by Charles Tang
“Pete was a crew member,” Jessie said at last.
Henry nodded. “He could have removed the map and compass at any time.”
“Don and his crew chief checked everything,” Soo Lee reminded them.
Benny nodded. “More than once,” he said.
“Whoever took those things must have done it at the very last minute,” Violet concluded.
“Pete held the basket down,” Jessie remembered.
“Other crew members did that, too,” Henry said.
“Mary England helped,” Soo Lee reminded them.
“Whoever took Don’s things probably launched Brad Golder’s balloon, too,” Henry suggested.
“We’ve got another mystery to solve,” Benny concluded.
The sun was a blazing ball low in the western sky.
“It must be near dinnertime,” Benny said. “Let’s go see if Sky and Matt are ready to go back to the inn.”
The Aldens trooped over to the shed. Sky and Matt were talking to Mary.
“Mary changed more than her stockings,” Soo Lee observed.
Mary was wearing a white dress patterned with small lavender flowers.
“That’s a pretty dress,” Violet said. She liked anything colored with shades of purple.
When she saw the Aldens, Sky excused herself and joined them.
“Is it time to go back to the inn?” Jessie asked.
“Barbara will serve dinner soon,” Sky answered. “But Matt and I are staying here. We have to go over tomorrow’s schedule.”
“You mean you’ll go without dinner?” Benny asked. He couldn’t imagine anyone skipping a meal.
“Matt’ll drive into town and pick up something,” Sky told him.
“We can get a ride back to the inn with Pete,” Henry suggested.
Coming up beside them, Mary said, “Pete went on ahead. I’m dining at the inn; I’ll be happy to take you.”
“Thank you,” the Aldens said.
They followed Mary to her car.
Inside, Benny said, “It’s awful hot in here. How do you open the windows?”
“I never open the windows,” Mary responded. “They let in too much dust and dirt.” She pushed a button. “I always use the air-conditioning.”
Barbara had vegetables and dip awaiting them in the parlor.
Benny dug right in. “This is good,” he said.
“Don’t eat too much,” Barbara told him. “I wouldn’t want you to spoil your appetite for dinner.”
Henry chuckled. “No chance of that, is there, Benny?”
“I can always eat,” Benny assured Barbara.
Pete came in from the kitchen. He nodded at Mary. “Hello, Mary,” he said. “I didn’t know you were coming to dinner.”
“There are many things you don’t know,” Mary replied. Her tone was sharp.
Barbara glanced at the clock on the mantel. “I wonder what’s keeping Hollis,” she said.
Pete smiled at the Aldens. “How’d you like your first day of ballooning?”
“It was exciting,” Henry answered.
“First there was a runaway balloon,” Soo Lee said.
“And then Don Fister’s balloon disappeared,” Violet added.
“And the Hare and Hounds game was ruined because Don Fister was the hare,” Benny said.
Pete grinned. “That was one rabbit we couldn’t pull out of the hat,” he joked.
The Aldens laughed. Barbara and Mary did not.
A tense silence followed.
After a while, Jessie said, “The lunch Pete brought to the port was very good. Did you make it, Barbara?”
Barbara looked pleased. “Yes, I did make it.”
“It was delicious,” Benny put in. “I had some of everything.”
“We like picnics,” Soo Lee added.
Henry told them all about living in the boxcar and the picnics they had enjoyed there. “Today reminded us of those times,” he concluded.
“All that was missing was our blue tablecloth and my pink cup,” Benny said.
Jessie explained how they had come to own those things.
Barbara seemed very interested. “Blue tablecloth and pink cup,” she murmured as though she were storing information in her memory.
Hollis McKnight arrived, and they all went into the dining room.
Looking at the table, Benny’s eyes grew large. “Oh, boy,” he said. “Roasted chicken! My favorite!”
Jessie said, “Oh, Benny, everything’s your favorite.”
This time, even Barbara and Mary laughed.
