The Mystery of the Star Ruby Read online

  The Alden kids strolled down one of the trails behind the cabins. Crickets chirped their end-of-summer song. The mountains rose darkly around them. No moon or stars could be seen in the pitch-black sky.

  “Boy,” murmured Henry. “When it’s night here, it’s really night!”

  “I can’t wait to start looking for rubies tomorrow,” said Jessie.

  “Me, too,” Benny agreed. “Maybe one of us will win the contest.”

  “We’d have to find a Papa Bear ruby bigger than Mr. Hodge’s,” said Violet.

  “We have as good a chance as anyone else here,” Jessie said confidently.

  Snap! Cra-ack!

  Henry spun around. “What was that?”

  “It sounded like a twig breaking,” Violet said, her heart pounding. What would be in the woods after dark? A bear? A fox?

  Suddenly Benny cried, “Look!”

  Everyone looked up at the sky. It wasn’t pitch-black anymore.

  A round, reddish light like a globe appeared over the peak of a distant mountain. The light hovered in the air a few seconds, then vanished. A moment later, the light reappeared, but in a different spot. Then it was gone again.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Henry. “What was that?”

  Benny’s voice was low. “It could only be one thing.”

  “What?” chorused Jessie and Violet.

  “A flying saucer,” he replied solemnly.

  CHAPTER 3

  Jewels in the Dirt

  “Benny, there are no flying saucers,” Jessie said.

  “What else can it be?” he insisted.

  The children watched for a few more minutes. But the reddish round light did not reappear.

  “We’d better get back,” Henry said. “It’s pretty late.”

  They walked to the cabins. Lamplight shone through the window of the cabin next to Garnet, the girls’ cabin.

  Jessie glanced up at the sky once more. No strange light. She knew it wasn’t a flying saucer. But what else could it have been?

  Loud caws in the pine trees woke Jessie the next morning.

  “Those crows are a good alarm clock,” she told Violet as they got dressed. “Who could sleep through that racket?”

  The boys were waiting for them outside their cabin. The door to the cabin next to Violet’s and Jessie’s opened and Sybil Finley stepped out. Her cabin was called Sapphire.

  “Good morning,” she greeted them. “I didn’t know you girls were in Garnet. We’re neighbors!”

  They all walked to the restaurant. The day’s forecast—hot and sunny—was printed on the chalkboard, along with the breakfast specials, “Gold Nuggets and Potato Pebbles.”

  Jonathan was sitting at their table, scribbling in a notebook.

  “I saw an eastern kingbird on my morning walk,” he said. “I’ve never seen one before. I’m adding it to my bird list.”

  “You keep a bird list?” Violet asked.

  “I keep lists for everything,” Jonathan said, holding up a small black notebook. “I write down the mileage on my car, the weather, even what I eat for breakfast.”

  “I should start a food list,” Benny said.

  Henry laughed. “You’d need a pretty big notebook just for one day!”

  Grandfather and Donald Hodge joined them. Donald wore a white button-down shirt. Violet thought it was strange he was so dressed up to hunt for rubies.

  “Grandfather!” Benny exclaimed. “We saw a flying saucer last night!”

  “A flying saucer in North Carolina!” Sybil laughed.

  “We did see strange lights over the mountain,” Henry said. “They were round and kind of red.”

  “You don’t really believe in that stuff, do you?” Donald scoffed. When he picked up his cup, he spilled coffee on the front of his shirt.

  “You should dab water on that,” Jessie advised. “Coffee stains are hard to get out.”

  “It’s okay,” Donald said. “There’s a Laundromat here.” He looked up just as Cecil came over. “In fact,” Donald said, “I’d better go there now.” He hurried away.

  “Did you kids see the Brown Mountain Lights last night?” Cecil asked.

  “Is that what they’re called?” asked Henry. “What causes them?”

  “No one knows for sure, but scientists believe the lights are formed from a combination of gases in the rocks in Brown Mountain. People have seen those lights over the mountain for a hundred years,” Cecil said.

  “I didn’t see any lights last night,” Sybil said. “Did you, Jonathan?”

