Space Shuttle Scam

by Ron Roy

  “Goodness!” Auntie Alice said. “I’ve never seen a snake near the house or bunkhouse. Then suddenly two in a row show up!”

  Dink said he thought they should call Snake World.

  Wallis pulled her cell phone from a pocket. “They must have a website,” she said.

  “Good,” Alice said. “I want that critter gone before Howie brings his kids over!”

  Wallis found and tapped the number. “It’s ringing. I’m putting it on speaker so you can hear,” she told her aunt and the three kids.

  “Snake World,” a man’s voice said.

  “Hello, I’m calling from Alice Wallace’s home,” Wallis said. “We’re just down the road. We found a coral snake on the property this morning, and we don’t know what to do with it.”

  “How do you know it’s a coral snake?” the man asked.

  “It has red, yellow, and black bands around its body,” Wallis said.

  The phone was quiet for a few seconds. Then the man said, “What color is the snake’s head?”

  Wallis looked at the kids and raised her eyebrows.

  “Red,” Dink said.

  “Well, that’s good news,” the man said. “Coral snakes have black heads. What you have is most likely a scarlet king snake. They resemble coral snakes, but they’re totally harmless. Tell you what, I’ll come over and have a look. Ten minutes okay?”

  “That would be great!” Wallis said. “Fifty-three Palm Lane. It’s the white house with black shutters.”

  While they finished breakfast, Ruth Rose opened her guidebook to the section about Florida wildlife. She quickly found pictures of a coral snake and a scarlet king snake. Side by side, they looked almost alike. But the coral snake’s red and yellow bands touched each other, and the scarlet king snake had a red head.

  She turned the book so everyone could see the page.

  “Good,” Dink said. “I can get my sneakers back!”

  A horn tooted. They all went outside, where a truck sat in the driveway. SNAKE WORLD was printed on the door. A guy in jeans and a Snake World T-shirt stepped out. “I’m Jake,” the man said. “Heard you folks got yourself a visitor!”

  Ruth Rose showed him the picture of the scarlet king snake. “We think it’s this one,” she said.

  “Hope you’re right,” Jake said. He pulled a cloth sack from his back pocket and put on a pair of thick gloves.

  Jake followed the kids, Wallis, and Alice to the bunkhouse. They crowded around the overturned wastebasket.

  Jake got down on his knees and handed each kid a pair of gloves. Dink slipped the gloves over his hands and waited.

  “Lift the basket,” Jake said quietly. Dink pulled the basket away, and Jake grabbed the snake. He held it on his knee while stroking the shiny scales on its back.

  “Definitely not a coral snake,” he said, pointing to the red face and head. “Coral snakes and scarlet king snakes both have red, yellow, and black markings. People confuse them all the time. But the three colors are arranged differently. Here’s a rhyme to help you remember which is which: If red touches yellow, he’s a dangerous fellow. If red touches black, you’re safe, Jack.”

  “Cool,” Josh said. “You’re a poet!”

  “Notice how this snake’s red bands touch the black bands but not the yellow ones,” Jake went on.

  “Can I hold it?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Sure,” Jake said. “Support its neck with one hand, and put the other under its belly.” He gently placed the snake in Ruth Rose’s hands. “How does it feel?”

  “Amazing,” Ruth Rose whispered. “All smooth and shiny.”

  Dink ran a finger down the snake’s side. “I can feel its muscles moving inside,” he said. “Want to touch it, Josh?”

  “No. Maybe. Okay.” Josh put a finger on the snake’s skin. “Nice snake, Jake,” he said.

  Jake laughed and slid the snake into the bag. “If y’all want to come by Snake World, I can show you a coral snake up close,” he said. “But you won’t have to touch it.”

  “Maybe we’ll do that before we leave,” Wallis said. “But I have an idea these kids want to go into outer space today, right?”

  “Right!” the three kids yelled.

  “It’s perfectly safe,” Alice told Wallis and the three kids. “Howie’s kids play in it all the time.”

