Mystery of the Star Ruby (3 page)

Donald Hodge worked even faster, but he dumped half a bucket of dirt into his tray at a time and didn’t rinse properly.

“All I’ve found are a couple of puny sapphires!” he grumbled. “Cecil Knight ripped me off!”

“Cecil is as honest as the day is long,” Sybil said loyally. “Maybe you should put a little less dirt into your tray.”

“I don’t have all day” Donald said. “And it’s hot out here.”

It
was
hot. Although the flume was shaded, panning was hot work.

Finally, Donald threw his empty buckets into the wheelbarrow and left, disgusted that he hadn’t found a big stone.

Jessie watched him leave.
Boy
,
he really takes mining seriously
,she thought.

“I guess Donald expects to find a Papa Bear ruby every day,” Sybil said. She eyed the dumping pile behind Donald’s place on the flume. “I bet there are good stones in his dirt that he missed.”

Jonathan ruefully shook his plastic container. “I only found three Baby Bear rubies and a sapphire. Not even worth taking to the grading window.”

After three hours, the Aldens had finished going through their buckets. Everyone trooped to the grading window at the jewelry shop to have their stones weighed and inspected. Several people fell in line behind them, including Sybil Finley.

“Let’s see what you have,” the man at the counter told Benny, taking Benny’s plastic container. “Not bad—two Baby Bear rubies. Pretty good for a beginner.”

Grandfather had some nice hiddenite. Henry and Jessie each had a couple of small sapphires and garnets.

When it was Violet’s turn, she handed her plastic container across the counter.

“I only found one,” she said. “I don’t think I’m a very good rock-finder.”

The gem inspector peered at her stone through a special lens on his glasses.

Then he smiled at Violet.

“You’re a better rock-finder than you think!” he said.

“What did I find?” Violet asked anxiously.

The man at the grading counter held up her stone between his thumb and forefinger.

“A very nice Mama Bear ruby,” he proclaimed. “I’d say it’s easily twenty carats.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Benny.

The gem inspector put the stone in the plastic container and returned it to Violet. “Congratulations, young lady. Let me know if you decide to have the stone cut and mounted in a ring.”

“I will. Thanks.” Violet slipped the plastic container into her pink backpack. As she headed for the door, she noticed Sybil Finley standing in line behind her.

Sybil stared at Violet’s backpack with a frown. Then, without speaking to Violet or the other Aldens, she pushed her way out of the jewelry shop and headed toward the cabins.

“What’s with her?” Henry wondered.

Jessie shrugged, adjusting her own backpack. “Maybe she remembered she had to do something in her cabin. The line back there was pretty long.”

“Is it time for lunch yet?” Grandfather asked.

Benny stopped in surprise. “Grandfather! That’s what I always say!”

“Just thought I’d beat you to it!” said Grandfather.

Everyone laughed as they walked up the path to the main building.

Jonathan and Donald Hodge were sitting at their table in the dining room.

“I hear you had a pretty productive morning,” Jonathan said to Violet. “May I see the stone you found?”

Violet slipped her backpack off and hooked it on the back of her chair. Then she unzipped the outside pocket and handed Jonathan the plastic container.

Jonathan gave a low whistle of admiration. “This would make a nice ring.” He showed the stone to Donald. “See? If you’d stayed on the line longer, you might have found something.”

“Beginner’s luck,” Donald said. “But it is a nice stone.”

Jonathan passed the container back to Violet. “Donald has such a good eye, he never takes his stones to the grading window.”

Donald flagged down their waitress. “Miss? When is lunch?”

“Coming right out, sir,” she said.

Henry wondered why Donald was always bugging the waitress. Everyone was hungry, but they’d learned to wait, since meals were served family-style. Why was he so impatient?

Sybil Finley hurried into the dining room. She had changed into a white blouse and denim skirt. When she saw an empty chair next to Violet, she smiled.

“I thought I was late,” she said. She pulled out the empty chair, bumping Violet’s bulky backpack.

“Let me move that,” said Violet.

