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

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  Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen, A United Family. Mister Cordyce had been planning
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  Speaker 1: this day for more than a week. He had sent
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  Speaker 1: his most trusted foreman to his own beautiful home to
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  Speaker 1: superintend matters. There the house was being remodeled entirely after
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  Speaker 1: mister Cordyce's own plans, and everywhere were carpenters, painters, and decorators.
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  Speaker 1: On the very day that mister Cordyce received word that
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  Speaker 1: it was finished, he suggested the drive. Do you live
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  Speaker 1: all alone? Grandfather asked Benny. All alone, answered mister Cordyce,
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  Speaker 1: no company at all. At first, Benny did not consider
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  Speaker 1: this the exact truth. He considered a cook company, and
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  Speaker 1: also a butler and a housekeeper, And when he saw
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  Speaker 1: the array of maids, he kept perfectly quiet. The house
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  Speaker 1: was enormous, certainly, it was at least a quarter of
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  Speaker 1: a mile from its own front gate, and everywhere were gardens.
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  Speaker 1: Do you live here, said Henry thunderstruck, as they rolled
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  Speaker 1: quietly along the beautiful drive. You do too, if you
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  Speaker 1: like it, observed his grandfather, watching his face. The inside
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  Speaker 1: of the house was more wonderful than even the older
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  Speaker 1: children had ever dreamed. The velvet rugs were so thick
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  Speaker 1: and soft that no footfall could be heard. Everywhere were flowers.
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  Speaker 1: The great stairway with steps of marble, rose from the
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  Speaker 1: center of the big hallway. But it was upstairs that
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  Speaker 1: the children felt most at home. Here the rooms were
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  Speaker 1: not quite so large. They were sunny and homelike. This
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  Speaker 1: is Violet's room, cried Benny. It was unmistakable. There were
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  Speaker 1: violets on the wall paper. The bed was snow white
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  Speaker 1: with a thick quilt of violet silk. On the little
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  Speaker 1: table were English violets, pouring their fragrance into the room.
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  Speaker 1: What a beautiful room, sighed Violet, sinking down into one
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  Speaker 1: of the soft cushioned chairs. But all the children shouted
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  Speaker 1: when they saw Benny's room. The wall paper was blue,
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  Speaker 1: covered with large figures of cats and dogs, the Three
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  Speaker 1: Bears and Peter Rabbit. There was a swinging rocking horse
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  Speaker 1: nearly as tall as a real horse, a blackboard, a
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  Speaker 1: tool chest, and low tables and chairs exactly the right
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  Speaker 1: size for Benny. There was an electric train with cars
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  Speaker 1: nearly as large as the boy himself. Can I rend
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  Speaker 1: the cars all day? Asked Benny. Oh no, replied Henry quickly,
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  Speaker 1: you're going to school as soon as it begins. This
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  Speaker 1: was the first that his grandfather had heard about school,
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  Speaker 1: but he agreed with Henry and chuckled to himself. The
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  Speaker 1: finest schools in the country. He said, this came true
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  Speaker 1: for all the children finally went to the public schools,
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  Speaker 1: and are they not the finest schools in the country.
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  Speaker 1: In Jess's room, Benny discovered a bed for Watch. It was,
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  Speaker 1: in fact a regular dog's straw hamper, but it was
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  Speaker 1: lined with heavy quilted silk and padded with wool. Watch
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  Speaker 1: got in at once, sniffed in every corner, turned around
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  Speaker 1: three times, and lay down. Just then a distant door
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  Speaker 1: bell rang. It had such a low musical chime that
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  Speaker 1: the children listened delightedly, never once giving a thought as
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  Speaker 1: to who it might be. But almost at once a
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  Speaker 1: soft footed servant appeared, saying that a man wanted to
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  Speaker 1: see mister Cordyce about the dog. The moment just heard
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  Speaker 1: that word dog, she was frightened. She had never thought
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  Speaker 1: Watch a common runaway dog, and it always made her
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  Speaker 1: uncomfortable to see passers by gaze curiously at him as
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  Speaker 1: he ran by her side. They won't take Watch away,
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  Speaker 1: she whispered to Henry, her breath almost gone. Indeed, they
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  Speaker 1: will not, declared Henry, We'll never never give him up. However,
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  Speaker 1: Henry followed his grandfather and Jess with great anxiety. It
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  Speaker 1: was indeed about watch that the man wanted to talk,
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  Speaker 1: and Jess's heart sank again when she saw the dog
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  Speaker 1: jump delightedly upon the man and return his caresses with
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  Speaker 1: short barks. He's a runaway, sir, from my kennel's out
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  Speaker 1: in Townsend. The man explained to mister Cordyce, I have
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  Speaker 1: two hundred airedales out there, and this one was sold
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  Speaker 1: the day before he ran away, So you see, I
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  Speaker 1: have to turn him over to the lady I sold
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  Speaker 1: him to. Oh no, you don't returned, mister Cordyce, quickly,
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  Speaker 1: I will give you three times what the dog is worth.
