The Mystery in the Snow (3 page)

Everyone laughed. Benny was so embarrassed he sat down again.

Finally, Jimmy said, “And the last member of our team is…Benny Alden!”

His new teammates cheered.

Freddy called the last name, “Nan Foster!” and that team cheered as a short girl, who looked like she was about ten years old, slowly walked up. She seemed to be the only person in the room who wasn't smiling.

Just then, Mr. Mercer appeared in the doorway, looking grim. “You're not going to believe this,” he said.

“What happened?” Grandfather Alden asked.

“It's my truck. The tires are flat,” he responded with disbelief. “All four of them!”

CHAPTER 5

A New Mystery

M
r. Mercer was upset. “I parked the truck out by the skating rink last night. The tires were fine then.”

“
One
flat tire I could understand,” Grandfather said. “But
four
?”

“That sounds like it was intentional,” Henry pointed out.

“But who would do something like that? And why?” said Mr. Mercer.

“First missing keys and now flat tires. Do you suppose they're connected?” Henry wondered aloud.

“Probably not,” Jessie said.

“Todd, do you have an air pump?” Mr. Alden asked.

Mr. Mercer shook his head. “It's broken,” he said. “I've been meaning to get another one.”

Grandfather offered to drive him into town. “We'll get a pump
and
go to the locksmith,” he said.

Mr. Mercer agreed, and he and Grandfather hurried to Grandfather's car.

Freddy said, “We'll go on with the tryouts.”

“There are five events,” Jimmy said. “Skating, skiing, sledding, snow sculpting, and ice carving.”

An excited murmur shot through the group.

“Snow sculpting?” Benny whispered to Violet. “Is that like making snowmen?”

Violet nodded. “I think so.”

“Then, I'll try out for that,” he said. He wondered what he would have to do. He raised his hand. “How do you try out for snow sculpting?” he asked.

“You can't,” Freddy told him. “That and ice carving — if you want to do one of those, just sign up.”

“And you can sign up for as many events as you want,” Jimmy added.

A boy about Jessie's age stood up. He tossed his head to get his long, straight hair out of his eyes. “What if you want to try out for, say, skiing, but you don't have skis?”

“You'll find everything you need at the equipment shop, Matt,” Freddy told him.

“If and when Mr. Mercer gets it open,” Jimmy said.

“What if you don't want to sign up for anything?” Nan Foster asked.

Freddy stared at her. She seemed so surprised by the question that she didn't have an answer.

A boy named Pete, who was sitting next to Nan, rolled his eyes. “We can't win with people like her on our team,” he scoffed.

Nan looked as though she might cry.

“It's okay,” Jimmy said to her. “Sometimes, people try out for an event, and they don't make it. That's okay, too. They get to be assistants. We need everybody.”

Beth smiled at Nan. “You should try out for something, though. It's fun,” she said.

“Where do we try out?” Henry asked.

“The skating tryouts are in an hour, at the pond. Right afterward we'll have skiing on the slopes, and then sledding on the smaller hill.” Jimmy held up two pieces of yellow lined paper. “Here are the sign-up sheets.” He looked around to be sure there were no other questions. “That's it!”

“Yea, team!” Freddy said.

“What're you going to try out for, Henry?” Jessie asked.

“Skiing,” Henry answered.

“Anything else?”

“Maybe sledding.”

“I'm signing up for ice carving,” Violet said. “How about you, Jessie?”

“Skating, for sure,” Jessie answered.

“I'm trying out for everything,” Benny said.

Henry laughed. “This isn't food, Benny,” he teased.

They got in line to sign up.

Violet was behind Nan. “Oh, Nan,” she said, “you changed your mind about trying out.”

Nan lowered her eyes. “No, I didn't,” she said.

Violet was confused. “But…you're standing in line.”

“I don't want my parents to know,” she explained. “They'd be upset. They want me to have fun.”

“Don't
you
want to have fun?” Violet asked.

The girl shrugged. “I never have fun,” she answered.

Violet thought about that. She tried to imagine what it would be like not to enjoy herself. No matter where she went or what she did, she expected to have a good time. And she always did.

It was Nan's turn to sign up. Twisting the ends of her red knit scarf, she stared at the paper on the table.

Violet stepped up beside her. She picked up two pencils. “Here,” she said and gave Nan one. “Let's both sign up for ice carving. You don't have to try out for that.”

Nan looked discouraged. “I don't know anything about ice carving,” she said. “I wouldn't want to be the one who loses for the whole team.”

“I don't know a thing about it either,” Violet assured her. “Maybe we could help each other.”

Nan brightened. Then, just as suddenly, her round face clouded. “We're on different teams,” she said.

Violet had forgotten that. Because of her brothers and sister, she usually thought about cooperation, not competition. “That won't matter,” she said. “It'll be a help just knowing each other. I mean, neither of us knows what we're doing; that makes us equal.”

Nan smiled for the first time. “Then, your team'd have an equal chance of losing.”

Although Violet wouldn't have put it that way, she agreed.

Nan signed her name on the yellow sheet that read
ICE CARVING
. “Thanks,” she said and hurried off.

When they had all signed up, the children headed back to the cabin to get their skates and skis. Outside, the snow reflected the sunlight.

Henry fished a pair of sunglasses out of his jacket pocket. “It's really bright,” he commented.

“I like the way the snow sparkles in places,” Violet said.

Benny said, “I like the way it sounds when you walk on it.
Scrunch, scrunch, scrunch
.”

Jessie sighed. She liked everything about the snow. It even made the air smell fresher. “It'll be a good week,” she said.

