Mystery on Blizzard Mountain (7 page)

When the branches were trimmed off both trees, Maris cut one trunk exactly in half. Then she cut the other trunk into four pieces. She laid the two long pieces of wood side by side. She tied the four shorter pieces across the two long pieces, in the middle.

“It looks like a ladder,” said Benny.

“It does,” said Maris. “But it’s your new sled.”

Quickly Maris wove some of the branches in and out of the rungs of the ladder-sled. Last of all, she lashed her waterproof tarp over the branches.

“Hop on,” she told Benny. “And let’s go.”

Benny climbed onto the sled and grabbed each side. Maris picked up the two poles on the end of the sled facing down the trail and started forward.

“Hold on tight,” she said. Benny and the sled slid over the snow.

Henry and Maris took turns pulling Benny. With Benny in the sled, they could all travel much faster.

They reached the bottom of the trail in the late afternoon. They were all very tired.

“Looks like we’re the last ones out,” said Maris. “Carola’s truck is gone and so’s Rayanne’s car. They must have come out even earlier than we did. I guess the snow buried their footprints.”

“Bobcat’s truck is gone, too,” said Violet.

“At least we know he’s not up on the mountain somewhere,” said Jessie.

“We’ll check in town,” said Maris. “I’m sure Bobcat is fine and there’s a logical reason why he didn’t come back.”

“Whew,” said Henry, helping Benny climb off the sled. “I was getting worried for a while there that we were going to get stuck on Blizzard Mountain.”

“It’s a good thing you built me a sled,” said Benny to Maris. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Benny,” said Maris. “It’s a good way to move something heavy, isn’t it? Especially when it snows.”

“Sort of like a dogsled,” said Jessie.

“Yes,” agreed Maris. She smiled tiredly. “It’s also a good thing you got your boots back, though, Henry. You would have been a lot heavier to pull!”

They climbed into the truck.

“I’m hungry,” Benny announced.

Maris nodded. “Next stop, the diner,” she said. “We can get something to eat. And we can ask about Bobcat.”

Benny pushed the diner door open. “It smells good!” he said. He raced to the counter to sit down.

“Rayanne!” said Jessie in surprise, as she and the others followed Benny. “Did you hike down Blizzard Mountain this morning and then come to work?”

The silver-haired waitress shook her head. “Nope. We hiked back down last night. Carola didn’t like the way the weather looked. Hiking at night. Ha!”

“I guess you didn’t like it,” said Benny.

“You guessed that right,” said the waitress. “What can I get you?”

“Anything but beans,” said Benny.

“Has anyone seen Bobcat?” Maris asked abruptly.

“I haven’t,” said Rayanne. “No one I’ve talked to has.”

“I’m going to go check at the general store and see what I can find out,” said Maris. She slid off her counter stool and walked briskly out.

Jessie fixed Rayanne with a solemn look. “You hiked down the mountain last night?” she asked.

“If I go hiking again, it’s going to be in the summer,” declared Rayanne.

“Next time, you can take that purple opera cape,” said Benny.

“What did you say?” Jessie asked.

“Remember that old purple velvet opera cape that got stolen?” he said. “And people were talking about it here and joking that you could use it to fly down the mountain like a superhero?” Benny flapped his arms. “I just remembered that!” He laughed.

“That’s it,” Jessie whispered. “That’s it!”

“What?” asked Violet.

But before Jessie could answer, the door to the diner opened.

Chuck limped in on his crutches.

“You’re back,” he said to the Aldens. “Did you have a good trip? See any ghosts?”

“Yes,” said Benny.

“No,” said Henry firmly.

“Not exactly,” Jessie added.

“Well, at least you didn’t get trapped in all this snow,” Chuck said. He bent and knocked snow from his boots. “But I guess a little snow won’t hurt these old boots of mine.”

“Maybe you should get new boots,” said Benny, “to go with all your new hiking stuff.”

“New hiking stuff?” Chuck looked at Benny.

“Carola told us when you got lost, it was because you had all new stuff,” Benny said.