“I’ll just put it over here.” Sybil shifted the backpack to the floor, on the side away from Violet.

After a lunch of barbecue sandwiches, potato chips, pickles, and brownies, the Alden kids decided to spend the afternoon hiking.

“May I have my backpack?” Violet asked Sybil.

“I’m sorry I forgot all about it.” Sybil handed over the pink backpack. “Have fun.”

The kids took a trail on the other side of the flume. The path followed the stream that fueled the waterwheel. The sun blazed overhead, but a breeze stirred the treetops.

“That water looks really good,” Benny murmured. “Can we go wading?”

“Great idea,” Henry said, unhooking the straps of his pack.

The Aldens sat down on the rocks and took off their shoes and socks. Leaving packs and water bottles on a big rock, they stepped out on a sandbar.

Jessie dipped her toes into the clear water, then yanked her foot back with a shriek. “Oooo, that’s cold!”

Giggling, the kids waded into the chilly, shallow water. Olive-green minnows darted around their ankles as they picked up interesting stones.

Cra-ack! Crack!

Henry straightened up. “What was that?”

Violet pointed into the woods on the far side of the creek. “It sounded like it came from over there.”

“Let’s check it out,” said Benny, already halfway across the stream.

On the opposite side, the kids clambered up the bank. They stared into the thick woods.

“We can’t investigate without our shoes,” Jessie said sensibly.

Henry shielded his eyes from the sun. “I don’t see anything anyway. It was probably an animal.”

“It must have been a
big
animal,” Benny commented.

“Not necessarily,” said Henry. “Everything is louder in the woods. I’ve heard chipmunks that sound like bears!”

They recrossed the stream. On the other side, they put on their shoes and socks, then sorted out their packs.

“Wait a minute!” Jessie exclaimed. “My pack is gone!”

Violet sat back on her heels. “You’re right! What could have happened to it?”

“That cracking sound we heard must have been a person,” Henry figured. “And he—or she—took Jessie’s pack. But why?”

“Let’s look around for clues,” Violet suggested.

Benny found something right away, a scrap of white cloth caught on a tree branch.

Jessie plucked the material off the branch. “Good job, Benny. This could have been here all along—but maybe not.” She examined the fabric. “The cloth is stained.”

“So all we have to do is find a ripped shirt or blouse with a stain on it,” said Henry. “And that could belong to the person who took Jessie’s pack.”

Jessie gave her brother a dubious look. “Sounds like we’re looking for a needle in a haystack!”

That evening at dinner, a thunderstorm broke over the mountains. Everyone marveled at the echoing thunder and bold streaks of lightning.

Looking at the rain pelting against the windows, Jonathan said ruefully, “And I changed my shirt before dinner.”

The Aldens glanced at one another.

Henry whispered to Violet, “I wonder if Jonathan changed out of a ripped, stained, white shirt?”

Violet frowned. She didn’t like to think of Jonathan doing something so dishonest.

Dinner arrived and soon everyone was busy eating turkey with dressing and mashed potatoes. While the waitress served slices of coconut cake, Cecil Knight filled coffee cups.

Jonathan turned to Benny. “Do you know where horses go when they are sick?”

Benny thought hard. “No. Where?”

“The horse-pital!”

Benny collapsed with laughter. “That’s funny! Tell another one!”

“Okay, what do gorillas eat for lunch?”

“Bananas?” Benny guessed.

“Go-rilla cheese sandwiches!” Jonathan said.

Benny giggled. “I get it!”

At the front of the room, Mr. Knight clapped his hands. “Who wants to play charades?”

“What kind of a game is that?” Benny asked.

“You know, Benny. It’s where you act out a word or a name and other people guess what it is,” Jessie replied.

“My aunt Cathy was great at charades,” said Mr. Knight. “I didn’t know her very well—she and my uncle Josh and my cousin only visited the mine once when I was a kid. But I liked her a lot.”

“Count me out,” said Donald. “I’ve got a good book to read.” He stood up to leave.

