"BC012 - Houseboat Mystery - Warner, Gertrude Chandler" - читать интересную книгу автора (Warner Gertrude)

Gertrude Chandler Warner: Houseboat Mystery (Boxcar Children #12)


CHAPTER 1
Houseboat for Rent


What a hot day in July! The four Alden children were sitting under the trees with their grandfather. This was the coolest place they could find.
"Oh, it's so hot!" said Benny Alden. "Let's go for a ride."
"Good!" said Grandfather Alden, looking at his four grandchildren. He stood up. "I was hoping somebody would have a good idea. HenryЧ"
But Henry, who was older than Benny, had gone. They could hear him in the garage getting out the station wagon.
Jessie wiped her face with a large handkerchief. "Let's ride until it gets cooler," she said. "The weather report says this heat is going to last for a week."
The Aldens' dog, Watch, wagged his tail as he lay at Jessie's feet. "Yes, Watch, you can go, too," Jessie said.
Watch gave a bark and trotted along with the family. They all walked across the grass to the drive. Violet put her arm through her grandfather's and said, "This family has the best ideas. Don't you think so, Grandfather?"
"Yes, indeed," Mr. Alden replied as he smiled at his younger granddaughter. "Somebody always thinks of something to do when we need it."
"It's funny," said Jessie. "Things always seem to happen to this family when we don't expect them. I was thinking I'd never feel cool again. But we will be cooler just as soon as the car is moving."
Henry stopped the car in the driveway. The children, Grandfather, and Watch all got in and away they went. Every window was open as they rode along a straight highway.
Henry said, "Benny, I'm glad you thought of this. I feel better already."
The Aldens rode for over an hour. Then Henry saw a sign at the left saying River Road. Henry turned left. Soon he was driving along a small river.
"Good," said Benny. "This is even cooler. And I don't think we've ever been here before."
Jessie said, "You don't have to drive so fast, Henry. My hair is blowing out straight."
It was a good thing that Henry slowed down. If he had not, the Alden family might have missed an exciting adventure. But no one guessed it then.
The pretty little river flowed slowly along. There were cool green banks and trees on both sides. All at once Henry slowed down still more.
"I hear whistling," he said. The family listened. They could hear it, too, down by the river.
Suddenly they came to a short side road that led to the river itself. Henry stopped the car, and they all looked down the side road.
"What in the world is that thing?" asked Benny. "Is it a boat?" He pointed to a little house that seemed to be sitting in the water.
"It's a houseboat, I do believe!" said Mr. Alden. "I haven't seen one for years and years."
"Let's drive down," said Henry. "We can see what's going on. My, this is a rough road! Lucky for me it is so short." Henry drove slowly down the rough side road to the edge of the river.
They all looked at the little house. It had four windows and two ladders which led to the roof. At one end was a blue awning that covered the front deck. A railing ran all the way around the boat. Another railing ran around the roof. On the lower deck of the houseboat a man was sitting in a chair, whistling.
"Hello, there!" he called. "Want to see the houseboat? My name is Rivers."
The family got out of the car and went down to see the strange man and the strange boat. The houseboat was anchored at a small dock, and also tied to the dock with a rope.
Benny looked at the dark blue letters on top of the boat. "Its name is The Blue Heron," he said. "How did you happen to name it that?"
"I didn't," said Mr. Rivers. "The couple who just left named it that. You see, the people who rent this boat can name it anything they like. Come on board, and I'll show you. Just step from the dock over here." He took off a chain to make an opening in the railing.
Watch began to whine. "Never mind, Watch," said Jessie. "You don't have to come. You just sit here and wait."
The Aldens stepped on board the houseboat, leaving Watch sitting on the dock.
Mr. Rivers took down a rack that was fastened against the wall.
"Here are all the letters of the alphabet," he said. "People who rent the boat pick out the letters and spell any name they like. You'd laugh at some of the names this boat has had. One couple named it Rock and Roll. Another named it Moon Rocket. And another tired family named it The All Inn."
Benny laughed. "It would be fun to name a boat," he said. "It could even be a different name every day. Now the first day we could name it for Grandfather, The James H. Alden. The next day it could be The Henry James Alden, then The Jessie Alden, and so on."
Everybody laughed. Mr. Rivers said, "I guess you're the one in the family with grand ideas. Comical, I'd say."
"Benny talks as if we were really going to rent your houseboat, Mr. Rivers," said Jessie. "And it really would be fun. There are chairs on the deck and everything. I suppose you can sit here under the awning and stay out of the hot sun."
Mr. Rivers smiled. He pointed to the flat roof of the houseboat. "Yes, and if you want to get tanned, just climb up the ladder and lie down in the sun."
Violet said, "Just look at the pretty white curtains in the windows. They make it look like a big doll-house."
Mr. Alden had been looking at the houseboat, too, and now he looked at Mr. Rivers. He seemed to like what he saw. "Do you own this boat? " he asked.
"Yes, I do," Mr. Rivers answered. "I rent this boat by the week. Everybody seems to like it. The last family went today, and they were very sorry to go. I have just cleaned it all up for the next customer. Why don't you look around?''
"Oh, let's look at it, Grandfather," said Jessie.
"It's made like a flatboat," said Henry. He was looking down over the railing into the water. "It's like a raft. I'm sure it can't go very fast."
"That's right," said Mr. Rivers. "In fact, it just floats down the river all by itself. If you want to land, you can use those two poles to push it ashore. Coming back up the river, you have to use the motor on the back."
Grandfather said, "Well, this river seems to be very slow. I must say that living here would be a nice quiet rest. Of course, these grandchildren of mine are all tired out by a whole year in school. They would just love to do nothing."
The Aldens looked at their grandfather. They knew he was joking because no Alden ever liked to do nothing.
"Let's go inside," said Jessie.