“We have to get out!” said Violet.
Henry stared at the small window. “There’s a bench on the other side of that window. But only Benny will fit.”
“It’s the only way out,” said Benny. “I’ll go.”
Henry linked his fingers together. “Step in my hands. I’ll boost you on the count of three. One, two, three!”
Once he was level with the sill, Benny unlatched and opened the window. Then he crawled out.
Jessie let out her breath when she heard her brother drop safely onto the bench on the other side.
The door burst open and Benny ran inside.
“It wasn’t even locked,” he exclaimed, waving a stick. “This was jammed through the handle.”
“We have to hurry!” Violet urged.
The children raced up the path to the main building. The dining room was packed with people.
“You enter the ruby,” Henry told Jessie. “We’ll find Grandfather.”
Jessie spotted one of the resort’s employees at the judging table. She ran up front, pulling the ruby case from her pack.
“I’m not too late, am I?” she gasped.
The man glanced at the clock over the stone fireplace. “Two minutes to spare, young lady.”
After writing Jessie’s name on his clipboard, he weighed the ruby and recorded it. Then he set the star ruby on a velvet pad next to a large ruby. Though there were many other rubies on the pad, the Aldens’ was by far the largest. And it was the only star ruby.
Cecil Knight came over and consulted with his employee, then he stood on a chair and clapped loudly.
“Folks, may I have your attention?” he called. “I’m pleased to announce the winner of this year’s Ruby Hollow gemstone contest. Without a doubt, the star ruby found by Jessie Alden takes the prize. Let’s give her a hand.”
Amid the applause, Jessie saw Donald Hodge get up and head for the doors.
Henry and Grandfather blocked his path.
“Let me through,” Donald demanded.
“I’m sorry,” said Grandfather. “But the children told me something about being locked in the Laundromat—”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Donald said. “They were probably playing a game. You know how kids are.”
“It wasn’t a game,” Violet insisted. “You put a stick through the handle so we couldn’t get out.”
“How do you know it was me?” asked Donald.
By now everyone in the dining room was listening. Jonathan and Sybil had joined the group by the door.
Cecil Knight left the judging table. “Is there a problem?” he asked.
“Yes,” Henry answered. “Donald Hodge tried to keep us from entering our ruby in the contest.”
Mr. Knight looked at him. “Let’s go into my office.”
“Jonathan and Sybil should come, too,” said Jessie. Both of them agreed to go inside Mr. Knight’s office and talk. Once everyone was inside, Mr. Knight closed the door and said, “Now, what is this all about?”
“Somebody took the ruby from my backpack,” Jessie said.
“And we think the culprit is in this room,” Violet added.
“Since when do children accuse adults of stealing?” Donald asked. “And how do we know the ruby was stolen if they have it back? She entered it in the contest!”
“I think we should listen to the kids,” said Mr. Knight.
“We have evidence,” said Jessie. She pulled the gem list from her pack.
Jonathan looked surprised. “That’s mine.”
“We found it on the ground in the picnic area,” said Benny. “You crossed off everything but ‘star ruby.’”
“You looked upset that day,” Violet said.
Jonathan nodded sadly. “I had just gotten a letter from Carrie. She said I had been rock-hunting too long instead of visiting her. I was trying to write her a letter when you kids came along.”
Sybil patted his shoulder. “I hope you called her.”
“I did,” Jonathan said. Then he looked alarmed. “You don’t think I stole the star ruby? I’d never do that!”
Mr. Knight waved his hands. “Wait a minute. Tell us about the star ruby being stolen. And how you got it back.”
“I kept it in my backpack,” said Jessie. “The night we all went out to look at the Brown Mountain Lights, somebody went into our cabin and took the ruby.”
Violet turned toward Jonathan. “You’d seen those lights before. You let it slip when you were talking to Sybil.”
Jonathan blushed. “I’d heard about the lights, but I thought it was some story. I was walking in the woods when they appeared the night you Aldens arrived. I didn’t say anything at breakfast the next morning because I was afraid I’d look silly.”
“What do the lights have to do with stealing the ruby?” Donald persisted.
“Only that anyone had the chance that night to go in our cabin and take the ruby,” Violet said. “We even thought someone who worked here could have taken it because Mr. Knight called everyone out to see the lights.”
“These kids have wild imaginations,” Donald said to Cecil Knight.
“Twice we heard someone digging in the dump pile at the flume line after dark,” Henry went on. “The person was wearing white. Once we chased the person, but whoever it was ran.”
Now it was Sybil’s turn to act sheepishly. “I’m afraid I’m the guilty party.”
Mr. Knight stared at her. “What were you doing?”
“Donald threw away a lot of dirt. I thought there might be some good stones in his dump pile,” Sybil answered. “But I was too embarrassed to let anyone see me, so I went out after dark. But I was only there once—and I didn’t run away!”
“Who did run away?” Cecil Knight pursued.
“The person who stole the ruby,” said Jessie. “We found the ruby buried in the dump pile.”
Grandfather looked confused. “A valuable stone buried in a pile of dirt? That doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s the perfect place,” said Henry. “Who would think of looking in the dump pile? But the thief got nervous and checked on it one night. When we went down there, the thief ran away.”