“It’s still raining,” said Violet. “You’ll get wet.”

“I won’t melt.” Donald disappeared into the stormy night.

“Well, I’m a charade-player from way back,” said Sybil. “Let’s pick a theme. How about animals?”

They all had fun guessing which animal each player acted out. When it finally stopped raining, it was time for bed.

Since it was dark outside, Henry and Benny walked the girls to their cabin.

Violet spotted something pink lying against the door.

“Jessie!” she cried. “It’s your pack!”

Jessie picked up her pack.

“It’s not even wet!” she exclaimed in amazement. “How did it get here?” Quickly, she unzipped the compartments. “Nothing is missing.”

“That’s weird,” Henry said. “Why would someone take your pack in the first place?”

“It’s a mystery!” Benny said eagerly.

“It
is
strange,” agreed Henry. “The Case of the Disappearing and Returning Backpack. But now, we’d better turn in. We have another day of hunting rubies tomorrow.”

Later, after she and Jessie were in bed, Violet wondered about Jessie’s missing backpack. Who could have taken it? What had the thief been after?

Then she thought of something. She sat up and switched on the lamp.

“What is it?” Jessie asked sleepily.

“I just realized something,” said Violet. “Your pack looks just like mine! They are identical.”

Now Jessie sat up. “Do you think the thief got our packs mixed up? That he took mine by mistake?”

“I don’t know,” Violet said. “But I think Benny’s right. We definitely have a mystery here!”

The next morning, the kids met outside Violet and Jessie’s cabin to discuss the mystery.

“My backpack is the same as Jessie’s,” Violet said. “Suppose the person took Jessie’s
accidentally
?”

Henry nodded. “That makes sense. The person could have been after yours. What was in your backpack that wasn’t in Jessie’s?”

“The ruby!” Benny said instantly.

Violet’s eyes widened. “They must have been after the Mama Bear ruby I found. But why? It’s not that big—Donald Hodge has a Papa Bear ruby that’s much bigger than mine.”

“We don’t know
why
yet,” said Jessie. “But we might be able to figure out
who
.Let’s look for footprints.”

Although the ground around the girls’ cabin was muddy, it had rained again early that morning. If there had been footprints, they had washed away.

“Oh, well,” Henry said practically. “We’ve never solved a mystery before breakfast.”

The kids found Grandfather in the lobby of the main building, talking to Donald. They all went into the dining room.

Jonathan and Sybil were already seated and had the local newspaper spread out on their table.

“What’s in the news?” Grandfather asked, sitting down.

“Last night’s storm did a lot of damage to the town near here,” Jonathan replied. “High winds blew a tree over on the public library.”

Henry was reading over Jonathan’s shoulder. “The tree hit the roof of the children’s room. The rain soaked all the books.”

“That’s terrible,” said Jessie, who loved to read. If the books in the library back home in Greenfield were ruined, she would feel awful.

Everyone discussed the storm over a breakfast of French toast, sausage, and scrambled eggs.

Rolling up the sleeves of her men’s work shirt, Sybil declared, “It’s going to be hot today. We’d better hit the flume early.”

“How about if we go creekin’, instead?” Jonathan suggested.

“What’s that?” Benny asked.

“Instead of buying buckets of pre-spaded dirt, you can dig at a special place right in the stream,” Jonathan explained. “It’s fun. Want to come?”

“Yeah!” the Alden kids chorused.

“I think I’ll stay on the flume line,” Grandfather decided.

“Me, too,” said Donald. “I stand a better chance of finding good stones by panning. Though so far nobody has challenged my Papa Bear ruby. If no one does, I’ll be driving that new convertible sports car, after all.”

“You’re selling your ruby to buy a sports car?” asked Henry.

Donald nodded.

“The contest prize money will be the down payment.” He stood, jamming his hands in his pockets. “Coming, Sybil?”

“I believe I’ll go with Jonathan and the kids,” said Sybil. “Maybe I’ll find a star ruby in the creek. It’ll be cooler there, anyway.”