™

R E A L K I D S • R E A L P L A C E S

AMERICA’S NATIONAL MYSTERY BOOK SERIES

TM

C A R O L E M A R S H

Christina, Grant, Mimi andPapa "head ’em out!" on areal covered wagon trekacross the prairie,encountering adventuremuch as the pioneers ofyore, and a mystery thatyou could say leaves Grant"upChucking!"!!

A Wild WestAdventure!

Three CuriousHorseshoe

Clues!

Two BrokenWagon Wheels!

Four Campfires Under

the Moon!

One CoveredWagon Train!

TH

E M

YS

TE

RY

ON

TH

E O

RE

GO

N T

RA

ILCAROLE M

ARSH

www.carolemarshmysteries.comwww.gallopade.com

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WORDS TO KNOW

Read ‘em all!The Mystery of...

Alamo GhostBiltmore House

Blackbeard the PirateCalifornia Mission Trail

Chocolate TownCounterfeit Constitution

Disney WorldFort Sumter

Freedom TrailGold Rush

Golden Gate BridgeGrand Canyon

Graveyard of the AtlanticGreat Lakes

Haunted Ghost TownHawaii

Hoover DamIditarod TrailJamestown

Kentucky DerbyKill Devil HillsLiberty Bell

Missing DinosaurMount VernonNew York CityNiagara FallsOregon Trail

Rocky MountainsSpace Center Houston

St. Louis ArchUnderground RailroadWhite House Christmas

WilliamsburgYellowstone National Park

and more!

$7.99 USRL 3-5 007-014

ISBN: 978-0-635-07439-3

MY_OT_Cover.qxd:160-PB-CVR 12/23/09 8:12 PM Page 1

The Mystery

on the

OregonTrail

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Copyright ©2009 Carole Marsh/Gallopade International/Peachtree City, GAAll rights reserved.First EditionEbook edition Copyright ©2011

Carole Marsh Mysteries™ and its skull colophon are the property of Carole Marsh andGallopade International.

Published by Gallopade International/Carole Marsh Books. Printed in the United Statesof America.

Managing Editor: Sherry MossAssistant Editor: Whitney AkinCover Design: Vicki DeJoyContent Design: Randolyn Friedlander

Gallopade International is introducing SAT words that kids need to know ineach new book that we publish. The SAT words are bold in the story. Lookfor this special logo beside each word in the glossary. Happy Learning!

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This book is a complete work of fiction. All events are fictionalized, and although thenames of real people are used, their characterization in this book is fiction. All attractions, product names, or other works mentioned in this book are trademarks oftheir respective owners and the names and images used in this book are strictly for editorial purposes; no commercial claims to their use is claimed by the author or publisher.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in anyform or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise),without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisherof this book.

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The Oregon Trail, Part Iby Christina

It's hard to imagine that Americanswere once mostly clustered on a small partof the East Coast. It was almost like theygot some "fever" that made many familieswant to pack up and head west to thewilderness, and hopefully a new and betterlife. Some families took the Oregon Trailto their new homes. They must have beenvery excited as they started out on thisamazing journey. And now, Grant, andMimi, and Papa and I are taking that samejourney today. I think it will be fun?

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Grant squished his face against therectangular glass window and squinted. Heshoved his messy blond hair away from his eyes.

“I think I can see Independence fromhere!” he said. He whirled around to haveMimi look and bumped right into Christina.

“OUCH!” Christina cried. “Um, thatwas my foot.”

“Sorry, but I think I can seeIndependence from here,” Grant insisted.“Look!”

Christina glared out the window,squinting her eyes against the sunlight.

“Nope, I don’t think so. Independenceis too far away,” she said.

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Gateway to

the West

1

“But I know that’s…” Grant argued.“We’ll be there soon enough,” Mimi

interrupted. “You two just enjoy the view. It’sspectacular! They say you can see for 30 mileson a clear day like today!”

