The Mystery of the Star Ruby, Page 4

  “We can solve this case ourselves,” Henry said confidently. “We’ve figured out lots of mysteries before.”

  In the dining room, everyone was excitedly chatting about the contest. There was only one more day left.

  “I sure wish that star ruby had been in my bucket,” Sybil said wistfully. “I’ve been coming here for years and have never found one.”

  “Maybe you will tomorrow,” said Benny. “Maybe we’ll all find star rubies!”

  The others laughed as they ate hamburgers and fries.

  It was too dark and cool to linger outside after dinner. Even though the days were hot, late-summer nights in the mountains were chilly.

  The Alden children went back to Violet and Jessie’s cabin to discuss the mystery.

  They passed Jessie’s note around.

  Henry noticed something about the paper.

  “It’s been ripped from a notebook,” he said. “One of those little ones with three rings.”

  “Jonathan carries a notebook like that,” Benny remembered. “He keeps his lists in it.”

  “That’s right,” Violet said, nodding. “But why would he send us a threatening note? He seems so nice.”

  “We can’t rule out anyone as a suspect,” said Jessie.

  Just then there was a shout outside.

  Henry ran to the door. “It’s Mr. Knight!”

  “Hey, everybody!” Cecil Knight called. “Come see this!”

  Doors to all the cabins were flung open and guests streamed out onto the lawn. The Aldens ran out, too.

  Strange globes of light hovered in the sky over the mountain. Everyone oohed and aahed.

  “Those are the same lights we saw our first night here!” Benny exclaimed.

  “They do look like flying saucers,” Sybil remarked, tipping her head back.

  “Now that I’ve seen them better,” Jonathan muttered, “I think the lights are a trick of the atmosphere.”

  Seen them better? Violet wondered. When had Jonathan seen the lights before?

  Just as suddenly as the lights appeared, they vanished behind the crest of the mountain. The show over, the guests filed back inside their cabins.

  When Jessie walked into their cabin, she sensed something was wrong.

  Her backpack was on the floor where she had left it.

  But the outer pocket was unzipped.

  She dug through it frantically.

  “Violet!” she cried. “The ruby is gone!”

  CHAPTER 7

  The Robbery

  Violet rushed over. “Oh, no! Are you sure?”

  Jessie turned her backpack upside down. A comb, sunscreen, and a pack of mints tumbled out.

  “I put the container in this pocket,” she said. “That was the only thing I kept in it. It’s empty! Someone stole the ruby!”

  “We left our cabin door open to go look at the lights,” Violet said with a sinking feeling. “Anyone could have walked in and taken it.”

  “I should have kept my backpack with me,” Jessie said in dismay.

  “We should have locked the door,” Violet said. “Don’t worry. We’ll find the ruby.” I hope, she added to herself.

  The next morning, the girls hurried to the boys’ cabin.

  Grandfather was there, filling a basket with laundry. He and the boys stopped gathering towels to listen as Jessie related the story of the robbery.

  Grandfather frowned with concern.

  “This is very serious,” he said. “We must go to Mr. Knight right away. There is a thief here, and we need to call the authorities.”

  The children glanced at one another.

  “Grandfather,” Henry said. “You know we’re pretty good at solving mysteries.”

  James Alden nodded. “Yes, you are. But a valuable gemstone is missing.”

  “The police don’t know any of the people here,” Jessie pointed out. “But we do. The robbery may be connected to the contest. It’ll be over tomorrow evening. Please let us try to find the ruby first.”

  Grandfather considered a moment. “All right,” he agreed. “I’ll give you until tomorrow evening. But if you can’t find the stone by then, we’ll go to Mr. Knight.”

  Jessie and Violet hurried back to their cabin to gather their own laundry. Then the children went with Grandfather to the Laundromat behind the main building.

  The Laundromat was made of cement blocks. A bench with extra baskets stored beneath was placed below the single window.

  Inside, the Laundromat was empty. Washers and dryers filled two walls of the small, dim building. Grandfather loaded one of the washers and plugged the slots with quarters. Then they all walked over to the dining room.

