The Coach That Never Came

by Patricia Beatty

A stagecoach that vanished without a trace...$40,000 in stolen payroll money...a jewel-studded belt buckle -- they are all pieces of a 110-year-old mystery, that Paul Braun is determined to solve. While the thirteen year-old Easterner is visiting his grandmother in Colorado, she gives him a heart-decorated belt buckle that had belonged to a distant, vaguely remembered relative. Intrigued by the odd-looking heirloom, Paul and his new friend, an American Indian bo), named Jay Jenkins, hunt through dusty attic trunks and yellowing newspaper clippings trying to discover more about its enigmatic owner. Suddenly, their search uncovers an ever) more perplexing puzzle -- the still-unsolved disappearance of a stagecoach, its passengers, and the fortime in gold it was carrying. Men his ruby-studded buckle is stolen, Paul realizes that it could possibly be the key to the whereabouts of the long-vanished coach -- and that, even today, someone is intent on preventing anyone from unlocking its terrible secret, Drawing from a true incident in the American West's rich past, master storyteller Patricia Beatty combines fast-paced plotting and a fascinating set of characters to weave this exciting tale of adventure and suspense.

Genres: Mystery

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 1985

About the author

Patricia Beatty (1922 - 1991) was an American author of award-winning children's and young adult historical fiction novels.

She was born in Portland, Oregon, and was a longtime resident of southern California. After graduating from college, she taught high school English and history, and later held various positions as a science and technical librarian, and also as a children's librarian. She taught Writing Fiction for Children at several branches of the University of California.

She wrote over 50 novels, and co-write 10 of them with her husband, John L. Beatty.

Beatty died in Riverside, California in 1991.

Reviews

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's a good light-read mystery novel that I'm sure middle schoolers who are interested in reading about adventures and mysteries will like. Although the language and some references are out-dated, you can still follow the plot without a problem.

I would've loved if the coach mystery was introduced earlier in the book, and we got more facts or information about that. But it's still good nonetheless.

It's interesting to learn a bit about Colorado history. And the fact that the author got the idea for this book from an actual stagecoach, its passengers, horses and $40k worth of gold disappearing back in 1873, is incredible.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Braun spends the summer with Grandma Weber in Colorado while his mother and stepfather go to Europe. When Paul arrives, Grandma Weber gives him a heart-decorated belt buckle. The buckle is a conversation piece and helps him make new friends. One of these friends, Kelly Morse, asks her father, a jeweler, to appraise the buckle. Paul learns that the buckle is old and the jewels making up the heart are rubies. Paul begins researching the owner of the buckle, Bronco Billy Smart, for the reading and essay contest hosted by the State of Colorado. In an old trunk of Billy's possessions, Paul finds a letter indicating that Billy received the buckle as a gift from his dad shortly after Billy's birth. The letter is signed Frank Hart. Another friend of Paul's, Jay Jenkins, plans on writing an essay about the mysterious disappearance of a stagecoach carrying $40,000 worth of gold. His people, the Utes, had been blamed for the disappearance. The boys find a connection between Frank Hart and the stagecoach. They believe that Frank Hart was really the Ruby Kid, leader of the gang responsible for the gold theft. When the buckle and letter are stolen, Paul and Jay realize that someone is searching for the gold. The day Paul, Jay, and Grandma Weber head for the road where the coach disappeared, Peter Dobbs, Mr. Morse's watch repairman, way lays them and ties them up. Mr. Dobbs had stolen the buckle and the letter. The boys work their ropes free and the whole group goes in search of an old Ute cave. Once inside they find the coach, the passengers' bones, and the gold. Paul and Jay find the bones of Ruby Kid's gang. One of the bodies, bearing a buckle identical to Billy Smart's, is Frank Hart. The boys solve a 110-year old mystery. Ruby Kid's gang stopped the coach, hid it in the cave, and killed the passengers. Before they could escape they were killed by Ute Indians watching from the cliffs nearby.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[serena482* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good! I got it for free somewhere then started reading it and really liked it. Ages 10-up should read this. There wasn't much I didn't like about this book. Well it was a really good read. :)