Grant and Christina couldn’t argue withtheir grandmother because the view wasamazing. They were standing 630 feet in theair at the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis,Missouri—the official start of the Oregon Trail.Grant felt like he was on top of the world!

“Did you know,” Mimi began, “that theGateway Arch is twice as tall as the Statue ofLiberty and the tallest national monument inthe United States?”

Grant shook his head silently, stillmesmerized by the view. Christina watchedthe people below moving around like tinyfloating toys. Her eyes scanned the flatwestern land she’d soon be traveling—not bycar or bus or train—but by covered wagon!

“The view may be spectacular,” saidPapa in his booming voice, “but it sure is highup here.”

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“Come on, Papa,” said Christina,“you’re the cowboy pilot! You fly the MysteryGirl all over the world. You can’t be afraid of heights!”

“Well, I’m in control of the Mystery Girlwhen I fly,” Papa explained. “This arch isentirely different!”

Grant and Christina giggled at Papa’sanxious expression. It was funny, and rare, tosee him nervous in his big cowboy hat andtough leather boots. Grant and Christinaknew their grandparents well and oftentraveled with them. Mimi was a children’smystery book writer, and Papa flew heranywhere she needed to go in his red-and-white plane, the Mystery Girl.

Suddenly, the tour guide chimed in on the intercom. “Thank you for visiting the Gateway Arch, America’s Gateway to the West!”

That was their cue to make room forthe next group of eager tourists. Grant andChristina gladly made their way to the tramthat would take them on the steep return rideto the ground.

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“Here we go again—the worst part ofthe whole trip,” Papa grumbled. The ride tothe top of the arch had not gone so well forPapa and Mimi. The family was crammedtogether in a little egg-shaped pod thatzoomed up the inside of the arch. Mimi felt abit faint and Papa’s face was a bright shade offire-truck red the entire time.

“What do you mean, Papa?” Grantasked. “The ride up to the top was the bestpart!” He grinned at Christina, who was alsolooking forward to the rollercoaster ride backdown the arch.

“Yeah,” Christina said, “maybe we’ll get stuck!”

“Stuck?” Mimi asked, alarmed.“Before we got here,” Christina

explained, “I read online that just a couple ofyears ago, the power went out in the tram.People were stuck in the thing for hours!”

“And that makes you excited?” Mimiasked, creasing her eyebrows in a frown.

“Oh, Mimi, it would be an adventure!”said Grant with a mischievous smile. “Youlove adventures!”

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“Not that kind of adventure!” Mimireplied, almost shouting.

“No, sir-eee,” Papa drawled. “Anadventure like that is more of a BADventure!”

Grant and Christina giggled as theiruneasy grandparents stepped into their tramcar. Before the doors shut, Grant took onelast look out the rectangular windows liningthe inside of the arch.

“The Wild West! I can’t wait!” heexclaimed. “Yee Haw!”

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Christina slowly opened her eyes. Herlong, shiny, brown hair stuck to her face withsweat. The sun blared down in the backseat ofMimi and Papa’s rental car. Their drive fromSt. Louis to Independence, Missouri tooklonger than she expected and she must havedozed off. The last time she looked out thewindow, the scenery consisted of skyscrapers,rivers, and highways. Now, she saw nothingbut flat land, grass, and dust—lots of dust!

Christina glanced at the seat next to herwhere Grant was busy clicking away on hisvideo game. Christina nudged his side withher elbow.

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Home on the range

2

“Hey, Grant, have you seen where weare?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s the prairie, duh!” Grant said,never taking his bright blue eyes off the videogame screen. “You’ve been asleep forever!”

“It’s a good thing you got some sleep,Christina,” Papa said from the front seat.“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

“Speaking of work,” said Mimi, “there’sthe sign for Independence city limits right there!”

Christina watched the sign whoosh byand fade away as they sped down the highway.