  Donald and Sybil were already at their table, sipping juice.

  As soon as the Aldens sat down, a waitress brought over platters of hotcakes and bacon.

  “Did Jonathan eat already?” Sybil asked.

  “No, ma’am,” the waitress replied. “I haven’t seen him this morning.”

  Donald raised an eyebrow. “He never misses a meal.”

  Violet glanced at the empty chair. Where is Jonathan? she wondered. Did he have anything to do with the missing ruby?

  When breakfast was over, Grandfather returned to the Laundromat. The Alden children found a quiet spot in the picnic area to discuss the case.

  “It’s not like Jonathan to skip breakfast,” Violet commented.

  “Yeah,” agreed Benny. “He always writes down whatever he eats.”

  “Maybe he’s gone. Maybe he left Ruby Hollow because he has what he came for,” Henry said. “He wanted a special stone for his fiancée’s ring. A star ruby is very special.”

  “I just can’t believe Jonathan took the ruby,” said Jessie. “He’s so nice.”

  “Everybody is a suspect,” Violet reminded her. “Sybil Finley really wants a star ruby, too.”

  Henry nodded. “That’s right. She told us the first day that a star ruby is the only stone she doesn’t have in her collection.”

  “Plus her cabin is next to ours,” Jessie said, ticking each item off on her fingers. “And she seemed interested in Violet’s backpack at lunch the day Violet found her ruby. Sybil saw Violet put her ruby in her backpack in line at the grading window.”

  “She could have taken Jessie’s backpack, thinking it was Violet’s,” said Benny. “And she knocked our bucket over at the creek.”

  “That’s a pretty strong case against Sybil, but don’t forget Donald Hodge,” said Henry.

  “He said he’s going to win the contest,” Benny put in. “He found a great big ruby. But Jessie’s is bigger.”

  “Donald wants to win so he can buy a sports car,” Henry said. “If he got rid of Jessie’s ruby, he wouldn’t have any competition. He’d still win the contest with his Papa Bear ruby.”

  “Any of them could have taken the star ruby,” Jessie concluded with a sigh. “We’ll have to watch them all.”

  “We only have today and part of tomorrow,” Violet said. “I hope we can solve this mystery in time.”

  A rustling sound made the children look up. A bent-over figure at another table was busy shuffling papers.

  “There’s Jonathan!” said Benny. “He didn’t leave after all!”

  “Let’s go say hi,” said Jessie. “And ask him why he wasn’t at breakfast.”

  The Aldens approached his table. The surface was covered with loose pages from the black notebook Jonathan carried everywhere.

  “Hi, Jonathan!” Benny greeted.

  “Oh, hi, kids.” Jonathan barely glanced at them. He ran his fingers through his sandy hair, clearly distracted.

  “We missed you at breakfast this morning,” said Jessie.

  “It was good, too,” Benny said. “Hot-cakes and bacon!”

  “I’m sure it was good, but I wasn’t very hungry.” Jonathan hastily pushed his papers into a messy pile, as if he didn’t want anyone to see them.

  “I bet you’re hungry now,” Violet said. “We’re going to hav
e a picnic for lunch. Would you like to come with us?”

  “No, thanks.” Jonathan stuffed the papers into a folder, then left.

  Jessie watched him hurry up the trail. “That was weird. Usually he’s very friendly. I wonder what’s up?”

  “Maybe he feels guilty,” Henry guessed. “Because he stole our ruby.”

  “But why would he still be here?” asked Violet. “If he stole the ruby, you’d think he would be long gone.”

  “We should check on Sybil and Donald, too,” Jessie said. “They’re probably down at the flume.”

  Sybil was in her usual place on the flume line, but there was no sign of Donald. The flume was crowded with people hoping to find a prizewinning stone before the contest closed.

  Cecil Knight was helping at the entry booth.

  “Going to try your luck today?” he asked the kids, then laughed. “If I found a gem like yours, Jessie, I’d take it easy!”

  They didn’t want anyone besides Grandfather to know the ruby was missing, so Jessie hastily changed the subject.

  “Mr. Knight, we’d like to have a picnic,” she said. “May we pack a lunch?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Just ask the waitress to fix you something.”