  The space simulator was resting on the barn floor with its clear plastic hatch open. There were three seats in the cockpit. Ruth Rose sat in the front seat, with Dink behind her. Josh was squeezed in behind him. Their knees were bent so they could fit in the small seats.

  “It’s like being on a toboggan,” Josh said. “With no snow!”

  “You ready to go up in space?” Alice asked them.

  “What if I get sick?” Josh asked.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Dink said. “We’re ready!”

  Wallis slid the hatch halfway closed. “Push the red button!” she said through the opening. “I’m going to take a video!”

  Ruth Rose touched the red button, and the cables rose, pulling the tube toward the ceiling. When the simulator stopped moving upward, she pushed the green button. They began to rock forward and backward.

  “Oh my gosh!” Josh yelled.

  Then the tube began to roll from side to side, making all three kids burst out laughing.

  “Blinky, here we come!” Dink yelled.

  “If you squint your eyes,” Ruth Rose said, “you’ll really think you’re in space!”

  Dink looked down and saw Wallis with her cell phone aimed at the simulator. The kids waved at her.

  They stayed “in space” for a while, and then Ruth Rose pushed the white button. The tube stopped swaying. When she touched the red button, they returned to the barn floor. Wallis slid the hatch open, and the kids climbed out.

  “I have a great video!” Wallis said. She played the video on her phone. There was the silver tube against the dark blue background. It seemed to be sailing through the sky.

  “That is so cool!” Josh said. “The stars painted on the ceiling, with the planets hanging down, made it really look like space!”

  Then they walked over to the space shuttle and got inside. Ruth Rose was in front, where she read to Dink and Josh from a card taped on the dashboard. It told how in July 1969, the Apollo 11 mission took astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon for three hours. They took pictures, gathered samples, and planted a U.S. flag.

  “It took them three days to get to the moon from Kennedy Space Center,” Ruth Rose said.

  “How did the astronauts get home?” Josh asked.

  Ruth Rose read from the card. “They came back on July 24,” she said. “They were in a special capsule that landed in the Pacific Ocean! A helicopter picked them up.”

  “Wow,” Josh said.

  Just then, the barn door opened. A boy and girl ran inside and stopped when they saw the three older kids. Howie came in, carrying a backpack. Bear was with them, jumping up to lick the kids’ fingers.

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose climbed down from the shuttle to meet the new kids.

  “These are Maddy and Seth,” Howie said. “And these visitors are from Connecticut. Shake hands, y’all!”

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose introduced themselves, and they all shook hands.

  “Maddy and Seth are twins,” Howie said. “They were born seven years ago next week.”

  “And we’re going to Disney World for our birthday, right, Dad?” Seth asked.

  The twins were dressed alike, in green shorts and white T-shirts. Seth was holding a rubber snake, and Bear was trying to take it from his hand.

  “Maybe we’ll go to Disney World, if you stop chasing your sister with that snake,” his father said. He held up the
backpack. “Let’s go to the pond and see what we can find.”

  The five kids followed Howie out of the barn. Bear ran in circles around them, barking in excitement. Dink noticed Kenny and Hanna walking away from the picnic table. They stopped talking when the kids and Howie walked past.

  Behind the barn, Howie opened the backpack. He took out a jar of water, a bag that said PLASTER OF PARIS, a plastic cup and bowl, and a wooden mixing spoon.

  “We’re doing a nature project for school,” Seth said.

  “What kind of project?” Josh asked.

  “Making animal tracks,” Maddy said.

  Howie led Bear to a shady spot next to the barn and told him to stay. Bear whined, but he lay down with his chin on his front paws.

  “A hungry alligator will jump right out of the water and grab a little dog,” Howie told the kids. “But I’ve never seen one here.”

  Josh pointed to one of the large tracks they’d seen yesterday. “Is that a bear track?” he asked Howie.

  “That’s a good print for our project,” Howie said. “But it’s not from a bear. Bear feet are much wider than these. And bears have long, curved claws. When they walk, the claws make pointy marks in the dirt.”

