The Aldens are visiting a small town known for its harvest festival. The town is beautiful in the fall, but rumors of the harvest moon and a werewolf are keeping people away. Can the Aldens get to the bottom of who―or what―is causing such a stir? Gertrude Chandler Warner grew up in Putnam, Connecticut. She wrote The Boxcar Children because she had always dreamed about what it would be like to live in a caboose or a freight car―just as the Aldens do. When readers asked for more adventures, Warner wrote more books―a total of nineteen in all. After her death, other authors have continued to write stories about Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden, and today The Boxcar Children® series has more than one hundred books. The Boxcar Children The Legend of the Howling Werewolf By Gertrude Chandler Warner, Anthony VanArsdale Albert Whitman & Company Copyright © 2018 Albert Whitman & Company All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8075-0740-7 Contents 1. A Strange Rumor, 2. Sounds in the Night, 3. Odd Shoes, 4. Claw Marks, 5. A Pile of Bones, 6. Unanswered Questions, 7. Not Normal Footprints, 8. Close Encounter, 9. Pumpkin Guts, 10. A Big Announcement, CHAPTER 1 A Strange Rumor Grandfather Alden pulled his rental car onto the interstate. He looked over his left shoulder, waiting for traffic to pass. Then he sped up. "Couple more hours until we get to Mrs. Riley's house," he told his four grandchildren. Ten-year-old Violet was in the backseat. Her pigtails bounced as she turned to see the road signs. "'Welcome to Idaho,'" she read aloud. Another sign whizzed by. "Famous Potatoes.'" "'Where are all the potatoes, Grandfather?" she asked. He nodded toward the windows. "See all those bare fields out there? Desert, really. Miles and miles of crops have already been harvested. It's October, so potatoes are being sent to all parts of the country by train and truck." "For French fries and hash browns, right, Grandfather?" six-year-old Benny, who was sitting next to Violet, said. Grandfather smiled at Benny in his rearview mirror. "That's right," he said. "When we get to Townsend, you'll see that sugar beets are another important crop in Idaho. They're part of a fun event this weekend." "That's exciting," said Benny. "When will we get there?" "Soon," said Grandfather for the fifth time that hour. "Try to enjoy the view, Benny. Do you know those mountains in the distance?" "Uh, no, not really," Benny said. He looked to his brother in the front seat for an answer. "Those are the Rockies," said fourteen-year-old Henry. "They go all the way from Canada down to New Mexico. They'll be covered with snow all winter." After a while, they passed some hills with steep sides and flat tops. "They look like tables," said Jessie. "Those are called buttes," Grandfather explained. "They are actually volcanic cones. See their black sides?" "Lava!" said Henry. "We studied buttes in science class. Volcanoes used to bubble up here. And when the lava dried, it made the buttes. But I think these volcanoes have sleeping for a long time." "That's right, Henry," said Grandfather. "What if they wake up while we're here?" asked Violet. "The last eruption was about two thousand years ago," Grandfather said. "No need to worry. And here we are." He slowed the car, clicked on his turn signal, and took the exit. "Look, Benny, we're almost there," said Henry. He pointed to a sign out the window. "'Welcome to Townsend. Home of the Sage Hen,'" Benny read slowly. "What's that mean, Grandfather?" "It looks like a chicken," said Violet, who was looking at the bird shown on the sign. "It does, I suppose," Grandfather said with a chuckle. "Sage hens are also called sage grouse. Strange creatures. The males do this funny dance to attract the females. It's quite the sight. That's one reason a lot of tourists come to up to places like Townsend." "I hope we can get a close look," said Jessie. "And I want to see some lava." She was twelve, and she loved animals. She rolled down the window for her dog, Watch, so he could sniff the cool autumn air. "I hope we see them too," said Henry. As the oldest, he liked to take charge. "Maybe I can lead us all on a hike. And hopefully we'll come across an old volcano." "You'll have plenty of time to explore in the next few days," said Grandfather. "When I was a boy, I went to summer camp here. The area is rich in geology and Native American history." As Grandfather drove down Main Street, he said, "I'm excited for you to meet my friend Mrs. Riley. She has a big project I think will interest you all." "I can't wait to meet her," said Jessie. Violet looked over at her grandfather. "We love projects!" "Yes, I know, dear." Grandfather gave her a friendly wink. The Alden children were orphans. After their parents died, they had learned they must go live with a grandfather they had never met. They heard he was mean, so they ran away to the woods, where they found shelter in an old boxcar. That's where