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05 - The Box Car Children - Gertrude Warner · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter five, Housekeeping. The next morning, Jess was up before
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  Speaker 1: the others, as was fitting for a little housekeeper. That is,
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  Speaker 1: she was the first, if we except the dog, who
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  Speaker 1: had opened one eye instantly every time his little mistress
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  Speaker 1: stirred in her sleep. He sat watching gravely in the
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  Speaker 1: door of the car. As Jess descended to get breakfast.
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  Speaker 1: She walked from the little waterfall quite a distance down
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  Speaker 1: the brook, looking at it with critical eyes. This will
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  Speaker 1: be the well, she said to herself, regarding a small
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  Speaker 1: but deep and quiet basin just below the falls. Below
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  Speaker 1: that she found a larger basin lined with gravel, with
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  Speaker 1: flat stones surrounding it. This will be the wash tub,
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  Speaker 1: she decided, And now I must go back to the refrigerator.
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  Speaker 1: This was the strangest spot of all, for behind the
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  Speaker 1: little waterfall was a small, quiet pool in which Jess
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  Speaker 1: had set the milk bottles the night before. Not a
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  Speaker 1: drop of water could get in, but all night long
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  Speaker 1: the cool running water had surrounded the bottles. Now they
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  Speaker 1: were fairly icy to the touch. Jess smiled as she
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  Speaker 1: drew them out. Is it good, asked Benny's voice. There
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  Speaker 1: he sat in the door of the car, swinging his
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  Speaker 1: legs his arm around the shaggy dog. It's delicious, declared Jess,
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  Speaker 1: cold as ice. She climbed up beside him as she spoke,
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  Speaker 1: bringing the breakfast with her. The other two children sat
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  Speaker 1: up and looked at it. To day, Jess began, Henry,
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  Speaker 1: I will go back to town and try to get
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  Speaker 1: a job mowing lawns or something. Then we can afford
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  Speaker 1: to have something besides milk for breakfast. Milk suited Benny
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  Speaker 1: very well, however, so the older children allowed him to
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  Speaker 1: drink rather more than his share. Henry did not waste
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  Speaker 1: any time talking. He brushed his hair as well as
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  Speaker 1: he could without a brush, rolled down his sleeves, and
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  Speaker 1: started for town with a second dollar. Glad you've got
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  Speaker 1: a dog, Jess, he called back as he waved his
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  Speaker 1: straw hat. The children watched him disappear around the curve
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  Speaker 1: and then turned to Jess expectantly. They were not mistaken.
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  Speaker 1: Jess had a plan, we'll explore, she began mysteriously. We'll
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  Speaker 1: begin here at the car and hunt all over these
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  Speaker 1: woods until we find a dump. What's a dump, inquired Benny. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: Benny answered Violet, you know what a dump is. All
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  Speaker 1: old bottles and papers, and broken dishes and wheels, asked
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  Speaker 1: Benny interestedly, Will there be any old wheels? Yes, maybe,
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  Speaker 1: assented Violet. But cups, Benny, think of drinking milk out
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  Speaker 1: of a cup again? Oh? Yes, said Benny politely, but
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  Speaker 1: it was clear that his mind was centered on wheels
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  Speaker 1: rather than cups. The explorer parties started slowly down the
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  Speaker 1: rusty track, with the dog hopping happily on three legs.
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  Speaker 1: The fourth paw nicely bandaged with Jess's handkerchief he held
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  Speaker 1: up out of harm's way. I think this is a
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  Speaker 1: spur track, said Jess. They built it in here so
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  Speaker 1: they could load wood on the cars, and then when
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  Speaker 1: they had cut all the wood, they didn't need the
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  Speaker 1: track any more. This explanation seemed very likely, for here
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  Speaker 1: and there were stumps of trees and decaying chips. Violet
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  Speaker 1: took note of these chips and remembered them some days later.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, both girls kept their eyes open and pointed
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  Speaker 1: out things of interest to each other. Remember these logs, Violet,
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  Speaker 1: if we should ever need any, said Jess, pointing BlackBerry blossoms,
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  Speaker 1: returned Violet, briefly, turning one over gently with her foot.