During dinner, Mary and Hollis did most of the talking. They told stories about Lloyd’s Landing — its early history and development.
“It sounds as if Lloyd’s Landing hasn’t changed much over the years,” Henry commented.
“Exactly,” Mary responded. “Our grandparents — Barbara’s and mine — wanted a quiet, peaceful place. We’ve all tried to honor their wishes.”
“Sometimes, things can be too peaceful,” Hollis said.
Mary shot him a withering glance. Then, she said, “I’m sorry to eat and run, but I must go.” She thanked Barbara for the dinner and headed for the door.
“Will we see you tomorrow at the rally?” Pete asked.
The Aldens were sure she heard him; yet, she didn’t respond.
After a strawberry shortcake dessert, Hollis McKnight looked at his watch. “I have to get back to the paper,” he said. “Put it to bed.”
Benny imagined him tucking a newspaper into a small bed. He giggled. “That’s funny,” he said. “A newspaper going to bed.”
Hollis laughed heartily. “It is a strange expression,” he admitted. “It means going to press.”
After he had gone, Barbara began clearing the table. Violet and Soo Lee gathered the silverware. When they took it into the kitchen, Barbara was on the phone.
Her face reddened and she put down the receiver. “Line’s busy,” she said.
“May we help you with the dishes?” Violet asked.
“No, thank you, dear,” Barbara answered.
Pete suggested they go outside to sit on the porch. “It’s nice this time of night.”
Henry and Benny sat on a wooden swing. Violet, Jessie, and Soo Lee settled into rocking chairs. Pete sat on the top step. No one spoke. Fireflies flickered on the lawn, and the stars twinkled in the night sky.
After a while, Benny yawned. “I’m really tired,” he said.
“You’d better get a good night’s sleep,” Pete said. “We’re up before dawn tomorrow.”
“Just a few more minutes,” Soo Lee pleaded.
Benny yawned again. “I’ll meet you upstairs,” he said. “I’m going to get a glass of milk and then go to bed.”
Inside, he heard Barbara talking to someone. He crept into the kitchen so as not to disturb her. She was on the phone, her back to him.
She said, “Drop it,” sternly.
Benny felt uncomfortable. The telephone conversation was private; Barbara would not be happy that he had overheard.
Suddenly, Barbara realized she was not alone. She put down the receiver and turned to Benny. Smiling uneasily, she asked, “What can I do for you, Benny?”
“Oh, nothing,” Benny said, and he ran up the stairs.
CHAPTER 9
The Missing Ad
Benny was dreaming he was floating above Lloyd’s Landing in a balloon. Suddenly, everything began to shake.
“Benny, wake up,” Henry urged him.
Benny rolled over. “I have to land first,” he mumbled.
“It’s time to go out to the port,” Henry said.
Benny opened his eyes and stretched. “I thought I was already there,” he said. While he dressed, he told Henry about his dream.
“I dreamed about ballooning, too,” Henry said.
The girls came in.
“Aren’t you ready yet?” Jessie teased.
“Soon as I find my other shoe,” Benny said. He looked under the bed. There i
t was.
Violet said, “Take your time. Barbara told us she would let us know when breakfast is ready.”
“You must’ve stayed downstairs late last night,” Benny said. “I tried to stay awake because I had something to tell you, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”
Soo Lee sat down on the edge of the bed. “Tell us now.”
“Well, I went into the kitchen for a glass of milk before bed,” Benny began. “And I found Barbara talking on the phone — she was arguing with somebody!”
“About what?” Henry asked.
Benny shook his head. “I don’t know. All I heard her say was ‘drop it.’ And she was angry.”
“Barbara was on the phone earlier,” Violet remembered.
Soo Lee nodded. “And she hung up when she saw us.”
“That’s what she did when she saw me,” Benny told them.
“Do you suppose the phone calls had anything to do with what happened out at the port?” Jessie asked.
“Sounds like it,” Henry said.
“Barbara and Pete are so nice,” Violet said. “It’s hard to believe that they have anything to do with this.”