  “No, I was working on my lists last night,” he said.

  “Not everybody is lucky enough to see them,” said Cecil. “But they are more common this time of year on moonless nights.”

  Their waitress arrived with breakfast—“Gold Nugget” scrambled eggs, “Potato Pebble” fries, ham, and juice.

  Benny ate quickly. The mysterious lights were neat, but the idea of finding a Papa Bear ruby was even more exciting. He couldn’t wait to start!

  After breakfast, the children changed into old clothes and shoes and shouldered their backpacks. They met Grandfather in the Ruby Hollow Gem Museum.

  The glass cases displayed hundreds of gems and minerals.

  “I never knew there were so many different rocks.” Henry read the names aloud. “Hiddenite, epodite, obsidian, blue calcite, emerald, sapphire, garnet, quartz—”

  “Look at this.” Jessie pointed to a showcase of rubies. “This is how rubies look when they come out of the ground, with rock around them. And these rubies over here are cut out of the rock.”

  Brilliant red stones lay on white velvet, some faceted to catch the sun, some polished smooth as glass. One sparkling gem caught Violet’s eye.

  “A star ruby!” she exclaimed. “See the six rays? It does look like a star.”

  Benny was eager to find his own rubies. “Can we go now?” he asked.

  “Let’s hit the flume line!” Grandfather agreed.

  Outside, they took the path to the flume. Grandfather paid their entry fees and bought them each a five-dollar bucket and plastic containers for their findings.

  Jonathan and Sybil were already working on the flume. The kids found places between them.

  A few minutes later, Donald Hodge came down the path, pushing a wheelbarrow with six buckets. He squeezed between Grandfather and Violet, making everyone on the line adjust.

  Violet wondered why he just didn’t go to the end of the line. She noticed the dirt in his buckets was finer and darker than hers.

  “Your dirt looks different from mine,” she remarked.

  “I got enriched ore,” Donald said. “I don’t like messing with those native stone buckets. Mine are guaranteed to have some gems.”

  “Enriched buckets are also called ‘salted,’” Jonathan explained. “That means each bucket definitely has gems in it. They could have been spaded from any mine. The dirt is looser and easier to rinse. But native buckets only come from Ruby Hollow. The ore hasn’t been disturbed for thousands of years. That’s why we have to rinse so much.”

  “Some of the finest gems can be found in the native mine,” Sybil added. “But the buckets aren’t guaranteed. That’s what makes it fun—you never know what you’re going to find!”

  Benny had finished rinsing. He began sorting through his stones.

  “Is this a ruby?” he asked Jonathan, holding up a tiny pinkish stone.

  “Definitely. Put it in your plastic box so you don’t lose it.”

  “Oh, boy! I found a ruby!” Benny dumped more dirt into his tray and began rinsing.

  Jessie watched how fast Jonathan and Sybil worked, rinsing, sorting, and selecting stones before emptying the rest of the tray into the dumping pile behind the flume.

  Donald Hodge worked even faster, but he dumped half a bucket of dirt into his tray at a time and didn’t rinse properly.

  “All I’ve found are a couple of puny sapphires!” he grumbled. “Cecil Knight ripped me off!”

  �
�Cecil is as honest as the day is long,” Sybil said loyally. “Maybe you should put a little less dirt into your tray.”

  “I don’t have all day” Donald said. “And it’s hot out here.”

  It was hot. Although the flume was shaded, panning was hot work.

  Finally, Donald threw his empty buckets into the wheelbarrow and left, disgusted that he hadn’t found a big stone.

  Jessie watched him leave. Boy, he really takes mining seriously,she thought.

  “I guess Donald expects to find a Papa Bear ruby every day,” Sybil said. She eyed the dumping pile behind Donald’s place on the flume. “I bet there are good stones in his dirt that he missed.”

  Jonathan ruefully shook his plastic container. “I only found three Baby Bear rubies and a sapphire. Not even worth taking to the grading window.”

  After three hours, the Aldens had finished going through their buckets. Everyone trooped to the grading window at the jewelry shop to have their stones weighed and inspected. Several people fell in line behind them, including Sybil Finley.