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  Speaker 1: The man glanced around uneasily. I couldn't do that, sir,
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  Speaker 1: he explained. You see, it isn't a question of money,
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  Speaker 1: it's a question of my promised word to the lady.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Cordyce failed to see she can find another dog
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  Speaker 1: among two hundred airdales. I can guess he returned. And besides,
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  Speaker 1: you don't know positively that this is the right dog.
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  Speaker 1: Excuse me, replied the man, very much embarrassed. He's the dog,
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  Speaker 1: all right. He knows me, as you see, and his
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  Speaker 1: name is rough number three. He has a black spot
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  Speaker 1: inside his ear. It was too true. Indeed, at the
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  Speaker 1: mere mention of his name, the dog cocked an ear
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  Speaker 1: and wagged his tail. But he had seated himself as
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  Speaker 1: close to Jess as possible, and licked her hand when
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  Speaker 1: she patted him. But it appeared that Henry could understand
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  Speaker 1: the man's position, even if mister Cordyce could not. He
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  Speaker 1: now put in a timid word of his own. If
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  Speaker 1: the lady would agree to let the dog go, would
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  Speaker 1: you be willing, sure, said the man, shooting a glance
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  Speaker 1: at Henry. I almost know anyone would let us keep watch, grandfather,
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  Speaker 1: said Henry earnestly, if they knew how much he had
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  Speaker 1: done for us. I'm sure of it, my boy, returned
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  Speaker 1: mister Cordyce kindly. The fact that Henry had been the
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  Speaker 1: first to make headway with the dog, Fancier had not
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  Speaker 1: escaped him. But it was clear that Jess would not
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  Speaker 1: be able to sleep until the matter had been settled,
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  Speaker 1: So the moment the man was gone, the children set
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  Speaker 1: out from their beautiful new home to the address of
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  Speaker 1: the lady who had bought Watch. The big car purred
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  Speaker 1: along from Greenfield to Townsend in no time, and the
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  Speaker 1: whole family, including Watch himself, trooped up the veranda steps
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  Speaker 1: to interview the lady who held it in her power
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  Speaker 1: to break their hearts or to make them very happy.
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  Speaker 1: She was not terrible to look at. In fact, she
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  Speaker 1: was quite young, quite lively, and very very pretty. She
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  Speaker 1: asked them all to sit down, which they did gravely,
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  Speaker 1: for even Benny was worried about losing Watchee, his favorite pillow.
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  Speaker 1: He could not wait for his grandfather to begin. He
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  Speaker 1: struggled down from his chair and dashed over to the
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  Speaker 1: young lady, saying in one breath, you'll let us keep Watchee, please,
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  Speaker 1: won't you, because we want him so bad and just
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  Speaker 1: didn't know he was your dog. By degrees. The lady
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  Speaker 1: understood just what dog it was. We have had him
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  Speaker 1: so long, explained Henry eagerly. It would be almost like
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  Speaker 1: letting Benny go away. Watch never leaves us even for
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  Speaker 1: a minute, ever since just took the briar out of
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  Speaker 1: his foot, so you are the children who lived in
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  Speaker 1: the freight car, observed the lively young lady. I've heard
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  Speaker 1: all about that. How did you like it? All right?
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  Speaker 1: Replied Henry with an effort. But we never could have
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  Speaker 1: done it without Watch. He stayed and looked after the
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  Speaker 1: girls while I was away, and he just thinks everything
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  Speaker 1: of Jess. Well, said the young lady, laughing, I can
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  Speaker 1: see you're worrying terribly about that dog. Now listen, I
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't take that dog away from you any more than
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  Speaker 1: i'd take Benny. In fact, not so much. I think
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  Speaker 1: maybe I'd like to keep Benny instead. Benny was a
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  Speaker 1: pair of quite willing that she should. He climbed into
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  Speaker 1: her lap before anyone could stop him and gave her
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  Speaker 1: one of his best bear hugs, and from that moment
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  Speaker 1: they were firm friends. But the children always spoke of
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  Speaker 1: her as the lady who owns Watch. Although mister Cordyce
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  Speaker 1: paid for the dog in less time than you can imagine,
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  Speaker 1: it made no difference to the children that Watch was
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  Speaker 1: a very valuable dog. They had loved him when he
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  Speaker 1: had not been worth a cent, and now they loved
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  Speaker 1: him more simply because they had so nearly lost him.
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  Speaker 1: It was a happy and reunited family which gathered around
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  Speaker 1: the courtyce dining table that evening. The maids smiled in
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  Speaker 1: the kitchen to hear the children laugh. And the children
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  Speaker 1: laughed because Watch actually sat up at the table in
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  Speaker 1: the seat of honor beside Jess and was waited upon
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  Speaker 1: by a butler. End of Chapter sixteen.