  He pointed at the print. “You can see a few toenail marks here, but if these were bear tracks, the claw marks would be deeper and bigger. I’m guessing this track came from a large dog,” Howie said. “Maybe a coyote or wolf.”

  “How do you know so much about animals?” Josh asked.

  Howie smiled. “I worked in a zoo when I was in high school,” he said. “And I read everything I can find about wildlife.”

  “Could this track be from the mountain lion that Kenny saw?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “When was that?” Howie asked.

  Dink thought a minute. “Yesterday morning,” he said. “Kenny said it was in the driveway.”

  “I washed Ms. Wallace’s car yesterday morning before I started cleaning the gutters,” he said. “I didn’t see any mountain lion.”

  “Did you move the cars to wash them?” Dink asked.

  “Nope, the bunkhouse hose reached fine.”

  Howie knelt and put his finger on the dog print. “Anyway, this isn’t from a mountain lion,” he said. “Cats, including the big ones, keep their claws folded inside their paws when they walk. They don’t leave claw marks in the dirt, like a dog or bear would.”

  “Do you think the mountain lion will come back?” Josh asked. He looked nervous.

  Howie shrugged. “Probably not,” he said. “They’d rather hunt for their food where there are no humans around.” He gestured toward the thick trees and bushes around the pond. “Like back there, where the foxes and raccoons live.”

  “Is that Auntie A.’s land, too?” Dink asked.

  “Yup. She owns a mile or so back there,” Howie said. “Mostly jungle and ponds, but it’s worth a fortune. She told me about the folks bugging her to sell, but I told her to hold on. Land only gets more valuable!”

  Howie pointed across the pond. “Her husband started to cut trails through once, but I reckon it’s grown over now,” he said.

  “Dad, when can we do it?” Seth asked. He stuffed his rubber snake in a pocket of his shorts.

  “Right now!” his father said. Following his directions, the kids poured one cup of plaster into the plastic bowl. They added two cups of water and stirred the mixture until it looked like thick white soup. They poured it into the deep paw print.

  “Now we wait for the plaster to harden,” Howie said.

  Seth and Maddy made casts of some of the smaller animal prints while everyone waited for the plaster in the deep paw print to harden. Howie pointed out the differences between raccoon, opossum, and fox prints.

  After about twenty minutes, they went back to the first cast. The plaster had hardened, so Howie lifted it from the ground. He brushed off a clump of mud. The result was a perfect dog track.

  “Who wants some lunch?” said Wallis from behind them.

  The five kids and Howie washed the plaster and mud off each other’s hands with the hose. Alice and Wallis brought sandwiches, apples, cookies, and lemonade to the picnic table.

  “Bear, go under, please,” Auntie Alice told her dog. Bear crawled under the picnic table and flopped on the grass.

  They had a noisy lunch, with Dink, Josh, Ruth Rose, Seth, and Maddy all showing off their plaster animal tracks. Seth’s rubber snake sat on the table, and everybody pretended to be afraid of it.

  When the last sandwich had been eaten, Howie stood up. “Okay, Seth and Maddy,” he said. “We told Mom we’d help her in the garden, so we’d better get on home. Tell everyone thank you.”

  Seth and Maddy collected their plaster prints, said thank you, and raced to their dad’s van. Bear ran after them, barking. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose helped Alice and Wallis bring the lunch stuff into the kitchen.

  Hanna’s motor scooter roared up the driveway, with Kenny driving. Hanna sat behind him with her hands on his shoulders.

  Through the kitchen door, Dink watched them walk toward the picnic table with their books. Hanna sprayed Kenny with insect repellent, and they both laughed.

  “Let’s meet in the bunkhouse,” Dink whispered to Josh and Ruth Rose. He left the kitchen and walked across the yard. Kenny and Hanna were sitting at the table with their books open. They were watching Dink, so he waved.

  Josh and Ruth Rose came through the bunkhouse screen door a minute later, each munching on a cookie. Josh handed one to Dink, who was sitting on Josh’s bunk.