They walked along in silence, each thinking about all that had happened since they had arrived at the lodge.

Finally, Henry said, “You know, I think the missing keys and the flat tires are connected somehow.”

“That means we have a mystery,” Jessie said.

“I hope you're wrong, Jessie,” Benny said. “We'll be too busy to solve one!”

CHAPTER 6

The Tryouts

A
little while later, Benny sat on a bench at the edge of the skating pond. He was trying to lace up his skates. His hands were clumsy inside his gloves. When he took his gloves off, his fingers got too cold. “I'll never get these laces tight enough,” he complained aloud.

Jessie was already skating. Henry and Violet had gone to look at the ski run. Benny sighed. There was no one to help him.

From the next bench, an older boy called, “Having trouble?”

It was Matt, the boy with the hair in his eyes. But now, his hair was off his face, held back by a wide black headband.

“It's these laces,” Benny said.

Matt walked over on his racing skates. “Here, let me help,” he said. Then he bent down and carefully laced up Benny's skates.

“I think these skates may be too small for you,” he said.

Benny was surprised. “They fit last year.”

Matt laughed. “Well, maybe they shrank,” he teased.

“Skates don't shrink,” Benny said.

“No, but feet grow.”

Benny laughed. “Oh,” he said. “I forgot about that.”

“You can get a bigger pair at the equipment shop when Mr. Mercer gets new keys,” Matt told him. Then, he sped off.

Benny looked at the skaters. Jessie was practicing her forward crossovers. Beth was doing jumps. Jimmy was skating backward. All the people on the ice were excellent skaters. Benny was good, but not that good. He decided not to try out for skating.

Violet and Henry came back in time for the tryouts. Many of the adults came out to the rink to watch the six skaters. Mr. Alden strolled up to the children. He had just returned from driving Mr. Mercer to town.

“The locksmith is making the new keys,” he said. “The equipment shop will be open in time for the ski tryouts.”

Jimmy put his skaters through their paces quickly. Matt was the best racer; Jessie and Beth the best figure skaters.

Freddy and her group came along. They sat on a bench near the Aldens to put on their skates. Freddy watched Jimmy's skaters carefully. She saw every turn, every pivot, every jump. She did not smile.

“Freddy doesn't look very happy,” Benny observed.

Finally, Jimmy was ready to announce his choices. The skaters formed a circle around him.

“Beth, Matt, Jessie, and me.” Jimmy pointed to each as he called out their names. To the two losers, he said, “You're both very good. If I could choose more than four skaters, you would have made it, too.”

The Aldens admired his kindness.

“Now, there's a good leader,” Mr. Alden said.

Jessie skated over.

Everyone congratulated her.

“The ice makes it easy to skate well,” she said. “It's smooth as glass.”

Freddy stepped onto the ice. “Come on,” she said to her group. “Let's show them some real skating.” But she still didn't smile.

Grandfather went back to the lodge to warm up. Most of the other adults decided to do that, too.

Jimmy headed for the ski hill. His team trekked along beside him.

“Have you been captain before?” Henry asked.

Jimmy shook his head. “No, this is the first time.”

“Do your parents know you're captain?” Jessie asked.

Jimmy looked at her in a strange way. “Why do you want to know?” he asked.

Jessie sensed that she had asked the wrong question. “Oh, no reason. I just thought if they knew…” her voice trailed off.

“I'd want them to be here if I were captain,” Benny said.

Jimmy didn't respond.

“Don't you miss them?” Benny persisted. “I miss Grandfather when we're away from him.”

Jimmy picked up his pace. “It's only for a week,” he said. “And, besides, I like being on my own. Especially here. Who wants parents watching every move you make?”

The Aldens were surprised by his harsh tone. Jimmy had seemed so gentle.

After a brief silence, he added, “Don't get me wrong. My parents are terrific. It's just that they can be…overprotective sometimes.” His voice had lost its sharp edges.

They came to the ski hill. The run started high above them and ended near a long, low, log building.

“Wow!” Benny exclaimed. “That's no hill! It's a mountain.”

“It looks like great skiing,” Henry commented.

Jimmy shrugged. “It's not bad, but it's nothing compared to the runs in Colorado. That's where my parents are.”

“How do you get to the top?” Benny asked.

“Rope tow,” Jimmy said. He pointed to a rope moving slowly up the incline.

To Benny, it looked like a moving snake. He trudged along behind his brother toward the log building. It housed the equipment shop and a warming room.

Mr. Mercer was just leaving. “The equipment shop is open,” he said.

People clumped across the wooden floor in colorful plastic boots. Dressed in ski clothes and goggles, they looked like moon walkers — only clumsier.

Benny doubted he could walk in the boots, let alone ski. “I don't think I'll try out for skiing,” he said.

“That's a good decision,” Henry told him. “It's a tough run for a beginner.”

“But I would like to try it,” Benny said.

“Maybe you could take a lesson,” Henry said, changing into his boots. “See you later.”

“Good luck!” Benny called out.

Henry went outside. There he snapped on his skis and glided toward the other skiers.

Benny joined his sisters near the windows in the warming house.

“Did you change your mind about trying out?” Jessie asked.

Benny nodded. “I need my energy for snow sculpting.”

Violet held up the book she was reading. “You might want to look at this,” she said. “It's tells all about ice carving and snow sculpting. I found it in the equipment shop.”

“I know how to build snowmen,” Benny said.

“But you can build all kinds of other things, too,” Violet told him. “It doesn't have to be a snowman.”

Benny sat down beside her to look at the book. There were lots of photographs and instructions. You could make lions, dragons, castles — anything. “I still think I'll build a snowman,” he said.