny.
    “My binoculars. My brand-new binoculars — gone!” he almost shouted.
    “You lost them?” asked Violet.
    “I did not! They were stolen,” he fumed. “Stolen!”
    “How could they be stolen?” asked Swampwater. “You never take them off. Billie and I think you might sleep with them on.”
    He was teasing, but Gaston didn’t think it was funny. He gave Swampwater a sour look and said, “I took them off and put them in their box last night, in the car. It was after