  “Let’s see what you have,” the man at the counter told Benny, taking Benny’s plastic container. “Not bad—two Baby Bear rubies. Pretty good for a beginner.”

  Grandfather had some nice hiddenite. Henry and Jessie each had a couple of small sapphires and garnets.

  When it was Violet’s turn, she handed her plastic container across the counter.

  “I only found one,” she said. “I don’t think I’m a very good rock-finder.”

  The gem inspector peered at her stone through a special lens on his glasses.

  Then he smiled at Violet.

  “You’re a better rock-finder than you think!” he said.

  CHAPTER 4

  The Mixed-up Backpacks

  “What did I find?” Violet asked anxiously.

  The man at the grading counter held up her stone between his thumb and forefinger.

  “A very nice Mama Bear ruby,” he proclaimed. “I’d say it’s easily twenty carats.”

  “Wow!” exclaimed Benny.

  The gem inspector put the stone in the plastic container and returned it to Violet. “Congratulations, young lady. Let me know if you decide to have the stone cut and mounted in a ring.”

  “I will. Thanks.” Violet slipped the plastic container into her pink backpack. As she headed for the door, she noticed Sybil Finley standing in line behind her.

  Sybil stared at Violet’s backpack with a frown. Then, without speaking to Violet or the other Aldens, she pushed her way out of the jewelry shop and headed toward the cabins.

  “What’s with her?” Henry wondered.

  Jessie shrugged, adjusting her own backpack. “Maybe she remembered she had to do something in her cabin. The line back there was pretty long.”

  “Is it time for lunch yet?” Grandfather asked.

  Benny stopped in surprise. “Grandfather! That’s what I always say!”

  “Just thought I’d beat you to it!” said Grandfather.

  Everyone laughed as they walked up the path to the main building.

  Jonathan and Donald Hodge were sitting at their table in the dining room.

  “I hear you had a pretty productive morning,” Jonathan said to Violet. “May I see the stone you found?”

  Violet slipped her backpack off and hooked it on the back of her chair. Then she unzipped the outside pocket and handed Jonathan the plastic container.

  Jonathan gave a low whistle of admiration. “This would make a nice ring.” He showed the stone to Donald. “See? If you’d stayed on the line longer, you might have found something.”

  “Beginner’s luck,” Donald said. “But it is a nice stone.”

  Jonathan passed the container back to Violet. “Donald has such a good eye, he never takes his stones to the grading window.”

  Donald flagged down their waitress. “Miss? When is lunch?”

  “Coming right out, sir,” she said.

  Henry wondered why Donald was always bugging the waitress. Everyone was hungry, but they’d learned to wait, since meals were served family-style. Why was he so impatient?

  Sybil Finley hurried into the dining room. She had changed into a white blouse and denim skirt. When she saw an empty chair next to Violet, she smiled.

  “I thought I was late,” she said. She pulled out the empty chair, bumping Violet’s bulky backpack.

  “Let me move that,” said Violet.

  “I’ll just put it over here.” Sybil shifted the backpack to the floor, on the side away from Violet.

  After a lunch of barbecue sandwiches, potato chips, pickles, and brownies, the Alden kids decided to spend the afternoon hiking.

  “May I have my backpack?” Violet asked Sybil.

  “I’m sorry I forgot all about it.” Sybil handed over the pink backpack. “Have fun.”

  The kids took a trail on the other side of the flume. The path followed the stream that fueled the waterwheel. The sun blazed overhead, but a breeze stirred the treetops.

  “That water looks really good,” Benny murmured. “Can we go wading?”

  “Great idea,” Henry said, unhooking the straps of his pack.

  The Aldens sat down on the rocks and took off their shoes and socks. Leaving packs and water bottles on a big rock, they stepped out on a sandbar.

  Jessie dipped her toes into the clear water, then yanked her foot back with a shriek. “Oooo, that’s cold!”

  Giggling, the kids waded into the chilly, shallow water. Olive-green minnows darted around their ankles as they picked up interesting stones.

  Cra-ack! Crack!

  Henry straightened up. “What was that?”