Chuck laughed and said, “I think I know what Carola said, and she’s right. New gear isn’t what makes you a good hiker. You have to learn that, just like lessons in school.”

Rayanne put a menu in front of Chuck. He glanced down, then glanced up again. “Where’s your friend Bobcat?” he asked the Aldens.

“He’s missing,” said Jessie. She had a very odd expression on her face.

“Missing?” asked Chuck. He raised his eyebrows. “That’s strange. I just saw him a couple of days ago.”

“You did?” Violet said, her voice going up in surprise.

“Sure. Outside the general store. He was loading supplies into his truck. Said he was on his way back up the mountain to bring them to you,” Chuck said.

“He never hiked back up to bring us those supplies,” Henry said.

Chuck stroked his beard as if trying to remember something. Then he said, “You know, now that I think about it, I did wonder why Bobcat did what he did.”

“What did Bobcat do?” Violet asked.

“He drove in the wrong direction when he left here,” said Chuck. “The opposite direction from Blizzard Mountain.”

Jessie jumped up. “Thanks,” she said. “Come on, everyone. We have to find Maris.” She raced out of the diner.

The other Aldens exchanged surprised looks. Then they followed their sister. They met Maris just outside the door. “Bobcat’s okay,” Jessie said.

“What? How do you know that?” Maris asked.

“How do you know?” asked Henry at the same time.

“Jessie?” Violet said.

“Do you know where Bobcat is?” asked Benny.

“Not exactly, but I’m sure he’s okay. Come on! And I have a plan to catch the ghost that’s been trying to scare us all off Blizzard Mountain,” Jessie said. “This is what we need to do—and why.”

The Aldens walked back into the diner a few minutes later. “Back so soon?” Rayanne asked.

“We’re going to call Grandfather. He’s at Maris’s cabin. We hope he can drive into Blizzard Gap to meet us for dinner,” explained Henry.

“The phone booth is in the hall. I’ll be right back,” said Maris.

The Aldens settled down at a table.

Chuck chewed the hamburger he had ordered. He nodded to the Aldens, then said, “Did you find Bobcat yet?”

“We will. Tomorrow,” said Jessie. “But we can’t look for him now. It’s too dark.”

“I’m sure he’s okay,” Chuck said. “Maybe he had an emergency and had to leave in a hurry.”

“Yes. That’s what probably happened,” agreed Jessie. She turned to Violet and said in a loud voice, “Show me that piece of cloth you found at the cabin, Violet.”

Violet reached into her pocket and pulled out the small scrap of purple cloth.

“Velvet,” said Jessie. “Purple velvet.”

“It looks old,” said Benny.

“Probably been stuck up in the cabin for years,” said Henry. He made sure the others in the diner could hear their conversation.

“Velvet’s a funny thing to find in an old cabin in the woods, don’t you think, Violet?” Jessie asked.

“You’re right,” said Violet.

“Maybe it’s a clue,” said Benny. “To buried treasure.”

Rayanne was standing behind the counter, motionless. Her eyes were fixed on the scrap of velvet Violet held. “Where did you find that?” she demanded.

“Up at the cabin,” said Violet. “Isn’t it pretty?”

Rayanne came around the counter and snatched up the bit of velvet. She stared at it, then slapped it down on the table. She went back to work without another word.

But the Aldens felt her sharp eyes watching them.

Chuck dropped his hamburger and ketchup splashed on his shirt. He grabbed a napkin and began to poke at the stain.

“Yes, it is a clue,” Benny said, in a louder voice than before. “I bet it’s a clue to where Stagecoach George hid his treasure.”

“In the cabin? Oh, Benny, do you think so?” said Violet.

“I do,” said Benny.

“Well, we should go up there and look,” said Henry. “Maybe Maris will take us up tomorrow.”

Now Chuck dropped the napkin. He bent over to pick it up and straightened. He hit his head on the table. “Ow!” he said.

“Tomorrow. First thing. We go on a treasure hunt,” said Jessie.

“But ... but ... what about Bobcat?” asked Chuck.

“We’ll find the treasure. And maybe Bobcat, too,” said Benny, smiling. “We’re
very
good at finding things. Ask anybody back in Greenfield.”

