Mystery on the Train Read Online Free PDF Page A

Aunt Jane.”
    “I’m glad you like it,” Aunt Jane said. “I want this to be a very special experience for you.”
    “It is. We like everything,” Benny added. “We like our rooms and our beds and the way the train rattles and shakes. This is a great surprise present.”
    Aunt Jane and Violet sat with another young couple. Henry, Jessie, and Benny sat at a table with a small man who was wearing a dark gray pinstriped suit. He was about the same age as Grandfather and seemed very glad to share a table with the children.
    When they sat down, the man stood up and shook everyone’s hand and said, “Allow me to introduce myself. Reeves is the name, Herbert Reeves.”
    The children introduced themselves and then they wrote down their orders for dinner. Henry and Jessie chose the broiled salmon. Benny decided he would order chicken.
    As they waited for their dinners, Benny said, “We’re going all the way to San Francisco.”

    “Quite a coincidence,” said Mr. Reeves. “Quite a coincidence. I am on my way to San Francisco as well. Going to an auction. Going to seek out some very special collector’s items. I have some private information that there will be some very exciting valuable things.”
    “What do you collect?” Henry asked.
    “I collect movie memorabilia,” Mr. Reeves said. He bit into a dinner roll and chewed and waved his hands as he talked. “Yes, indeed. I collect movie memorabilia.”
    “What exactly is movie memorabilia?” Jessie asked.
    “Memorabilia, my dear young lady? Why memorabilia is a catchall phrase for all sorts of items which pertain to the movies. Early movies, mostly. Some collectors like to pick up items from modern movies and hold them indefinitely. I specialize in memorabilia from silent pictures.”
    “Silent pictures?” Benny asked. “What are they?”
    “What were they,” Mr. Reeves corrected. “Silent pictures were the greatest art form ever invented. Ah, yes, the silver screen has never been the same.”
    When Benny still looked confused, Henry explained, “Mr. Reeves is talking about the early days in the movies. At first they were just pictures on a screen and there was no sound.”
    “There was sound,” Mr. Reeves corrected. “Music, that is. There was a piano player in the theater to add atmosphere to the movies. Have you ever even seen a silent movie on a large screen with a piano player keeping step with the action?”
    When the Alden children admitted they had never seen a silent movie, Mr. Reeves shook his head sadly. “Shame. Pity, really. Too bad.”
    “What exactly do you collect?” Jessie asked.
    “Memorabilia,” Mr. Reeves said again, then he realized that he wasn’t being clear. “I collect old movie magazines, costumes, photographs of stars, and most of all—posters. I’m on my way to San Francisco because a little bird told me there were some one-of-a-kind old movie posters coming in. Signed Pickfords . . . that’s Mary Pickford the silent movie star, and posters of movies starring Charlie Chaplin which he has autographed.”
    “Do they cost a lot?” Benny asked.
    “The idea is to buy them from people who don’t know the true value. Some autographed posters are sold for as much as fifty thousand dollars. Others go for as little as two hundred fifty dollars. Of course, autographed Pickfords and Chaplins in good condition are worth a good deal. Good night. Pleasant chatting with you.” Mr. Reeves stood up abruptly and left the dining room.
    “Wasn’t he an unusual man?” Jessie asked.
    “I liked him,” Henry said.
    “I really didn’t understand much that he said,” Benny admitted. “But I’ll tell you one thing. I’d never pay fifty thousand dollars for some old poster.”
    “No, you wouldn’t,” Henry agreed, “but according to Mr. Reeves, someone would.”
    The children soon began to talk of other things. When they finished their dinner, Aunt Jane went to read, and the others told Violet all about their dinner with Mr.