The Mystery in the Snow (6 page)

They left Watch to guard their snowpeople until judging time.

Benny hurried off to find Henry. There was time for a ski lesson. Along the way, he saw Violet, working with her ice-carving team.

“How're you doing?” he asked.

Violet shook her head. “It's hard,” she said. “The ice breaks so easily.”

“I'm glad I was working with snow!” Benny said.

He continued on to the ski slope. He found Jimmy in the warming house, by the fire.

“Wait till you see our snowpeople,” Benny told him.

Jimmy looked surprised. “You finished?”

Benny nodded. “We didn't think we'd make it,” he said.

“I heard someone wrecked your sculptures,” Jimmy said. “I figured we'd have to cancel your event.”

“We're going to win,” Benny assured him.

Jimmy got to his feet. “I hope so,” he said, but he didn't sound very hopeful.

Benny shrugged and went back outside.

Henry swooped down the slope toward him. Inches from Benny, he turned his skis to the side and came to a perfect stop. Snow sprayed everywhere.

“Can you teach me that?” Benny asked eagerly.

Henry laughed. “You have to learn to start before you can learn to stop,” he said.

At lunchtime, everyone was excited. They seemed to have forgotten about the smashed sculptures and the missing keys and the flat tires. The talk was about the judging.

Nan stopped at the Aldens' table. “Violet,” she said, “you should see our ice carving!” It was the first time they had seen her smile in a while.

“We're having a hard time with ours,” Violet told her.

“Oh, it's hard work,” Nan agreed, “but it's such fun! I'm so glad you encouraged me to sign up.”

Pete stomped by in his orange boots and electric-blue earmuffs.

“Pete!” Henry called, but the boy didn't hear him.

After lunch, Mr. Mercer announced the judges' names. A group of four adults would decide each event. Grandfather couldn't be a judge because he had grandchildren in every event.

“But I'll be there cheering you on,” he said.

“We will too,” said Violet.

Benny said, “See you later,” and went outside to wait with his team for the judging.

It was a long wait, or so it seemed. Finally, the judges appeared, followed by the spectators. Each judge carried a clipboard. First they looked at Freddy's team's sculpture, which was a huge igloo.

“Wow,” Benny said. “That's great.”

Then they all walked over to where Benny's team had worked. The judges walked around the snow people, nodding and making notes. No one spoke.

Finally, one said, “We have all we need.”

“You've done a good job,” another said.

Benny couldn't stand the suspense. “But did we win?” he asked.

“We won't know until we add the scores,” a judge answered.

“And you won't know until the awards dinner,” another said.

Benny and his teammates groaned. All the work they had done and redone seemed like nothing. Waiting was much harder.

After the snow sculptures were judged, everyone gathered at the ski hill. The first race was about to begin. Jimmy and Freddy were giving last minute instructions. The team members would ski down the hill one by one. Each skier's time would be recorded. The results would be added together for the team's final score.

“You can do it,” Freddy told her team. “You
have
to do it.”

“One minute, thirty-two and one-half seconds,” Pete said and held up a stopwatch. He had been practicing for his job as timekeeper by timing Freddy's speech.

The Aldens stood near Jimmy's team. Matt was not there.

“We'll have to start without him,” Jimmy said.

“But he's our best skier,” someone protested.

Jimmy nodded. “I know. Without him, we can't win.”

“We can try our best,” Henry said.

Freddy marched over. Instead of her green hat, she wore a purple headband. “Are you ready or what?” she asked impatiently.

“We're one member short,” Jimmy said. “Maybe we should just forget about the race. We don't have a chance.”

Just then, Matt came out of the warming house. He ran over, his hair flopping in his face. “My skis are missing!” he announced.

Benny shot Jessie a glance. “Someone took his skis!”

“I left them over there right before breakfast,” Matt said. He pointed to a rack near the warming house.

“Did you check the equipment shop?” Jimmy asked. “Maybe someone put them back in there.”

Matt shook his head. “They're not there.”

“Can't you borrow another pair?” Henry asked.

Matt shrugged. “That was the only pair my size.”

“Use a longer pair,” Henry suggested. “They're faster.”

Matt tossed the hair out of his eyes. “But they aren't as easy to control, and there's no time to practice.”

Freddy shifted from one foot to the other. “So are you going to ski?” she asked Matt.

“I'll ski last,” he said. “That will give me time to keep looking.” He turned and ran toward the warming house.

The other skiers grabbed onto the tow and were pulled up the hill.

“Let's go look around,” Benny suggested to his sisters. “Maybe we can find out what happened to Matt's skis.”

He and the girls hurried to the rack where Matt had left his skis. There were tracks everywhere.

“Everyone leaves skis here,” Jessie said. “We'll never be able to tell anything from the footprints.”

They searched the ground, but there was no clue of any kind.

“Maybe someone took Matt's skis by mistake,” Violet said.

Jessie looked doubtful. “First snow sculptures and now this. Someone doesn't want our team to win,” she said.

Then they heard Mr. Alden call, “Henry's skiing next.”

Jessie, Benny, and Violet ran back to watch. Freddy was just finishing her run.

“That purple headband she's wearing doesn't go with her outfit,” Jessie commented.

“It's a pretty color, though,” Violet said.

High above them, Henry was poised for his run. The timekeeper raised a flag, counted to three, then lowered it. The skier was off, bombing down the hill, straight for them.

The Aldens jumped up and down excitedly. “Come on, Henry!” they shouted.

When Henry reached the bottom, he came to a stop.

“Good run,” the timekeeper said.

Freddy's last racer skied well.

