SOLVED. Livery stable, coffin, robbers, fog, boy [s]

[Tom]

I read this book in my younger grade school years, maybe ages 8-11. In it, two strange men arrive in town and a boy takes care of their horse. The men rob a bank, I believe by tunneling into it and hiding the money in a coffin. The boy discovers their theft. Acting as their guide out of town in thick fog, he leads their horse around in circles until the men are caught.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

When were you ages 8-11? Could it be a Scholastic book? Remember anything about the cover?

[Tom]

I'm pretty sure it wasn't scholastic. I don't remember much about the cover other than it was dark blue or dark purple and meant to look spooky. The whole story was meant to be kind of spooky.

[Michele]

Hm. The Whispering Mountain has men coming town to steal something (but they rob a museum, not a bank), and a boy involved. I don't recall the fog, though, or going in circles. Was the bank robbery the main part of the story, or was it a side issue? When you say "grade school years" was that 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s...?

[Tom]

Thanks for the questions. The robbery was an important event in the book, but mainly because the strange men had such an elaborate set up. I believe that they arranged a magic show on a stage they constructed near the bank, all in an attempt to distract the town from their true intentions.

My childhood years were in the late '80s, though most of the books I had were passed down from older siblings. I know it was in print by the late '70s.

[Tom]

Thanks for the questions. The robbery was an important event in the book, but mainly because the strange men had such an elaborate set up. I believe that they arranged a magic show on a stage they constructed near the bank, all in an attempt to distract the town from their true intentions.

My childhood years were in the late '80s, though most of the books I had were passed down from older siblings. I know it was in print by the late '70s.

[Bryan457]

The Ghost on Saturday Night,

[Tom]

Awesome! This is it. Thanks so much, Bryan457. I've been searching for months.

[Kayla]

OMG! I am also looking for the name of this book. It is haunting me. I even asked my mom in a different state to dig through years of untouched artifacts to possibly find the one copy I did own. Please help!

[Kris]

Kayla wrote: "OMG! I am also looking for the name of this book. It is haunting me. I even asked my mom in a different state to dig through years of untouched artifacts to possibly find the one copy I did own. Pl..."

Kayla, are you looking for a different book? If so, you need to create a new thread (topic) for your request. Here are our group’s special rules.

[Kayla]

Kris wrote: "Kayla wrote: "OMG! I am also looking for the name of this book. It is haunting me. I even asked my mom in a different state to dig through years of untouched artifacts to possibly find the one copy..."

Hi Kris, no, this is the book I am looking for. I don't see the title anywhere on this thread, though.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Message 7 shows the name of the book - also it's at the top of the thread.