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  Speaker 1: Big flat stones, remarked Jess later on, as they came
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  Speaker 1: upon a great heap of them. Here the track came
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  Speaker 1: out into the open sunshine, and broken pieces of rail
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  Speaker 1: showed clearly where it had joined the main track at
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  Speaker 1: some time in the past. And here, from the top
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  Speaker 1: of the wooded hill, the children could plainly see the
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  Speaker 1: city in the valley. They walked along the track, picking
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  Speaker 1: out a church steeple here and there, forgetting for a
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  Speaker 1: moment the object of their search. There's a wheel, Benny
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  Speaker 1: cried triumphantly from behind. The girls looked down, and with
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  Speaker 1: a glad cry of surprise, Jess recognized a dump at
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  Speaker 1: the foot of the hill. They found it not composed
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  Speaker 1: entirely of ashes into tin cans, either, although both of
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  Speaker 1: these were there in great profusion. It was a royal dump,
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  Speaker 1: containing both cups and wheels. Oh, Benny, cried Jess, if
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  Speaker 1: it hadn't been for you. She hugged him wheel and all,
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  Speaker 1: and began turning over the rubbish with great delight. Here's
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  Speaker 1: a white pit, Jess, Violet called, holding up a perfect
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  Speaker 1: specimen with a tiny chip in its nose. Here's a
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  Speaker 1: big white cup, said Jess, delightedly, laying it aside. Want
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  Speaker 1: a teapot, Jesse inquired Benny, offering her an enormous blue
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  Speaker 1: enameled affair without a handle. Yes, indeed, cried Jess, we
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  Speaker 1: can use that for water. I've found two cups and
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  Speaker 1: a bowl already, and Violet, we ought to be looking
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  Speaker 1: for spoons too, Violet pointed, without speaking to her little
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  Speaker 1: pile of treasures, there were five iron spoons covered with rust. Wonderful,
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  Speaker 1: pronounced Jess with rapture. Indeed, it is doubtful if collectors
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  Speaker 1: of rare and beautiful bits of porcelain ever enjoyed a
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  Speaker 1: search as much as did these adventurers. In the dump heap.
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  Speaker 1: Benny actually found four wheels exactly alike, probably from the
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  Speaker 1: same cart, and insisted upon carrying them back. To please him,
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  Speaker 1: Jess allowed him to add them to the growing pile.
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  Speaker 1: Here's a big iron kettle, observed Violet. But we won't
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  Speaker 1: really cook with a fire, will we. Jess. We'll take
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  Speaker 1: it back, though, replied Jess with a knowing look. We
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  Speaker 1: can pile lots of dishes in it. They could and did,
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  Speaker 1: but not until after Benny had discovered his beloved pink cup.
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  Speaker 1: It was a tea party cup of bright rose color
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  Speaker 1: with a wreath of gorgeous roses on it, and a
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  Speaker 1: little shepherdess giving her lamb a drink from a pale
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  Speaker 1: blue brook. It had a perfectly good handle, gold into
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  Speaker 1: the bargain. Its only flaw was a dangerous crack through
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  Speaker 1: the lamb's nose and front feet. Jess made a cushion
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  Speaker 1: for it out of grass and laid it on top
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  Speaker 1: of the kettle full of treasures. All the things, even
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  Speaker 1: the wheels, were laid on a wide board, which the
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  Speaker 1: two girls carried between them. Can you imagine the dish
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  Speaker 1: washing when the gay party returned to the freight car.
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  Speaker 1: Children do not usually care for dish washing, but never
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  Speaker 1: did a little boy hand dishes to his sister so
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  Speaker 1: carefully as Benny did. On their hands and knees. Beside
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  Speaker 1: the clear, cool, little washtub, the three children soaped and
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  Speaker 1: rinsed and dried their precious store of dishes. Jess scoured
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  Speaker 1: the rust from the spoons with sand. There, she said,
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  Speaker 1: drying the last polished spoon. The children sat back and
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  Speaker 1: looked admiringly at their own handiwork, But they did not
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  Speaker 1: look too long. There was too much to be done.
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  Speaker 1: Jess exclaimed, Violet, I'll tell you. Violet seldom spoke so excitedly.
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  Speaker 1: Even Benny turned around and looked at her. Come and
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  Speaker 1: see what I noticed inside the car last night. Both
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  Speaker 1: children followed her and peered in at the door. See
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  Speaker 1: on the wall right over on the other door, Jess. Now,
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  Speaker 1: all Jess could see there were two thick chunks of
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  Speaker 1: wood nailed securely to the closed door opposite the open one.
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  Speaker 1: But she whirled around and around as fast as she could,
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  Speaker 1: clapping her hands. When she could get her breath, however,
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  Speaker 1: she skipped over to the board they had carried, dusted
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  Speaker 1: it nicely, and laid it carefully across the two wooden projections.
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  Speaker 1: It was a perfect shelf there, said Jess. The children
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  Speaker 1: could hardly wait to arrange the shining new dishes on
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  Speaker 1: the shelf. Violet quietly gathered some feathery white flowers, a
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  Speaker 1: daisy or two, and some maidenhair ferns, which she arranged
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  Speaker 1: in a glass face filled with water from the well.
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  Speaker 1: This she put in the middle, with the broken edge
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  Speaker 1: hidden there, said Jess. You said there three times, Jessie, remarked.
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  Speaker 1: Benny contentedly, So I did, replied, Jess laughing, but I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to say it again. She pointed and said, there,
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  Speaker 1: Henry was coming up the path end of chapter five,