  The tables in the dining room were set for lunch, but no one was around. One of the big windows overlooked the parking lot.

  Henry looked out and saw a man in sunglasses and a large hat get into a car.

  “Isn’t that Donald?” he said. “I wonder where he’s going.”

  The waitress appeared, carrying a tray of ketchup bottles.

  “Maybe he’s going into town for lunch,” the waitress said. “Or shopping.”

  “Are there many stores in town?” Benny asked.

  “Several nice shops,” the waitress answered. “Even a gem shop. So if you don’t find what you want here, you can go into town and buy it.”

  “Has Mr. Hodge gone into town before?” Henry asked.

  “I don’t know,” said the waitress. Then she added, “He may have gone in to shop for binoculars.”

  “Why do you say that?” Jessie asked.

  “I found him in Mr. Knight’s office the other day,” the waitress said. “He said he was borrowing Mr. Knight’s binoculars.”

  “That’s interesting,” Henry said. He was eager to go to lunch so he and the other children could go back to talking about the mystery. “We were wondering if we could take a picnic lunch.”

  “Of course,” the waitress said. “Be back in a jiffy.”

  Soon the children were on their way back to the picnic area. Violet carried the cloth-covered basket while Henry carried the thermos of lemonade.

  Running ahead to choose the best table, Benny spied a sheet of paper on the path. He picked it up.

  “This looks like it came from Jonathan’s notebook,” he said, handing the paper to Jessie.

  “It’s a list,” said Jessie. “‘Sapphire, garnet, ruby, emerald, blue calcite.’ Those are all crossed off. Only one item hasn’t been crossed off.”

  “Let me guess,” said Henry. “Star ruby”

  “Right.” Jessie held out the paper. “Look what’s written next to it.”

  Carrie’s ring.

  “Jonathan definitely wrote this,” said Jessie. “He’s after a star ruby for his fiancée’s ring. Seems like he’s our number one suspect.”

  Henry thought of something. “Jessie, do you have that other note? Let’s compare the handwriting.”

  But the handwriting on the warning note did not match the handwriting on the list.

  “If Jonathan took the ruby,” Benny asked, “who sent the note?”

  “Maybe the person who wants us to leave is not the same person who stole the ruby,” Jessie concluded. “I still think Jonathan took the ruby.”

  Henry shook his head. “We don’t have enough evidence to accuse Jonathan. This is a serious crime. We need to be absolutely sure.”

  That evening, it was too chilly to go walking after dinner. Instead, the kids worked on a puzzle in Benny and Henry’s cabin.

  “Only one more day,” Jessie sighed. “If we haven’t found the ruby by tomorrow evening, we have to tell Mr. Knight.”

  “We’ll work even harder tomorrow,” Violet said, fitting a piece into the puzzle border.

  Henry looked up. “Do you hear that?”

  “Yeah,” Benny said. “Sounds like digging.”

  “Grab a jacket,” Henry told the others. “We’re going down to the flume.”

  The moon was bright overhead, lighting the trail to the flume. As the kids rounded the empty entry booth, they saw a figure wearing a white shirt.

  The figure dropped a shovel and sprinted down the trail. Henry, who was in the lead, ran after the person. But when the figure disappeared into the woods, he gave up the chase.

  “Did you see who it was?” Violet asked him.

  “No,” he replied, disappointed. “Whoever it was just vanished into thin air!”

  CHAPTER 8

  Buried Treasure

  The chalkboard outside the dining room announced possible storms later that day.

  Violet read the breakfast menu printed below the weather forecast. “‘Contest Special—Native-Stone Buckets and Star Ruby Muffins.’”

  “We’re having dirt for breakfast?” Benny said. He liked playing in the dirt, but he didn’t want to eat any!

  “Today is the last day of the contest,” said Grandfather. “Everybody will need a hearty meal before going to work.”

  The Aldens sat down at their table, greeting Sybil, Jonathan, and Donald.

  Henry noticed that Donald and Sybil looked tired, as if neither had slept very well.

