The Camp-out Mystery (4 page)
“I do,” Benny said.
Jessie brought out the marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars. Violet got the long, pointed sticks. Henry added wood to the fire. Benny danced around it excitedly.
“S'mores!” he exclaimed. “My favorite.”
They sat around the campfire until it had burned itself out. Even then, they hated to go to bed.
“It's so quiet here,” Violet said.
“And so dark,” Benny added.
“I'll get the lantern,” Henry said. He walked to the table. Then he called, “Where
is
the lantern?”
“The last time I saw it, it was on the table,” Jessie said. It was there when Violet and I came back from our showers.”
“It was there after breakfast,” Violet said. “I had to move it when I took off the tablecloth.”
“Then it must have been there when we left for our hike,” Henry said. He made his way to the tent where he got a flashlight from his backpack. He shone it this way and that, but he couldn't find the lantern anywhere. “Someone must have taken it,” he concluded.
“Why would anyone want our lantern?” Benny asked.
“How could anyone have taken it?” Mr. Alden wondered. “I was here the whole time you were gone. Do you think someone took it while I dozed?”
“Maybe,” Jessie said.
“Wherever it is, we won't find it tonight,” Mr. Alden said. “It's time to turn in. We'll look for it in the morning.”
Suddenly Watch, who had been curled up at Jessie's feet, sat up. He growled softly.
“What is it, Watch?” Jessie asked.
“Look over there!” Benny said. “Lights!”
They all looked toward the woods. Two beams of light moved away from them. They seemed to dance through the trees. Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were gone.
“What was
that
?” Benny asked.
“Maybe it's someone with our lantern,” Violet answered.
“There were
two
light beams,” Henry said.
“It could be people with flashlights,” Jessie said. “The Changs maybe.”
“What would they be doing in the woods at this time of night?” Violet asked.
Jessie couldn't think of a single reason.
Mr. Alden got to his feet. “Let's sleep on it,” he said. “In daylight, things look less mysterious.”
N
ext morning, Henry had the fire going by the time the others woke up. They were all surprised.
“If we had something to put the frying pan on, we could have pancakes for breakfast,” Jessie said.
“We do have something,” Henry told her.
Resting on two stacks of stones, a metal grill spanned the fire.
“Watch and I went looking for our lantern this morning,” Henry explained. “I thought some animal might have carried it off and dropped it somewhere. Instead, we found the grill at an empty campsite.”
Violet said, “Now you can have your coffee, Grandfather.” Then she and Benny skipped off to fill the coffee pot with water from the pump.
Jessie went to make the pancake batter. The mix wasn't in the box. She looked all over for it. Finally, she returned to the others. “I can't find the pancake mix,” she told them.
“Are you sure we bought some?” Henry asked her.
“Yes,” Jessie answered. “It was in the box with the cereal.”
“Maybe Benny moved it when he was looking for the honey,” Mr. Alden suggested.
“I looked in both boxes. I even looked in the cooler,” Jessie said. “It's not anywhere.”
Returning with the coffee pot, Violet asked, “What's missing now?”
“The pancake mix,” Jessie told her.
“Oh, no,” Benny said. “Not the pancake mix!”
“Something strange is going on,” Mr. Alden said thoughtfully.
“There's probably a simple explanation for everything that's happened,” Henry said.
“A raccoon could have taken the pancake mix,” Jessie said, “and knocked the honey out of the box.”
“He might even have carried the lantern off somewhere,” Violet added.
“That could explain the light,” Benny put in. “Maybe he was running with the lantern and the light was bouncing all over the place.”
“That
could
make it look like two lights when it was only one,” Henry said.
“And who turned the lantern on?” Grandfather asked.
“Raccoons are very smart,” Benny answered.
“Smart enough to play music?” Mr. Alden asked.
“There wasn't any music last night,” Violet said.
“No,” Mr. Alden said, “but I don't think we've heard the last of it.”
Everyone was silent thinking about that.
Finally, Henry said, “I don't think we're in any danger.”
“No, I don't think we are,” Grandfather agreed, “but I'm not sure we should stay.”
“Oh, please, let's not go home yet, Grandfather,” Benny pleaded.
Mr. Alden looked from one to the other. “Do you all want to stay?”
“Oh, yes!” the children all said at once.
“All right,” Mr. Alden said at last. “But I'm going to hike back to the store for another lantern.”
“We could do that,” Henry offered.
“Thank you, Henry,” Mr. Alden said, “but the walk would do me good, and I'd like to talk to Doris. You stay here and enjoy the woods.”
After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, Henry packed some trail mix and fruit and a thermos of coffee for Mr. Alden.
“How nice of you to pack me a lunch,”Grandfather told him, “but I'll only be gone a little while.”
“You'd better take it, Grandfather,” Benny said. “Hiking makes a person very hungry.”
Mr. Alden started toward the trail. Watch looked confused. He didn't seem to know whether to go with him or to stay with the children.
Mr. Alden laughed. “You stay here, Watch. I'll be back soon.”
