Mystery in the Cave (3 page)

“It’s a sinkhole into a cave!” Henry said when he looked down. “Benny’s right here. Jessie, run back and get our flashlights and some rope.”

“I’m okay,
okay, okay
,” Benny said, not sounding a bit worried. “It’s just a little ways down.”

“Hang on, Benny,” Henry yelled into the hole. “Here we come.”

When Jessie came back with the rope and flashlights, she sat at the edge of the sinkhole, then lowered herself down with no problem. Benny was there, holding his penlight to see better.

“Isn’t it neat down here?” Benny asked, grinning. “Wait till you see the rest.”

“Shh, here comes Violet.” Jessie stood to the side so Violet would have plenty of space to climb down.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Benny,” Violet said. “I was afraid this hole went way way down, and we’d never find you again.”

“Well, here I am,” Benny said, just as if he were standing in Grandfather’s backyard.

Since Henry was so tall, he came down with no trouble at all. Then he turned on his flashlight to get a better look at the cave.

“It slopes down then turns into a long tunnel,” Jessie said, going a bit ahead of the others. “I wonder if anyone knows about this cave.”

“I think so!” Benny cried out. “Look! There are footprints in the dirt. See?”

The children beamed all their lights to where Benny was pointing. Indeed, deep footprints led down toward the end of the cave.

Benny was really excited now. “Can I go ahead a little bit, Jessie? Can I? Please?”

Jessie gave a nod. “Okay, but just a few feet,” she said. “First let me tie this rope around your waist. We don’t want you to disappear again.”

The others beamed their lights so Benny could see where he was going, which wasn’t too far. He sounded brave, but he didn’t want to disappear either. Staying within the light beams, Benny took a few steps down the tunnel. He was just a few feet in front of Jessie when he suddenly ran back and nearly slipped on the muddy floor.

“A monster!” Benny yelled. “There’s a monster in this cave!” His voice was shaking now. “I saw giant footprints and something like a big tail print right behind them. It must be the dragon!”

“Let me look,” Jessie said. Beaming her flashlight on the muddy floor, Jessie saw what Benny had reported: huge footprints, followed by a pointed, flat track. Something awfully big—maybe a giant tail—had been dragging on the ground!

With each step, Jessie took a deep breath. There
had
to be an explanation.

“Did you see the monster tracks?” Benny asked when Jessie returned.

Jessie swallowed hard before she answered. “I saw tracks, but they could be anything.”

“Anything with a lot of feet and one big tail!” Benny said.

“Come on, let’s talk about this outside,” Henry suggested.

The children went back to the sinkhole entrance. But before they could climb out of the cave, two giant feet came through the sinkhole.

“What?” Jessie said in a hoarse whisper.

The feet were followed by legs, then the whole body of a man who was even taller than Henry.

“Who’s down here?” a man’s voice boomed as he pulled a large burlap sack down behind him.

The Boxcar Children nearly froze to the cave floor.

Henry stepped forward to greet the man. “Hello, we’re the Aldens. We’re exploring down here.”

The man flashed his own flashlight to get a better look at the children. “Who?”

“The Aldens,” Jessie said in a firm voice. “We were rock hunting nearby on Mr. Howe’s property. He told us we could. Then we found this cave by accident and decided to look around. What’s your name?”

The man didn’t answer. He turned away from the Aldens and headed to the sinkhole entrance.

Benny was right behind. “I’m Benny Alden. Do you have your lunch inside that big bag? We have a bag, too, but it’s on our picnic blanket. Were you going to have your lunch down here because it’s so hot outside?”

The man snorted but didn’t answer Benny’s question.

“I guess I’ll call you Joe Caveman,” Benny said.

Whether he liked this name or not, Joe Caveman wasn’t about to become friends with the Aldens. He whirled around, heaved his bag up, then boosted himself up from the sinkhole.

“Why was Joe Caveman in such a hurry to get out of here when he saw us?” Violet asked.

“I don’t know,” Henry answered.

“And I wanted to ask him if he’s ever seen the monster,” Benny sighed.

