Mystery in the Old Attic Read Online Free PDF

floor.”
    â€œDo you see anything near the door?” asked Henry.
    It took Benny a long time to answer. “No,” he finally called.
    â€œCan you go farther?” asked Henry.
    â€œYes,” said Benny. Henry pulled on the rope. Benny rode up to the attic. Then he had Henry bring him down to the kitchen. Then back up to the second floor.
    â€œThis is so much fun,” said Benny as he climbed out of the dumbwaiter. He had dirt and dust in his hair and on his arms, hands, and face.
    â€œOh, Benny, you look like a chimney sweep,” said Jessie, laughing.
    â€œA what?” asked Benny.
    â€œSomeone who cleans chimneys,” answered Jessie.
    â€œThere was a lot of dust up there,” said Benny. Violet handed her little brother a packet of tissues from her pocket.
    â€œWell, what are we waiting for?” asked Benny after he had blown his nose and wiped his face.
    The Aldens searched and searched. On the second floor, near the dumbwaiter, they found closets full of clothes, sheets, and towels.
    â€œNothing here,” said Benny as he walked out of the linen closet.
    â€œWell, there’s actually a lot in that closet,” said Henry. “Just no ring.”
    â€œNot even a box that could hold the ring,” said Violet. “Remember, Emily said she put the ring in a box with other things from her mother.”
    Henry nodded.
    â€œDon’t forget, we have to be quiet on this floor,” said Jessie as the Aldens walked up the staircase to the third floor. “We don’t want to disturb the professor.”
    â€œI’ll say,” Benny whispered as he tiptoed up the rest of the stairs. At the top, he looked around, trying to guess which door belonged to the professor.
    Henry found the dumbwaiter at the end of the hallway. “There isn’t a closet on this floor,” he said. “At least not one near the dumbwaiter.”
    â€œGood,” said Benny. “I was getting tired of looking at sheets and towels.”
    Violet laughed. “If you were Emily, where would you hide a ring?”
    â€œIn a safe place,” said Jessie. “Maybe even in a safe.” Jessie laughed a little at her joke.
    â€œA what?” asked Benny.
    â€œA safe,” Jessie repeated. “It’s a place where people keep their most valuable things.”
    â€œSafes are usually built into the wall,” said Violet as she took a painting of a trumpet off the wall so she could look behind it.
    â€œWe should look behind all these paintings and the furniture,” said Henry as he moved a heavy armchair away from the wall.
    The Aldens looked and looked. They found coins, bobby pins, and spools of thread, but no ring.
    â€œI wish Emily had given us more clues,” said Henry as he hung a big mirror back on the wall.
    â€œClues,” said a loud voice. “What were you looking for behind that mirror?” Kimberly came bounding up the steps holding a leash with a miniature white poodle on the end.
    â€œIs that your dog?” asked Henry, happy to change the subject.
    Kimberly nodded. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold. She wore several scarves tied loosely around her neck, above her hot pink jacket.
    â€œThis is Juniper.” Kimberly picked up her dog so Henry could pet it. “I take her out for a walk every day, but she really isn’t used to snow.”
    Henry patted Juniper’s curly white fur. Juniper whined and gave a shrill bark. “She’s cute,” he said.
    â€œSo what are you doing on this floor?” Kimberly asked. “And what is all this talk about clues?”
    â€œOh, nothing really,” said Henry.
    â€œYou are looking for something, aren’t you?” said Kimberly.
    â€œWell, yes,” Henry admitted. “But, uh, it’s nothing important. We’d better go.” The others nodded and hurried down the stairs before Kimberly could say anything more. The Aldens heard her close