Watch wagged his tail. He seemed to understand.
The children decided to play hide and seek in the pine grove. Henry covered his eyes and began to count. Everyone else ran to hide. Watch followed Jessie. She found the perfect hiding place under an outcrop of sandstone.
“Shhh,” she warned Watch.
The dog sat quietly beside her.
Still, Henry found them. He found Benny and Violet, too.
“So who wants to be It now?” Henry asked.
“It's too hot to play,” Benny said. “Let's go wading instead.”
They took off their shoes and socks and rolled up their jeans. The children laughed and splashed in the cool stream for a long time. Then they dried off in the sun.
“Let's make stew for supper,” Jessie suggested. “Grandfather will be hungry after his long hike.”
Jessie got the fire going.
Benny took the stew pot to the pump to fill it with water.
Henry and Violet cut up the vegetables and chunks of beef.
By the time the stew was simmering, the sky was dark with clouds.
“It looks like we're in for a storm,” Henry observed.
“I hope Grandfather gets back soon,” Jessie said.
Lightning flashed in the distance. After several seconds, a low rumble sounded. An hour later, the first big drops of rain fell on their camp.
But Grandfather Alden had not returned.
“W
hat do you suppose happened to Grandfather?” Benny asked.
They had pulled the picnic table under the kitchen tent and were sitting at it. Rain fell all around them. In the distance, thunder rumbled. Plates of stew sat before them. No one was very hungry.
“I'm sure he's all right,” Jessie said. She didn't want the others to know how worried she was.
“It's not safe to be walking in the woods during a storm,” Henry reminded them. “Grandfather probably decided to stay with Doris and her family.”
“Yes,” Jessie said. “That's what he did. He stayed with Doris.”
“He'll be here by the time we get up in the morning,” Violet added. But she was as worried as Jessie.
“Then let's go to bed now,” Benny suggested, “so morning will come quicker. I don't like being here without Grandfather.”
They put the leftover stew in a container in the cooler and cleared off the table.
Henry aimed his flashlight at the big tent. The others made a dash for it. When they were safely inside, he ran to join them.
Their sleeping bags felt warm and cozy, but they couldn't sleep. They lay listening to the rain drumming on the tent, each of them thinking about Grandfather. His empty sleeping bag made them feel even sadder.
After a long silence, Henry said, “Remember when we didn't want to live with Grandfather?”
“Yes, we thought he was mean,” Violet said.
“And we didn't even know him!” Jessie put in.
“That wasn't very smart,” Benny summed up. “He's the best grandfather in the whole world.”
Suddenly, everything was light and sound. Lightning flashed. Thunder crashed. The ground shook. The children moved closer together. Benny pulled his sleeping bag up over his head.
The storm pounded around them for most of the night. When it finally moved on, Benny sighed. “I'm glad it's over,” he said. He rolled over and went to sleep.
The others were just drifting off whenâ suddenlyâmusic ripped through the night air.
Watch pricked up his ears. He stood up, listening. Then he moved to the tent flap and poked his nose outside.
“What is it, boy?” Henry whispered. “Who's out there?”
Watch looked at Henry over his shoulder. He yawned, turned around three times, and curled up by the door of the tent.
“The music sounds close,” Jessie whispered.
“It's even louder than last time,” Violet added.
Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the music stopped. The rain had stopped, too. Except for the steady
drip drip
from the trees, everything was quiet.
“Whoever's playing it doesn't want us here,” Henry said.
“What makes you think that?” Jessie asked.
“Why else would they keep playing it at night like they do? And so near?” Henry said. “They're trying to spoil things for us.”
“ âI hope nothing spoils the trip for you,' ” Violet quoted. “Isn't that what Doris said?”
“Do you suppose she's the one who's trying to scare us off?” Jessie wondered.
“She can't be,” Henry said. “She's probably with Grandfather right now.”
“I hope so,” Jessie said. “I hope he's warm and safe just like we are.”
J
essie felt something on her arm. Half asleep, she brushed it away. She felt it again. She opened her eyes. Watch sat beside her, pawing her gently.
She sat up. “What is it, Watch? What's the matter?” she whispered.
The dog crept to the tent door where he stood with his head cocked, listening.
Jessie crawled out of her sleeping bag and tiptoed over to him. She lifted the tent flap and went outside, Watch at her side.
Henry came outside. “What's the matter?”
“Watch woke me up,” Jessie answered. “I thought someone might be out here, I was hoping it was Grandfather.”
“Grandfather would wait until daylight to come back,” Henry said. “Watch probably heard the water dripping from the trees.”
“Probably,” Jessie agreed. Just as she turned to go back inside, she saw something move. “Did you see that?” she whispered.
“What?” Henry said.
She pointed to the edge of their camp. “Something moved over there in the trees.”
Henry held up his flashlight. “I don't see anything,” he said.
Benny came to the door of the tent rubbing his eyes. “What's going on?” he asked.
“Jessie thought she saw something,” Henry told him.
Benny yawned. “It's too dark to see anything,” he said and went back inside.