“Maybe
he’s
our monster,” Jessie said.

The
next day, the Aldens didn’t want to waste a minute. They were going back to the “monster” cave. They had a quick breakfast of cold cereal and milk instead of going to Dragon’s Mouth Coffee Shop.

“Today we wear our oldest jeans and tops,” Jessie told her brothers and sister. “And boots. It’s muddy in that cave. You never know when you might come across an underground stream.”

“Or even a lake,” Henry said. “Let’s see. I think I’ve got everything—ropes, flashlights, candles, a roll of reflective tape, and a first-aid kit, too. It’s a perfect caving day—no rain in the weather forecast, so we won’t have to worry about flooding.”

Jessie helped Violet and Benny zip up their backpacks. “While Henry and I finish packing, you two run down to Mr. Howe. Tell him where we’re going and when we’ll be back. Careful cavers always do that before they set out.”

“Do careful cavers always bring food along, too?” Benny asked.

“Of course,” Jessie said, “so don’t worry about that.”

By the time Violet and Benny reached the coffee shop, it was nearly empty. Mr. Howe was at the register ringing up Nelly Stoner’s bill.

“Jessie said to tell you we’re going caving,” Benny announced.

Mrs. Stoner smiled at the two children. “Are you now? And what cave are you going to?”

Violet looked up at Mrs. Stoner. “A cave that—”

“Has a monster in it!” Benny cried out before Violet could answer. “A monster with big feet and a tail and everything. I found a sinkhole to a cave. It has monster tracks in it.”

Mrs. Stoner’s eyebrows shot up. “Whoa, slow down, Benny. You don’t mean the dragon monster? Why, that’s only the name of one of the shapes in the big cavern. We do have a few live critters in our caves, but they’re small—salamanders, bats, and such. Occasionally some other animals wander in.”

“A man wandered into the cave we were in,” Violet explained. “But he wouldn’t tell us his name.”

“I called him Joe Caveman,” Benny said. “He wouldn’t tell us what was in his big sack, either.”

Mr. Howe scratched his chin. “Hmm. Could be any number of local spelunkers.”

“Lunkers?” Benny asked. “What are those?”

“I’m a spelunker,” Mrs. Stoner said. “And so is Mr. Howe and a lot of other folks around here. Spelunkers are people who explore caves. That’s their hobby. I bet your Joe Caveman is a spelunker. His sack was probably full of caving supplies,”

“But what about the monster tracks?” Violet asked. “Henry and Jessie saw them, too.”

Mr. Howe shook his head, smiling. “Well, you children will just have to become spelunkers and find out all about that monster. I’ll want a full report. In the meantime, I have an important job for you when you visit your cave.”

“What is it?” Benny asked in an excited voice. “We like important jobs.”

Mr. Howe leaned on the counter. “Here’s what you do. Get a stick a few feet long and tie a handkerchief at the top. Then poke it in the ground right by the sinkhole entrance before you go down again.”

“I know why!” Violet cried. “If we’re gone too long, someone can find us. But don’t worry, Mr. Howe. Henry and Jessie won’t let us get lost.”

“I’m sure they won’t,” Mrs. Stoner said as she left the coffee shop with the children. “I know you Aldens will have fun. The caves around here don’t go too far, so you’ll be just fine. Besides, I know from your Aunt Jane that you children know how to take care of yourselves no matter where you go. Good luck.”

The Aldens had plenty of good luck. After coming down Little Nose Cliff they spotted the sinkhole with no trouble at all. This time Benny didn’t fall in.

“There!” Benny said when they reached the entrance. He poked a long stick in the ground.

Violet tied a purple bandana to Benny’s marker. “It looks just like a flag in case anyone wants to find us.”

Henry held up a roll of silver tape. “We won’t be needing a rescue with this. We’re going to stick pieces of this reflective tape on the walls as we go in. Then we’ll follow them when we come out. It’s simple.”

“You forgot something,” Benny said before Henry could say anything else.

“What’s that?” Henry asked.

“Good cavers always bring plenty of food and water,” Benny answered.

