The Legend of Miner's Creek (3 page)

Could Maddie Emerson have been threatening Charlie instead of warning him?

Nancy reached into the pocket of her shorts and carefully pulled out the soggy paper that she had found in the bush.

“What's that?” George asked.

“I'm not sure,” Nancy said. She looked at the note briefly, but she could make out nothing of what was left of the words.

“Did you drop this?” she asked Charlie, handing the note over the seat to him.

The van slowed as Charlie looked at the paper and handed it back. “Never seen it,” he said. “Where did it come from?”

“It was near the fire,” Nancy answered. She spread the paper out on her lap and once again tried to decipher the words.

ly 13, 19

say Labo

n Home Rd.

eport

mple #653

and Re

The rest of the message had been smudged or burned away.

“I can't tell anything from that,” Bess said from her seat beside Nancy.

“The first line must be the date,” Nancy said.
“That's the day before yesterday. Whoever received this letter must have gotten it within the last two days—and he or she could have dropped it in the meadow right before the fire.”

“Do you think someone started the fire?” George asked.

“Maybe,” Nancy said. “But if so, who? And why would anyone want to do something like that?”

“Now, wait a minute,” Charlie broke in, glancing in the rearview mirror. “I think you girls are getting carried away with all this mystery stuff,” he said. “The fire was started by lightning. There's no mystery in that.”

“Your grandfather's probably right,” Nancy said to Rachel, tucking the paper back in her pocket. “You said yourself the storm could be dangerous.”

Rachel looked unconvinced, but she didn't say anything more as the van rounded the turn into the retreat. On the left stood a large barn with horse corrals behind it. Across the road from the barn Rachel pointed out Pete's small house and a row of five cabins with a creek flowing behind them. At the end of the row of cabins a large wooden lodge perched on a hill at a bend in the creek.

Charlie stopped in front of the cabin closest to the lodge just as a truck with a United States Forest Service emblem on the side drove up the driveway behind them. It was a small fire-fighting truck, with a water tank and hoses on the sides.

“You girls have an hour to clean up before
dinner,” Charlie said, unlocking the cabin door. “Rachel and I'll go talk to the men in green—and tell them they're late.”

Nancy, Bess, and George threw their suitcases on the two sets of bunk beds and began to peel off their rain-soaked shoes and socks. The cabin was rustic but comfortable. One room served as both living room and bedroom. Off that room was a small kitchen and a counter with four chairs. There was also a small bathroom with a shower, which the girls took turns using to scrub off the mud and ashes.

“I feel a hundred percent better,” Bess said as she straightened the collar of her mint-green shirt. “Next time let's leave the fire fighting to the Forest Service.”

“Let's hope there isn't a next time,” Nancy said. “That fire could have been disastrous.”

“You don't think it was caused by lightning, do you?” George asked, lacing up a pair of clean white tennis shoes.

“I'm not sure,” Nancy said. She explained why she'd thought that the fire had started before the lightning arrived. “It could have been arson,” she said. “But why would someone want to burn down a beautiful forest?”

“To scare tourists away?” George suggested.

“We know Maddie would like to do that,” Nancy said. “But she wouldn't want to destroy the trees.”

“And Maddie helped put the fire out,” George
added. “Why would she do that if she had started it in the first place?”

“So we wouldn't suspect her?” Bess suggested. She was standing in front of a small mirror, brushing her hair as she spoke. “Maybe Maddie was afraid someone had seen her too close to the fire, and she wanted to protect herself.”

“I think Maddie's definitely a suspect,” Nancy said. “But she's not the only one.”

“That's right. Pete was there, too,” Bess said. “And he was awfully anxious to get us out of there.”

“We need more information,” Nancy said as the three of them closed their suitcases and started toward the lodge for dinner. “Let's keep our eyes and ears open tonight and see if we can learn more.”

The rainstorm had settled the dust on the retreat's dirt driveway, and a fresh mountain scent mingled pleasantly with the faint smell of food as the girls neared the lodge. Nancy rapped on the big wooden screen door, and the girls were quickly greeted by a motherly looking woman in a ruffled apron.

