Boxcar Children 61 - Growling Bear Mystery Read Online Free

brother and sisters. “The Old Faithful Inn is the next turn.”
    “Hey, look!” Benny cried. “There’s the Old Faithful geyser.”
    Sure enough, off in the distance, a tower of steam shot through the air. The geyser seemed nearly as tall as the huge Old Faithful Inn several hundred yards away.
    “Can you drive faster, Grandfather?” Benny asked. “I want to see the geyser up close.”
    Mr. Alden laughed. “Not to worry. Old Faithful goes off about every seventy minutes or so around the clock. Our rooms overlook the geyser. You’ll see it dozens of times during our stay.”
    In five minutes the geyser had disappeared, but the Old Faithful Inn had not. The log building, several stories high, with porches halfway around, stood directly in front of the Aldens.
    “Wow!” Henry said. “The Old Faithful Inn is some log cabin!”
    And so it was. When the Aldens entered the inn’s huge lobby with their luggage, they couldn’t stop looking up, down, and all around. The lobby was buzzing with guests enjoying the amazing log room with its stone fireplace, nearly three stories high. Young children ran around the balconies that overlooked the lobby. Older people sat on oversized log chairs and couches and enjoyed the view below.
    After registering, Mr. Alden led his grandchildren up two flights of a staircase made of twisted logs several feet thick. “Your room is on the top floor.”
    “Wow!” Benny said when they reached the third-floor balcony. “We can see everything and everybody from this balcony. This is a good spying place.”
    Mr. Alden laughed. “I hope you don’t have to do any spying this vacation. You’ve already filled your schedule with your jobs here.”
    Benny looked over the balcony railing. “Hey isn’t that the man we saw at Oz’s store? The one who wanted old maps? What’s he doing straightening chairs in front of the fireplace?”
    The other children came over for a look. Sure enough, down below was the very same young man the children had seen a few hours before.
    “He’s wearing a uniform,” Jessie noticed. “He must work here.”
    Violet squinted down at the young man. “I wonder if we’ll be working with him.”
    Mr. Alden checked his watch. “You’ll soon find out. Oz said you should meet with Mrs. Crabtree in about half an hour. You kids put your bags in your room, and I’ll put mine into my room. Then we can stroll around the inn.”

    When they met in the hallway, Henry pointed out a window.
    “Hey, people are lining up out there for the geyser,” he said. “I guess it’s like a movie or a show.”
    “Only no tickets,” Benny said.
    Mr. Alden headed down the stairs. “I’m going down to the Activities Desk to check on some overnight fishing trips. Oz mentioned a tour bus that leaves every morning for the other side of the park. The fishing is supposed to be pretty good up that way. Just one small reminder. You’ll have to be extra quiet in your room. These old wooden walls are pretty thin—no insulation. You can hear every little sound.”
    “Goody!” Benny said. “I like that. But don’t worry, Grandfather, I’ll only be noisy in the woods to keep the bears away.”

CHAPTER 4
Something Is Missing
    T he Aldens were supposed to start unpacking, but that would just have to wait. Old Faithful, the most famous geyser in the world, was about to perform again.
    “Look at all the people hurrying so they won’t miss it,” Violet said, leaning against the windowsill.
    Benny knelt on a chair to get a better view. “Can we go outside and see it up close?”
    “Sure thing,” Henry said.
    In no time, the Aldens joined the stream of tourists heading for the geyser. They found a place at the edge of the walkway that circled the geyser area.
    “Wow!” Benny said a few seconds later when a huge plume of steam rose in the air.
    A whooshing sound, like the biggest hot shower in the world, muffled the crowd’s cheering and clapping. Then, a few minutes later, everyone