Detective Camp (3 page)

“One to a customer,” Mario said. He twirled the ends of his mustache and wiggled his dark eyebrows. Everyone laughed and took a cookie as they filed past.

Outside again, the kids sat at the picnic tables and ate their cookies. Suddenly a white and brown goat shot around the corner of the barn. He had a
beard, short horns, and pointy black hooves. Ronald the rooster was perched on the goat’s back, flapping his wings.

“Everyone, this is Remote!” Angie said. “I think he wants a cookie. Watch this.”

The kids all stood up as Remote—with Ronald on his back—approached the kitchen door. He butted the door with his head. A few seconds later, Mario appeared with a cookie in his hand. He gave a small piece to Ronald and fed the rest to the goat.

“Awesome!” Josh said.

“Okay, kids, there’s an hour left before supper,” Luke said. “If you’re not unpacked, that would be a good way to spend the time. If your cabin needs more time coming up with your cheer, you can do that. We’ll all meet here at five o’clock.”

“What do you want to do?” Josh asked Dink and Ruth Rose.

“Fox Cabin is having a meeting to finish our cheer,” Ruth Rose said. “If we get through before five, I’ll look for you guys.” She got up and joined a bunch of girls at another table.

“Why don’t we go exploring?” Dink asked Josh. “There’s woods behind the cabins.”

Dink and Josh headed for the cabins, then walked around toward the back. “Wait a sec,” Josh said. “I want to grab my sketchbook.”

They climbed the steps to the porch
and pushed open the screen door.

Buzzy Steele was kneeling on the floor next to one of the bunk beds. He jumped up when he heard Dink and Josh come in. Looking embarrassed, Buzzy moved toward his own bed.

“I dropped my pen,” Buzzy said. “It rolled under Hunter’s bed.”

Buzzy lifted some papers off his own bed and showed them to Dink and Josh. “These are the daily schedules. You guys want to tack one to the door? I’ll bring the others over to Angie and Luke.”

Handing Dink the paper and a thumbtack, Buzzy left the cabin.

“That was weird,” Josh said after Buzzy had gone.

Dink glanced at the schedule. “What?” he asked.

“Buzzy snooping around in here, that’s what,” Josh said.

“Josh, he wasn’t snooping,” Dink said. “He lives in this cabin, and he was getting his pen. You’re the snoop.”

“Yeah, so where is this pen he said rolled under the bed?” Josh asked. “He wasn’t carrying it when he left.”

“Come on, we only have forty-five minutes,” Dink said. “Let’s go see what
dangerous animals are sleeping behind our cabin.”

At five o’clock, all twenty-six kids were seated at the picnic tables by the barn. Angie, Luke, and Buzzy carried platters of food and pitchers of milk to the three tables. Everyone chattered as the food came out.

Buzzy stood on his bench and blew his whistle. All eyes turned to him.

“Hi, guys,” he said. “I hope you’re ready with your cheers. Let’s have one now, one before dessert, and one down at Shady Lake later. Okay, who wants to be first?”

“Moose Cabin!” yelled Campbell. The eight boys from Moose Cabin stood up and made a circle.

“MOOSIES ROCK! MOOSIES ROLL! MOOSIES RULE!” they all shouted.

Everyone else clapped or whistled.

“That was great,” Luke said. “Okay, let’s eat!” They all began passing platters of hamburgers and rolls.

Suddenly a scream came from the kitchen. Before anyone could react, the door flew open and Mademoiselle Musée rushed outside. “My ring!” she cried. “It is gone. I left it on my worktable, and it has vanished!”

Mario came up behind the upset woman. “We can search,” he told her. “Could you have left it somewhere else, maybe on the sink when you washed your hands?”

“No!” Mademoiselle insisted. “It was on my table in the dining room. I take it off because the stone cuts the rubber gloves I wear. I put it there this morning!”

Every kid stared at her.

“My—my parents gave me that ring,” Mademoiselle Musée wailed. “I’ve had it since I was a little girl.” Then she turned and walked back into the lodge, wringing her hands.

Dink looked at Josh, who nodded and raised his eyebrows. Dink knew then that Josh was thinking the same thing he was: could the missing ring be hidden in Buzzy Steele’s locked chest?

“Come on, guys, let’s finish our supper,” Angie said. “I’m sure the ring will turn up somewhere.”

Just then the goat came around a corner. He sniffed the air, then trotted up to Dink’s table with his mouth open.

“Maybe the
goat
took the ring!” one of the girls cried. “Last summer, my cousin’s goat ate his watch!”