“Why would they want to ruin the balloon business?” Soo Lee asked. “It would be good for the inn.”
“But who else could have launched Brad’s balloon and taken Don’s map and compass?” Henry said.
They all thought about that for a while.
Finally, Violet suggested, “Don Fister could have done it. He was at the port early yesterday morning. Maybe his crew chief helped him launch the balloon.”
“And he could have just pretended his map was gone,” Soo Lee said.
“That’s possible,” Jessie admitted. “He doesn’t seem to want the business to succeed.”
“He has his own balloon business,” Henry reminded them. “He might think that’s a reason to ruin Sky and Matt’s.”
Barbara knocked at the door. “Breakfast,” she announced.
Benny was the first one out the door.
“Where are Matt and Sky?” Jessie asked as they entered the dining room.
“Oh, they left very early,” said Barbara. “They wanted to get there before the other balloonists.”
They ate a hearty breakfast of sausage, pancakes, and scrambled eggs.
“I am so full,” Benny said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat again.”
Barbara laughed. “Oh, I’m quite sure you’ll be hungry by noon. Especially when you see what I’ve prepared for you.” She went into the kitchen and came back with a basket. “In here is your own special picnic lunch.” She handed the basket to Henry. “Now run along. Pete’s waiting for you outside.”
The Aldens thanked Barbara for the picnic basket and met Pete outside.
Pete drove them out to the balloon port. By the time they arrived, the sun had begun to paint the eastern sky with faint streaks of pinkish light.
When they arrived, small groups of balloonists were scattered across the big field, already busy with their equipment.
Sky and Matt were huddled over the morning newspaper. They were obviously upset.
“What’s wrong?” Pete asked them.
Sky thrust the paper at him. “Our ad! It’s not in the paper!”
Pete did not take the paper from her outstretched hand. “It’s not?!” he exclaimed, but he didn’t really sound surprised.
A short distance away, Mary England slammed her car trunk. For a moment, the sound distracted them all. Then Sky said, “Wait till I get hold of that Hollis McKnight!”
Smiling, Mary joined the group. Even in slacks and blouse, she looked dressed up. “Good morning,” she greeted them. “Looks as though you’ll have a perfect day for your rally.”
“If anyone comes,” Matt said, and told her about the missing ad.
Mary waved that away. “By the looks of things, you don’t need more advertising. You’ll have a large audience.”
She was right. Spectators had gathered along the edges of the field and were continuing to arrive.
That didn’t ease Sky. “I paid for that ad,” she said. “He had no right to withdraw it.”
Just then, Hollis McKnight pulled in and got out of his car.
Waving the paper, Sky marched toward him. “Did you do this?!” she demanded.
Hollis tilted his head to look through the bottom half of his glasses. “Did I do what?” he asked.
“Why didn’t you run our ad?” Matt demanded.
Hollis looked confused. “Because you canceled it,” he said.
CHAPTER 10
Grounded!
Sky’s jaw dropped. “We never canceled the ad,” she told Hollis.
“Well, someone did,” Hollis said.
“When?” Matt asked.
“Last night. My assistant took the phone message.”
The Aldens exchanged glances. Each of them was remembering what Benny had overheard: “Drop it,” Barbara had said. Had she phoned the newspaper to cancel the ad?
“It was so late, I had nothing to fill the space,” Hollis was saying. “The only thing I could do was enlarge The Landing’s Inn ad.”
Don Fister rushed up to them. “Are we going to fly today or not?” he asked.
“Yes, yes,” Sky answered. “Is everyone ready?”
“We’re all waiting for you,” he said.
She handed him another map. “Do you have a compass?” she asked.
He nodded. “I borrowed one.”
The morning’s event was a time—“distance race. Each pilot and crew would begin to inflate their balloons on cue. They would then lift off, go as far as possible, and land within an hour’s time. Whoever went the farthest would win.