Henry handed everyone their backpacks. “Good thinking, Benny. Ready? Put your hats on now so we don’t get drips in our eyes.”

One by one, the Aldens threw their packs down the sinkhole then lowered themselves into the cave. Today, the four heavy-duty flashlights they carried made it easy to see that the cave stretched out quite a ways.

The Aldens were careful. At every turn, Henry put up a small piece of tape to mark the place.

Benny aimed his flashlight at the cave floor. “There are those monster tracks again! Can we follow them, Jessie?”

Jessie turned around. “Not just yet. Since this is our first time in this cave, we’d better not go off on a wild goose chase.”

“I wonder if we’ll see Joe Caveman today,” Benny said after the children began walking.

Violet shivered. “I wish we would see some other cavers. It’s so quiet down here. There could be a storm outside or even a truck driving over where we’re standing, but we wouldn’t know it.”

Step by step, Jessie led the group deeper into the cave. Suddenly she stopped so fast, Benny bumped smack into her. “Wait!” she whispered. “I hear a clinking sound. And there’s a speck of light up ahead, too.”

Henry squeezed by to get a look. “Shh. Let’s turn off our flashlights for a minute.”

Except for the light in the distance, the cave was pitch-black. The children felt their way along the walls with their hands. Everyone took small steps so they wouldn’t slip or bump into each other. Finally, they got close enough to see where the bright light was coming from.

Benny tapped Jessie on the shoulder. “Is it Joe Caveman?”

“No, it’s a woman,” Jessie whispered. “She’s wearing a hard hat. She just put down something. Should we say anything, Henry? I don’t want to scare her.”

“Let’s turn our flashlights back on soshe can see us,” Henry suggested.

“Hello? Hello?” Jessie called out. “Coming through.”

Blinded by the flashlights, the blond young woman couldn’t see the Aldens very well. “Who’s there?” she yelled. Before getting an answer, the Aldens saw her put away a camera and some other equipment in a duffel bag. Then the woman turned off all but one spotlight.

Jessie walked ahead of the others. “We’re the Aldens. We’re caving down here. How about you?”

The woman zipped up the bag and shoved it back with her foot. She stared a long time at the Aldens before answering. “I’m—uh—Crystal Hollowell. I just discovered this cave while I was out hiking and decided to come in. I’m a—a—biologist—at the Rockville Community College. I wanted to see what kind of animal life there is down here.”

Benny looked up at the woman. “Did you fall down the hole, too?”

Crystal didn’t bother to answer Benny’s question. In fact, she looked upset to see the Aldens there at all. “Children shouldn’t be allowed down here by themselves. Caves are delicate environments. They get damaged easily. I advise you to stay away from these caves.”

“Our family is friends with Nelly Stoner, who runs the Dragon’s Mouth Cavern. She told us all about caves and rocks and how to be careful around them. And I’ve done some caving myself,” Henry reassured her.

The young woman’s jaw tightened. “You didn’t tell this Mrs. Stoner person about this cave, did you?”

“Sure we did. And Mr. Howe, too,” Benny piped up. “Henry and Jessie said you always have to tell somebody when you’re going caving. Did you do that?”

“I most certainly did not,” Miss Hollowell answered back. “Otherwise people who don’t know anything would be down here ruining everything.”

Jessie tried to figure out why Miss Hollowell seemed so annoyed. “I thought you found this cave by accident,” Jessie said, staring at the duffel bag. “You brought tools and lights.”

Miss Hollowell nudged her bag even farther back. “These aren’t tools, young lady. As for the lights, well—uh—I bring them with me whenever I go hiking just in case I have to go into dark places to study—uh—animal tracks and so forth.”

Benny whirled around and pointed down the cave. “Did you see the giant monster tracks back there? We did yesterday and today.”

This annoyed Miss Hollowell even more. “You were in here yesterday, snooping around? Was anyone else with you?”

“Nope,” Benny answered. “But we met Joe Caveman.”

“Joe Caveman?” Miss Hollowell said. “Someone else was down here? Who was it? Was he alone?”

The children looked at one another. Why did this woman mind that other people liked to visit this cave too?