“Come right in. Guests don't need to knock,” she said, smiling broadly. “You must be Nancy, George, and Bess. I'm Elsa Parker, the cook. Dinner's almost ready.”

“I can't wait,” Bess said. “Can we help?”

“Thank you, but it's all under control,” Elsa said. “In fact, I believe Rachel is just finishing the salad. I'll send her out.”

While they waited for Rachel, the girls looked around the main room of the lodge. They had entered beneath a balcony that overlooked the main floor. A huge stone fireplace covered most of the far wall of the room, with the rock work climbing two stories high. In front of the fireplace a large wooden table was set for dinner. Several of the retreat's other guests were already gathered nearby.

“Let's go over and meet people,” George suggested, but Nancy had already spotted a large display of old pictures and mining equipment arranged on the wall beneath the balcony.

“I'd like to check this out first,” she said, nodding toward the shelves and glass cases of old artifacts.

Bess was quickly attracted by a small piece of snowy-white quartz with gold-colored veins running through it. It was displayed on a shelf inside a locked case beneath a small miner's pick.

“Pretty, isn't it?” Rachel said, surprising the girls as she entered the room. “It's valuable, too.”

“It's really gold, then?” Bess asked.

“Yes? running through the quartz,” Rachel said. “Wait here a minute.” She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a small gold key. After unlocking the case, she picked up the piece of quartz and handed it to Bess. “For such a small rock it's pretty heavy, isn't it?”

“I'll say,” George said, taking the quartz from Bess. She passed it on to Nancy.

“Gold is one of the heaviest metals,” Rachel explained. “That's why it settled to the bottom of the prospectors' pans.” Rachel took the gold ore from Nancy and set it on a nearby shelf before pointing to a deep pan with sloping sides that sat on a special stand. “That's what the prospectors used to pan for gold.”

“It looks a little like a wok,” George commented.

“It's shaped for washing sand,” Rachel said, picking up the pan. “People use the same ‘panning' technique today. They swirl a pan full of sand around with water until all but the heaviest material washes away. What's left is usually black sand. With luck there will be gold flakes or nuggets in with it.”

The girls could see black sand in the bottom of the display pan, but there was no gold in it.

“Is the sand valuable?” George asked.

“No, it's just for show,” Rachel told her, putting the pan back in place.

“But the white quartz is worth something, I bet,” Bess said.

“Yes, but it's important to Granddad and me because of its history,” Rachel explained.

“Where did it come from?” Nancy asked.

“Charlie got it from his dad, Cyrus,” Rachel explained. “It was found near Miner's Creek by a prospector named Jeremiah Benner. He was using that pickax right there above the quartz. But Charlie tells the story better than I do.”

“Dinner's ready!” Elsa's voice echoed through the big lodge as she placed a large bowl of potatoes on the table.

“And I'm ready for dinner,” Bess said as she and George followed Rachel to the table.

Nancy was about to follow when she heard the sound of an argument on the porch outside.

“I told you everything is fine,” a voice said.

Nancy could tell that the speaker was Charlie, but he sounded very nervous. She didn't recognize the second voice.

“You don't seem to understand how serious this matter is,” the second man said sternly. “The senator isn't going to be pleased. Any more problems and the park deal is off!”

Nancy edged her way toward the front door of the lodge, pretending to be interested in a picture on the wall. She was hoping to get a glimpse, through the screen door, of the stranger on the porch. Unfortunately, Charlie spotted her. There was an awkward moment of silence as Charlie realized his conversation had been overheard.

“Excuse me, but dinner is ready,” Nancy said quickly.

“Thank you, Nancy,” Charlie said, looking somewhat relieved. He pushed the screen door open and introduced Nancy to a handsome young man in a well-tailored suit. “Nancy Drew, this is Tyler Nelson,” Charlie said.

The young man forced a tense smile and extended his hand to Nancy.

“Nancy helped us fight the fire today,” Charlie told Tyler as the man and Nancy shook hands.

“Charlie thinks the fire was started by lightning,” Tyler said. He studied Nancy, as though waiting to see if she would contradict Charlie's story.