“How could Remote get in the lodge?” one of the Bear Cabin boys asked.

“Him? He sneaks in all the time,” Mario said. “The lock on this door hasn’t worked in years. He just butts it open. I have to keep the food up high so he doesn’t steal it all.”

“I’ll call a vet later,” Luke said. “Maybe we can get Remote x-rayed!”

When Dink looked up, Josh was staring at him. He was slowly shaking his head back and forth.

A few kids began talking, and the tension slowly drifted away.

“Okay, who wants to do a cheer
next?” Buzzy called out. They had finished the burgers and were waiting for dessert.

“We will,” one of the girls answered.

The ten girls made a long line across the lawn. Then they split into three groups. Ruth Rose and Jade made up the first group. The next group had three girls, and there were five in the last.

All ten girls stood straight, facing the picnic tables. Suddenly they all moved at the same time, changing their bodies into different shapes.

At first, no one could figure out what the shapes were supposed to be. Each girl looked different as they all bent their backs, arms, and legs.

Then one of the boys from Bear Cabin yelled, “I know! They made letters. It spells out GO, FOX CABIN!”

Then everyone else saw it, and they all began to cheer, “Go, Fox!”

“That was terrific,” Angie said. “It was the best silent cheer I’ve ever seen! Now let’s have ice cream!”

Luke and Buzzy brought tubs of ice cream from the kitchen. They went around the tables scooping vanilla or chocolate into bowls.

“Save room for s’mores later!” Angie called out.

“While you’re eating, I’ll read you tomorrow’s schedule,” Luke said.

He read from a sheet:

“7:00—RISE AND SHINE

8:00—BREAKFAST

9:00—STRAIGHTEN BUNKS AND TIDY CABIN

9:30—MARVELOUS MYSTERY MAP TREASURE HUNT

10:30—DETECTIVE SKILLS WITH DETECTIVE ROBB

12:00—LUNCH

1:00—REST, WRITE LETTERS

1:30—CAMP ACTIVITIES. This is when you get to swim or do archery and stuff.

3:00—AFTERNOON CHORES

4:00—FREE TIME

5:00—SUPPER

6:00—CAMPFIRE

8:30—QUIET TIME IN CABINS

9:00—IN BED

9:15—LIGHTS OUT.”

“How will we remember all that?” Ian called out.

“You’ll find a copy of the schedule tacked to your cabin door,” Buzzy said. “Now who’s ready for a campfire by the lake?”

“Do you think someone really stole Mademoiselle Musée’s ring?” Ruth Rose whispered to Dink and Josh. They were hiking toward the lake.

“I do,” Josh said. “And I have a good idea who.”

“Josh thinks Buzzy Steele did it, right, Josh?” Dink said.

“Buzzy? Why?” asked Ruth Rose.

“He was sneaking around in our cabin,” Josh said.

Dink shook his head. “He wasn’t sneaking, Josh. He lives there, remember?” he said.

“Is anyone in your cabin missing anything?” asked Ruth Rose.

“Not yet,” Josh said. “But I’m keeping my eye on him.”

At the lake, kids were already sitting on the circle of tree stumps.

“Let’s sit together,” Dink said.

They found three open stumps and sat. Luke and Angie were crouched by the ring of rocks, lighting a fire under the wood. Minutes later, a nice little blaze was going.

Dink took a deep whiff of the burning wood. It smelled great. The sun was behind the trees and long shadows snaked along the beach. A few early fireflies were blinking among the tree branches.

“Okay, let’s hear the Bear Cabin cheer!” Angie said. “Then we’ll make s’mores!”

Everyone cheered as the eight boys
from Bear Cabin stood up and formed a circle. They threw their arms around each other’s shoulders and put their heads together like football players in a huddle.

They began to chant:

“WE’RE THE BEARS! WHO CARES ABOUT BEARS? WE DO! WE DO! WE DO! BEAR CABIN! BEAR CABIN! BEAR CABIN!”

All the rest of the kids cheered, stomping their feet in the sand.

“I know that was more than fifteen words,” one of the Bear boys said. “But the girls didn’t use any words, so we borrowed a few of theirs!”

“Great job, guys,” Buzzy said. He and Luke passed out graham crackers, marshmallows, and flat chocolate bars. Angie gave each kid a stick with a pointy end.

“In case you’ve never made a s’more before, listen up,” Angie said. “First, break a cracker in two pieces and put a hunk of chocolate on one half. Then roast your marshmallow. When it’s golden and a little mushy on the stick, plop it on the chocolate and slap the other half of the cracker on top. It’s delicious!”