Sky and Matt were going to participate in this event. Matt took Sky’s arm. “Let’s get ready,” he said, and led her and the Aldens to their spot on the field. “I’m crew chief,” Matt told the Aldens. “Just follow my orders.”
With the Aldens’ help, Sky and Matt spread out their red-white-and-blue nylon covering. Other members of the crew grabbed propane tanks and secured them inside the basket. They tipped the basket on its side and placed the burner and instruments. Next, they sorted out the cables and ropes and attached them to the proper places.
Matt started the fan. He told everyone to grab hold of the lines to steady the balloon. They promptly obeyed.
“Benny! Step to one side! You’re in the way of the fan!” Sky instructed.
The fan had whipped Benny’s hair into a mass of untidy curls.
“It looks like you combed your hair with an eggbeater,” Henry teased.
Busy with his assigned job, Benny ignored him.
Sky checked the inside of the balloon. “It looks okay,” she said. “Now, let’s give it some heat.” She reached for the blast valve. Her hand stopped in midair. “Turn off the fan,” she shouted.
Matt did so. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“One of the propane tanks is missing,” Sky told him.
Matt looked inside the basket. “They were all out here earlier. I lined up all the equipment myself.”
Sky threw up her hands. “We can’t go up.”
Benny glanced at the tanks. They were big. They must hold lots of propane gas. “Can’t you go up with what you have?”
Sky shook her head. “It’d be taking a chance,” she explained. “And a good pilot doesn’t take chances.”
“Can’t you get another tank?” Violet asked.
Matt shook his head. “No time,” he said.
Pete had already announced the start of the race over the loudspeaker and some of the balloons had left the ground.
Mary, Hollis, and Pete came over to see what was going on.
Henry told them what had happened.
“Oh, my, more trouble,” Mary commented.
She sounded as though she had expected it.
“Well, I’m certainly not going to sit here feeling sorry for myself,” Sky said. She turned to Pete. “Does everyone have a
chase crew?”
“I’m it for Don,” he answered. “He did so much complaining most of his crew quit.”
“All right,” Sky said. “We’ll go with you.”
“Take our van,” Matt suggested. “There’s more room.”
“Let’s move,” Pete urged. “Don’s already airborne!”
Sky, Matt, Pete, and the Aldens dashed for the van. Matt climbed in the driver’s side.
Sky handed Benny and Jessie maps. “You be the navigators,” she said. “The rest of us will keep Don in sight.”
That was easier said than done. Don’s yellow, orange, and green balloon disappeared now and then — behind the tree line, over a ridge. No one spoke as the van moved up one country road and down another. Periodically, the walkie-talkie Pete held squawked. Don’s voice would come through, broken by static.
Benny followed their course on the map. “This is hard,” he said.
Jessie compared her readings with his. “What’s hard is that we’re down here and he’s up there.”
“But it’s exciting,” Soo Lee commented.
Everyone agreed with that.
“The hour’s almost up,” Violet said, looking at her watch.
“I wonder whose balloon went the farthest?” Benny asked.
Next Don’s voice came over the walkie-talkie and said that he’d found a landing spot and would soon come down.
Jessie and Benny located the spot on the map and directed Matt toward it. Near the landing site, Matt eased the van to the side of the road and stopped.
“Everybody out,” Sky directed.
They piled out of the van and ran up an embankment and across an open field. Above them, Don was slowly coming down. He threw out a tow rope. Matt grabbed it. As the basket touched down, the others grabbed the ropes on the side. The basket bounced and toppled.
Don crawled out, smiling. “You’re looking at a winner!” he said confidently.
He didn’t seem a bit surprised to see Sky and Matt. How could he possibly know that they had not gone up in their own balloon?
They packed up the balloon and headed back to the field to see how the other balloonists had done.
Sure enough: Don was the winner. He had flown several miles beyond Brad Golder, who came in second.
The Aldens overheard Brad complain to Sky. “Don should be disqualified from the next event,” he said. “He wins everything.”