  Maybe, he thought, one of them was up late, digging around the flume.

  The waitress brought glasses of ruby-red grapefruit juice.

  “How would you like your Miner’s eggs?” she asked, pen poised over her pad.

  Jonathan grinned. “How about Hard as a Rock?”

  Violet giggled. Jonathan was always telling jokes! How could he be the thief?

  After eating eggs, Star Ruby cranberry muffins, and cups of Native-Stone Bucket granola, the Aldens walked down to the flume.

  Cecil Knight was busy at the booth, collecting entry fees and handing out pre-spaded buckets.

  Donald was in line in front of the Aldens.

  “I know what you do,” he accused Mr. Knight. “You salt those so-called native-stone buckets! You put a star ruby in some kid’s bucket, just to make me lose the contest!”

  Donald’s voice was loud. Whispers rippled through the line.

  “That is not true,” Cecil said reasonably. “I run an honest operation here, just as my parents did when they bought the mine fifty years ago.”

  “It seems awfully funny that that kid—” Donald jerked his thumb toward Jessie— “found a star ruby when no one else has found one since 1988.”

  “Everyone has an equal chance,” Cecil said. “That’s the fun of panning. Now, what will you have today, Mr. Hodge?”

  Donald ordered seven native-stone buckets.

  While Grandfather was buying a “rainbow” bucket for each of them, Henry watched Donald walk down to the flume.

  How did Donald know the last star ruby found at the Ruby Hollow Mine was in 1988? he wondered.

  “What’s supposed to be in a rainbow bucket?” Jessie asked Jonathan as they picked up trays.

  “Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, pink sapphires,” Jonathan replied. “Stones the colors of the rainbow.”

  After two hours of panning, Henry found an emerald and Benny found a blue sapphire. Jessie’s bucket yielded a pink sapphire. Violet was delighted to find a purple stone called an amethyst. Purple was her favorite color.

  When their buckets were empty, the kids cleaned up at the pump.

  “I have something to check out,” Henry said in a low voice. “Let’s go back to the main building.”

  “You know who’s missing here?” Jessie observed as they
put their trays back on the stack. “Sybil.”

  “You’re right,” said Benny. “She’s always down here working. I wonder where she is today.”

  Away from the flume line, Henry told the others about Donald’s remark. “How did he know when the last star ruby was found here?” he said.

  “Maybe he read about it—there are a lot of newspaper articles on the wall in the lobby” said Violet.

  “There’s Sybil,” Benny said.

  The older woman carried a Ruby Hollow laundry basket up the path to the Laundromat. A white shirt dropped off the pile, but Sybil hurried on, unaware.

  Benny ran ahead and picked up the shirt. He started to call out to Sybil when he noticed something.

  “What is it?” asked Jessie.

  “Look,” he said. “The sleeve is ripped. Do you think that piece of cloth we found would fit?”

  “Good thinking!” Henry praised. “Jessie, do you have that scrap with you?”

  Jessie pulled the cloth from her pack, where she kept the warning note and the list from Jonathan’s notebook. She placed the scrap over the rectangular-shaped tear in the shirt.

  Violet squinted. “It doesn’t quite fit. One side is too long.”

  Henry held the shirt up to the light. “The material doesn’t match.” He pointed to the faint stain on the scrap. “This shirt doesn’t have any stains.”

  “So it’s not a good clue,” said Benny, disappointed.

  “We could be on the right track,” Henry said. “Sybil had a lot of white clothes in her basket.”

  “I wonder if there’s a stained shirt in her laundry,” Violet mused.

  “We have to watch her,” said Jessie. “And Donald and Jonathan. It’s hard to watch all these people when they are in different places. I wish they would stay in one spot!”

  “That may not happen till this evening,” said Violet with a sigh. “When the contest is judged.”

  “We have to find the ruby before then,” Benny stated.

  During lunch, Cecil Knight announced that the flume would close at five that evening, so the contest could be judged at six.

  Jessie was glad. With only a few hours to find a special stone, everyone spent the afternoon on the flume, including Sybil, Donald, and Jonathan.

  To make the time pass, Jonathan started telling jokes.