Mystery in the Computer Game (3 page)

When Benny heard this, he laughed. “I know how to boot the computer. That means starting it up.”

C.D. gave Benny a friendly shoulder punch. “Good for you. That’s exactly what booting up means. Well, now you Aldens have some pretty up-to-date equipment. You can boot up parts of
Ringmaster II
and get onto our network as well. Just let me know by e-mail if you find anything strange.”

“The Aldens are going to be on the QuestMaster network?” Andy asked.

C.D. nodded. “Some parts of it, like e-mail. They’ll be looking for bugs and testing out some of the new things we’re introducing in
Ringmaster II.
”

“But—but I thought everything was a secret,” Andy said, looking confused again.

C.D. laughed. “Not much longer, Andy. We just have to work out those bugs. And I need some real live children to run through the game before we do the final version.”

Andy’s face grew red. “I thought that’s why you hired me.”

C.D. gave Andy an encouraging smile. “It is, but you already know the game so well. Plus I need you to keep the machines running tip-top. But we need younger kids, too. Violet, Benny, and Soo Lee are just the right ages to try out all the levels of the game and make sure the clues are easy to follow.”

Benny just had to speak up when he heard this. “Soo Lee and I figure out
hard
clues, too, not just easy ones.”

“I told Benny not to let the boy in the game drink the juice,” Soo Lee added. “It was poison.”

Everyone but Andy Porter laughed.

C.D. stared at Andy for a few seconds. “I’m counting on you to get the Aldens’ computer set up for them. Now let’s lift this monitor into Mr. Alden’s car.”

Andy did as he was told. He even did something he wasn’t told. While C.D. chatted with Mr. Alden and the children after they got into the car, Benny watched Andy from the backseat. After a few minutes, he whispered to Soo Lee, “Let’s go see what Andy’s doing.” Quietly they got out of the car.

When Soo Lee and Benny crept up behind Andy, he was unwrapping the computer. He took out a small flashlight and looked at the back.

Benny was curious about what Andy was up to. “Whatcha doing?”

Andy jumped back, nearly bumping his head on the station wagon’s rear door. He didn’t answer Benny or Soo Lee right away.

“How come you’re doing that? Is something wrong with the computer?”

“I needed to check something,” Andy whispered. “It’s easier for me to concentrate if I’m by myself. I’m almost done, so you can get back in the car.”

Benny and Soo Lee quietly returned to the car and buckled themselves in.

Mr. Alden started the car. He checked the rearview mirror. “I guess Andy is all done with whatever he was doing.”

“He was just packing up,” C.D. told Mr. Alden as he stepped away from the driver’s window.

“He had a teeny flashlight—” Soo Lee piped up from the backseat.

“And—and ...” Benny interrupted. “And he was looking at the back of the computer and everything.”

“Hmm,” C.D. said before going around to the back of Mr. Alden’s car. “Andy, any problems with this computer?”

The children turned around. They saw Andy put his hands in his pockets. He didn’t quite look at C.D. “Uh ... no. It’s just that ... well, since Jane Driver only used this computer a short time, I thought we ... uh ... we were keeping it. She took it home last week, so I didn’t get a chance to check it with the others.”

This didn’t bother C.D. a bit. “No problem. I’ll send you around to the Aldens’ if they need help. Mind you, Mr. Alden says Henry and Jessie can probably handle any difficulties.”

Andy suddenly seemed to remember something. “I’ll help the Aldens set up this one tomorrow.”

The children had other ideas.

“Jessie and I like fooling with computers, too,” Henry told Andy out the car window. “We probably won’t need you to come over. We should be okay. But thanks for the offer.”

“Yeah, well, our computer software and games aren’t as easy to set up as they look,” Andy said. “I’ll come over to help you.”

“You don’t know my grandchildren, Andy,” Mr. Alden said. “They’ll stay up all night trying to solve a problem before they’ll call for help. But you’re welcome to come by our place anytime just for fun. By the way, how are you at checkers?”

Andy Porter looked confused by all these Aldens and their questions, but he smiled anyway. “I have the highest score at QuestMaster on computer checkers.”

Mr. Alden shook his head. “Is there anyone left who still likes a nice quiet game of old-fashioned checkers?”

“I do, Grandfather,” Violet answered. “Let’s have a game when we get home.”

At those words, Mr. Alden pulled away from the loading dock. “So long, C.D. So long, Andy.”

C.D. waved, but Andy Porter had already disappeared into the building.

“Maybe Andy wanted the computer C.D. gave us for himself,” Henry said.

“Only now we have it,” Benny added. “Because we’re the Ringmasters.”

Mr. Alden had to wait for his game of checkers. The children spent the whole evening getting their new computer up and running.

The next morning, they went straight to the computer before breakfast.

“Looks like another day of playing solitaire, not checkers,” Grandfather said when the children disappeared into the den. He was smiling, though. Mr. Alden always enjoyed watching his grandchildren’s excitement over a new project.

In no time Jessie had
Ringmaster I
up and running just to see how fast it worked on the new computer. “Wow, this is super-fast. We could have become Ringmasters sooner on this new one.”

Henry and Jessie tested out the QuestMaster network next.

“Hey, we’ve got mail,” Jessie said when she heard the computer beep. “It’s from Andy. He must have sent this overnight.” She clicked open the e-mail and read it aloud to the other children:

“I’ll be over in the morning to set up all the software and games you need.”

Soo Lee tugged at Henry’s elbow. “Andy is too late, right, Henry? You and Jessie did it all by yourselves.”