“We were lucky the rain put it out,” Nancy answered, trying to avoid saying anything definite.

“We can all be glad of that,” Tyler said, looking at Nancy with piercing blue eyes. “Senator Callihan is beginning to think this place is too dangerous for a park.”

“Tyler, here, is an aide for the senator,” Charlie explained.

“Yes, I just flew in tonight to check some records and take a few pictures,” Tyler said.

“And get some dinner, I hope,” Charlie said. He seemed anxious to end the awkward meeting. “Let's eat.” He led the way in to the table before either Nancy or Tyler could say anything else.

At the table Charlie introduced the girls to the other guests.

“Shirley and Frank Kauffman and their son, Aaron, have the first cabin,” Charlie said, gesturing to a family at the end of the table. The man and woman both wore bright flannel shirts and blue jeans. The man was tall and blond. His wife had long black hair fastened with a barrette. “They've come here every year since Aaron was born,” Charlie went on. “That's five years, isn't it?”

Both the Kauffmans nodded, looking pleased that Charlie remembered their son's age. Shirley gently pushed a stray strand of black hair from her son's
eyes. Aaron was swinging his feet vigorously under the table. A boy with lots of energy, Nancy guessed.

“And this is Todd and Beth Smythe, who are here for their honeymoon. They're in the middle cabin,” Charlie said.

The newlyweds held hands and smiled at each other as they were introduced. Both had dressed up for dinner—Todd in a checked cotton shirt with a narrow western tie, and Beth in a ruffled blouse and long skirt.

Pete and Elsa sat at the table with the guests, as did Tyler Nelson. Pete had changed into a plaid shirt that stretched a little too tightly across his chest, straining the fabric. He was the first to dig into the potatoes, Nancy noticed.

The platters of food were soon empty, much to Elsa's delight. Bess was working on her second helping of steak.

“I'm so glad you liked the venison,” Elsa said, beaming. “Some people don't, you know.”

Bess stopped chewing and pushed aside the last bites on her plate.

“This is deer meat?” she asked weakly.

“Yes,” Charlie said. “And Elsa fixes it better than anyone I know.”

“Don't listen to him,” Elsa said as she began to clear the dishes. “He's just trying to butter me up so he'll get a bigger piece of dessert.”

“I'll help Elsa while you tell everyone the story of Jeremiah Benner,” Rachel said to Charlie as she
jumped to her feet. “It'll get them in the mood for a ride to Prospector's Canyon.”

“We'd love to hear it,” Nancy said eagerly.

Charlie pushed his chair back from the table. “This is the legend of Miner's Creek,” he began. “And it all begins with a man named Jeremiah Benner.

“Jeremiah was a prospector in these parts. No one seems to know where he came from, or where he finally went, but while he was here, about seventy years ago, he was supposed to have found one of the county's richest gold mines.”

Nancy looked around the table. She could see that Charlie had caught all of his guests' attention with the mention of gold, including Tyler Nelson.

“He panned a lot of gold out of Miner's Creek,” Charlie went on. “Jeremiah was convinced that the mother lode—the source of all the gold—was someplace on this property. He was so convinced, in fact, that he agreed to make my father, Cyrus, his partner. Jeremiah said he'd give him half of whatever he found. In exchange, my father let him continue to prospect on this land.

“Jeremiah looked for all of one summer and most of the next. Then one evening, just before dark, he came running down the trail from Prospector's Canyon, his old burro hurrying along behind, pots and pans banging as they ran. He was shouting, ‘I'm rich! I'm rich! I struck it rich!' ”

Charlie paused for a moment. Elsa and Rachel
were busy setting plates of German chocolate cake in front of each guest.

“What Jeremiah had found were two pieces of quartz with gold in them,” Charlie continued. “He kept one for himself and gave the other to Cyrus. He said he'd found a pocket of that quartz ore that was so heavy with gold he'd only be able to carry a little of it out at a time. But he refused to tell Cyrus where it was. Cyrus never got anything more after that one piece of quartz, which most of you have seen on that shelf over by the door.”