  Violet pointed into the woods on the far side of the creek. “It sounded like it came from over there.”

  “Let’s check it out,” said Benny, already halfway across the stream.

  On the opposite side, the kids clambered up the bank. They stared into the thick woods.

  “We can’t investigate without our shoes,” Jessie said sensibly.

  Henry shielded his eyes from the sun. “I don’t see anything anyway. It was probably an animal.”

  “It must have been a big animal,” Benny commented.

  “Not necessarily,” said Henry. “Everything is louder in the woods. I’ve heard chipmunks that sound like bears!”

  They recrossed the stream. On the other side, they put on their shoes and socks, then sorted out their packs.

  “Wait a minute!” Jessie exclaimed. “My pack is gone!”

  Violet sat back on her heels. “You’re right! What could have happened to it?”

  “That cracking sound we heard must have been a person,” Henry figured. “And he—or she—took Jessie’s pack. But why?”

  “Let’s look around for clues,” Violet suggested.

  Benny found something right away, a scrap of white cloth caught on a tree branch.

  Jessie plucked the material off the branch. “Good job, Benny. This could have been here all along—but maybe not.” She examined the fabric. “The cloth is stained.”

  “So all we have to do is find a ripped shirt or blouse with a stain on it,” said Henry. “And that could belong to the person who took Jessie’s pack.”

  Jessie gave her brother a dubious look. “Sounds like we’re looking for a needle in a haystack!”

  That evening at dinner, a thunderstorm broke over the mountains. Everyone marveled at the echoing thunder and bold streaks of lightning.

  Looking at the rain pelting against the windows, Jonathan said ruefully, “And I changed my shirt before dinner.”

  The Aldens glanced at one another.

  Henry whispered to Violet, “I wonder if Jonathan changed out of a ripped, stained, white shirt?”

  Violet frowned. She didn’t like to think of Jonathan doing something so dishonest.

  Dinner arrived and soon everyone was busy eating turkey with dressing and mashed potatoes. While the waitress served slices of coconut cake, Cecil Knight filled cof
fee cups.

  Jonathan turned to Benny. “Do you know where horses go when they are sick?”

  Benny thought hard. “No. Where?”

  “The horse-pital!”

  Benny collapsed with laughter. “That’s funny! Tell another one!”

  “Okay, what do gorillas eat for lunch?”

  “Bananas?” Benny guessed.

  “Go-rilla cheese sandwiches!” Jonathan said.

  Benny giggled. “I get it!”

  At the front of the room, Mr. Knight clapped his hands. “Who wants to play charades?”

  “What kind of a game is that?” Benny asked.

  “You know, Benny. It’s where you act out a word or a name and other people guess what it is,” Jessie replied.

  “My aunt Cathy was great at charades,” said Mr. Knight. “I didn’t know her very well—she and my uncle Josh and my cousin only visited the mine once when I was a kid. But I liked her a lot.”

  “Count me out,” said Donald. “I’ve got a good book to read.” He stood up to leave.

  “It’s still raining,” said Violet. “You’ll get wet.”

  “I won’t melt.” Donald disappeared into the stormy night.

  “Well, I’m a charade-player from way back,” said Sybil. “Let’s pick a theme. How about animals?”

  They all had fun guessing which animal each player acted out. When it finally stopped raining, it was time for bed.

  Since it was dark outside, Henry and Benny walked the girls to their cabin.

  Violet spotted something pink lying against the door.

  “Jessie!” she cried. “It’s your pack!”

  Jessie picked up her pack.

  “It’s not even wet!” she exclaimed in amazement. “How did it get here?” Quickly, she unzipped the compartments. “Nothing is missing.”

  “That’s weird,” Henry said. “Why would someone take your pack in the first place?”

  “It’s a mystery!” Benny said eagerly.

  “It is strange,” agreed Henry. “The Case of the Disappearing and Returning Backpack. But now, we’d better turn in. We have another day of hunting rubies tomorrow.”

  Later, after she and Jessie were in bed, Violet wondered about Jessie’s missing backpack. Who could have taken it? What had the thief been after?