The Boxcar Children got up early the next morning, ate a big pancake breakfast, and hurried out to the boxcar to begin work. They were going to repaint the whole outside of the boxcar a beautiful bright red.
“First we need to sand the floors and the walls and all the rough spots,” said Henry. “We can sand off the old paint and put new paint on.”
“That sounds like a lot of work,” said Benny. Benny liked to work hard.
“It will be a lot of work, Benny. But think of how good our boxcar will look,” said Violet.
The Aldens went to work on the boxcar while Watch slept in the sun on the old stump. They hadn’t been working long, however, before they had visitors. It was Mr. Chessy and Grandfather!
“But we didn’t call you yet!” exclaimed Benny in surprise as Mr. Chessy walked across the grass toward them.
“After I saw you yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking about the boxcar,” said Mr. Chessy. He turned to Mr. Alden. “So I took the matter to Mr. Alden. I . . . ah . . . ah . . . achoo!” He sneezed, looked at Watch and frowned. Then he went on. “As I hoped, your grandfather understood the generosity of my offer. And that I was the one who would give such a fine boxcar a proper home.”
The Aldens were puzzled.
Mr. Chessy held up his hand. “In short, I’ve made my offer to your grandfather. I knew he would see things my way.”
The children were shocked. Had Grandfather sold their boxcar? Before they could speak, Mr. Alden said, “Yes. Mr. Chessy came to me with a very generous offer. I suggested we walk out here to tell you.”
Mr. Alden turned to Mr. Chessy. “But, the boxcar belongs to my grandchildren. If they don’t want to sell it, then it’s fine with me.”
“Hooray for Grandfather!” Benny burst out.
Mr. Chessy said, “What! I don’t believe this! You are going to regret your decision, mark my words! I don’t give up so easily. I’ll be back!”
Then he stomped away just as he had the last time he’d visited.
“I guess he won’t be telling us about the history of the boxcar,” Henry said.
Grandfather shook his head. But he didn’t say anything. Instead he inspected the work that everyone had done and admired it. Then he went back into the house.
“What a strange man Mr. Chessy is,” said Violet. “We would never sell our boxcar. Why can’t he understand that?”
“Well, at least it didn’t do him any good to try to be sneaky,” said Jessie.
“I’m glad,” said Benny. “Because I want to ride on it in the parade.”
“Then we’d better get back to work,” said Henry.
The children worked all morning. Just when it was time to take a break, they heard a familiar bell ringing from the street.
“It’s Sam! Sam and Susie!” said Benny excitedly. He put down his sandpaper and ran toward the sound.
During the warm weather, Sam and his Clydesdale horse, Susie, drove around Greenfield and sold ice cream and soda and treats from the wagon. Business was so good that during the winter, Susie got to rest in the warm barn while Sam made beautiful furniture that people ordered.
The other three Aldens followed Benny. Sure enough, Sam stood there beside his big old wagon. Susie was hitched to the front. Susie, who was big and brown with a golden mane and tail, a white star on her forehead, and one white front foot, lowered her head. She and Watch were sniffing noses.
Sam’s old wagon was more like a house on wheels. “It’s not as fast or fancy as a trailer or a truck,” Sam liked to say, “but it gets me there just the same.”
“You should have your wagon in the parade,” Benny was saying as Henry, Jessie, and Violet came up.
“The Greenfield Founders’ Day Parade?” asked Sam. “Now that’s an idea. But if I’m not in the parade, you can be sure Susie and I will be there, selling hot chocolate and sodas and maybe even some ice cream if it’s not too cold.”
“It’s not too cold for ice cream today, is it?” asked Benny.
“No,” said Jessie. “We can have some. But just a little. It’s almost time for lunch.”
“I hope our boxcar is as nice as your wagon when we have finished fixing it up for the parade,” Henry said.
“I’m sure it will be,” said Sam, who had seen the Aldens’ boxcar before. “If I didn’t have this wagon, Susie and I would be proud to drive such a fine boxcar!”
“It’s a beautiful wagon,” said Violet softly.
She admired the wagon very much. A little table folded out of one wall and a little bed out of the other.
The Aldens paid Sam for their ice cream and went back to work. They worked on the boxcar right up through lunch. After lunch they were ready to begin painting.
They painted until dinnertime — and until they ran out of paint.
“We’ll get some more tomorrow,” said Henry. “And I think we should get some polish for the handles and the hinges on the door of the boxcar.”
“It looks great,” said Jessie. “But it is going to look even better!”
Tired and pleased with all the work they’d done, the Aldens went in for dinner. They talked about Sam and Susie, and about Mr. Chessy.
“Sam is nice,” said Violet. “But I don’t like Mr. Chessy.”
“Well, he won’t get our boxcar,” said Jessie. “There’s nobody in the world that could get our boxcar, so don’t worry, Violet!” |