Cecil Knight sat down at his desk. “Why would anyone be so dishonest?”
“Some people here are very interested in getting a star ruby for their collection,” Grandfather put in, looking at Sybil.
“You don’t think it was me?” Sybil asked, shocked. “Yes, I’d love a star ruby. But I wouldn’t steal one! I felt bad enough kicking over the children’s bucket the other day.”
“So that wasn’t on purpose,” said Violet. “We thought you took Jessie’s backpack at first, too,” she added. “We found a scrap of white shirt material at the creek the day it was taken. And the day I found my Mama Bear ruby, you left the gem line in a hurry. At lunch later, you seemed very interested in my pack, which looks just like Jessie’s.”
“I can explain,” said Sybil. “I had forgotten to take my medication and I remembered while I was in line. I went back to my cabin to take it. But I don’t understand about your pack. I thought Jessie’s pack was taken.”
“It was,” Jessie explained. “Mine looks just like Violet’s.”
“All this talk of rubies and backpacks!” Donald said scornfully. “What does this have to do with the robbery?”
“Because,” said Henry, “the thief was interested in winning the contest.”
“And who was it?” Cecil Knight demanded. “Who is the thief?”
Jessie produced the warning note. “The same person who wrote this. Donald Hodge.”
Everyone sat stunned.
Then Donald’s face turned a deep red. “How dare you accuse me! Anyone could have written that. What real proof do you have?”
“This.” Henry pulled out the black velvet bag. “This is your Papa Bear ruby. We found it in the Laundromat. Jessie, let me have the star ruby again.”
Jessie handed him the star ruby. Henry scratched the star ruby across Donald’s ruby.
“Our ruby leaves a mark!” Benny said. “That means Donald’s ruby isn’t a ruby at all!”
Mr. Knight was amazed. “You were going to enter a fake ruby in the contest? That would never work.”
“Donald must have known that,” said Henry. “What I don’t know is why he did it.”
Donald shoved his hands in his pockets and glowered.
Benny stared at him. The way Donald was standing reminded him of something …
He went over to the wall and looked at the picture of the two boys standing by the waterwheel. The taller boy had his hands jammed in his pockets and was frowning into the camera.
“Look,” Benny said, pointing to the photograph. “Donald looks just like the boy in this picture, the way he’s standing.”
Cecil Knight took the photograph off the wall. Then he looked carefully at Donald. “It is you!”
“Who?” asked Jonathan, puzzled.
“Mr. Knight’s cousin,” Benny said matter-of-factly. “He’s the cousin who came to visit once.”
“Cousin Don,” Mr. Knight said. “I haven’t seen you since you came with Uncle Josh and Aunt Cathy, forty years ago. So that’s why you’re always wearing sunglasses—you thought I’d recognize you. What are you doing here?”
“These kids think they’re so smart,” Donald sneered. “Why don’t they tell you?”
“We can guess,” said Henry. “You want Ruby Hollow.”
“That’s exactly it,” Donald confessed angrily. “The mine should belong to me. My father said we got cheated. So I decided to come back and make trouble. I tried to make people think you run a dishonest operation.”
“You took my backpack and returned it so we would complain,” said Jessie. “But you ripped your shirt that day. We matched the scrap to the shirt you left in the Laundromat.”
“You did things like complain about the buckets being salted,” said Violet. “When Jessie found the star ruby, you took it. If everyone knew there was a thief here, they might leave. But we never reported the robbery.”
“If you’re such clever detectives,” Donald said, “what else have you figured out?”
Henry had noticed something on the wall, too.
“We saw you spying on us the day we went creekin’,” said Henry. “But you were really watching Mr. Knight, weren’t you? You were in his office that day. Is that when you read about a star ruby being found here in 1988?”
“I was looking for Cecil’s account books,” Donald admitted. “I’d heard he was in debt.”
“I was in debt a few years ago,” Cecil Knight said. “But my business is doing better now. This winter I’m going to fix up the cabins.” He shook his head. “I still don’t understand why you had that fake ruby.”
“I was going to enter it in the contest, and when the judges called it a fake, I planned to tell everyone it came from one of the native-stone buckets you sold me,” Donald explained.
“And then Jessie Alden found a star ruby that upset your plans,” Sybil figured. “So you stole her ruby.”
“I wanted to take away anything else I could—like this resort.” Donald said.
“Never!” Cecil Knight stated. “Ruby Hollow Mine belongs to me and always will. I suggest you leave immediately. For Aunt Cathy’s sake, I won’t press charges.”
Donald left the room in a huff.
“Thanks, kids,” Mr. Knight said to the Aldens. “Don could have caused a lot of damage if it hadn’t been for you.”
“We’re just glad everything turned out okay,” said Jessie. “And if it’s all right with Grandfather, we’d like to sell the ruby to you, for your museum.”
Violet took her gem box over to Jonathan.
“I know this isn’t a star ruby,” she said. “It’s not even a Papa Bear ruby. But I’d like to give it to you for Carrie. I think it would make a pretty ring.”
Jonathan smiled at her. “Your ruby will make a very special ring. Thank you very much. I’ll tell Carrie all about you Aldens.”
Benny grinned. Another mystery solved!
Maybe, he thought, we won’t have to dig for our next case! |