Henry smiled at Soo Lee. “Not by ourselves. Everybody helped.”

The next thing the children heard was Watch barking. Benny scooted after Watch. “Somebody’s at the door.”

Mrs. McGregor was already there, talking to someone. “I’ll go check with the children. Were they expecting you?”

“Hi, Andy,” Benny said when he saw Andy Porter standing in the doorway

“Hi, Benny. Did you get my e-mail?” Andy asked. “I came over to get everything going like C.D. asked me to.”

By this time Soo Lee had followed Benny out to the hallway. “My cousins know everything. They put
Ringmaster I
and
II
on the computer. Henry’s trying
Ringmaster II
now. It’s very hard but not too hard for Henry.”

“What’s the matter?” Benny asked when he noticed that Andy looked upset.

“I wish they hadn’t installed the game without me,” Andy said. “They could have made a lot of mistakes.”

“Henry and Jessie hardly ever make mistakes,” Benny said. “Want to see?”

Benny and Soo Lee led Andy into the den. Henry and Jessie were glued to the computer. Up on the screen, Morka the dragon was breathing flames at the onscreen children.

“You won’t let the boy and girl get burned, right?” Soo Lee asked Henry.

Henry kept his hand on one of the keys and his eyes on the screen. “Don’t worry about that, Soo Lee. Now, just watch.”

Watch thumped his tail under the desk.

“No, silly,” Soo Lee said to Watch. “Henry means watch the screen.”

With one click, Henry sent a storm cloud chasing after Morka. Rain poured from the cloud onto Morka’s flaming breath. The dragon melted into a big green puddle. The boy and girl and Tracker were safe!

“Good for you, Henry,” Jessie said. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Andy standing there. “Andy! We read your e-mail. I guess you didn’t get our answer in time. We could have saved you a trip. As you can see, we got the new computer and everything going—even the QuestMaster programs, the same ones you use at work.”

Andy was so busy looking over Jessie’s shoulder, he didn’t seem to hear what she said. “Well, I ... uh ... needed to come over anyway. We just made some adjustments on the game, and I came over to add a couple of new features to
Ringmaster II.
It’ll just take me a minute to reprogram the changes.”

Jessie and Henry looked at each other. They were proud that they had set up the computer all by themselves. They didn’t know quite what to do now that Andy was here.

“C.D. said to come over, remember?” Andy said.

Jessie moved off her chair, and Andy took her place.

Henry didn’t move.

Andy wriggled in the chair. “Know what? It’s hard for me to work when people are watching. When I’m
done,
though, I bet you’ll want to check out everything again.”

“But Grandfather says that’s how we learn, by watching,” Benny said.

Andy’s ears got nearly as red as his
Ringmaster
T-shirt.

“It’s okay, Andy,” Henry said finally. “We’ll go have breakfast while you’re fixing things.”

“Mrs. McGregor is fixing things, too,”

Jessie said to cheer everyone up, including Andy. “She made waffles. Let’s get some in the kitchen. When you’re done with the computer, Andy, take a left down the hallway. Just follow the waffle smell to find the kitchen.”

She smiled at Andy, but he didn’t even look up from the computer.

At breakfast Mrs. McGregor set down an extra plate. “Where’s your friend?”

“Working on the computer,” Henry whispered. “We invited him for breakfast, but he didn’t answer.”

Benny looked up at Mrs. McGregor. “If he doesn’t eat his waffles, may I have seconds?”

Mrs. McGregor smiled. “First have firsts, Benny. Andy might get hungry in a while.”

Jessie stared at the maple syrup pitcher without picking it up. “Doesn’t it seem strange that Andy already had a new
Ringmaster II
section to add, when they are still having problems with the game?” she said in a whisper. “C.D. never mentioned that yesterday afternoon.”

Henry turned to look down the hallway. “I was thinking the same thing,” he whispered back.

Jessie remembered something. “Didn’t you say you saw Andy unwrap the computer in the trunk and check it with a flashlight?” she asked the younger children.

Benny and Soo Lee nodded.

Violet put down her fork. She dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “Maybe Andy thought C.D. was going to give
him
the computer that he gave to us instead. After all, it’s supposed to be pretty new.”

Henry put down his glass of milk. “Good guess, Violet,” he said in a loud whisper. “Or else Jane wanted to keep that computer for home or something. That might explain why neither of them is too friendly with us.”

“Or else there’s something about the computer C.D. gave us that’s different from the others,” Jessie noted. “First Jane Driver seemed upset that we had it, now Andy is.”

Violet disagreed. “I think Andy just wants to help us out.” She picked up Andy’s plate and a glass of milk. “I know we’re not supposed to eat near the computer, but may I bring these to Andy?” Violet asked Mrs. McGregor. “Maybe he forgot to eat, since he came over here to help us out.”

Mrs. McGregor nodded. “Of course. Here’s one more waffle for him—a hot one, nice and crisp.”

Violet walked slowly down the hallway to the den.

“Andy?” she called as she came into the den.

But there was no Andy to answer her or to take the food she had brought him. The den was silent except for the
Ringmaster II
music playing quietly from the computer speakers.

Now that the Aldens had their computer back to themselves, they decided to finish the game of
Ringmaster II
they had started.

“Did you wash your hands, you two?” Jessie asked Benny and Soo Lee after breakfast. “No sticky fingers on the keyboard.”

“I don’t know why Andy went without saying good-bye,” Henry said. “He’s a hard one to figure out, that’s for sure.”

Jessie pulled her chair up to the computer. “I wonder if that was Andy and his father we overheard arguing at the warehouse yesterday.”