“What is that?” Grant asked, pointingoff to the side of the road at a long line ofgiant, white arches covering boxy, woodenwagons. In the front of each wagon were twohorses attached with harnesses. They kickedat the dusty ground with their rough hoovesand whinnied across the quiet prairie.

“That’s a train of prairie schooners,”said Mimi.

“Prairie whats?” Grant asked, confused.

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“Schooners,” Mimi replied. “PrairieSchooner was the nickname given to coveredwagons…”

“I know why, Mimi!” Christina said,interrupting Mimi in the middle of hersentence.

“Alright, why?” Mimi asked, adjustingthe sparkly red sunglasses perched on her nose.

“Because the white wagon tops looklike sails from boats floating across theprairie,” Christina explained.

“You’re absolutely correct,” Mimi saidwith a big smile. “Someone’s done theirresearch on the Oregon Trail!”

Christina glanced at Grant with raisedeyebrows. He frowned.

“Well, I don’t need to do research,”Grant said, “I know how to be a real cowboyjust like Papa. It comes natural!”

Papa nodded at Grant in the rear viewmirror and grinned as he pulled the car to astop. Grant and Christina jumped out of thecar and raced toward the wagons.

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“Whoa! Look at those wheels!” said Grant.

“Yeah, they’re huge!” said Christina.“And these must be our clothes for the trip.”Her expression changed as she held up twoplain, scratchy, cotton dresses and two pairs of chocolate-brown work trousers withwhite shirts.

“Great, real stylish,” Christina groanedand carried the larger dress to Mimi. Shetried to imagine Mimi in a bland, cotton dress,much different from the trendy clothes andsparkly glasses she usually wore. Christinawondered if Mimi was cut out for life on theopen range.

Mimi winked at her granddaughter.“This will be a new look for us,” she said.“Isn’t ‘retro’ the new fashion trend these days?”

Grant skipped back to the car to helpPapa unload their supplies for the wagon.Papa pulled out blankets, a shovel, a barrel forwater, a chest of extra clothes and shoes, andsome pots, pans, and plates.

“Where’s the TV?” said Grant.

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Papa peered at Grant from beneath thebrim of his jet-black cowboy hat.

“There’s no electricity on the trail,Grant,” he explained. “How would you watch TV?”

“I know, Papa,” Grant said, smilingmischievously. “I was just joking. That’s whyI brought my video games with me.”

“Video games, huh?” said a gruff voicefrom behind Grant. Grant slowly turned to seea tall, burly man with tanned, leather skin anda long, curly, gray beard. Grant’s eyes grewwide. He looks like someone from a movie, he thought.

“This is supposed to be an authentictrail ride,” the man said. “Video games,computers, cell phones, none of that’sallowed!” The man looked very annoyed andGrant was about to apologize when anotherman came walking up. Well not exactlywalking—he looked more like he was moseyingon up to Papa’s car in dusty, brown cowboyboots with shiny spurs, baggy jeans, and along-sleeved, cotton shirt.

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“Don’t bother the kids, Chuck,” the firstman said, as the burly man walked away.“Sorry about him,” he said to Grant. “Hesounds mean, but don’t let his curly beard foolyou. He just runs the chuck wagon.”

“The chuck what?” Grant asked.“The chuck wagon that carries all the

food,” the man explained. “He’ll make youthree square meals a day out here on this trailso you best be as nice to him as you can. Hegives the good ones mighty big helpings!”

“I’m Van, by the way, Wagon Masterextraordinaire,” the man continued.“Welcome to your home away from home. I’llbe running this operation for the week, sokeep up and listen up.”

“Yessss SIR!” Grant said. He slappedthe edge of his hand against his forehead in a salute.

“That’s the spirit,” said Van.As the men walked away, Christina

noticed the chuck-wagon man glaring at themfrom behind his horses. He grinned as his

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eyes met hers. Christina quickly looked away.Was that a nice grin or a sneer?

I don’t think this is going to be theOregon Trail, Christina thought. I feel scarilysure it’s going to be Oregon TRIAL!

