Dinner was almost over at the Radley mansion when the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” said Tate. He picked up the phone and talked for a little while. Then he returned to the dinner table. Courtney, Stefan, Harpo, Estella, and Eddie looked up as he sat down.
Tate smiled. “It’s all set. We’re going to go take a look at the boxcar I was talking about tomorrow morning.”
Stefan said, “It sounds like it could be a good set location. Harpo and I will come with you and take a look.”
“Be careful,” Tate’s mother said. “Don’t let any bad luck happen.”
“It won’t,” Tate said. “And even if it does, as long as Monica isn’t there, who will ever know?”
Eddie finished his coffee and stood up. He yawned loudly. “Time for me to get some sleep,” he said. He winked at Tate. “Good luck,” he said.
“Thanks,” said Tate. “You know what? I think tomorrow is going to be my lucky day.”
Tate stood in the doorway of the red boxcar in the Aldens’ backyard.
“Good, good,” said Stefan, peering through his camera. Harpo began to talk softly into his tape recorder.
Courtney stood nearby, her arms folded, watching. Benny, Violet, Watch, and Greta stood next to her.
Suddenly a brown car pulled up the driveway. The car door opened and Monica Tripe jumped out, holding her camera.
“I knew it!” she cried.
“Oh, no!” said Tate. “She’s found us!”
Suddenly the boxcar began to rock back and forth. Tate grabbed the edge of the doorway to catch his balance.
Benny was watching. “Look at the wheels!” he shouted.
A stout rope was tied to the front and back wheels. It was pulled tight. . . .
The old boxcar rocked and jerked.
“Jump, Tate!” Benny shouted.
Monica raised her camera.
Tate leaped out of the boxcar to safety.
Courtney leaped forward—and sprinted past the boxcar and into the woods as Jessie and Henry came out, each holding on to the sleeve of Eddie Hampton.
“Let go of me!” he shouted angrily.
Courtney stepped in front of Eddie. “I don’t think so, Eddie.” She helped Jessie and Henry lead Eddie toward the others.
Monica kept snapping pictures.
“This is outrageous,” Eddie said angrily. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Catching the bad luck man,” said Benny folding his arms.
“Bad luck man? What are you talking about?” Eddie said.
“You’re the one who’s been responsible for all the bad luck that’s happened to me recently,” said Tate.
“That’s not true!” Eddie said.
“If it’s not true, what were you doing in the woods, pulling on that rope and trying to turn the boxcar over?” asked Jessie.
“I got here early . . . and I saw the rope and I went to investigate,” Eddie said weakly. “Anybody could have left that rope there. Stefan. Or Harpo. Or Courtney . . . or Monica. She probably did it, for publicity.”
“What?” squeaked Monica in outrage.
“No,” said Henry. “You did it. We were awake and waiting before you got here this morning. We saw you do it.”
“And you had to be the one who called Monica,” said Jessie. “Because you were the only other person who knew about Tate coming to the boxcar this morning. We trapped you.”
“A trap?” said Eddie. Drops of sweat popped out on his forehead. “You trapped me? Tate, how could you? After all I’ve done for you.”
“You mean after all you’ve done to me,” corrected Tate.
“You set Tate up,” Henry said. “You tried to make him look as if he had a jinx on him.”
“Why?” asked Violet.
Eddie looked around at the angry faces. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead. He said, “All publicity is good publicity, Tate. That’s my motto. You know that.”
“That’s not true,” said Jessie.
“Tate, listen to me,” Eddie pleaded. “I was just doing my job. When all those other accidents happened during your last movie, and Monica did that bad luck jinx story, that’s when I got the idea. I figured if strange things happened during this movie, it would be great publicity. Get everybody talking.. . .”
“So you started the fire in the trash can in front of the ice-cream parlor,” said Violet. “And called Monica and told her that Tate was there.”
“It was mostly smoke,” said Eddie. “Never any danger. But what a great story it would have made! Only you got away before Monica could find you and take your picture.”
“And you switched off the lights in our house when Tate and Courtney came for dinner,” said Jessie.
“I had Monica waiting then, too. But you didn’t come outside like you were supposed to,” said Eddie. “How could I get you any publicity if you wouldn’t even be seen in public?”
“That’s not publicity,” said Tate angrily. “And you’re fired.”
Eddie threw back his shoulders. “Fine,” he snapped. “You’re not the only star in the sky. There are plenty of other stars—bigger, better stars—who’d love to have Eddie Hampton as their agent.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” said Monica. She snapped one last photograph. “Let’s wait and see what happens when they read my exclusive story.”
“This is the biggest car I’ve ever been in,” said Benny.
“It’s a limousine, Benny,” Henry said.
Tate had sent a limousine to take the Boxcar Children to the special showing of his new movie at the Greenfield movie theater. He was ahead of them in another limousine.
The limousines stopped at the curb where a red carpet had been put down. The drivers sprang to open the doors of the cars. A crowd had gathered behind the velvet ropes on either side of the carpet.
“What do we do now?” asked Violet.
“Smile and wave like a movie star,” said Jessie.
So they did.
The lights in the Greenfield movie theater came on as the final credits of the movie began to roll. The audience began to applaud.
“That was the best movie I ever saw,” Violet said to Jessie.
“It was exciting,” Jessie said.
“And exciting to be in it, too,” Henry pointed out.
It was true. Benny, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Watch had all been in Tate’s new movie. They had been extras, standing in the crowd outside the bank as the robbers ran away.
“It’s so cool,” said Jessie. “Maybe someday I’ll be a movie director.”
“I’m going to be a star,” said Benny. He paused, and then added, “Just like the boxcar.” He pointed up on the screen.
There, in splendid color, was their boxcar, with the credits rolling in front of it.
Then Jessie gasped, “Look!”
Just before the screen went blank, the Aldens saw the words:
THE MAKERS OF THIS MOVIE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE PEOPLE OF GREENFIELD FOR ALL THEIR HELP—ESPECIALLY HENRY, JESSIE, VIOLET, BENNY, AND, OF COURSE, WATCH. |