  Josh plopped next to him, and Ruth Rose sat on the upside-down wastebasket. “You have that look on your face,” she said to Dink.

  “Tell all, Paul,” Josh said, bumping Dink’s shoulder with his own.

  “I think I figured out how that snake got inside the bunkhouse,” Dink said. He walked over to the door and pointed to a small hole in the screen, about two inches from the hook-and-eye latch.

  “I noticed the hole this morning,” Dink told them.

  “You think the snake crawled through that?” Josh asked.

  “No,” Dink said. “Remember I found the door unlatched last night? I think someone undid the hook from the outside.”

  He took a pencil from his backpack, walked outside, and let the screen door close behind him. “Latch it,” he told Josh.

  Josh slipped the hook into the eye. “Okay, it’s locked,” he said.

  “Now watch,” Dink said. He slid the pencil through the hole and lifted the hook out of the eye. “Now it’s unlocked.”

  “Wow!” Josh said.

  “They couldn’t lock it again when they left,” Dink went on. “That’s why it was unhooked when I got up last night.”

  “But why would anyone want to get in here?” Josh asked. “We don’t have anything to steal.”

  “The person who opened the door didn’t want to take anything,” Dink said. “They wanted to leave something—the snake.”

  Josh and Ruth Rose stared at Dink.

  Josh’s mouth fell open. “Who would do such a lousy thing?” he finally managed to ask.

  Dink shook his head. “I’m betting on Kenny or Hanna,” he said. “When I got up last night, I smelled that awful insect repellent they use. I think putting a snake in here was part of a plan to scare Auntie A. so she’d sell her property.”

  “But why would any of them want this place that bad?” Josh asked. “It’s just an old house and a barn.”

  “Maybe it’s more,” Dink said. “The postcards and phone calls started coming in after Auntie A.’s husband’s diary and letters were stolen. So maybe he wrote something important.”

  “Auntie A. told us her husband used to explore all this property,” Ruth Rose said. “Maybe he found something!”

  “Yup, and if Hanna saw hi
s diary when she was cleaning in the barn, she might have read it and found out what he wrote,” Dink said. “Then she and her boyfriend came up with a plan to get the property away from Auntie A.”

  “Do you think Howie is helping Kenny and Hanna?” Josh asked.

  “Nope. He told Auntie A. not to sell yet,” Dink reminded Josh and Ruth Rose. “So he can’t be one of the people trying to get it away from her.”

  “We need to find that diary,” Ruth Rose said. “Then we’ll know what Hanna and Kenny know!”

  “Yeah, but if they hid it somewhere, we’ll never find it,” Dink said. “It’s probably in one of their lockers at college.”

  “In TV shows, the good stuff is always in a safe-deposit box in a bank,” Josh said. “And the detective finds a mysterious key in the dead guy’s pocket and—”

  “That’s TV,” Ruth Rose said. “But Hanna has keys. I saw them. Hey, maybe the diary is in one of the compartments on her scooter!”

  “We can’t take her keys or search her bike,” Dink said. “But we can check out the rest of this property. Maybe we’ll find what makes Hanna and Kenny so anxious to get it.”

  “You want to explore a jungle?” Josh said. “With bugs and snakes and alligators?”

  “Have you guys noticed that Kenny is the only person who saw alligators on this property?” Dink asked. “He also said he saw a mountain lion, but no one else did. Hanna said she saw a rattlesnake, but no one else saw it, either. I think they’re lying.”

  “All to scare Auntie A.,” Ruth Rose said.

  “They’re trying to scare you and me and Josh, too,” Dink said.

  “Why?” Josh asked.

  “Because they don’t want us to go near the ponds,” Dink said. He found Ruth Rose’s Pine Shine and held it up. “Let’s go find out why.”

  The kids put on jeans, long-sleeved shirts, and baseball caps. They sprayed the repellent over their clothes. Then they left the bunkhouse and headed toward the jungle behind the barn.

  “Wait a minute,” Josh said. He ran to the toolshed and came back with a rake.