Matt came trudging back just in time. He was wearing a pair of skis that he'd borrowed. “They're not the right length,” he said, “but they'll have to do.”

He skied well after all, and the whole team cheered.

There was a break before the second race. Mr. Alden took Watch for a walk. Henry snapped off his skis and headed for the rack. Jessie, Violet, and Benny walked along beside him.

“I sure hope Matt's skis turn up,” Henry said.

The next race was a slalom. The team members would have to maneuver around four poles set along the slope. If a skier wasn't used to his skis, it could be especially difficult.

“We think someone took Matt's skis to keep him from racing,” Benny said.

“I wonder. There have been a lot of strange things going on,” Henry said, leaning his skis against the rack. Just then, something caught his eye. “What's that over there?” he asked.

They walked over to a tall juniper. There was something hung on a lower branch. It was Freddy's green knit cap!

CHAPTER 13

Too Many Suspects

H
enry picked the green knit hat off the tree branch. “It's Freddy's all right,” he said.

“She took Matt's skis!” Benny exclaimed.

“She might have hid them somewhere,” Jessie reasoned. “Her hat must have gotten stuck on the branch as she passed by.”

“But she'd have known it had gotten stuck,” Henry said. “She'd feel it.”

“Not if she was in a hurry,” Violet argued.

Benny nodded. “She was probably scared someone would see her.”

“Remember, we also found her glove near the snow sculptures,” Henry said.

“But she didn't act at all guilty when we gave it back to her,” Violet said.

That was true. And confusing. They had expected more of a reaction.

“She didn't even want to know where we found the glove,” Jessie said.

“That's because she knew where we found it,” Benny said.

A whistle sounded. The slalom race was about to begin.

Henry stuffed the cap in his pocket. “It'll take a lot more than a glove and a hat to figure out this mystery,” he said. He snapped on his skis and glided toward the hill.

It was Freddy's turn, but Pete wasn't ready to clock her. His earmuffs were missing. “I put them right here on the bench,” he complained loudly.

Someone volunteered to look for them while he did his job. Finally, he flagged Freddy and started the stopwatch. Her team skied very well.

“Do you suppose someone took Pete's ear muffs?” Benny wondered aloud.

“There are certainly a lot of things missing lately,” Jessie said.

“Look,” Violet said. “Our team is skiing now.”

Jimmy didn't do very well. He skipped one pole and knocked over another. He left the ski hill after his run. Matt cleared the poles, but he was slow. Henry made up for lost points.

The Aldens started for the lodge.

Freddy caught up with them. “Is that my hat sticking out of your pocket?” she asked Henry.

Henry pulled it out and handed it to her.

Saying, “Thanks,” she took off the headband and put on the hat. “Where'd you find it?” she asked.

As Henry was about to answer her, Jimmy approached from the opposite direction. He was carrying a pail.

“Where are you going with that?” Freddy called.

Jimmy dropped the pail into the snow. “I'm returning it to the kitchen,” he said. “Someone left it out by our snow sculpture.”

Benny was surprised. “I thought Alan and Debbie took our buckets back,” he said.

Jimmy shrugged. “They must've forgotten one. Unless someone else left it there…”

With so much going on this morning, that was certainly possible.

“What happened, Jimmy?” Freddy asked. “You blew the slalom.”

Jimmy's cheeks reddened. “I know. I was really mad at myself. I guess I was worried about Matt — how he would do.”

“That's too bad,” Freddy said. “But good for my team. Look, they found my hat. Every time I lose something, the Aldens find it. Pretty suspicious if you ask me.” Her tone was light and her eyes twinkled.

It made Benny mad. She was the guilty one. How could she accuse them of anything?

Freddy leaned over and picked up the bucket. “Come on, Jimmy,” she said, “I'll walk you to the kitchen. We've hardly had any time to talk.”

As soon as they were gone, Benny said, “How could she accuse us that way?”

“She was only joking, Benny,” Violet said.

“She has a point, though,” Henry said. “If she isn't guilty, it must look strange to her. First we find her glove, and then I'm walking around with her hat in my pocket.”

“She's guilty all right,” Benny said.

“Watch didn't destroy your snow sculptures,” Jessie reminded him. “But your friends thought he did.”

“And for a while you were sure Pete did it,” Henry said.

Violet sighed. The more she thought about this puzzle the more confusing it became. “Is there anything we can be sure of?” she asked.

“I'm sure of one thing,” Benny answered. “I can't think another thought until I have something to eat.”

CHAPTER 14

More Mischief

I
nside the lodge, the Aldens got cups of hot chocolate and cinnamon buns and sat down by the fire.

Grandfather and Mr. Mercer came in.

“Congratulations, Henry,” Mr. Mercer said. “You skied well.”

“Thank you,” Henry said.

“And, Benny, your snow sculpture is something to see.”

Benny smiled, but Grandfather could tell something was troubling him.

“What's wrong, Benny?” Grandfather asked.

“Someone's trying to keep our team from winning,” Benny blurted.

Mr. Mercer's dark eyes narrowed. “Is that so?”

“It looks that way,” Henry said.

Mr. Alden sank into a chair. “We heard there was some trouble with the snow sculptures, but…” his voice trailed off.

“And someone took Matt's skis to keep him from doing his best,” Benny said.

Mr. Mercer shook his head. “Jimmy said something at breakfast about missing skis. He wanted me to call off the race. I thought they'd turn up — that they were just misplaced.” He paused. “Who could do such a thing?” he wondered.

“So many things have been going wrong — even the missing keys and the flat tires,” Henry said.