“Steve sure will be surprised when we find the hiding place,” Benny said later that evening. The children were playing a board game in the kitchen with Grandfather. They’d told him everything that had happened at the Penner place.
James Alden spoke up. “Amanda’s lucky that she just happened to hire top-notch detectives to remove the stones from her walkway.”
“She really lucked out,” said Benny.
Grandfather chuckled. “Yes, I guess she did.”
Mrs. McGregor joined them at the table. “I’m surprised that Amanda hasn’t put the Penner place up for sale.”
“Why would she do that, Mrs. McGregor?” asked Violet, passing the popcorn to Benny. “The house has been in the Penner family since 1904.”
“Brandon Penner built it for his bride.” Henry pointed out. “What was her name again?”
“Dora,” Jessie reminded her brother.
Grandfather had a puzzled look. “Did you say … Dora?”
Benny swallowed a mouthful of popcorn. “Well, her real name was Pandora,” he said. “But everybody called her Dora for short.”
“Are you sure?” Grandfather looked uncertain.
“Amanda showed us her picture, Grandfather,” Jessie told him. “It was taken on her wedding day.”
Grandfather seemed surprised to hear this. “Well, what do you know?” he said. “I always thought her name was Abigail. I can’t recall where I heard that, though. The Penner family was rich. They paid for the Greenfield library to be built! They were very well known.”
Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. James Alden knew all there was to know about the history of Greenfield. It wasn’t like him to get names wrong.
“Time to call it a night,” Mrs. McGregor said in the middle of a yawn.
Grandfather glanced up at the clock. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”
After saying good-night to Grandfather and Mrs. McGregor, the children gathered in Henry and Benny’s room to talk about the spy game.
“How does the riddle go again?” Benny asked.
Jessie flipped her notebook open and read it aloud: “The rings of time/ go round and round/ a hollow hides/ what must be found.”
“The rings of time,” Henry repeated thoughtfully. “That’s the tricky part.”
But Violet was fairly sure she had it figured out. “A clock tells time.”
“You think we should be looking for a clock?” Jessie asked in surprise.
“I’m only guessing,” said Violet. “But the clues seem to fit.”
Benny was quick to agree. “The hands of a clock go round and round.”
This got Jessie thinking. “Isn’t there a grandfather clock in Amanda’s front hall?”
“That’s right!” said Henry. “And what better place for a grandfather to hide a clue?”
“Or the gold!” Benny said excitedly.
“That’s good detective work, Violet,” praised Jessie.
Violet put up her hand and the others gave her high-fives. “We can check it out in the morning,” she said.
The next day, when the Aldens went back to the Penner house, they were sure they were on the right track to finding the gold. They made a beeline for the grandfather clock and checked it out, top to bottom. But even after searching for secret hiding places, they were still no closer to solving the mystery.
“Uh-oh,” Amanda said as the children came into the kitchen. “I can tell by those long faces that you struck out.” She was sitting at the table going through the mail.
“I’m afraid so,” said Jessie, and the others nodded.
“Listen, you wouldn’t take money for your hard work yesterday,” said Amanda, “so Mrs. Dawson and I came up with an idea to thank you.”
Amanda’s housekeeper held up a wicker basket. “How does a picnic in Fudge Hollow sound?” Mrs. Dawson asked.
“I love picnics!” Benny said.
“We all do,” Violet added.
Just then, Jessie noticed something on the floor by Amanda’s chair. She hurried to pick it up.
“I think you dropped this, Amanda,” she said.
“Oh?” Amanda looked up from sorting the mail. “What is it, Jessie?”
“A business card, I think,” Jessie said, taking a closer look. “For the Greenfield Modeling Agency.”
Amanda suddenly snatched the card from Jessie’s hand. “That’s nothing important,” she said, tearing the card into little pieces. “People keep giving me their business cards whenever I go into town.”
Mrs. Dawson handed the Aldens the picnic basket. “Just go out the back gate,” she told them, “then follow the path across the fields. It’ll take you right to Fudge Hollow.”
“Don’t worry,” Henry said, as they walked out the door. “We won’t get lost.”
Outside, Jessie turned to the others. “Did Amanda seem like she was acting a little strange to you?”
“What do you mean, Jessie?” asked Violet.
“She dropped a business card,” Jessie explained, “and when I handed it to her, she ripped it into little pieces.”
“She said she just gets too many of them,” Henry reminded her. “I’m sure that’s all it is.”
“You’re probably right,” said Jessie. Still, she couldn’t help thinking it seemed a bit odd.
The children were soon walking single file along a path that led through fields of buttercups and daisies. They hadn’t gone very far before Jessie suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“What is it?” Henry asked, almost bumping into her.
Jessie swirled around on her heel. “We’re going to Fudge Hollow!” she almost shouted. She was staring wide-eyed at her sister and brothers.
“We know that, Jessie,” Benny reminded her. “It’s just up ahead.”
“It’s not that, Benny,” Jessie said.
“What, then?”
Jessie began to recite the stone riddle, and the others soon joined in. “The rings of time/ go round and round/ a hollow hides/ what must be found” They all knew it by heart.
Henry smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he said, suddenly catching on. “I bet the last part of the riddle leads to Fudge Hollow.”
“I think it’s likely,” said Jessie.
“Yippee!” Benny raised both arms in the air as he let out a cheer. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Don’t go saying ‘yippee’ just yet, Benny,” Violet warned him. “We might—”
Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, the youngest Alden was off running. |