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One hour later, the car was unloadedand all their supplies were stacked on eitherside of the wagon.

“Let’s get packin’,” Mimi said with atired look on her face.

“Wow,” said Christina. “This wagonlooked a lot bigger before we piled all our stuffnext to it.”

The four weary travelers stood staringat their supplies. The ten-foot-long and four-foot-wide wagon didn’t look big enough foreven half of their stuff!

“Well, the West is about adventure, newbeginnings, and lots of hope!” Papa said. “Solet’s get started.”

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Independence Mess

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Christina climbed into the wagon andclattered around the wooden plank bottom.She rubbed the rough canvas cover on top.She thought about living in the small wagonfor six months. The thought made hershudder. At least her trail ride would only lasta few days!

“Christina! Are you in there?” Mimicalled from around the corner. “We’re justgoing to start tossing stuff in!”

Christina heard Papa say somethinglike, “Wait! We have to organize…” but shewas distracted. In the top corner of thewagon, she saw a white thread hanging fromthe folds of the canvas. She slowly reached forit and tugged. A piece of paper fluttered to thedusty floor.

“Hey whatcha doin’ in here?” Grantasked, scrambling into the back of the wagon.

“Good grief! You scared me half todeath!” Christina exclaimed.

“Sorry, but Mimi and Papa are arguingabout how to pack the wagon, so I decided tocome hang out with you.” Grant said. “OK, but

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keep it down, I’ve found something.” Christina said.

“What? A clue? Is it a clue?” Grantasked, reaching for the piece of paper on theground. They seemed to always find clues ontheir adventures.

“Hold on, I don’t know,” Christina saidas she picked up the folded piece of paper. “Itcould be something left behind by the peoplewho used this wagon last.”

“Well, what does it say?” Grant askedimpatiently.

Christina unfolded the paper slowly,afraid it might be a mystery she wasn’tprepared for. The note was handwritten in amessy scribble.

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Be sure to pack only what youneed—flour, shovels, clothes,and tea. Packing light is thekey to brave the dangers thatwill be. No books, computers,games, or TV. It’s notimportant what you read. Outhere it matters what you see.

“What do you think it means?” asked Grant.

“I don’t know,” Christina said. “It’sprobably just a friendly reminder from Van theWagon Master.”

“I don’t think ‘dangers that will be’sounds very friendly,” Grant said with aworried look.

“Christina! Grant!” Mimi called fromoutside the wagon. “You two come out herefor a minute. Papa and I have someone we’dlike you to meet.”

Christina quickly folded the mysteriousnote and gave Grant a “don’t-you-dare-say-anything” glare. He nodded and they bothjumped down from the wagon. They were in such a hurry that they didn’t see the faded,splotchy-red fingerprints on the white canvas, right where the mysterious note hadbeen stuffed.

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Christina, Grant, Mimi andPapa "head ’em out!" on areal covered wagon trekacross the prairie,encountering adventuremuch as the pioneers ofyore, and a mystery thatyou could say leaves Grant"upChucking!"!!

www.carolemarshmysteries.comwww.gallopade.com

��

WORDS TO KNOW

�������������The Mystery of...

Alamo GhostBiltmore House

Blackbeard the PirateCalifornia Mission Trail

Chocolate TownCounterfeit Constitution

Disney WorldFort Sumter

Freedom TrailGold Rush

Golden Gate BridgeGrand Canyon

Graveyard of the AtlanticGreat Lakes

Haunted Ghost TownHawaii

Hoover DamIditarod TrailJamestown

Kentucky DerbyKill Devil HillsLiberty Bell

Missing DinosaurMount VernonNew York CityNiagara FallsOregon Trail

Rocky MountainsSpace Center Houston

St. Louis ArchUnderground RailroadWhite House Christmas

WilliamsburgYellowstone National Park

andmore!

$7.99 USRL 3-5 007-014

ISBN: 978-0-635-07439-3