Maris came back into the diner. “Your grandfather’s on his way,” she said.

“Good,” said Henry. “We can tell him about this clue we found.”

Violet held up the piece of velvet and nodded. “And about the ghost and how he tried to scare us away and didn’t,” she said. “And about how we’re going to hike right back up Blizzard Mountain to that cabin and look for treasure.”

“I’m glad it stopped snowing,” whispered Violet.

“Me, too. And when the sun comes up, it’ll be warmer,” said Jessie.

They were huddled in the little lean-to just off the Blizzard Trail. They’d been there since right before dawn. From where they sat, they could see the trail clearly.

“It didn’t turn out to be much of a snowstorm after all,” Benny complained.

“Shhh, everyone!” Henry warned.

After that, the Aldens were quiet.

“What if this doesn’t work?” Violet said very, very softly.

“Maris is waiting just down the trail at the next big rock,” Henry reminded her. “One way or another, our trap will work.”

“Listen ...” Benny said.

They all grew quiet now. And then they heard it. Something was scraping over snow. Someone was coming down the Blizzard Trail.

Crunch, crunch, crunch
went the sound of boots on thin snow.

There was also the sound of something heavy being pulled over that same thin snow.
Swish, bump, bump, swish.

A figure appeared through the trees. Everyone held their breath.

The figure leaned forward and pulled hard on a rope in one hand. A sled bumped along at the end of the rope. “Whoa,” the figure commanded, and raised one foot awkwardly to slow down the sled.

“Let’s go,” said Jessie, and leaped to her feet and out of the lean-to.

The person saw the four Aldens running through the trees and, yanking the sled hard, began to run, too.

“Stop!” cried Jessie.

“Stop, thief!” shouted Benny. Henry jumped forward—and landed right on the sled.

The sled tipped over. The person pulling the sled stumbled and fell, but tried to get up and run again.

But by this time Maris had stepped out into the middle of the trail.

“Give up, Chuck,” said Henry. “We know all about the gold.”

The man turned and pushed the hood of his jacket back. Chuck’s face was red.

“What a dumb thing I did,” he said, and sat down hard on a fallen tree trunk.

Jessie stepped forward and pulled back the tarp on the sled. Underneath was a lump, covered with purple velvet. Carefully, she and Violet lifted the velvet cape. Gold bars shone beneath it.

“Gold!” said Benny.

“It’s the museum gold,” said Violet.

“I ... I ... oh, no,” moaned Chuck, and buried his face in his hands.

“Not exactly gold,” said a new voice.

Maris and the Aldens looked up in surprise at the woman striding up the trail.

“Rayanne?” asked Maris. “What are
you
doing here?”

“Rayanne Adams, private detective, at your service,” said Rayanne.

“But you work at the diner!” said Violet.

“That’s because I was undercover. What better place to find out what’s going on than at the town’s only diner?” asked Rayanne. She stared at Chuck. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, mister, robbing that museum.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Chuck looked up. “I was just standing there, and no one was around, and I saw how easy it would be to take the gold that was on display. I put a piece of tape on the back door lock and just pushed the door open right after the museum closed. I wrapped the gold in that old purple cape and carried it out.”

“You’re a private detective?” Maris asked Rayanne.

Rayanne nodded. “My nephew runs the museum. I’m retired now, but I agreed to take this case to help him out.”

“That’s why you asked so many questions! And knew so much about the museum theft!” cried Jessie.

“Yep,” said Rayanne. “And I had my suspicions about Mr. Chuck Larson here. But until you came along, I couldn’t prove anything. How did you know to make a trap for him?”

“Two clues,” said Henry. “Shoes and purple velvet. Chuck was acting like a hiker who didn’t know anything. But he wore good old comfortable hiking boots. Boots that had been used a lot.”

“And they were worn down on one side, like a man who’d been limping while wearing them,” said Jessie. “That matched the boot prints we found in the snow. The prints weren’t very clear, but they were clear enough to show us that whoever walked around our cabin limped on the same foot as Chuck. Only we didn’t know
why
he’d be following us.”